Books that give me hope - #YaXmasTour2016

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm so happy to be on this blog tour organised by the lovely Virginie (who you probably know as Chouette, blogger extraordinaire at www.chouett.com). 

2016 has been a big, strange year for me and for the world. More and more, I seem to gravitate to books that give me hope and I wanted to share those as part of the blog tour.

These are some of my favourites from the past, this year and next year.

Northern Lights came out when I was eleven. My grandad used to take me to WH Smiths to buy books that were well-written and award-winning. I think he was trying to break my Point Horror habit! One such visit drew both of us to Northern Lights. I still count it as one of my favourite books because it started my obsession with fantasy and is so beautifully written. I loved Lyra because I aspired to be brave and wilful like her (and I'd still quite like to have my own daemon).

One of my newer favourites is Rebel of the Sands. I loved the Wild West meets Arabian Nights premise and like Lyra I think Amani is an incredible character. It makes me so happy to think of young girls (and people in general) discovering her for the first time. Alwyn did a brilliant post about her favourite things to promote YA Shot, which you can find here if you want to check it out.

I read Radio Silence earlier this year. From the moment I started reading it, I couldn't stop. This book was real, current and raw. It felt like such an accurate portrayal of what it's like to be a teenager and refreshingly is not a love story! I wish there were books like this when I was a teen and I'm so glad it exists now.

Anna Marie McLemore has become one of my favourite authors. The Weight of Feathers and When the Moon was Ours are beautiful, original and magical. Her writing sweeps you into the world and gives you all the feels! I can't wait to read what she comes up with next.

Laini Taylor is my favourite YA author so I was almost unbearably excited to get an advance copy of Strange the Dreamer. The only reason I haven't read it immediately is that I'm trying to savour it. The writing is just gorgeous and the plot and characters are stunningly original and realistic. I predict that this will become one of my favourite books of all time.

Based on this year, I have no idea what 2017 will bring (though I'm certain it has to be better!) At least we know that it will bring books and bookish conversations.

Merry Christmas everyone and a happy 2017!