Judge This Book by its Cover: I'll Give You The Sun

So, while I absolutely adore what's on the pages of books, I also have deep love of the covers. They are works of art, and while the phrase never judge a book by its cover sends an important message, it doesn't really apply to books anymore. In an age where book reviewers – of the blogger and vlogger variety – are contributing to the success of books, covers are what sell books. 

I remember seeing The Selection all over the internet and fell in love with the covers, the pretty dresses and perfect colours. If I hadn't seen the covers everywhere, it could have taken a lot longer for me to pick the series up. 

I appreciate books that are beautiful inside and out. With this series "Judge This Book by its Cover" I want to basically fangirl at the work of book cover designers everywhere. 

I'm going to kick it off with I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson. This book is without a doubt one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. I had high expectations after The Sky is Everywhere and it exceeded them. So, let's take a look at the cover.

UK

This is the cover on my copy, the UK version. I think my favourite thing about this cover is the way it looks like paint. With both narrators being artistic, it represents them both. Throughout, there are paint splatters and strokes, as well as the full page quotes. Having not read the US version, I don't know if those inside pages are styled the same way but the fact that they match in the UK version is perhaps one of my favourite things about this cover. Plus, it looks great with my copy of The Sky is Everywhere.

US

As much as I love my copy, I do really like the US cover. It's got the same sun-like design but less obvious. It doesn't hint at the huge part art plays in the novel as much, but the colours do a good job of indicating how vibrant the novel is in terms of characters and emotions. I also really like the font. Researching the cover of The Sky is Everywhere, there is a US version that goes with this one, with the same brightly coloured stripes and a similar font. 

I'm struggling to pick a favourite. The colours on the US cover are something I'm more drawn to than the boldness of the UK copy. Having said that, I absolutely love my copy and would feel like I was betraying it to say I preferred the other cover. 

Which one do you prefer?

My Adventures in Writing: Mary Kole

One of the most infuriating things about writing an essay on a subject you know, is not being able to say things without referencing them. Even if you know it's a fact, you have to find somewhere official that states it. Even worse than that is having your own opinion on the subject but unless someone else has already had the same thought, you can't say it.

When I was writing an essay about relationships in YA, my tutor recommended Mary Kole's Writing Irresistible Kidlit. I flicked through it, looking for quotes to back myself up, and I found them. In abundance. And not just quotes to back me up, quotes that stated perfectly things that I already knew just from reading and writing YA.

Mary Kole has such great insights into how young people feel and what they want to read about. So many of the pages I marked were because she managed to sum up everything I've ever felt about my teenage years and YA books. 

As an aspiring writer, there's some invaluable advice, ranging from things as simple as word-count to the tricky business of writing a novel that young readers will believe in.

I haven't managed to read it cover to cover yet, but I'm excited to. More than that, I'm excited to apply her ideas to my own writing and see where it takes me. 

My Love Affair with YA

Anyone who knows anything about me, should know two things…Disney is everything and books are everything else. Specifically YA. I don’t know if I can pinpoint why YA resonates with so much, why I can’t and won’t let it go, but I’m going to try.

It could be because I have a thing about the idea of teenagehood(?) It’s a whirlwind of freedom, love, hate, stress, summers, friends, endless possibilities. I will always regret how fast I grew out of it. Not that I could have changed that. It could be because I still feel 17. I like to think I’ve grown since then. I certainly have a clearer idea of where my life is heading now than I did at 17. But I don’t feel as though I’ve changed. I still understand all those feelings that teenagers experience.

It could be because I’m not interested in reading about grown-up things. I wanna read about first love and first kisses and friendships that build and break and build back up again. I wanna read about people who have their whole lives right in front of them. It could be because, looking back, that time of my life was good. It was better than good. It was fun, despite all the times I might have cried or got hurt, and I will always remember the way I felt.

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, Book #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Edition: Penguin, 2012

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis

A forbidden romance. A deadly plague. Earth's fate hinges on one girl...CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future. This is not the fairytale you remember. But it's one you won't forget.

Review

Ever since I first saw and heard about this series, I’ve been intrigued and I finally bought it at Christmas, only just now finding the time to read it.

I’ve always been a lover of fairytales. I’m enchanted by the notion of true love, of royalty, of magic, and more recently I’ve fallen in love with the way princesses are being rewritten into warriors, no longer damsels in distress, stuck in high towers. I love how timeless they are and how they are so easily rewritten. I don’t know how Marissa Meyer came to a point where throwing fairytales into a steampunk dystopia sounded like a good idea, but I'm glad she did.

One of the things I loved about reading Cinder was finding and recognising the elements from the original Cinderella. The prince, the stepsisters, the ball, but also the little things, like the foot that replaces the glass slipper and the car that acts as the pumpkin coach. 

Review: How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne

Title: How Hard Can Love Be?
Author: Holly Bourne
Edition: Usborne Publishing Ltd. 2016

Rating: ★★★★★ ★

Synopsis

All Amber wants is a bit of love from her estranged mum. And she's hoping that a summer together at Mum's Californian kids' camp will help patch up her shattered heart. But then she meets Prom King Kyle - and offers her heart up for breaking all over again. Even with BFFs Evie and Lottie's advice, Amber's finding love hard. Is it worth the fight? (Taken from Waterstones.com)

Review

Well. I was slow starting it but I flew through the last half. I really think I must just be falling in love with Holly Bourne books in general as this was just as amazing as Am I Normal Yet? (which for some reason I always want to call How to be Normal???) 

For starters, I loved the setting. If I had the guts and the time and the money, I would definitely have to give the counselling thing a go. Maybe I'll settle for writing a book about it (shamelessly using a friend who has done it as a sort of research guinea pig). I loved the cabins and the woods and the lake, the sun and the campfires. It was a summery read, but so different to the summer books I normally read, where the characters are just spending summer in their not-so-dreary home towns. In my head, I think I pictured it as a mix-up of Camp Rock and the camp from The Parent Trap, which shows you the sort of things I like to watch. 

I'm a sucker for a road trip, so when I realised this book included not one, but TWO, I was ecstatic. And can I just say, I really want to go to Yosemite now, if Holly Bourne's descriptions of it are accurate. Even if they aren't, the chapters set there were perhaps my favourite, being someone who loves writing descriptions as well as reading them.

I liked that Lottie and Evie took a back seat. While I feel this series is about their friendship as much as anything else, it was nice to have them come to the foreground when they had something really important to contribute, not only to support Amber, but to push the plot along. I really loved the Skype scenes where Lottie was shoving her face in the camera, and the emails where she would take over the keyboard. Those moments felt so realistic to me as I remember that horrifying yet hysterical feeling when your best friend hijacked your phone or email. 

I also really enjoyed the introduction of Whinnie and her knowledge of Winnie the Pooh's philosophy. I love Winnie the Pooh and his little ramblings on love and friendship, which at first you might dismiss (I mean, he's a fictional bear) but if you read them a little closer they have a subtle but profound wisdom in them.

While the title suggested otherwise, I didn't find this book to be all about love. To me, it was more about Amber's relationship with her mother and how that had affected other parts of her life. The moment Amber finally stood up for herself was great, and I could almost feel the same relief she must have felt at that moment, like she'd been set free. 

And, I can't forget to mention, that gold star, up there. While the love story didn't take the spotlight, it's simplicity and the chemistry between Amber and Kyle, did make me want to write, and that's what the gold star is all about: words that inspire me to write my own. There was one moment in the most dramatic part of their relationship, which is my favourite quote, that really made me want to grab my notebook (old school, I know) and get writing. 

I don't have a bad word to say about this book and I highly recommend it, to everyone. This book, and in fact, Holly Bourne herself, are just one example of why I get so angry at people who dismiss and look down on YA fiction. 

Favourite Quote

"There was the love in life you couldn't choose. The love you just felt, that you couldn't let go of, that tortured you and messed you up and made you sometimes too screwed up to let the other kind of love in. The other kind of love, was the love you did choose. The love you didn't have give, but you gave anyway." 

Review: Think Twice by Sarah Mlynowski

Title: Think Twice (Don't Even Think About It #2)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Edition: Orchard Books, 2016

Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis

What's worse than having telepathy in high school? Having telepathy in high school, and then losing it. When class 10B got their flu shots and developed the unexpected side effect of telepathy, it seemed like the worse thing ever. But two years later, they've got used to their powers. They've even come to like them. And as they prepare to leave school, they're all making exciting plans - plans that involve them being Espies. So when one by one they suddenly begin to lose their powers, they know they can't let it happen. Can they save their telepathy before it's too late? Or will they have to learn how to survive without them once again?

Review

I first read Sarah Mlynowski when I picked up her book Ten Things We Shouldn't Have Done (which I recommend to fans of Kody Keplinger). After that I picked up Don't Even Think About It. And, boy am I glad I did. 

This two-book series has the most incredibly premise, and the voice is even more amazing. I have never read a book with this perspective before; I'm not even sure what to call it. It's first person (third person?!?), past tense...but plural. As in, not 'I' but 'we'. When the group is all together it reads as first person. But when the focus shifts between individual characters it's third person. Whatever you want to call it, as a writer, I find it incredible. It elevates the entire novel's theme of friendship and intimacy. I may write a review in the future dedicated to Don't Even Think About It, but for now I'll focus on Think Twice. 

Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Edition: Electric Monkey (Egmont), 2016

Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis

Addictive, dreamy and contemporary YA romance at its very best! It is perfect for fans of Morgan Matson, Stephanie Perkins and Rainbow Rowell. The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them...until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs the trellis to sit by her and changes everything.

Review

April is off to a flying start; book one done in 5 days. And I totally called it on this one. My Life Next Door definitely channels some Sarah Dessen vibes, but it reminds me of Morgan Matson and Stephanie Perkins too. All of whom, I LOVE. 

I'm going to start with the Garretts, because, wow, I love them all. I've always wanted to write a story that involved a big family, and I almost did. But I ended up feeling like there were too many unnecessary characters. Having read about the Garretts though, I'm thinking I should try again. Each member of this family is so distinctive and I didn't lose track of who was who. I think it worked so well because some of them played bigger roles than others but still all had a purpose. I think my favourite Garrett was probably George. He was adorable and I loved his interactions with Samantha. 

Jase. I loved how down to earth he was, and how hard he worked. The way that he and Samantha got to know one another felt really easy and seamless; they felt like friends as well as more than that. I thought the scenes that handled the sex part of their relationship were written so well. They were realistic and honest, with just the right amount of detail. 

I loved the summery feel of the whole book, the descriptions, the summer jobs, the romance, and, to a point, the slow sort of pace. However, the last third or so was full to the brim with emotion and intensity, which was great, and kept me up half the night reading, and I wish there'd been a little more of that a bit sooner. 

There were also a few strings that weren't really tied up for me. Like, Nan? (I don't want to spoil it so I won't say anymore) I would have liked a bit more of a wrap up at the end in terms of what happens to Sam's mum and Jase's dad. 

This book was so close to getting 5 stars, but those few things brought it down. Having said that, I would definitely read this book again and look forward to picking up more of Huntley Fitzpatrick books in the future, and not just because of the pretty, stripy spines.

Favourite Quote
"All around me are summer voices. The lap of the shore far away, the roar of a motorcycle coming up the street, the shhhh of the wind in the dogwood trees."

Review: The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Cycle: The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, The Raven KingAuthor: Maggie StiefvaterRating: ★★★★★ ★

Review

Okay, so, I know The Raven King isn't out yet which means I can't review it but I've just finished reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue and I want to review that, as well as the first two in the series. Since I read them a while ago, I thought I'd do a review of the series as a whole rather than the individual books. So, here goes.

I didn't actually come across this series until my friend read it and adored it (this is the Peter Pan friend I keep referring to). She then went on and on, telling me I had to read it. I read the blurb and wasn't sure it'd be my thing. My friend and I have a pretty good relationship about reading. A lot of the time we read and love the books we recommend to one another but we're just as happy to read a book and disagree about it, or even not read a book recommended y the other. And, like I said, I wasn't going for it, but she seemed so enthusiastic and passionate about it that I guess I was curious. So, I borrowed it, and I am SO GLAD I did. 

Review: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Title: We All Looked Up
Author: Tommy Wallach
Edition: Simon & Schuster UK, 2015

Rating: ★★★

Synopsis

Before Ardor, we let ourselves be defined by labels - the athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever. But then we all looked up and everything changed. They said the asteroid would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end. Two months to really live. (Taken from Waterstones.com)

Review
I was so excited when I read the blurb of this book. I was looking forward to tension and action and high emotions, everything getting tightened like a wind-up toy before being let go as the asteroid arrived. This concept held so much potential...and I feel like it didn't quite reach it. The anticipation of a collision fell flat for me, maybe because of the way so many chapters started with 'a few days later...' or even 'a week later...' There's such a limited amount of time left, and yet there are empty days, days where nothing of note happens to any of the four characters the book follows. I felt like it reduced the impact the asteroid was supposed to be having on them.

Speaking of which: I liked these characters. The premise of the book required them to be labelled, suggested they were stereotypes but that didn't seem to be the case, even in the first few chapters before they had a chance to explain themselves. The friendship they developed was realistic. It wasn't like 'oh my goodness, two months to live, now we're all best friends'. It took time and had its difficulties which made it all the more rewarding, and sad, at the end when their friendship really blossomed.

We All Looked Up shone a pretty accurate light on what would happen if a meteor really did hurtle itself towards Earth. It's horrible to think that we'd all descend into chaos, but it's probably the only realistic scenario. The book touched on subjects like death, and how we fear it, life, and how short it is, but somehow it wasn't too heavy.

I've given We All Looked Up three stars because the speed of the book felt a bit slow, the missing days kind of hindered the anticipation of it all, and it felt a little strange that their parents were mostly out of the picture, some explained and some not. On the other hand, I did enjoy the concept and the relationships between the characters. Thoughts?

Favourite Quote

"The best books, they don't talk about things you never thought about before. They talk about things you'd always thought about, but that you didn't think anyone else had thought about. You read them, and suddenly you're a little bit less alone in the world."

Review: Slated by Teri Terry

Title: Slated
Author: Teri Terry
Edition: Orchard Books, 2012

Rating: ★★

Review

First things first, this review is going to be hard to write. One of my favourite things about reading is the fact that I can share all my favourite books with my friends. And get recommendations in return. It's great when you love their books as much as they do (commence communal fan-girling). But when you don't...it's awkward and hard to admit. On that note: I'm SO SORRY AMY.

Let me start with how big this book is. It's 440 pages, a good 100 pages more than what I normally pick up, but I really think it could have been cut down by at least a third. So many of the scenes felt either super dragged out or unnecessary all together. 

Review: Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Title: Mosquitoland
Author: David Arnold
Edition: Headline, 2015

Rating: ★★★★

Review

For the first few chapters I wasn't sure I was going to like this one. I persevered because I'd seen it all over the internet and I'm so glad I did. By the time I was halfway through, I was loving it. And here's why:

I loved the narration in Mosquitoland. Not only was the main plot (the generic, character-telling-a-story part) written in a unique voice, the letters were too, but the voice was slightly different. As an aspiring writer, it was incredible to read Mim's story and how she told it with such a strong, fun voice, then to read the letters, which were a different voice but still, without a doubt, Mim's. The balance between the letters and her journey was just right, the letters didn't interrupt for too long and weren't too frequent; they were frequent enough to not forget them or count them as a minor sub plot. Plus, I loved the way they tied up at the end. 

Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Title: My Heart and Other Black Holes
Author: Jasmine Warga
Edition: Hodder & Stoughton, 2015

Rating: ★★★★★

Review

I feel like I've been reading a lot of books lately that centre around mental illness. Not that it's a bad thing, I'm glad to read about these issues, learning a little bit more about them. The trouble I find with them is that there's rarely a happily ever after ending. I totally understand why, but as a firm believer in happy endings, I hate it when a book doesn't deliver, no matter what the story is. 

My Heart and Other Black Holes, however, gave the usually sad story of depression and suicide a, perhaps not happy but, hopeful ending. It brought a little bit of light to an otherwise dark sub-section of YA fiction. 

Review: Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa

Title: Fans of the Impossible Life
Author: Kate Scelsa
Edition: Macmillan Children's Book (UK), 2015

Rating:★★★

Review

I've got to be honest. This book did not grab me. I was not immediately sucked into the story. It did grow on me though. Enough to earn itself three stars.

I didn't feel like the first half lived up to the 'impossible' part of it's title. By that, I think I mean that there was nothing particularly sensational in the story. 

That's just the beginning though. As I read on I realised that this is a GOOD BOOK. I'm not the most educated on mental illnesses, I've never suffered and I don't know many people who have, so I'm not in a position to criticise or compliment Scelsa on her portrayal of it. Having said that, I thought she dealt with it really well. She was sensitive but honest about it. She didn't romanticise or glamourise it. 

Review: Night Owls by Jenn Bennett

Title: Night Owls (The Anatomical Shape of a Heart in the US)
Author: Jenn Bennett
Edition: Simon & Schuster UK, 2015

Rating: ★★★★★ ★

Review

I don't even know where to start. I devoured this book; I read it in just over 24 hours, and that's including the day out I was on with my family. 

Okay, let's start with Bex. I loved Bex and her dream of being a medical illustrator. It was so refreshing to have a character wanting to be something other than the generic. I think it's so important for teens to realise how many options they have. I didn't realise what I really wanted to be until I'd already done a year at university. Not saying I'd want to be a medical illustrator, but it would have been nice to be able to read about characters who dreamt of careers you'd never heard of.