tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63781567930559661042024-02-21T04:24:44.245+00:00The Reluctant HypersomniacYA books received, read and reviewed in between bouts of epic napping.Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-87992322165318659702013-02-19T11:11:00.000+00:002013-02-19T11:11:23.657+00:00Review: The Fault in our Stars by John Green<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-r19FNt7d7LwHaOJWxeN9qhNIQpBmvqoyYkEGJZVLSuhB0Tnri3KRQeKTyqOKpLC1AcYiLKd52fNbIMyl3Ok1HDL4a7-3M0wu339UxgCIPsRE_h__B2c2uaiTydhdHM7LRQhlaI8WchOa/s1600/The+Fault+in+Our+Stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-r19FNt7d7LwHaOJWxeN9qhNIQpBmvqoyYkEGJZVLSuhB0Tnri3KRQeKTyqOKpLC1AcYiLKd52fNbIMyl3Ok1HDL4a7-3M0wu339UxgCIPsRE_h__B2c2uaiTydhdHM7LRQhlaI8WchOa/s320/The+Fault+in+Our+Stars.jpg" width="208" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">In One Line:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Teenage cancer sucks, ok? (especially when you’re super intelligent)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Romantic Tragi-Comedy</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Gist:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hazel has terminal cancer, but due to a wonder-drug, is doing pretty ok at surviving. I mean, her lungs suck, but everyone has something, right? But what we do know, from the outset, is that Hazel hasn’t got that long to live, which means she spends most of her time trying not to get too close to anybody, because she wants to limit the number of casualties when her cancer time-bomb finally goes off. But this is a John Green novel, so you are pretty much guaranteed some great character-to-character sparks, and this comes in Augustus Waters, another Big C survivor who Hazel meets at support group. They fall in love, and when Augustus uses his ‘wish’ from a cancer charity to help Hazel meet a reclusive author in Amsterdam, Things Happen. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cover:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m going to have to be honest, my gut reaction is definite HATE. But!!! I understand what’s going on here. Because it would have been so easy to have a cover comprised of two teens embracing in a dream-like haze, or a girl (with post-chemo hair) peering over a cliff or something. I mean, this is a story just begging for a cover-cliche. The publishers haven’t fallen for anything saccharine or romantic, which I appreciate and hugely approve of, but this cover just screams to me ‘let’s just plonk the title and author on there and make it quite blue’. I mean, it’s a John Green novel. There could be at least a tiny bit of poignant symbolism on there, right?</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another side note, which was pointed out at the Piccadilly book club and which I MUST bring your attention to, because it is frankly the most amazing observation ever: below is the US hardback cover. Notice the tiny smidgeon of blue between the black cloud and the white cloud? It’s gone on the UK paperback cover!!! I just love that there must have been a meeting somewhere where someone had to say “let’s get rid of that tiny weeny bit of blue, ok?” Granted, it was a fabulous decision to make, and kudos to the person who noticed, you know who you are!</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Good Points:</span></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no point denying it. John Green is a fabulous writer. Possibly one of the greatest YA writers of our time. His tone is light and sparkling here, which means that instead of being conscious of reading, you feel like you’re just floating through his words. I read the book in two sittings, and really hated ever having to put it down. </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feelings. There are going to be lots of them, and you have to know that they are coming from the mere premise of the book. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so nervous to start a book before, just because of all the Feels I was anticipating. </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the character are brilliant. There isn’t anyone who is letting the side down, apart from maybe the assistant to Peter the Writer, who is probably just a narrative device. Of particular note is Isaac, Augustus’ soon-to-be-blind-from-cancer best friend, who is just a joy. I could have easily had a bit more of him actually. </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was sort of doubtful that John Green could write a first-person female character, but I think he pretty much nails it. I mean, Hazel is actually written in this genderless way, but I suspect that that is what someone who is fiercely intelligent and dying of cancer would be like. </span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Not-So-Good Points:</span></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read this book straight after The Humans by Matt Haig, which I believe is out in May (review coming nearer publication date!). The Humans made me cry and feel really real in this horribly mortal way (the way only a really good book can) so when I came to The Fault in our Stars I was already pretty raw. I suspected that The Fault in our Stars would therefore turn me into a ridiculous puddle of feelings, but oddly, it didn’t. And I think that’s because The Humans resonated with me as something completely honest, and The Fault in our Stars felt like artifice. The Fault declares itself to be fiction in the author’s note, and as well as being a book about cancer it’s also a book about reading, so I felt a little removed from what was going on. In other words, I was really conscious that I was reading a work of fiction, and for that reason I didn’t open up emotionally to it (by comparison, I cried in The Humans because it really made me confront my own humanity). </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you guys ever watch Dawson’s Creek and were all like, ‘real kids don’t talk like that, but this is an AMAZING show’? Well The Fault in our Stars is a bit like that. I’ve never met young people who are able to articulate themselves in such an adult way (probably more than adult - I’m all grown up and I can’t articulate myself like the characters in this book!) and probably never will, but that doesn’t stop you from engaging. What I’m trying to say, is that if you’re looking for characters you can recognise for their brutal honesty and realism, you won’t find it here. </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s a book within a book thing going on here, a book that has the characters in this novel so obsessed that they journey to Amsterdam with Augustus’ wish to meet the author and find out what happens next. I feel like if this book within the book is so important, couldn’t it be a little better?</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because John Green declares to the reader from the outset that the book needs to be taken as FICTION, I kind of feel like I can’t criticise it, because anything I point out an imaginary Green just goes ‘but that doesn’t matter. It’s fiction’. Smooth move Green.</span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the other morning I thought about having a nap, because I was tired, but I had Piccadilly book club in the evening and we were discussing The Fault, so I thought I might try and get a bit of reading done before the nap overtook me. I didn’t nap. I read this novel right through to the end without stopping. So basically this book might be the cure for Idiopathic Hypersomnia. Just saying. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final Verdict:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one was always going to be a difficult read for me. I received my US hardback a year ago, and ordered it months before. In between the ordering and the receiving, not only did my Grandma develop Leukaemia, but my Grandpa (her husband) who had been living palliatively with cancer for a few years, rapidly deteriorated. They passed away last year, within four months of each other. One of the reasons my Grandpa went downhill so quickly was because he refused to wear his BiPapp machine at night, something that Hazel has to contend with in this novel. Reading The Fault was therefore never going to be an easy ride. But a year on, I read it, and I loved it. Not perhaps as much as I would have liked to, and I’m not entirely sure that it deserves the rapturous hype that it’s been getting, but this is still a wonderful novel. One that should be read by as many people as possible. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further Reading:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I Die by Jenny Downham</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver</span></span><br />
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-16284061769216009982013-02-13T14:06:00.001+00:002013-02-13T14:06:24.286+00:00Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQb4AKLYuW9-7WVeKUNCbn5gLaDreHlev4kkRFhK4NJph6eso09KypDxyeRdrp0EO6urLuuYAkyP7rJbuH0roIvfzdAeDNlRWrfT2OH6oLTg-EsntbEDxO6c4TuEKVkX8kPGlWOKj00tD/s1600/Warm+Bodies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQb4AKLYuW9-7WVeKUNCbn5gLaDreHlev4kkRFhK4NJph6eso09KypDxyeRdrp0EO6urLuuYAkyP7rJbuH0roIvfzdAeDNlRWrfT2OH6oLTg-EsntbEDxO6c4TuEKVkX8kPGlWOKj00tD/s320/Warm+Bodies.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">In One Line:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Romeo and Juliet, if Romeo were dead to begin with.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> zom-rom-com!</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Gist:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our narrator, who only remembers the first letter of his name (which is R, probably to be pronounced Rrrrrr) is dead. Walking dead. He lopes about his airport home, moans and grunts to his best mate M (Mmmmm), and sometimes just sits for hours at a time on baggage conveyor belts. Oh, and he eats people, just like all good zombies do. One particular brain gorge leads him to the memories of Perry, and along with it the memories of Perry’s girlfriend Julie, who is apparently next on the zombie menu. Fuelled not only with Perry’s memories but also with his own feelings, R saves Julie instead of eating her, and then takes her back home with him. What follows is the story of an unconventional awakening, and burgeoning love. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cover:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First things first, we’re talking about the real cover here, not the film cover. I generally have an aversion to film covers, just so you know. This is a very classy grown-up affair, which is all very well seeing as this book rightfully sits in adult horror sections rather than YA. The problem with this cover is that it just doesn’t convey how funny this book is. Because it is funny. Really funny. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Good Points</span></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shining through the horror and the brutal grotesque of this book is a beautiful sweetness that really takes you by surprise. It’s really the best way to sell this book: “yes it’s a zombie romance, but it’s actually really clever and sweet!” You just end up caring So Much, and that’s a marvellously unique thing when you’re dealing with the undead.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A story that could so easily be silly and frankly ridiculous is told with a remarkable intelligence. It is sincere and wonderful, and it is this that makes it so much more than a book with zombies in it. </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is something rather nicely parable-like about the story. It doesn’t get thrown in your face at any point (thank goodness) but I saw a message of awakening from the baggage conveyor belt of life and breaking through to a more present state of being. Or something like that.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julie is brilliant. She’s spunky, sensitive, and damaged, but only in the way that all girls basically are. It’s refreshing to have a female love interest character who isn’t perfect, who is loved for her flaws instead of in spite of them. Go Julie, you rock! </span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>The Not-So-Good Points</u></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will probably end up having The Feels for a zombie, and some of you may not be entirely comfortable with that. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. I was all like “what does it say about my self esteem if I’m falling for a guy that isn’t even alive?!” but then I realised that what I was actually in love with was the idea of a guy giving up his compulsion to eat brains just for me. Because shucks, that’s kinda romantic. Essentially it’s the Edward Cullen effect: this weird supernatural stalkery guy loves me so much that he’s going to give up EVERYTHING for me. And yes, it’s not real, and yes it’s a silly fantasy, but isn’t that what these kind of books are for after all?</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So this book has a bit of a Romeo and Juliet thing going on, except that this completely passed me by at first, despite our main characters being called R and Julie. But if this passes you by too no worries, because the writer basically hits you across the head with a plank by giving you a proper balcony scene. Honestly, this bit stood out like the punchline in a bad joke. I hated it. I mean, I get it, it’s the balcony scene, but the lack of subtlety just made me want to hurl the book across the room (which wouldn’t have been wise as I read it on my kindle). This scene was basically the reason I gave the book four stars instead of five on Goodreads. </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ending is a bit to and fro (don't worry, no spoilers!!!) - as in, first they leave the stadium, and then they go back, and then they leave again, and then they go back once more. If this was done in a funny way then this would have been fine, but it’s not really that funny. It’s just a bit confused really.</span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I inhaled this book. The warmth, and the humour and the unexpected sweetness just made me want it to never end. There was basically no hope of me falling asleep whilst all this was going on. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final Verdict:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I swear to you this book was actually written for me. I absolutely loved it (apart from that one scene I may have mentioned above). I want all books to be like this. Heck, I probably wouldn’t mind if my next boyfriend has a fetish for grey matter because of this book. I just hope that the film does it justice, because it really is an intelligent and engaging read. Our zombie narrator has a level of brevity and pathos that is as engaging as his wit and I truly hope that this isn’t lost on the silver screen, as it's this that makes the romance so believable. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further Reading:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World War Z by Max Brooks</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Horns by Joe Hill</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan</span></span><br />
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Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-46105423455529867682013-02-07T09:45:00.001+00:002013-02-07T09:45:14.006+00:00Review: Undone by Cat Clarke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlShz_1esVDcnf3zG0mDMMc4jAEMGNRBOdh1ZMUR6KorealMC0e1vvvTbXUIwR6uPiNqJsRWAAUcRvkm1b1V2U15Qkgk9yGEY3jiRBwNPhXvxb6-ia6Pn75b3gCodpmNwri8Q4dYnFhcn/s1600/Undone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlShz_1esVDcnf3zG0mDMMc4jAEMGNRBOdh1ZMUR6KorealMC0e1vvvTbXUIwR6uPiNqJsRWAAUcRvkm1b1V2U15Qkgk9yGEY3jiRBwNPhXvxb6-ia6Pn75b3gCodpmNwri8Q4dYnFhcn/s320/Undone.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">In One Line:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> a hot mess of intense Feels, with a touch of the Mean Girls.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> high school melodrama</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Gist:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The premise of this book is beautifully simple: girl loves best friend, best friend is gay, best friend kills himself, girl gets revenge. I’m so jealous of this concept that I can’t even tell you. Not only do we get our narrator, Jem, infiltrating the school’s popular crowd in pure Mean Girls fashion, we also get to read her best friend Kai’s heartbreaking letters, paced throughout the novel, written to Jem just before he committed suicide. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cover:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a cover that promises heartache, and this is a book that won’t disappoint! My only concern is the model they used - Jem’s true self is an emo/goth type, but yes she does go blonde as per the instruction in one of Kai’s letters. And whilst it’s blonde Jem that takes up the majority of the novel, by the time we reach the end (which is I suspect the part of the book that this cover illustrates) Jem has gone back to her roots, as it were. It’s not that I think there is anything wrong with the cover, it’s just that I think that the book’s narrator might have a problem with it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why You’ll Love This Book</span></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pure feels. Prepare to be punched in the stomach people. You’ll want to have something light and fluffy ready to read for afters!</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel that Jem is a real person. In fact I feel that all the characters in this novel are real people. I could see so many people I knew in this, to the extent that it rather creeped me out! But it’s Jem’s flaws in particular that I loved. To be able to write a character so flawed, and yet so relateable is a real achievement. One that I’m not jealous of at all. No siree. Not jealous.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From experience, I know that writing groups of people is really difficult. It’s a bit like juggling, with all the balls in the air at the same time. Well, I think Cat Clarke juggles really well. I think maybe in reality a group of popular kids would have been a bit bigger than the one depicted here, but if there were any more characters to write about the juggling would have been significantly more difficult! </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Realistic teen sexytimes! Ok maybe I thought that perhaps Jem took her bra off a little too quickly, and when she first gets together with Lucas she does something and my first reaction was “how would she even know how to do that?” But otherwise the sexytimes in this novel are pretty much spot on. And they don’t feel at all gratuitous, which is saying something because they are really quite graphic. </span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why You May Not Love This Book:</span></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kai’s letters are a wonderful way to pace this novel. Twelve letters, one to be opened each month, means that we get the span of a year in which to watch Jem unravel. It’s a clever idea, I just wish that the letters would tell us more. I’m not sure of what exactly, but I couldn’t help but feel let down by some of the content, particularly the last few letters. I can’t remember which one it is, but there was one letter in particular that made me go “really? Is that it?!”</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think that if you’re of a particularly sensitive nature, you might want to leave this book alone. It’s not for the fragile-minded. </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are a few lost characters, particularly the few that sit on the periphery of the main focus of the novel. I know that’s a bit the fault of the narrator, who is very single-minded, but I did find myself thinking about the other kids that are mentioned and then forgotten, like Bland Boy and Bland Girl, or Jasmine. What happened to them?</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a certain sense of predictability. In fact I did guess one of the twists very early on, despite usually being quite bad at guessing these type of things. However, and it’s a big HOWEVER, even thinking I knew exactly what was happening did not prepare me for the shocker of the ending. </span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Passed with gorgeous, glittery, rainbow flying colours! I’m telling you no lies when I say I couldn’t put this book down, in fact I read the entire second half in one sitting. No sleepy times here!</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final Verdict:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been reading a lot of grown-up literary fiction lately, so it was initially a bit weird to go back to YA storytelling, which is quite blatant and unsubtle. But once I got into the flow and accepted that this was not a convoluted, high-brow effort, I really enjoyed this. It’s simple storytelling, done really, really well. Jem is such a believable character, and even though the story features quite drastic events, I never felt that it was forced or unrealistic. Also, the ending. Obviously not going to spoil anything for you, but I haven’t experienced a suckerpunch like that in quite some time. Be prepared! I haven’t read any of Clarke’s other novels, but I really want to now. I just can’t believe how jealous I am of her skill and her frankly quite devious mind!</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further Reading:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forbidden by Tabitha Sazuma</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You Against Me by Jenny Downham</span></span><br />
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-88935086229751744222013-02-04T11:13:00.001+00:002013-02-04T11:13:52.629+00:00Review: Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTeila3jGnY4CmoIjpUtWeK-lcHrExRp3omZ7cN22bwPumUnvwHgPJQiPCsMjAdEbDuMSvAkVJ_YvBKo5FKRgMiLo369OgrpVNmcCH_Ode3nFmk7CK1HrWwxGfVVo1gZlXj0s-qQpgfPU/s1600/Colin+Fischer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTeila3jGnY4CmoIjpUtWeK-lcHrExRp3omZ7cN22bwPumUnvwHgPJQiPCsMjAdEbDuMSvAkVJ_YvBKo5FKRgMiLo369OgrpVNmcCH_Ode3nFmk7CK1HrWwxGfVVo1gZlXj0s-qQpgfPU/s320/Colin+Fischer.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">In One Line:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Curious Incident meets FUN.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Sherlock Holmes investigates the American high school.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Gist:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Colin Fischer has Aspergers Syndrome. You may recognise this condition from that little known book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. Well Colin is rather more highly functioning than the narrator in that book, but still all sorts of kooky. He’s also rather awesome. He has awesome parents that work for NASA, a not-quite-so-awesome brother, and a particularly awesome fascination with the world’s greatest masters of logic: Sherlock Holmes (of Sherlock Holmes fame), Data and Spock (of Star Trek fame) and John Grisham (of CSI fame). So when a gun goes off during lunch time at school, Colin is pretty much the perfect person to figure out who fired it! </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cover:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was drawn to this book before I even knew what it was about, because the cover is absolutely great. At first glance you go ‘Oh look! It’s a Geek!’ and then when you read the back you’re all like ‘an Aspergers Geek!’ which means you’re pretty much guaranteed for a great story (as this is what Curious Incident has taught us). In fact, I think the faceless face on the front looks a lot like Hank Green, and to be honest this makes me love the cover even more! </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why You’ll Love This Book</span></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you not been following until now? The protagonist has Aspergers! And literature of all kinds loves protagonists with Aspergers! </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Colin is amazing. He manages to be almost entirely emotionally devoid whilst at the same time absolutely wonderful. Maybe it’s the naivety, maybe it’s the sincerity, but whatever it is, I just want to give Colin a hug (although touching him is likely to make him scream). </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Research! These writers seem to know an awful lot about what they’re talking about. Packed with facts and intrigues, this is the kind of book that will set you off on all sorts of of mental tangents. One fact in particular that sent me straight to Wikipedia was the one about Tommy Westphall - MIND BLOWN.</span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why You May Not Love This Book:</span></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kept thinking that this book would be more interesting in the first person, rather than the third. We do get point-of-view shifts when we get glimpses into Colin’s notebook, but then the shift back to third person POV becomes a little annoying, especially as the notebook entries are so fantastically enjoyable. But maybe this decision was to stop EVEN MORE comparisons with the Curious Incident.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The footnotes aren’t interesting enough. I love footnotes in a novel, as they generally tend to be brilliant (see John Green’s Abundance of Katherines), but the footnotes here just weren’t engaging enough. Many contained facts that I already knew, or didn’t contain a level of depth that I thought deserving of a footnote. Overall I just didn’t see the point of them here.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Colin’s parents are just a little bit too perfect. And I found that creepy. </span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s an influx of characters at the beginning, and I found it really hard to keep track of who was who, but I guess there really aren’t any easy ways to describe high school classmates. Also, there’s a worrying lack of cultural diversity. </span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not enough gripping relationship drama to keep me hooked, but the footnotes and the notebook entries keep the writing pacey and fresh. Given the choice between reading and napping (not that I actually have a choice - when I need to nap I need to nap) I’m afraid that sleepytime wins.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final Verdict:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s a little sad that this book will unfortunately always be in the shadow of that OTHER book about Aspergers, but this is lovely read. It’s not ground-breaking, it’s not going to set the world on fire, but as a debut from two bonified geeks, it reeks of promise. It’s a gentle read, aimed at a slightly younger audience to the one I’m used to reading for, and has its flaws, but overall I can’t deny that I greatly enjoyed this, and can’t wait to recommend it to young readers. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further Reading:</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wonder by RJ Palacio (read my review <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/review-wonder-by-rj-palacio.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holes by Louis Sachar</span></span>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-68567813378942869192013-01-15T10:18:00.000+00:002013-01-15T10:18:19.711+00:00The Best Books I DIDN'T Read in 2012<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'd love to read everything, I really would. But inevitably I get interrupted, or my mood changes, or circumstances just mean I don't get around to reading the books I should. Here are the five books I really wish I could have read already, and the reasons that I haven't. Rest assured they will all be read very, very soon!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Fault in Our Stars by John Green</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a very good reason that I haven't read this one yet. Without going into too much detail, my Grandma was diagnosed with Leukaemia just before Christmas 2011. Much of my early 2012 was spent hoping that she'd get better. Unfortunately she didn't. So you'd understand why the premise of The Fault in Our Stars didn't exactly thrill and fascinate me. It's only been in the last few weeks that I've felt that I can finally handle this book. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein</b></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is that one book that I am truly gutted I didn't read early on. I have heard nothing but good things about it, and I honestly have no good reason why I haven't picked it up yet! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm naturally very hesitant when it comes to fantasy. Letting yourself get lost in an entirely new world always fills me with trepidation, which is probably why I let this one slide by me in 2012. I really wish I hadn't though. The proof is still on my shelf, and having been reawakened to the joy of fantasy writing by the luscious Seraphina by Rachel Hartman at the end of last year I'm now really looking forward to sinking my teeth into this!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every time somebody buys this from me in my bookshop I find myself a little more annoyed that I haven't read it yet! Everything I've heard just makes me more sure that I will love it. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Hollow Pike by James Dawson</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have heard people reference one of my favourite films ever, The Craft, when talking about this book, which basically means that I am destined to love it! Hollow Pike feels like it's been sitting on my to-read pile forever, but I think I've been too nervous to pick it up, as the subject of witches is one very close to my heart and I'm just scared that I won't enjoy it as much as I want to! Yes, I know that's a lame reason to not read a book and I absolutely promise to read it very soon!</span></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-84086084724415199262013-01-14T11:18:00.003+00:002013-01-14T11:19:58.955+00:00My Best Reads of 2012<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So I'm a little late to the '2012 round-up' party, and to be totally honest I can get very critical of such round-ups. How can anyone say what the best books are when they haven't read all of the books? Also, these lists are incredibly subjective. With that in mind, what follows are not the Best Books of 2012, but the Best Books That I've Read in 2012!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>In Darkness by Nick Lake</b></u></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXberiBM43ne5d7PXxw3_egOkssAoYlkBeuKJxNd_HSwoUhhSDm8al71sALx51jeximuKmrUkyW1NtLB4U4PiM89jW2ljBKuI4mYCTITPPV3xcGVQ5N-aCEgVZvLUhyJ6ZFrvHhq2x5THl/s1600/In+Darkness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXberiBM43ne5d7PXxw3_egOkssAoYlkBeuKJxNd_HSwoUhhSDm8al71sALx51jeximuKmrUkyW1NtLB4U4PiM89jW2ljBKuI4mYCTITPPV3xcGVQ5N-aCEgVZvLUhyJ6ZFrvHhq2x5THl/s320/In+Darkness.jpg" width="196" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: January 8th 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read my review <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/review-in-darkness-by-nick-lake.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A staggering novel that opened my eyes to a part of the world I had no previous thoughts or feelings for. Nick Lake showed himself to be quite frankly 'possessed' by his narrators in a way that left me tingling.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Heaven by Christoph Marzi</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFEnl648h7linoIGwzxGM81o2_mXmt16z8QUhDONVh22QXA_ShxzExjCWhpLLFwtpyQRIo_6zivkTdwHF7rYzby0CFUsA1aatP1R9YyBUPu2UoS36RwcOwzN6Qxmh5bsiTl2EZB13Rf9F/s1600/Heaven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFEnl648h7linoIGwzxGM81o2_mXmt16z8QUhDONVh22QXA_ShxzExjCWhpLLFwtpyQRIo_6zivkTdwHF7rYzby0CFUsA1aatP1R9YyBUPu2UoS36RwcOwzN6Qxmh5bsiTl2EZB13Rf9F/s320/Heaven.jpg" width="209" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: February 3rd 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read my review <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/review-heaven-by-christoph-marzi.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Gaiman-esque ride through the London I know and love. Romance and fairytales combine with urban fantasy.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Pure by Julianna Baggott</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: February 12th 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some reason I never got around to reviewing this one at the time. Probably because it left me too stunned and traumatised! A post-apocalyptic dystopian nightmare that made every other bit of sci-fi I read last year second rate. This is the book that set the standard. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look out for my review of the sequel Fuse coming soon!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Wonder by RJ Palacio</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: March 7th 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read my review <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/review-wonder-by-rj-palacio.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book that makes you want to be a better person. Enough said. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Heart Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: April 3rd 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read my review <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/contempo-may-review-heart-shaped-bruise.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book gets under your skin and stays there. So accomplished, I still can't quite believe that this is Tanya's first novel. A writer to watch!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Adorkable by Sarra Manning</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: April 24th 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read my review <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/contempo-may-review-adorkable-by-sarra.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flying the flag for UKYA, Sarra gives us a couple of protagonists who I initially found it hard to like, yet won me over with all their flaws! Proof that the Brits can do great contemporary YA just as good as the Yanks.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: July 10th 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read my review <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/review-why-we-broke-up-by-daniel.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crikey I loved this one. Filled with heart as well as sublime illustrations, this is something special. If you missed it this year, please find a copy and give yourself to it for an afternoon. Just wonderful.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: August 12th 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the first book I read on my Kindle, and the structure is so unusual I found that I had to read it again in proper book form to make sure that I hadn't missed anything! One thing I knew instantly was that this was a special, special book. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I must have been on a bit of a blogging holiday when I read this one. Rest assured that in light of the Costa win, I will be writing my review very soon!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Diviners by Libba Bray</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: August 22nd 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If there was one writer who I wish I could be, it's Libba Bray. I adore everything she does, but this book was an inspiration for it's sheer scope and the joy it takes from the characters and the plot. Set in the 1920s and featuring a range of kids with mysterious powers, there is nobody else writing quite like this in the world of YA right now. I am so jealous of Libba it hurts. It actually hurts.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeKA2df9JHrQ5zg77K0U8Z3Y7ROlLqjkXaoC_qPHIoAcYKm7aweCA_o8VRfhEZQfTLNIo6RrR-tTzg5kW2qPmGbzoWr1kHsdlsk_JxnY_U88B2kEpNrGMcjskHna5okgRa2U1nEZAV1wX/s1600/Raven+Boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeKA2df9JHrQ5zg77K0U8Z3Y7ROlLqjkXaoC_qPHIoAcYKm7aweCA_o8VRfhEZQfTLNIo6RrR-tTzg5kW2qPmGbzoWr1kHsdlsk_JxnY_U88B2kEpNrGMcjskHna5okgRa2U1nEZAV1wX/s320/Raven+Boys.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Date Finished: August 31st 2012</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This woman is my queen of paranormal romance. It would be easy to shrug her off as a writer who rose to prominence in the post-Twilight world, but Maggie is so much more. First with the Scorpio Races and now with this, the first in a proposed four-part series, Maggie proves that she is a writer with skill and wit, who brings intellect to a genre so often written off as silly. You can tell that she loves what she does, and her passion seeps from the pages of The Raven Boys. Paranormal Romance with brains - you can't get better than that!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So there you have it, these are the ten best books I read last year. If you want to follow all the books I read, a lot of which I just don't get time to blog about, then you can follow my updates on Goodreads. </span></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-20688550777633232802012-11-16T15:56:00.000+00:002012-11-16T15:56:24.289+00:00Review: The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdGn5Gfz9qxrVVInhH483CWPpbqEL3JbsNWRaOIqIHGobpIhPw-GAGwbiigHkVWQi6FabdeuFRSRHNn6HxyB7JesltQkFXsQ62UQ09WvOOWiACHN372ZLWDNiG6uRlAA-67M4oAQu4R-W/s1600/The+Vincent+Boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdGn5Gfz9qxrVVInhH483CWPpbqEL3JbsNWRaOIqIHGobpIhPw-GAGwbiigHkVWQi6FabdeuFRSRHNn6HxyB7JesltQkFXsQ62UQ09WvOOWiACHN372ZLWDNiG6uRlAA-67M4oAQu4R-W/s320/The+Vincent+Boys.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> naughty guilty pleasure!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Gist:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ash works hard to play the good girl for the sake of her preacher daddy and her perfect boyfriend Sawyer, but when Sawyer goes away for the summer Ash finds herself drawn to old childhood friend and Sawyer’s cousin, the ultimate bad-boy Beau. Beau has always loved Ash, and now that he finally has her, will he be able to let her go once Sawyer comes back to town?</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Cover:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hello matching midriffs and sexy disappearing hands! Headless bodies that leave you wondering what their faces look like, and ultimately just presuming that they are sucking each other’s faces off. And look at her tangly hair! That is blatantly sex hair. This is a steamy cover made ‘safe’ by it’s resemblance to a film poster, which may save some of your blushes, but once you start reading you’ll know the truth. You’ll know. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why You’ll Love This Book</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is perfect guilty pleasure reading. Sick of revising? Had a hard week at work and want to dream of lazy Lousiana days? You need this book. I can pretty much guarantee that whilst you are reading it you won’t be thinking of anything else. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This book has so many popular culture parallels! Because Ash is clearly Scarlett O’Hara and Beau is Rhett, and also if you’re a fan of True Blood (like me) you’ll be hyper aware of Ash’s basic Sookie Stackhouse-ness. Except without the mindreading fairy powers or vampires. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This book deals with every southern USA stereotype you can think of. Ash writes ‘y’all’ in her letters to Sawyer. And Sawyer has a name like Sawyer. And there’s even a scene in a dive bar where Ash and Beau play pool and Sweet Home Alabama is playing in the background. As a Londoner reading this book on a foggy Autumn day, I can only conclude that these cliches are a Very Good Thing. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sexytimes. Yeah, you heard me. Sexytimes. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why You May Not Love This Book:</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Basically, this book is terrible. Like, really really bad. You can do what I did and exclaim ‘what the hell!’ and embrace the blatant trashy cheesiness, or you can sneer and tut at the likes of me. I expect that there will be a lot of you tutting. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The story can be So Much Better. And the characters could be So Much More Likable. You’re not reading this because you love Ash and are rooting for her to fulfil her desires, you’re basically just reading because you want to get to the next bit of sexytimes or read another paragraph about how hard Beau’s chest is. It’s the literary equivalent of a car crash (except that nobody gets hurt of course!) and you just can’t take your eyes away, no matter how terrible you know it is. Also, the ending is so bloody neat and tidy and sweet it made me feel a little sick. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My doggie is called Beau. Kinda made me feel a bit weird about reading about a sexy Beau. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Nothing beats a little bit of literary soft-porn to keep me awake. And that’s all I’m going to say on the matter. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Final Verdict:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Read it guys. Just set your brow to as low as it will go. Yes this book is all about the cheap thrills, but I’m not one to dismiss the occasional cheap thrill here and there. I think they’re essential actually, because it’s the only way you’ll be able to work out what substantiates the good stuff. I will say that I’m rather surprised that this has been published by Hot Key Books, a new publisher that has so far shown a great knack for highlighting fabulous and original talent. This book is neither fabulous nor original, and I’m tempted to be rather cynical about why it was chosen for Hot Key’s list. *waves the controversial flag*</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is another issue here about the sexytimes, one I want to address more thoroughly in another blog post on the matter, and on the rise of the ‘New Adult’ genre. Basically, I felt the portrayal of sex in this novel was gratuitous and unnecessary, a bonus added cheap thrill to grab attention. My personal opinion is that if you want soft-porn in your literature, go to the erotica section, not to YA. More on that in another blog post though. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I’m nearly twenty-nine. I can cope with the portrayal of sex in this book, and ultimately found it a fun slice of escapism. Would I recommend it to a fourteen or fifteen year old? Probably not. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Further Reading:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Easy by Tamara Webber</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Everything that Simone Elkeles has ever written</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire</span></span></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-25682159735219674382012-11-13T09:53:00.000+00:002012-11-13T09:53:37.994+00:00On Getting an Agent<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday I got to announce some news: I have an agent. </span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twitter was suitably amazing and very validating, and my family are all lovely and proud. I am thrilled - this is the next step to fulfilling my dreams after all, and I got to say 'I'm very happy' over and over again. But there's an oddness to it all too. An oddness akin to someone coming up to you on your birthday and saying "so how does it feel to be twenty-six?" and you realise that you feel exactly the same as you did yesterday, when you were twenty-five. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think the realisation of my brand new responsibility is settling in now. Not only to myself, to fulfil my potential, but to my new agent, and to all the people who wished me well yesterday on Twitter and Facebook. It's all real now. That fluffy cloud that sat in my head, containing all those hopes and dreams and possibilities, is now outside of my head. Everybody can see that fluffy cloud, and I can't let it float on by and dissipate. I have to do something with it. There's intrinsic pressure there. The cloud looms.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then there's the issue of the book itself. It's suddenly become VERY important. It's turned from a kitten to a tiger, and I just hope and pray I can do the story justice. And that my agent likes it. And then that a publisher likes it. And then that readers like it. See what I mean about the pressure cloud? Instead of writing for me, I'm now writing for a lot more people. It's daunting. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm going to be bold with the truth now, because sometimes I think in the UK we're told not to be bold, or to be embarrassed at being bold. I'm going to say it though: I think I can do it. I honestly do. I don't know yet how long it's going to take (hopefully not that long) but I really do think I can do this. And what's great about having an agent: I'm finally not alone. She thinks I can do it too.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hugs and high fives,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nicole</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">x</span></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-30559709659863399902012-11-04T01:08:00.003+00:002012-11-04T01:08:48.395+00:00Bothered.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's just gone midnight on Saturday, and I can't sleep. My mind is rattling. I feel distinctly bothered. Honestly, it's times like these that I'm thankful for my anti-depressants, because without them I'm pretty certain I'd be spiralling into a well of frantic desperation. But I'm not. I'm watching a film (Up in the Air), I'm all fidgety, and I'm struck with the need to write it out. So I've paused the film, schlepped my laptop on to my lap in bed, and I'm here. Unedited. </span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The red cups are back in Starbucks. The festive drinks are flowing, and there is even a wreath in the doorway. I don't usually mind these things - I work in retail after all - but today they just served as a reminder that the year is nearly up. Soon we'll be saying goodbye to 2012 and beckoning in a new year that promises amazing, exciting things. But I don't want this year to be over. This was meant to be my year. My twenty-eighth, the year my life was meant to take a leap upwards. It hasn't. This year was crappy. This year was probably the worst of my life. And I don't want it to be over because I want more of a chance for it to change. I want something good to happen, so badly. But when the first of January comes, I'll turn twenty-nine, and I'll look back and realise that life is tired, and sad, and nothing ever turns out the way you want it to. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last New Year's Eve I saw in midnight alone in my room with my TV. I can't remember what I was watching. My brother was alone at his flat, my dad was asleep on the sofa downstairs, and my Mum was at my Grandpa's bungalow, making sure he was wearing his sleeping mask. This was a job that usually fell to my Grandma, but two weeks earlier, after a lifetime of near-perfect health, she was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of Leukaemia. Her illness broke my family. My Grandpa refused to wear his mask, and over time developed vascular dementia from the slow lack of oxygen to the brain. My last and enduring memories of him are not good. Four months after he passed my Grandma went into remission. My mother and I decided to take a mini-break to Holland, but on breakfast of the first day my Grandma's carer called and told us to come home. I watched my mother sit shiva for the second time that year, and it wasn't even really the summer yet. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My mother is struggling with her grief. My father isn't in the best of health. I don't want to say anything about my brother because that's a whole other story, but it's not good. I've put on weight. I discovered on facebook that one of my oldest friends got married and didn't invite me to the wedding. I'm still living at home with my parents and am struggling to work out what's going to happen next. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now we're here. In November. And the red cups are out again at Starbucks. I'm crying as I write this. The kind of tears Sara Crewe cries in A Little Princess: silent ones behind a closed door. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it strange that despite this being my crappiest year on record, I don't want it to end? Because that's the feeling I have. Distinct dread that this year is ending. Maybe what I'm dreading is having to raise my hopes again. Life feels static in the gloominess, but it's comfortable. Change is frightening. Or maybe what I'm dreading is the anniversary of the leukaemia rearing it's head. It's nearly a year since everything went downhill, and it frightens me that it's been that long. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe I'm anxious because I don't want my birthday cake to be Christmas pudding again - the pudding from our cancelled Christmas the week before. I've just read that last sentence back and I can't believe how morbid I sound. But it's honest. I think this year has turned me into a morbid person. Maybe this is growing up. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not going to end this on an optimistic note. That's what I usually do, and that's how I like to end things. But right now it wouldn't be true. Because right now I feel like an insignificant drifting speck of nothing, and I'm hoping that sharing this with you brings me just the tiniest bit of relief. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nicole</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">x</span></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-57417471542485783972012-09-29T16:00:00.004+01:002012-09-29T16:00:55.476+01:00Letterbox Love - Grown Up Book Special - 29th Sept 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzsjAm6cODYZX0G01vcrahuvVfAp3MBWZfl2bWuc7h4b_DjLQB3vxFI8hVn5g1T-rlO42vnrH24nj-wpEzbjSmc_jdJZo3NCVnIck4Uv7kYNvspRrh0A8O3XQfSZZ2P3gwgU8kwti7pxEU/s1600/Letterbox+Love" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzsjAm6cODYZX0G01vcrahuvVfAp3MBWZfl2bWuc7h4b_DjLQB3vxFI8hVn5g1T-rlO42vnrH24nj-wpEzbjSmc_jdJZo3NCVnIck4Uv7kYNvspRrh0A8O3XQfSZZ2P3gwgU8kwti7pxEU/s320/Letterbox+Love" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because sometimes I read books for grown ups too!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCa0cn7xdDoziprvdu_l0X0LHoBENQ7HweBILcbBB_z0-hiDRXOe74gNx5Fn15jLm7tIQLiJqN-nDavM7eK_PQZVtYTxH2hmOFubriNUG9kP05yEhmc9Ee5IPpcXdBZw199JmYPoq-r83/s1600/IMG_1263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCa0cn7xdDoziprvdu_l0X0LHoBENQ7HweBILcbBB_z0-hiDRXOe74gNx5Fn15jLm7tIQLiJqN-nDavM7eK_PQZVtYTxH2hmOFubriNUG9kP05yEhmc9Ee5IPpcXdBZw199JmYPoq-r83/s320/IMG_1263.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Survivor by Sam Pivnik</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam Pivnik is the ultimate survivor from a world that no longer exists. On fourteen occasions he should have been killed, but luck, his physical strength and his determination not to die, all played a part in Sam Pivnik living to tell his extraordinary life story. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1939, on his thirteenth birthday, his life changed forever when the Nazis invaded Poland. He survived the two ghettoes set up in his home town of Bedzin and six months on Auschwitz's notorious Rampkommando where prisoners were either taken away for entry to the camp or gassing. After this harrowing experience he was sent to work at the brutal Furstengrube mining camp. He could have died on the 'Death March' that took him west as the Third Reich collapsed and he was one of only a handful of people who swam to safety when the Royal Air Force sank the prison ship Cap Arcona, in 1945, mistakenly believing it to be carrying fleeing members of the SS.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He eventually made his way to London where he found people too preoccupied with their own wartime experiences on the Home Front to be interested in what had happened to him.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now in his eighties, Sam Pivnik tells for the first time the story of his life, a tale of survival against the most extraordinary odds. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Out now from Hodder and Stoughton</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlc8_IKVSQ-0GP19mZikdPi8fwjf0gd5YkKBVGFRrZJ5i6r-Ou4Iz4VikCjxJGIoHZ4GpPmTKQP8EU4ucn37e9OKyfFg9XInzY-hXK4BkH4TX8rU26i06Ji4XX0qgrPUw8CP5-LXsriIU6/s1600/IMG_1259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlc8_IKVSQ-0GP19mZikdPi8fwjf0gd5YkKBVGFRrZJ5i6r-Ou4Iz4VikCjxJGIoHZ4GpPmTKQP8EU4ucn37e9OKyfFg9XInzY-hXK4BkH4TX8rU26i06Ji4XX0qgrPUw8CP5-LXsriIU6/s320/IMG_1259.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Vagina: A New Biography by Naomi Wolf</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Naomi Wolf embarks on a life-changing journey to tease out the link between sexuality and creativity, what she discovers is revelatory and exhilarating - a scientifically supported link between the vagina and female courage, assertiveness and consciousness itself.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emboldened by these new discoveries, she looks back in history and shows us how the vagina was considered sacred for centuries until it began to be cast as a threat. Even now, in an increasingly sexualised world, it is thought of as slightly shameful. Why?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vagina: A New Biography combines cutting-edge science with cultural history to explore the role of female desire and how it affects female identity, creativity and confidence. Provocative and engaging, positive and inspiring, this book brings to light female impulses, history and dreams - and, in exploring what women really need, it goes to the very core of what it means to be female.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Out now from Little, Brown</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>When It Happens to You by Molly Ringwald</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From a mother as she grapples with age, infertility and an increasingly distant husband to a former children's television star who tries to rebuild his life after being hospitalised for 'exhaustion'. From an elderly woman mourning the loss of her husband to a single mother who finds the strength to protect her flamboyant six-year-old son, these stories follow the hazardous terrain of everyday life, revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When It Happens to You is an unflinchingly yet poignant examination of the intricacies of the human heart and an auspicious literary debut.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Out now from Simon and Schuster</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyOGxJzlyOafqfAVC7VD86ETymxzZ86yMqMNaLwW_Pvs7a6djJysU2m8x7OeVnoq3k954x1gR4irCFiqhHrLIAaUFjBoKba2er7LYrx9Ub3cboQX3la4Oh3AcsimviA7gD3DIgyQgEFi4/s1600/IMG_1261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyOGxJzlyOafqfAVC7VD86ETymxzZ86yMqMNaLwW_Pvs7a6djJysU2m8x7OeVnoq3k954x1gR4irCFiqhHrLIAaUFjBoKba2er7LYrx9Ub3cboQX3la4Oh3AcsimviA7gD3DIgyQgEFi4/s320/IMG_1261.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The epitome of East Coast glamour, scene of vodka martinis and moonlit conspiracies, Tiger House is where the beautiful and the damned have always come to play. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World War II is just ending and Nick is expecting her husband home at last. Her cousin Helena has gone to find married bliss in Hollywood. Everything is about to change... </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magnificently told by five characters in turn, Tigers in Red Weather is a simmering novel of passion, betrayal and secret violence beneath a polished and fragile facade.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Out now from Picador</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GcfN8Lzi-bBDsPE_LH9BesiUUKO5FJUx2PnNME3gTa6ARysE2NpGhoW638-m_lh_bQw-B44-hcs6EGp-KGkHckBM7lF7A86djwjmeQXjU7XQiEQsm6-HQwTIY-7iIQHUaWzxs4A5jWkc/s1600/IMG_1262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GcfN8Lzi-bBDsPE_LH9BesiUUKO5FJUx2PnNME3gTa6ARysE2NpGhoW638-m_lh_bQw-B44-hcs6EGp-KGkHckBM7lF7A86djwjmeQXjU7XQiEQsm6-HQwTIY-7iIQHUaWzxs4A5jWkc/s320/IMG_1262.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Moranthology by Cailtin Moran</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Possibly the only drawback about the bestselling How To Be A Woman was that its author, Caitlin Moran, was limited to pretty much one subject: being a woman.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moranthology is proof that Caitlin can actually be 'quite chatty' about many other things, including cultural, social and political issues which are usually the province of learned professors, or hot-shot wonks - and not a woman who once, as an experiment, put a wasp in a jar, and got it stoned.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Out now from Ebury Press</i></span></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-27107908087274536492012-08-26T09:52:00.000+01:002012-08-26T09:52:04.189+01:00Letterbox Love no.10 - 26th August 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWv22g1ke4GQO7bAQAw0WuBp9dWx1VeTYHQEZwy2jBlMQj3sFqb_JuOc0oh1Ouuwa7lpWehv64zDSo7M2b_ENJW9PYpfkaNjim39mJzrUWF9Lb0WFd3_cAi180AsJ9QFAlw3g5tZyG08ol/s1600/Letterbox+Love" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWv22g1ke4GQO7bAQAw0WuBp9dWx1VeTYHQEZwy2jBlMQj3sFqb_JuOc0oh1Ouuwa7lpWehv64zDSo7M2b_ENJW9PYpfkaNjim39mJzrUWF9Lb0WFd3_cAi180AsJ9QFAlw3g5tZyG08ol/s320/Letterbox+Love" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">More gorgeous stuff that I've received - now including things on my kindle!!! (unfortunately can't really blurb the stuff that I get on my kindle, but hopefully you'll be inspired to explore nonetheless!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWR5E_k-mtMKvVnXVD_-z1niyAUafL8Kvr50oRwDfhnZoEmFqvvGRHZBvFvBEUkEC_vchYbOoTmHYSi9xs-htOOdG6aPQ_XrpuycobA0qkHvnuCVf1HIjYFLNtDgJCUHxZUl_VpJ3SQyR4/s1600/IMG_1101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWR5E_k-mtMKvVnXVD_-z1niyAUafL8Kvr50oRwDfhnZoEmFqvvGRHZBvFvBEUkEC_vchYbOoTmHYSi9xs-htOOdG6aPQ_XrpuycobA0qkHvnuCVf1HIjYFLNtDgJCUHxZUl_VpJ3SQyR4/s320/IMG_1101.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Breathe by Sarah Crossan</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Years after the Switch, society is divided into Premiums and Auxiliaries. Only Premiums can afford enough oxygen to live a normal life. Dissenters to the regime are ejected from the pod.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alina belongs to a rebel group. On the verge of capture, she is rescued by a Premium boy and together they escape from the pod - with just two days worth of air. Outside, they unearth conspiracy on a breathtaking scale. But can they survive long enough to tell anyone?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Bloomsbury, October 2012</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhDPNNGPBwUJidXYUQXLMWyJHYa1iFGEZtcHUQIPPdJEOvzMjzsPnO2WlcRma3sxda16xHjX1tFPo0dN8qwbdJf8OuKLtpcmKbPF06zBb1yvkDUBat7JhnbEEp9FNfJNnDOxQgfQdabKw/s1600/IMG_1117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhDPNNGPBwUJidXYUQXLMWyJHYa1iFGEZtcHUQIPPdJEOvzMjzsPnO2WlcRma3sxda16xHjX1tFPo0dN8qwbdJf8OuKLtpcmKbPF06zBb1yvkDUBat7JhnbEEp9FNfJNnDOxQgfQdabKw/s320/IMG_1117.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers' arms to take their turn in the killing and dying.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon's secret temple and dreamed of a world that was like a jewel-box without a jewel - a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was not that world.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Hodder books, November 2012</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbhUieEVPJvqA5wlqE9t7c8nOWjjxSz2sXpGTVWfcZhbSZQfyarC5oO1vLDyRXIj9LvkwbjG3DP-DCOWMkLMzYBQ9n-jga0XtVfDrgAQi1tFgp9PKhH7c5sNn9i7YmQHZlesE7WxFYMeW/s1600/IMG_1118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbhUieEVPJvqA5wlqE9t7c8nOWjjxSz2sXpGTVWfcZhbSZQfyarC5oO1vLDyRXIj9LvkwbjG3DP-DCOWMkLMzYBQ9n-jga0XtVfDrgAQi1tFgp9PKhH7c5sNn9i7YmQHZlesE7WxFYMeW/s320/IMG_1118.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Feed by M. T. Anderson</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Titus doesn't think much of the moon. But then Titus doesn't think much period. He's got his "feed" - an internet implant linked directly to his brain - to do his thinking for him.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then Titus meets Violet, a girl who cares what's happening to the world, and challenges everything Titus and his friends hold dear. A girl who decides to fight the feed...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Walker, September 2012</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPCPJrkRE3QxdYeuokkDrVrJJ1AMiTNDYiyTtTHTlMeWmmEo-RE_gxBpIGrNmay0mhUQLs_Yp3ffN14k-MCY8bhCpsSecmqQwHS9FvDGSCBrt8tPevfo5J6Wl95q6waRy8Cr2nkDflPUg/s1600/IMG_1119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPCPJrkRE3QxdYeuokkDrVrJJ1AMiTNDYiyTtTHTlMeWmmEo-RE_gxBpIGrNmay0mhUQLs_Yp3ffN14k-MCY8bhCpsSecmqQwHS9FvDGSCBrt8tPevfo5J6Wl95q6waRy8Cr2nkDflPUg/s320/IMG_1119.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (yes, THAT Chris Colfer)</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the twins' grandmother gives them a treasured fairy-tale book, they have no idea they're about to enter a land beyond all imagining: the Land of Stories, where fairy tales are real.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as Alex and Conner soon discover, the stories they know so well haven't ended in this magical land - Goldilocks is now a wanted fugitive, Red Riding Hood has her own kingdom, and Queen Cinderella is about to become a mother!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The twins know they must get back home somehow. But with the legendary Evil Queen hot on their trail, will they ever find the way?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Atom, OUT NOW!</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alone in the world, Sophie dreams of being someone special. But she could never have imagined this...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a school trip to Russia, Sophie and her two friends find themselves abandoned on a train. They are rescued by the glamorous Princess Anna Volkonskaya, who takes them to her winter palace and mesmerises them with stories of lost diamonds and a tragic past.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as night falls and wolves prowl, Sophie discovers more than dreams in the crumbling palace of secrets...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Chicken House, October 2012</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>On my Kindle:</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ALL OF HOT KEY'S NEW TITLES (particular yeyness)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Uninvited by Liz Jensen</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shadows by Ilsa J Bick</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crewel by Gennifer Albin</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa</span></div>
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Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-33817146580563531682012-08-09T13:36:00.001+01:002012-08-09T13:36:40.060+01:00Review: Rebel Heart by Moira Young<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLkSFyDC9Ba3GrXtie77aQdmbQEEt67RAt2ks7jK4JbR_FMf_A-IgHr0753P9_gUu6Nt5clvbDSnuwWXxX7d7p5iJrz56vo3JDJirLp528ur06JOTgIeVGrpvcy-A6mtjiF9h56N3RDI4/s1600/Rebel+Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLkSFyDC9Ba3GrXtie77aQdmbQEEt67RAt2ks7jK4JbR_FMf_A-IgHr0753P9_gUu6Nt5clvbDSnuwWXxX7d7p5iJrz56vo3JDJirLp528ur06JOTgIeVGrpvcy-A6mtjiF9h56N3RDI4/s320/Rebel+Heart.jpg" width="209" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">In One Line:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> the sequel to the superb Blood Red Road</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> dystopian epic</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Gist:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Obviously can’t give too much away as this is a sequel and don’t want to ruin Blood Red Road if you haven’t read it yet (why haven’t you read it yet? Read it. It’s awesome). But even though Saba and Lugh are reunited, Saba has some psychological demons to contend with following the heightened action at the end of book one. Plus there’s Jack, who she’s determined to be reunited with. Cue another quest narrative, a journey through the dust-lands confronting new friends, old friends, and potential new enemies. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Cover:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hotness. Absolute hotness. I wasn’t keen on the original Blood Red Road cover, as I felt it was far too similar to Patrick Ness’ The Knife of Never Letting Go, but the following paperback release was astoundingly good. This paperback cover matches that. I sincerely hope that that is Jack on the front. Because if you’ve read book one, you’ll already know that Jack is supremely delicious. And that cover model is making me all a-flutter proper Jack style. Serious hot stuff.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVqGxPKF4YfRnZJQ7O889PiwnNZ98COhSXI6LeQv3lnM8AKaBSL4i57tXWAsPoaRa88vBLpQ4ZDFVPiOJG5QexEYgyG6nNguZpL2IB3IVe0KCP49Ac1yn2luCbX9StkmA6VrTV1QfRzrH/s1600/Blood+Red+Road+Original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVqGxPKF4YfRnZJQ7O889PiwnNZ98COhSXI6LeQv3lnM8AKaBSL4i57tXWAsPoaRa88vBLpQ4ZDFVPiOJG5QexEYgyG6nNguZpL2IB3IVe0KCP49Ac1yn2luCbX9StkmA6VrTV1QfRzrH/s320/Blood+Red+Road+Original.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1mvgbta6QBN-8-WjpkB9nppEcvG_pIrs67_alAmwDigZVtzmOUi2YX8QFR6xVdHQxerizCh7-3RNpbfYbRvKzHxo5YWL_-RkhqqSp82uAnXSzVoFGqT-cRzsJyyDSOQjhf4OulHZtxjh/s1600/Blood+Red+Road+New+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1mvgbta6QBN-8-WjpkB9nppEcvG_pIrs67_alAmwDigZVtzmOUi2YX8QFR6xVdHQxerizCh7-3RNpbfYbRvKzHxo5YWL_-RkhqqSp82uAnXSzVoFGqT-cRzsJyyDSOQjhf4OulHZtxjh/s320/Blood+Red+Road+New+Cover.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why You’ll Love This Book</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you loved Blood Red Road as much as I did, you would have been waiting for this book for a while. I was desperate to get my hands on it. The tension between Jack and Saba, Saba’s electric personality, plus her relationship with her twin brother Lugh. Everything you were excited about and looking forward to is here. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The lack of speech marks, the phonetic spelling - all help to create a tone and atmosphere that I loved to read. You get lost in the style, and whilst it takes a few pages to adapt to, once you’re there it’s like being lost in another world. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Nero the crow is awesome. I want a Nero the crow. I have a Ruby the guinea pig, but she’s really not that intelligent and is only nice to me when I give her pieces of melon. Nero the crow is much more excellent.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sexual tension comes from unexpected places in this book, and it wasn’t an unpleasant surprise. Some of the issues that arise are positively grown-up and a little beyond the YA zone. I think this is a good thing. As the readers mature, so do the books. You may not agree with some of the choices some characters make, but the way these choices are handled and conveyed to the reader are frankly brilliant. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why You May Not Love This Book:</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Not enough Jack. There I said it. Don’t care if that makes this a spoiler for you. But just as Lugh was the source of the quest in book one, so Jack becomes the source of the quest in book two. I needed more Jack. I adore Jack. The lack of Jackness in this book just made me grumble under my breath.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I read Blood Read Road as an advance reader copy, therefore read it a few months before it came out. Then there has been quite a big gap before this book has arrived. So I forgot some stuff, some characters, some scenarios. I don’t think there was anything I missed, and Moira Young covers the background from book one as well as she can, but I just hated the fact that I had forgotten so much stuff about characters. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tommo. No. Stay a young boy. He was a child in book one. He’s not a child now. He didn’t work for me. Am not going to spoil anything for anyone, but I think you’ll all agree with me. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Emmi failed me in this book. In Blood Red Road she was such an essential quality, but I feel that she didn’t have quite the same spark in this book. Perhaps it’s because she’s grown up a bit and isn’t a kid anymore, but the tension between her and Saba was so utterly brilliant in book one - not so brilliant here. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">DeMalo. Seth. Pathfinder. Whatever his name is. He’s left me feeling very confused, and I have a feeling that I’m going to remain confused until book three. Dammit. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Passed! Because this book doesn’t have chapters - it just draws you from one scenario to another in quick snippets (neatly depicted by the appearance of Nero on your page) and I was just reading and reading and reading in the hope that Jack would turn up at some point. The Jack/Saba sexual tension was such a massive part of the enjoyment of Blood Read Road for me. The lack of it here really really really annoyed me. But I read it quickly because I was desperate for him. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Final Verdict:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This book suffers from Middle Book Syndrome. You know it’s the second part of a trilogy, so somewhere in your mind you know you’re not really going to actually get anywhere. This makes reading Rebel Heart really frustrating. You always know you’re going to have to wait for the final part for the answers, and that you’re not going to get them here. This happens in every sequel within a trilogy. It’s never going to satisfy. In fact I’d be willing to argue that it’s impossible for a Middle Book to satisfy. It simply can’t, because it has to keep you hooked and ready for book three - which I hope isn’t going to be such a long wait away as the wait for this one. Another factor that disappointed me was that without Jack, this book lacked the spark of Blood Red Road. It’s a different book, with a different tone, and for me it didn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of amazement that book one provoked. But I am excited about book three. SO LONG AS IT HAS MORE JACK. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Further Reading:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/moira+young/blood+red+road/8920831/" target="_blank">Blood Red Road</a> by Moira Young</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/patrick+ness/the+knife+of+never+letting+go/6417697/" target="_blank">The Knife of Never Letting Go</a> by Patrick Ness</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/julianna+baggott/pure/8924748/" target="_blank">Pure</a> by Julianna Baggott</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To buy Rebel Heart click <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/moira+young/rebel+heart/8856355/" target="_blank">HERE</a>!!!</span></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-77190666715445101622012-08-06T15:10:00.001+01:002012-08-06T15:10:43.710+01:00Review: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">In One Line:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Min fell in love with Ed - but this is why they broke up. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Epic stream-of-consciousness poetic perfection</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Gist:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is one of those reviews when I don’t want to tell you a single thing about the book because I want you to read it SO MUCH and I just can’t stand to think of clouding your opinion and whatnot. But essentially the brilliant and incredible Min has just broken up with basketball co-captain Ed, and is heading over to his house to dump a big box on his doorstep. A box containing all the trinkets and magic of their short relationship, and all the reasons why they broke up. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Cover:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let’s not just talk about the cover here people. Let’s talk about the ILLUSTRATIONS. Because this book is illustrated throughout with all the stuff that’s in Min’s big box. And I was on the tube reading this, and even though I knew they were just pictures I actually had to trace each one with my fingers because they were all so tangible and beautiful. And the cover is so stunning, and I could see people on the tube glaring at it wondering what the hell I was reading and I wanted to just shout out and insist that everyone else read it too. Just holding the hardback book in your hands is an experience in itself. So yeah. You might be able to tell that I like it. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">without the dust jacket</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Why You’ll Love This Book</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It’s beautiful. Poetic. Intelligent. Deserves to escape the boundaries of ‘genre’ and get on some literary prize shortlists. Because there are still some suckers out there who think that fiction for teenagers is all about vampires and children killing children for TV kicks. Well this isn’t just a book. It’s a fricking piece of art. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I love Min so much. I love that her full name is Minerva. I love that she has to tell everyone the story of how she got her name. I love that she FEELS so deeply and thinks that she’s an adult but really she isn’t and is completely obsessed with movies that I’ve never even heard of. I especially love that I’d blatantly be part of her group of friends. God I wish Min were real so we could chat about how much the world bloody sucks right now. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I love that there is absolutely NOTHING like this book out there at the moment. Apologies if there actually is, but I’m just not aware of them. I hate that people may want to copy the style and will never, ever be able to emulate it. Because Daniel Handler is obviously not a real person, but some kind of literary genius. And also Lemony Snicket. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Are the movies referred to in this book real? No, wait, don’t tell me. I absolutely don’t want to know. Min is obsessed with Golden Age cinema, and maybe at the beginning of the book I thought about googling some of the things she talks about, and then I thought HECK NO. I don’t even care if they’re real or not. In fact I prefer to believe that Daniel Handler made it all up and this is just part of the magic. So if the movie references are real I just don’t care. It all makes Min just that bit more beautiful. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Why You May Not Love This Book:</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ed needs a lot of showers. He showers very frequently throughout the book. This concerns me. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There’s lot’s of weird food in this book. Even an egg igloo. I’m not a foodie, and I don’t really get foodies, so maybe this didn’t work so well for me. Also, apparently there is caviar inside the egg igloo, and I think that’s kind of gross. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">By the time you get to the end, your heart will be broken into a million rose-petal-shaped pieces. And you may have to take some quiet time to pull yourself back together. This book has ALL OF THE FEELINGS. And if you can’t handle those feelings right now, just give yourself some space. But do please still read this book. Every single living soul on the planet should read this book. </span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I can't stop thinking about you</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">No brainer. I didn’t want this book to end. I read it slowly, languorously, hoping that I could make it last a little longer. And when I was on the tube, prime nap time I should point out, my journey went by in double speed because I was so entirely engrossed in Min and all her deep, deep and many feelings. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">movie star</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Final Verdict:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This book is utterly perfect. There is not a single word out of place. The gorgeous pictures enhance everything and never detract. And I just wish that I could wipe my memory so that I can read it all over again. One of my books of the year so far. And it will take some beating, I’m telling you. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Further Reading:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/patrick+ness/jim+kay/a+monster+calls/8684240/" target="_blank">A Monster Calls</a> by Patrick Ness</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/john+green/the+fault+in+our+stars/9184036/" target="_blank">The Fault in Our Stars</a> by John Green</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/david+levithan/the+lover27s+dictionary/8614807/" target="_blank">The Lover’s Dictionary </a>by David Levithan</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To buy Why We Broke Up please click <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/daniel+handler/maria+kalman/why+we+broke+up/9032430/" target="_blank">HERE</a>!!!</span></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-45707899834659839422012-08-03T11:02:00.000+01:002012-08-03T11:02:09.171+01:00Top Ten Ultimate Angel Books<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So this week I've reviewed two books about those fantabulous mythical beings known as angels. To see my reviews, please click below:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For Angel Dust by Sarah Mussi please click <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/review-angel-dust-by-sarah-mussi.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For Immortal City by Scott Speer please click <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/review-immortal-city-by-scott-speer.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I thought that with those books in mind, I'd present to you my ultimate Angel books, for whether you want to be saved, or just because maybe you find feathery wings HOT. Please note that these are in no particular order. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/l-a-+weatherly/angel/7679636/" target="_blank">Angel</a> by LA Weatherly </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqk_NVsjKAy8JhXmfloTwUFqIyHagW9YAZY8u-Bn0vp-5zfIW6eu7fQtCS82MZWI7jGuEF6LKMkhnMkRN2Q4gxNT5AzQ3VazwZnnL66FdHQ-sfezCGQM8SFuH4BUt8ByXwKDAOmkiQwMxZ/s1600/Angel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqk_NVsjKAy8JhXmfloTwUFqIyHagW9YAZY8u-Bn0vp-5zfIW6eu7fQtCS82MZWI7jGuEF6LKMkhnMkRN2Q4gxNT5AzQ3VazwZnnL66FdHQ-sfezCGQM8SFuH4BUt8ByXwKDAOmkiQwMxZ/s320/Angel.jpg" width="210" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/becca+fitzpatrick/hush2c+hush/6917736/" target="_blank">Hush Hush</a> by Becca Fitzpatrick</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwtA-WPc3g-Uj2aKPKUKWp5m7Ob52sTBpqz_xPTQYIgN5ZRYMDuaaGkvM7Ig-sI8Wdd00z1kSunlLnFXQdN-O-tWMXu4hFotdDlDk9kq7Zy64Rwnr6jKBgNUf_FpyB-X4mdwCRpHJMSl3/s1600/Hush+Hush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwtA-WPc3g-Uj2aKPKUKWp5m7Ob52sTBpqz_xPTQYIgN5ZRYMDuaaGkvM7Ig-sI8Wdd00z1kSunlLnFXQdN-O-tWMXu4hFotdDlDk9kq7Zy64Rwnr6jKBgNUf_FpyB-X4mdwCRpHJMSl3/s320/Hush+Hush.jpg" width="209" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/lauren+kate/fallen/6992353/" target="_blank">Fallen</a> by Lauren Kate</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zd_CT_twE6ovYZsDVr8983Kl-sYeXZEtX0KNF4RRg9Bf6BGGM8JfYSboZJ6ndO1Fxd2YXZWnQkMUoQVWAeKNoVQPcABandM4xMNCoQquQUZIpdFoFl2qJFBVOQmSQ9FfQif13au36Kna/s1600/Fallen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zd_CT_twE6ovYZsDVr8983Kl-sYeXZEtX0KNF4RRg9Bf6BGGM8JfYSboZJ6ndO1Fxd2YXZWnQkMUoQVWAeKNoVQPcABandM4xMNCoQquQUZIpdFoFl2qJFBVOQmSQ9FfQif13au36Kna/s320/Fallen.jpg" width="208" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. Going Bovine by Libba Bray</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlvNSehawimpLIhKXGqd3Hv3Rr8b0Qg4FrnMzuCOp-pacEO2DqZhSN-3CjQPGeguVeZa6WEZ0hHbb8VvyNcxGrCKM3tCgAUHWFHK8p6lnNjINElEestqmg00AksjUKI5lfzWMAQ0IqwZs/s1600/Going+Bovine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlvNSehawimpLIhKXGqd3Hv3Rr8b0Qg4FrnMzuCOp-pacEO2DqZhSN-3CjQPGeguVeZa6WEZ0hHbb8VvyNcxGrCKM3tCgAUHWFHK8p6lnNjINElEestqmg00AksjUKI5lfzWMAQ0IqwZs/s320/Going+Bovine.jpg" width="211" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/thomas+e-+sniegoski/the+fallen3a+fallen+26+leviathan+bk-+1/7781024/" target="_blank">The Fallen</a> by <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Thomas E Sniegoski</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">6. <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/alexandra+adornetto/halo/7915949/" target="_blank">Halo</a> by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Alexandra Adornetto</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NjzRaHBtUcLAMNEWIwuAjRuc5PUIwfLjJNLO277c-H1OD4kgtIoc-gapk_o6BgC6CClg-4ATWjUDW-lFMGkRth_zujQMiYOCTRnhrVP62Xfc7gvy3v_CJ13yawbawTNN4DHQQb3ddUAk/s1600/Halo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NjzRaHBtUcLAMNEWIwuAjRuc5PUIwfLjJNLO277c-H1OD4kgtIoc-gapk_o6BgC6CClg-4ATWjUDW-lFMGkRth_zujQMiYOCTRnhrVP62Xfc7gvy3v_CJ13yawbawTNN4DHQQb3ddUAk/s320/Halo.jpg" width="219" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">7. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/elizabeth+chandler/kissed+by+an+angel/6737986/" target="_blank">Kissed by an Angel</a> by Elizabeth Chandler</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">8. <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/laini+taylor/daughter+of+smoke+and+bone/8863127/" target="_blank">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a> by Laini Taylor</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">9. <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/cassandra+clare/city+of+bones/5728012/" target="_blank">City of Bones</a> by Cassandra Clare</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">10. <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/rebecca+lim/mercy/7825563/" target="_blank">Mercy</a> by Rebecca Lim</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9wvmwa25EByVaZz8GXIO9dwzDlI_6ggcvpd571x11FrjynLVxeGMhuo7w3AF5G3KWU_XjFAAKtjrIjmFRwbgsPpl4jAnPVF3pxdEyLgW4UneZopVnRqHK1lX2OYbXa6ZaJMZ9qyYwxv-/s1600/Mercy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9wvmwa25EByVaZz8GXIO9dwzDlI_6ggcvpd571x11FrjynLVxeGMhuo7w3AF5G3KWU_XjFAAKtjrIjmFRwbgsPpl4jAnPVF3pxdEyLgW4UneZopVnRqHK1lX2OYbXa6ZaJMZ9qyYwxv-/s320/Mercy.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Have I missed anything? Your comments, as always, absolutely welcome!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Hugs and high fives,</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Nicole</span></span></div>
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Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-80471464726797375532012-08-02T08:38:00.000+01:002012-08-02T08:38:21.549+01:00Review: Immortal City by Scott Speer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWz7ZAuV_kvVsU5Jk6rAHnvoEddaDPajDYBgvl6UVS9QRqvfapkRJFekqSkgcmUnek96xRhzHSnWFKTAVdu_JC5QxPTTZezCf3AVc3pFqSiE3EmGsHLj3Uk3W7VvfOO85tr8LuTN5nauBA/s1600/Immortal+City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWz7ZAuV_kvVsU5Jk6rAHnvoEddaDPajDYBgvl6UVS9QRqvfapkRJFekqSkgcmUnek96xRhzHSnWFKTAVdu_JC5QxPTTZezCf3AVc3pFqSiE3EmGsHLj3Uk3W7VvfOO85tr8LuTN5nauBA/s320/Immortal+City.jpg" width="212" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">In One Line:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Girl who hates angels meets the super hottest of all angels and falls in forbidden love. (to be fair, I totes would too.)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Angelic guilty pleasure</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Gist:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Maddy lives in what we would call Los Angeles. But in this alternate reality, it is known as Angel City, because about 100 years ago Angels ‘came out’ and started saving people for money. If you can afford the protection, then you can get saved. But Maddy hates all the silly celebrity business that surrounds the angels. She’s too busy being poor and making college applications. Until Jackson Godspeed walks into her life. Turns out she’s a sucker for a hot bod and feathery wings after all. But whilst we have this sexy romance thing happening, someone, or something is killing angels, ripping off their wings and leaving them on the Angel City walk of fame. And of course Maddy and Jacks get involved. How could their insta-love possibly survive?</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Cover:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It’s a little bit racy fantasy, don’t you think? A little bit like those genre novels that pretend not to be blatant erotica because they’ve got vampires in them? But that’s ok. Because this book is absolutely the teen (and therefore chaste) version of that. It’s teen-porn (yes, I’m saying it). Erotica without the sex for teenagers who like their angels hot and hunky and like to imagine all the naughty things that might happen if a hot and hunky angel appeared in their bedroom but don’t actually know the technicalities of the deed yet. Bless ‘em. In the meantime, this book cover does exactly what it says on the tin: you want hot and hunky angels falling in love? You got ‘em!!! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why You’ll Love This Book</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This book is totally a mash-up of Sarah Alderson, L.A. Weatherly and Becca Fitzpatrick. And if that’s ok with you, it’s totally ok with me. We’re in full-on guilty pleasure zone here people. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There’s actually some pretty witty satire going on. Like, imagine if the Kardashians and the Hiltons and whatever other Hollywood famous family has a reality show and a clothes line were actually the people charged with saving your lives? What if they were Immortal? God help us. An immortal Kim Kardashian. Anyway, I’m pointing this out as a good point. Because it is, I promise. It paints a gloriously satirical slant on the nature of celebrity, how it actually means nothing at all, and is possibly (make that probably) intrinsically evil. Excellent work Mr Speer.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We’re also in alternate reality realm here, which I love because it opens up so many possibilities. Similar to the Charlaine Harris and the True Blood series, immortal Angels ‘came out’ to the world about one hundred years ago and have been building on their popularity ever since. And just like the True Blood series, what this means is endless potential for alternate history, further characters, and basically, a whole series. I could see this being a TV series - if they could afford all the special affects. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The superman flying scene is HOT. Seriously HOT. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is actually a pretty great twist towards the end that I did not see coming. When you actually analyse it (as I am doing whilst I write this review) then you realise that it doesn’t make much sense</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">, but I’m going to give kudos to the twist, because I totally didn’t predict it. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why You May Not Love This Book</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ooooh there are a lot of visual cliches going on here. I think that’s because the author actually works in music videos. So we have Superman style flying, as mentioned earlier, then there’s a creeping into the bedroom thing (my most hated thing EVER) and worst of all, some sexual tension with Angel Dude half naked in the pouring rain. I’m not necessarily complaining about this stuff, because a half naked Angel Dude in the pouring rain is undoubtedly HOT, and yet... cliches just get on my nerves. Visual or not. I’m surprised there wasn’t an upside down kiss at some point really. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There are verbal cliches too!!! One bit made me laugh out loud, because it kind of reminded me of the bit in the Little Mermaid when Ursula the Sea Witch goes mental and giant and tries to keep Ariel and Eric apart. If you read this book, and are familiar with this film, then when you get to The Bit you will know EXACTLY what I mean. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Despite what I just said about cliches, I wouldn’t have minded Maddy having a bit more personality. Perhaps being a bit more Buffy like? She’s just a tad dry on the personality front. And on a similar note, Jacks is just a big ol’ Angel jock. Once you get past the looks (the gloriously, distractingly HOT looks) then I didn’t catch much of a personality going on there either. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It passed - and this is because of some clever novel structuring. Sexual tension scenes between Jacks and Maddy are broken up by some actual plot stuff, so I raced through this novel skimming over the Sylvester murder plot scenes because I was just desperate to get to the next Maddy and Jacks scenes!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Final Verdict:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">An enjoyable, fun, brilliant little guilty pleasure. This book won’t change your life, it won’t rock your world, but it will give you a lovely distraction from real life for a little bit. And that makes it great in my book. This is what guilty pleasures are for, after all. However, there are a lot of elements that I’ve read before, so there is something predictable about this book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pleasing predictability, but if you’re looking for the next big ground-breaking fad fiction, I don’t think you’ll find it here. What you’ll find is good old clean fun. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Further Reading:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/sarah+alderson/fated/8547184/" target="_blank">Fated</a> by Sarah Alderson</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/l-a-+weatherly/angel/7679636/" target="_blank">Angel</a> by L.A. Weatherley</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/becca+fitzpatrick/hush2c+hush/6917736/" target="_blank">Hush Hush</a> by Becca Fitzpatrick</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To buy Immortal City click <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/scott+speer/immortal+city/8939323/" target="_blank">HERE</a>!!!</span></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-61430010513694954552012-07-31T14:34:00.000+01:002012-07-31T14:34:19.848+01:00Review: Angel Dust by Sarah Mussi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_C4ytLN-Uji_Yize8IfyBXm9xmimQbNzSsg77s9KKRZYbNkfRhLZhZufIunySPa21ON3QCjhLted5dhIMtOqPljcC9kepGg779i82fueZIed5Bn4iidjWbCCT2cZfFoNdWpGegUBk6MD/s1600/Angel+Dust.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_C4ytLN-Uji_Yize8IfyBXm9xmimQbNzSsg77s9KKRZYbNkfRhLZhZufIunySPa21ON3QCjhLted5dhIMtOqPljcC9kepGg779i82fueZIed5Bn4iidjWbCCT2cZfFoNdWpGegUBk6MD/s1600/Angel+Dust.png" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">In One Line:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> very lovely angel does something very bad indeed.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Genre:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Romeo and Juliet, except with more religion, and maybe a little bit of The Little Mermaid thrown in? (not the Disney version)</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Gist:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Serafina is an Angel of Death, which means she has a manifesto and has to be ready to go collect souls when they go meet their maker. She does it very well, and has lots of bells and whistles to make dying a rather nice experience indeed. That’s her job, and she’s one the best and brightest. Until she meets Marcus, who is a gangsta (that’s right people, we’re spelling it that way) who is due to die in a club shooting. Except that Sera can’t stand to see him die because he’s rather beautiful and all that. So a stranger tells her she can ask for an extension, which Sera agrees to rather stupidly, because she fails to read the small print. It means that Marcus’ best friend has to die instead. With time running out on Marcus’ extension, can Sera save his soul as well as avoid the repercussions of her little deal she made with the weird stranger?</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Cover:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I love this cover. Because Goth angels are blatantly cool, and although it represents Sera towards the end of the novel, it makes reading it intriguing because you’ll spend your time wondering how she turns from a very renaissance-reubenesque being into someone who paints tears on her eyes with kohl. Also, Sarah Mussi, your bright pink Impact font ROCKS. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why You’ll Love This Book</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It’s full of questions, and meanings and wonderment without ever being patronising, which is a pretty hard feat to do.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sera’s voice is brilliant. You just kind of have to accept that she’s overly sweet and rather stupid and get over it, and then once you’re over it her voice becomes a joy to read. There were times when I thought her naivety was a little distracting, but generally her character is believable and ultimately rather loveable. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The scope of this book is wild. Sarah Mussi sure knows her shizzle when it comes to the angel world. And she’s thought of everything, which I really like. There’s a whole world up there, with it’s own politics and problems, as well as a hellish world down there, where, if I were to uptake Mussi’s philosophy, a few more of us are doomed to experience than we realise. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why You May Not Love This Book:</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you believe in heaven and hell and angels and all that, then great. If you are a toughened cynic like me, then this book isn’t for you. It just captures on to an ethic that can be hard for some people to grasp and believe in. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The doctrine in this book is very heavy-handed and old testament. It’s like the world has very much moved on, and Heaven is stuck in the renaissance. I’m not sure I get that. Same applies to the knowledge Serafina seemingly has. Sometimes she is very knowledgeable on human things, and then sometimes she doesn’t get them at all. I just needed the lines to be clearer. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you’re studying for Religion and Ethics GCSE then you may find this book useful. It raises interesting questions, and things that I’m sure all of us have pondered at some point. If you’re not into the Meaning of Life type thing, then I think you might find the ponderings of Free Will throughout the book a little too much. And also, the only conclusion I could actually come to was that God and Angels therefore couldn’t possibly exist. So I think I missed the point somewhere. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Marcus. Marcus. Marcus. Marcus. Why does Sera fall in love with him? Other than the fact that he’s quite pretty? If anyone can enlighten me, then throw the comments my way. Thanks. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I didn’t understand the chapter headings. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Hypersomnia Test:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It failed. I found myself putting the book down and not being particularly inspired to pick it up again. And I think I know why. I wanted more interaction between the lovebirds. They’re hardly ever together, and seeing as epic, earth-shattering romance is the core plot of this book, I just couldn’t find any epic, earth-shattering romance. I didn’t fancy Marcus. I didn’t know why Sera fancied Marcus, and some of the religion stuff just plain annoyed me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Final Verdict:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I am a pretty hardened atheist, and I just don’t think this book is for me. I’m quite definite of my opinions of heaven and hell, so reading a book that takes these concepts so seriously, without any semblance of tongue-in-cheek made it a little hard to read. I stand by this book being excellently written, but I’m afraid that I’m just not its reader. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Further Reading:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/l-a-+weatherly/angel/7679636/" target="_blank">Angel</a> by L.A. Weatherly</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/becca+fitzpatrick/hush2c+hush/6917736/" target="_blank">Hush Hush</a> by Becca Fitzpatrick</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/lauren+kate/fallen/6992353/" target="_blank">Fallen</a> by Lauren Kate</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To buy Angel Dust click <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/sarah+mussi/angel+dust/9180505/" target="_blank">HERE</a>!!!</span></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-52776014835052144592012-07-30T09:07:00.000+01:002012-07-30T09:07:00.276+01:00Hot Key Books Extravaganza!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's not often that we get a brand new children's publisher on the block, and very shortly they shall be releasing their very first books on the universe. It's very exciting indeed. So, in celebration of the glory of Hot Key Books, I thought I'd share with you what gorgeous goodies they have coming our way in the near future...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look how the proofs are numbered at the top! I don't know about you, but I think that is pretty, pretty cool. So now a bit more about the books; and despite the proofs being ordered by number, this isn't the order that they're being released in, so I shall now present them to you, complete with covers and snippets of info, in publication order:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>August</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibY1ywrVnA2oiO58gcT4ZcJXSCtqHxWFXJ9BGr4HIwQ5-LhleruYjDRPM7Y3144bclamfsMM9AOgp7-RG7n27G2T6mhUeHpP9z5tIqMWiHVTFS0Cj72V6obOzGUKV_fXfYubPM8oehz3-/s1600/Angel+Dust.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibY1ywrVnA2oiO58gcT4ZcJXSCtqHxWFXJ9BGr4HIwQ5-LhleruYjDRPM7Y3144bclamfsMM9AOgp7-RG7n27G2T6mhUeHpP9z5tIqMWiHVTFS0Cj72V6obOzGUKV_fXfYubPM8oehz3-/s1600/Angel+Dust.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Angel Dust by Sarah Mussi</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An epic tale of forbidden love between an angel and a young gangsta</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wf83RR2EfNL0c0V99qHlMgN6Gt48uUfXkJXNSFdy4aAsS6hBZcB7qSzdVEg5tIK7cbaRRhHHpg61V_1JEy7wfG_IDv_6WL7UfAMRq__pDvgBXbQEdQRIQ5_IuVroURW2wqIWG0aOCZQ4/s1600/Insignia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wf83RR2EfNL0c0V99qHlMgN6Gt48uUfXkJXNSFdy4aAsS6hBZcB7qSzdVEg5tIK7cbaRRhHHpg61V_1JEy7wfG_IDv_6WL7UfAMRq__pDvgBXbQEdQRIQ5_IuVroURW2wqIWG0aOCZQ4/s1600/Insignia.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Insignia by S.J. Kincaid</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Exciting first instalment of a thrilling trilogy perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Robert Muchamore and Eoin Colfer</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>September</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxfneu1vsazLi8zmWCzQUV_YeDgQaSct5-EhBlTjhS6YThIyVNxlMSGD3Ve0OOl7qpqRiZ3iCwKw4Pi4DU3SPUNnAKEbArIU8EE-TuDP_K0zpctf1737KezVOfcaXrMCChuQfLL1ru_tY/s1600/Maggot+Moon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxfneu1vsazLi8zmWCzQUV_YeDgQaSct5-EhBlTjhS6YThIyVNxlMSGD3Ve0OOl7qpqRiZ3iCwKw4Pi4DU3SPUNnAKEbArIU8EE-TuDP_K0zpctf1737KezVOfcaXrMCChuQfLL1ru_tY/s1600/Maggot+Moon.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Award-winning Sally Gardner has sold over 1 million books in the UK and been translated into 22 languages. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZFdjKRi2-AWHfDoLrZpcsqeZ4NOgb6bwpYIHtMXny4FN_D2CkdGMyWh670gpMLfQoNiyPbatJeSZHL0l6ZHxpfnAYRhJOPUMflja0TbBBFRc1bGkGoY5Sz_Ajl0ZEe2rqjkrTXRQm2Zj/s1600/Shrunk.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZFdjKRi2-AWHfDoLrZpcsqeZ4NOgb6bwpYIHtMXny4FN_D2CkdGMyWh670gpMLfQoNiyPbatJeSZHL0l6ZHxpfnAYRhJOPUMflja0TbBBFRc1bGkGoY5Sz_Ajl0ZEe2rqjkrTXRQm2Zj/s1600/Shrunk.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shrunk by F.R. Hitchcock</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perfect for fans of Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Stanton - a new author with a great imagination. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>October</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJVX2zD4ATr9NbCzTac5AcWw-9vZhhUohFZAXWMWTJa9qu-A-fmoOnhL9S-XEPGcWe_kYDZtEDE4uixXddbOLU6Kcu8VkYtEyFo4lhor1kLN1afdPzUpjUjI7CZ4yLiCDhde8EJ1Y22Nt/s1600/Under+My+Hat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJVX2zD4ATr9NbCzTac5AcWw-9vZhhUohFZAXWMWTJa9qu-A-fmoOnhL9S-XEPGcWe_kYDZtEDE4uixXddbOLU6Kcu8VkYtEyFo4lhor1kLN1afdPzUpjUjI7CZ4yLiCDhde8EJ1Y22Nt/s1600/Under+My+Hat.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron edited by Jonathan Strahan</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eighteen spellbinding tales from the best children's writers, blended together for the witching hour, including Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix and Holly Black. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeTPyTLWGv9ZevZKz4fLxyB_8zRFiRyuHkyrTS4DyO48MgP_bbl1DiD9kwMBsa1qW5_CFxfpLcq9YTrOxz6SObeltnfo1zinG3CHKw-n_c1bmDe6kxbBhlS2PzEZqgjSQfvusqa7oKh1P/s1600/Constable+and+Toop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeTPyTLWGv9ZevZKz4fLxyB_8zRFiRyuHkyrTS4DyO48MgP_bbl1DiD9kwMBsa1qW5_CFxfpLcq9YTrOxz6SObeltnfo1zinG3CHKw-n_c1bmDe6kxbBhlS2PzEZqgjSQfvusqa7oKh1P/s1600/Constable+and+Toop.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Constable and Toop by Gareth P. Jones</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A comic ghost story perfect for fans of Eva Ibbotson and Chris Riddell</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkNbkeRY4GBES4sXzagWrI-vXHZYmtOXJTtnQgjo1e26WV8-aSKfJwNVQ60bB39EwNsuRArHN2aa8l7LT2CgKaPREAAPfQWVmLCJSSCtyear49jCObUJwKuF850ZcG7jcB5tzUcXMR924/s1600/A+World+Between+us.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkNbkeRY4GBES4sXzagWrI-vXHZYmtOXJTtnQgjo1e26WV8-aSKfJwNVQ60bB39EwNsuRArHN2aa8l7LT2CgKaPREAAPfQWVmLCJSSCtyear49jCObUJwKuF850ZcG7jcB5tzUcXMR924/s1600/A+World+Between+us.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>A World Between Us by Lydia Syson</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A powerful narrative from a strong and passionate heroine will appeal to younger fans of Atonement and Charlotte Grey.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>November</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcIjEQFp7bgg1H7Td1p4x5wf8r1LJx3lzdYowrj-mfZ-ivB-PSxe0z6OnYqcbl_bklpzGY96qNvR0wEkzw84BI3nUu34Q7YvcI-WAbdsxhW4qy2ClRo8vTRmoUfXk9CABPZMvXrqI7yGM/s1600/Jepp+Who+Defied+the+Stars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcIjEQFp7bgg1H7Td1p4x5wf8r1LJx3lzdYowrj-mfZ-ivB-PSxe0z6OnYqcbl_bklpzGY96qNvR0wEkzw84BI3nUu34Q7YvcI-WAbdsxhW4qy2ClRo8vTRmoUfXk9CABPZMvXrqI7yGM/s1600/Jepp+Who+Defied+the+Stars.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Jepp, Who Defied the Stars by Katherine Marsh</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Singular and imaginative, blending historical figures with an inspiring coming of age story. Strong fantasy that has a central romantic hero quite unlike any other. Includes violence, love, astrology, astronomy, and a beer drunking moose.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcF8PBWfl9HNcjTeyfDWnTV5975afPyulzn6MpRNZztGDhhG9l3rN8jqgfGBq-xrB1TMUf1uRv3LLNgImBedUl-ynTqBLPt8ookIH9_1wyLmUxheTJoqBYPkif3vwqm7Zwm4obRiKjIY5k/s1600/Cloud+Hunters.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcF8PBWfl9HNcjTeyfDWnTV5975afPyulzn6MpRNZztGDhhG9l3rN8jqgfGBq-xrB1TMUf1uRv3LLNgImBedUl-ynTqBLPt8ookIH9_1wyLmUxheTJoqBYPkif3vwqm7Zwm4obRiKjIY5k/s1600/Cloud+Hunters.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Cloud Hunters by Alex Shearer</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quest adventure that covers theme of climate change and segregated society</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And there you have it folks! All the brand new titles that the fabulous Hot Key Books are going to be giving us this year. May I add that all comments above about the books come direct from the backs of the proofs - there were no actual blurbs on the back of the proofs (peers over glasses at Hot Key Team), although I would have love to have given you those. Go and check the books out, look out for my reviews in the coming months, and let's have three cheers for a brave and exciting new children's publisher! Hurray!!!</span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-23172259772225759912012-07-29T09:31:00.000+01:002012-07-29T09:31:01.418+01:00Letterbox Love no.9 - 29th July 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yNpm8hgwcKPRIn8YLn1g4vcUQ4dw9itK35ZhRScElCNZKaX49b88QaMb0Pp2EHIAWUyj9nMpdDLZU65jjuCSCaPfDazGunL77zB6YiPSNbpexxwW3EWryJWQrpYXd-DdWvQQX3pCxLCa/s1600/Letterbox+Love" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yNpm8hgwcKPRIn8YLn1g4vcUQ4dw9itK35ZhRScElCNZKaX49b88QaMb0Pp2EHIAWUyj9nMpdDLZU65jjuCSCaPfDazGunL77zB6YiPSNbpexxwW3EWryJWQrpYXd-DdWvQQX3pCxLCa/s320/Letterbox+Love" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The latest books I've received, complete with blurbs and publishing details. Enjoy!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36oLasy3JjuReD6hlSzpGwMzd3WK_QP_nOqtsFctpNHlA4v9lI6rVQl2Gd2sohyGzmILODPUD8R8f9FM4DI6yX9lEutkJjVNDlAQMrJMIolI4wTwJiQ6aJ5VrMmRJK3pe_ARo11_YMYJ8/s1600/IMG_1089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36oLasy3JjuReD6hlSzpGwMzd3WK_QP_nOqtsFctpNHlA4v9lI6rVQl2Gd2sohyGzmILODPUD8R8f9FM4DI6yX9lEutkJjVNDlAQMrJMIolI4wTwJiQ6aJ5VrMmRJK3pe_ARo11_YMYJ8/s320/IMG_1089.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Street Duty: Knockdown by Chris Ould</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Victim: Teenage Female, 14 years old.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unconscious. Head injury. Laceration to arm. Struck by lorry.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why was Ashleigh Jarvis running so fast that she didn't see the lorry? Why was she so scared? And why was she barefoot on a cold winter's evening?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's Holly Blades' first case and she wants to know the truth. But how much is she willing to risk to get at the real facts?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Usborne, October 2012</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipspHS8RKlwalejZ0R9eTftkK60GtWtakq_NbKR91XU5M0Ey-jsDJQhR7rOXTIHKjNnInbXwMGIrhlODn4UEXcDofcHnnQTbA1LaLs8ermHjQPlaDFtDJrSh59EkoeOXxXN3UdhID5_QIH/s1600/IMG_1088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipspHS8RKlwalejZ0R9eTftkK60GtWtakq_NbKR91XU5M0Ey-jsDJQhR7rOXTIHKjNnInbXwMGIrhlODn4UEXcDofcHnnQTbA1LaLs8ermHjQPlaDFtDJrSh59EkoeOXxXN3UdhID5_QIH/s320/IMG_1088.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>At Somerton: Secrets and Sapphires by Leila Rasheed</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One house, two worlds, dark secrets...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">England, 1910. The Averley family has lived a life of luxury in India, but now they must return ot Lord Averley's ancestral estate, the sprawling, majestically beautiful Somerton Court. As the family settles in, tensions arise both upstairs and downstairs. Lady Ada must choose between her honour and her heart, Sebastian must fend of ruinous threats from a former servant and lover, and gentle housemaid Rose will find herself at the centre of a scandal so enormous it could destroy the Averyley's reputation forever.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Hot Key Books, January 2013</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>A World Between Us by Lydia Syson</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Europe on the verge of war Felix is on the verge of discovering love. But discovery means choice and she has to decide between logic and attraction, good sense and passion. As suburban London becomes a memory, Felix has to fight to survive. Not just the battles of the Spanish Civil War, but also the conflicts of her own heart. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Hot Key Books, October 2012</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hector and Standish are friends. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They live together in Zone Seven where the Motherland can keep them, and others like them, under surveillance. When the friends find out something about the Motherland's plans for a moon landing their lives take on ever more threatening levels of change. And soon Standish finds he really does have to make a stand. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Hot Key books, August 2012</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER READERS</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Eighty Days Yellow by Vina Jackson</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Caught in a frustrating relationship with a man who can't accept her for who she is, passionate, flame-haired violinist Summer Zahova finds release in her music. She spends her afternoons busking on the underground, lost in the works of Vivaldi or Mendelssohn. When her violin is damaged beyond repair, Summer receives a surprising proposition from Dominik, a university professor with powerful desires, who has been captivated by Summer ever since he heard her perform. Dominik will replace her priceless violin, but only if she agrees to play for him in a private concert.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unable to deny the chemistry between them, Dominik and Summer embark on an intense affair full of daring twists and turns, as unpredictable as it is thrilling. For Summer it is a chance to finally embrace her long-denied dark side, but she'll soon learn that where there's pleasure must come pain. And can a relationship born of such all-consuming passion ever really survive?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Orion, OUT NOW</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Arrived on my Kindle</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>A Discovery of Witches</b> by Deborah Harkness</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Beta</b> by Rachel Cohn</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Pushing the Limits</b> by Kate McGarry</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Beautiful Disaste</b>r by Jamie McGuire</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As ever, looking forward to your comments. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hugs and high fives,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nicole</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">x</span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-63070166263732582502012-07-27T17:46:00.000+01:002012-07-27T17:46:43.805+01:00For my Grandma Iris<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guys, it's been a tough week.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Sunday night I wrote that mini-essay on how to look after my little Ruby-pig, but within 22 hours of leaving to go on holiday to Holland, my mum and I were back home and grieving the sudden lost of my maternal grandmother. She had been ill for some months with leukaemia, but she had been in remission for one month and we expected many many more months and possibly another year or two with her. It's a sad time right now. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I don't want to depress you with this story. We've all been though similar experiences. What I want to talk about is feminism, and how witnessing my grandma Iris' strength whilst battling cancer gave me an entirely different view on what it really means to be a woman. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember doing my GCSEs and my English teacher accusing me of being a feminist. I say 'accuse', because at the time I thought it was a dirty word. I thought she was calling me something terrible, an insult. I was young and calling yourself a feminist wasn't particularly cool at the time. At least I didn't think so. I spent so much of my teenage years just battling to be considered 'normal' and that being called feminist couldn't be anything but a slur back then. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I did discover soon after that I was, indeed, a feminist, and in my feminist toddler years (whilst doing my A levels I think) I dwelled on the role models around me. All the women in my family were nice little housewives. I wasn't satisfied. I felt like I had to be someone important, separate from a man, and looking around me I couldn't see any inspiration. It made me annoyed. And I suppose I've been living with that annoyance for the last few years, maybe even the last decade. I've always done my own thing, read feminist texts and considered myself an individual in my family - the odd one out. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the last few months have shown me that being a real woman has nothing to do with your vocation or politics. It's about your strength as a person. It's about being someone who loves, and is loved. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My grandmother suffered through a particularly aggressive form of leukaemia (tragically, the same kind that Nora Ephron died from recently) and agreed to partake in a trial form of chemotherapy, not usually given to someone of her age. Throughout all the torment, and frankly, torture, she never complained once. She never made a fuss. She always asked after the well being of her friends and family. She cared about everybody else so much, putting herself second even whilst she was suffering. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She was valiant, brave, a warrior. I can only ever aspire to have the kind of strength that she had. When the chemotherapy was doing its worst, I had an honest chat with myself and decided that I would have probably given up by that point. My grandma never gave up. She fought every step of the way and never made a fuss. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the kind of woman I want to be. I want to be brave in all my choices. I never want to stop fighting for what I believe in. This is my feminism. Even if I get married and end up in a hum-drum suburb with sweet little children, I will always be a warrior. I will fight for my friends and my family. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love you Grandma Iris so much. Your fight over the last seven months has been the biggest inspiration I could ever hope for. I wish one day I can prove myself to be as valiant, courageous and loving as you. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All my love, all my hugs, and all my kisses,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your eldest Grand-daughter. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">x</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlr9Sl80Ypxuh-WR_HmoV9nApVKWoO_yr6xUFI9dOwblZXSGv_fNfTI1qtPlajC8UywkwyUhSXrBhjccKf3_KgpTZp1KI4XuI9stiteiWBQCHCf09gV8KrjLdc7Y_q-NLlCDrqc2tPZub/s1600/010+Nicole's+1st+B:Day+1985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlr9Sl80Ypxuh-WR_HmoV9nApVKWoO_yr6xUFI9dOwblZXSGv_fNfTI1qtPlajC8UywkwyUhSXrBhjccKf3_KgpTZp1KI4XuI9stiteiWBQCHCf09gV8KrjLdc7Y_q-NLlCDrqc2tPZub/s320/010+Nicole's+1st+B:Day+1985.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-91963177455292405732012-07-22T21:59:00.001+01:002012-07-22T21:59:40.629+01:00How to Look After Rambunctious Ruby<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>A Guide I Have Written For My Father Whilst My Mum and I Go to Holland For A Few Days</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>(thought it was worth sharing</i><i>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">How to Look After Rambunctious Ruby</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A Guide for Daddy Burstein</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I will be giving her a thorough mucking out on Monday morning. She can cope until I next get the chance to muck her out on Friday morning. I think she likes the mess. She particularly likes sitting in her own poop. So she can enjoy herself for a few days.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Every morning check that she has hay in the manger, and that it is propped up properly on the cage. She likes to knock it down but that’s because she’s an anarchist. I always prop it back up for her in the morning. Her hay can be topped up as an when. Just make sure it’s not empty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In the little brown bowl she gets her nuggets, to be found in the purple tupperware. A small handful will do. Ruby’s very good at not over-eating. Plum used to eat everything you put in front of him and that’s why he got so fat and died of cholic. You can just top up her nuggets whenever she needs them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In her grey bowl she gets her <a href="http://www.petsathome.com/shop/woodlands-salad-feast-200g-26403?freeText=salad+feast&msg=MSG_SEARCH_ONE_MATCHING_PRODUCT" target="_blank">Salad Feast</a>, to be found in the clear tupperware. She’s very selective on this and will leave the stuff she doesn’t like. This should be emptied into the bin and topped up every day. She is very fussy about what she eats out of the Salad Feast, but it is her favourite. She will waste some of it though. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Check her water levels morning and night. I usually change it every other day, but if it gets particularly hot then change it every day with cool water. When you fill up the bottle, you put half a vitamin C tablet in with the water. I put in a whole one when I had two pigs, but half is fine for just little Ruby. They are like your Barocca tablets and gives her all the vitamin C she needs. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Don’t worry if she makes a hell of a mess. She likes it that way. But the poop levels do tend to build up in her blue house. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but if you fancy you can chuck this out into a plastic bag, re-line the bottom with kitchen towel, and then put in some bedding hay before putting the blue house back. But you don’t have to. She really seems to like sleeping in her poop.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Don’t worry if you notice that her pee is particularly orange - this is usually because she has eaten some dandelion in her salad feast and is really really normal. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Every evening before I go to bed I give her a treat. This is usually the core of an apple I have cut up for myself, but can be any fruit or vegetable. A little bit of carrot would be fine. She doesn’t like Pink Lady apples. Please do give her some form of treat at night because she is used to this and will cry otherwise. If you give her baby tomatoes, cut them in half first so that she can bite them. Lettuce is not wise to give - it’s a lot of chewing and water for very little nutrition so there is no real point to it. If in doubt, just give her some carrot. The length of a finger is perfect. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hope that covers everything, but I will be easily contactable if there are any problems. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And she loves cuddles. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Good luck, Nicole. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-88347327978391399352012-07-22T08:32:00.002+01:002012-07-22T08:32:52.667+01:00Letterbox Love no.8 - 22nd July 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmlcpcdNnEHJeaPFTTX1fzseJIe9rkZQelqDhz0CuCTwJrcbETPu0fFTyINoVuJHkG9vU9lKvAAyV86LANZVQlewTm0QlyoGiJUXMeUYThYKU4Q9fJG0L_nIM2wViro1i-tVpSnoMyOo9/s1600/Letterbox+Love" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmlcpcdNnEHJeaPFTTX1fzseJIe9rkZQelqDhz0CuCTwJrcbETPu0fFTyINoVuJHkG9vU9lKvAAyV86LANZVQlewTm0QlyoGiJUXMeUYThYKU4Q9fJG0L_nIM2wViro1i-tVpSnoMyOo9/s320/Letterbox+Love" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All the exciting goodies I've received this week - and they are pretty exciting!!! Blurbs and publication details included of course...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire like would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that's all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her father was right. The monsters are real.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must lean to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Alice isn't careful, those secrets must just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Mira Ink, October 2012</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Immortal City by Scott Speer</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jackson Godspeed is the hottest angel in a city obsessed with Immortals. Everyone loves him.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone except Maddy Montgomery, that is. She's not interested in shallow celebrities... Until Jackson takes refuge in the diner where Maddy works and an irresistible connection pulls them together. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as Maddy is drawn into Jackson's glamorous world, she's exposed to more than the pararazzi. A serial killer is murdering angels. Maddy and Jackson could lose each other forever.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Scholastic, OUT NOW</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Rebel Heart by Moira Young</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a price on Saba's head.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They call her the Angel of Death. She defeated a tyrant, but victory has come at a cost. Haunted by the ghosts of her past, she needs Jack. His moonlit eyes, his reckless courage, his wild heart. But Jack has left, and a ruthless new enemy searches for Saba across the Dustlands. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Scholastic, August 2012</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 18th Century Stockholm, one man's fortune holds the key to a nation's fate.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emil Larsson is a drinker, card player and contented bachelor until he is told that his position at the Office of Excise and Customs depends on his settling down and finding a wife.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mrs Sparrow, proprietor of an exclusive gaming house, fortune teller (and confidante of King Gustav III) offers to lay an Octavo for him - a form of cartomancy which can divine his future if he can find the eight individuals who can help him realise his vision. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Mrs Sparrow wins a mysterious fan in her card game, the Octavo's deeper powers are revealed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emil must 'collect the Eight' if his country is to be brought back from the brink of rebellion and chaos.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Two Roads, September 2012</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind by Meg Medina</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the moment Sonia Ocampo slipped into the world, blue and shivering, the hopes and dreams and fears of others have weighed heavy on her shoulders. If only her belief in herself was as strong as their faith in her.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a story of a change in difficult times. It is a tale of sacrifice. And, most of all, it is about fighting for a better future - for love.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Walker, OUT NOW</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nice little bunch huh? I'll admit, I've already started reading Immortal City, and it is pure guilty pleasure territory (but you guys know how much I love those!). Review to come shortly. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hugs and high fives,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nicole</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">x</span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-75033726144051470332012-07-20T15:20:00.000+01:002012-07-20T15:20:14.905+01:00On Reading Comic Books Pt. 2<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the absolute biggest problem anybody approaching comics for the first time ever is comprehending the vastness of the genre. It's not like walking into a bookshop and heading for the military history section because you know that's what you're looking for. It's like walking into a bookshop all by itself. There are genres within comic books. There are genres within genres. Spin-offs, mash-ups, alternate worlds, infinite universes, histories dating from decades back as well as new evolutions. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm lucky that I had a starting point. I had just twigged the Iron Man and Captain America connection and had begun to understand the bigness of the Marvel universe. I wanted more of the Marvel Universe. It's very popular right now, what with all the films going on, so I was in. But which character to start with? I decided on the X-Men. This was because I used to watch the nineties cartoons, had seen the films, and generally loved the idea of regular people getting awesome powers. So I went to my friendly line manager at work (perks of working in a bookshop) who just so happens to be a comic book/robot-dinosaur geek. He recommended I started with Astonishing X-Men, the series penned by Joss Whedon, as I was also a Buffy fan and respected Whedon as a writer. As both of us saw it, I really couldn't go wrong. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yeah. I didn't go wrong. I swallowed it up like a giant chocolate cake sprinkled with edible gold dust. It left my heart beating, my inspiration peaked. But why? Why was reading a comic book such an incredible experience? Surely it's just a story told in pictures, nothing complicated about that, or is there? Well here we go folks. Here's my analysis of the comic book reading experience. This is where I tell you that it's not for kids, and it's not stupid (why do you think so many geeks love it? and geeks are generally very clever people) and it's really quite amazing. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thing I noticed was my brain working in a different way. I've experienced this feeling twice lately, and I guess it's the feeling that babies go through every single day as their little baby synapses connect up into a googolplex of configurations. I went to do Go Ape a few months ago as part of a hen party, and the experience of being suspended 20ft in the air and walking a tightrope does something to a brain. I also recently went on a bike riding refresher course (I can ride a bike, just haven't done so since I was a kid and have never ridden on roads). On both those occasions, I felt the proverbial cogs turning. And it happened again as I started reading Astonishing X-Men. It's like I could feel my brain adapting to this new reading process. The first few pages I read incredibly slowly, because taking it all in was hard, and then I started speeding through it as my brain adjusted, like I was developing new powers, learning to swim, learning to roller skate. Reading comic books for the first time ever is a bit like that, although much easier, and much, much less dangerous. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we get to the storytelling itself. I like reading novels, and I like writing novels. Well comics aren't novels. They're pictures with words. In fact, far fewer words than you can possibly imagine. AND YET. I got just as much story as I could have possibly done with a full novel. That's kind of amazing, right? You see, the art of great comic book writing is letting the pictures do a lot of the storytelling for you, and then being able to see between the picture squares (if they have a proper name, I don't know it yet - are they panels?). The words cement what you're already figuring out from just looking at the pictures. Plus they add a great deal of humour, character understanding and the odd bit of necessary narration. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A particularly thrilling aspect of comic book creation (which had me guffawing on the tube - yes, I didn't just chuckle or laugh, I guffawed!) is that they bring a whole new meaning to the word 'page-turner'. The comic is actually constructed page by page, so that the actual physical action of turning the page is part of the experience in itself. This doesn't happen in novels. It just can't happen. The comic book isn't just something you hold in your hands and read, you have to become physically immersed in it in order to enjoy it fully. You reach a cliff-hanger, a lynch-pin, a life or death moment, and a well constructed comic book will make you TURN THE PAGE for the big reveal. This is mindblowing. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then there are the characters. You can do stuff in comic books that the movie industry is only just beginning to get around to. You can design space ships that TV budgets don't have the capacity to cope with. Characters can do thrilling, incredible things. And then they can also be normal people. Like Kitty Pryde, my current Ladynerd crush and lovely X-Man. She can walk through walls and stuff, and she's in love with a big heap of metal man, and she has real-life, identifiable emotions. I want to be her friend SO BAD. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can see all you long-standing comic book geeks tutting and shaking their heads saying TOLD YOU SO right now, but you see, this isn't for you. I'm writing this for the millions of people like me just discovering this Narniarific world, immense and contagious and full of colour (even if it's in black and white, somehow it's still in colour, like when you watch an old telly). </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So you've read this article, you've never touched a comic book in your life because you think they're for kids or strange people who collect tiny plastic figurines and spend their weekends dressing up and sword-fighting in the park? Well I say you get yourself into your nearest bookstore, or better yet, your nearest actual comic book store. Go and talk to the staff. They're not scary. They are often passionate and excited and really want you to enjoy yourself (just like your average bookseller). You can't buy your first comic book on the internet. You need to feel it in your hands. You need to see if you can get on with the characters, and you'll probably need a little bit of advice. You might want to hang around and read a few issues first before committing to a big-old bind-up collection. You may also want to find a friend who can lend you stuff because the only downside of comics, as far as I can tell, is that they're expensive. So make friends people! Explore and share and have fun!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway. All my comics so far have been loans or borrows, so I'm about to head out now and actually BUY my very first comic book. And this is going to be Watchmen by Alan Moore. I've heard good stuff. Let's see what happens. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hugs and high fives and as ever, your comments thoroughly encouraged,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nicole</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">x</span><br />
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-61381828130891410982012-07-18T19:42:00.002+01:002012-07-18T19:42:46.097+01:00On Reading Comic Books Pt.1<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Please note before reading: this article is mainly aimed at people who have never read comics before, but I hope it will also make comic geeks go 'aww' or something. </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I suppose I need to start this article with a confession. I am a huge Star Trek geek. No, let me correct that. I WAS a huge Star Trek geek. I don't think I am anymore. I haven't watched a full episode in ages. Sometimes I flick through the Sky channels and I come across an old episode of Voyager and get really nostalgic, but ultimately it doesn't hook me anymore.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reason I loved Star Trek? I was pretty much convinced, as a teenager, that I would fit perfectly into the Star Trek universe. I was clever, tall and gawky, with fuzzy hair and not many friends. Where else would I be able to fill my full potential than on the Enterprise or on a frontier space station? I would naturally end up being slim, because nobody on Star Trek was fat, and even if I looked a bit odd, that would be ok because I could just pass myself off as Betazoid, as I have really brown eyes and am quite sensitive to emotions and all that.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Star Trek universe was a utopia, idealistic and simple. Sure there were battles and fights and skirmishes, but they would always be wrapped up within the hour, and ultimately, someone would always back out of the neutral zone in time. And if a main character were to die, it was always nobly, or by a tar creature, and you would be forever remembered by fanzines and plastic figurines. Unless you were Barclay. Did he even die? I kind of wished he did. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Star Trek universe was my imaginary home, but it soon became unsatisfactory. And not just because with the onset of the series Enterprise, with me constantly imagining Scott Bakula moaning 'Oh boy!' to Al. It became unsatisfactory because I realised that the world was cruel. And not necessarily kind to the geeks. My female icons, Troi, Dr Crusher, Kira, Jadzia and Janeway and even the statuesque Glamazon Seven of Nine, were all given their roles because they had good figures. Not because they were like me, a little bit frumpy with fuzzy hair. I grew up, saw the darkness in the world, and left Star Trek behind me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now we enter the new era...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About a month ago I watched the film Captain America. And I'm not going to even try to deny that the general peakish of my interest in the Marvel universe had nothing to do with a scrawny kid entering a chamber and coming out all kinds of Chris Evans Hot. Quite honestly, my first thought was more along the lines of 'can I go in the chamber and come out looking like Seven of Nine?' </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it just so happened that I had watched Iron Man about a week before I watched Captain America, and honestly just presumed that they were distinct Hollywood Blockbusters. But, like, they're not. They are totally linked. As a moustachioed Howard Stark designed the famous shield, I turned to the imaginary person beside me (for I was actually alone) and went: DUDE! IT'S TONY'S DAD! EITHER THERE ARE SERIOUS COPYRIGHT ISSUES HAPPENING OR THIS HAS ENTERED A WHOLE NEW REALM OF META!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because, you see fellow uninitiated people (here is where the comic book geeks reading this for the 'aww' factor may want to look away) the Marvel Universe is a thing. A whole thing. Stretching over decades, with characters and stories and arcs interacting and merging and double helixing all over the place. This is apparently why the current Avengers film is such a big deal. It brings the principle Marvel heroes together. And I totally didn't even conceive of that before. And then I learnt that the X Men can't get involved because they're owned by another studio and that made me sad. You see guys, there is a whole other world out there. And it kind of pummels the Star Trek universe to shit. As a graduate of a Creative Writing MA (bows) this whole concept of an entire fictional universe, not contained by one novel plus various sequels, but spread out throughout the consciousness of potentially infinite fans, basically gave me a serious nerdgasm. We're talking about narrative fiction on a whole different level here people. And so far, it appears to be awesome. (Cue comic book geeks going: AWWWW)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is more I want to say, especially about my experience of actually physically reading a comic book for the first time, but maybe I should split this into two parts because I feel I may be starting to ramble. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So for now, there we go people. The comic book universe is huge. And people have actual superpowers (as opposed to Deanna Troi who could just about tell that somebody felt sad sometimes) and when they die they die ferociously, and then sometimes come back. And because they're not on TV, the characters can live on in your head and if they get a little uncool, then they'll just draft another batch of writers/illustrators in to make them cool again. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the next part of this article I want to discuss how you discover comics as a regular person (because, I mean, where the heck do you start?!), how it feels to read one for the first time, and how they compare to other more standardly accepted forms of literary fiction. I also want to tell you about the very first comic book I read, Astonishing X-Men, as written by Joss Whedon, and then I might tell you a bit about how I already </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">have a lady-nerd crush on Kitty Pryde. Go to hell Jadzia Dax. Yeah. You heard me Roddenberry. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But for now,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hugs and high fives,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nicole</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">x</span><br />
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<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-10134085766852393012012-07-15T09:37:00.001+01:002012-07-15T09:37:51.206+01:00Letterbox Love no.7 - 15th July 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTrKi-bq31zmWNYXWct__1w_NlQ-DonJ9-fXDR78ZIXbtdFWE2qjmM1QNYp1KrZDJuLMxtwjn4PFn0b_dpugI8TVxHzY1J36CqB2Mw0NTrrjiIO_1fH-l4YSV2Xsu4APsoFt86QnhwLw1/s1600/Letterbox+Love" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTrKi-bq31zmWNYXWct__1w_NlQ-DonJ9-fXDR78ZIXbtdFWE2qjmM1QNYp1KrZDJuLMxtwjn4PFn0b_dpugI8TVxHzY1J36CqB2Mw0NTrrjiIO_1fH-l4YSV2Xsu4APsoFt86QnhwLw1/s320/Letterbox+Love" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The very latest books that have landed on my doormat, complete with blurbs and publication details...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2Gyowt6wc3LxVRT73FzdFB8xqbTX2t6itMLTtk1MniJdKSM1DF6RD2LOjqtDQnLkmRC10GX2bYOCPKM0c9d-LkE6ORDlE3zIBOx-6NHKi3gs9RJIgAAlwew0Rd8yB2sO3A3-qHSb9Ls3/s1600/IMG_1006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2Gyowt6wc3LxVRT73FzdFB8xqbTX2t6itMLTtk1MniJdKSM1DF6RD2LOjqtDQnLkmRC10GX2bYOCPKM0c9d-LkE6ORDlE3zIBOx-6NHKi3gs9RJIgAAlwew0Rd8yB2sO3A3-qHSb9Ls3/s320/IMG_1006.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Lace by Shirley Conran</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Which one of you bitches is my mother?"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1980. In Manhattan's most exclusive hotel, four friends come face to face with a young mega-watt film star. She has a question for them that has brought her from the streets of Paris to the playgrounds of the rich and famous - and it has almost destroyed her...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Canongate, August 2012</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNq05PQ5tfJm0sWVvL1msuKpL2-ZTUCBhEVa9qwJBkVbMXvYMY4fzV5WvnYIgzZDDBlqse4lS5Gb2tzAr-kmMTuthbzIqmDdmf87CKhKoai0sEM-2kcwJoJs7YD6r2pkY0q2ngLIxCP1Dw/s1600/IMG_1011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNq05PQ5tfJm0sWVvL1msuKpL2-ZTUCBhEVa9qwJBkVbMXvYMY4fzV5WvnYIgzZDDBlqse4lS5Gb2tzAr-kmMTuthbzIqmDdmf87CKhKoai0sEM-2kcwJoJs7YD6r2pkY0q2ngLIxCP1Dw/s320/IMG_1011.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Crusher by Niall Leonard</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day Finn Maguire discovers his father bludgeoned t death in a pool of blood, his dreary life is turned upside down. Prime suspect in the murder, Finn must race against time to clear his name and find out who hated his dad enough to kill him. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trawling the sordid, brutal London underworld for answers, Finn exposes dark family secrets and faces danger at every turn. But he's about to learn that it's the people you trust who can hit you the hardest...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Doubleday, September 2012</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7BrOsE3ktER-Fpixmn-sOCouDxBpg2_DQJuOvQgusaPdskaBscjKjMRxeTWzKg8u9AQhr7wHQxOSlRfBMF-0sueMr3Ir-phVdSyoX14RmH2AJ6FEBOuecYwYbbQ8B8n1bEkfqAbVOkDZ/s1600/IMG_1028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7BrOsE3ktER-Fpixmn-sOCouDxBpg2_DQJuOvQgusaPdskaBscjKjMRxeTWzKg8u9AQhr7wHQxOSlRfBMF-0sueMr3Ir-phVdSyoX14RmH2AJ6FEBOuecYwYbbQ8B8n1bEkfqAbVOkDZ/s320/IMG_1028.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Torn by David Massey</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Afghanistan. In the heat and the dust, young British Army medic Elinor Nielson watches an Afghan girl walk into a hail of bullets.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when she runs to help, Ellie finds her gone. Who is she? And what's happened to her? What Ellie discovers leads her to question everything she believes in - even her feelings for the American Lieutenant who takes her side...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Chicken House, August 2012</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hope you enjoyed my letterbox this week.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hugs and high fives,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nicole</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">x</span></div>
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<br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378156793055966104.post-53751222504277210832012-07-13T11:53:00.000+01:002012-07-13T11:53:46.795+01:00Piccadilly YA Book Group<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello everyone, marvellous Fridays to you all!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week saw the first meeting of a brand new book club, for grown-ups that love reading Teen and YA books. We met at Waterstones Piccadilly, and the plan is to meet on the second Wednesday of every month and discuss a couple of books. If you would like to be on the mailing list for this book club, then please get in touch with me via the blog and I shall add you. The more the merrier!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've decided to support the YA Book Club via my blog, so that even if you can't come you can keep track of the books we're reading, perhaps read along with us and add your thoughts and comments. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So in that spirit, you have just under one month to read the following two books, linked by their themes of racism, black history and general intense-ness. Please find details of the books below, along with their blurbs. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxslhpedcwin5_Sp_FDV20ubpm544fOIsSSwQziIuFQcCs2ZIIJZrxA0xKlC4EqtpcYERfkvy7aKDOcZRvWE58TufX1ZY1blgCbEntfxhOpTmiiDkqNCt9fpu5mGsUGBOmdUHRIsePAVZ/s1600/Out+of+Shadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxslhpedcwin5_Sp_FDV20ubpm544fOIsSSwQziIuFQcCs2ZIIJZrxA0xKlC4EqtpcYERfkvy7aKDOcZRvWE58TufX1ZY1blgCbEntfxhOpTmiiDkqNCt9fpu5mGsUGBOmdUHRIsePAVZ/s320/Out+of+Shadows.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace</u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Anderson Press</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zimbabwe, 1980s</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fighting has stopped, independence has been won and Robert Mugabe has come to power offering hope, land and freedom to black Africans. It is the end of the old way and the start of a promising new era. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Robert Jacklin, it's all new: new continent, new country, new school. And very quickly he is forced to understand a new way of thinking, because for some of his classmates the sound of guns is still loud, and their battles rage on... white boys who want their old country back, not this new black African government. Boys like Ivan. Clever, cunning Ivan. For him, there is still one last battle to fight, and he's taking it right to the very top. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To buy Out of Shadows please click <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/jason+wallace/out+of+shadows/6787831/" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5zJpfYYjJrddovaLsOycDVMdp8H_FVT-cdiwtp42_kdvndqZGpXZico-1i3tx2zNcu_kctHJiF_GW10jHWy77MMnE41rXahy4LgsqR8HvUNOD4RUvp4Oi60osaMBmwBGodyLqB41NQTV/s1600/In+Darkness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5zJpfYYjJrddovaLsOycDVMdp8H_FVT-cdiwtp42_kdvndqZGpXZico-1i3tx2zNcu_kctHJiF_GW10jHWy77MMnE41rXahy4LgsqR8HvUNOD4RUvp4Oi60osaMBmwBGodyLqB41NQTV/s320/In+Darkness.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u>In Darkness by Nick Lake</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Published by Bloomsbury Books</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In darkness I count my blessings like Manman taught me. One. I am alive. Two. There is no two. Trapped beneath the rubble of the Haitian earthquake of 2012, a teenage boy is terrified, desperate and alone. A child of the slums, Shorty has been drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule his broken city, a world that turns dreams into dust and boys into killers. But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that burns inside him, a flame that fires his resolve to find the twin sister stolen from him seven years ago. In the darkness the line between the present and the past begins to blur and, as Shorty fights for life, his struggle becomes part of a two-hundred-year-old story - a story of courage and betrayal, of freedom and of hope. For Shorty may not be quite as alone as he believes. Sometimes, on the other of darkness, there is only death...And sometimes there is light.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've already reviewed this book on my blog, so please find my review <a href="http://reluctant-hypersomniac.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/review-in-darkness-by-nick-lake.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To buy In Darkness please click </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/nick+lake/in+darkness/8547072/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">!</span></span></div>
<br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483317028123580083noreply@blogger.com1