BLOG TOUR: The Thirteenth Home of Noah Bradley

April 4, 2020April 4, 2020Leave a comment

Morning friends!

How are you? It’s nice to see you here on a Saturday! I don’t normally post on a Saturday, so you’re in for a real treat today!

Today, I’m part of the blog tour for The Thirteenth Home of Noah Bradley by Amber Lee Dodd. As the book is about a family escaping a curse, each blogger on this brilliant blog tour has the absolute priviledge of hosting a piece by Amber about a curse from history or fiction.

The Curse of the Werewolf

Werewolves always tend to be my favourite characters in fiction. They are often gentle, smart and honourable men. From the cool and collected Oz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to the wise and brave Remus Lupin in Harry Potter, there are characters you root for. But come the full moon you really would be best advised to leave these guys alone. Their transformation from lovable heroes into huge wolf like creatures can be very scary. But how exactly do you become a werewolf?

Here are three things to avoid.

1)            Don’t get bitten by another werewolf

2)            Don’t anger a witch and get cursed

3)            Don’t drink rainwater out of the footprint of the animal

The Thirteenth Home of Noah Bradley by Amber Lee Dodd

The Bradley family are constantly escaping from a centuries old curse which means that every home they ever live in is destroyed by a typhoon or flash flood that affects no other houses on the street, or they are chased out of town by a flock of persistent birds. They have just moved to their thirteenth house and Noah wants this one to work out – he’s got some good friends at school and desperately wants himself and his deaf brother Billy to put down roots. But the curse returns – so he must find a way to break it.

Released now! Check out online retailers – indie or otherwise – and get yourself a copy! I am very excited about this!

Why don’t you keep tabs on the rest of the blog tour and find out which other curses Amber is talking about?

S x

BLOG TOUR: Viper’s Daughter

April 3, 2020March 29, 2020Leave a comment

Vipers Daughter: rich, incredible storytelling that will grip you from the get go.

“For two summers Torak and Renn have been living in the Forest with their faithful pack-brother, Wolf. But their happiness is shattered when Renn realizes Torak is in danger – and she’s the threat. When she mysteriously disappears, Torak and Wolf brave the Far North to find her. At the mercy of the Sea Mother and haunted by ravenous ice bears, their quest leads them to the Edge of the World. There they must face an enemy more evil than any they’ve encountered.”

I was lucky enough to be invited on the blog tour for the brilliant new book Viper’s Daughter by Michelle Paver. There are a bunch of children at school who are HUGE fans of Michelle Paver, so when they heard I was getting the new one, they wanted in on the reviewing process! I’ll share my thoughts and then I’ll share their thoughts too!

Viper’s Daughter is a wonderfully rich and thrilling story which takes you on a total adventure: from start to finish you are there and you feel it. You meet characters you’ll adore and you’ll go through what they’re going through. You’ll be scared with them and for them!

The story follows Torak, who starts the story angry and hurt by his friend Renn’s betrayal. He goes on a journey to find Renn because she’s his lifeline. He wants to discover why she ran away and betrayed him. He needs to know the answers to his questions. As he embarks on this journey for the truth and his friend, he encounters many different dangers, beyrayals, truths and secrets.

Luckily, he’s not alone on his journey. He’s got his pack-brother Wolf with him. The two have a wonderfully close bond and their relationship with each other was wonderful to read. Wolf has to make some tricky choices in this story, but he does it for the good of Torak. The two definitely have a very firm bond with each other and there are moments when you realise just how well connected these two are.

You can’t read this book and not be absolutely fascinated by the relationship between Renn and Torak. There were moments of sheer frustration for me because I just wanted to shake them and say “It’s fine”, but you understand as you go through WHY Renn left. Why she feels guilty and scared. Why she does what she does. Through the book they show brilliant courage, resilience and commitment to each other: they just want the other to be safe. That’s all they want and I think for me to read that was lovely. That’s all I want for my friends. Safety. Love. Warmth. There were definitely a few moments where I had a little cry!

As a massive lover of a good fantasy world, I was yearning for a good bit of world building, and let me tell you, you get it droves here. There’s so much to get your teeth into here and you feel like you’re there. The writing is immersive without being suffocating. I know I can sometimes feel like I get lost in a world, but with this everything feels so real and well thought out. You never feel lost in the fascinating landscapes, or the lifestyles that the people live. You’d never find me visiting this land though… oh no! Far too cold for me!

Viper’s Daughter is a proper success. It’s a compelling adventure into a bit of history that I don’t read often, and I’d love to go back. Your attention will be gripped from the first page and before you know it, you’ll be finished. You’ll be taken by the world, the characters and the cultures.

Some short reviews from my kids:

“I loved that it was visiting back in historical times and it showed me so much more about how people lived back then without giving me too information. There were lots of questions I had about the Stone Age times and this book answered them for me. Plus, it was like a proper rollercoaster, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next!”

“I liked that this book was short and snappy. Some books can be really long and boring, but this book was fun and quick. I didn’t think I would enjoy reading it as much as I did because I LOVED her other books so much that I was worried, but it was mint!”

“If you’re looking for an adventure that will take your breath away and make you want to travel back in time, this is the one for you!”

And that’s it from me! I hope you enjoyed my stop on the blog tour! Check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour! You are in for a treat!

S x

The Spring Book Tag

March 26, 2020March 22, 20201 Comment

Hello!

It is ThursTAG again. Phew. How is everyone keeping on? What have you been up to this week? Staying safe I hope! Today I am here to bring you the Spring Book Tag since it is technically now Spring! (And don’t I know it? My hayfever is KICKING MY ASS!)

Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!

1. What’s on your Spring TBR list?

I mean, what isn’t on my TBR? Literally everything haha! My “school closure but not really closure” TBR is up to my hip. Whether I’ll get through them all, or whether I’ll be distracted by other things will be interesting haha. Saying that, some recent additions to my TBR are:

2. If someone asked you for a spring release recommendation, what would it be?

Last Lesson by James Goodhand is INCREDIBLE. It’s the story of a young boy who plans to bomb his school on the last day of Year 11. I read it in the space of a few hours and I just adored it. It’s tough and gritty, but man, it’s so good. (It’s out at the beginning of April I believe!)

3. Which two books coming out before summer are you eagerly awaiting?

I have already read both Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard and Jungledrop by Abi Elphinstone, but I can’t wait for other people to read them and be so happy and love them as much as I did! Seriously, when they come out, you need to get your hands on them!

4. Which character would make a great Easter bunny?

Hahaha, what a random question! Erm… someone who’s giving and happy about it? Maybe like Miss Honey? She’s really generous. Or Coach from the Run series by Jason Reynolds. He’d make you work for your egg, but then you know you’d deserve it! Ha!

5. What book makes you think of spring?

Literally anything with flowers on the cover. I know I’ve already mentioned her, but Sara Barnard books make me think of spring. They’re so pretty and shiny.

6. Name a cover with flowers on it.

(Haha, my answer to that previous question was NOT planned at all!)

A book with flowers on the cover? EASY:

7. Which two characters would you go on an Easter egg hunt with?

OOOOH. I do not know! Someone to keep me entertained on the hunt and then someone who was good at finding things?

8. What is your favorite spring bookish activity?

Now I love a good wander along the seaside and then sitting reading on the beach, but as that won’t be happening for some time, I’m going to say, just sitting with a cup of tea, on the back doorstep and reading. I love a good sit outdoor.

9. Which book did you enjoy that has a spring-like cover?

A book I’ve enjoyed this year that has quite a spring-y cover… oooh a good question! I love the Hotel Flamingo books and this one screams spring to me: bright, colourful and sparking joy!

10. Who is your favorite contemporary author?

Oh friends. Why do you do this to me? SO SO MANY. I love me some Juno Dawson (for bloody brilliant storytelling), Sara Barnard (for incredible characters and they will always make you cry!), Non Pratt (for sheer brilliance), Simon James Green (for funnies) and so many more. That’s just impolite to ask me to be honest.

My Nominees for the Spring Book Tag

Literally anyone who wants to take part… I am guessing my friend Charlotte will engage in this tag. I would be offended if she didn’t let’s be fair.

And that’s it! The spring book tag has sprung! If you fancy giving this a go, please do!

S x

ThursTAG: Amazon’s 100 Books To Read In a Lifetime

March 19, 2020March 16, 20203 Comments

Hello friends!!!

I came across the “Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime” Tag a while ago and stored it in my tag vault… now I figured was as good a time as any to get it out of storage and share with you what I’ve read!

“recommend reads” lists always fascinate me. I don’t think I’m necessarily the target audience for them… but I figured I’d see how many I had read… and you can all shout at me for ones I’ve not read haha!

Rules:

Include the link to Amazon’s List
Tag the creator of the meme (Perfectly Tolerable)
Tag and thank the Person that tagged you
Copy the list below and indicate which ones you have read
Tally up your total
Tag 5 new people!

All right, now let’s take a look;

100 Books To Read In a Lifetime List

Title	Author	Read?
1984	George Orwell	Yes
A Brief History of Time	Stephen Hawking
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius	Dave Eggers
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier	Ishmael Beah
The Bad Beginning	Lemony Snicket
A Wrinkle in Time	Madeleine L’Engle
Selected Stories, 1968-1994	Alice Munro
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland	Lewis Carroll	Yes
All the President’s Men	Bob Woodward
Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir	Frank McCourt
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.	Judy Blume
Bel Canto	Ann Patchett
Beloved	Toni Morrison
Born to Run	Christopher McDougall
Breath, Eyes, Memory	Edwidge Danticat
Catch-22	Joseph Heller
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Roald Dahl	Yes
Charlotte’s Web	E. B White	Yes
Cutting for Stone	Abraham Verghese
Daring Greatly	Brené Brown
Diary of a Wimpy Kid	Jeff Kinney	Yes
Dune	Frank Herbert
Fahrenheit 451	Ray Bradbury
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas	Hunter S. Thompson
Gone Girl	Gillian Flynn	Yes
Goodnight Moon	Margaret Wise Brow
Great Expectations	Charles Dickens
Guns, Germs, and Steel	Jared Diamond Ph.D.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone	J.K. Rowling	Yes
In Cold Blood	Truman Capote
Interpreter of Maladies	Jhumpa Lahiri
Invisible Man	Ralph Ellison
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth	Chris Ware
Kitchen Confidential	Anthony Bourdain
Life After Life	Kate Atkinson
Little House on the Prairie	Laura Ingalls Wilder	Yes
Lolita	Vladimir Nabokov
Love in the Time of Cholera	Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Love Medicine	Louise Erdrich
Man’s Search for Meaning	Viktor E. Frankl
Me Talk Pretty One Day	David Sedaris
Middlesex	Jeffrey Eugenides
Midnight’s Children	Salman Rushdie
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game	Michael Lewis
Of Human Bondage	W. Somerset Maugham
On the Road	Jack Kerouac
Out of Africa	Isak Dinesen
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood	Marjane Satrapi
Portnoy’s Complaint	Philip Roth
Pride and Prejudice	Jane Austen
Silent Spring	Rachel Carson
Slaughterhouse-Five	Kurt Vonnegut
Team of Rivals	Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Age of Innocence	Edith Wharton
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay	Michael Chabon
The Autobiography of Malcolm X	Malcolm X
The Book Thief	Markus Zusak	Yes
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao	Junot Díaz
The Catcher in the Rye	J. D. Salinger
The Color of Water	James McBride
The Corrections	Jonathan Franzen
The Devil in the White City	Erik Larson
The Diary of a Young Girl	Anne Frank
The Fault in Our Stars	John Green	Yes
The Giver	Lois Lowry
The Golden Compass	Philip Pullman	Yes
The Great Gatsby	F. Scott Fitzgerald	Yes
The Handmaid’s Tale	Margaret Atwood
The House at Pooh Corner	A. Milne	Yes
The Hunger Games	Suzanne Collins	Yes
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks	Rebecca Skloot
The Liars’ Club	Mary Karr
The Lightning Thief	Rick Riordan
The Little Prince	Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Long Goodbye	Raymond Chandler
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11	Lawrence Wright
The Lord of the Rings	J.R.R. Tolkien
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat	Oliver Sacks
The Omnivore’s Dilemma	Michael Pollan
The Phantom Tollbooth	Norton Juster
The Poisonwood Bible	Barbara Kingsolver
The Power Broker	Robert A. Caro
The Right Stuff	Tom Wolfe
The Road	Cormac McCarthy
The Secret History	Donna Tartt
The Shining	Stephen King
The Stranger	Albert Camus
The Sun Also Rises	Ernest Hemingway
The Things They Carried	Tim O’Brien
The Very Hungry Caterpillar	Eric Carle	Yes
The Wind in the Willows	Kenneth Grahame	Yes
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle	Haruki Murakami
The World According to Garp	John Irving
The Year of Magical Thinking	Joan Didion
Things Fall Apart	Chinua Achebe
To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee
Unbroken	Laura Hillenbrand
Valley of the Dolls	Jacqueline Susann
Where the Sidewalk Ends	Shel Silverstein
Where the Wild Things Are	Maurice Sendak	Yes

Hahahaha… this list was NOT designed for me… my total comes to

17 books

I don’t think the ones I’ve chosen will surprise many people… but I think some people will be shocked by some of the ones I’ve not read. (What can I say? I’m not a big classics fan!) I’ve just spotted that there’s a list of children’s books on there too… so I may total them up next week – I bet that number is higher!

I’d like to add that I recently bought To Kill A Mockingbird and Catch 22… so maybe I can tick them off by the end of the year!

Are you shocked by my total?
Can you recommend me any from that list?
Would you like to have a go at this tag?

I’m not going to tag anyone because if you wanna have a go, just do it!

S x

BLOG TOUR: Scribble Witch

March 16, 2020Leave a comment

Scribble Witch: Funny and beautifully illustrated!

“When Molly’s best friend announces that she’s moving to a new school, a blue Wednesday becomes the Worst Wednesday Ever.
That is until some unexpected magic brightens up Molly’s day. Notes, a secret paper witch, springs to life from her pen pot – and into action! Some of the things Notes does are absolutely NOT helpful and gets Molly into trouble with her stinky teacher. But it’s surprising what one tiny witch, armed with nothing more than a pencil, can achieve before the home-time bell rings…”

Scibble Witch: Notes in Class is about a young girl called Molly. She is horrifed after hearing a piece of news from her friend Chloe. When Molly is looking a word up in the dictionary, she comes across a drawing of a witch and decides it is a brilliant idea to cut it out (because obviously!) to cut it out. The next thing she knows, the paper witch has come to life! The witch’s name is Notes and all Notes wants to do is help her friendling. As the story unfolds, Molly realises that what Notes does is sometimes very unhelpful and she finds herself in so much trouble.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book: it’s cute, it’s funny and it sets the scene for the rest of the series to be brilliant! It made me chuckle a lot and I know that it has gone down very well with the children in my school. We are dying to know what happens with Notes in the coming books! We’ve made some hilarious predictions about what we think could be coming for the group!

I’m a massive massive fan of a well-illustrated book and this is one that has some wonderful illustrations. They are so brilliantly done and add so much to the story. I love Molly’s Lists of Things! This list made me chuckle a lot (and I agree with most of them, and I remember the pencil topper craze. I was never allowed more than one, though…)

Some reviews from the children at school:

“I loved this book because it made me laugh a lot!”

“This book was a lot of fun because I’d love to have someone like Notes in my life. Imagine having a witch who thinks she’s being helpful when in fact she isn’t!”

“The pictures in this book made me smile a lot because they showed a lot of fun and things that you didn’t always read”.

A massive thank you to the publishers for sending me a review copy of the book! The kids at school loved reading it and it’s been a wonderful thing to have to chat about! Check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour!

S x

ThursTAG: Do I Have That?

March 12, 2020March 1, 20201 Comment

Hello!

It is I again, your ThursTAG friend and I am here with a new tag.

I love finding new tags to take part in, so if you have one that you’d like me to do, tag me in it or send me the questions because I am ALWAYS up for a tag!

Today, I’m taking on the ‘Do I Have That?’ tag. I think this originated on booktube, but I’m not sure who or where from. If it’s you or you know who, please holler so I can give them credit! I’m excited for this one as it’s one that I’ve never come across before but I had just saved all of the questions in a draft!

Let’s go!

***

Do You Have a Book With Deckled Edges?

That’s the funny edges that are all different length isn’t it? Because no. I’m not a fan of those!

Do You Have a Book With 3 or More People on the Cover?

Erm… I’m not a big fan of books with people on the cover! However, Guardians of Magic by Chris Riddell has 3 people on the cover!

Do You Have a Book Based on Another Fictional Story?

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin is based on Macbeth and my god guys. You need to read this book. It is just amazing!

Do You Have a Book With a Title 10 Letters Long?

Exactly 10 letters? Oooooh. Sofa Surfer by Malcolm Duffy is exactly 10 letters!

Do You Have a Book With a Title That Starts and Ends With the Same Letter?

Again, another brilliant question! Explorers of Black Ice Bridge by Alex Bell!

Do You Have a Mass Market Paperback Book?

What does this mean EXACTLY? Because probably!

Do You Have a Book Written by an Author Using a Pen Name?

I don’t know to be honest? Probably.

Do You Have a Book With a Character’s Name in the Title?

The Truth Pixie books by Matt Haig. She’s called the Truth Pixie and she’s lovely. I really think these books are great and I hope there is going to be more!

Do You Have a Book With Two Maps in it?

Ooooooh. I would imagine I do. I am a big fan of a map! I can’t think of a book which has 2 maps in the front right now though…

Do You Have a Book That Was Turned into a TV Show?

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. It’s currently being made into a TV show by Netflix (I believe!). I’ve not read this trilogy yet, but I have read (and devoured) Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom!

Do You Have a Book Written by Someone Who is Originally Famous for Something Else (celebrity/athlete/TV personality)?

Many, many books. I have loads of autobiographies. The most recent one I’ve read that’s by someone who is known for something other than author-ing though is Over The Top by Jonathan van Ness (of Queer Eye fame!)

Do You Have a Book With a Clock on the Cover?

Otto Tattercoat and the Forest of Lost Things by Matilda Woods came to the rescue here! I didn’t think I did, but this has a lovely golden clock on!

Do You Have a Poetry Book?

My initial reaction to this question was NOPE, but after having a little peruse of my shelves, I actually own a few more than I thought I did! The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris is one of my more beautiful ones though!

Do You Have a Book With an Award Stamp on it?

Again, more than likely! I can’t think of one off the top of my head…

Do You Have a Book Written by an Author With the Same Initials as You?

Ooooh. I don’t think so! The closest I can think of is Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart (my initials, but the other way around!)

Do You Have a Book of Short Stories?

I do! I have a few anthologies. My most recent acquisition is 19 Love Songs by David Levithan (who I adore a lot). This book is lush. It’s full of short stories all about the different kinds of love in the world!

Do You Have a Book That is Between 500-510 Pages Long?

I have not read it yet, but according to the internet King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo satisfies this, so I shall believe it!

Do You Have a Book That Was Turned into a Movie?

This is another one that I thought I didn’t own any, but it turns out I own 2 or 3! The first one that springs to mind is Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott. I haven’t seen the movie, but I’ve read the book and I really enjoyed it!

Do You Have a Graphic Novel?

I DO. I had originally typed I don’t but then I remembered Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. I love these books so much.

Do You Have a Book Written by Two or More Authors?

I’ve got a book written by 7! Seven of the best in UKYA. Floored by SOME OF MY FAVES is brilliant and if you’ve not read it yet, why are you not reading it right now? I would recommend it whole heartedly!

***

And there we go!

That was a whole load of fun. Some questions I REALLY had to think about and some which even made me go have a look through my bookshelves because I wasn’t sure!

Happy tagging!

S x

Federation of Children’s Book Groups: Children’s Book Award

March 9, 2020March 8, 2020Leave a comment

Hello!

Today I have the honour of sharing one of the books which is on the shortlist for the Children’s Book Award with The Federation of Children’s Book Groups. The award is the only national award voted for solely by children, so it is an honour to be involved.

The book which I have the true joy of honouring is:

The Runaway Pea by Kjartan Poskitt and Alex Willmore

“It’s time for tea, but one pesky pea has decided to ping himself off the plate in search of a party! The rogue pea shoots, flings and bounces across the kitchen as he embarks on his perilous adventure – but will he find the fun he is looking for or is the kitchen a scarier place than he thought? This quirky caper from debut duo Kjartan Poskitt and Alex Willmore will show you just what can happen when you take your eye off your dinner for a second!”

This picture book by Kjartan Poskitt and Alex Willmore is a wonderfully entertaining story of a rogue pea who just wants to do his very own thing. We’ve all had that one pea who just doesn’t want to get on your fork, doesn’t want to stay on your plate and will roll off into the nowhereness!

The pea in question in this gorgeously bright picture book thinks he’s the best, most brilliant, most amazing energetic vegetable in the whole wide world world. He does not want to be eaten: he wants to party. He knows that there is so much fun to be had!

He sets off on a very perilous journey across the kitchen. He knows he can do it. He SPLATs, PLOPs and TWANGs all over the kitchen and is having a ball… but of course the fun of an adventure has to come to an end! And what happens when his adventure ends is done so so brilliantly.

I adored the rhyming pattern and the hilariousness of this book! It is a story which will appeal to children of all ages – because even Year 6s deserve to have picture books read to them! The incredible illustrations add so much to this story too: you see so much of the pea’s personality from the ways in which he is drawn. You get to meet a lot of his friends too, and some of them are just BRILLIANT.

This is a gorgeously bright and colourful picture book that is sure to have kids talking about the adventures of food!

The Children’s Book Award is the only national award voted for solely by children from start to finish. It is highly regarded by parents, teachers, librarians, publishers and children’s authors and illustrators as it truly represents the children’s choice. Thanks to the support of the publishers, over 1,000 new books are donated to be read and reviewed by our Testing Groups across the country every year, with over 150,000 total votes being cast in the process. At the end of each testing year, nearly 12,000 books are donated to hospitals, women’s refuges, nurseries and disadvantaged schools by our groups.

The overall winner of last year’s CBA Book Award was a picture book. Mixed by Arree Chung. (which I ADORE)

Voting will be open on the website and any child up to the age of 18 can visit to vote for their favourite books from the top 12. For more details, check out the website here: http://fcbg.org.uk/childrens-book-award/

S x

BLOG TOUR: A Cake for Gestapo

March 9, 2020March 9, 20201 Comment

A Cake for Gestapo: a great historical novel full of heart

“Slotting in beside THE MACHINE GUNNERS and WAR HORSE, A CAKE FOR THE GESTAPO tells the story of a fictional gang of kids in Jersey during the German Occupation in WW2, weaving in very real islanders’ own stories of the Occupation at its core – A history that has never before been told in children’s literature. June 1940. As World War Two rages on, for Joe, Spinner, Ginger and Clem life continues as normal on the small island of Jersey. Dealing with school bullies and angry parents, none of them really believe the enemy will invade. That is until the island is bombed and Joe is injured. Outrage turns to terror. The grownups avoid the Germans, but the gang have a plan. Playing tricks on the soldiers, they trip them up in their every move until their plan lands them and the whole community in terrible, mortal danger. The threat of starvation begins to hang over the islanders as the German occupiers tighten their grip, but the gang refuse to give up. What if they could take down one of the German s most dangerous leaders? What if they could defeat the cruel and terrifying Viktor?”

This book is set in Jersey and takes place over the space of two years of the German Occupation during World War Two (1940-1941). The focus of the story is a group of school children forming a club who are set on annoying the German soldiers as much as they can. The story follows them through what happens as the war drags on and what happens to them in the 2 years that the book spans. There’s loss, heartbreak, laughter and frienship: a great mix in my eyes!

As we’ve just read Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll, a lot of my children have been curious about this book! We are digging WW2 stories at the minute. You can’t beat a good bit of historical fiction in our lives!

The dynamic between the children is wonderful to read and definitely sets the scene for some wonderful friendships! Their actions made me chuckle at times. Who wouldn’t want to throw berries at opposition soldiers? Sometimes it is hard to differentiate between children in groups, but each child was written well enough for me to be able to know who was who with ease. They don’t shy away from some threat at times and I was definitely worried for them at different points: their understanding of REAL DANGER was questionable sometimes (but I think this was what made the book more readable because we all know kids who would embrace this!). The children go through a lot in the story with some of them playing more adult roles than they should be playing: carers, defenders, providers, housekeepers and support networks for each other and their parents.

I loved that this story had quite a big focus on the impact the war had on the island and its inhabitants. It didn’t shy away from the fact that war dragged on and the people became more impatient and frustrated with the war. The story was quite difficult to read at times because war is a tough thing. This book has moments of real peril, heartbreak and loss.

A Cake For The Gestapo is a well written and exciting story filled with danger, peril and heart. You’ll find it hard not to fall for the characters and their shenanigans.

Have you read A Cake for Gestapo?
Can you recommend me some WW2 fiction?
What time period would you love more fiction from?

A massive thank you to the publishers Zuntold for inviting me to be part of this exciting blog tour! GO check out the other stops on the tour and find out what everyone else thought!

S x

ThursTAG: Epic Reads Book Tag

March 5, 2020February 23, 20201 Comment

Good morning fans of ThursTAG!

Today, I’m going to be sharing with you my answers to the Epic Reads Book Tag! I don’t watch a look of booktube (except I am a massive George Lester fan and I need you all to go over and subscribe to him because he’s amazing AND his book is coming out this year) so when I came across this randomly, I was DELIGHTED. I found it on the Epic Reads YouTube Channel and was intrigued by the questions!! It’s from 2015, so I’m sure everyone else in the world has done this!

Margot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdes8O-bHI0
Aubry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSuF8Xouzoc

***

1. If you could invite one author and one of their fictional characters to tea, who you invite and what you would you serve them?

HAHA. I don’t wanna be predictable but my GOD. It would be Melinda Salisbury and Twylla (The Sin Eater’s Daughter trilogy). I have such a wonderful love for Twylla and we ALL know I love Mel.

Other pairs I’d love to have tea with:

Laura Steven and Caro (Love Hypothesis)
Sara Barnard and Steffi (A Quiet Kind of Thunder)
Maz Evans and Elliot (Who Let The Gods Out series)
Matt Haig and Tom (How To Stop Time)
David Levithan and X (Another Day/One Day)
Bridgid Kemmerer and Grey (A Heart So Fierce and Broken series)
Charlie N Holmberg and Emery (The Paper Magician series)

Man, I literally could keep going!

2. What book do you wish the author would write a prequel for?

There’s LOADS of books I’d love more from, but mostly its because I want more from the authors ha:

I want more Luvian Fen (State of Sorrow duology by Queen Mel)
I want Scythe Faraday‘s story (Scythe series by Neal Schusterman)
I need to know more about Rodolfo (The Mask of Aribella by Anna Hoghton)
I’d love to know more about Coach‘s life story (Run series by Jason Reynolds)
I wanna know about Jonathon‘s family and growing up (The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D.Lapinski)

3. Name two characters (NOT from the same book) you think would make a good couple.

Omg. This has totally just come to my mind… Emily from No Big Deal and Caro from The Love Hypothesis. I would SHIP THAT. I think it would be a wonderful and interesting partnership!

(I find questions like this HARD because one a pair is shipped in my head, that’s it. That’s the person they’re with! If you haven’t read these books yet, please get on with it… although Love Hypothesis isn’t out yet!)

4. If you ran into your favourite author on the subway and could say only one sentence to them who is it and what would it be?

LOL. God, here we go again BEING PREDICTABLE. Lets go a YA author and an MG author! Maybe not all time favourites, but in my top 5 faves!

YA: Melinda Salisbury (don’t pretend you’re shocked). I’d probably say OH MY GOD HI MEL. (cause I am so cool)

MG: Abi Elphinstone. I’d probably say OH MY GOD HI ABI. (cause I am so cool)

5. What book made you a reader and why?

I have an awful lot of things to thank this book for. I have such an emotional attachment to this book. It made me a reader. It made me a teacher. It taught me that books are important. It taught me that there’s power inside all of us. It taught me about kindness. It showed me that people can do anything they put their mind to. (I could keep going, but I won’t).

6. Incendio! Your bookshelf just caught on fire. What one you book would you save?

NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. MY GOD. I CAN’T DO THAT. *weeps*

This! My proof of Sin Eater’s Daughter.

7. Which dystopian world would you want to live in if you had to choose one? Why?

I’d love to live in the S.M.Wilson world of The Extinction Trials. Not because I would survive, but because I definitely would love to meet a dinosaur. I would survive in NONE of the dystopian worlds to be honest… what can I say? I am not the one you want to have to go to fight for you ha!

8. What is your most epic read of all time?

THIS IS SUCH A FAKE NEWS QUESTION. I refuse to choose just one.

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And there you go! My answers to the Epic Reads book tag. I totally didn’t bend ANY of the rules. NOT ME. NO SIREE.

S x

ThursTAG: The Book Snob tag

February 27, 2020February 16, 20205 Comments

Hello ThursTAG friends! How are you all doing?

The most remarkable thing has happened… I found a tag on my friend Charlotte’s blog that she didn’t steal from me… therefore it’s a tag I haven’t done! *SHOCKED FACE*. So today I am taking on:

The Book Snob tag!

(Check out Charlotte’s post here, or don’t yknow. Don’t tell her I sent you!)

Adaptation Snob: Do you always read the book before you see the movie?

Not always! I saw Love Simon before I read SImon vs the Homosapiens Agenda. However that doesn’t speak of much for me because I’m not a MASSIVE movie goer. I will go if invited, but I will rarely go on my own!

Format Snob: You can only choose 1 format in which to read books for the rest of your life. Which one do you choose: physical books, ebooks, or audiobooks?

Physical books all day every day. I don’t mind ebooks and audiobooks, but I much prefer the physical having and holding of a book (yes, I’m married to books, deal with it!)

Ship Snob: Would you date or marry a non-reader?

I mean sure… but I have conflicting emotions about it! I think I’d prefer to date a reader because I do so much reading, but I wouldn’t rule it out. I wouldn’t date someone who was anti-reading though because that would not be fun for either of us. Everyone is a reader: they’ve just not found the right book yet!

Genre Snob: You have to ditch one genre – never to be read again for the rest of your life. Which one do you ditch?

WHAT?! Can I ditch a genre I hate? Or is that cheating? I guess if I play by the rules, I have to ditch something I love… so of the kids books and YA books I read, the most common genres I love are: fantasy, autobiographies, contemporary, crime, adventure and mystery. I’d probably ditch crime from that list.

Uber Genre Snob: You can only choose to read from one genre for the rest of your life. Which genre do you choose?

Fantasy. There is no question. Absolutely none whatsoever. I couldn’t not read magic ever again. (It would mean that some of my faves would need to start writing fantasy books though).

Community Snob: Which genre do you think receives the most snobbery from the bookish community?

Anything YA. I know it’s technically not a “genre”, but YA gets missed out of a lot and it really shouldn’t.

Snobbery Recipient: Have you ever been snubbed for something that you have been reading or for reading in general?

Hmmm… I dunno? I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by people who love reading. I get a lot of “Why’s she reading on the bus/train?” but in general, people don’t bat an eyelid at me reading!

Well that was fun! I dunno how much of a snob I’ve come across… *shrug* (I don’t think I’m snobbish at all, but who knows!)

Did you learn anything about me?
Have you got any snobbish opinions?
Which genre would you choose for the rest of your life?

Talk to me in the comments!

S x