Tag: UKYA

Review: Out Of The Blue by Sophie Cameron

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Note: We were sent this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Sophie Cameron’s debut really is something special! I’m calling Carnegie and Waterstones Book Prize nominations for next year! It’s about Jaya, whose father is a Wingding, someone who is obsessed with the angels falling to their deaths all over the world, and as such has hauled their family to Edinburgh in search of the next angel. Jaya then, in secret, comes across a rose gold and pink angel who unlike all the other has survived the fall, and with the help of two new friends tried to help her get back home.

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Review: Close Your Eyes by Nicci Cloke

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33765805Close Your Eyes by Nicci Cloke
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Pages: 304
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★.5
Note: We received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

We were initially drawn to Close Your Eyes because Bee was desperate to read a YA about a school shooting after missing the opportunity to get This Is Where It Ends for 99p, and the fact that this is UKYA made it all the more enticing. We’ve all heard about shootings in America, that are more likely because of the gun laws, but in the UK, they’re as unlikely as a dragon crashing into the science block. Close Your Eyes did not disappoint in its capability to build suspense and intrigue and freaking out everyone who reads it!
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A Quiet Kind of Thunder’s Release Day!

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301972011 Today’s the day that the beautiful, wonderful A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard is released to the world! 🎉🎉 and to celebrate, Pan Macmillan contacted early readers to attempt to imagine what it would be like to be silent for a day and struggle the same way Steffi does with her selective mutism.

Here’s a list of Steffi’s worst scenarios to be mute for:

5. When you need the toilet
4. When you’re bleeding
3. When you need a new pencil
2. When you look a bit suspicious
1. When your best friend needs you

I don’t think there’s any arguing that those are the worst scenarios to be in (although, I can’t help but giggle that needing a new pencil is a higher priority than when you’re bleeding, so I’ll assume these aren’t in a particular order!) But it really got me thinking, what would be my worst scenarios? So, here goes… Continue reading “A Quiet Kind of Thunder’s Release Day!” →

Review: Seven Days by Eve Ainsworth

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18679049Seven Days by Eve Ainsworth
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 245
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★

This was the first YA book I read for the #cramathon and I’m really pleased because it was the perfect book to start with: fast, short and overall enjoyable. Seven Days was a book I also got from the library, which I’m so grateful for, because while I did like reading it, it’s not the kind of book I would have wanted to spend lots of money on. So, if you’re dying to read a certain book but are apprehensive about whether you’ll like it or not, why not check out libraries? Now, on to the review… Continue reading “Review: Seven Days by Eve Ainsworth” →

Review: The It Girl by Katy Birchall

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The It Girl by Katy Birchall23201793
Genre: Contemporary, Comedy, UKYA
Published by: Egmont
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5

This is another book that follows the geeky/awkward girl struggles through secondary school trope made popular by Holly Smale’s Geek Girl series. Any regular reader or watcher of Heart Full of Books will know that Maddie and I adore Geek Girl, and The It Girl is supposed to have a good sense of humour, so we both thought we’d give it a go! If nothing else, at least we’ll be supporting another UKYA author, right?

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Review: You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett

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17205536You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett
Genre: Contemporary, Fame
Published by: Chicken House
Pages: 340
Format: Library Book
Rating: ★★★

My guilty pleasure reads usually have celebrities or the rise to fame in them. I picked up You Don’t Know Me thinking it was going to be a cookie cutter version of this trope; the classic ‘girl turns into something she’s not because of record label pressure’ kind of thing. While it did fulfil the stereotype to a certain degree, I was really surprised by how it defied my expectations. It covered body shaming, cyberbullying and being misunderstood way more than fame, and I’m so pleased it did.  Continue reading “Review: You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett” →

Review: The Lost and the Found

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20685157The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Crime (?)
Published by: Quercus
Pages: 441
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★

The Lost and the Found has been on my radar for a while. It follows Faith thirteen years after her adopted sister Laurel was abducted and suddenly reappears. Laurel is thrust back into her family life and it’s a lot to adjust to. Meanwhile, Faith is struggling with her older sister’s return as what little attention she got from her parents before is completely non-existent now that Laurel’s back. Last year I read If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch, which is about sisters who are returned to civilisation after growing up in the woods. It has a similar tone and the same mysterious and volatile tone that I really loved from Murdoch’s book and overall, I’m pleased I was immersed in the harrowing tale of the Logan family.

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Review: Never Evers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

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26270886Never Evers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
Genre: Contemporary, UKYA
Published by: Chicken House
Pages: 268
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★.5

After reading Lobsters some time last year, and enjoying the experience of reading more UKYA, I was more than happy to pick up this duo’s latest book, Never Evers. I have a soft spot for books that take place over a school trip, and books with celebrities, so basically all of the blurb appealed to me! I can say, whole-heartedly, that I enjoyed this book much more than the debut, so let’s discuss… Continue reading “Review: Never Evers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison” →

Review: The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

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The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Macmillan
Pages: 336
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★.5

Now is the perfect time to start reading contemporary romances, and I’d heard a few great things about The Square Root of Summer. I was looking forward to a fun UKYA, with an ambitious time-travel element, after reading and being disappointed by Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. While I enjoyed the writing style, and the first 10% was really gripping, something about this book seemed to taper off towards the end.

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