All posts tagged: YA

Book Review – Goldenhand by Garth Nix

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Hello, everyone! So amid my flurry of writing job applications, I managed to squeeze in reading the latest installment in one of my FAVOURITE series. Goldenhand is the fifth book in this super awesome series. As normal, with this being a later book in the series, I want to avoid any spoilers of any of the books but you can go read my review on the first book, Sabriel, to find out more about the series, but in a few words it’s about: Magic, Necromancy (both good and bad), bells, and talking animals! I really enjoyed this installment, although Sabriel does still remain my favourite of the series. We get to revisit some of our favourite characters in this book (although perhaps not a much of the talking animals as I would have liked), as well as meeting a new POV character. Some parts of the romance in the book felt just a little too rushed, and just a little out of character (but that could just be my non-romantic cold, cold heart). Unfortunately, this was …

Book Review – Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

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First off, a big congratulations to ME because I submitted my PhD thesis this week! After four-years slaving away over a hot monkey brain (not really!) it’s finally done! YAY FOR ME!!! Anyway… Empire of Storms…(Come for the review, stay for my self-congratulations!) So as with most sequels, I won’t be giving out any spoilers for any of the other books in this series in this review, but I will STRONGLY encourage you to go read the first book, because this series is still A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-! This is now the fifth book in this series (if you don’t count the book of prequel short stories) and this series is still awesome. Firstly, we are introduced to lots of new exciting places in this instalment of the series, which was pretty cool. Like always there is plenty of our plucky young protagonist setting everything on fire (both figuratively and literally), and there are LOTS of ships in this book (both figuratively and literally – lots of fun, romantic times on the high seas to be had by …

Interview with E. R. Murray, Author of Caramel Hearts

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Today I have a special post with an interview with the author of new YA novel, Caramel Hearts. Caramel Hearts Caramel hearts is the story of Olivia (Liv), a 14-year old girl going through some difficult times. Her mother is an alcoholic, she’s being bullied at school, having issues with friends, and her sister, Hatty, has left college to try to keep social services from putting Liv in foster care. Olivia finds an old recipe book of her mother’s (A number of recipes are scattered throughout this book), and in an attempt to recapture some memories of happier times, begins cooking some of the recipes. But her mission to reconnect with her mother through these recipes might just cause her more problems. This book is both heart warming and heart breaking, with beautiful writing, and recipes for delicious treats that you can make yourself. Interview with E.R. Murray Tina: You’re new YA book, Caramel Hearts, is a coming of age story about a young girl who finds an old recipe book of her mother’s, and a number …

Book Review: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

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I heard about this book ages a go, and heard it was great, but with no ebook available, and it generally impossible to find anywhere, it did take me some time to get around to reading it. Seriously, make ebooks available people. You will make more money, and I wouldn’t have to die waiting for the next book to arrive. Anyway… What it’s about: A girl in an Amish community takes in an outsider during a vampire apocalypse against the advice of her elders. What I thought: Really freaking enjoyed it. The main character, Katie, is an Amish girl who wants nothing more than to go on her Rumspringa and see the outside world. Katie is generally considered a bit too headstrong for the Amish, but is essentially a very good person at heart. She’s sensible, she cares deeply about the welfare of others, and is the sort of person who will always do what she thinks is right, even if others disagree, and the consequences may be fairly severe. She’s also sensible and for …

Book Review: The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude

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I was going to wait until my hardcover of this arrived for pretty photography before posting this review, but I’ve become impatient and it seems it’s going to take a while to come as it’s on backorder. What it’s about: The residents of a commune in the Ozarks are terrorized by something coming from the forest at night to mutilate both animals and people. What I thought: First of all, I have to say that this book has a BEAUTIFUL cover, which is what initially drew me to it. I thought it would be a creepy mystery, but it actually had more of a horror vibe to it, and I do love my horror, so that was a bonus. I read this book in less than 24 hours. Once I started I was pretty hooked. Although I really enjoyed this book, it was, in my opinion missing something in that, while it was very readable, it didn’t really make me feel anything. I didn’t really care for any of the characters, as they were all pretty …

Why does YA have to be about teenagers? Why do books about teenagers have to be YA?

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There seems to be some rather apparent inconsistencies in the definition of the YA genre. Particularly with whether it is books about teenagers, or whether it is books aimed at teenagers. I find that it is usually always defined as the former, as every YA book I have ever read features a teenage protagonist, although a number of exceptions exist that do revolve around children. Now I do understand that readers like to read about protagonists they can relate to, that struggle with the same issues that they do. That’s perfectly understandable. Teenagers are not adults. They are teenagers. There is a vast amount of psychological data that shows teenagers are different to adults in many capacities. It’s why we, as humans, have such a long period of adolescence, which is absent from almost all other animals. Almost all other animals reach maturity quite young. But because of the huge amount of information humans need to learn, we go through a prolonged period of childhood, followed by a very distinct period of adolescence. There are profound …