Millie vs the Machines by Kiera O'Brien

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to Quercus for providing me with this review copy.

Pages: 320

Publisher: Quercus

Released: 6th of August 2015

Within the confines of Oaktree boarding school, Millie Hendrick and her friends are privileged kids in a future world, where robots are hired help for everyone.

But Millie has never trusted the Units. They're just... creepy.

When pupils start disappearing, and no one else shares her increasing terror, how can Millie find out whether she is the only person who can see the truth, or is simply going crazy?

Who can be trusted - and who will be next?

What I Have to Say 

This book was amazing. As I was starting to read it, I was worried that it was a bit predictable, but the unreliability of Millie's mind made it so that you're never sure whether to believe in Millie or everyone else. It creates this whole psychological feel where you're constantly questioning everything and looking for clues as to what's real and what isn't. 

The thing that I really liked about the book, right from the start was the setting. I love a boarding school book to begin with, add in awesome technology and androids and you get something even more special. It's obvious from reading how much work Kiera O'Brien has put into this inventive and immersive world. 

And the ending! It's the kind of book that leaves you with the feeling that you've just read the most amazing book (which a lot of the time you have) and makes you incredibly excited for where the author is going to go next. 

The problem with this book? The next one isn't out until March!! 

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 440

Publisher: Orion Children's Books 

Released: 6th of August 2015

Twenty-five years ago, Elmbridge High burned down. Three people were killed and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. Now a diary has been found in the ruins of the school. The diary belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly’s identical twin sister. But Carly didn’t have a twin . . . 

Re-opened police records, psychiatric reports, transcripts of video footage and fragments of diary reveal a web of deceit and intrigue, violence and murder, raising a whole lot more questions than it answers.

Who was Kaitlyn and why did she only appear at night? Did she really exist or was she a figment of a disturbed mind? What were the illicit rituals taking place at the school? And just what did happen at Elmbridge in the events leading up to ‘the Johnson Incident’?

What I Have to Say 

I was worried that this book would scare me more than it did, which might be a negative point for some people but it made it better for me. I liked the question of whether it was real or mental illness too. It made it really interesting to read because you're constantly doubting things. 

One thing I really liked was Naida and her Mala practices.  I've not heard much about Mala before, so I was really interested in it from that angle. 

The style of it was really interesting too. I really like books that are written in a variety of styles like this. It mixes it up a little to be reading a diary extract followed by a video transcript.

In Which The Blogger is Drowned by Books

Hey guys, just to let you know that due to getting an unusually large number of review books (not all my fault, I was offered some brilliant ones this month) for at least this month I will be going up to three reviews a week on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Enjoy!

Paperweight

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Released: 2nd of July 2015

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

 Struggling to deal with her brother's death and a past she refuses to confront, Stevie knows she has problems. But she's still furious about the fact that she's been packed off to a health clinic, in the middle of nowhere, where mobile phones are banned and communication with the outside world is strictly by permission only. The regimented and obtrusive nature of the clinic and its staff is torture to the deeply private, obstinate Stevie - and don't even get her started on the other 'inmates'. All she wants is to be left alone...

 But as Stevie is about to find out, life is full of surprises. And she will prove herself stronger than she knows - even when her past finally catches her up in the most shocking and brutal way possible.

What I Have To Say 

I really enjoyed this book. I've not read much about eating disorders before, especially not as severe. It was really interesting to see how much variety there is between the different girls as well as the organisation and ways they tried to treat it. 

The main characters voice was really strong. The way that her sense of identity was wrapped up in her illness made it really powerful. There was always this struggle between wanting to be seen as anorexic, wanting to die and wanting to just give up and submit to treatment. 

I liked the flashbacks too. It's become a bit of a trope in YA to start a story in the middle and show how the character got there though flashbacks. But I think that when dealing with mental health, it can be a really effective format especially when the character is working through trauma as they spend a lot of time stuck in the past. 

A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for providing me with this e-copy

Pages: 280

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Released: 4th of August 2015

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies.

But when Beckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected. 

This stunning, lyrical fantasy is a powerful exploration of what makes a family, what justifies a war, and what it means to truly love.

What I Have to Say 

I didn't get on with this book at all. I had a major issue with the fact that they were glorifying prostitution a bit too much. The author did seem to make an attempt to show the trauma that working in a profession such as that can create. I'm fairly open, I don't think I'd have minded so much if it was an adult book where someone who chooses to go into prostitution, but this was a book for teenagers. A book where characters are pressured into the profession due to hard circumstances. This sort of thing has to be written sensitively, which I don't think it was. 

It was a really interesting setting, but the author didn't really spend a lot of time on it. I would have liked it a lot more if there had been more detail about the fairy culture and the friction between them and the trolls. But it just wasn't set up enough. 

It wasn't badly written and the characters were fairly interesting at times, but I really just didn't like it. 

Birdy by Jess Vallance

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books for providing me with this review copy! 

Pages: 272

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Released: 2nd July 2015

Frances Bird has been a loner for so long that she’s given up on ever finding real friendship. But then she’s asked to show a new girl around school, and she begins to think her luck could finally be changing.

Eccentric, talkative and just a little bit posh, Alberta is not at all how Frances imagined a best friend could be. But the two girls click immediately, and it’s not long before they are inseparable. Frances could not be happier.

As the weeks go on, Frances finds out more about her new best friend – her past, her secrets, her plans for the future – and she starts to examine their friendship more closely.

Is it, perhaps, just too good to be true?

What I Have to Say 

I was left reeling by this book. The ending is just so wonderfully unexpected. Although I feel like I should have seen it coming really. It's all there when you think back on it. But it's set up in such a way that it leads you down the wrong path and makes you try to guess the twist. 

It was a beautifully written story. I really  like stories with unreliable narrator and Jess Vallance pulls off this one really well. The friendship is very well written. It shows how close the girls get to each other and the sadness Frances feels as Bert starts to draw away from her. 

Frances and Bert are very distinct characters. Bert is the bubbly, eccentric new girl, not used to a school environment and Frances, the quiet, loner type who's never had a real friend before. It was wonderful how quick it was to get to know them, how easy it was to think of them as real people. 

When you read this book, be prepared to hurt when Frances gets hurt and be happy when she gets happy. 

YALC - the Highlights!

So it's already been a whole week since YALC and yet again I've not found time to write a post about it until now. So I hope you are all still interested! I'll try to keep this short. Also, yet again, I managed to not think about taking any pictures for this post, so I'll have to make do with what I've got. 

Everyone was so nice. I don't think I stopped talking the entire time. There were just so many awesome people. I feel like I always say the same things about the UKYA community, but it really is just an accepting place. Everyone is so enthusiastic and friendly and completely okay with someone just sitting down next to them and starting to chat. I made so many friends! 

One thing I did notice was how much this blog has grown since last year. A lot of people said that my blog looked familiar or that they recognised the name. It was so much different from last year when not so many people knew who I am. 

The convention itself was much better than last year in terms of space. For most of the time we could actually walk around and breathe! It got a bit crowded on the Saturday, but for the most part it was pretty good. 

So on to highlights! 

Friday

Me modelling my thrown together Ravenclaw
uniform and wand

Friday was quiet as it was only a half day, though I was lucky enough to get invited to a Bloggers Brunch at Chicken House in the morning. It was awesome, if a bit crowded because the place we were in was a little too small for us all. I met lots of great bloggers and authors got a lovely Chicken House tote bag. 

In the afternoon, I think one of main highlights was the Cosplay panel by the ever wonderful Lucy Saxon, author of Take Back the Skies and The Almost King and amazing cosplayer. The panel really made me feel more confident about the idea that I could actually cosplay, which I tried for the first time this year. The panelists gave me enough confidence to wear a wig on the third day! 

The evening was the amazing Harry Potter Mugglenet Party, which was really fun. The quiz was as hard as they advertised it. It was fun trying to find the horcruxes, even if I didn't find many and I got some house points! And my Hufflepuff friends won the house cup so I was really happy for them. 

Hayley Atwell being blessed by the gods for
 being wonderful 

Saturday

Saturday was the biggest day for crowds. I went around and got a lot books signed. I think the thing I enjoyed most on Saturday was just hanging out, enjoying the bookish atmosphere and catching up with friends I knew from the UKYA community. I saw quite a few authors I'd met in previous years too, so it was cool to be recognised. 

I also got a chance to look around the main convention, which is always fun, if a bit of a money drain!

The biggest highlight of Saturday though was when an artist came up to me randomly and casually asked if he could give me a picture. And it turned out to be Chris Riddell. The Children's Laureate Chris Riddell. That was a bit of a shock. 

Me as Chisaki from the anime Nagi No Asukara
complete with blue wig

Sunday 

Sunday was the biggest, most awesome day. I had a lot of books to get signed, two panels to go to and a workshop.  I'm going to bullet point this because otherwise it is going to get too long. 

My best bits were: 

-The Mental Health and Bringing Sexy Back panels in the morning (can do a blog post on either of these if anyone wants to know what were said) 

- The Blogging workshop from Jim Dean, Lucy Powrie and Vivienne Dacosta where I learnt a lot of useful stuff which will hopefully help me improve this blog. 

- James Dawson's modesty dragon. 

- Getting to meet Annabel Pitcher and getting myself a proof of Silence is Goldfish, which I've been wanting for a while! 

-Not a book thing, but I also met the beautiful, wonderful actress Hayley Atwell. 

- Meeting Nina from Death, Books and Tea in the line for the Liz Kessler signing. 

 I also got to try out a couple of cosplays, which is a hobby I've been really wanting to take up since I was about sixteen. It was everything I thought it would be so expect bigger better cosplays from me in the next few years. 

If anyone else has any great stories from YALC or LFCC please feel free to share them in the comments.