Review #29 - The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
Author: E. Lockhart
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Published: 2008

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

Fifteen-year-old Frankie Landau-Banks has grown up a lot over the summer. She's no longer daddy's little girl - and almost immediately after starting the new semester at her highly prestigious school, she bags goofy-but-gorgeous Matthew Livingston as her boyfriend. They get along great but then Frankie discovers that Matthew is a member of a boys-only secret society that specialise in 'hilarious' pranks. Which hardly seems fair... especially when Frankie knows she's smarter than any of its members. And to prove this, she's going to teach them a lesson.
Impersonating lead member Alpha by using a fake email account is surprisingly easy, and soon Frankie is setting the boys up with all sorts of ridiculous schemes and sending them on wild goose chase after wild goose chase. Alpha's not prepared to lose face and admit it's not him sending the emails - but the fun can't last forever, and soon Frankie will have to choose between what she think she wants, and the reputation she deserves.

#Review 28 - All the Bright Places

Title: All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Published: 2015
Publisher: Knopf

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

Review #27 - I Hate Myselfie

Title: I Hate Myselfie: A Collection of Essays by Shane Dawson
Author: Shane Dawson
Published: March 2015

Publisher: Keywords Press

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

From his first vlog back in 2008 to his full-length film directorial début Not Cool, Shane Dawson has been an open book when it comes to documenting his life. But behind the music video spoofs, TMI love life details, and outrageous commentary on everything the celebrity and Internet world has the nerve to dish out is a guy who grew up in a financially challenged but loving home in Long Beach, California, and who suffered all the teasing and social limitations that arise when you’re a morbidly obese kid with a pretty face, your mom is your best friend, and you can't get a date to save your life. 

In I Hate Myselfie, Shane steps away from his larger-than-life Internet persona and takes us deep into the experiences of an eccentric and introverted kid, who by observing the strange world around him developed a talent that would inspire millions of fans. Intelligent, hilarious, heartbreaking, and raw, I Hate Myselfie is a collection of eighteen personal essays about how messy life can get when you’re growing up and how rewarding it can feel when the clean-up is (pretty much) done.

Author Q&A - Jane Yates

Happy Easter, guys! To celebrate such a warmly weekend, I've had a nice chat with the lovely Jane Yates, about her work and her life- so let's take a look at what she has to say, shall we?

Jane is not only a mother, dreamer, artist and storyteller, but dyslexic too, which only highlights her success even more. Jane refuses to allow the disorder to halt her dreams and continues to enjoy her favourite hobbies.

Jane is a lover of steampunk, adventure and children stories, which often play a huge role in her own books. She is the author of the Paradox Child Series, Garden and a number of other short stories.

Victim Souls - Excerpt ¦ TOUR STOP!

Title: Victim Souls

Author: Andrew Terech
Published: November 8th, 2014
Genres: Horror, Young Adult

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

Sometimes, only bad guys can beat the Devil… 

The plan is simple: get the money and deliver the car. What could possibly go wrong?
What can’t? 

Things start to go south when Sam Drake realizes that his brother Johnny is hiding something, a secret about Sam’s troubled childhood that goes beyond his most feverish nightmares… 

Then Johnny’s girlfriend, Ash, starts sending Sam the kind of mixed signals that can only lead to big trouble… 

As the trio of small time crooks falls deeper into an abyss of betrayal and violence, they will discover that the greatest danger they face is not of this world. 

With everything he believes about himself and the world around him shattered, Sam will become the unlikely champion in a battle with true evil, a fight to save a soul that has already been forfeited to darkness. 

His own.

Review #26 - Noise

Title: Noise
Author: Brett Garcia Rose
Published: June 2014
Genres: Action, Adventure, Mystery

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

Lily is the only person Leon ever loved. When she left a suicide note and disappeared into a murky lake ten years ago, she left him alone, drifting through a silent landscape.

Or did she?

A postcard in her handwriting pulls Leon to the winter-cold concrete heart of New York City. What he discovers unleashes a deadly rage that has no sound.

A grisly trail of clues leads to The Bear, the sadistic Russian crime lord who traffics in human flesh. The police—some corrupt, some merely compromised—are of little help. They don’t like Leon’s methods, or the mess he leaves in his wake.

Leon is deaf, but no sane person would ever call him disabled. He survived as a child on the merciless streets of Nigeria. He misses nothing. He feels no remorse. The only direction he’s ever known is forward.

He will not stop until he knows.

Where is Lily?

 Noise, by Brett Garcia Rose, is a thriller/mystery centering on a deaf character's search for his missing sister. It's short, violent, but ultimately it's about love.

Review #25 - Garden

Title: Garden
Author: Jane Yates
Publisher: Autumn Orchard
Published: 2015

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

Inspired by the classic novel The Secret Garden, Jane Yates introduces us to a steampunk world of bio-domes, robots and mysteries. Garden introduces us eleven-year-old Aberdeen, who is so used to being by herself that all she has to fill her thoughts are stories of mighty dragons and grand castles. Aberdeen's world is soon thrown into disarray however; her parents murdered.

Having no choice, Aberdeen is sent to live with her uncle back on Earth where her fascination into her new surroundings begin to take hold. Untrusting of new people at first, it isn’t long before Aberdeen comes across 3 other children, and taking a risk, befriends them as she tries to adjust to her new home. And yet, along with Maisy, Peter and Lenard, Aberdeen comes across a riddle - a set of clues to reveal the hiding place of a lost manuscript. A manuscript that forces more questions than answers.

Oh, and there’s Frank too, Peter’s robot dog, who completes this special circle of friendship.

Garden is a journey of self-discovery, of trials and friendship. With adventure boundless, Jane Yates follows up her acclaimed Paradox Child trilogy with a new tale for young fans of steampunk and science fiction.