My Favourite MG Books

Hi everyone!! So quickly, before I get into today's post I just thought I'd say that I'm currently planning a Q+A post and I need a couple more questions, so could y'all comment some down below? You can comment as many as you want, and they can be about anything:) Also, just needed to rant about how Brooklyn 99 has been cancelled after just 5 seasons:((( B99 is the most perfect, funny, wholesome show with lots of much-needed minority representation and it doesn't deserve to be cancelled AGH!! Have you watched it? What are your thoughts? #RenewB99!! But anyway hahahah - so recently, I've reread a couple of old MG books back from when I was 11 or so, and it reminded me just how good some MG books are. Nowadays, I primarily read teen/YA fiction, but occasionally I want an easier read, so I lean towards a book aimed at 8-12 year olds. And so, I thought I'd compile a list of my favourite MG books and share them with y'all in today's blog post...

Time Travelling With A Hamster by Ross Welford

TTWAH was a re-read, but for some reason I enjoyed it so much more the second time round. It's not even like I didn't like it the first time - I really did, but the second time I realised that I love this book! It's funny, but also made me shed a couple of tears at points. The MC I really warmed to, and I loved he grandfather so much. Some points, I have to admit, are a little confusing, but that's only because the book touches on things like The Grandfather Paradox but nothing too majorly confusing for an 9-12 year old (which is who I'd recommend this for). I like that this book really isn't aimed at one gender either - TTWAH definitely appeals to boys and girls alike. Also, I know my little sister has also read a couple other books by Ross and she also really likes them so I might need to check out a couple of his others.

credits: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Travelling-Hamster-Ross-Welford/dp/000815631X

Murder Most Unladylike (series) by Robin Stevens

I feel like I've talked about the Murder Most Unladylike stories so many times on this blog haha, and I can't help but mention them again (I couldn't do a post on my favourite MG books and not include these?!!). I love murder mysteries, but haven't found that there are that many good mysteries for kids (that I know of - if you have any recommendations, let me know). However Robin Stevens' books are an exception to that. There are now 6 books in this series and in my opinion they are all as good as each other, - I don't find them predictable, I love the characters and I think the writing style is perfect for kids and teenagers. Definitely recommend!!

Letters From The Lighthouse by Emma Carroll

I read this book after my sister recommended it to me on holiday and I had run out of books to read (THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN SUITCASES OK), but I have to admit I was slightly hesitant. It's just it didn't really sound like my kinda thing haha! But I read it anyway, and I'm so glad I did. I've done a full book review on this (which you can read here: http://www.whatlexieloves.com/2017/08/letters-from-lighthouse-by-emma-carroll.html) but I'll summarise the book quickly for those who don't know. LFTL is about Olive, whose older sister Sukie goes missing during an air raid (this book is set during the 1940s) and her journey to try and find where Sukie is. This is actually a very cleverly written plot, with lots of twists and turns. It's a book if you want an easy, but still really interesting, read.

Scarlet Ibis by Gill Lewis (and any other of her books!)

Again, I have already done a whole post on Gill Lewis - focussing on three of her fabulous books - which you can check out here, (by the way if you do go to check it out, I was much younger when I wrote it - that's why it's not the best post hahahah) but for those of you who haven't read that blog post, I thought I'd include one of her books in this roundup. Scarlet Ibis is a beautiful, touching book about Scarlet and Red - an inseparable sister-brother duo. Their mum is a very troubled woman - who often is drunk and too ill to care for them, so a lot of responsibility falls to Scarlet. But when a tragedy occurs, Scarlet and Red have to be separated and it's all about how they struggle to cope without each other. Whilst this touches on some mature themes, it's handled very very well, so I would still recommend it to 9-13 year olds. I would definitely recommend Scarlet Ibis if you haven't read it (or any other Gill Lewis books!).

Wonder by RJ Palacio

And finally, one of my favourite books... Wonder. If you've been following my blog right since the beginning, then you may know that my first ever blog post was a review of Wonder. http://www.whatlexieloves.com/2013/10/wonder-book-ive-read-over-50-times.html The title over the best was 'The Book I've Read Over 50 Times' and I genuinely have read it over 50 times, that's not even an exaggeration (and my copy of the book proves it; it's so battered and dog-eared *although I prefer the adjective 'well-loved'!!). I still read this book again today, and it never fails to impress me. Wonder is beautiful, heart-warming and such a wholesome book - I cannot explain how much everyone should read this!

So those are my Top 5 Favourite MG Books that I would definitely recommend. Whilst writing this, I thought of lots of other great MG books, so I could always do a Part 2 if you wanted (??). These books are mainly for 8-12 year olds, but every now and again teenagers need an easier, more light-hearted read, so I recommend this list for those times. I'll be back soon with another post (and as I said, it's a Q+A - which I know y'all love, so watch out for that!!)

Brightstorm - Review and Blog Tour

Hola Lexicans! So a few days ago, the lovely Olivia at Scholastic emailed me asking if I'd like to read a new book coming out - Brightstorm and be part of the blog tour which started on the 5th and is ending on the 9th, and naturally I said yes. And so today is my turn to post a review on this new book which released last week on the 1st.

Brightstorm tells the story of twins Arthur + Maudie and their journey around the world. The story begins with the twins hearing the devastating news that their dad - an explorer has passed away on a recent expedition. But not only that, fellow explorers are now accusing the twins' father of stealing from his competitors before his death. Desperate to seek life away from their dreadful new guardians, and wanting to prove their father's innocence, the two join Captain Harriet Culpepper's sky-ship - which is heading the same way their dad attempted to.. to try and find some clues as well as starting a new life.

Ok I'll be honest I'm a terrible blogger I've been very busy so didn't have time to finish this book in time for my book tour date today (although hopefully I will do in the next few days!!) but I've got a good enough way in to the book to give an opinion and know that I'm really enjoying it. One of the things I love about this book is the crushing of gender stereotypes!! It's known that there is a ridiculous stereotype for boys being better at mathematical and scientific things, whereas girls are meant to be more creative and doing chores, but in this book, Maudie's biggest talent is engineering and Arthur's is cooking, which crushes those stupid stereotypes. There's also a badass female explorer (Harriet Culpepper) who I love!! Another thing I love about this book, is Arthur has a disability, but it doesn't stop him at all - and whilst Vashti (the author) addresses his disability, it doesn't affect him much.

And then not only do I love the characters, but the plot is very interesting and clever too. I'll be honest.. the book is a sci-fi/fantasy with an element of mystery which (except the mystery) really isn't my cup of tea normally, so it took a little bit of time to get into but now it's got my attention and I really enjoy reading it - it's a nice break from the YA contemporary books I've been reading lots of lately(!!). As you know, I haven't finished it yet so I can't give a full opinion of the plot - but so far it's gripping, fast-paced and intriguing.

This is definitely one I think my younger readers will enjoy more - although if you want a break from your comfort zone, this is a great MG book. I'd recommend this primarily to girls and boys aged around 8-12, and I think this will become very popular:)

What books have y'all been reading lately? I'll be back soon with a new post:)

Lexie x

Turtles All The Way Down - Is It Worth The Hype?

Hola Lexicans! So today I'm going to be doing a review on the much-hyped, popular book - Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. And yES I know what you're thinking - I'm very much late on the bandwagon for this book, it's been around for months now and there have already been loads and loads of reviews and Worth The Hype? posts for this book. Buuuut I only read it recently so I thought I'd share my opinions too, in a Turtles All The Way Down review.

You've probably already heard the summary of TATWD millions of times, but because I'm a Basic Book Blogger™ ;);) and just in case some of you haven't already heard it/have the memory of the goldfish and if so, same lol and have forgotten, I will recap it anyway. Turtles All The Way Down follows Aza, a quiet, intelligent and quirky teenager with severe OCD, as her and her best friend Daisy begin to try and solve this mystery of where a fugitive billionaire has gone. However, it is not a mystery story - the focus at the beginning (plot-wise) is pretty much all on the missing billionaire and trying to solve the mystery, but pretty quickly it becomes apparent that TATWD is not actually a mystery at all, it just happens to include one.. do not be fooled aha!!

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I lavvv this book!! Most of the characters I really connected with and liked (my favourite three being Aza, Davis (the son of the runaway, and a potential love interest *wink wink* and Aza's mum). I love Aza because even though she doesn't talk that much, and is lost in her thoughts - she's not self-centered at all, and I found the way a lot of the things that go on with Aza being inside her head, really interesting, as well as raw and realistic - which, as brutal as it is, I think is *veeerrry* important nowadays, particularly in books focussing on mental health issues. Davis is so cutee and even though he doesn't fully understand Aza's mental health, he tries to understand and make an effort, which I loved. And also Aza's mum is just so sweet and caring. Daisy, Aza's best friend, was on the whole a good character but there was one certain bit near-ish the end of the book which made me SO ANGRY!! Aza forgives her, but I didn't ahahah #iholdgrudges

Also, whilst I haven't experienced any of these issues that are tackled with in the book first-hand (which I'm very grateful for), I have heard the opinions of those who have and they've all said the representation was accurate and on-point, which is always very important with books like this which will be read by a huge audience. And it's an #ownvoices book which I love, particularly in YA novels.

So.. Is It Worth The Hype? I'm going to be straight out with it.. I really loved this book! I've never read any of Green's work before (although really want to read The Fault In Our Stars now) so when TATWD released, and there was so many amazing reviews raving about it being published, I knew I just had to read it myself. And I'm glad I did! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone aged 13+!!

Have you read TATWD? What did you think? Did it live up to the hype for you? byeee xx


completely unrelated sidenote: I'm obsessed with Friends (the show lol) at the moment oh my life... It's the type of show most people have at least seen a few episodes of, but I never had until it came to Netflix UK.. I started it around 3 weeks ago, and I'm already on Season 8 I LOVE IT AND I HAVE A PROBLEM ahahah!! i'm literally so addicted ahh it's insane. I'll talk more about it in a different post probably but ahh it's amazing ahahahah

A Spoonful Of Murder by Robin Stevens (REVIEW)

Hola Lexicans! So today I'm back with a very exciting post - a book review on the new Murder Most Unladylike book, A Spoonful Of Murder by the lovely Robin Stevens. If you haven't heard of the Murder Most Unladylike series yet, they are basically a murder mystery series set in the 1930s following two teenager detectives who go to boarding school together, aimed at 9-13 year olds. I, my sister and many of my friends, have been fans of this series for a while now - at least a year and a half, so when I heard that the 6th book in the series was coming soon I FREAKED OUT. aND THEN.. I was actually lucky enough to be sent the 6th book (A Spoonful Of Murder) a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I'd do a review now (as, unsurprisingly, I really enjoyed it).

The story begins with Hazel's grandfather passing away and her going back to her home in Hong Kong, to grieve with her family (and Daisy, who comes along to support her). But once they are there Hazel realises there's another member of the family she didn't know about, but as happy as Hazel knows she should be for this new arrival, she just can't help but feel angry, upset and replaced. And then when murder strikes, and someone goes missing, the duo aren't just there at the scene of the crime; Hazel is also being framed for the murder, and the two have the solve the mystery, before it's too late...

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I found the premise of the book really interesting, as I haven't read much set in Hong Kong, so I was excited to read about the setting, culture and traditions. Whilst I've never been there (yet - I'd love to visit), so I cannot confirm whether Robin made an accurate representation, it created this idea of a bright, vivid, colourful country which I've heard is very much correct, and I learned a lot about their customs which I found interesting and really liked. The other thing I liked about the book being set in Hong Kong, was that Hazel got to really take the lead in this story, so it was nice to see a different side to her (and Daisy).

The actual plot as well was really good (as per usual) and the ending kind of shocked me, although I did guess part of it (I was so proud ahahahha) and I liked meeting lots of new characters, however, we were introduced to a lot of new characters and since I have the memory of a goldfish(!), I couldn't remember everyone all the time (which is why the character list at the front of the book is always handy!!). Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and devoured it within a weekend - I would 100% recommend this book (and the entire series, if you haven't already read them), particularly to tween girls who loved mysteries (or teenagers who want a nice easy read).

Thank you so much to Harriet for sending me this for review, I really loved it and I'll be back soon with some more reviews, including a theatre review and my review of the very popular Turtles All The Way Down, where I'll be addressing the question 'Is It Really Worth The Hype?' Byeee, and I hope you all have a lovely day!

Xxx

Memorable YA Books of 2017 Recap

Hola Lexicans! I hope you are all having a lovely New Year and have stuck to your New Year's Resolutions so far (eeek fingers crossed!!), if you'd like to see a post half way through the year on how well (or how not well!) I'm keeping my resolutions, then let me know as I think that could be a very interesting post. Buuut for now I'm going to be doing a (slightly late!) roundup of some of the YA Books of 2017. These books are ones that stuck out to me this year. This could be for multiple reasons (e.g. I was highly anticipating it or it was hugely hyped up by others) but basically they were in some way memorable YA books that were released in 2017. It might sound quite confusing, but it's quite simply a summary of 7 YA Books of 2017 (that I read!)

A Quiet Kind Of Thunder by Sara Barnard

I have talked about Sara and her books *a lot* but they're just so good!! I had previously read Barnard's Beautiful Broken Things (which I'm low-key high-key in love with) and so the day I realised she had another book (which I hadn't known before) was a truly beautiful day (genuinely the rest of that day once I'd bought it I was just so happy!!). I've done a full review here: http://whatlexieloves.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/a-quiet-kind-of-thunder.html so check that out;) but in short ahh THIS BOOK IS SO CUTE!! Like such a simple way to describe it is 'lovely' and I know that's not the most exciting of adjectives, but it really just sums it up - I smiled so much when reading this book aww.



Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard

Okay yess this is another one of Sara's books but I loved it so I'm not going to leave it out!! This book hasn't actually released yet (although it is going to be released very soon on Feb 8th, so watch out!) but I was lucky enough to be sent a copy by Pan Macmillan a few months ago. Again, I've done a full review (same with all the books in this list - as they were some of my favourites, I obviously wanted to review them for you) so you can read that here: http://whatlexieloves.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/goodbye-perfect-written-by-one-of-my.html but this is a beautiful book about the strength of friendship, and how a good relationship between two best friends is when it's really put to the test. I would 100% recommend this, so when it comes out pick it up in your local bookstore;)

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

This is a mystery, contemporary (hehe my two favourite genres) teen book that released this year and even though I just realised I never did a review on it, I did really enjoy the book. The only thing about it was that I found the book pretty predictable. Despite this, I still really loved the book and I still found the book gripping and interesting, even though I'd guessed 'whodunnit' so it wasn't exactly a surprise for me, there were still lots of other secrets and 'twists and turns' in this book! I might do a full review on this soon, so let me know if you'd like that but if you enjoy a good ol mystery, I would definitely recommend One Of Us Is Lying.



The One Memory Of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

Ugh.. This book annoys me because I didn't hate it, I just didn't love it either! I did a full review on this, which you can read here: http://whatlexieloves.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/the-one-memory-of-flora-banks.html but I'll summarise here again. TOMOFB is about Flora, who is a 17 year old with a brain tumour, meaning she has no long-term memory and can only remember things for up to about 2 hours before forgetting them. Until one day she kisses a boy (Drake) and for the first time in 7 years, she can remember it. This sounded like an interesting premise, so I was looking forward to this book (particularly as the advertising I had seen for it made it seem very much like a mystery book) but instead I just didn't really like the book. I found it very repetitive, and whilst at first I liked that, as it made it feel very realistic, but after a while it just. got. boring. And all the actions of those around her, and even her own actions although I understand she couldn't exactly help it, made me SO ANNOYED!! Like they were just *so irritating* and yah. However, that being said, there were some good plot twists and it was interesting, I just didn't understand this huge hype surrounding it.

Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

This book is a tricky one to review because I really really enjoyed reading it, and I'd definitely recommend, but looking back there's nothing about this book which blew me away or made it a particularly special or memorable book for me. As I said in my review of the book (which *guess what* you can read here: http://whatlexieloves.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/windfall-new-ya-release.html) it's a fairly simple rags-to-riches story, but I just really liked the author's writing style, it sort of reminds me of a Rainbow Rowell writing style, and I think that just made me really like this book. The idea was interesting, yet simple, and overall this was just a really 'nice' YA book that released in 2017.



Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

So *technically* I'm still reading Turtles All The Way Down (it's my current read), but let's be real here, I couldn't do a round-up of YA Books of 2017 and not mention TATWD. I'm not that far into the book, but it's got a really interesting premise - 16 year old Aza, who has severe OCD, is going on an adventure with her best friend to try and find runaway billionaire (there's an $100,000 reward at stake!). It's an #ownvoices novel which I love, and so far I love Aza, and I love the way that John Green has represented OCD/anxiety brutally, but honestly. Can't wait to finish this and I'm sure I will do a review on it once I've finished. This is my first of Green's (wHY?) and so far I definitely recommend!


The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

I really loved this book, even though it feels like ages ago that I read it! Basically, it's about Lucy, a teenager whose mum has, for the second time, been diagnosed with breast cancer. To help Lucy with the upset and distress this is naturally causing her, her parents suggest sending her to a summer camp to help out with other teenagers and look after younger children, all of whom have a very sad background (e.g. grieving the loss of someone close to them, suicidal thoughts etc etc). There she meets friends who will help her get through the toughest of times, despite all being in a bad place themselves. I'm not sure whether it was the writing style, the well-developed characters, the plot twists, the thought-provoking, emotional nature of the book or all those things that made me love it so much, but I can happily say, whilst it's obviously a sad book, I still enjoyed reading it and I definitely recommend it!! If you want to read my separate review on The Names They Gave Us, then you can read it here: http://whatlexieloves.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/love-this-book-names-they-gave-us.html

So those are the YA Books of 2017 I decided to feature in this post!! Have you ready any of these? What did you think of them? If you had to make a list of some books that were memorable to you this year (e.g. they were very popular, your favourite books, you were very excited for the release but were maybe disappointed, books that let you down etc etc) what would be on the list?

Xxx



Goodbye, Perfect (written by one of my fav authors!) | book review

Hola Lexicans! Today I've got a really exciting post as it's a book review of Goodbye, Perfect which is by one of my all-time favourite authors Sara Barnard! As soon as I found out Sara was releasing another YA book I was very, very excited (although kind of sad because it's not coming out until Feb next year and at the time it was only right at beginning of August so a good few months until the release) so when a copy of Goodbye, Perfect arrived in the post from the fabulous Bea at Pan Macmillan (thanks Bea!) I was majorly happy and I finished it in no time.* So obviously since I really loved it, I thought I'd share my opinions over here.**

*By the way if you haven't noticed I may be a teeny weeny bit of a fangirl when it comes to Sara and her books.
**Because that's what book bloggers do

Goodbye, Perfect is all about the strength of friendship, even when you're going through a tough time and about loyalty even when it involves lying to the police. It follows Eden, a tough girl, who would be labelled a 'bad influence' by many despite not really being one, who was faced with a struggle when her closest friend Bonnie ran off completely unexpected with her secret boyfriend whom Eden knew nothing about except his name Jack. For as long as they'd been friends, Eden and Bonnie had told each other everything and stuck together so naturally everyone assumed Eden would know everything about the runaway, why, what they were doing, whereabouts but instead Eden didn't know the ins and outs of Bonnie's plan except the address, which honouring their friendship, she would never give away even when the police got involved..

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This book, particularly like one of other Sara's (amazing aha!) YA books Beautiful Broken Things, is centred around friendship. Since Bonnie ran away right at the beginning of the book we don't really meet her much except through phone calls, texts and Eden's flashbacks which I thought at first was interesting as I thought that 'you couldn't have a friendship that was really developed in a book where you barely meet half the friendship' but actually Sara managed to do this really well and I thought the friendship was an accurate representation of a lot of friendships.

On the subject of accurate representation, that's one of the things that I really love about Sara's writing. In Goodbye, Perfect, Eden had a messy, complicated and most importantly realistic family life which wasn't as pristine and polished as I find many families are. The plot wasn't based around families at all but Sara still included them and whilst I'm not adopted like Eden was, I could definitely see a lot of the relationships in families portrayed in my everyday life (with friends, bloggers or myself).

The only slight thing I would say about this book was that I found the very beginning and very ending not very BAM (if you know what I mean..?!) As in, particularly the end, I was hoping it would be a little more of a plot twist (but then again that does really kind of contradict my point above as otherwise it wouldn't have been as realistic so I did kind of love it that way too GAH)

Overall I loved this book (like I did with Beautiful Broken Things (see my review here) and A Quiet Kind Of Thunder (see my review here)) and when it comes out in Feb I would 1000000% recommend that if YA contemporary is your thing (or even if it isn't - step out your comfort zone mate) that you go buy this!

Also huge thanks once again to Bea for sending me a proof of this book, it was very exciting (the only annoying thing about proofs is I'll have to buy this book in stores anyway knowing me as I need all 3 of the covers together - I did that with BBT as well, I bought it on the Kindle, loved it and then decided I needed a physical copy of it too to go with my AQKOT!!)

So yah I'll be back soon with another post! Love you all:)
Xxx

Letters From The Lighthouse by Emma Carroll

Hola Lexicans! A few days ago, I came back from my holiday in France (expect a separate blog post with photography and my write-up of the holiday soon!) and when I was on holiday I read quite a few books, finishing most of the books in one day each as I do love reading on the beach. One of the books I read was called Letters From The Lighthouse and was actually a book my sister picked out and recommended to me so thanks to my lil sis Ines for that.

Letters From The Lighthouse is a children's book set in 1940s England during World War II. It follows Olive whose older sister Sukie goes missing after an air raid. But before she has the chance to investigate Olive and her little brother Cliff are evacuated and sent down to Devon. Despite this, Olive sees this as a positive experience and the perfect opportunity to investigate her sister's whereabouts, seeing as Sukie had a regular penpal called Queenie who lived in Devon and would hopefully be able to give Olive some answers. However, as she goes about it she realises that there are way more secrets, than just one coded note, than she could have imagined - all linking back to Sukie.

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Lately, I have been reading mainly contemporary YA + teen fiction (my favourite genre ahah) but when my sister's recommended this children's book, somehow I didn't think twice about it. I typically am not a big fan of books set in the past - I'm not sure why - so I was a little sceptical about the idea of this book being set in 1941 and having the main plot of the story entirely based around that, but honestly as soon as I started reading it, I didn't think twice about the fact it was set in the past.

There were lots of twists in Letters From The Lighthouse, many of which I didn't see coming (which I like!) although a few of them were very predictable and I guessed (although my 11 year old sister - the target market for the book, didn't see them coming so I have to bear that in mind.) Overall I very much loved the concept and plot of the book, it had many heartwarming parts and was put together very carefully by the author.

On the other hand, the characters weren't extremely developed like they normally are in YA fiction but compared to other stories written for 9-11 year olds it did rank well, particularly as they spent more time on the sharpened plot. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to 9-11 year olds and some members of the teen community, if they want a quick, easy, basic but good read.

I'll be back soon with my write-up of my holiday in France! Have a great bank holiday weekend:)
Xxx

Love this book - The Names They Gave Us

Hola Lexicans! This is a book review I wrote in my notebook a few months ago but for some reason never posted! I absolutely loved this book so am very surprised I hadn't published this review sooner but yah:)

The Names They Gave Us (TNTGU) is about a teenager called Lucy whose mum has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer, for the second time. To cope with the stress and worry this is causing her, Lucy's parents suggest she goes to a summer camp for children like herself, who have various different difficulties like mental health issues, suicide, the death of someone close etc. There, with other teenagers, she has counselling and helps out with young kids whilst making amazing friends who help her through the toughest of times.

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I. Really. Really. Loved. This. Book. I feel like I say that about very single book and it's true. I find it so frustrating that there aren't different ways to say 'I Loved This' whilst still portraying the same power the word holds but there aren't so you'll just have to stick with me repeating that phrase for now:) Whilst it was actually an extremely sad book, I found lots of parts of it so uplifting and heart warming. The book was so realistic and I loved the way the author touched on such delicate subjects. In the YA community we always talk about how we need more books with diversity and BAM this book has it all. I also loved the twists towards the end, won't say much about them other than the fact that I did not see them coming!

The final thing I really loved about TNTGU was that so much took place in the book without that being noticeable or it feeling overcrowded. I didn't really pick up on that when reading it (which is good, you don't want your book to feel like too much is happening) but afterward I wanted to read a certain bit again and to do so obviously I had to flick back through and read certain passages to see if I was in the right place, and then I realised just how much had happened in that one single book.

Overall I loved TNTGU and I would definitely recommend it to everyone who enjoys reading a good old YA book! Xxx

I Am Malala - book review

Hola Lexicans! It's July today *whoop whoop summer has really, truly begun* and I thought I would treat you all with some cake* a book review on I Am Malala - a really popular, inspirational book I read last month.

*sorry just remembered I ate all the cake

I Am Malala is a non-fiction book all about 19 year old Malala Yousafzai, a teenager from Pakistani who stood up for women's rights and was shot in the head by the Taliban at just 15 years old. She is the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I knew who Malala was - of course, and that her book was worth reading and very inspiring yet I had never actually picked up her book... until a few weeks ago that is!

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Non-fiction books are NOT my thing. Not at all. So even though I knew this book was really popular and had got many recommendations that I needed to read it, I had been putting it off for a while and it had just been sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read and so I thought okay FINE universe stop telling me I need to read it. So I finally picked it up and started reading. Because I wasn't very convinved Iwas going to really get into it, when I started I was a little distracted and not putting all my focus and concentration into it. Later that evening when I picked it up again I finally read it properly without stopping and instantly fell in love.

I love the editorial voice in the book, it makes Malala feel so much more real as if you really know her and gives you a real backstory rather than just 'Malala, the girl who was shot by the Taliban'. I found her backstory so sad yet you could feel her passion and hope coming through within the book. I also found the way that the book was laid out almost like a story, with characters and a plot even though it is actually somebody's life.

Overall, I feel like this is a very empowering and inspiring book that every single person reading this blog post should take time to read one day. Have you already I Am Malala? What did you think of it?

Xxx

Windfall - New YA release

Hola Lexicans! Now the other week, Pan Macmillan sent me a copy of a new YA release called Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith. I read it in just a few days and I really loved it, so thought I'd share my opinions over on my blog. *because that's what bloggers do. right?

Windfall is about a girl called Alice and her best friend Teddy. For Teddy's 18th birthday, Alice buys him a lottery ticket and to both their astonishment, he wins the jackpot. A life changing $140 million jackpot! But when Teddy begins to spend that money, Alice is disappointed in his childish decisions on what he chooses to spend it on. Alice wants the money to go to charities and organisations, whereas Teddy is all about buying fancy sports cars and villas. This disagreement causes tension in their friendship and drives them apart.


not my picture (aha I wish). credits ~ https://writtenwordworlds.com/2017/05/02/windfall-book-review/

I loved this book so much! The layout of the book was nothing spectacular, pretty much a modern version of a rags-to-riches story however it was all the little differences, details and additions that made it such a beautiful storyline. I love the author's writing style personally too, which reminds me a little of Rainbow Rowell's. I found the way Alice (and Teddy) in some places quite frustrating and annoying but on the whole really liked the characters.

I'd definitely recommend this book to all fans of contemporary YA books, like Jennifer Niven's, Rainbow Rowell's, Sara Barnard's and Nicola Yoon's as whilst they aren't similar in topic, they have a similar audience and writing style.

I hope you enjoyed reading this book review - let me know down below if Windfall sounds like a book you'll be picking up on your next journey to them good ol' book shops! Of if you have already read it?

Xxx

#7DaysOfWLL... The Bookish Tag

Hola Lexicans! So yesterday I was tagged by Amy (Little Moon Dragon) to do the Bookish Tag post (go check out her answers here) so I though me + books = life so why not! Hope you enjoy<3

1. Which book has been on your shelf the longest?

Don't kill me HP fans, but Harry Potter has been on my shelf for so long and I just keep on not reading it ahah. Also really old pictures books from when I was little, like The Gruffalo.

2. Which book are you currently reading, last read and are going to read next?

I'm currently reading a new release called Windfall (watch out for my review of that once I've finished, currently loving it), I last read The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon (which you can read my review of here) and next I'm reading Cream Buns And Crime by Robin Stevens.

credits

3. What book did you like that everyone hated?

Well I've tried reading Harry Potter and it just isn't my thing BUT I'M NOT GIVING UP ON HARRY POTTER JUST YET. Also, as Amy mentioned I'll Give You The Sun. I've tried to get into it about 3 times now and I just find it quite boring. But neither of these books I have 'hated'.

4. What book do you keep telling yourself you'll read but probably won't?

My English teacher recommended I tried some more adult books, out of my comfort zone so my mum borrowed some Bill Bryson books off a friend and I keep on putting reading them off ahah. It's just so many books, so little time!

5. What books are you saving for retirement?

None. Why wait to read a good book? Exactly. I definitely want to reread books (like Wonder by RJ Palacio) that are favourites of mine now, as they'll be pretty old once I'm retired so most likely I will have forgotten about them!

6. Last page: read it or wait to the end?

Obviously wait to the end! Why would anyone want to spoil it and read the last page first. I've done it a couple of times before but then I always feel guilty afterwards and try to erase anything I read from my memory (even though big plot twists normally happen a bit before the end, rather than on the very last page).

7. Acknowledgements: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside?

I definitely don't think they're a waste of paper and ink. If I really loved a book and I'm so sad it has ended, then I read the acknowledgements to try and cling onto the book. If the book was meh I probably won't read them, but I still think they're interesting to have.

8. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life?

Well Room On The Broom by Julia Donaldson (a young child's picture book) reminds me of Halloween as we used to recite a certain part of it on Halloween (it was actually our 'trick' if someone said 'trick or treat' even though it's not much of a trick ahah). Beautiful Broken Things (my fav book) by Sara Barnard reminds me of the song Don't Be So Hard On Yourself by Jess Glynne and my flight back from Thailand last summer.

9. Which book has been with you the most places?

Probably Wonder by RJ Palacio. Every morning in Year 5 we had to read for 15 minutes or so and I always forgot to bring in a new book, and just kept Wonder in my bag. I must have read that book 50 odd times because of it >.<

10. Used or brand new?

I definitely prefer brand new.

11. Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?

Nope never heard of them!

12. Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?

No, I think I tend to prefer the thing I saw or read first, and I pretty much always read the book first soo.. When the Everything, Everything film adaption comes out I will definitely do a comparison! However, I did see a play I liked more than the book - The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. Definitely think the play is better than the book in that case.

13. Have you ever read a book that made you soo hungry?

Well most cookbooks to be honest! I mean, brownies, who can resist am I right?!

14. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?

My mum is always right when it comes to books I'll like and won't! Also all of you in the blogosphere, I don't have enough time to try out all the books you recommend, but if it sounds good, I'm bound to check it out.

15. Is there a book out of your usual comfort zone that you ended up loving?

I loved The Selection series, which is out of my comfort zone quite a bit as well as Divergent (although hated and couldn't even finish Insurgent, the second book).

I hope you all liked this post! I did miss out some questions that I just couldn't think of an answer for, as there's no point just saying 'I don't know'. I'm not going to tag specific people but just any of my book-loving blogger friends out there, I tag you to do this post. Make sure you let me know if you do, so I can check it out:) Be back tomorrow for the very final day of my #7DaysOfWLL project!

Xxx

#7DaysOfWLL... The Sun Is Also A Star - book review

Hola Lexicans! I can't believe we're already on Day 4 of my #7DaysOfWLL. It is going soo quickly! Well done to those of you who started (and are still going with!) this little project, I'll definitely be mentioning you on the 7th day! Anyway, at the beginning of this week I finished The Sun Is Also A Star, a very popular YA book by Nicola Yoon and I loveedd it, so I thought I'd share my opinions with you over on my blog. Take it away!

The Sun Is Also A Star tells the story of Daniel and Natasha, two teenagers with very little in common. Daniel is a dreamer, a poet and believes in fate, luck and love. However Natasha is a scientist, a very logical girl who doesn't believe in true love at all. If their days had gone to plan, they wouldn't have met. But they did, and that changed the whole day. Was it just a coincidence that they happened to be in the right place at the right time together? Or had their whole life been leading up to this day?

credits

I absolutely adored TSIAS so much. Yoon has written one other extremely popular YA book - Everything, Everything which I also loved and has actually been adapted to be a movie. The film is being released on the 19th May in the US (very soon) so all you Americans are lucky enough to be able to watch it in just over a week! Anywayss, I did really enjoy Everything, Everything however I can say very surely I preferred The Sun Is Also A Star. I loved the characters, and found the way they interacted and developed their relationship so poignant, interesting and honestly beautiful. The story was perfect, it had enough of a plot but still felt realistic which often books don't when they have very over the top plots.

As I mentioned in the last paragraph, I really liked the way their relationship developed throughout the book. Nicola wrote it so you could tell that their bond was growing and getting a lot stronger, but it was very subtle and not obvious, something that is effective and a lot of writers often struggle to do. I think my favourite bit of the book was the little bit right at the very end (I won't spoil it but I found it very impactful, although I don't really know why!)

Overall, I LOVED this book! Recently, I've been reading a lot of books that I have enjoyed a lot, but this made me realise just how amazing some books are. Have you read it? Are you planning on?

Xxx

The most popular YA books these days

Holalalaa Lexicans! How is everyone? I feel so disconnected from the blogging world at the moment - I haven't been checking out as many blogs or chatting to my blogger friends lately and I really miss it. So definitely hit me up guys either by commenting or emailing (whatlexieloves@gmail.com) because I want to chat to more of you guys:)

   Anywayyss enough with my cheesy lil rant, today I'm going to be chatting about what I call the 'typical YA book'. These are the books, that if you look up one on Amazon, the others I mention in this post today will usually all come up on the search, will be in Customers Who Bought This Also Bought or will be on your Recommend For You section. I think of it as this 'YA book circle' and whilst I haven't read all of the ones that come up in this circle (e.g. The Sun Is Also A Star) I'm going to be giving a small summary on the ones I have read.

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

So I've mentioned this heaps and will not go into much detail, but not only is this my favourite YA book, it's also my all-time favourite book! It's about the power of a strong female friendship and I would highly highly recommend it to anyone aged 12+ (including adults, I'm getting my mum to read it soon!) I absolutely ADOREDD this book.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I've mentioned this in a post before and this is a highly popular YA book. It was included in Zoella's Book Club, so my friend (who read most of the books in the ZBC) recommended it to me. It's a beautiful love story featuring a girl who is basically allergic to the world, but is also in love. However, when you're housebound and have been for the last decade and a half or so, being in love is harder than normal...

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All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

This is probably one of the most iconic YA books in this little 'YA book circle' and yet, is probably one of my least favourites. YES it was a good book and YES I would recommend it. However, it didn't blow me away like a lot of the others in this circle did. If I was making a list of the Top 20 YA books, I'd definitely include this, I just didn't feel as connected to it as I do with other books.

Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven

After my disappointment with ATBP, I was slightly cautious when buying this one and honestly, at first I was disappointed again. (Note.. I'm currently reading this book, so haven't finished it, but have only got a small amount of pages to go) However, I have now changed my mind. It is still quite confusing in places, and drags on a little but I did like this a lot more than ATBP and would highly recommend it, particularly if you liked ATBP, as it was probably the fact I'm not keen on Niven's writing style. Full review coming soon!

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I. Loved. This. Book. It is about Cadence and the summers that she spends on her grandfather's island with the Liars (her cousins and close friends) as well as the rest of her large family. But then in Summer 15 (her 15th summer), there is an accident and Cadence loses all memory of that entire summer. No-one will tell her what truly happened, and she has to piece together the clues herself. This is a beautifully written book, and whilst I found the ending slightly confusing at first, I absolutely loved this story.

There are some more YA books in this 'YA book circle' so if you'd like a Part 2, let me know. Have you read any of these books? What other books have you read that you consider to be in this typical YA book circle?

Xxx

A Quiet Kind Of Thunder

Hola Lexicans! How are y'all? Today I'm going to be posting a book review on a book that I read recently - A Quiet Kind Of Thunder by Sara Barnard. Now, you may recall a book review on Beautiful Broken Things (which you can read here) in which I declared it my favourite book. AND THEN I FOUND OUT THE AUTHOR HAD WRITTEN ANOTHER BOOK YES WHAT* So, obviously I had to pick it up. Here are my thoughts...

*finding out that the author who wrote your favourite book has written more books is the best thing ever**, I was so happy
**oh and pizza. duh.

A Quiet Kind Of Thunder tells the story of Steffi. Steffi suffers from selective mutism and social anxiety, meaning she never speaks in public. Her school life is lonely and miserable, shutting herself off from everyone else, other than her best friend and family. Until Rhys comes along. Being deaf, he doesn't need Steffi to physically speak to him for them to connect. They understand each other perfectly.

Isn't this cover just gorgeous!! I'll be honest, it's what drew me to the book

before I realised it was by the same author who wrote Beautiful Broken

Things! Credits linked here.

I found this book so sweet and moving. I've been reading and reviewing lots of romance books lately and every time I say, 'I'm not that into romance' but honestly, with the many I have read lately my opinion of it is definitely starting to change. The connection between Steffi and Rhys is so beautiful and well-developed, I loved watching their relationship grow.

 

Another thing I thought was great about this book was how light-hearted and funny it was, without clashing with the sadder topics this book touches on. I love books that can make me laugh whilst still be touching, and this book did that perfectly. It also had a wide range of diversity, with Rhys being deaf, Steffi's selective mutism and social anxiety, divorced parents and characters with a range of different races and nationalities. I think it's so great that more and more YA books these days are very diverse - I love it!

Overall, I loved this book, it's so cUTEEE! I would 100% recommend it to teenagers and adults alike, romance lover or not!

Xxx

The Goldfish Boy - Book Review

Hola Lexicans! How are you? Today I'm back with a book review, this time reviewing MG mystery The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson. As you all know, I love mysteries and MG books when I'm looking for a nice and easy read, so when my sister recommended this I was all over reading it!

Matthew is a 12 year old boy who clean his hands and the things around him endlessly and hasn't stepped outside in months. This is because Matthew has a very severe case of OCD and a phobia of germs. He thinks if he cleans, every surface in his house, every day it will prevent germs killing Matthew and his family. Besides cleaning, Matthew spends most his time looking out of the window, watching his neighbours do their day-to-day chores. And then a toddler staying at his neighbour's house goes missing, and Matthew was the last person to see him...

not my photo

I really liked this book! As a character, Matthew was well-developed and I sympathised with him throughout the book. The story reminded me very much of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon, and Smart by Kim Slater as they both contained a boy of about 12 years old, with some form of a mental disability solving a mystery so if you enjoyed either of those books, you will love The Goldfish Boy.

One of the great things about this book, was that there was a lot going on yet it never got confusing or like there was too much happening. A book just about Matthew would have been sufficient, as would a book just about the mystery, but both makes is perfect! I often find that books with a lot going on, often are very confusing and will cause me to go back and re-read certain sections, particularly as I'm such a quick reader.

Overall, I loved this book and would recommend it for 8-11 year olds. Personally, I'm above the recommended reading age for this, yet I still love to read a good old MG book now and again and this was definitely worth the read. Next post (which should be up this Sunday), is on the theatre play School Of Rock, which I went to see last weekend.

Xxx