In My Mailbox (25)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Bought:

Does My Head Look Big In This? Randa Abdel-Fattah

From book cover: High school is tough enough without throwing a hijab into the mix...

What's my class going to say on Monday when I walk into class wearing the Muslim veil for the first time? Oh boy, will they freak out. Shawling up? In front of the kids of Year Eleven? It would be easier to walk in naked.

Amal's decision to wear the hijab full-time takes a lot of guts. Can she cope with the prejudice, keep her friends, and still attract the cutest boy in school?

I've heard great things about this one, and it sounds like exactly the kind of quirky and unique read I could do with right now. Plus, I have a fondness for books set in Australia. I'm not really sure why, but just between us it may have something to do with all those years watching the Aussie soaps.

Dead Gorgeous - Malorie Blackman

From book cover: He's got looks. He's got attitude. Why doesn't he just get a life?

Nova is fed up. Her parents are obsessed by running their hotel and her older sister does't want to spend time with her any more.

Liam is dead gorgeous. Trouble is, he's also dead - and permanently stuck at the hotel as a ghost.

Liam can see how hard Nova is struggling. But what a shame Nova's the only one who can see him at all!

It struck me last weekend that Malorie Blackman has written a lot of books, but I've barely read any of them. This one is sounding like a less-melodramatic version of the standard YA paranormal romance. Which I'm pretty sure can only be a good thing.

On loan from the author:

Restoring Harmony - Joëlle Anthony

From ARC cover: Heading off on her own to a big American city might have been a fun adventure for sixteen-year-old Molly McClure in the good old days before the Collapse, when nearly all the oil ran out; but in 2041, when family calamities strike all at once and Molly must leave her isolated farming island in Canada for the very first time, the world she meets is anything but fun. Food is in short supply, crime is rampant, and once-bustling cities stand abandoned and crumbling - danger lurking round every corner.

No-one is as they seem, and Molly has to make some fast, tough choices about whom to trust, especially when a dangerous crime organization sets her in their sights. Luckily, Molly is a determined, can-do kind of girl, and with the help of a handsome stranger, she may just make it home alive.

I'm a dystopia addict. Fact. So when I first heard about this one last year, it went straight onto my wishlist and that week's Waiting on Wednesday post. Lucky for me, Joëlle Anthony decided to send one of her ARCs off to visit some friends in the UK, and since she knew how much I wanted to read it she offered me a read too. Then the poor little ARC got lost in the post on the way to the UK for several months... but happily it showed up recently and now here it is with me. To say I'm thrilled is a major understatement.

So... what goodies did everyone else get?

Review: A Million Shades of Grey - Cynthia Kadohata

Y'Tin lives for elephants. He's the youngest elephant handler in his village, and he loves nothing more than spending time with Lady - his elephant charge. He doesn't see the point of going to school, even for the better life his mother speaks of. He can't imagine a better life than taking care of Lady. His elephant is his world.

But when the soldiers come, Y'Tin's world changes forever. Forced to look death in the face, he embarks on a treacherous and heartbreaking journey.

A Million Shades of Grey is a million miles away from the type of books I usually pick up. Set during the Vietnam War, it’s the coming of age story of a young boy from the Rhade tribe who also happens to be an elephant handler. I wasn’t initially blown away by the premise but I was mildly intrigued by the prospect of reading about a life so different from my own. I’m British, and the Vietnam War is something that I’ve only really encountered in American movies or seen alluded to in reruns of The Wonder Years. Reading A Million Shades of Grey is the first time I’ve gotten to know a Vietnamese protagonist and seen how this war might have felt from the point of view of those who lived through it on their own soil.

Y’Tin’s story starts slowly, as Kadohata gently introduces us to the boy’s life, his family, and the way that they live. She gives us moving insights into how the presence of the US military affected the lives of the Rhade; the trust that Y’Tin’s family have for the Americans, the bravery that his father shows in assisting on their missions, and the way that US slang creeps into Y’Tin’s own speech. We also learn about Y’Tin's love for the village’s elephants, and his determination to become an elephant handler. It’s slow going in places, but this is the calm before the storm.

Though the novel starts slowly, it really packs a punch in its portrayal of the shattering of this tenuous safety; when the narrative shifts forward in time to what happens after the US military pull out of Vietnam and Y’Tin’s village are left to face the Viet Cong alone. When the village is taken in an enemy attack, the Rhade men are taken captive and forced to dig a great pit in the village graveyard. Y’Tin realises what this means, and manages to flee with his best friend into the jungle, where he is reunited with his precious elephant, Lady, and embarks on a journey that sees him making heartbreaking decisions and ultimately becoming a man. It’s a story of what it takes to survive, to love unconditionally, and to forgive.

In the UK this book is aimed at readers aged ten and upwards, and I think that A Million Shades of Grey has the potential to touch readers of all ages. Though readers much younger than ten might not be ready for the vocabulary and the themes of war, beyond that it's the type of book that defies age categorisation. The language is elegant, and Kadohata has incoporated the kind of unobtrusive symbolism that you can ponder as much or as little as you wish. Although set in such a different time and place from most of our own lives, Y’Tin’s journey is a universal one. This story is moving, thought-provoking, and beautifully told.

Out: February 4th, 2010 in the UK and January 5th, 2010 in the US (as A Million Shades of Gray), Simon and Schuster.

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for sending me a review copy of this book.

Waiting On Wednesday (22): Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week I'm waiting on...

Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw.

Summary from Amazon: Ten years ago Kate Winters’ parents were taken by the High Council’s wardens to help with the country’s war effort.

Now the wardens are back...and prisoners, including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane – the High Council’s most feared man – recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council’s experiments into the veil, and he’s convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace.

The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft – a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night of Souls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft.

There's something about the premise of this book that makes me giddy with excitement. It sounds fresh, intriguing and dark, and that sounds good to me. If a book has a High Council, a Night Train and a graveyard city, it's pretty much guaranteed to be my kind of thing. Plus, Jenna Burtenshaw is a debut UK author, which as far as I'm concerned equals awesome.

Also, I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover... but when a cover is this lovely, what's a girl to do?

ETA for this one is May 13th 2010 for UK types.

POC Reading Commitment

I've been relucant to join many reading challenges, because I like to read as the mood takes me. However, this past week has seen the launch of the PoC Reading Challenge, and I just can't say no to this one.

'People of colour' is not really a phrase you hear used much in the UK. However, I like the inclusiveness of the term. Would I prefer that it wasn't necessary to talk in these terms at all? Yes, but sadly that's not were most of the world is right now.

Last week I made a commitment to diversify my reading. I then went straight to the bookstore near my work the next day and what did I find? Well, very little, actually. I could barely find any YA books featuring a person of colour on the cover. And this is in London: a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic city. This made me a bit depressed - not for myself, but for the UK teens who aren't getting the chance to see themselves and each other widely represented in literature.

So when I read about the PoC Reading Challenge this weekend, I knew I had to join. I like the idea that participants' reviews will all be linked to in one place. I also like the idea that I'm publicly making a commitment to change my reading and reviewing habits. I've decided to go for Level 5, which means I'm committing to reviewing 16-25 PoC books here on I Was A Teenage Book Geek in the next year.

I'm not really thinking of this as a traditional reading challenge, more like a challenge to diversify my reading habits permanently. I'm also aware that some people may not like that this 'challenge' exists, or may think that it's somehow offensive or unnecessary in itself. I would say to those people, I wish it weren't necessary. I wish that I could walk into my local bookstore and find a YA section that reflects the diversity of the world. But while I can't, it's important to me that my blogging attempts to help redress the imbalance.

My plan is to add books to this post as I select them, then link to the reviews once they're up. I want to stick to YA and middle-grade books as far as possible. Oh, and recommendations are definitely welcome. Bring 'em on!

1. A Million Shades of Gray - Cynthia Kadohata
2. Dead Gorgeous - Malorie Blackman
3. Does My Head Look Big In This - Randa Abdel-Fattah
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If you're interested in joining in, there are four other levels ranging from 1 to 15 books to choose from. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Review: When I Was Joe by Keren David

Fourteen year old Ty saw everything. He was there on the night that a schoolboy died from a fatal stab wound, and he knows who did it.

The police need him to testify, but they know this will make him a target for retalliation. So they put Ty and his mother into witness protection - new names, new haircuts, a new home. New identities. Ty becomes Joe.... star athelete, thirteen years old, and - surprisingly - girl magnet.

But Joe or not, Ty still has to testify. And the past is refusing to be left behind.

Here's the thing: I don't really do reality. I read for escapism. Fairytales, fantasy, sci-fi, the occasional Chick Lit novel - I can't get enough of getting away from the real world. But show me a novel that addresses the everyday issues people face in the UK's big cities, and I'm out of my comfort zone. I suspect I'm not alone in this: at my local bookstore, one third of the YA section is devoted to paranormal romance. Vampires and werewolves aren't scary anymore. The evening news is. So following the highest recommendations from several of my most trusted fellow bloggers, I ordered a copy of Keren David's When I Was Joe with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. Knife-crime, thriller, male narrator? Not my usual fare, but the reviews were irrestible.

When I Was Joe is about knife crime, but it's also about identity. It's about a boy finding out who he is. Ty is fourteen when he's forced to take on a new persona and become Joe, at an age when most of us are still working out who we are. It's a fascinating process, exploring how a new look and an air of mystery sparks a reaction in others that Ty's not used to. And as he goes from being unnoticed sidekick Ty to popular heart-throb Joe, we see how this in turn changes his behaviour and sense of who he is. How far are our choices and opportunities controlled by how others see us? By what we've done in the past, or by who our parents were? And can we take that control back? It's thought-provoking, powerful and eyes-glued-to-the-page fascinating.

As a main character, Ty is as real as they come. I'm don't always feel especially at ease with male protagonists, but from the opening paragraphs I felt as though I was literally inside Ty's head - as though I was him, for those three-hundred-and-something pages. Even after finishing the story, he's lingered with me a little. This isn't the kind of story you'll finish and then instantly move on from. Since we're not sure exactly what happened that night in the part until the very end of the book, this meant that I spent certain parts of the story desperately hoping that he hadn't done anything too awful for me to deal with. It also meant that I winced a little every time he made a mistake, or reverted to his tough-guy persona, or escalated a situation that didn't need to be made worse. I felt this one.

There's also a love story here, and it's of the bittersweet variety. As Joe, Ty has an interest in several girls but finds a connection to one in particular - the shy, troubled Claire. I don't want to give too much away, but I loved the fact that Keren David also explored Ty's reaction to suddenly being noticed by girls, and his deepening understanding of how to relate to them. I think too many times in YA fiction we're expected to invest in a male love interest who actually doesn't treat the female protagonist with respect, and it's heartening to see that kind of behaviour addressed. As a character, Claire has her own secret but again she's portrayed in a completely believable way. It seems natural that she and Ty would find a connection, and it's this connection that leads to some of the most heartbreaking scenes in the book.

The aspect of this book I was initially most cautious about was the treatment of knife crime. I think it's an incredibly complex issue and I feared this would make the novel too heavy or dark to keep me interested. This is without a doubt not the case. In fact, having read When I Was Joe has convinced me that YA fiction needed this book at this time. Keren David somehow manages to pitch her subject matter just right - her writing is honest and never heavy-handed, and she blends a gripping storyline with thought-provoking themes and characters who will find their way into your heart. Like everyone else I know who has read it, I'm now desperately looking forward to the follow up, Almost True, later this year. For now, I would urge all readers to step away from their comfort zones and get themselves a copy of When I Was Joe. It's flawless.

Out: 7th January 2010, Frances Lincoln.

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I've heard a few readers mention around the blogosphere that they're having trouble picking up a copy of this novel in stores. You can order it online at Amazon, The Book Depository, Waterstones and at the publishers' website.

In My Mailbox (24)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi, a.k.a. The Story Siren.

Bought:

The Flight of the Cassowary - John LeVert

Summary from book jacket: Paul is facing the usual problems of adolescence: conflict with his parents, trying to understand girls, getting into trouble at school. But he has another problem that is definitely not normal, an identity crisis with a difference, when he develops a habit of turning into animals...

Yep, you know you're posting about a little-known title when you can't find a decent cover shot anywhere on the internet. I first read this book as a teen when my mother bought it for me as a birthday present. I wasn't overly thrilled with the premise, as I recall, but I gave it a try and ended up reading it twice through. I think my original copy was given away to a local charity shop, so I picked up a secondhand replacement copy for cheap.

Everlost - Neal Shusterman

Summary from Waterstones.com: Nick and Allie don't survive the crash, and now they are in limbo, stuck halfway between life and death, in a netherworld known as Everlost. Everlost is home to those who didn't make it to their final destination: A magical yet dangerous place filled with shadows where lost souls run wild. Shocked and frightened, Nick and Allie aren't ready to rest in peace just yet. They want their lives back. Desperate for a way out, their search takes them deep into the uncharted regions of Everlost. But the longer they stay, the more they forget about their past lives. And with all memory of home fading fast and an unknown evil lurking in the shadows, Nick and Allie may never escape this strange, terrible world. In this imaginative, supernatural thriller, Neal Shusterman explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between.

I recently received Everwild - the second book in this series - for review, and I'm someone who likes to start at the beginning wherever possible. It sounds like exactly the kind of book I should like a lot.

Review and Sample Chapters: Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate is a Southern boy from a small town named Gatlin. He has good manners, a voracious appetite for home cooking, and sometimes wakes up from nightmares with dirt under his fingernails.

Nightmares in which he sees Lena Duchannes, in which he feels that he loves her... before she even moves to Gatlin. And when she does, she's like no other girl in town. She drives a hearse, wears a lifetime of memorabilia on a chain around her neck, and is the niece of the town recluse, Macon Ravenwood. She's also cursed.

Beautiful Creatures is all-consuming. It's heady and immersive and it's not the type of story you witness from the sidelines. It engages your senses, floods your imagination and gets right in deep under your skin. The taste of fried chicken and Red Hots, the smell of lemon and rosemary, the sound of a haunting melody: this is world-building at its finest. Even now, over a week after finishing the book, certain moments linger in my memory as though I were actually lived through them myself.

Where Beautiful Creatures also stands out is in the depiction of Ethan and Lena, the main players in its central love story. So we have our male narrator, Ethan Wate - popular boy and member of the school basketball team - falling for the mysterious, troubled and possibly dangerous female outcast. As someone who doesn't automatically gravitate to novels with male narrators, I was pleasantly surprised by Ethan and his dynamic with Lena. Yes, even though he's the 'ordinary' half of this paranormal romance he's still intent on protecting his girlfriend and mostly quite sure that he can - but only in the way that we all try to protect our loved ones. Lena, in contrast, is a more complex female lead than many in the YA paranormal romance genre, and suitably messed up for a young girl with her unusual background and volatile abilities.

Against the backdrop of a closed-minded, insular Southern town, Garcia and Stohl have also drawn us a notable cast of secondary players who are vivid, compelling and ultimately loveable. There's Amma, the Wate's housekeeper, who also has the role of parenting Ethan since his mother died and his father retreated into his own grief. She's fierce, superstitious, and makes sure Ethan minds his behaviour at all times. Then there's Macon, Lena's mysterious and reclusive uncle; Ethan's good-natured best friend Link, willing to go against the in-crowd (as long as his Mama doesn't catch up with him); and three elderly aunts with their own unique take on animal rescue. This book is teeming with fascinating characters who I'm sure will live on in my own imagination for a long time to come.

The marketing for Beautiful Creatures draws comparisons with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and I can certainly see why. There's forbidden passion, a perfectly imagined setting and an underlying malice fizzing under the surface: those ingredients are always going to produce enticing fare for hardcore fans of YA paranormal romance. At the same time, Beautiful Creatures has an edgier, more raw approach to its subject matter - unlike Twilight, it's not the type of book you read complacently feeling safe in the knowledge that everything will work out rosily in the end. It might not. In fact, it probably won't. And that, in my opinion, is something else that sets Beautiful Creatures apart from other titles in the genre. This one is dangerous.

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If you like the sound of Beautiful Creatures and would like to try it out for yourself, you may be interested to hear that you can currently access three sample chapters here, here and right here. As my Mum would say: try it, you might like it.

There's also a poll underway over at Spinebreakers right now where 13-18 year olds can vote for their favourite literary lovers of all time, in celebration of the UK release of Beautiful Creatures. Head this way to check it out, as well as their mini-site for the book, complete with trailer and awesome fan art.

Time Travel Tuesday: Little Women - Louisa May Alcott (3)

It's New Year's Eve, and sixteen year old Meg March is working it. Sure, she can't afford a new silk frock, but Meg knows that you can always tell a lady by her neat white gloves. Besides, she has awesome new shoes and she's rocking a cute hair ribbon.

Her sister Jo, in contrast, has a burn-mark on the back of her dress and is wearing a starched 'gentlemanly' collar. Before they head off to the party, Meg reminds her not to wink in public - it's unladylike - and to take small steps. If I were reading Little Women for the first time, I'd be pretty sure where all this tomboy stuff is going with Jo. However, this is the 1860s, and I've read this one before, so instead we get Laurie Laurence: The Original Boy Next Door.

Laurie, like Jo, is fifteen. He's also mysterious, sophisticated, and very rich. And he takes an instant shine to tomboy Jo. New Year's Eve is their first chance to really get to know each other, and they get on famously. Since this is the 1860s, they don't hook up, but Jo 'takes several good looks at him'. Hussy!

Meanwhile, off-page, Meg manages to walk in her new shoes just long enough to make an impression on it-girl Sallie Moffat. Sallie (I know I'm picturing Blair Waldorf) invites Meg to come and stay with her some day. Presumably because she has nothing else to do all day but simper about in her palatial home, admiring her own finery. Yes, I say that with apparent scorn, but I have to agree with Meg that it sounds way more fun than slumming it Chez March.

The New Year comes, and Jo decides she wants to see a little more of Laurie. So she calls up to his window, where he's shut up inside with a cold, and he invites her in to his palatial home. (I'm starting to suspect that Louisa May Alcott is BS-ing about the March's being poverty-stricken, because it sounds like they live in a good part of town to me.)

Laurie and Jo get talking, and he lets slip that he knows all about the March sisters, because he has been watching them. He knows their names, from watching and listening at his window as they call to each other in their garden. Sometimes, at night, when their lamps are on and they don't draw their curtains, he can even see right into their house. Isn't that nice? Now at this point I'm starting to feel uneasy, but Jo doesn't seem creeped out at all. I decide to defer to her judgement on this one, since this is her story and it's not like boyfriend is climbing in through her window at night and watching her sleep.

Before long, the entire March family is hanging out over at the Laurence mansion with Laurie and his grandfather, who is possibly my favourite fictional grandfather ever. Meg goes to wander in the conservatory. Jo goes there to spend time with Laurie. Beth goes to play their fine pianny. Even little Amy wants to tag along when Laurie, Jo and Meg go to the theatre.

Of course, Jo is having none of that, and refuses to let her baby sister tag along. Big mistake! Because as Jo is about to realise, nobody puts Amy in the corner....

Colour Under Cover: The Magic Under Glass Cover Controversy

I haven't read Jaclyn Dolamore's Magic Under Glass yet, but I have read several blog posts this weekend about the choice of cover for the US edition. Dolamore's MC is described in the novel as dark-skinned. The model on the US cover is not.

This weekend has seen impassioned posts from Susan at Black-Eyed Susan's and Ari at Reading In Color. I'm posting now not because I think I'm adding anything particularly new to the debate - in this instance I think it's all been said, and very eloquently - but to add my voice. And also because it's just possible that some people who visit my blog won't have heard about this elsewhere.

Susan states that: 'It is time to call out peers for failing to stand up for what's right. I'm not talking name calling, I'm talking about publicly calling on our peers to speak up, asking YA bloggers to join us in promoting POC writers and denouncing unfair practices at publishing houses.'

I get the impression from posts elsewhere that some bloggers feel hurt by this. I don't. I don't feel that Susan is blasting me for not realising that this has happened: I feel that she's pointing out that it has happened and asking for other bloggers to add their voices to the cause. That she's asking us all to be a little more aware from now on. That said: I really should be more aware of this kind of thing already. I should be doing more to promote books that feature characters of different ethnic backgrounds.

The other day I posted about why the GLBT Challenge is important to me, and actually a lot of what I said holds true for this issue too. We need to support publishers when they get it right. We need to give them a reason to keep on getting it right. Sometimes apathy alone does make us part of the problem, whether we like it or not, and I don't want to be that.

I will still read Magic Under Glass when it hits the UK in February. Jaclyn Dolamore has written a book with a protagonist who is a woman of colour, and a book with a fascinating premise too. But I will also make a commitment to seek out and review YA books this year that feature protagonists of different ethnicities. And if I don't, you can call me on it.

What you decide to do is your own call, but I'd recommend that anyone who cares about this gets themselves over to Ari's blog posts here and here for some ideas on what we can all do, and an open letter to Bloomsbury that I challenge you not to cry a little at.

Edit: I would just like to make clear that no disrespect is intended to Jaclyn Dolamore by this post, and that I do not support a boycott of this book at all. It's still one of my most-wanted titles.

In My Mailbox (23)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

For review:

Secrets at St Judes: Drama Girl - Carmen Reid

From book cover: St Jude's - stuffy, dreary and dull? So wrong! This term the dorm girls are in for some serious drama!

Gina can't wait for her friends and her Mom to visit. But she's about to find out that mixing two sets of best friends is trouble. Niffy's brother wants to date Amy, but if that happens Niffy's never going to talk to her again! Min wonders if she will ever have the nerve to kiss her first boyfriend. Meanwhile, Amy will do anything to look fabulous for the school play, but she may be going too far. Can the girls sort out their problems before something really dramatic happens?

I hope not, because I like drama. In books, anyway. I also spent most of my school years wishing I could be a boarder, so this will no doubt reinforce to me that I missed out. I'm guessing this series is an updated version of the Mallory Towers books... and that's got to be a winner. Thank you to Random House UK for providing a review copy of this one.

The Puzzle Ring - Kate Forsyth

From book cover: Hannah is almost thirteen when she discovers her family is cursed...

Desperate to break the dark spell and find her missing father, Hannah starts a treacherous journey back in time. If she can find all four pieces of a magical puzzle ring, her family will be reunited. But her quest takes her back to the days of Mary, Queen of Scots - a time when witches are burned at the stake and danger lurks everywhere. Can Hannah put the puzzle ring together fast enough to save her family?

Ooh, did someone say 'time travel'? Yes, they did, and that makes for one super-excited me. Kate Forsyth has organised an online book tour for The Puzzle Ring in February, and I'm reading this in preparation for my review and Kate's guest post here at I Was A Teenage Book Geek. Thanks to Scholastic UK for sending the review copy.

Bought:

When I Was Joe - Keren David

From book cover: It's one thing watching someone get killed. It's quite another talking about it.

But Ty does talk about it. He names some ruthless people and a petrol-bomb attack forces him and his mum into hiding under police protection.

Shy loser Ty gets a new name, a new look and a cool new image. Life as Joe is good. But the gangsters will stop at nothing to silence him. And then he meets a girl with a dangerous secret of her own.

It seems like everyone in the UK book blogger scene is talking about this one at the moment. The more I read about it, the more intrigued I become - so definitely a must-read for me. Edit: this book can be ordered direct from the publisher right here.

Of All The Stupid Things - Alexandra Diaz

From book cover: Tara, Pinkie and Whitney Blaire have been friends forever. Until one love affair tears them apart. When a rumour starts circulating that Tara's boyfriend Brent has been sleeping with one of the guy cheerleaders, the innuendo doesn't just hurt Tara. It marks the beginning of the end for three lifelong friends. Tara's training for a marathon, but also running from her fear of abandonment after being deserted by her father. Whitney Blaire seems to have everything, but an empty mansion and absentee parents leave this beauty looking for her own value in all the wrong places. And Pinkie has a compulsive need to mother everyone to make up for the mom she's never stopped missing.

Then new-girl Riley arrives in school with her long black hair, ahtletic body, and her blase attitude, and suddenly Tara starts to feel things she's never felt before for a girl - and to reassess her feelings about Brent and what he may / may not have done. Is Tara gay - or does she just love Riley? And can her deepest friendships survive when all the rules have changed?

Since I'm signed up for two challenges this year, there's no way I could resist a book that relates to both of them. This one has GLBT interest and it's a debut novel, plus I've read some reviews that indicate I'll love it. All awesome reasons to check this one out.

GLBT Mini-Challenge: January

This year, I'm taking part in the 2010 GLBT Challenge. I've signed up to read at least four GLBT-relevant books this year, which should be easy-peasy. I've got some amazing-sounding books picked out and I can't wait to get started.

In the meantime, The Challenge That Dare Not Speak Its Name has issued a mini-challenge. They've asked participants to write a few paragraphs about why the challenge or GLBT issues are important to us. So here goes.

Why the GLBT challenge matters to me.

Books are one of the most powerful mediums we have for helping individuals to empathise with those who are different to them. We walk a mile in the character's shoes. We appreciate the ways in which they are the same as well as different. If we don't start out accepting of those differences, maybe by the end of the book - or by the end of several books - we will.

This is why I want readers to give GLBT fiction a chance. It troubles me that maybe some readers won't. Maybe they don't think the characters will interest them, maybe they don't think they'll be able to relate, or maybe they just aren't interested in a book that doesn't have an epic boy-girl love story. Maybe a major sci-fi fan will pass up a wonderful sci-fi novel because the main character is gay: that's madness, right?

By taking part in this challenge I'm making a commitment to review YA books which have GLBT interest, in the hope that people who see my reviews will decide to check some of these books out. Maybe not because it's a GLBT book; maybe because it's an awesome fantasy story or wicked dystopia. That's fine. As long as the fact there's a GLBT element isn't the one thing that stops them picking up a book they might actually love.

I also think of participating in the challenge as a thank you to the authors who write these books even though they might not sell as easily as a 'straight' version of the same story. And the publishers who decide to take a chance on them. And everyone who gets them into stores and libraries so that the people who need to read them can. They've all done their bit to get books that might promote acceptance out into the world where they can make a difference - and as a blogger I want to let prospective readers know about it.

Waiting On Wednesday (21): Nomansland by Lesley Hauge

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm waiting on...

Nomansland by Lesley Hauge.

Description from Goodreads: Sometime in the future, a lonely, windswept island is populated solely by women. Among these women is a group of teenaged Trackers—expert equestrians and archers—whose job is to protect their shores from the enemy.

The enemy, they’ve been told, is men. When these girls come upon a partially buried home from the distant past, they are fascinated by the strange objects—high-heeled shoes, teen magazines, make-up—found there. What are they to make of these mysterious things? And what does it mean for their strict society where friendship is forbidden and rules must be obeyed—at all costs?

'Sometime in the future'? Oooh. As any regular visitor to I Was A Teenage Book Geek will know, 'sometime in the future' is my very favourite time. And dystopia? My very favourite flavour of future.

I'm getting Uglies-meets-The Handmaid's Tale vibes here, making for one incredibly exciting prospect. Plus, a women-only society? That's got to be fascinating.

Major thanks to Carla of The Crooked Shelf for heads-upping me on this one. Current ETA is June 2010 for the US. No news on a UK release yet, but this one has 'will import if necessary' written all over it.

Time Travel Tuesday: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (2)

Meet the March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. It's Christmas Eve and they're hanging at home, grumbling about how much their lives suck and trying to decide what to buy with the dollar each their mother has given them. It's the 1860s, so a dollar each is actually quite generous. Especially since the March family has fallen on hard times. They can't even afford a nicer piano! Oh, and they call their mother Marmee. For reasons that are not quite clear.

Haven't read Little Women before? No problem. This time round, I'm doing character summaries...

Meg: At sixteen, she's the oldest March sister. She's described as being pretty, with white hands that she's rather vain of. This is presented as quite normal. She works as a governess but wishes she was rich and privileged like some of her friends. Think of her as Gossip Girl's Little Jenny Humphrey in a crinoline. Only nicer.

Jo: MC Jo March is fifteen, with a feminist streak and a love of writing. Hint: she's the one you're meant to like best. She's a little like D.J. Schwenk from Dairy Queen - she takes responsibility for her family, she's a tomboy, and during the first book she cuts off all her hair. Oh, and if her best friend falls madly in love with her, she'll be the last to realise it.

Beth: Thirteen years old, Beth is shy and sweet. Her modern day counterpart would probably be Primrose Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy - and when it comes to protecting her little sister, I've no doubt Jo would go to the same lengths as Katniss.

Amy: The baby of the March family is twelve when Little Women begins. She's into art and keeping up with the Civil War-era mean girls at school. Picture her as Gossip Girl's Little Jenny Humphrey in a crinoline, and you're pretty much there. Wait, another Jenny Humphrey? Okay, take off a few years, and you're pretty much there. And add a peg on her nose: it's like the cosmetic surgery of the 1860s.

Laurie: Boy-next-door to the March sisters, Theodore Laurence prefers to be known as Laurie because he thinks it's more masculine. Awww. In true boy-next-door fashion, he's destined to fall in love with his best friend. I'm calling Twilight's Jacob for this one.

So, now we've got the characters straight, back to business. As I was saying, it's Christmas Eve. Meg and Jo are bitching about how they hate being poor and having to work, and then suddenly they realise what a bunch of little brats they're being. Because their father is fighting in a war, which kind of puts things into perspective. They decide they'll try to be better, and spend their dollar each on a present for Marmee. Except for Amy, who will spend part of her dollar on a little bottle of Marmee's favourite cologne, and the rest on colouring pencils.

Christmas morning: the sisters wake up all excited to find that Marmee has left them a leather-bound bible each under their pillows. Unfazed by the lack of Tiffany charm bracelets and this year's netbooks, they head downstairs to find that their mother isn't there. Hannah, their servant, tells them that Marmee is visiting a poor German family who came begging.

Yes, you read that right. The supposedly fallen-on-hard-times March family have a live-in servant. Except that she 'had lived with the family since before Meg was born, and was considered by them all more as a friend than a servant'. Right. A friend who washes their dishes and calls them all 'Miss March'.

Somewhere along the way, Amy has gone missing. She comes back before Marmee does, having exchanged her measly old bottle of cologne for a larger one. (This surprises me. The mall opened on Christmas day?) Her sisters proclaim her a 'trump', which is apparently a good thing.

By the time Marmee comes back, the girls are practically salivating over the breakfast spread before them: fried cakes, buckwheats, cream and 'muffings'. I have no idea what some of these things are, but do the girls finally get to eat them? As if. When Mrs March gets back, she asks them a favour: will they give their breakfasts to the Hummels (the poor German family) as a Christmas present?

Now, that's very charitable of you, Marmee. But all your daughters got was a bible each and a dollar they spent on you. Lucky for the Hummels, the March sisters are super-saintly once again. They hand over the buckwheats like regular angels, and then go home to put on a production of a play Jo has written.

Afterwards, Hannah calls them down to finally eat: "Compliments of Mrs March, and would the ladies walk down to supper'. Friendly, isn't she? Apparently their neighbour old Mr Laurence has sent some goodies over, touched by their charitable gesture towards the poor German family.

Feasting on bon bons and the like, the girls discuss Mr Laurence's grandson, who Jo talked to once and wants to make friends with. He needs some fun, she's sure of it. Considering the wild Christmas day the March girls just had, something tells me Laurie Laurence is in for a treat.

Guest post: Sarah from Scare Sarah

Earlier this month, I made myself some blog resolutions. One of them was to ask some of my favourite bloggers to guest post here on I Was A Teenage Book Geek in 2010. Amazingly, I'm doing it.

First up is horror blogger Sarah of Scare Sarah. If you head on over to her place (though I must warn you, it's rated 18 for content), you'll find regular posts about the movies, books and miscellany she encounters on her quest to be, well... scared.

Ever helpful, I gave her a copy of the absolute scariest YA book of 2009 to read. Here's what she made of it.

The Waking: Dreams of The Dead by Thomas Randall

Teenager Kara and her father have just moved to Japan to start over after the death of her mother. A new country, a new set of classmates, and to top it off her dad is the head teacher of her new school. Oh, the shame.

Kara soon makes friends with Sakura, who is having her own problems trying to come to terms with the mysterious death of her sister. It soon becomes apparent that there’s something sinister going on in the town. Something that starts with nightmares and secrets... and ends in bloodshed.

This book appealed to me for two reasons. Firstly I love horror, so no surprises there. And secondly, it is set in Japan - and I love Japanese horror. Don't misunderstand, this is not your One Missed Call or The Ring, but it's not in bite sized form for the kiddies either.

In this first book of Thomas Randall’s trilogy, as with most Japanese horror, the focus is on folklore - here mainly the Noh, which is a Japanese musical play with ghosts and phantoms. Why wouldn't you be afraid of something that you spent your whole life wholeheartedly believing in? Almost childlike, that's what makes this part of the world so magical to me.

Horror aside, I loved learning about the Japanese culture. For example, did you know that at school it's the teachers who move from class room to class room and the children stay in one place? Because the main character is an American living in Japan, the story really did have the feel of Sarah Michelle Geller in The Grudge to it! Kara is finding it hard to fit in, we see her culture shock but she is more familiar to us therefore it's easy to swallow and completely identifiable. Kara is exploring the city and taking all the risks on our behalf.

Parts of the book felt just like a Japanese horror film, particularly when the first boy is murdered. It’s like he has just been taken through his bedroom window by the invisible terror, it’s completely filmic. I loved this story from its dreamlike opening to its dramatic, out of this world ending.

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Thanks Sarah for being my first guest blogger of 2010.

Award time!

You know what I love?

Well, a lot of things - but one of them is getting awards from my fellow bloggers. Recently, I've received the Happy 101 award from two fantastic bloggers: Sasha at The Sweet Bonjour and Book Snob at Elegantly Bound Books. Thanks both!

With awards come rules, and I am a stickler for those. So without further ado:

List ten things that make you happy. Try to do at least one of them today.

1. Scented candles. Especially if the scent is something edible, like vanilla or pink grapefruit.
2. Daydreaming. I do this a lot. If someone interrupts I make a really bad attempt at pretending I was listening to them.
3. My new pink princess phone. I have always wanted one of these, and whenever it rings I feel like Marsha Brady about to get asked to the prom.
4. New books! Duh. So full of promise and possibility.
5. Food. Of all types.
6. Extreme weather. Snow? Awesome. Thunderstorms? Fantastic. Heatwave? Bring it.
7. The sea. Double the happiness if there's crashing waves.
8. The colour pink. I bought hot pink wellies this week and they made going out in the snow about ten times better.
9. Indie cover versions of classic pop songs.
10. Blogging!

Tag ten bloggers who brighten your day:

1. Sarah of Scare Sarah.
2. Becky of The Bookette.
3. Carla of The Crooked Shelf.
4. Rhiannon Hart.
5. Aimee of My Fluttering Heart.
6. Jenny of Wondrous Reads.
7. Steph of Steph Su Reads.
8. Sadako of Dibbly Fresh.
9. Hallie of Psyched on the Prairie.
10. Choco of In Which A Girl Reads.

I know some of y'all might already have had this award, but as ever I like the recipients to get the shout out from me too.

If you haven't checked out all these blogs yet, you *so* should.

In My Mailbox (22)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Only two books this week, though not for want of trying. On Thursday, I went to three bookstores hoping to pick myself up a copy of Keren David's When I Was Joe on the recommendation of The Bookette, Chicklish, and So Many Books, So Little Time - but could not get one anywhere. I can only assume that either:

a) Everyone else in town had read the same reviews as me, and rushed out to snaffle every copy in sight.

b) Due to the paltry ten centimetres of snow in my part of the world, book delivery trucks with one-hundred centimetre wheels wimped out on us.

c) It was there, disguised as some other book and filed under a different name.

So: disappointed, but ordering from my favourite online bookstore instead. Luckily, I got some delicious-sounding review books in the post from Simon and Schuster UK:

Everwild - Neal Shusterman

Summary from book cover: Between life and death, wilderness beckons... The fate of Everlost is at stake. Nick wants to help the children to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. But Mary Hightower wants to trap them in the Everlost forever. Allie has gone to search for her parents and joins a group of "skinjackers". But, as her search takes her further away from Nick and closer to the Everwild, Allie uncovers a shocking secret... it seems that "skinjackers" are not actually dead...

This is right up my street. If I weren't so sophisticated and poised, I'd have squealed when this arrived. (Lies! I'm not sophisticated and I did squeal).

Suspicion - Kate Brian

Summary from book cover: Reed Brennan thought that a winter break in the islands with some of the Billings Girls, old and new, was just what she needed to recover from her traumatic last term at Easton. At first everything is perfect: relaxing, fun and elegant. But soon things take a more sinister turn and suddenly Reed finds herself in danger once more.

If Reed wants to survive her fateful vacation she must discover who is after her and why, before it's too late...

Usually I like to catch up with a series before reading a new instalment, but this is the eleventh Private novel so I'm going to have to give up on that idea. This isn't the kind of book I'd usually pick up, but the press release compares the series to Gossip Girl, Mean Girls and Cruel Intentions - all of which I love. In other words, this has potential series addiction written all over it for me.

In related news, I did manage to stick to many of my blog resolutions this week. I wrote my review policy, I didn't buy books for the sake of it (and didn't even manage to buy the one I really wanted), and featured one of my most-wanted Brit author debut novels in Waiting On Wednesday. I also wrote my first non-rated book review - and I'm hoping the fact that I loved it comes across even without a row of pink hearts at the bottom of the post. This weekend's mission: commenting.

So, what did y'all get?

Review: The 13 Curses - Michelle Harrison

Rowan Fox knows how to deal with fairies. That's why she doesn't tell people her real name. If anyone asks, she tells them to call her Red.

Red: the colour of the garments she thought would protect her baby brother James from the switcher. Except that time, it wasn't enough. They took him, and Red has been trying to get him back ever since. That's why she went on the run. That's how she met her friend Tanya, and wound up trapped in the fairy realm.

But Red is going to get James back from his fairy abductors. No matter what it takes. No matter how many curses she has to face to do it.

In The 13 Treasures, Michelle Harrison introduced us to second-sighted Tanya and her dark, dangerous world of fairy. We also met secondary character Rowan 'Red' Fox, an orphaned thirteen year old girl determined to rescue her baby brother from the fairy realm. The 13 Curses takes us back to the very same fairy world, with the very same characters - but this time, our focus is firmly on Red herself.

Although Red is our MC this time around, we do get a chance to revisit Tanya and Fabian. When Red scores an audience with the fairy court, she's set a task: the thirteen treasures from Tanya's charm bracelet are scattered far and wide. It's down to the three friends to track them down if Red's going to stand a chance of getting her brother back. Except these aren't ordinary charms, and it's not going to be that simple. What it will be is perilous, full of suspense, and wicked good fun.

I loved The 13 Treasures, so at first I was taken aback to find that the sequel is not Tanya's story but Red's. After all, I'd bonded with 'the tricketty one'. I knew her. Red, on the other hand, was a mere acquaintance. An unknown quantity. And, as it turns out, the absolute best protagonist The 13 Curses could have. Red has a fascinating backstory, and we learn about this in tantalising flashbacks that explain exactly how she's become so tough and so guarded at such a young age. Her adventure is an exciting one, but it's also a journey of self-discovery. To defeat the fairies, Red has to know herself.

When it comes to sequels, I don't tend to dwell on the world-building as much I would with a first book or a standalone. After all, it's usually all been set up - we're just returning to a world we already know, right? The 13 Curses, however, is the type of sequel that highlights just how well the world was built in the first place. It's satisfyingly detailed, it never breaks its own logic, and it made me want to go back and read The 13 Treasures again, just so I could marvel at how well the foundations for Red's story were laid. I'm already looking forward to more of the same in the third book, The 13 Wards, which is currently set to be the last in this series.

Like The 13 Treasures, Michelle Harrison's second book has major crossover appeal. Younger teens will no doubt appreciate the fact that Harrison never talks down to her readers: Red has heartbreaking choices to make, and there's no easy way out. The general YA readership will also find much to charm them in the complexity of the storytelling and the authenticity of Harrison's fairy lore. Hogwarts fans suffering from Harry Potter withdrawal symptoms? Step this way, if you please. There's magic here.

Out: January 7th 2010, UK (Simon & Schuster). Which means now.

(Book one, The 13 Treasures, lands in the US on April 12th 2010. You can check out my review here.)

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster UK for providing me with a yummy review copy.

Waiting On Wednesday (20): Pretty Bad Things - C.J. Skuse

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm waiting on...

Pretty Bad Things by C.J. Skuse.

Summary from publishers' website: Sixteen year old twins in candy-store crime spree. Twins Paisley and Beau Argent are in the headlines again. Last time, they were the 'wonder twins', when as six-year-olds they were found alive in woods after three days missing following their mother's death - three days spent looking for their dad.

Now, at sixteen, life's not so wonderful. Cast out and exploited by their money-grabbing grandmother, they're still clueless about their dad's whereabouts. Until they discover an old letter from him.

That's when they decide to hit the road - and make headlines again. Holding up fast food joints in Las Vegas may seem extreme but if they can get on the news, and tell their dad they need him, they might get the dream reunion they never thought could happen.

This one? Not so much in my comfort zone, but it sounds completely unique - and that always gets me curious. The premise is quirky and intriguing, and leaves me pretty much unsure what to expect. Which in this case is a good thing. What's it all about? I want to know!

Plus, how much does the official book trailer rock?



Expect this one to land in the UK this March, in a choice of two covers: grey or pink. Expect me to be getting the pink one.

Time Travel Tuesday: Little Women

So, I'm eight or nine. My mother gives me a copy of Little Women for the first time. Actually, she gives me her own hardback copy, from when she was a little girl, because this isn't just a story: it's a rite of passage. She figures I'm old enough, and she's mostly right. I can read without my lips moving. I like the story. I know what most of the words mean... mostly. I'm all set.

I read it, and I love it. My mother is pleased about this, because Little Women is one of her favourite books ever. Of course it is: that's a given. What girl doesn't love Louisa May Alcott's story of the four March sisters coming of age in Civil War era America?

Over the years, I reread Little Women until I knew whole chapters off by heart. Not through lack of choice: believe me, I had a library ticket and I wasn't afraid to use it. I reread this book because it spoke to me. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy were like my sisters. My vain, tomboyish, saintly and selfish sisters, respectively. I grew up with them, like my mother did, and her mother before her. As I grew up, my favourite character changed (from Amy to Jo) and I started to 'get' the love stuff a little more, but I loved the story as much as ever. To me, it was timeless.

Which is why I was so dismayed with myself recently to realise that I have not read Little Women since I was nineteen. How, you may ask, can this be? Granted, by this point I'd reread it at least twenty-five times, but there's something about my grown-up self's neglect of the novel that seems almost shameful. I almost feel like my waning interest is directly connected to the sad truth that my eleven year old niece has never ever opened a copy of this book. That's not an overstatement: affection for this book is passed down from generation to generation, and that's a fact. I have not done my duty.

I'm sorry, Louisa May Alcott, and I want to make amends. I'm well aware that a simple reread is not going to cut it. So for the next few weeks, I'll be rereading Little Women and posting on my progress each Tuesday, in the hope that I can reignite some people's love for this one... and maybe find the book some new fans. This is my mission, and I choose to accept it.

My New Year's (Blog) Resolutions

It's 2010. I have resolutions. I am going to share them with you.

Not all of them, you understand. I don't think you need to know whether I'm going to lose five pounds, recycle more, live life to the full etc... But I do have some resolutions concerning this here blog, I Was A Teenage Book Geek. So here goes:

1. I am going to post five times a week, minimum. At least two of these posts will be proper reviews.
2. I am going to comment on others' blogs more often.
3. I am not going to buy books for the sake of it. (I kept this one yesterday. I picked up two books in a horrible store I don't even like because I hadn't bought any books this week, and then made myself put them back down at the checkout and leave. Why? Because my TBR pile is taller than me, and I want to appreciate the books I'm reading.)
4. I am going to comment on interesting IMMs even if I don't have one. (See above).
5. I am going to review books I didn't enjoy. Now, this is a hard one for me. I love writing reviews of books I really enjoyed, but if I don't like a book I either don't finish it or drag myself through it and don't review it. But this means my blog ends up looking like I love every book. So in the interest of balance, expect more negative reviews.
6. I am going to invite some of my favourite bloggers to guest post. (The only reason I haven't done this yet is because I'm shy. I've been thinking about it a while.)
7. I am going to feature more books by British YA authors. (I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to do this yet. More reviews? Monthly round-up of releases? A vlog in which I sing about new books by Brit authors to the tune of the national anthem? Maybe.)
8. I am going to write my review policy before the month of January is out. I am so overdue for an official review policy, it's not funny. I've been procrastinating because I'm not sure which way to go with it. Do I need to have a 'rating' out of five? Is it helpful or tacky? I can't decide.
9. When other bloggers give me awards, I am going to pass them on in a timely fashion.
10. I am going to change my layout. The current one is cute, yes, but I don't think it's a great 'fit' for the blog. I'm not sure what would be, so this one is tricky.

Okay, that may look like a lot, but I think it's manageable. I'm considering taking part in bloggiesta to spur me on... but alas I am also procrastinating about committing to that.

So, what do you think? Have I missed anything important? Should I join bloggiesta? Do out-of-five ratings suck or rule? Help me out here a little!

Review: The 13 Treasures - Michelle Harrison

Tanya has the second sight.

For her, this means one thing: trouble. Trouble the fairies make for her, and trouble she gets into as a result. It's not like 'the fairies did it' is going to fly with anyone. Besides, she knows better than to blab. If she does, they'll get her.

So thanks to fairy mischief, Tanya finds herself packed off to Grandma's for a few weeks. Which would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that her grandmother seems to dislike her, the only person to hang out with is royal pain Fabian, and the creepy old manor house is fairy central.

Tanya knows she should lie low. The last thing she needs is more fairy attention. But when she and Fabian discover shreds of a haunting mystery from fifty years ago, Tanya realises she might just be able to put her second sight to use after all. And she's not the only one...

A couple of years ago, I picked up my first YA fairy read feeling wholly sceptical. I mean, fairies. Those teensy little magic creatures with the wings? Okay. The buzz said that the new breed of YA fairies were dark and menacing, but I wasn't convinced. Then I tried out that first book by Holly Black, then another, chased those with a Melissa Marr, and was pleasantly surprised. The dark fairy thing worked. Of course, these were human-sized fairies, with the potential to terrify or snog in equal measure, but fairies just the same. I liked them, but I was drawing the line there. Human-sized fairies only for this reader.

The 13 Treasures is my first foray into fairies of the miniature variety, and on picking it up a few of the old doubts resurfaced. Namely, they're little tiny fairies. How menacing can they possibly be? The short answer, you'll be glad to hear, is very. They're twisted, conniving and they hurt. Oh, and having the second sight can send a person to insanity. Sure, they're probably not capable of punching a person's lights out single-handedly, but they don't need to be - they have magic. Dark, dark magic, and tons of it. For our heroine, twelve-year-old Tanya, this means there's no escape. Fairies are all around. They know she can see them, and they know every move she makes. If it looks like Tanya might let on to anyone else that they exist, they can make sure her mouth stays shut. Perhaps literally. Besides, when nobody else believes in them, a girl with the second sight is very much on her own - and at their mercy.

That's not to say that The 13 Treasures is pure malevolence. There are also lighter moments - the brownie that fills the sugar bowl with salt, the cursed goblins that can only speak (and be spoken to) in rhyme. But throughout, Michelle Harrison maintains the underlying sense of malice and unease. Tanya takes the blame for the salt incident, and we're reminded of just how helpless she is to defend herself. Tanya attempts to converse with the goblins, and while the resulting rhyming scenes are genius, it later serves as a demonstration of how cruel mischievious fairy magic can be.

At the heart of The 13 Treasures is a mystery, and it's a good one. Children have been going missing from the area around Grandma's house for decades, and it soon becomes clear to Tanya that there's fairy involvement. Because we're in the world of dark magic, this makes for a mystery-fantasy fusion that's as twisty as can be. All good stuff. There's also some killer world-building: as it turns out that Tanya is not the only one plagued by fairies, we also get some fascinating background on changelings and the second sight - and plenty of unanswered questions for the sequel, The 13 Curses, out in the UK this month.

The 13 Treasures is a book with serious crossover appeal. It will enthrall capable middle-grade readers or those at the younger end of the YA market, but there's also heaps for older fans of dark YA fantasy. Just don't expect the fairies to be of the kissable variety.