Review: Weightless by Sarah Bannan

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: June 2015
Source: Owned 

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Blurb: 

When 15-year-old Carolyn moves from New Jersey to Alabama with her mother, she rattles the status quo of the junior class at Adams High School. A good student and natural athlete, she’s immediately welcomed by the school’s cliques. She’s even nominated to the homecoming court and begins dating a senior, Shane, whose on again/off again girlfriend Brooke becomes Carolyn’s bitter romantic rival. When a video of Carolyn and Shane making out is sent to everyone, Carolyn goes from golden girl to slut, as Brooke and her best friend Gemma try to restore their popularity. Gossip and bullying hound Carolyn, who becomes increasingly private and isolated. When Shane and Brooke—now back together—confront Carolyn in the student parking lot, injuring her, it’s the last attack she can take.

 This book has been sitting on my shelf for a super long time, I am pretty sure I got it around the time of its release so basically 5 years! I have been trying to knock off some books on my TBR in quarantine so decided it was finally time to read this. 

The book centers on how a small town is rocked by the arrival of a new girl - Carolyn. As the town falls over themselves to first get to know Carolyn because she is the "shiny new toy" then then begin to turn against her just as quickly. 

One thing I found a little jarring about this book was the writing style. The novel is written in the "we". So the reader of the novel is reading from the perspective as the entire town as a collective we. This was very jarring and difficult to get into the writing flow in the beginning but I became more comfortable with it as the story progressed. This was a very interesting take on the novels point of view as it goes to show the reader just how complicit each and every person was in the rise and fall of Carolyn. 

Review: Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran

Publisher: O'Brien Press
Publication Date: June 2020
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

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Blurb: 
When teenage queen Lia inherits her corrupt uncle’s bankrupt kingdom, she brings a new spymaster into the fold ... Xania, who takes the job to avenge her murdered father.

Faced with dangerous plots and hidden enemies, can Lia and Xania learn to rely on each another, as they discover that all is not fair in love and treason?

In a world where the throne means both power and duty, they must decide what to sacrifice for their country – and for each other …

 Thank you to the lovely people at O'Brien Press for sending me an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for my review. 

I was very much looking forward to this book as it received a huge amount of publicity even in 2019 which is a long time before its release date. 

The novel centers around Lia who has now inherited the throne and will become queen of the kingdom. As Lia ascends to the throne, dangers begin to surface in every aspect of her life. She hires Xania as her Whispers aka her personal protector and spymaster. From here their relationship begins to grow, deepen and become romantic. 

The representation in this novel is just next level. The novel features wlw, mlm, bisexual characters and gay characters throughout. I really loved this aspect as in this world all sexual preferences and relationships are normalised. So I loved reading about these relationships and the interaction between characters. 

Sex in YA Books

So if you follow me on Twitter, you've probably seen my thread looking for books with positive realistic representations of sex in YA books.

Representing any issue in YA books needs to be handled well. You can't breeze over and sugar coat a topic because that is inauthentic and unrealistic. Teenagers and young adults know about sex, they may be having sex. Therefore mis-representing it in books is not "sheltering" them its harming them as they need a realistic view of relationships.

In real life there is no "fade-to-black" movie moment and it really irritates me when a book or movie does that as they don't want to portray the real moment to teenagers or young adults.

Teenagers relationships are just as valid. Therefore I'm glad there are some books which represent sex, love and relationships in a realistic way for teenagers. Representation really matters. 


1) The Classic: Forever by Judy Blume    (REVIEW HERE)

The representation is not only realistic in this book but is probably one of the first books for many people that they read where sex was displayed. 

This novel centres around first relationship between Katherine, the main character, and her boyfriend Michael. As they fall in love for the first time they begin having sex. 
The way the relationship progresses is written so well and the sex scenes are realistic. 

The book shows sex in a realistic light, bleeding when you lose your virginity, it hurting, it sometimes being disappointing and the fact that just because you fall in love doesn't mean it will last forever. 

A must read (although I find the boyfriend Michael to not be great and it is a little dated because its 50+ years old)

Review: Simon Vs The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Publication Date: April 2015
Publisher: Balzer + ray
Source: Borrowed from library

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Blurb: 
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Okay so I have NO IDEA why I put off reading this book despite the rave reviews...I completely regret it. So a preface to this review, if you have this book on your TBR- move that into currently reading ASAP. 

This book was the most heart warming, funny, happy, marshmallow fluffy book I've ever read. It completely captivated me from the first page and I sped through the book in 2 days. And that's pretty impressive as I was super busy but made the time to read the book because I just needed the joy in my life. 

The book focuses on Simon, an "in the closet" teen who finds himself becoming closer and close to a boy called Blue through email. Reading about their relationship and how much closer they were getting was so well written and cute. I loved how Albertalli portrayed their closeted emotions and the inner ups and down turmoil they were feeling in terms of self acceptance. Their conversations were totally adorable and I actually found myself re-reading their emails after I finished the book. 

5 Scary YA Books Perfect For Halloween Reading

Hi guys! It's that time of year again, the weather gets cooler, the leaves begin to change colour and the spookiness is ramped up.

So why not embrace all things Halloween this October by reading some creepy and scary books that I recommend....

If you have any spooky YA books that you think I would  enjoy, please leave a comment below and I will definitely add them to my Goodreads TBR! Click the book covers to read my full review on each title...let's get the spooky recommendations started



Series: First book in a duology
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Why this book is spooky and perfect for Halloween;

This book was absolutely terrifying, like almost sleeping with the light on scary! 
The book centres around an alternative Ireland where children are sent to a school / military academy to prepare themselves for the day when they are kidnapped by evil fae creatures and tortured beyond comparison. 

The writing style is extremely captivating, the main character Nessa is just so badass and powerful. The gruesome and haunting descriptions of the horrors of this novel are terrifying. Definitely a perfect novel for Halloween. 

Best Books I Read in 2018

Happy new year everyone! 2018 was a heck of a year for me, from being one of the most stressful years to being one of the happiest- there was some real ups and downs.
This year I graduated from college / university for the final time, traveled a little, went to festivals, had my first job rejection and managed to become a little happier and more positive.
Although there was great ups and downs, the year as a whole was wonderful. I wouldn't change it for the world.

As well as my personal achievements I managed to read some great books this year. I read 46 books, which is more than last year (link) and discovered some great books! I finally feel I am getting back into the swing of reading and blogging and hopefully can keep up a schedule of both for 2019.

Here's my favourites of 2018:

Review: White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock

Publication Date: May 3rd 2018
Publisher: Walker Books
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

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Blurb: 

Peter Blankman is afraid of everything and must confront unimaginable terror when his mother is attacked.

Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a maths prodigy. He also suffers from severe panic attacks. Afraid of everything, he finds solace in the orderly and logical world of mathematics and in the love of his family: his scientist mum and his tough twin sister Bel, as well as Ingrid, his only friend. 

However, when his mother is found stabbed before an award ceremony and his sister is nowhere to be found, Pete is dragged into a world of espionage and violence where state and family secrets intertwine. Armed only with his extraordinary analytical skills, Peter may just discover that his biggest weakness is his greatest strength. 

 You know the feeling where you are utterly caught up in a story and its characters you never want it to end? Well that is how I felt while reading this novel. Another huge thank you to Walker books for sending me a copy of this novel in exchange for my full honest review. 

This book is the kind of book that swallows you up and then spits you out! The novel centers around Peter, a math genus with severe anxiety disorder. When someone tried to assassinate is mother, his world is thrown into disarray. He must adapt and begin a journey to try to understand just why his world has been thrown into chaos. 

Review: All The Lonely People by David Owen

Publication Date: January 10th 2019
Publisher: Atom Books
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

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Blurb: 
Everyone tells Kat that her online personality - confident, funny, opinionated - isn't her true self. Kat knows otherwise. The internet is her only way to cope with a bad day, chat with friends who get all her references, make someone laugh. But when she becomes the target of an alt-right trolling campaign, she feels she has no option but to Escape, Quit, Disappear.
With her social media shut down, her website erased, her entire online identity void, Kat feels she has cut away her very core: without her virtual self, who is she?

She brought it on herself. Or so Wesley keeps telling himself as he dismantles Kat's world from across the classroom. It's different, seeing one of his victims in real life and not inside a computer screen - but he's in too far to back out now.
As soon as Kat disappears online, her physical body begins to fade and while everybody else forgets that she exists, Wesley realises he is the only one left who remembers her. Overcome by remorse for what he has done, Wesley resolves to stop her disappearing completely. It might just be the only way to save himself.

A huge thank you to Atom Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my full and honest review. This is one of my most anticipated releases of next year and let me say, David Owen has done it again!

I absolutely adored The Fallen Children when I read it, so I was looking forward to this but I was also apprehensive as I was scared it wouldn't live up to the previous novel. Thankfully, All The Lonely People met every expectation I had and surprised me in lots of ways. 

The novel centers around Kat, a girl who lives her life on the internet, who then becomes the target of a hate group. As a result, she shuts down all her social media and online presences to avoid the bullying. Slowly Kat begins to change, physically disappearing until no one can see her anymore or remember her! The only person who remembers her is her bully, Wesley. 

Review: Crush by Eve Ainsworth

Publication Date: 3rd March 2016
Publisher: Scholastic
Source: Borrowed from Library

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Blurb:

Love hurts ... but should it hurt this much? Reeling from her mum's sudden departure, Anna finds the comfort she needs in her blossoming relationship with Will. He's handsome and loving, everything Anna has always dreamt of. He's also moody and unpredictable, pushing her away from her friends, her music. He wants her to be his and his alone. He wants her to be perfect. Anna's world is closing in. But threatening everything is a dark secret that not even Will can control..

Eve Ainsworth's gripping second novel is a pitch-perfect exploration of love at its most powerful, addictive and destructive.

This was a book I had seen a lot of book bloggers talking about when it was first released. I was late getting around to finding a copy but I was glad I did! 

This is the kind of book I think young people and youth groups should be reading. The novel contains an abusive relationship, where a girl who is sick of her family life find solace in her new boyfriend...although is isn't as great as first appearances may seem. 

Review: The Fallen Children by David Owen

Publication Date: 4th May 2017
Publisher:  Atom Books
Source: Review copy

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Blurb: Young people on the Midwich Estate don't have much hope for their futures. Keisha has lived there her whole life, and has been working hard to escape it; others have just accepted their lot.

But change is coming...

One night everyone inside Midwich Tower falls mysteriously unconscious in one inexplicable 'Nightout'. No one can explain what happened during those lost hours, but soon afterwards Keisha and three other girls find they're pregnant - and the babies are growing at an alarming rate.

As the news spreads around the tower its residents turn against them and the situation spirals toward violence. Keisha's life unravels as she realises that the pregnancy may not have just ruined her hopes for the future: she might be mother to the end of the world.

 Big thank you to Atom Books for sending me a copy of this novel in exchange for my full and honest review.

This book was such a pleasant surprise for me. The book is based on The Midwich Cuckoos by John  Wyndham. I've not read TMC but this YA retelling of it was so creepy and utterly captivating. Also there are 360 different covers of this novel, all in different colours and colour combinations which I think is such a cool idea!

After being in a little bit of a reading slump for a while, I was looking for a book that would completely suck me in and make me want to read again. This was the perfect book. 

The novel focuses around Keisha, Maida, Olivia and Siobhan who, following a mysterious night where all residents of their apartment block fall unconscious for a few hours, discover they have become pregnant. As the girls begin to realise that this is no ordinary pregnancy and search for answers, the more sinister and creepy the novel becomes. 

Favourite Female Characters

Happy International Womens Day! 

I thought I'd celebrate the day by posting a little on a few of my favourite fictional female characters in YA . This list isn't a conclusive list but just a few of the fictional women I hold dear to my heart. Click the covers to see my reviews!

Harriet - Geek Girl 

Harriet from the Geek Girl series is one of the most relate-able, funny and heart warming characters I've ever read.  Harriet is dramatic, intelligent, a loyal and good friend and also a caring person. She shows that not only can you be incredibly intelligent and then become a model, but you can do all of this and still remain true to your roots and own your geek-iness! 

Georgia Nicholson - Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series

Georgia is one of the most dramatic, over the top, outrageous character....ever. She attracts drama and makes silly mistakes but this is one of the sides to her that makes her so relate-able. Georgia is a loyal friend, although she can stray and be selfish at times, but this all makes her so much more realistic. 

Georgia is such an iconic, laugh out loud character that once you read you will never forget. She is strong willed, opinionated, dramatic but also strong. She goes through a lot of growth over the series but still at the end she is the same Georgia the reader has come to know and love. 

Arya Stark - A Song of Ice & Fire Series

Arya is such an interesting character. She is definitely more of a tomboy in comparison to the previous girls on the list. She is also probably the youngest on this list. Arya lives in a very dangerous and adverse world that would especially be dangerous for her as a girl. But Arya is strong, self motivated, independent and determined to shape her own future and constantly move forward and survive. 

Arya is not your typical girl but she does have a lot of aspirational characteristics that female readers can look up to and take some sort of inspiration from. Definitely one of the best characters in  the series. 

Best Books I Read in 2016

Hi everyone. Happy New Year ! I Hope that 2017 brings you happiness. 

So although I didn't read as much as I usually would have in 2016 because of college/ uni work, I still managed to read some absolutely amazing novels.

I absolutely adored all of the books mentioned on this list and you can see my full reviews of them linked below. 

Lets jump right in to my list of the best books I read in 2016; 

STILL FALLING by Sheena Wilkinson (Review Here) 

This was one of the very first novels I read in 2016 and what a great way to kick off the year! 

This novel absolutely blew me away.This novel focuses on the protagonists Luke and Esther and each chapter the novels point of view alternates between them. Their relationship slowly built up and went through us and down that read as being real and really drew me into the novel. They may be one of my new favourite book couples!

The novel focused on a lot of issues from school, new friends, fitting in and first love to deeper and darker ones such as epilepsy, faith, family and lack of family, and more. Sheena has obvious talent as the manner in which she dealt with each issue raised in the book was flawless and read as being so real. I really enjoyed reading about Luke's epilepsy as it is a condition I know very little about. The diverse themes and steady pacing of the plot kept me gripped until the very end. An all time favourite definitely! 

WHAT WAS NEVER SAID by Emma Craigie (Review Here)

This novel completely blew me away. This novel tells the story of 15 year old Zahra and her life after she has moved to England from Somalia. The novel deals with FGM (female genital mutilation) which is a torturous practise that is commonly performed on young girls the world over. 

This novel is not an easy read. For such a short novel, it packs an almighty punch. Although the subject matter of FGM is uncomfortable to read about, it is something we should be more and more aware of. 

This novel made me think good and hard about culture, practises, feminism and society's expectations of women. A harrowing, important and though provoking novel about such a cruel and excruciating practice.

Review: The Deviants by CJ Skuse

Publisher: Mira Ink 
Publication Date: September 22nd 2016
Source: Received review copy from publisher


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Blurb: 

Growing up in the sleepy English seaside town of Brynston, the fearless five – Ella, Max, Corey, Fallon and Zane – were always inseparable. Living up to their nickname, they were the adventurous, rowdy kids who lived for ghost stories and exploring the nearby islands off the coast. But when Max’s beloved older sister Jessica is killed, the friendship seems to die with her.

Now years later, only Max and Ella are in touch; still best friends and a couple since they were thirteen. But Ella is hiding things- like why she’s afraid to take their relationship to the next level.

When underdog Corey is bullied, the fearless five are brought back together again, teaming up to wreak havoc and revenge on those who have wronged them. But when the secrets they are keeping can no longer be kept quiet, will their fearlessness be enough to save them from themselves? 

Huge thank you to Mira Ink publishing for sending me an copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. I knew I wanted to read this book after reading Skuse's novel Monster (Review Here) and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

This book was so addictive- I mean crazy addictive. I found it hard to put down and after I had gotten a good way into the book I decided to not put it down at all and just read through the night to finish it! The way the book is written each chapter leads into another- pulling the reader's attentions straight into the next scene. The revenge scenes were so funny and skillfully written. 

Skuse's brilliant writing style is as evident in The Deviants as it was in Monster. CJ writes with perfect knowledge of her characters which seem so three dimensional and real. Her plot perfectly flows from beginning to end, keeping the reader hanging on her every word. 

Book Recommendations Based On Your Favourite Pokemon | Pokemon Go!

So this month, the world has been captivated by the release of Pokemon Go.

If you've been living under a rock, you might be unaware as to what this is. Pokemon Go is an app created by Nintendo which allows the mobile phone holder to live out their childhood dreams of actually being a Pokemon master by catching, evolving and battling Pokemon.

I've given in to my Pokemon Go addiction. I was a huge fan of the TV show as a child and my seven year old self would be over the moon if they knew about this app.

So I've decided to combine two loves, one old and one new ; Books + Pokemon Go! Find a cool book recommendation based on your favourite type of Pokemon below. 


Click the books cover to be taken to my review! 

If you're a fan of water type Pokemon, try a contemporary read.

I recommend these; 

If fire type Pokemon are you're favourite, you should pick up an action packed novel!