Theatrical by Maggie Harcourt

Published: 28th June 2018
Publisher: Usborne
Pages: 442

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Hope dreams of working backstage in a theatre, and she’s determined to make it without the help of her famous costume designer mum. So when she lands an internship on a major production, she tells no one. But with a stroppy Hollywood star and his hot young understudy upstaging Hope’s focus, she’s soon struggling to keep her cool… and her secret.

Rating:  

With Unconventional being one of my favourite reads of last year, I was waiting for Theatrical with bated breath. Because I'm one of those classic bookish types with no control over their TBR, I'd had it on my shelf for far too long before actually picking it up and reading. But let me tell you, it was lovely.

Clean by Juno Dawson

Published: 5th April 2018
Publisher: Quercus
Pages: 399

Synopsis from Goodreads:
I can feel it swimming through my veins like glitter ... it's liquid gold.
When socialite Lexi Volkov almost overdoses, she thinks she's hit rock bottom. She's wrong. 
Rock bottom is when she's forced into an exclusive rehab facility. From there, the only way is up for Lexi and her fellow inmates, including the mysterious Brady.
As she faces her demons, Lexi realises love is the most powerful drug of all ... 
It's a dirty business getting clean ...

Rating:  

Before I get into this review, it's important that I mention that the book has a lot of triggers in it. For sake of comfort I'm not going to list them all here, but if you'd like more information on what's included for your own wellbeing I'm more than happy to let you know - please dm me on Twitter (see contacts page for the link). I shan't be discussing in detail anything triggering in this review so you should be okay to read it regardless, but if you're worried just don't that's cool, your wellbeing is most crucial!

Floored by Sara Barnard et al.

Rating:

Published: 12th July 2018
Publisher: MacMillan Children's Books
Pages: 320
Synopsis from Goodreads: 

When they got in the lift, they were strangers (though didn't that guy used to be on TV?): Sasha, who is desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he's the best-looking guy in the lift and is eyeing up Velvet, who knows what that look means when you hear her name and it doesn't match the way she looks, or the way she talks; Dawson, who was on TV, but isn't as good-looking as he was a few years ago and is desperately hoping no one recognizes him; Kaitlyn, who's losing her sight but won't admit it, and who used to have a poster of Dawson on her bedroom wall, and Joe, who shouldn't be here at all, but who wants to be here the most.

And one more person, who will bring them together again on the same day every year.

I had been waiting expectantly for Floored since the beginning of 2017, what could be better than a load of my favourite YA authors, as well as some I'd not yet had chance to read, all coming together in one book?! Let me tell you I was not disappointed! Floored is a fresh take on a young adult contemporary with a lot of very real characters and I really enjoyed it!

Bookshop Girl by Chloe Coles

Rating:

Published: 1st June 2017
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Pages: 213
Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Bennett's Bookshop has always been a haven for sixteen-year-old Paige Turner. It's a place where she can escape from her sleepy hometown, hang out with her best friend, Holly, and also earn some money.
But, like so many bookshops, Bennett's has become a 'casualty of the high street' - it's strapped for cash and going to be torn down. Paige is determined to save it but mobilising a small town like Greysworth is no mean feat.Time is ticking - but that's not the only problem Paige has. How is she going to fend off the attractions of beautiful fellow artist, Blaine? And, more importantly, will his anarchist ways make or break her bookshop campaign?

Bookshop Girl is the perfect quick, summer read! It's light-hearted and fun and let's be honest, it doesn't get much better than a book about a bookshop does it?!

Love, Simon by Becky Albertalli

Rating:

Published: 30th January 2018
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 303
Synopsis from Goodreads: Straight people should have to come out too. And the more awkward it is, the better. 
Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is - and what he's looking for. 
But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated.
Because, for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal . . .

I received a copy of this book through my book club (Liverpool One Waterstones YA Book Club!) which has in no way impacted my thoughts! A big thanks to Penguin for sending us copies 😄


This has been on my TBR since it first came out in 2015 yet for some reason I need got around to it and honestly I was missing out! This book is fun and cute and all round good!

The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas

Rating: 8/10
Published: 6th April 2017
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Pages: 272
Synopsis from Goodreads: Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.
Grace has Asperger's and her own way of looking at the world. She's got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that's pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn't make much sense to her any more.
Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it's up to Grace to fix it on her own.
Whip-smart, hilarious and unapologetically honest, The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas is a heart-warming story of one girl trying to work out where she fits in, and whether she even wants to.


The State of Grace is a really fun and quick read which looks at what it means to 'fit in' through the eyes of Grace, who has Asperger's and sees the world somewhat differently to other people. This is the first book that I've read about someone with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and to read something from a first person perspective was really interesting. It reveals a bit about what life with Asperger's must be like while also making clear that at the end of the day Grace is still just a teenager girl who's trying to learn how to fit in whilst still being herself.

Grace finds herself going through a lot of changes both through the development of her relationship with Gabe and when her mum starts acting like An Idiot™️ while her dad is away for work (Side note: I understood her actions kind of but she just really bugged me a lot, but she was meant to I think). Grace has a lot of stuff going on and the book is all about her trying to muddle through a lot of difficult situations while learning who she is. She is a really well written and complex character who I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know!

The State of Grace also has a beautiful strong female friendship which I am ALWAYS a fan of! Grace's best friend Anna is the friend I always try to be, she's funny and supportive and loves Grace for who she is. Also I loved the relationship between Grace and her horse Mabel! The way that Grace feels loved and understood by her is wonderful and it's just really lovely ahh.

However there were a couple of things with this book that bugged me slightly. I feel like there were a lot of questions that I would have appreciated a more detailed answer too, I can't say exactly for fear of spoilers but one example is this thing that happens with her sister which I feel wasn't fully explained and I personally would have loved to find out how as a family they develop and move forward from it.
The other thing is that some of the relatively major characters I feel didn't receive much description. For example, I don't feel like I really got to know Gabe very much at all, and because Grace is such a complex and beautifully written characters it's such a shame that I don't feel like I got to know the others!
I think this is likely to be due to the short length of the book and personally I would have loved an extra 50 pages to allow for more detailed exploration the other characters are.

I want to make it clear that I really loved The State of Grace and as ASD's need so much more rep than they're currently getting I think it's a super important one to add to your TBR! But I wouldn't be doing my 'job' if I didn't say I thought it was lacking a little something- but the case here is that the extra detail would have made it a 10/10 for me rather than an 8 and I still thought it was amazing - so read it!!

Basically, The State of Grace is a really quick, interesting and beautiful book which gives a bit of an insight into what life with Asperger's may be like and you should definitely add it to your TBR.

Have you read The State of Grace? What were your thoughts on it? Let me know in a comment below!

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Rating: 8/10
Published: 1st June 2017
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 368
Synopsis from Goodreads: 
Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.
Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond. 
Bad body Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.
Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life. And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won't ever talk about any of them again.He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.
Everyone has secrets, right?
What really matters is how far you'll go to protect them.

A big thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.

Warning: I'm going to try and keep this review as spoiler free as possible but it's going to be tricky so tread carefully if you've not yet read it!

Now I like to think of myself as quite a good detective when it comes to murder mystery books, it's very rare that a book actually surprises me with it's plot but One of Us Is Lying did just that and I loved it! I'm also secretly cross with myself because I'm obviously not as good at deductions as I thought I was but we'll move on...

One of Us Is Lying follows the events unfolding after the death of a boy named Simon in a high school detention. The narrative is split between four different characters each with completely different lives but each who has a secret that they're trying to hide. Initially I was worried that I would find it very difficult to get to grips with a narrative split between so many characters but once I got into the storyline it became much clearer who was who and I honestly think successfully writing a book with this many characters is quite an achievement!

It's very difficult for me to write much about my thoughts on the story without posting major spoilers but it was a thoroughly enjoyable read which ticked almost every single box I have for a good book! I really enjoyed the beautiful development shown by all characters, but especially that of Addy who becomes a super strong woman and I'm just really so proud of her!! I mean, there's also some really cute romance and the epilogue made me feel so warm inside and it was wonderful.

There was only one small thing which bugged me and that was the way in which the characters referred to a girl who'd had a suicide attempt and the phrase that was used more than once to describe it (I shan't quote because I don't want to use such a phrase tbh). However, I think this is more a case of something which I find personally upsetting but also something that's a common description and would very likely be used by teens such as those in this book. So it's not like a negative of the book but more a negative of how insensitive people are to mental health issues in real life? I'm not sure if I've put this point across very successfully or not but oh well!

Anyway, One of Us Is Lying is a super fun book with a really good mystery which will keep you guessing (if you figure it out you're much cleverer than me, good job!). It has fab characters and it's just really enjoyable so you should add it to your TBR if you haven't already!

Have you ready One of Us Is Lying? Did you guess 'whodunnit'? If so you should comment so I can bow down to you Sherlock Holmes...

See How They Lie by Sue Wallman

Rating: 8/10
Published: 2nd March 2017
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 312
Synopsis from Goodreads:

All’s not well at the Hummingbird Creek wellness resort. No one can see in. No one can get out… 

New from the talented author who brought you Lying About Last Summer: a psycho-chiller to wake up your darkest phobias. If you got to live in a luxury hotel with world-class cuisine, a state-of-the-art sports centre and the latest spa treatments, would you say ‘yes please’? 

Well, that’s kind of what Hummingbird Creek is like. No wonder Mae feels lucky to be there. It’s meant as a rich-kid’s sanatorium, but she isn’t sick. Her dad is the top psychiatrist there. But one day Mae breaks a rule. NOT a good idea. This place is all about rules – and breaking them can hurt you…

I picked up See How They Lie from the library the day before going off on a walking holiday in the Lake District. I had no idea what to expect but having heard good stuff about Lying About Last Summer I was really looking forward to this and it was truly good fun!

It's a difficult book to review because if I say too much I might risk spoiling people which I really don't want to do, so please pardon the somewhat short length of this review - it doesn't reflect how few thoughts I have about it but rather how much I really can't say without ruining the mystery!!

The plot of See How They Lie was super duper creepy, definitely earning itself a seat in the thriller genre! Although it was clear a lot of dodgy stuff was going on the mystery kept me guessing right up until the end and I loved every minute of it! So often the twists in thrillers are easy to guess which kind of defeats the object, so reading something that kept me questioning was fab! So many times I was shocked, looking at what I'd just read and going:

Sue Wallman managed to create a really beautiful setting in Hummingbird Creek, I could really see myself in the book and I really found myself emerged in the setting which added to the suspense and meant I was absolutely flying through the pages.

I'd certainly recommend See How They Lie to anyone looking for something a bit different from the usual young adult contemporary. I haven't read many young adult thriller style books before but I'll certainly be looking out for more of a similar style in the future!

Overall, See How They Lie was just jolly good fun! A really creepy story that I whizzed through in no time at all. I'd definitely suggest that you give it a try, even if you think it's not your thing it may well surprise you.

Have you read See How They Lie? Or know of any similar Young Adult Thrillers? Let me know in the comments below.

All About Mia by Lisa Williamson

Rating: 10/10
Published: 2nd February 2017
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Pages: 361
Synopsis from Goodreads: From no. 1 Bestselling YA author Lisa Williamson, comes another insightful and unputdownable teen drama - All About Mia. A brilliant look into the mind of a teenager stuck in the middle.

One family, three sisters.

GRACE, the oldest: straight-A student. 

AUDREY, the youngest: future Olympic swimming champion. 

And MIA, the mess in the middle. 

Mia is wild and daring, great with hair and selfies, and the undisputed leader of her friends – not attributes appreciated by her parents or teachers. 

When Grace makes a shock announcement, Mia hopes that her now-not-so-perfect sister will get into the trouble she deserves. 

But instead, it is Mia whose life spirals out of control – boozing, boys and bad behaviour – and she starts to realise that her attempts to make it All About Mia might put at risk the very things she loves the most.

By this point, anyone who has read almost any of my posts on this blog or who follows me on Twitter will know that I LOVED The Art of Being Normal. It was by far my favourite read of last year (and I'll literally yell about it at any given opportunity) so when I heard about All About Mia I was super duper excited and let me tell you Lisa Williamson did not fail to live up to my expectations!

I think what I loved so much about All About Mia is that it is so honest, there's no shit here, Mia isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. She makes a lot of mistakes, she chooses to do things and you're yelling at the pages like "Noooo don't do that you plonker it's a bad idea!!" but she is so real. Everything she does in this book I experienced (mostly through other people) when I was a sixteen year old. I've watched people make exactly the same choices that she makes and her motivation for doing so is heartbreakingly accurate for so many teens.

The amount of pressure that Mia is under from school and the expectation she feels she must live up to within her family is arguably the reason for the way that she acts. Despite being only sixteen she's forced to consider her options for the future, it reminded me of how difficult I found it at that time to try and make decisions which everyone told you were life-changing, when you had no idea which direction you wanted to go in. All About Mia gives such an accurate representation of what life really is like when you're going through these things and I loved that about it!

Mia also has a friendship group that is very similar to the group that I found myself in at that age (although we drank less!), each one of the characters she's friends with I could relate to someone I know which I really enjoyed.

It seems to me that All About Mia is just an all-round truthful book. It demonstrates a great family dynamic and what seems to me (an only child with no experience) to show the sibling rivalries, but also the real love that they have for each other deep down. There are moments (I'll keep it vague to avoid spoilers!) when you see that, although all told from Mia's point of view, each of the three sisters envies the other for something and they really do rely on each other throughout the book. There are some really great moments between Mia and Audrey where she gives her younger sister advice about certain things and it just made my heart melt, because despite her own problems she's almost always willing to help out her little sister.

Overall, All About Mia is a beautiful book about the difficulties faced by a teen who feels that she isn't living up to anyone's expectations. It demonstrates wonderfully the value of friendships and the ups and downs of sibling relationships. I truly adored this and no doubt I shall be yelling about it for a long while.

Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt

Rating: 9/10

Published: 1st February 2017
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
Pages: 464
Synopsis from Goodreads: Lexi Angelo has grown up helping her dad with his events business. She likes to stay behind the scenes, planning and organizing...until author Aidan Green - messy haired and annoyingly arrogant - arrives unannounced at the first event of the year. Then Lexi's life is thrown into disarray.

In a flurry of late-night conversations, mixed messages and butterflies, Lexi discovers that some things can't be planned. Things like falling in love...

I received a proof copy of this from my book club, which has in no way affected my review, these opinions are very much my own!

My first thoughts going into this were that it sounded like good fun, I was buzzing for a story at a convention but I'll admit that I was somewhat apprehensive that I wouldn't enjoy it because I'm not always the biggest fan of contemporaries that centre around romance (I think it's something to do with my potential aromanticism but that's besides the point!). I honestly loved this book so SO much!!

Set at across a number of conventions run by the company Lexi's dad owns, Unconventional is a ridiculously slow burn that's set over a number of months, in various locations. It's just such an enjoyable read and let me tell you, there's something magical about reading a book that's about books and authors and sci-fi-related nerd things!

Unconventional features some truly beautiful characters, all of whom you read and can immediately picture or think to yourself "yep I definitely know somebody like them!" which is something I always look for in a good contemporary. I fell in love with Aidan absolutely and completely which very rarely happens to me and I was left with such a book hangover it's actually quite embarrassing...

As you may have noticed if you've read any of my previous reviews (or if you've ever seen my tweets) I'm a fiend for a good diverse set of characters which I really think that Unconventional delivered on! Especially with the casual mention (I don't think it's really a spoiler?!) that her mum has a girlfriend now! I just loved that it slipped in an LGBT+ mention like it was nothing, like it was -woah hold up one second- normal??? It shouldn't be something that I should have to keep mentioning when I review books because it shouldn't be something that's unusual but I'm seeing more and more casual mention of LGBT+ characters and I love it! 

Anyway overall Unconventional was a super fun, easy and thoroughly enjoyable read with relatable characters who you will definitely love! Check it out because it's wonderful (and leave me a wee comment if you feel the same or otherwise)!

P.s. thanks to Liverpool One Waterstones YA book club for getting us copies of this beauty!