A really exciting book arrived in the post this week! I also issued myself a book buying ban. Which failed miserably: I blame the #BooksAreMyBag campaign; which meant I bought two books whilst getting one of their awesome bags. Then I went into a charity shop and bought more books. Maybe… I’ll stop buying next week…?

Received in post:

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin: Earlier this year, I bought, read, and loved All These Things I’ve Done. The lovely people at Macmillan offered me this book earlier this year, too, but the publishing date was pushed back until about a week ago- not entirely sure why, though! Anyway, they still sent it to me- so THANK YOU, awesome Macmillan people! I’m about halfway through this, now, and it’s amazing. But heart-breaking.

Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud: I bought this as it was sitting on the shelf at Beckenham Bookshop when I went today, screaming Buy Me!! And so I bought it, obviously. Ghosts? A haunting business? Yes please! Also, I’ve heard so many glowing reviews. I bought this and also got a free Books Are My Bag Tote. Which I’ve put a pic of below. Though… I’m a bit annoyed at my bad luck. I requested this ages ago on Netgalley, and thought I’d been declined. But it got approved- TODAY! Oh well. I prefer physical books anyway, and I’ve supported a bookshop by buying it 🙂

A Hero For WONDLA by Tony DiTerlizzi: I got this in the Beckenham Bookshop too, as I spotted it and haven’t seen it anywhere else before. I’ve been wanting a copy for absolutely ages! When I did a few reviews for We Love This Book Magazine, The Search For WondLa was one of the books they sent me- and it’s one of my favourite Children’s books. The sequel came out last year. It looks so great, and I can’t wait to dive into this amazing Cyber-Punk world again!

Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen: This is a classic book that I’ve always wanted to read. I found it in a local charity store today- along with a lot of other Austen books (I may have to go back there…). I picked up this one, as it’s one of Austen’s most famous. I’ve heard lots of great things about it, so I’m looking forward to this.

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne: I’ve never read this before, in fear I’ll cry my eyes out. Same goes for the film… but I saw this in the charity shop, too, and bought it because I really wanted to read this to see if it was as amazing as many have said. I’m seriously looking forward to it- though I think I should buy Kleenex before starting it… right?

Adding this pic to my book haul. Because it’s bookish. If you haven’t heard of the #BooksAreMyBag campaign, it’s in aid of supporting Indie bookstores, mainly, after shocking statistics were revealed about the closing down of independent bookshops. To help raise money, if you buy a book at any independent (though I think at some chain stores like Waterstones, too!) you’ll receive one of these awesome bags. I love them! I would post a pic of my own bag. But my phone is playing up. 

This picture does NOT belong to me. Credit goes to the B.A.M.B. website!

Have you read any of the books in my book haul, and what did you think of them- or have you got a Books Are My Bag tote yet? Feel free to leave a comment- and link back to your own hauls so I can comment back! (:

I actually wrote this post yesterday, before I went out and visited a few shops- I was going to write here: ‘What? There must be some kind of mistake… I didn’t buy any books this week. How did I manage that?’… And then of course, I went out and I BOUGHT A BOOK 🙂 So… yup. My book buying ban failed miserably thanks to a charity shop!

Well, I did get sent two really amazing looking books as well. So yay- and thank you so much to Hot Key for the beautiful finished copies!

Received in Post:

Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve: This looks, just… amazing. Look at that pretty cover, guys!! Also, the concept seems really original and exciting too. I really can’t wait to start this, as I’ve heard glowing things about it by people who’ve already read it! I also got the meet Laure the other night- she is awesome, people!

The Burning Summer by Lydia Syson: That Burning Summer looks amazing. I loved Lydia’s book with hot key last year, A World Between Us, and so I really can’t wait to dive into this! Also, that cover is so pretty. Vintage-y. It’s so cool, and matches her first book with Hot Key- though they’re not actually related  (:

Bought:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Yes whoops my book buying ban failed… Oh well- it was broken for very good reason. But grrrrrrrr to the person who put their entire collection of classic books in the charity shop I went into today! I think I may have to go back. They had Hamlet and some other Shakespeare’s and slots of Dickens novels and… oh, goodness, book-geek-out moment. Sorry. I’ll shut up now, after saying that I’ve wanted to read Frankenstein for so long now, after loving the classic old films, so I’m so glad I got this!

What was in your book haul this week, and have you read and liked any of these books? Leave a comment, and happy reading 🙂

Even before the amazing Walker Books people sent me a copy of More Than This, I was geared up to go to this event. After finishing the book a few days before (and sitting and staring at it for a while, just in pure awe. Review soon, by the way, when my thoughts will form coherent sentences.) I was super excited to go see the author talk about it! This is possibly the funniest book discussion I’ve ever been to- and also the strangest because it really was quite hard for Patrick to discuss the book without giving too much away!

Anyway, onto recounting the book event. With my pictures included.

Awesome icing book from the top of a cupcake. Next to real book for proportion.

Patrick Ness was accompanied by Nicolette Jones, who is a writer and journalist; at Waterstones Piccadilly, to host his first ever event about his new shiny book, More Than This! The event was proclaimed by him to be pretty special not only because it’s the first More Than This event but the first event he’s done after getting married (Congrats, by the way, Patrick!!). It was also awesome because they had cut little cupcakes with books made out of icing on top of them… with the More Than This book cover! They. Were. YUMMY.  Yes, also fancy looking drinks too, but I obviously wasn’t allowed to try those 😉

I didn’t actually realise how funny Patrick Ness is. Well- he’s pretty hilarious. Nicolette introduced him by saying things along the lines of ‘And Patrick Ness has MADE HISTORY by winning the Carnegie Medal two years running with two books from the same trilogy-”

And then Ness cut her off saying “Oh, stop it, you,” And looking quite flattered. That probably didn’t sound so hilarious, but it was, okay ;). I’m just not good at making stuff sound funny.

Anyway, Nicolette and Patrick talked about the book- exploring the characters, themes, and the inspirations behind the book. Multiple times did I laugh. Like, for instance, Ness on inspirations:

“I’ve always wanted to write a book about waking up in an empty world: the idea appeals to me. No offense.”

Patrick awesomely signing my book… with a very funny message… read below to find out what 😉

The idea also came to him because his older brother, while they were little and living in America, kept boasting that he’d saved Patrick from drowning at sea in Hawaii. When he was older, Patrick realised “Hey, that never actually happened!” He’d been fooled into believing it. I’m guessing this is where the not only Questioning Reality aspect of the book came from, as well as the beginning, in which Seth drowns and dies in the first chapter. (Don’t worry. Not a spoiler. Trust me.)

Conversation later moved on to his character, Seth, who was practically the only character up for discussion as any others would give away huge spoilers! Patrick Ness talked about how he felt that no, he wasn’t cramming in teen dramas into one character. “If you were to look at a teen’s fiction online like I have… you’ll see it’s a hundred times worse than my characters mostly!” He said. Very important point- his story includes suicide, a secret gay relationship, and a terrifying kidnap of a very important person in the book… a lot of issues were pointed out in the book, and yet there can be worse for teenagers, still.

‘For Georgia, who Stunned me with light.’ Whoopsie.

After that he went on to a question and answer thing and all of the questions were really great. They included one from a seemingly angered guy asking why one character in The Knife Of Never Letting Go was killed. I think the funniest part of that was Laure Eve’s (I’ll mention Laure more at the end of this post! :)) question. It was actually a very good question. “Why do you write? Do you feel like you have to write?” And Patrick finally replied with a yes, he feels he has to write, before saying rather loudly to everyone in the room that Laure Eve was ALSO a writer and that she should answer this question too. I think Laure was a bit annoyed at him for that, in a funny way 😀

After the Q&A with the author, we got to get our books signed! Extra points to Waterstones Piccadilly, because they set up this so that we weren’t all standing around waiting for hours, but also got to have short conversations with Patrick Ness too. After a surprisingly shorter-than-expected queue I got to meet Patrick Ness face to face, which was very awesome. Though, apologies to him, because I asked if I could get a pic of him signing my books and I left the flash on my phone. He therefore signed my book like this (<—- look Left!), after posing for another pic (which I’ve put above) so I could use one here that didn’t look like he was a rabbit in headlights. I wont put that picture up ;). Oh, and Patrick Ness also signed my copy of A Monster Calls for both me and my brother as well as his new book. Picture below!

As well as getting to eat cake and listen to an author, I also got to meet some cool people that I kind of know from twitter! 🙂 Firstly, Natasha Ngan (Elites author!), though accidentally and only briefly as we were sad to find out tickets had sold out and so she couldn’t go in :'(. However, Natasha is a lovely person! Also, Laure Eve, who has written Fearsome Dreamer also with Hot Key Books, and she is equally awesome (And ‘theme-atically linked to me as we both turned up in comic shirts. Whoop!). And lastly, Caitlin from Hodder and Stacey. They are both really cool people too!! 🙂 So, overall, the event was brilliant. Thank you SO MUCH to Waterstones Piccadilly for providing me with blogger’s tickets, I really appreciate it! It was an absolutely brilliant event; by two great people, and hosted by an equally great bookstore. I’m definitely recommending Waterstones Piccadilly events to everyone I know, and I’m hoping to buy some tickets to three (Yes, three gah!) YA events in October!

I read THE RIG about a month ago, and it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. I read it because it was one of the winners of the Hot Key Books/ Guardian Young Writer’s Prize, 2012. The very awesome Joe Ducie, author, agreed to answer a few questions for me as an interview post! Questions range from writing THE RIG to the setting and characters. Joe has some great answers! 🙂 Firstly, about Joe Ducie:

Twenty five-year-old British born Joe currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. Joe attended Edith Cowan University and graduated in 2010 with a Degree in Counterterrorism, Security and Intelligence. Joe has also studied Creative and Professional Writing at Curtin University.

He is primarily a writer of urban fantasy and science fiction aimed at young adults and, when not talking about himself in the third person, enjoys devouring books at an absurdly disgusting rate and ambling over mountains. Preferably at the same time. Follow Joe on Twitter: @joeducie

Contact Joe: email: joe.ducie@gmail.com Website: joeducie.net Twitter: @joeducie Facebook: /jducie

Onto the questions!

• How long did it take you to write The Rig?

I hammered out the first draft to The Rig in about 11 intense days. The story was written with the intention of submitting it to the Young Writers Prize, and the way that competition was laid out meant I only needed the first 4,000 words to enter.

So enter I did, in April 2012, and then promptly forgot about it until September when Hot Key Books sent me an email asking for the rest of the draft! Huzzah!

I did not have a draft, but the opportunity was far too good to pass up, and I’ve always worked better on a deadline. So I strapped myself into the writing chair – up in the Canadian Rockies, where I was working at the time – and didn’t look up for the best part of two weeks. The story fell out of me, piece by piece, and actually came together into something I liked.

Of course the draft I submitted ended up needing a lot of work to bring it up to scratch, but the story itself was complete and sound—better, it was fun—and I was thrilled that Hot Key saw something in it.

• If you could go back and edit one thing about the book, what would it be?

Hmm… there are one or two things happening in the sequel that I would have liked to mention in the first installment, but there was no opportunity, given the remoteness of the Rig, to introduce this information naturally. Had I put it in, the extra detail would have looked glaringly obvious that I was foreshadowing. And foreshadowing should never look like foreshadowing.

• What triggered the whole idea for The Rig, originally?

A dream, actually. A dream of kids on an oil rig prison. Pretty much what ended up hitting the page, right? The best ideas seem to strike from the ether like that, entirely unlooked for and rough around the edges. Bit of polish and two weeks of relentless writing and I had myself a small, hopeful diamond of a story.

• Were any of your characters based on real life people, and is any of Drake based a little on yourself?

I like to think I’m as cool and witty as Drake, oh yes, but he’s probably more like my brother than me. Heh. Tristan’s cleverness is something I see in a lot of people I know. Irene’s kindness and the wildfire in her heart is something I try and surround myself with. Funny thing about characters is I sometimes don’t even see the similarities to people I know until we’re ¾ into the story. What gets me is the name of the character, every time. In The Rig, Tristan was originally called Matthew, and Irene was going to be Grace. But those names jarred when I read the draft. As soon as I changed them to what you see in the final copy, they felt more real to me. Something clicks and you think, of course, that was always their name.

•Did Drake really escape from one high security prison because the front door was unlocked? (To people who haven’t read The Rig: Drake insists this happened, but no one seems to believe him!)

Heh. Secrets, secrets. I’m not even sure I know how Drake managed to escape that one! He’s got bigger problems coming his way in the follow-up. Problems that are going to require his considerable resolve and wit.

•Why did you decide to set the story on the Oil Rig?

Well, kind of like the thing with names, an oil rig just felt right. We’ve got this hotshot young kid, Drake, who has escaped from three of the Alliance’s land-based facilities without really breaking a sweat. So short of putting the prison on the moon we needed somewhere that had to be remote and, from the start, inescapable.

• Finally, could you give any hints to readers here of what’s to come in the sequel?

Chaos—pure, raw chaos and more than a touch of heated romance. Adventure, trials, tribulations—love, loss, and all manner of mischief. The conflict started in The Rig has only just begun!

Thanks so much for the brilliant interview, Joe! I’m sure everyone is looking forward to reading your book, and I’m looking forward to the sequel! Today, THE RIG is published, by the way! Woohoo! So, if you’re looking for a full review of Joe’s book, you can read mine HERE, before rushing off to a shop to grab a copy. 🙂

By Susan Cooper, published by Bodley Head (Random House).

Goodreads Synopsis: On the winter day Little Hawk is sent into the woods alone, he can take only a bow and arrows, his handcrafted tomahawk, and the amazing metal knife his father traded for with the new white settlers. If Little Hawk survives three moons by himself, he will be a man.

John Wakely is only ten when his father dies, but he has already experienced the warmth and friendship of the nearby tribes. Yet his fellow colonists aren’t as accepting of the native people. When he is apprenticed to a barrel-maker, John sees how quickly the relationships between settlers and natives are deteriorating. His friendship with Little Hawk will put both boys in grave danger.

The intertwining stories of Little Hawk and John Wakely are a fascinating tale of friendship and an eye-opening look at the history of our nation. Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper also includes a timeline and an author’s note that discusses the historical context of this important and moving novel.

My Review: *READ THIS BEFORE MY REVIEW! 🙂 Contains a SPOILER about a main event in the book. However, if you read synopsis/book title carefully, you’ll probably have figured it out!*

Ghost Hawk was a book that stands out from most in its unique genre. As soon as I picked it up, I truly was quite hooked on the story!
The story follows Little Hawk, primarily. He’s going into the forest to endure a few months of lonely survival to become a man for his tribe. However, when he comes back, he’s shocked to find that his village isn’t the same as how he left it. Following that, Little Hawk is murdered by an Englishman. John, an English boy, watches the murder, and also witnesses the tension between the English and Native Americans, who he has grown to love since Ten.
Okay, maybe I explained this badly. Just… Read it and it will all make perfect sense! I promise you! Despite my very bad pitching there, Ghost Hawk was an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end. Despite a couple of things about characters, I enjoyed it hugely and I’ll definitely be recommending it to fans of Historical fiction books, ghost books, or anybody who’s looking for a very individual read.

I absolutely adored the concept of the book, and the plot. Written in three parts, the story was broken down into what seemed like smaller novels, because the events differed dramatically in each one. The first part, I think, was my favourite: I really loved the story of survival in the world of Little Hawk- and, not reading the synopsis too carefully, had thought that that the book was just about his survival trip! Well, I was incredibly wrong, as at the end of part one, Little Hawk is murdered, trying to save the father of John.

One of the saddest, most shocking moments in a book I’ve read this year? Yes.

The rest of the story was based around John, mostly. I loved to watch him grow up throughout the book. The writing was absolutely beautiful; poetic, even, and from the perspective of ‘Ghost Hawk’ looking down on John. The writing most definitely captured the setting and characters really well. I felt like I was actually in the tribal camps, or being Ghost Hawk as he watched John live the rest of his life.

I think that I preferred Little Hawk’s character to John’s. I connected with him much more- especially  in the first part of the book. He seemed a lot more real to me, and I don’t really know why, actually! He had a really interesting background. I think that maybe I liked him more because he had such an interesting background, that Susan Cooper has put in every little detail into, making sure that the tribal aspect of his life was accurate. John had a great background too, though, and I did really enjoy watching him grow up, too. I was very shocked by the ending for his character. Utterly unpredictable. All I’ll do here, instead of spoil it, is quote that line in the book that was repeated a couple of times: Lord, what fools these mortals be! Sums up the story pretty well, for reasons I wont add here! 🙂

Overall, Ghost Hawk was a really beautifully written book. I enjoyed the plot, with all of its unique and unbelievable twists that left this book quite literally glued to my hands. It had a really original idea, and was so fun to read. I loved the tribal roots of the story, and the ending for Ghost Hawk was one of those moments where you’ll want to just curl up with a box of Kleenex, really! I think the only problem I really had with it was that there were a lot of different characters in this book and I found it hard to keep track of the names at points with my rubbish memory. Aside from that? Amazing. Go grab a copy now, though be prepared for a pretty emotional book!

My Rating:

I received a copy of Ghost Hawk from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.