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You know you are reading an epic book when you just can’t put it down until you are finished! “If I tell you” by Alicia Tuckerman is THAT epic. “If I Tell You” is full of teenage drama, secrets, fears, hate crimes, drinking, drugs, swearing and very real life issues that many teenagers face as well as one of the sweetest, most adorable love stories you’ll ever read. I love how relatable and empowering this story is, it’s full of dark and scary themes but is just gorgeous. “If I Tell You” is about a girl named Alex who has a secret that she has been trying to keep because in a small town with small minded people, she felt as if she would not be accepted. It all changed when a girl named phoenix and her family moved into Two Creeks. I also love hoe this story takes place in a beautifully described Aussie landscape as Alex and Phoenix embrace who they are and take a jump, literally and metaphorically. I could really relate to “If I tell You” as I wanted to be accepted and it took me a long time feel comfortable enough to embrace the fact that I am Bisexual. So I absolutely believe that this book is perfect for all young adults and teens who are struggling with or questioning their own sexuality, but I would never limit it to just that audience either, I think books like this should be completely mainstream and available in high school libraries across the country too! I absolutely fell in love with the main characters (especially phoenix) because they are so relatable and so human to me as I read more and more about them I just thought “are these real people”? They are portrayed so beautifully in this book; I am in awe of how well Tuckerman has portrayed them in this amazing book! When I was lucky enough to meet Alicia Tuckerman she mentioned that some people loved the ending but others hated it… and I’m torn in between, without giving too much away, I found the end to be completely devastating but also poetically beautiful and peaceful, I couldn’t imagine it finishing in another way so I feel like the ending was perfect, even though I would have preferred the happily ever after we unrealistically crave. This is definitely not a book for kids, it for young adults and teens, there is swearing, violence and very adult themes, it mentions sex, drinking and drugs but they are not vividly described all, it just cuts to the next scene, so no censorship required! I think it’s perfect for ages 13+ with parental permission for the younger ones. I love the fabulous representation of the LGBTQ+ community and the fact that the two main charters are lesbians! It was incredible! So raw, honest and relatable! Alicia Tuckerman did an incredible job and I can’t wait for her next book to be released! I challenge you to read this book without falling in love with Alex and phoenix… I bet you can’t do it!
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How to be held is an incredible book of poetry by the amazing Maddie Godfrey. It also includes my favourite one of all her poems; Labels are for Jars which is about not judging people and how we should never put labels on people like boy, girl or straight as you may not know how others identify and it’s really none of our business either. I absolutely loved reading How to be held as I adore how raw and open Maddie Godfrey’s poetry is.
I have been lucky enough to actually meet her and it was an incredible experience! She is an amazing, funny and honest person and I had a great time meeting her and getting to chat with her. This book does have some very mature poetry in it but Maddie told me that if you’re not ready to read that you can still get book and ask an adult to just block out the poems with a more mature content. She has actually had some parents block out the poems that they felt their kids weren’t ready to read and they still were able to read most of the book and enjoy it. Some of the poetry tackles really important issues such as abuse, discrimination, depression and much more, and the way she writes about these issues is very empowering as it is often hard for us to step up, take a stand and talk about abuse, discrimination, mental health and all of these urgent challenges. This is another reason why to me, she is such an inspiration, because of how she tackles this mature content. If you love reading the works of Maya Angelou or Jesse Oliver and feel inspired by them, I’m sure you will love and feel inspired by this book! Click the link below to watch the interview I did with Maddie for Booktoberfest 2019. This EPIC series is about a futuristic dystopian world where death literally comes to collect you when it's your time to go. You'd expect for this dark series to be quite frightening to read, but the way Neal weaves in his diabolical sense of humour makes it a very fun and not so scary series at all. Lovers of dystopian, sci-fi and mysterious actions will love this. It's probably not one for the kids though as some parts are quite violent and there are very dark themes.
Watch the videos to learn about the individual books. I LOVE them, but I doubt that comes as a surprise as everyone knows how much I adore Neal Shusterman. This book is for middle graders, so is a little younger than the books I normally love to read BUT I genuinely enjoyed it and love how heartfelt and real the story is. It is a very fun, quirky and simple read with an important lesson! But Shhhh... Don't let the kids know they're learning something.  A quick, two minute review of Jenna's truth by the amazing Nadia King! Please feel free to like and comment on the video, let me know what you think of this fab book.  If you love pirates, adventure and non stop action this book is for you! I love Norman's crazy sense of humour and ability to set the scene so vividly in this very fun and easy to read adventure. Watch the video for the quick review.  Josh Langley’s Book Find Your Creative Mojo focuses on overcoming self-doubt, procrastination fear and much more and it is truly incredible! It was a very easy book to read and digest because of the bold headings, sections with bullet points and big writing. Find Your Creative Mojo is full of wonderful tips to help the reader get out of their own way and start working towards their goals and start believing in themselves. Throughout the book there are lots of cute and quirky comics and inspirational quotes. Three of my favourite quotes from the book are: ‘Life is short, make art and love’, ‘There is no such thing as perfection’ and ‘Open your Heart, Open your head, Give Space, Give Thanks’ I definitely recommend this amazing book for ages 12+! It is a great read for anyone who is needing a bit of inspiration, motivation or a good pep talk!! It is not the type of genre that I typically read but I absolutely loved this book and have written down a bunch of goals that I AM going to achieve within the next 12 months, I’ll keep referring back to this book when I’m feeling a bit down and out about my progress. Here’s the link to check out this book and others by Josh Langley: https://joshlangley.com.au/ I’m looking forward to checking out Turning Inside Out Now make sure to go hug your Cat ;)
I was super lucky to receive a copy of The Lost Stone of Sky City before its released in just a few days and I absolutely have to share it with you!
Book review! Invisible Boys by award-winning author Holden Sheppard: As I post this book review I can almost hear the collective GASP of all the parents reading this who are shocked that I would be allowed to read such graphic and mature content. But fear not concerned citizens; my copy of Invisible Boys has been censored! My amazing 16 year old sister read it first and covered up all the shmexy bits with post it notes, and although at times I was a little tempted to take a sneak peek under them, I refrained as there are some things that I’d rather wait to learn until I am older, I think I’d be a little scarred if I read them now. It took me longer than usual to read this book, about 6 days in total (that’s with about 50% being lude and blocked out), as I like to spend more time processing what’s happening when the story seems a bit heavy or deep but that is not a reflection of how much I enjoyed this book. I absolutely LOVE Invisible Boys and adore the three main characters! Invisible boys is definitely NOT suitable for kids, it’s recommended for ages 14+ due to the sexual content and mature language and I can guarantee most of my 11-13 year old friends aren’t even going to read the rest of this review, they’ve already lied to their parents about the content and are off to buy a copy! So, for those who are still reading, here’s my opinion of this book; Invisible boys gives a great insight into what it was like growing up gay in rural Australia in the 90’s. It’s raw, it’s honest, it’s real and it’s empowering! I cried, I laughed, I wanted to hug Charlie, Zeke and Hammer and I wanted to punch quite a few characters in the face. I love the way Holden represented our LGBTQ+ community as we need better representation in literature, especially for teens who may be going through similar struggles as the characters in this book. I also love the way Holden created unique and diverse characters to show that not all gay people look and act the same way, you can be gay straight or Bi and still just be you, you don’t need to act a certain way. AMAZING book! I hope it will be purchased in high school libraries for teens who may not have access to this kind of literature. It’s available to purchase from October 1st 2019, so you can grab a copy from your book shop now.
This is the first book in the Medoran series. Click to watch the review and I'll be uploading a review of the whole series very soon. If you loved the Whisper duology by Lynette you'll love this. I also feel that it's style and magical elements could be coma[red to that of the Harry Potter or charlie book series' and but for an older, more mature audience. They are super fun and I LOVE her vivid descriptions of the beautiful worlds she creates.  |
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