Best of 2012 - Abby

Best of 2012!!

Here comes our third take-over post, from our member Abby. Carry on reading to see what her best book of 2012 is...

Wither

by Lauren DeStefano 

Review by Abby

This book is set in a future where girls only live to age 20 and boys to age 25. This is a result of scientists creating the perfect human race free of all disease and illness, but they are now trying to correct the short life span. The cities are overrun with orphans and girls keep going missing.

Best of 2012 - Rosie

Best of 2012!!

Here is the second takeover post. This one comes from our member Rosie, enjoy...

 ‘Kyla’s memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank, her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist, and that they are giving her a second chance- as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?’ 

Best of 2012 - Aimee

Best of 2012!!

So for the month of December we have something special here on the blog. We will be featuring post from our members all about their best reads of 2012. They will each be writing a mini-post about the best YA book they have read this year. These books don't have to have been released this year, just read and enjoyed. 

The first one is by Aimee, who is 14, Here is what she has to say about her pick, Beautiful Creatures...

Review - Pantomime by Laura Lam

Pantomime by Laura Lam

ISBN - 9781908844361  

Published by Strange Chemistry

Released  7th Feb 2013

Five out of Five stars *****

Well, where do I start?! I had no idea what to expect from this book. I listened to Laura read the first chapter at the Strange Chemistry launch. I was mesmerised and I knew this was a world I wanted to know more about!  I had received the first few pages in my goody bag from the launch, but decided not to read them, as it would be a while before I could get hold of the whole book. That was back in August.

Bookclub November 2012

Hi there!

At this months meet we managed to get quite a lot sorted out. I'll give a recap of the plans we made towards the end of this post, so that the people who couldn't make it this month know what going on. Now on to the review....

This months book was Blood Red Road by Moira Young. Overall we gave it 4 stars. Most of us liked it, a couple just couldn't get on with it, more on that in a moment though...

Cover Reveal - Emilie and the Hollow World

Hi there!

This morning the guys and gals over at Strange Chemistry revealed the awesome cover for one of their up-coming books, Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells. It's a fantasy adventure due for release in April 2013. Here is what the blurb says;

      "While running away from home for reasons that are eminently defensible, Emilie’s plans to stow away on the steamship Merry Bell and reach her cousin in the big city go awry, landing her on the wrong ship and at the beginning of a fantastic adventure.
Taken under the protection of Lady Marlende, Emilie learns that the crew hopes to use

Ones to watch - Books for November

Hi there! :0)

I realised the other day that there are so many amazing sounding books that are due for release over the next few months. So with that in mind, I thought I would put together this 'Ones to Watch' post! :) So here we go...

Guest Post - Ingrid Jonach

Hi there!

We have a treat in store for you today :0) It's a guest post by Ingrid Jonach, one of the growing number of brilliant authors that have been signed to the Strange Chemistry label. Ingrid hails from Australia, and is here to talk about the YA scene down under. Enjoy....

 

 

The Young Adult Scene Down Under

If you were to walk into an Aussie bookstore or library, you would find the shelves groaning under the weight of novels from abroad, particularly the US.

We too were swept up in the Harry Potter, Twilight and The Hunger Games Series’. We have grown accustomed to international slang and even spelling if the novel has been ordered from overseas (note there has been a lot of robust discussion around parallel imports in Australia, but that is another blog post altogether!). And we Aussies are actively engaging with international readers and writers through social networking sites like Twitter and Goodreads.

Book Club October 2012

Hi there!
Well last night we had our sixth book club meeting. It went well, even though we didn't have a huge amount of book chat. Chicken Salt anyone...? lol

Our October book is Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott. We gave it 3, 4, 4.5 and one 5 star, so I'll average that out to 4 stars. I really loved this book and so did a couple of others. A few of us hadn't finished it yet, but were enjoying it. One of us just couldn't get into it and one other had only read the first word! lol  So it was quite a mixed bag!

Review - Broken by A E Rought

Broken by A E Rought

ISBN 9781908844309

Published by Strange Chemistry

Published 3rd January 2013

Four out of five stars ****

 

 

 

I genuinely really enjoyed this book! It grabbed my attention right from the moment that I heard about it, (which was when the blog was part of it's cover reveal a few months back). here's what goodreads has to say...

 

"Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

Event - YA Author Book Signing

Photo by Liz de Jager.

Hi there you guys!!

Yesterday in the store we hosted a multi author book signing. Thank you guys for coming!!! Also thank you everyone who turned up to meet and chat with them :D
The turn out wasn't as big as I had hoped, but fun was had by all! We even had some yummy fudge and cakepops too! lol

So here are the authors...

TAC Competition Winner!!

We have a Winner!!


Each of the nine blogs taking part in the blog tour will select a winner, these lucky nine with then be entered into a single draw, and the winner of that will receive a very special prize! They will become the proud owners of an annotated copy The Assassin's Curse :D



So here is the winner....*drum roll*

Blog Tour - The Assassin's Curse

Hi there everyone! I'd like to start off by saying a HUGE thank you to Cassandra and Amanda for letting me be involved with this blog tour! :D I would also like to say sorry for not posting it yesterday! We had a bit of trouble with our ISP Grrr!

Make sure you read all the way to the bottom, for there is an AMAZING giveaway for the tour!

So here is the #YABluewater interview with the wonderful Cassandra Rose Clarke! Enjoy...

 

Bookclub September 2012

Well hello again! :0) Last night we had our fourth #YABluewater meeting. We discussed a gorgeous book called A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness. We gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, so I think it's safe to say that we LOVED it!!

I would like to start off by saying a huge thank you to those of you who came last night, and sorry for not having any cake! *ducks and hides* In my defence I had no oven! :p

We managed to cover a few key points last night, as well as talking about the book. We have a special plan in place for the month of December! It's not quite top secret but I'll leave all of the details for another post closer to the time. I'm very excited about it though!

Strange Chemistry Winner!!

OK so the winner has been chosen. At yesterday's book club we randomly selected one of the entrants. Here's a quick reminder of what was up for grabs...

The winner is..... *Drum roll*

REVIEW - Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

ISBN 9780230759015

Published by Tor

Published September 1st

Five out of five stars *****

 

 

 

I know that I say this a lot, but this book is AMAZING!!! It truly truly is. It is a crossover, so I feel it is suited more for older YA readers. It does have a fair amount of swearing in it. Before I continue with this review here is what goodreads has to say about it...

 

 

Griffins are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to capture one for the Shogun, they fear that their lives are over. Everyone knows what happens to those who fail him, no matter how hopeless the task.

Review - Katya's World by Jonathan L.Howard

Katya's World by Jonathan L.Howard

ISBN - 9781908844125

Published by Strange Chemistry

8th November 2012

4.5 out of 5 * 

Well where to start! I loved this book! It was great not to read anything with romance in it! lol
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against romantic plot lines, but they do seem to be everywhere at the moment!! Katya's World doesn't have one, and doesn't need one either. It's full of tension and mystery and more than a little humour.

Strange Chemistry Book Signing!

I am very excited to say that we will be hosting a multi-author book signing on the 7th October with some of the Strange Chemistry authors!!! I am so excited about this, can you tell?! lol

We will have Sean Cummings, author of Poltergeeks and Kim Curran, author of Shift. They will both be in store from 12pm signing their book's on that Sunday. It is also Sean's birthday on that day too, so I will be making some cake-pops!! I will make as many as I can, so I hope there will be enough to go around! lol  We will have more copies of both books as we draw closer to the event, as well as Gwenda Bond's Blackwood, so make sure you keep an eye on instore, and you keep your receipt as proof of purchase may be required.

Did I mention that I am SUPER EXCITED!! lol

Feel free to leave a comment, and be sure to spread the word!

See you next post,

Kaylie :0)

Author Interview - A E Rought

Hi there folks! Here is the last in my current set of interviews for you. It is with A E Rought, the author of Broken, due for release in January 2013. This book is released through Strange Chemistry and looks amazing!

Enjoy...


How did writing Broken compare to the other things that you have written?
 
In many ways! But I’ll just give you a few.
First, I felt Broken, before I wrote it. I tried story after story, but nothing fit the dark, aching, sweeping romance of what I was feeling. When I finished Broken and looked back, I was shocked by the story I’d managed to write.
Second, it’s the first book I plotted as completely as I did. With the layers, and amount of character heartache I created, it was really necessary, too!
Third, I loved it so much, I horded it for a while, just my alpha readers and me for the first few chapters. 

 

Strange Chemistry Giveaway!!

It's Giveaway time!!! I have one Strange Chemistry goody bag to giveaway, fresh from the Imprint Launch a few days ago. It's full of some really awesome stuff!! Take a look....

 

Strange Chemistry Launch

Hiya guys!

I would like to start off by saying a HUGE thank you to Amanda Rutter, the Strange Chemistry editor, who organised the whole event and did a brilliant job! Everyone had a great time and we all salute you!

Thanks is also due for the whole Strange Chemistry team, well done guys! I know you're going to be a great label and I wholeheartedly look forward to following your progress! :0)

Thank you to Juliet Mushens and Lee Harris for letting me use your photos too! :D

Last, but not least, I'd like to thank everyone who went last night. You were all so nice and friendly!! It was my first event of this kind and I was very well looked after lol
Right, where to begin?!! Well at the start would be best. If you haven't heard about Strange Chemistry yet, WHY NOT?! :p So in case you don't know, here's the skinny...

Review - Frostfire by Zoe Marriott

Frostfire by Zoe Marriott

ISBN 9781406318142

Published by Walker Books

5 out of 5 stars * * * * *

Wow! Zoe you have done it again...

In the spirit of full disclosure, I LOVE Zoe Marriott's books! They are an automatic must read for me. I trust that from the first page I'm going to be taken on a magical journey, full of emotion and with plenty of twists and turns. With Frostfire I was not disappointed!

The worlds that Zoe creates are so believable that you just can't help being drawn into them. I'm not going to give you guys a rundown of the plot, as I'd rather you go and buy the book and read it! lol. I will say though, that if you're looking for something to escape into, this is the book for you!

Author Interview - Laura Lam

I have ANOTHER interview for you lovely lot! This one is with Laura Lam. She is due to release her first book early next year, it's called Pantomime and looks amazing! I can't wait to read it. This is Laura's first interview, so make sure you leave a comment to tell her how cool she is! :p

Enjoy...

Congratulations on your debut book Pantomime! How do you feel now that it's due for release next year?

Terrified! And really, painfully excited. I keep having to pinch myself . It still doesn't feel real, and I'm not sure it will until I have the physical book in my hands. Maybe not even then!
 

Author of the Month - August - Zoe Marriott

So here at #YABluewater we will be picking an Author of the Month, every month. We will try and bring you reviews of their books, an interview where we can and other posts with or about the featured author.
This months AOTM is Zoe Marriott. You can find an interview with Zoe here, from one of our earlier posts.

This post was written by Emma, she is a fellow Bookseller here at the Bluewater Waterstones store, and she LOVES YA fiction! Here she writes about why she loves Zoe's work.

Enjoy...

I settled down in bed exhausted after a long day, half heartedly thinking I would read the first couple of pages of ‘Shadows on the Moon’ as I had promised a friend I would. It wasn’t until four hours later that I managed to drag my eyes from the woefully dwindling pages. Not only does this tale have an exhilarating and gripping story, it is also powerfully atmospheric and enchanting, drawing you into the book to such a degree that I half expected to see Suzume looking back at me from the mirror.

Reading Group book - September 2012

Hi everyone!

We have decided that Septembers book is going to be; A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Here is what Waterstones.com has to say about it...

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - Chris Farnell

Hi there!

Here's another author interview for you all to enjoy :D This one is with Chris Farnell, author of Mark II This has been on my to-read list for a while now, hopefully soon I'll be able to add it to my have read list!

Enjoy...

What was the inspiration behind Mark II?

Boringly I got the idea from a documentary about cloning. It featured a interview with some parents who hoped to one day clone their child who had died from a terminal illness. So, I took that idea and, um, stole it.
While I was writing it I also discovered the Genetic Savings & Clone business, a company that would clone your dead cat (for a fee). Sadly it went bust by the time the book came out, or I would have seemed eerily prophetic.

Book Club August 2012

I would again like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who turned up!! There where a few new faces again, which is always excellent!

I would also like to say thank you to Lissa Price, who sent us through some SWAG!! Yay! It was gratefully received and we all wear our badges with pride :0)

This month we were discussing Starters by Lissa Price.

Overall it scored a 3.5/5 from us. We all liked the book, although we felt it could have done more to fulfil its potential.

We LOVED the concept. A post war America, where only the youngest and oldest generations have survived. The Enders, who are all between 100 and 200 years old, rent out the bodies of the Starters, who are all in their teens, to live young again. Only there is a sinister tone to this underground world of Renters and Donors that is creepy as hell!

Guest Post - Review by Bekah

So here is another brilliant review from one of our regular guest posters Bekah, enjoy!!...

The Name of the Star [Shades of London, Book One] by Maureen Johnson – 3.75/5 (Yeah, you read that right: 3.75)

Perhaps the best way to enter the literary worlds of Maureen Johnson is through her Twitter account; @maureenjohnson shows you the crazy. Glimpse a mind that puts her followers in jars, renames her friends and associates with pseudonyms like Felicity Disco and Daphne Unfeasible, and has an extraordinary liking for watermelon and hamsters. I kid you not; this woman writes books.

Review - Shift by Kim Curran

SO the lovely people at Strange Chemistry recently sent me a bundle of proofs. I was so excited that I literally jumped up and down in front of the postman! lol They all looked brilliant but there was one that I was chomping at the bit to start reading and that was Shift by Kim Curran. I couldn't start it straight away though :( but as soon as I could I did.,and I loved it! It did not disappoint. So here is my review....

Author Interview - Gwenda Bond

Hi there you luck lot! Lookie what I have for you! It's another author interview!! This time with Gwenda Bond, author of the up-coming Strange Chemistry release Blackwood.

Enjoy!

How did you find writing a YA novel, compared to writing articles and such?

Novel writing and nonfiction writing are so different for me that it’s almost like talking about what it’s like to visit two different planets, or maybe like speaking two different languages. Whether it’s reviews or articles or blogging, nonfiction comes to me much faster and it also tends to go through much less rigorous revision. Writing a novel is like chasing a whirlwind with a butterfly net. And, if you’re lucky, after a great deal of work managing to catch that whirlwind, which is actually a story, and then showing it to other people and hoping they say, “Oh, that’s a story,” and not, “What is that? It just looks like a big mess of stuff blowing around.”

Poltergeeks Winners!!

Hi there!
I want to start of by saying a big thank you to those who entered! Also I would like to say a huge thank you to all of you on twitter who have been RT and spreading the YABluewater word! A big thank you goes to Strange Chemistry, who have very kindly let us giveaway two copies of Poltergeeks! (you guys are awesome!)

OK so the winners are.....*drum roll*

Author Interview and Giveaway - Sean Cummings.

Hi there! Here is another Author Interview for you guys! As you can see this one is a bit different because it's a video! How cool is that?!

Sean Cummings is the author of Poltergeeks, An awesome book, due for release in October. Sean and the wonderful Strange Chemistry have offered us two copies of this book to giveaway here on the #YABluewater blog! All you have to do is follow this blog and leave a comment here on this post about what you thought of the interview, Easy! remember to follow and comment to enter. You have until Midnight (BST) on Sunday to enter. Winners will be announced on Monday morning, so be sure to check back the to see if it was you!

Good luck to all of you who enter!

Edited to add;

I have decided to extend the competition until midnight on Saturday. So you guys now have until then to enter, so spread the word!! lol I will announce the two winners on Sunday morning. Good luck. Please tweet this post to help get the word out. Thanks!

See you next post,

Kaylie :0)

Guest post - Cinder Review

Cinder [Lunar Chronicles, Book One] by Marissa Meyer – 4/5 stars

Cyborgs and Lunars and Lols, oh my!
Marissa Meyer’s debut novel, Cinder, is a brilliant postmodern fairytale-reboot. The tale of Cinderella has been dusted-off, re-wired, and teleported into a future New Beijing. Cinderella is a cyborg, her prince is a hoodie-wearing emperor-in-waiting, and a mysterious plague sweeping the planet isn’t the only thing threatening to disrupt the ball!

Film and TV are awash with updated and re-worked fairytale adaptations at the moment, but you won’t find a grungy mechanic salivating over sweet buns with her android sidekick in Snow White and the Huntsman or Mirror Mirror.

We Have a Winner!!!

A huge thank you to all of you who entered the giveaway, and to all of you who helped to spread the word!

I used random.org to pick the winner for the ARC copy of Broken by A E Rought. The winner is......

Hollie Georgiana!!

"I adore the cover for this book, I love the contrast between the white and the red. So eye catching! Following your blog :)"

Congratulations! If you send us an email at yabluewater@gmail.com with your name and address, then we can make sure that your copy is sent to you as soon as it becomes available.

Last of all I would like to say a big thank you to Strange Chemistry, for letting me get involved with the cover reveal, and being generally awesome!! Thanks guys!

See you next post,

Kaylie :0)

Author Interview - Kim Curran

Hi there!! Here is another excellent interview for you guys! ( I spoil you lot don't I? lol)
This one is with the awesome Kim Curran. She has her debut book out in September, it's called Shift and I can't wait to read it!....



With the release of your debut book Shift later this year, how are you feeling about life as a writer?

Terrified pretty much sums it up. But incredibly excited as well.Knowing that in a matter of weeks people around the world will be able to walk into a shop, or go online, and buy my book, it’s the dream come true. But that comes with lots of anxiety. Will they like it? Will anyone other than my mother buy a copy? But one thing is sure: I know that I don’t want to do any thing else with my life.

 

COVER REVEAL - Broken by A E Rought



Yay! This is our first cover reveal here at #YABluewater. It's rather exciting!

Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

Author Interview - Yvonne Marrs

Here is the first of many exclusive interviews we will be bringing you over the next 4 weeks or so. It is with the author of When The Sax Man Plays, Yvonne Marrs. You can visit her blog here to find out the latest happenings in the world of Weston.



What are you reading at the moment?


I'm reading and researching (online) for my ghost writing project, London's Dark Lines, at the moment. However, I bought an old copy of Du Maurier's "Rebecca" I'm looking forward to reading soon.


What do you do when your not writing?

I play saxophone and run our photography business with my husband, Weston Photographics. We've just returned from our annual pilgrimage to Eastbourne and Wimbledon for the British grass court tennis season, so I've been very busy with my camera. We're off to the Olympics soon, for both the tennis and the judo (I was a judoka in the Scottish Junior Judo Squad in my teens) something I'm thrilled about. I also must admit to being a shopaholic, and an avid Radley fan (I own 36 Radley handbags!)


Who is your favourite author, or what is your favourite book?

Book Club July 2012

I want to start off by saying thank you to all the people who came to our second meeting last night. There were a few new faces, which is fantastic, and a few more familiar faces too! We had a great time talking about all things YA. This month we were discussing Shift, by Em Bailey.

Overall it scored a 4/5 from us. As a whole we liked it, a few of us loved it! One of us didn't.

We liked the sweet romance between Olivia and Lachlan. It was nicely underplayed. It wasn't the instant soul altering attraction that has become almost commonplace in YA. It grew slowly. Lachlan didn't try to change Olivia, he accepted her for who and how she was, and was happy. It's nice to read for a change. Instead of one person have more 'power' than the other, they were both equally clueless as to how to behave with one another. To have two normal teens discover slowly who they are separately, and together was real and refreshing to read. That being said we felt that the romance was rather superfluous to the plot. As the main themes of the book were friendship and trust, we felt that it would have been better if Olivia and Lachlan had developed a platonic relationship instead. They obviously had a real connection, and it would have been a great opportunity to show teens that people of the opposite sex can be great friends too. We felt that Olivia needed a friend more than a boyfriend.

We Have A Winner!!!

Congratulations to Katie Wilkinson!!! You have won a (huge!!) signed Lauren Kate poster!

Here is your entry for everyone to read;

"I absolutely adore Lauren Kate's books because ever since i picked it up from my school library in year 7 i have been addicted. The first day i saw it i thought wow i love that book cover and then i read the blurb and it looked so interesting i took it home and started reading it. I read the first chapter which got me really interested and I finished the book in 2 days and im telling you honestly it changed my life forever. I then searched for the next book and i found Lauren Kate’s website. I got hooked onto the series and my family couldn’t believe how committed i was to it. But it wasn't just any old book, it was my book that i had found i could escape too in my imagination, because the book was so beautifully detailed. When i got ‘Torment’ and ‘The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove’ I finished ‘Torment’ in two days and then went on to read 'The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove' which i read in one day. In year 8 i started D.T and my teacher told us we had to make a travel board game but with any theme. I thought about it for about 2 days and

Won't Someone Please Think of the Children?

Here is another post from fellow Bookseller Darran Stobbart, about the current debate surrounding age appropriate reading for kids....



So, yesterday morning, authors G.P. Taylor and Patrick Ness appeared on BBC Breakfast to debate the idea that children’s literature has“gone too far” when it comes to horror, violence, and themes which some viewers may find distressing. This sparked an online debate, becoming the top trending subjects on Twitter all morning, and allowing other authors to weigh in on the matter, most notably the awesome Charlie Higson. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the debate, since I was at work when it was on, but I followed the aftermath on Twitter with eagerness and after reading this article on the Guardian website to catch up, I felt it necessary to add my own little opinion from a bookseller in the North of England. Because, y’know, that’s what the Internet is for.
For those who aren’t familiar with the argument, it seems G.P. Taylor is in favour of introducing a rating system for books for kids,similar to the one’s imposed on films and video games, after he was informed that his new novels had “crossed a line” when it came to scaring youngsters. Ness stood in the opposite corner, seeing this as a fruitless exercise that would only serve to push children away from reading.

Sneak Peak

So there are a lot of exciting things on the way! Here's a little taster of whats coming up in the next few weeks.

Want to know more about the world of YA from a male perspective? Watch out for the upcoming interview with author Chris Farnell. We will be talking about YA books for guys and his debut novel Mark II.

Event - Lauren Kate Signing and Competition!

Photo by @RandomPublicist

 I want to start off by saying a huge thank you to everyone involved in yesterdays book signing. Thank you to all the brilliant fans who turned up! You were all so nice! Thank you to the other Waterstones staff who ran the event, Lloyd and Claire. Last but not least a massive thank you to Lauren Kate and her publicist, you guys were awesome, and all the fans had nothing but great things to say about you!

Lauren Kate Giveaway!

To tie in with the Lauren Kate signing we have this Saturday at 12:30, we will be giving away a signed promotional poster! Details on how to win will be posted on here and on twitter on Sunday morning.

Lauren Kate will be in our Bluewater store from 12:30 this Saturday to sign copies of her new book Rapture.

She has kindly agreed to sign the poster for us to give away as a prize to one of you! I will be taking photos of the event and talking with people in the que about why they love Laurens books. (So keep a lookout for me if you would like a mention on here!) Then I will be posting all about it on Sunday morning, so make sure you pop back then to find out how it went and how you could win the poster.

See you next post,

Kaylie :0)

Author Interview - Zoe Marriott!

Hi there readers! Wow do we have a treat for you today!! One of my favourite YA authors, Zoe Marriot, has done an interview for us! She has written three amazing books so far and has a few more on the way to. Waterstones Bluewater has chosen Zoe as our YA Author of the month! So stay tuned to see more posts about Zoe's books, as we will be doing reviews for each of them over the next four weeks.

*Happy Dance!*


Which books have influenced your life the most?


I think everything I've read has influenced me! Even books I've hated - they teach you how not to do things, and sometimes make you so cross that you end up writing something just to show that author how it *should* be done. Reading The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton as a kid made me a life-long reader. Discovering Robin McKinley in my early teens transformed the way I looked at fairytales and language. Re-reading Tamora Pierce's The Song of the Lioness Quartet at the age of eighteen is what made me realise that I needed to be writing fantasy for young adults. My first read of The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold permanently expanded my mind. And I'm still learning and being influenced!

Members Post - Kaylie Ashton

Well here is my Members Bio interview for the #YABluewater reading group. Even though they're my questions, it is still hard! lol



Name.


Kaylie Elizabeth Ashton


Age


27

What was the first YA book that you read?


The Twilight saga. I had put it off for over a year as there was a lot of hype surrounding it. My best friend finally convinced me to give them a go in the end. I loved them so much that I reread the whole saga four times in a row!



If you could be any YA character who would it be and why?


I think that there are a lot of very strong female characters in YA lit at the moment so it would be hard to choose!! Gun to my head though, I think it would have to be Tessa, from Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices series.

Bookclub Book Suggestions

Hi there!

I'm listing here some of the books that have been suggested for our monthly #YABluewater meetings. Some have been suggested by our members, some by others via emailand twitter.

Shodows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis.

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber.

The Haunting Of Tabitha Grey By Vanessa Curtis.

Heart-Shaped Bruise By Tanya Byrne.

OK so that's the list so far, but as we receive suggestions I'll add them too. If you have any books you would like to nominate then leave a comment bellow with th ebook title and author.

See you next post :0)

Kaylie x

Upcoming Releases

Hello everyone!

I'm Zoe, and this the first of many posts by me that will be appearing on the YA Bluewater blog. As you can tell from the title, this post is to inform you about upcoming young adult books that are available for pre-order from Waterstone's.

For each book, and there are 3, you can click the *Waterstone's link* underneath each book's information to find the pre-order button and a description.

All publication dates are for the UK.



#1
Title: Foretold (Demon Trappers #4)
Author: Jana Oliver
Genre: YA Paranormal-Romance
Publisher: Macmillan
Release date: 2nd August 2012
Price: £4.69
*Waterstone's link*

#2

Title: Dreamless (Starcrossed #2)

Author: Josephine Angelini

Genre: YA Fantasy-Romance (Greek Mythology)

Publisher: Macmillan

Release date: 5th July 2012
Price: £4.54

*Waterstone's link*

Yes, Josie had an animated version made for online!

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from Josie earlier in the year, and I can tell you that this book is a must-read!

#3
Title: Destined (House of Night #9)
Author(s): P.C Cast & Kristin Cast
Genre: YA Paranormal-Romance
Publisher: ATOM
Release date: 17th July 2012
Price: £4.19
*Waterstone's link*

Obviously, each of these books are part of a series. If you find them interesting, you may want to look at buying the first of that series so that you can follow the characters from the beginning.

I'll be back at the end of July with more upcoming books!

Till next time,

Zoe Harrington x

D is for Dystopia...

Here is the first of Darran's posts fo us! I thought I'd get it up early, as I just can't wait to share it with you all. Enjoy!!





There’s a new word on the lips and on the pages of an awful lot of Young Adult and Teen Fiction at the moment, both snaking through the blogs and zapping from person to person in good old fashioned word of mouth. That word is Dystopia, and whilst it may not be a new idea, thanks to Suzanne Collins’ success with her Hunger Games books, it is looking to be a big thing.


Most customers give me a bit of a wary look when I mention something being “Dystopian”, and more than a few have asked what on Earth it means? Once I’ve explained, turns out nine times out of ten, they knew exactly what a Dystopia was, they just didn’t know there was a word for it. Soooo, I figured I’d write a short(ish) blog piece, explaining this new and frightening genre, and throwing in some recommended reading as I go.

So, Webster’s Dictionary defines… Haha, no, maybe not that cliché, but I think to first truly understand the idea of a Dystopia, you must first understand that it’s an opposite of a much more familiar word: Utopia. Neither are new ideas, and for players of video games or readers of science fiction, this article is probably painfully obvious, but they’re both pretty new to the world of YA/Teen lit. So, a Utopia, or Utopian society is basically the perfect society, where poverty, crime, war and suffering have been erased, either

Introducing Darran

Here at the YABluewater blog we have a new face. Say a big hello to Darran Stobbart!! He will be doing some regular posts for us, the first of which will be posted in a few days. It's called D is for Dystopia, so make sure you check back in for that because its awesome!!
Here is a bit about Darran, that he has written to introduce himself....


Hi there!
My name’s Darran, I’m 24 years old & I’m the children’s bookseller for a branch of Waterstones in Northallerton, which is a small markettown in North Yorkshire, a job I love passionately. Which I have been in for just over a year and a half, after starting as a Christmas temp in 2010. I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, and this has been greatlyinfluenced by my family from a very young age, especially my Mum who got me reading anything and everything as early as possible.
For me, my love of Young Adult and Teen fiction has always been a huge proportion of the books I read, but ever since I first read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series (still to my mind the GREATEST three books ever written), I’ve been hooked for life. I enjoy science fiction, horror & fantasy genres particularly, both within books and in film format too! I’m also a big fan of comic books, a pretty dedicated video gamer and a very passionate musician, playing in several bands over the years.
I keep my own blog at www.shinraalpha.wordpress.com,and can also be found on Twitter as @ShinraAlpha, and I’m always ready for questions and queries! I’d like to thank the YaBluewater blog for letting me offload some ramblings and reviews from the North!

Thank you Darren!! I very much look forward to reading your future posts!

See you next post,

Kaylie   :0)

Our New Look!!

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Zoe over at Zoe's Corner for the amazing job she has done on making this site look brilliant!!! You had been awesome and I am very grateful for all that you have done!

Zoe will be one of our regular guest posters, so keep an eye out for her.

Please leave a comment below to let us know what you think of the new look, or if you have any Q's for us leave those too.

See you next post :0)
Kaylie x