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...
Showing posts with label Bookseller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bookseller. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Review - Frostfire by Zoe Marriott
ISBN 9781406318142
Published by Walker Books
5 out of 5 stars * * * * *
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!
Sunday, 19 August 2012
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.
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...
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
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.
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.
Monday, 2 July 2012
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.
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.
Friday, 29 June 2012
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
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)
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)
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