Cover Lust Tuesday (a day late) Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

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First of all, happy leap day!

I know this one has been out for a while, but this cover is flipping awesome. I based my entire art project on it - people in suspension (air, water...well, actually just air and water). There's something quite unnerving about this cover. It's haunting and beautiful, and although I haven't read the book, discovering this cover has really tempted me.



Just want to add, I know I've been neglecting my weekly posts, but I have A LOT of art and English coursework. Such is life. I'll try and keep up, though.



So what's your opinions of this cover? If you haven't read it or read the blurb/summary, what would you guess the book was about, based on this cover?

This is going to be one messed-up movie...

So I've signed up for my first ever blogfest: WIP: The Movie Blogfest, hosted by Kyra at Write Here, Write Now and Rachael at Writing On The Wall, which I found on fellow AW-er Robin's blog.

Here are the details from Kyra's blog:

WiP: The Movie - March 9th
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to post a photo of the actors or actresses you would like to play the characters in your WiP if it were to be made into a movie. It can be just one character, or the entire cast!Secondly, we want you to soundtrack your movie! Head over to YouTube, and post a song that best describes one of your characters, or your story as a whole. Again, you can pick one song, or several, it's entirely up to you!All we ask is that you follow these simple rules:

1, Follow me
2. Follow Rachel (We will follow back)
3. Sign up using the linky list at the bottom of the page
4. Add one of our funky graphics to your blog to promote the event
5. Post your entries on March 9th, and hop around to see the other entrants on the list!

The PrizesRachel and I will each pick a winner at random, and we will be giving away a copy of one of our favourite books which were turned into movies!

Please note: If you write a blog post about this fest before March 8th, you will get an extra name in the draw to win a prize!

From me: Water For Elephants or Bridget Jones' Diary

From Rachel: The Princess Bride or The Hunger Games

I've already got a couple of actors in my head for Luke (my leading man), Rachel (one of the main characters) and Noah (another main character) but India (my leading lady) I'll have to have a think about...

Memory Monday - Prove Yourself A Hero by K.M. Peyton

PROVE YOURSELF A HERO REVIEW

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Author: K.M. Peyton

Published: 1977

Summary:

'A lot of rough hands thrust him uncompromisingly into a very small box. He was forced down by the back of his neck till his forehead touched his knees; the sides of the box pressed against him, and when they put the lid down it was hard against his back.'

Kidnapping is always an unpleasant business, but in Jonathan Meredith's case it is positively
barbaric. Kept for hours on end in claustrophobic confinement, he remembers that he used to imagine suffocation as an innocuous death. He would never think that again.

A taught and chilling story, set in the tough world of
horse racing.'

[Summary taken from the back cover of the Puffin Plus 1982 version]


This is probably one of my favourite books ever, for three reasons.


1) Jonathan, the main character. Mentioned in my 'about me' section (because I love him), he is such a vibrant, real character, who if he was real would be just the sort of person you'd want to hang out with. When Jonathan is out on deck (read and you'll know which bit I'm referring to) it's so beautifully and emotively written that it made me tear up a bit. And unlike many books with male main characters, K.M. Peyton's main characters show their emotions, and that makes them all the more 3-D.

2) The kidnapping theme. I love reading books about kidnapping, don't know why (maybe it's something about the danger?) and this one does it so well, that it's a bit of a thriller.

3) K.M. Peyton's writing. There's a reason why she's a real favourite. Plus, plenty of her books are excellent 'cross-over' reads - I know plenty of 40+ people who still read them and love them.

So basically, if you're looking for a good read that makes you think while still being exciting, sad, and hopeful at the same time, read this book. It's not in print at the moment, but very easy and cheap to buy on Amazon UK.

Who else has read this, or another of Ms Peyton's books? And does anyone have any old faves from childhood (or that they discovered on their mum's bookcase, like me), to recommend?

Sunday Seven - My Fave YA Couples

So, welcome to Sunday Seven - because I like order, and order = lists. And, because that's how I roll, I'm going to list in reverse order.

Everyone has their favourites, right? The couple that make you swoon and dream and frown at your boyfriend when he asks if you want to go and see the new Transformers movie. Some people are into the whole "I-love-him-cos-he-watches-me-sleep-and-disables-my-brakes" sorta thing (not me, as you can probably tell), and others prefer a best friends relationship that becomes something else.

But for me, these couples do it best...


7) PARKER & JAKE (Courtney Summers' CRACKED UP TO BE)

Oh, Parker. She treats Jake pretty darn awfully, but somehow, he gets her under all the bitter snark, and the semi-formal dance scene will always be a favourite.

6) JIMMY & ELLIE (Catherine Forde's FAT BOY SWIM)

This one might not be that well known, but Jimmy and Ellie's relationship is lovely in its simple innocence. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a good steamy kiss scene, but these two still make me smile. It's an oldie (p. 2000) but a goodie.

5) ELLIE & WILL (Eve Edwards' THE OTHER COUNTESS)

No, this isn't the same Ellie, getting around a bit. This Ellie is 16th Century Lady Ellie, and her Will is the 18yrold Earl of Dorset. The blonde, troubled, handsome Earl of Dorset. Who has hot brothers. Cue lots of steamy kissing and several excellent sequels. (I know, it's not contemporary, but meh).

4) NATALIE & EMILIO (Jody Gehrman's BABE IN BOYLAND)

Mmmmm...Emilio. This book was great because it wasn't my thing at all. Chick flick, sounds-like-a-look-version-of-She's-The-Man? But actually, it was really good. Funny, great voice, and not that much like She's The Man. It helped that Natalie was independent, witty, and condsiderably less annoying than Miss annoying, stringy-bangs Amanda Bynes, and while N & E only got relationship-y during the last, short section of the book, it was totally worth it.

3) PAT & RUTH (K.M. Peyton's PENNINGTON TRILOGY)

I had to get this one in there somewhere. K.M. Peyton, possibly my favourite author of all time (scratch that, definitely) wrote these 3 books back in the 1970s, and one thing she does right is realistic romances. Sure, she couldn't include really steamy bits, but these characters were so real and so made for each other that I rooted for them every step of the way. Plus, Pat is the ultimate brooding bad boy with a heart of gold.

Seriously, go read these. Fangirling hard.

2) MAGGIE & CALEB (Simone Elkele's LEAVING PARADISE)

First of all, let me say that I love troubled boys. So when I read 'Caleb Becker spent the past year in juvenile detention' on the back cover, I'll admit that I didn't even look inside the book, I just bought it. At the beginning, I didn't like Maggie. Don't ask me why, I just didn't. I knew that I was supposed to despise Caleb and love Maggie, but it was the other way round and I nearly put this book down (or sold it at the church fete, whatever). But I carried on, and their relationship was so readable that I actually started to like Maggie. By the end, I was rooting for them both.

and.....


1) PENELOPE & HARRY (Eva Rice's THE LOST ART OF KEEPING SECRETS)

My winners. A relationship that grew on me, hopeful and funny and melancholy at the same time. Neither are perfect in the way that plenty of the characters in paranormal romances are - Penelope's too tall and in love with someone else, Harry's too short with mismatched eyes and also in love with someone else, but when they get together, it really works. And I love them both.


What about you? What are your favourite YA couples, and why? What do you think makes a couple so realistic, or special? And what turns you off a relationship in YA lit?

The YA section of rural libraries suck, a.k.a. why I review 'old' books too

First of all - hi. As you all obviously can't hear me, that was a nervous, squeaky, 'why am I doing this?' type of hi. Except for an ill-fated 'four ponies and me' blog I attempted when I was about fourteen, I've never blogged before, so forgive me if this turns out to be an epic fail of a post.
But don't give up hope, because I have other posts coming, and they'll be better.

I'm a writer of YA contemporary fiction, with one book currently out with betas, and a couple of others in the planning stage. Like every writer I know, I've got a couple in the dark and dusty recesses of my computer hard drive that I would not like the world to know about. A 13,000 word tween (9-12 age range) book about a horsy rich girl with everything who just wanted to be liked (and was a serious Mary-Sue ), and a romance with the themes of horse riding and child abuse (I still like that one, but the Love Interest had Edward Cullen Syndrome - I had more than a few references to his Emerald Eyes and Chocolate Brown Hair - even if I loved everything else about him).
I'm past that dark and terrible place now, I hope, and the Mary Sue (too-perfect) characters are dumped by the wayside. In fact, one of the books I'm planning is about when the facade of 'perfect' becomes too much. More on that later.

On this blog I'm going to review some books - mainly contemporary YA, but there will be a dash of historical, and some different-genre faves - and post about writing in general.
I'm also happy to explain any peculiarities of the English (of which there are many) and how we're not all ridiculously posh or cockney, like token brits are often presented in US fiction.

[Can I just say, I love US fiction - as a member of the AWESOME Absolute Write Water Cooler (check it out guys, it's awesome, so awesome I said that twice), I get so many US YA recommendations that that's practically all I read.]

But back to the title...

So I like old books. Don't get me wrong, I adore newer releases too, but when you have to wait months and months for an amazing YA book to come out in England (yeah, I'm from the UK - hence the 'Limey'), and your local libraries have a shelf - ONE shelf - for YA books, you tend to read the old stuff. About a quarter of the YA books in the typical English library are originally English, and about 6 of those are contemporary (not paranormal romance or fantasy). Get rid of the tween/Middle Grade books, and you're left with about 3. Chances are, only two of those are from the 21st Century, and only one of those is from the current year. And it's probably not your sort of book.

Hence, why I like old books.

If you're not dead with boredom after this massive post, it's nearly finished!
I plan to post about once or twice a week, with a few regular posts (look out for Fit Lit Boy Friday, Cover Lust Tuesday, Memory Monday (some old faves) and Writing Wednesday). Plus, some scribbly doodles when only art will explain my point.

If you've finished this, I love you. And if you comment or choose to follow my blog, I will love you forever.

Hello All! (If I'm not talking to myself)

Testing, testing...