The Overflowing Library

It has been a slow month for me reading wise. Back to school means I'm super tired in the evenings and don't have the time to read as much as I'd like. Books read 161) Pivot Point by Kasie West 162) More than this by Patrick Ness (British Books Challenge) 163) Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve (British Books Challenge) 164) That burning summer by Lydia Syson (British Books Challenge) 165) All these things I've done by Gabrielle Zevin 166) Because it is by Blood by Gabrielle Zevin 167) How to Love by Katie Cotugno 168) Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson 169) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 170) She is not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick (British Books Challenge) 171) Model Misfit by Holly Smale (British Books Challenge) 172) Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll (British Books Challenge) 173) Where the stars still shine by Trish Doller 174) The bone season by Samantha Shannon (British Books Challenge) Book events attended None this month although I did get to meet Sophi...

Big thank you for having me Kirsty and allowing me to share my strange order of books. So, my bookcase isn’t arranged alphabetically, but kind of chronologically. So, my top shelf is the books I read when I was a teenager, and a little after too. Darren Shan (One signed copy sitting on the shelf there) and Charlie Higson were a bit later, when I got to Uni, and really want to write horror for teens. This carried on, where I wanted to be the best horror writer ever. So, I started collecting as much Stephen King as I could. I haven’t read all of his tomes yet. But I will. I keep the Stephen King’s together by their covers. So, old tatty ones I’ve picked up in charity shops/library sales at the front. Then nice colourful ones.And then his serious ones. So, I really really got into horror. Horrible disgusting horror, like Brian Keene and Richard Laymon. It was probably them who turned my stomach to think, maybe I should write something… a bit more f...

This isn't a review because I can't write a review for this book. This is a heads up that everyone should go out and buy a copy of this book goodreads synopsis A boy named Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighborhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust, and completely abandoned. What’s going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, that this might not be the hell he fe...

September you cruel and wicked beast. Back to school for me so not too many adventures to tell you about. The biggest thing I have been up to is work. I've just started a new year and I am exhausted. I'm not getting up to much at all other than school stuff. It is nice to be busy but I am also very much looking forward to half term already. I have managed a few days out. I got to go out on a paddle steamer on the broads to celebrate the up and coming wedding of John and Lyndsey (page after page book blog blogger) which looked a bit like this Lyndsey and I also got out to the East Anglian Blogger Party which was nice to meet other local bloggers (plus we got a fab goody bag) other than reading I have been doing a little bit of viewing (mostly because I've ended up the month with a rotten head col and had to lay on the sofa in a sorry state). Firstly we both sat and watched our way through Castle season one and Supernatural season two. I thoroughly enjoyed cas...

 Being a Boy by James Dawson Published by Red Lemon Press Goodreads Synopsis Everything you wanted to know about puberty, but were too afraid to Google. Queen of Teen nominee, acclaimed YA author and former PSHCE teacher, James Dawson, expertly guides boys through puberty from surviving the social scene to learning about sex, how to pull, dealing with spotty faces and everything in between. Witty text paired with over 50 hilarious black-and-white illustrations by Spike Gerrell makes this the essential guide to growing up brutal honesty included My Thoughts I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of this book and without a doubt it is a perfect book for teenage boys. Being a boy talks to teenage boys in a frank and funny way about being a teenager, going through puberty and sex. It isn't judgemental or glamourised and sets the facts out straight. In a world where the sexualisation of children is rife and where hard core porn can be access by all with the c...

Vivian versus The Apocalypse by Katie Coyle  Published by Hot Key books Goodreads Synopsis A chilling vision of a contemporary USA where the sinister Church of America is destroying lives. Our cynical protagonist, seventeen-­year-­old Vivian Apple, is awaiting the fated 'Rapture' -­ or rather the lack of it. Her evangelical parents have been in the Church's thrall for too long, and she's looking forward to getting them back. Except that when Vivian arrives home the day after the supposed 'Rapture', her parents are gone. All that is left are two holes in the ceiling... Viv is determined to carry on as normal, but when she starts to suspect that her parents might still be alive, she realises she must uncover the truth. Joined by Peter, a boy claiming to know the real whereabouts of the Church, and Edie, a heavily pregnant Believer who has been 'left behind', they embark on a road trip across America. Encountering freak weather, roving ...

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross Published by Hot Key Books Goodreads Synopsis When sixteen-year-old Maude runs away to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Increasingly desperate for money, she answers a mysterious advert: 'Young Women Wanted for Undemanding Work. Apply In Person To The Durandeau Agency.' But the work is very strange indeed. Maude discovers she is to be a repoussoir - an ugly young woman hired by Parisian socialites to enhance their beauty. Maude is humiliated - but faced with destitution, what choice does she have? Quickly (and secretly) selected as the perfect companion for the Countess Dubern's daughter Isabelle, Maude is thrown into a decadent world full of parties, glamour and astonishing cruelty. Maude finds that academic Isabelle is equally disenchanted with the Parisian social scene, and the girls form a tight bond. But when bohemian artist Paul and the handsome Duke d'Avaray are introduced into the gir...

Stay where you are and leave by John Boyne Published by RHCP Goodreads Synopsis The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission. Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name - on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by - a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. Alfie is determined to rescue his father from this strange, unnerving place . .  My Thoughts Stay where you and leave is a brilliant read which I thoroughly enjoyed. the story is told from the point of view of Alfie who is 9. His father went to war and never returned and he can't quite fathom what happened to him b...

Tarnish by Katherine Longshore Published by Simon and Schuster Companion to Gilt by Katherine Lonshore Goodreads synopsis Anne Boleyn is the odd girl out. Newly arrived to the court of King Henry VIII, everything about her seems wrong, from her clothes to her manners to her witty but sharp tongue. So when the dashing poet Thomas Wyatt offers to coach her on how to shine at court - and to convince the whole court they're lovers - she accepts. Before long, Anne's popularity has soared, and even the charismatic and irresistible king takes notice. More than popularity, Anne wants a voice - but she also wants love. What began as a game becomes high stakes as Anne finds herself forced to make an impossible choice between her heart's desire and the chance to make history. My Thoughts A quick review for this book. Tarnish is the story of Anne Boleyn before she got involved with Henry VIII and became the Queen we all learn about in history lessons. I enjoyed ...

The Rig by Joe Ducie Published by Hot Key Goodreads synopsis Fifteen-year-old Will Drake has made a career of breaking out from high-security prisons. His talents have landed him at The Rig, a specialist juvenile holding facility in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. No one can escape from The Rig. No one except for Drake... After making some escape plans and meeting the first real friends of his life, Drake quickly realises that all is not as it seems on The Rig. The Warden is obsessed with the mysterious Crystal-X - a blue, glowing substance that appears to give superpowers to the teens exposed to it. Drake, Tristan and Irene are banking on a bid for freedom - but can they survive long enough to make it?  My thoughts  I must admit I started this book not really knowing what I was letting myself into and worrying that it might be a bit too much of a boy book (note there is no such thing as a 'boy' book you naughty book blogger) but I must say from the firs...

I always have a wishlist of future titles I am desperate to read and I thought from time to time I'd share the books I am most looking forward to. All links go to goodreads so you can add them to your wishlist. Allegiant by Veronica Roth One choice will define you. What if your whole world was a lie? What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything? What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected? The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths chang...

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff Published by Penguin Goodreads Synopsis Mila is on a roadtrip across the USA with her father. They are looking for his best friend but Mila discovers a more important truth. Sometimes the act of searching reveals more than the final discovery can. Adults do not have all the answers. It all depends what questions you ask. My Thoughts Meg Rosoff is an author I am always desperate to read after loving her first book completely. Picture Me Gone was therefore a book I have been desperately looking forward to for a fair while now. So did I love Picture Me Gone as much as I loved How I Live Now? No however there was certainly a lot I liked about it but I wasn't bowled over. I loved how original it was. There's nothing out there that I've read that I can think of that I could compare it to (and I read over 200 books in a year). I enjoyed being drawn into the world of the book and being surprised and not being able to guess what...

Today I have a guest post from Katie Dale author of Little White Lies Eek! It’s Friday 13 th ! The day when everything’s supposed to go wrong and bad luck abounds. If you’re superstitious, that is.   I guess it comes down to whether you believe in luck, fate, and all the rest of it. In LITTLE WHITE LIES Christian tell Lou that he does: ‘It’s like fate keeps pushing us together.’ Christian grins. ‘Well, you can’t resist fate,’ I smile. But is it really fate that brought them together? Which got me thinking about how many other fictional characters met each other purely by chance or (if you believe in it) Fate. Here are my top five: 1) Casablanca “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” Poor Rick. Having lost the love of his life, Ilsa, years ago, he has resigned himself to running a bar in Casablanca, when who should walk in? Ilsa…with her husband. As their lives again explosively collide and intertwine unde...