The Overflowing Library

January has been an awesome one for me on the book front. I've read lots of brilliant things which is fab. Books Read None of the above by IW. Gregorio (3 stars) Stolen by Lucy Christopher (reread 4 stars) Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales (4 stars) Blackout by Connie Willis (3 stars) All Clear by Connie Willis (3 stars) The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale (4 stars) The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell (5 stars) Othergirl by Nicole Burstein (5 stars) We are all made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen (5 stars) Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens (5 stars) What if by Rebecca Donovan (3 stars) Before I die by Jenny Downham (reread 5 stars) Love, Lies and Lemon Pies by Katy Cannon (4 stars) Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines by Katy Cannon (4 stars) Seven days by Eve Ainsworth (4 stars) An island of our own by Sally Nichols (4 stars) The Sin eaters daughter by Melinda Salisbury (3 stars) The Accident Season by Moria Fowley Doyle (3 stars) Love Bomb by Jenny McLachlan (4...

From the bestselling author of If I Stay - this summer's YA blockbuster film. This characteristically powerful novel follows eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds in the months following her best friend's shocking suicide. As Cody numbly searches for answers as to why Meg took her own life, she begins a journey of self-discovery which takes her to a terrifying precipice, and forces her to question not only her relationship with the Meg she thought she knew, but her own understanding of life, love, death and forgiveness. A phenomenally moving story, I Was Here explores the sadly all-too-familar issue of suicide and self-harm, addressing it in an authentic way with sensitivity and honesty. Why didn't this book do it for me Another book that didn't quite meet all the hype for me after being incredibly excited about it before I received it. I've loved Gayle's previous books and been left an emotional mess by the end of them. However for some reason this ...

Maybe everything that had happened to me and my family had nothing at all to do with the slowing. It's possible, I guess. But I doubt it. I doubt it very much.' One Saturday morning the world wakes to discover that the rotation of the earth has begun to slow. As birds fall from the sky and days grow longer, people start to flee - but there is nowhere on earth to escape to. Julia is already coping with the disasters of everyday life. And then there's Seth: tall and quiet and always on his own; the skateboarding boy who knows all about disaster. As the world faces a catastrophe, Julia and Seth are facing their very own unknown. Why this didn't quite do it for me I heard lots of wonderful things about this book. I was so excited when it turned up in the post at the start of December and picked it up immediately to read. However something about this book just didn't do it for me. It took me four days to finish a reasonably small book which is never goo...

Heart-wrenching and real, Juvie tells the story of two sisters grappling with accountability, sacrifice – and who will be there to help you after you take the fall. An unflinchingly honest, and ultimately hopeful, view of life in juvenile detention. Heart-wrenching and real, Juvie offers an unflinching and poignant view of life in juvenile detention, and will appeal to fans of TV shows like Orange Is the New Black. Sadie Windas has always been the responsible one – she's the star player on her basketball team, she gets good grades, she dates a cute soccer player and she tries to help out at home. Not like her older sister, Carla, who leaves her three-year-old daughter, Lulu, with Aunt Sadie while she parties and gets high. But when both sisters are caught up in a drug deal – wrong place, wrong time – it falls to Sadie to confess to a crime she didn’t commit to keep Carla out of jail and Lulu out of foster care. Sadie is supposed to get off with a slap on the wrist...

I have been blogging for a good long while. Over the past years the UK blogging scene has grown and grown and become massive. As far as I'm concerned that can never be a bad thing because it means more and more people are talking about books. Yay for books. I love the UKYA book bloggers in particular. It's nice to go to events and see the same people and I love that I now have a fabulous group of friends who I can chat with endlessly about books with either in person at said events or online. For me my lovely blogging friends like Sarah, Lyndsey, Carly, Michelle, Sammee Laura, Sophie, Raimy, Viv, Darren, Jesse, Andrew along with many many others make this crazy thing I do worthwhile on days when I feel overwhelmed with it all and if I had to give up blogging tomorrow I'd be OK with it as long as I kept them (don't worry I'm not going anywhere). I still get so excited to see my reviews in print in bookshops. Indeed a favourite past time of mine is the "hu...

Another month and another load of books I cannot wait to read Cleo by Lucy Coats Her precious mother is dead - and it isn't an accident! The young Cleopatra - Pharaoh's illegitimate daughter - must flee the royal palace at Alexandria or die too. As her evil half-sisters usurp the throne, Cleo finds sanctuary at the sacred temple of Isis, where years later she becomes initiated into the secret Sisters of the Living Knot. But now Isis's power is failing, Egypt is in danger, and Cleo must prove her loyalty to her goddess by returning to the Alexandria she hates. She must seek out the hidden map which is the key to returning Isis's power - on pain of death. But will she be able to evade her horrible sisters? And will she find dreamy Khai, the über-hot Librarian boy she met as she fled Alexandria years before? Cleo's powerful destiny is about to unfold... The history geek in me is super excited about this. The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West W...

Grappling with grief is hard enough without repeat visits from the deceased. Pearl deals with death, life, and family in this haunting, humorous, and poignant debut. The world can tip at any moment…a fact that fifteen-year-old Pearl is all too aware of when her mom dies after giving birth to her baby sister, Rose. Rose, who looks exactly like a baby rat, all pink, wrinkled, and writhing. This little Rat has destroyed everything, even ruined the wonderful relationship that Pearl had with her stepfather, the Rat’s biological father. Mom, though…Mom’s dead but she can’t seem to leave. She keeps visiting Pearl. Smoking, cursing, guiding. Told across the year following her mother’s death, Pearl’s story is full of bittersweet humor and heartbreaking honesty about how you deal with grief that cuts you to the bone, as she tries not only to come to terms with losing her mother, but also the fact that her sister—The Rat—is a constant reminder of why her mom is no longer around. ...

I open my eyes. The cell is flooded with sunlight; the window is a slice of pale blue. Dust particles dance in the sparkling light, pirouetting in a golden line from the window to the opposite wall of the cell, where they seem to converge into shapes. It is like looking into a kaleidoscope. Dad isn't here. No one is, but me. Robyn Knollys-Green is an A-list celebrity, famous for being the daughter of one of the world's most powerful men. But not even the paparazzi can find her now. Robyn begins to realise that she is trapped in a complicated web of global corruption and deceit - and that the strange, melancholy boy who has been tasked with guarding her might not be an enemy after all . . . Why you should check this book out ... I must say I have been very excited about reading this book since it came onto my radar and I couldn't help but pick it up as soon as it dropped through my letter box and found myself f...

When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication.With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago. When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell's life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nicoli, Sophie finds herself falling into a criminal underworld governed by powerful families. As the boys' dark secrets begin to come to light, Sophie is confronted with stinging truths about her own family, too. She must choose between two warring dynasties - the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break. Why this book had potential ...   For me Vendetta was an interesting read. I didn't love it but it certainly has potential as a series. Vendetta is the story of Sophie, an ordinary girl who meets a gorgeous boy whose f...

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. Why this book didn't quite hot the spot for me This book was hugely hyped up in the prerelease buzz as being the next big thing but for m...

Two boys. Two secrets. David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he’s gay. The school bully thinks he’s a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth – David wants to be a girl. On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal – to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in year eleven is definitely not part of that plan. When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long… Why you should read this book. Put simply this book is just wonderful and fully deserves all the hype that has surrounded it for months now. On every level. It tackles a sensitive topic in a kind and thoughtful way and puts a human face to a group of people within society who are regularly victims of prejudice and discrimination for just being themselves. Books like this one are needed to tackle s...