The Overflowing Library

February has been a funny old month for me reading wise. There were bits where I read a lot and then other things got in the way and then I read barely anything for the last week of February. Books read This is Shyness by Leanne Hall (3 stars) Violet and the Hidden Treasure by Harriet Whitehorn (5 stars) Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan (4 stars) The Boy in the Smoke by Maureen Johnson (4 stars) Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell (4 stars) The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon (4 stars) Picture Perfect by Holly Smale (4 stars) Sequins, Stars and Spotlights by Sophia Bennet (4 stars) Queen of the Night by Leanne Hall (3 stars) The Last Summer of Us by Maggie Harcourt (4 stars) Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (5 stars) Pea's Book of Birthday by Susie Day (4 stars) The X Files season 10 volume one (4 stars) Binny for short by Hilary McKay (3 stars) Big Game by Dan Smith (2 stars) One of Us by Jeannie Waudby (2 stars) Seed by Lisa Hea...

CHILDHOOD DAZE When I'm on author visits to schools, I often get asked what the best thing is about my job. My answer's simple: I'm a professional daydreamer. I get to think up stories for a living, and sometimes I get paid for it and they get turned into books. Even better those books occasionally get bought! How did I end up doing this? I can trace it, via a circuitous route, back to my childhood. I was never happier than when doodling or playing with toys, and that's not just when I was a toddler but throughout my primary years. My mum was to thank for this, always ensuring I had a crayon in each hand like some ambidextrous Jedi child prodigy. I drew everywhere and on everything. I watched cartoons, I devoured movies, especially Star Wars and the works of stop motion animation giant Ray Harryhausen. I was that kid at the bottom of the garden making a tree house in his mum's cherry blossom tree. Not a tree house for me, I should add. Oh no, that'd...

When Apple's mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother's homecoming is bittersweet. It's only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are. A story about sad endings. A story about happy beginnings. A story to make you realise who is special. I don't actually want to review this book mostly because whatever I say about it I think I am going to spoil it for someone else and that'd be a real shame because there are things in this book I would have been cross had they been spoiled for me. I will say that I really enjoyed it. It was one of those books I ended up staying up much later than I had intended to finish because I needed to know how things would turn out. What I took away from it was the message that family is really important in whatever form it comes in and how it shouldn't be taken for granted. Just go an...

So I've caught up on my TBR pile again. This means unless I start rereading stuff I have nothing to read and will end up spending my time looking online at all the books I want but can't yet have. Here are a selection of the ones I want the most this month. Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger Kody Keplinger returns to the world of The DUFF in this brand-new companion novel! Sonny Ardmore is an excellent liar. She lies about her dad being in prison. She lies about her mom kicking her out. And she lies about sneaking into her best friend's house every night because she has nowhere else to go. Amy Rush might be the only person Sonny shares everything with -- secrets, clothes, even a nemesis named Ryder Cross. Ryder's the new kid at Hamilton High and everything Sonny and Amy can't stand -- a prep-school snob. But Ryder has a weakness: Amy. So when Ryder emails Amy asking her out, the friends see it as a prank opportunity not to be missed. But without mean...

I am delighted today to have a guest post from author Mario Routi to coincide with the release of the second book in the Rebecca Newton Trilogy and to be able to offer you the chance to win a Kindle. In the second instalment of the epic Rebecca Newton trilogy, the reader is once again transported to the mythical and mysterious Land of the White Sun. Princess Leylah, daughter of Rebecca Newton and King Turgoth, is growing up and so is her power to foresee future events.  Leylah has discovered that she is the Oracle, and contains gifts of unimaginable influence. She may be, but Leylah hasn’t escaped typical teenage growing pains – when she meets the handsome and charismatic Alexander, son of the noble Lady Felicia and Lord Leiko, the chemistry is undeniable. Leylah finds herself falling for Alexander, but does he feel the same? While Leyah battles with her feelings, dark forces are at work elsewhere. The Titans are amassing an army, an army big enough to take over Earth. All ...

 Today I am extremely excited to have Keris Stainton on the blog with an interview. It is no secret that Keris is one of my favourite authors and I cannot wait for her newest books to be published later this year. Tell us a bit about your up and coming release Spotlight on Sunny.  It's the second book in the Reel Friends series (the first, Starring Kitty, came out last year) and this one focusses on Sunny, who is British Asian. The girls go to London for a film-making course and Sunny also has to deal with an annoying roommate, a cute boy, and the secret she's keeping from Kitty and Hannah.  I love that the characters in your books are diverse and was especially excited to hear that Sunny was getting her own book. Why is it so important to include diverse characters in fiction? Quite simply because the world is diverse, the readers are diverse, why wouldn't you show that in fiction?! There are so many people doing amazing things in this a...