The Overflowing Library

This month has sucked for me for several reasons. I won't go into most of them because quite frankly they bore me so they'll definitely bore you but it has resulted in me reading bugger all. Books read in September Asking for it by Louise O'Neill Pugs of the Frozen North by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntire Counting Stars by Keris Stainton Book of the Month It was all kinds of awesome. I will review properly at some point. Events attended None. Life has taken over leaving no time for book events. On the Blog Review of The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew Review of The Next Together by Lauren James Review of Unbecoming by Jenny Downham Review of Monster by CJ Skuse Review of Sophie Someone by Hayley Long October's TBR pile Tonight the Streets are ours by Leila Sales The Boy who drew the future by Rhian Ivory The Luxe by Anna Godbersen Prom Princess by Meg Cabot Royally Obsessed by Meg Cabot Beetle Boy by MG Leonard Monsters by Emeral Fennell The Boy ...

Write About Something You Know… It’s one of the tips most often given to budding authors. After all, it seems obvious, doesn’t it? If you love horses, write a book involving horses, if football’s your passion, write a book with football in it. But when I think back to the first books I got published, not one of them involved a subject I knew much about. They were all animal books and although I know a fair bit about dogs and horses, I actually found myself writing books about cats, chinchillas, rats and goats. This theme of writing about subjects I know very little about has continued over the years. I’ve written a series about ice-skating, a series about ballet, a series about travelling the world and rescuing endangered animals and, most recently, a series about baking. None of which were things that I knew very much about when I started writing them.  You see, if an editor says to me ‘I’d like a book about…’ (fill in the gap with whatever activity/anim...

I am delighted to be able to offer you all today extracts from Helen Maslin's Darkmere and Lucy Inglis Crow Mountain as part of the Chicken House YA Romance Blog Tour Darkmere  by Helen Maslin and  Crow Mountain  by Lucy Inglis are out now and published by Chicken House. For more information visit  chickenhousebooks.com  

These are the books I am dying to be published so I can get my grubby little hands on them. All Wrapped up by Holly Smale I really love this series and looking forward to this little installment already. Front Line by Michael Grant Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Code Name Verity , New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant unleashes an epic, genre-bending, and transformative new series that reimagines World War II with girl soldiers fighting on the front lines. World War II, 1942. A court decision makes women subject to the draft and eligible for service. The unproven American army is going up against the greatest fighting force ever assembled, the armed forces of Nazi Germany. Three girls sign up to fight. Rio Richlin, Frangie Marr, and Rainy Schulterman are average girls, girls with dreams and aspirations, at the start of their lives, at the start of their loves. Each has her own reasons for volunteering: Rio fights to honor her sister; F...

A remarkable tale of confusion and betrayal - and a very special girl called Sophie. 'Some stories are hard to tell. Even to your very best friend. And some words are hard to get out of your mouth. Because they spell out secrets that are too huge to be spoken out loud. But if you bottle them up, you might burst. So here's my story. Told the only way I dare tell it.' Sophie Nieuwenleven is sort of English and sort of Belgian. Sophie and her family came to live in Belgium when she was only four or five years old, but she's fourteen now and has never been quite sure why they left England in the first place. Then, one day, Sophie makes a startling discovery. Finally Sophie can unlock the mystery of who she really is. This is a story about identity and confusion - and feeling so utterly freaked out that you just can't put it into words. But it's also about hope. And the belief that, somehow, everything will work out OK. SOPHIE SOMEONE is a tale of well-in...

At sixteen Nash thought that the fight to become Head Girl of prestigious boarding school Bathory would be the biggest battle she’d face. Until her brother’s disappearance leads to Nash being trapped at the school over Christmas with Bathory’s assorted misfits. As a blizzard rages outside, strange things are afoot in the school’s hallways, and legends of the mysterious Beast of Bathory – a big cat rumoured to room the moors outside the school – run wild. Yet when the girls’ Matron goes missing it’s clear that something altogether darker is to blame – and that they’ll have to stick together if they hope to survive. My thoughts I am a sucker for boarding school stories and always have been so when I found out this book was coming out from one of my favouite UKYA authors I was very excited indeed It is so so so good. The thriller storyline is brilliant and kept me guessing throughout. I loved the laugh out loud dialogue which was funny, witty and clever. The entires ...

Three women - three secrets - one heart-stopping story.Katie, seventeen, in love with someone whose identity she can't reveal.Her mother Caroline, uptight, worn out and about to find the past catching up with her.Katie's grandmother, Mary, back with the family after years of mysterious absence and 'capable of anything', despite suffering from Alzheimers.As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to her. Rules get broken as allegiances shift. Is Mary contagious? Is 'badness' genetic?In confronting the past, Katie is forced to seize the present. As Mary slowly unravels and family secrets are revealed, Katie learns to live and finally dares to love.Funny, sad, honest and wise, Unbecoming is a celebration of life, and learning to honour your own stories My thoughts This book is so good. I suspected it would be before I started it and just knew after the first page it was going to be as wond...

How many times can you lose the person you love? Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated. Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace? Maybe the next together will be different... My Thoughts This book is awesome. I'm not sure I have the words to do it justice really. If you love historical fiction you'll love this book. If you love contemporary fiction you'll love this book. If you love dystopian fiction you'll love this book. This book is really hard to pin down because it is so uniq...

A startling coming-of-age novel set in a contemporary Nazi England. Jessika Keller is a good girl: she obeys her father, does her best to impress Herr Fisher at the Bund Deutscher Mädel meetings and is set to be a world champion ice skater. Her neighbour Clementine is not so submissive. Outspoken and radical, Clem is delectably dangerous and rebellious. And the regime has noticed. Jess cannot keep both her perfect life and her dearest friend. But which can she live without? THE BIG LIE is a thought-provoking and beautifully told story that explores ideas of loyalty, sexuality, protest and belief. My Thoughts Really chilling and thoughtful read. I was concerned about reading this book. I love Julie Mayhew's previous book but I am very picky at all about anything with made up Nazis because they can make me really really cross. Throwing the book across the book cross. I am very pleased to say this book did the Nazi side very well indeed and was obviously well thought ...