Monthly Wrap Up: August

Mornings spent in the early-morning sun with a good book; late night walks beside the sea; staying up until the early-hours on social-media. They're done for another year. School continues in a few days and teenagers across the country - who have only just recovered from the last exam season - are preparing for the next, new school uniforms ironed ready for class. I don't want to say goodbye. My TBR pile is slightly smaller, and I've had time this August to read books I never would have had the time to during term. I've also scheduled posts - I'm ahead by over a month - and am pleasantly surprised with how organised I am. 

 

Most of the holidays were spent trying to forget that Results Day was approaching. In fact, I was pretty naïve and never thought the day would arrive. It did hit me though, as the weeks went on, that I would soon know, for certain, whether I had any form of maths skills. There would be no more pretending that I could multiply or divide. I was scared. These were the GCSE Results for those exams I sat a year early - the likes of English and Maths which most fifteen year olds now sit -  so, I attempted to relax by reminding myself that I could resit, and of course, that didn't work. When the 21st August came, I spent the morning shivering and shaking before heading into school, reading online that passes at GCSE had fallen(a huge mistake). I had planned to not open my results until I arrived home, and could comfortably cry in front of my parents, but that was before my Maths teacher shouted, "Open it!" and I was forced to. Actually, "I" wasn't: I handed them to my friend to open instead.

 

I was the last person to know my own results, I think. But, overall, I was happy. And confused. Managing to pass Physics with the same mark as English was not a result I was expecting, though I'll take it! As the day continued, my favourite thing was the atmosphere, as I talked to friends who had also received their results. Hours were spent on the phone and online after I arrived back from school, and I soon came to the conclusion that I couldn't wait until the next one.

 

This year, when I wasn't fretting over my impending Maths D Grade(I passed!), I fell in love with the holidays, spending more time with friends than I usually would. There were trips out bowling, to the cinema and for pizza; one afternoon the decision was made to look for Prom dresses, but inside the store rather than from the window. We watched a man dance - who thought we couldn't see him - until he noticed, and awkwardly waved at us. We found out how to delete scores when bowling, which I did to one friend continuously for ten minutes without them realising, thinking that there was problem with our lane. And we waited - a lot - for buses to arrive, and wished that there was a better way to travel.
 

Books Received/Bought in August

 Reading-wise, this holiday has been okay. I misjudged how long it would take me to read A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - hoping to finish around six or seven books over the six weeks - and instead of completing it in two weeks, it took four. Martin's novel is a tough one to read. The world he has created is crammed with details - that can  be overwhelming - and the history is so complex. The novel itself alternates between different characters' points of view, and it takes time to understand how the novel 'works'. It also has quite small font and over eight-hundred pages. But, undeniably, it's worth the read.

 

In total, I read three books in August:

 

A Game of Thrones(A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin - 4 Stars

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales - 5 Stars

Heroes by Robert Cormier - 4 Stars

 

I had a reading-list planned for the holidays, but I only read two from that. Instead of re-reading series' I still haven't finished, I decided to read This Song Will Save Your Life instead, and I loved it. It's definitely by book of the year so far.

 

Now to start Heir of Fire!

 

So, how was your August? Did you have a results day?

Tell me in the comments!

Monthly Wrap-Up: July(Exhaustion, YALC and the Natural History Museum!)

As July came to an end, I soon realised how exhausted I was; clearly noticeable by the dark shadows beneath my eyes. It was a month packed with late nights and early starts, with the likes of YALC taking place in London, where we arrived at the hotel when it was approaching midnight - and, even after the long journey, I found myself walking to TESCO on the hunt for shampoo, which I had forgotten to pack. But, there were also times where I sat up writing until late, trying to forget that I had to be up in a few hours for lessons. Thankfully, at a point where I found myself falling asleep mid-afternoon, the school term drew to a close, and that final day was spent watching Frozen.

At the beginning of the month, I was finally able to go on my work experience placement, and I spent the week at a local primary school. I worked with Year One pupils at the beginning of the week, and then moved to Year Four, helping them prepare for a production of Joseph, at one point being handed face paints before a show. I couldn't stop signing the songs from the stage play for weeks after. It took me a few days to adjust to going to work; I didn't feel confident enough to boil the kettle in the staffroom until the Thursday! But, I soon started learning pupils' names and, when it came to Friday, I wanted to stay for another week.

 

Taking my newly-bought rucksack, I packed it with my camera and a stack of books for signings, ready to join the thousands of other tourists attempting to navigate the Underground. I absolutely adore London and could spend hours people-watching in Convent Garden, watching as different cultures mix-together. Initially, last month's four-hour car journey was to attend YALC(the UK's first Young Adult Literature Convention, curated by Malorie Blackman), but after going on the Saturday, I couldn't return for the Sunday. I spent most of the first day hiding in the toilets and trying to withstand the heat; pushing through crowds and attempting to listen to the panels. But, what made the weekend worthwhile was meeting fellow book bloggers, and starting conversations to pass the time in what seemed like endless queues. Throughout the day, signings were taking place, and I was able to meet Rainbow Rowell(eek!), Sarah Crossan and Natasha Ngan, who were all lovely.  I also found Laure Eve at the Hot Key Books stand, walking past a few times before approaching to check it was her, and started a conversation about her novel Fearsome Dreamer.

 

I also managed to visit Hamleys!

Since I first read Geek Girl by Holly Smale, I've been desperate to visit the Natural History Museum which Harriet Manners mentions in the novel, and with a free day on Sunday, I soon found myself working out what tube line we needed for South Kensington(after a man commented on how stressed my father looked on the Underground the day before, I took charge of the map reading). And soon, we were inside, beginning to explore the exhibitions, and I came face-to-face with the infamous blue whale, whose size I couldn't comprehend. This was at the top of my must-see list, and once I stopped staring at the whale - surrounded by orcas and dolphins - I spent time exploring the rest of the exhibition on Mammals, which became my favourite. What I loved about the museum was how much you could learn. I wanted to read everything, which was impossible in the time we had, not wanting to miss any piece of information.

 

I'm still behind three books behind on my target of thirty novels read this year, but now the holidays have begun, I'm hoping that I will catch up this month. In July, though, I managed to read two books, and also started another two - including Game of Thrones, which I've become addicted to this week. I'm almost 300 pages in at the moment, and after a rocky-start, have finally grasped the world and different houses. Before reading, I wasn't aware that it was told from multiple POVs, so that was a really great surprise; and those parts told by Eddard's children are really fun to read through.

 

I read:

 

Geek Girl #3: Picture Perfect by Holly Smale - The next instalment of this series was full of heart - and a little bit of humour - with a backdrop of New York. I loved the setting, the style of writing(Harriet's lists are always fun to read) and set of characters! ****
 

Half Bad(Half Life Trilogy #1) by Sally Green - When I saw this in WHSmith, I had to pick it up, especially after all the excitement at YALC. This was an interesting take on the world of witches, with heroes and villains, that I slowly sunk into. The second-person narrative was confusing, but the novel improved when that came to an end.  ****

 

Currently reading:

 

Game of Thrones(A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin - Page 277

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - Page 63

 

How was your July? Did you also attend YALC?

What were your thoughts?

 

Tell me in the comments!

Monthly Wrap-Up: June

It's been a while since I sat down to write a wrap-up of the month; possibly because it would have consisted of me only talking about the amount of revision I had. But, June saw the end of exams until the next school year, and the return of me requesting multiple review books within the first few days of  them finishing. I also won my first national writing-award this month - and interviewed a member of the Royal Family - something I still haven't recovered from.

 

 Last year, I wrote about my first visit to London, where I went to a competition final at the Royal Society. Sadly, I didn't take home the award, but decided to re-enter this year; spending the weeks after anxiously anticipating some news.  I was so shocked when it did come through that my hands were shaking - and I was screaming. I'd been chosen as a finalist in the Journalism Category for a second time, where last year we had infamously heckled Stephen Fry within moments of arriving in the city. After a five hour journey, I was desperate to win, especially since we had planned for it to take three.

 

Arriving two hours late, I was taken straight up into the Meeting Room, where an editorial meeting was taking place. I was told, then, that I was going to be interviewing Prince Andrew - the Duke of York - in twenty minutes, with my fellow-finalists. I didn't know what to say. The previous night I had managed around four and a half hours sleep and I was still yet to eat that day. All I could do was quickly scoff half a cereal bar, attempt to tidy myself up by tucking in my school polo shirt and frantically text everyone on my contact list; repeating my question constantly to make sure I wouldn't slip up. The camera was brought in, a huge microphone was hung over our heads and a crowd of people stood watching, telling us to keep smiling.

 

I was shocked that I managed to actually say my question. But, I didn't hear the answer. I kept nodding. I kept smiling. I kept reminding myself that this was a member of the Royal Family, one that I had seen on TV the week before, and I would never get to do something like this again.

 

Whilst trying to eat around the pickle in my sandwich during lunch - the bane of any vegetarian's existence - I decided to write about the future of healthcare for my final entry, as the awards are generally based on science and technology.  In the next hour and a half, I managed to: tackle TV presenter Dallas Campbell on a staircase and interview him, follow James May from Top Gear for five minutes(hoping he would turn around and talk to me) and upload my finished article. I also had to avoid Stephen Fry who had arrived.  By the time the awards ceremony came around, I was a nervous-wreck. I was so scared of losing. This only became worse as more results were announced, Journalism being one of the last, and I saw the silver card being opened. But, I WON! And it was the proudest moment. Somehow, I managed to make my way to the stage without falling like I thought I would and smile for a picture, before returning to my seat to find my teacher sobbing. Soon, I was too.

 

We bought twenty-four doughnuts to celebrate on the way home.

 

In June, I only managed to read two books and start another, which is extremely disappointing for me. I'm behind on my reading challenge, but hopefully I can catch up over summer!

•  Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - I simply loved this novel. It's had such a huge impact on how I feel towards classics, whether they're by a US or UK author, and definitely hit-hard with the strong themes included - such as racism and sexism. I wrote a whole post about my thoughts HERE.

• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - There is quite a contrast between the two books I read this month, but I adored them both. Fangirl was such a heart-warming read, and one I found absolutely addicting. It was almost a perfect YA Contemporary.

• Geek Girl: Picture Perfect by Holly Smale(STARTED) - I'm almost halfway through this one, and it's true to say that I've missed Harriet Manners!

I can't quite believe that the summer holidays are two weeks away, and then I start my final year of school...

 

What did you read in June?

 

Tell me in the comments!

Sophie

x

Monthly Wrap-Up: March

It's been a week since I last blogged, so I owe you all an apology! Sadly, I haven't been able to crawl out from under my revision books for a few days - and this is why I'm posting my wrap-up of the month a little later than usual. March was an amazing month! In summary, it involved: interviews, a TV appearance and quite a lot of stress.

The reason I've been neglecting this blog, my emails and every form of Social-Networking has been to do with the BBC News School Report. This is a project I began running in school during January, that invites young people to make the news they care about, and upload it to their school site on March 27th - Report Day. If you're wondering what Report Day is, it involves turning your school-classroom into a news-room, with cameras, reporters, people writing articles and interviews taking place in every corner. In the after-school club I attempted to run, bringing along snacks as a bribe, we discussed ideas for what stories we could report on, and practiced by dragging tables out into the corridor and pretending it was a news-bulletin set.

Screenshot from the video(BBC).

The month began with a chance to interview Benjamin Zephaniah for the BBC; a critically-acclaimed and controversial poet who is known for writing about racial-inequality, animal-cruelty and other serious topics, along with his dreadlocks and Kung-Fu moves. So, on a freezing-cold Saturday morning on the first day of March, a few of my friends and I - along with our teachers - found ourselves sitting in the middle of a crowded café, penning a poem that we would have to 'rap' to Zephaniah in around an hour's time. It's no surprise that cameras are the bane of my existence; there's a reason who I blog instead of filming videos, but, there, I had no choice but to be on film. Did I try to stay out of the shots? Yes! Did it work? Not at all. My attempt to sit on the end during the interview failed, since the camera was then position right next to me. I'll admit though, I overcame a little of that hatred during the interview, and when Benjamin arrived, he engaged us in such a normal, every-day conversation that I forgot the camera was there.

I won't post the video, because half-way through I couldn't help but ask, when Zephaniah began talking about Kung-Fu, if he could show us some. As he picked the smallest member of our group, made her take stance as he did too, I was really worried about what was going to happen. The tension was building, and as he described that this move would save our lives, he just shouted, "RUN!"and ran in the opposite direction. We did have to recite our extremely cringe-worthy poem in front of him too. It was so bad, I rhymed socks with dreadlocks! By the time the interview was finished, and we filmed our final thoughts on the interview on camera, my face was purple with cold! I know this because of how my mum reacted when I clambered into the car, asking how my face was so bruised. Oops!

During the weeks running up to Report Day, I spent the majority of my time writing-scripts, questions and piecing everything into place. On topics such as the popularity of reading, the longer school hours and prohibiting social-networking, I managed to mention some of my favourite books, and also arrange for author Bryce Thomas to come into school for an interview. As I filmed with my extremely shaky camera-hands, finally able to hide, the reporters quizzed him about on his own books, inspiration, why reading is not as popular as it used to be and what could be done about it. The one thing I enjoyed the most about being involved was seeing it all come-together, and 27th March was probably the most stressful day I've had in a while! We filled the school's server, managed to break all of the filmed clips, and then had to rush to piece everything back together again!

You may have seen mentions of the School Report everywhere during the day, as the BBC does everything it can to promote young reporters. As soon as I got home from school, I headed straight to the part of the BBC Red Button dedicated to the project for the day, and watched what some of the other schools had been up to - and, admittedly, they were all beyond what I had ever thought of! As I reached for the remote, after watching a few reports, I heard my school's name mentioned, and suddenly, my friend appeared, then myself. To not expect it, and to then appear on your TV screen is an incredible moment, and I was definitely stared at when I went outside to call my friend - literally screaming down the phone with excitement in the middle of the street.

I know what you're thinking. This is a book blog. Due to being extremely busy, I read two books this month(I finished one of April 1st but I'm going to count it as a March read). The first of these was 'Acid' by Emma Pass and the other was 'The Assassin's Blade' by Sarah J. Maas! Two books is quite dismal, but these are my two top-reads of 2014 so far! You can find my review of 'Acid' HERE.

So, how was your March?

Did your school take part in BBC News School Report?

Monthly Wrap-Up: February

February was probably one of the busiest months I’ve had in a while. Not only did school suddenly become extremely hectic, to the point where I found myself leaving school at around 4pm – 4.30pm every day, and then doing some form of 'work' until 10pm(blogging isn't work, but I hope you understand what I mean). Being any busier would be a challenge for anyone; but, I’ve got a feeling ‘free-time’ is not going to exist for a few months yet. I also only managed to read a dismal two books this month, and start a third (which is ‘Acid’ by Emma Pass). Even with half-term I’ve managed to procrastinate all week and suddenly, I’m going back to school! Not that I mind, I'm actually looking forward to it.

 

‘A Day Dreamer’s World’ hit 45,000 pageviews this month, which I am extremely humbled about. To know that so many people have taken a look at my blog is surreal, especially since I started this having no idea what I was getting myself into to. Also, it means that my next milestone is 50,000 blog views, and that is an amount that I can’t quite contemplate ever reaching, but this blog’s on its way there! My favourite post that I wrote this month was definitely my, “Should more serious-topics be dealt with in books?” discussion, which has had over two-hundred pageviews, and I can’t express how strongly I feel about getting rid of the stigma that surrounds mental-illness, disability and sexuality; and how I think books can do this!

In February, my first review went up on The Guardian! When I woke up, looked on my Twitter feed, and saw that a publisher had tweeted a link to a review on the Guardian that was mine, it was such an amazing feeling. The Guardian is a site that I have always wanted to post my reviews on, and seeing my review of ‘Fearsome Dreamer’ up there was great! I can’t wait to really become a part of their team and start posting more reviews, as well as doing more for Spinebreakers, as this month I also became an Editor! One of the things I really want to continue doing is getting involved in more projects surrounding books, and I hope this is a way to do that.

Outside of the blog last month I managed to do some things I will be proud of for quite a long time. For about a year now, I’ve realised I want to be an English teacher, as I’ve been inspired by the work I’ve seen those in my school do. I don’t know whether I’d like to teach for years, or just for a few, but I did get to teach for a day in February and I absolutely loved it! In January, I did some training that would allow me to teach young pupils about substance-abuse, and after hours (around seven or eight in the end) of lesson-planning, putting together a power point and a worksheet, I finally got to stand in front of the Year Eights at my school. Admittedly, I was nervous, and of course, extremely excited. In one day, I had four lessons, and by the end of these, my throat was sore and I had managed to get through three bottles of water. The lesson was about tobacco, and I taught it with two of my friends, who always had an interesting experience. I was asked if my hair was fake, called Miss, Sir and four boys even walked out of the classroom, after I regretfully said, “If you find this video(about Cancer caused by smoking) sad, please feel free to leave the classroom” and they, for a joke, left, mock-crying.

I also started to organise the BBC School Report at my school, which is a project I noticed a few other bloggers talking about last year, and decided to join – with the help of my teacher - this year. It’s a yearly project that invites young people to create their own news, and post articles and reports online on News Day, which is the last day.

Books! Let’s talk about the books! Since I only read two, this should be quite short, although I also had some of the best-book post!

Read:

'A Breath of Frost' by Alyxandra Harvey - This was a lengthy read about life in Regency London, where warlocks lurk, madcaps jump from roofs and magic is everywhere. It was gorgeous and gothic, and the main characters are so much fun to read about!

'Looking For JJ' by Anne Cassidy - Thought provoking doesn't come close to describing how much this book haunting me while reading. It's a tough and tragic read, that asks the question, "Why would a child kill another child?" and it's, of course, really powerful.

Currently reading:

'Acid' by Emma Pass - I'm currently half-way through this book(about two hundred pages) and am loving it! It's so exciting, and Jenna - our main character - is great to read about!

This month I received some amazing books; I doubt I would have stopped smiling by the new Wrap-Up because of a few of these:

'A Black Crow Conspiracy' by Christopher Edge - I won a signed copy of this when Christopher was doing a Twitter giveaway, and since I love the main character in this series, I hope to give this one I go soon!

'The Madness' by Alison Rattle - I haven't heard much about this book, but it seems like a beautiful novel and I think it'll be a really good read.

'The Assassins' Blade' by Sarah J. Maas - You may know that I am an absolutely huge fan of the 'Throne of Glass' series by Maas, and that the books are my favourites. So, you can probably imagine my reaction to receiving this, as a surprise, through the post. The prequel to the series, it's four novellas that have only been available on Kindle combined, with an extremely gorgeous cover!

Thank you to Christopher Edge, Hot Key Books, and Emma Bradshaw from Bloomsbury for sending me these books!

I hope you all had fantastic February's!

What books did you read? What books did you receive?
Tell me in the comments!

Monthly Wrap-Up: November

Blog-wise, November has been the busiest month of this year for me - as well as the most rewarding throughout the time I've been blogging. All of this is down to Anti-Bullying Blog Week, a week full of interviews, guest-posts and people sharing their experiences of bullying; all set to make some small steps toward beating bullying. I am so proud of what the week achieved, and will be planning further Anti-Bullying events in 2014. I can't quite believe we are into December already; this year has gone so quickly! I've just started contemplating my 'Books of the Year' list and what will be on them - as well as planning a wish-list for Christmas. It feels strange to be doing it all-over-again.

 

School Display Wall!

I think I should begin here by thanking - once again - everyone who made my November by participating in ABBW. It meant so much to me that so many people got involved, and I'm excited about where this could go in the future. One of my favourite moments of the week was when I saw a Tweet that mentioned the fact the Coke-Bottle Theory had made it's way onto a school display-wall in Guernsey. Not only that, but my blog is a QR code so, pupils there can scan it with their phones and be lead to my blog - which is amazing! Another favourite part of the week was Bloggers on Bullying. It was great to see as many bloggers that got involved willing to share their experiences - as it's a brave thing to do - and I got a load of tweets that day which made me cry(mostly happy-tears, of course!) and emails too!

 

November may have also been the month I finally saw Catching Fire, and I can't wait to see it again! It was so true to the books, and very emotional, with the Special Effects really bringing the Quarter Quell Arena alive. We had some brilliant additions to the cast and Jennifer Lawrence really does make tears pour down your face. I won't lie and say it was perfect, as I did have some problems with it. One of these was that I missed the main focus being Katniss and her story; I felt like it cut-away from her a few too-many times. Even so, the main aspects of the story were there and I went from laughing over a certain scene with Johanna, to sobbing because of Effie Trinket. The focus on Post-Traumatic Stress was a part I absolutely loved - it was such a wise addition on Francis' behalf. The ending has got me already waiting in anticipation for Mockingjay; that was incredible!

 

Reading-wise, November wasn't my best month. I managed to read 'Fearsome Dreamer' by Laure Eve, which I absolutely adored. Eve created a World and characters I loved so much, it became one of the best Fantasy/Dystopia novels I have read this year. Although not a full-length book, I also read 'Finding Your Inner Cherokee' by Siobhan Curham, as this was one of my main inspirations for Anti-Bullying Blog Week. I got an early-copy and my review is featured within one of the first pages of the e-short, which you can download. This is one of the most exciting things that happened during last month, as, when I opened up my Kindle and went to download the book, that review was also in the Product Description! Even though I didn't finish many, I started reading both 'Allegiant' by Veronica Roth and 'Secrets and Spies: Treason' by Jo Macauley During December, I'm determined to hit a goal of forty books for the year - as well as finish the majority of my review-books. The books I'm planning to read include:

1. The rest of Allegiant - Before I began reading, I had heard really bad criticism on this novel but, I am really liking it and am gripped. Four's narrative is not as strong as Tris', but the storyline and plot has so many twists in it. I've heard the ending is upsetting, to say the least, so am beginning to prepare the tissues!
2. The rest of Secrets & Spies: Treason - I didn't really know what to expect from this, but I'm loving it! It's spine-chilling, and has an edge to the whole novel. I'm very excited about finishing this one!
3. My Brilliant Life and Other Disasters by Catherine Wilkins - I had this for review in September and haven't been able to read this yet...something I will be working on this month!
4. Leopold Blue by Rosie Rowell- I received this today in the post and think it looks brilliant! Set in 1993, in South Africa, this is very different compared to previous books I've read, but I'm intrigued already!

Thank you to Curious Fox Publishers, Nosy Crow, and Hot Key Books!

How was your November?

Did you do NaNoWriMo?

What about getting a chance to see Catching Fire?

I'm currently listening to the Catching Fire Score while writing this and I really recommend it! Such beautiful music!

Monthly Wrap-Up: October

It's November already! I can't believe it's so late in the year! My first thought was, 'This time next month I will be opening up my Advent-Calendar' - which feels too soon! I'm really excited for a lot of happenings in November, not mentioning the fact we are down to only twenty days for Catching Fire!

 

My October was great! It involved two book festivals where, I met up with Lucy from Queen of Contemporary and author, Siobhan Curham for her event at Bath Literature Festival! I also went to a talk with Sarah J. Maas, Maureen Johnson and David Levithan which was hilarious at Cheltenham Festival! I attempted to Vlog it, as I was going to both festivals in one-weekend(which was very tiring) but, I decided I would keep to blogging! I think you need a certain level of confidence to Vlog and put yourself out there, and it's quite known that I like to hide behind a book. Although, just trying it out was something I'm happy I did in October! I've been wanting to attempt Vlogging for a few months now so, it was interesting to have a go at it! I didn't get any strange looks when I was filming the middle of the street and, at that, I was quite surprised! Over the course of the weekend, I lived on Costa Coffee and sandwiches from Waitrose.



Me and Sarah Maas. This is saved on my computer as 'I MET
SARAH J. MAAS!'

I did a POSTwhere I talked more about what happened at the events and what was said in the talks, including the discussion people's opinions of YA and how they seem to dismiss it. Also at Cheltenham, Twilight was something that the authors said a lot about, especially how it brought so many readers into this genre and that it shouldn't receive as much criticism as it does. This got me thinking a lot about what was said, and prompted me to write a post earlier this month called, "I Hate Twilight." I had a conversation with Sarah at the signing after the event and may have been a little bit excitable because of that! We spoke about Fleetfoot and how she can't possible kill him off because it will break my heart, how many tears were shed during Crown of Midnight and how Celaena relates to teenage girls when, of course, none of us are Assassins. She did let me into a secret though; that she is, in fact, as an assassin herself!

 

Halloween was also in October! This involved me going out dressed as a Gothic-Vampire in the same cloak I wear every-year and putting on some black eye-shadow and lipstick. It soon began rainy, just as I left a friends house with both her brother and my younger sister. The problem with going Trick or Treating with children younger than you is that they tend to get more sweets! I just hide a load of our own sweets so, they are there for whenever I'm craving chocolate!

 

It's half-term at the moment so, I've had extra-reading time! Although, that's also meant a huge amount of revision! On the first day of the holidays I had a text from the school reminding me of a Biology Test I will need to revise for! I've also had an English GCSE Speech to prepare for and an English CAT...it's all been pretty busy!

I did get around to reading:

1. Resist(Breathe #2) by Sarah Crossan ***
2. That Burning Summer by Lydia Syson ***. 5
3. Finding Your Inner Cherokee by Siobhan Curham(e-Short) *****
4. Every Day by David Levithan ****

My book of the month is a draw between 'Finding Your Inner Cherokee' and 'Every Day!' Finding Your Inner Cherokee was a breath of fresh air for me, and something that I loved because of how interactive it was. As it was an e-Short(and my review is featured in the final copy - out November 18th!) I decided to choose my favourite full-length book which was 'Every Day' because the writing was full of wisdom and I adored the idea!

In November I am planning to read:

1. Treason(Secrets & Spies #1) by Jo Macauley
2. Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve
3. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire & Mockingjay(All over again!)

I hope you all had a great October and are enjoying the short-break from school! What are you most looking forward to in November?



Monthly Wrap-Up - August

August was a really good month for me. Of course, it meant a full-month off from school so, I spent days reading and writing, which helped get me through six books this summer! I also had some amazing news(that ended up with me crying I was just so happy) and had summer-fun with my friends.



Summer reading*

The really amazing news came in the form of one of my poems getting published in a collection with fellow aspiring-poets. I had never planned to get published in a poetry collection, or even contemplate it to begin with, but thanks to everyone who commented on 'Life Itself' when I posted it a few weeks ago, I submitted it into the competition that lead it to the road to publication. It's such a great opportunity and when I got the letter through the post, I was shaking. So, thank you to everyone who left really nice comments on the poem.

 

Blog wise it's also been a fantastic month! Not only did I finally reach one hundred followers, I also got to another goal of mine which was to reach 25,000 pageviews! I've now passed one hundred but seriously, I was so excited to reach it! And to have so many people reading my blog! I did promise that if I reached those goals I would do a Vlog and that is in the works at the moment. I'm hoping to post it next week if possible!

I ended up doing some really fun things with family and friends as well this month. I visited Drayton Manor Theme Park with my family, went to see Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters with friends and then roller skating - which turned out to be quite an experience.

 

Onto the books that I read:

 

Diary of a Mall Girl by Luisa Plaja

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Crown of Midnight(Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas

City of Bones(The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

Shipwrecked(Shipwrecked Saga #1) by Siobhan Curham

Baby Aliens Got My Teacher(A short, quick children's proof provided by Nosy Crow) by Pamela Butchart

 

As well as these books above, I have almost finish The Soterion Mission by Stewart Ross and am also reading Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness. As Baby Aliens Got My Teacher was only 132 pages, and was a children's book, I reviewed it on Goodreads rather than on my blog as it isn't for the audience of you, my readers!

 

Book of the Month:

 

I can't help but choose two for this months, Book of the Month as everyone knows how much I loved Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas! It was everything I could have wanted in the next chapter of Celaena's story, as well as leaving me jaw-dropped.

A Monster Calls was just breath-taking. I have a review already written a review of this one

and once I began reading, I couldn't put it down. I read it in less than a day it wasn't just a YA Novel,  it was a story. A heartbreaking yet, memorable story.

 

Since it's now September and I'm back in school tomorrow, it means I will have less time to read as the homework starts piling up again. Despite this, my plan to have no ARC's left waiting to be read and reviewed by the end of the summer ended up scattered across the floor. Or buried under the TBR. Who knows? But instead, I have eight books for review waiting for me and out of those, I'm going to read this month:

 

The Elites by Natasha Ngan

Amber by Julie Sykes 

 

This month I've also spent so much time chatting on Twitter with blogging-buddies about everything and anything. It was great to spend so much time rambling, chatting, discussing and revelling in Amber and Hawwa's craziness. Also a big thank you to Charli, Jack, Rita, Ruby, Sunny and Zoe for filling my twitter-feed with blogger brilliance! And to Siobhan Curham and everyone who joined in with our LIVE Goodreads Chat which was so much fun - as Siobhan said it was great to find out which type of cake everyone was.

 

 How was your August? Tell me in the comments!
*Pictures used in this post are not my own.

Montly Wrap-Up : July

I can't believe we're already into August - this year is going so fast! School has officially finished for the summer and I'm enjoying late nights reading and watching films already. July was a great month for me, especially with all the end-of-term excitement in school. I love school when it comes to the end of the year as everything is done. You can help-out with stacking shelves and organising books - there's nothing else to do!

 

 I also visited a theme park which was really fun. It's always nice at the end of term to spend a day with your friends and for everything to feel much more calmer. Compared to the beginning of the year everyone is much more relaxed - and when the final day of school came, I admit I didn't want it to end. Year Nine for me has gone so fast and I can't believe I will be starting my GCSE's next year. In Year Nine I did things I never thought I would: going to London being just one of those so, I'm excited to see what I can do next year. Although, I feel like I will be drowning in coursework.

 

 

 

Some of my other July highlights were the Catching Fire Trailer. I'm so excited about this movie and the trailer just beat my expectations. It looks fantastic and has so many of my favourite moments from the book just in the trailer. I was on Twitter with a so many other book bloggers at the time and we all freaked-out over how amazing it is. I could go on for hours about how perfect this trailer is from the music which is so emotional then so powerful, and how Snow is so villain-like and then Katniss comes out and surprises him when her wedding dress makes her becomes the Mockingjay. There's the KISS between Katniss and Gale, and you can see the remorse on Effie's face at the reaping and finally we saw Finnick. When I first saw this, I wasn't expecting it and I let out a small scream when he appeared. One of the best moments though is when Katniss rises into the arena and you get the first snap-shot of it. It looks exactly how I pictured it in the book!

 

The new family of three left hospital in July

The Royal Baby was also born and I've been enjoying the coverage of that! It's nice to see some good news in the world for once and I found choosing a name partically exciting. My bet was on George or James so I was happy to hear I'd gotten it right. It also feels like I've been that small part of history - everyone will remember where they were at the time Prince George was born and when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were leaving the hospital I was waiting, refusing to turn over the television as I was afraid I would miss it.

 

I've also got more involved on Twitter joining in with Lucy's brilliant #ukyachat which trended in the UK! And I've been joining in with other discussions and chats with other bloggers which have been a lot of fun!

 

Reading wise, July was an OK month. I got through three books, one of which was the biggest book on my Summer TBR: 'The Bone Season' by Samantha Shannon. I had been holding off reading this one for a while as the size was quite intimidating but I decided to read it first. This was definitely my book-of-the-month. I loved the imagination, and how well the author understood her world. The main protagonist, Paige, was a fiery yet relatable heroine and it had so many interesting characters. It's so rare a book lives up to the level of hype it has - but this did.

 

I also read:

1. 'The Arrivals' by Melissa Marr - 3 Stars
2. 'Monument 14' by Emmy Laybourne - 4 Stars

 

This month I'm planning to read:

1. 'Diary of a Mall Girl' by Luisa Plaja
2. 'Crown of Midnight(Throne of Glass #2)' by Sarah J. Maas
3. 'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' by Cassandra Clare
4. 'Shipwrecked' by Siobhan Curham(You can join in with a read-a-long on my Goodreads site 'Fandom Freak-Out here)
5. 'The Soterion Mission' by Stewart Ross
6. 'Out of the Easy' by Ruta Septys

I'm most excited to read 'Crown of Midnight' as I loved 'Throne of Glass' and it is still standing as my favourite book I've read this year so far. I can't wait to get back into Celaena life and find out more about the world. It also sounds fantastic, it seems like this book is going to be more daring and dramatic. Also, 'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' is out in theatres this month and I want to be able to read the book before I see the film. I'm looking forward to being part of the Shadow-hunter world.

 

This August on the blog I have two interviews coming up with Sharon Sant(Author of the Sky Song Trilogy) and Samantha Shannon(Author of 'The Bone Season')along with the fact I'm taking a one-week break so, I can come up with new ideas and pre-plan some posts for September as I will be really busy when I get back to school.

Images used in this post are not my own.

I hope you all had a great July!

May Monthly Wrap Up

Michael Morpurgo's signature

May has been one of the best months of the year book-wise for me. It was my birthday, so I got to buy some of the books I have been waiting to read for a while after browsing around Waterstones for at least at hour, but I visited the Hay Festival and met some of my favourite authors. I got to plan and host, along with many other fantastic bloggers and Kate Maryon, the Invisible Girl Blog Tour. Thank you all for getting involved and supporting the tour by commenting and tweeting.  This month, I read four books which I'm really happy with. I started 'The Day I Met Suzie' in the last few days of April and finished it in May, so I'm going to count this one as a May Book.

-'The Day I Met Suzie' by Chris Higgens

I was drawn in by the cover, which is gorgeous. It was OK, but I found it slow at times.

 

-'After Eden' by Helen Douglas

I feel so lucky to have had a proof copy of this, as it has become one of my favourite books. I loved the characters, premise and plot. It was just SO good.

 

-'The Fifth Wave' by Rick Yancey

An amazing, action-packed read that - although it had it's flaws - I really enjoyed

 

- 'Pretty Girl Thirteen' by Liz Coley

This was haunting, gripping and hear-breaking. I loved this, and I haven't stopped thinking about it.

 

 

I also started my TBR Jar pick of the month 'Finding Cherokee Brown' by Siobhan Curham which I should finish tomorrow or Monday.

 

I also bought and received a lot of books this month, and can't wait to get stuck into the one's I haven't read yet!

 

Bought:

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey(Read)

Pretty Girl Thirteen by Liz Coley(Read)

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb

Geek Girl by Holly Smale

 

For Review:

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon(Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing me with this ARC)

 

At Hay!

I've already got both the review manuscript, and a copy of 'Geek Girl' but I got to meet Holly Smale while at the Hay Festival and couldn't miss the opportunity to get a book signed. I got to go to her talk with Andy Robb where they debating the argument between Geeks and Nerds, shared what makes them Geeks and discussed the Big Bag Theory. I had so much fun, and Holly and Andy were both hilarious, poking fun at eachother. I also had my copy of 'Geekhood' signed by Andy, and met Michael Morpurgo who shook my hand. Since he couldn't sign anything, we all got pre-signed book plates which I have happily placed in my copy of 'War Horse'. Michael Morpurgo is so wise, and thoughtful, listening to him speak completely captured my attention. He is also funny and witty!

 

Blog Tour Wrap-Up

 

The Invisible Girl Blog Tour officially ends today, but other reviews will be going up, including my own, on June 6th as it's the publication date. I loved getting to be a part of this tour, and thank you to everyone for posting, tweeting and commenting. If you haven't yet, you can find all the posts by visiting Kate Maryon's Facebook Page , where all the links can be found.

 

 

 

To answer the question that has been at the end of each post this week, "What would you like to find in your rucksack, if you were Gabriella?' I'd say:

 

- Money(To buy food and drink)

-Warm Clothes

-A tent/sleeping bag

 

In May, my goal is to reach 20,000 pageviews because I only have a few more to go and to read another four books. This would be higher, but I have exams in the last week and will have to take a hiatus. I also won't be commenting as much on your blogs, or tweeting as much as I do, but I will be back completely at the beginning of July with a surprise that I am planning with Jack over at The Book Stop. I will plan some posts so I won't be completely gone, but I'm sorry in advance for not commenting, tweeting or emailing you much during next month. Although, what I am planning to read are:

 

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness(Chaos Walking #2)

Of Monsters and Men by Patrick Ness(Chaos Walking #3)

Paper Towns by John Green

The Elite by Keira Cass(Finally!)

Hope you all had a fantastic May!

Febraury Wrap Up

I've had a really great February. At the beginning of the month, I got my first piece of 'mail' from America. Inside, were signed postcards from Sarah Crossan(Author of Breathe-which I am reading at the moment).

I love Sarah's autograph and how she signed in pink pen! I was very excited when these came through the post. Along with getting 'mail' I also received an invite onto my first Blog Tour just last week. I'm the host of the Geek Girl Blog Tour on 7th March and will be interviewing Holly Smale, the author.

I had been counting down to the 13th February for months, so when it came I couldn't help sighing in relief and heading to my nearest cinema to see Beautiful Creatures with a friend. I completely enjoyed it, it wasn't just the romance and story I couldn't wait to see brought alive, but I was also always laughing at the humour in the adaptation. The ending was one of the biggest surprises I've had so I can't help saying I will be shocked if you don't make a sequel after leaving Beautiful Creatures on the cliff-hanger it did. February was the month of St Valentine, which I always find really sweet. I spent my day typing up an English Essay but that's another story.

The biggest part of this month for me was that I got to attend my first Conference. I learnt a lot at the Conference and met so many talented, friendly people and I spent most of the day talking to them. The great thing about a Conference is what you get to learn. I was one of the youngest there so, to get the chance to listen to people who have had experience of the Publishing Industry was a big thing to me. Catherine Fisher(New York Times bestselling author of Incarceon) was there-and when my dad dragged me over to get my book signed I couldn't help but be embarrassed. She was lovely, signing my book and engaging in a quick conversation with us. She also did a talk later that afternoon, which opened-my-eyes to how tough the publishing world actually is. The talk itself was incredible, I was hanging onto her every word-I even got writing advice from her!  Discussing The Hunger Games was also a big part of my day. I met one of the people who published it, naturally I was very excited.

This month I've also spent a huge amount of time in the Library(along with attempting to make cakes) and now have books piling up by the door. The books I've read this month are:
Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
Started: Breathe by Sarah Crossan

-On that note, Thank you to Dom for the Conference Tickets

What did you do this month?

Monthly Wrap Up: Janurary

The first month of the year has been and gone, 2013 is now well under-way. Here's my wrap-up of what I have been up to this month.

At the beginning of the month, I of course had to drag myself to school after the Christmas Holidays! I'm in the middle of choosing my options at the moment and in some ways I'm really enjoying finally being able to get a choice in what I do but In other ways it can be stressful. You've really got to think about whether you will enjoy it, coursework, exam marks etc. But then the snow-hit and we got buried in it for a week! I did only get ONE Snow day off from school which was the first Friday but we spent the whole weekend having fun in the snow: built an amazing snowman that had a glowing red nose, had seven snow-ball fights in the one day that proved to result in a broken window and blamed It on my dad, playing outside in blizzards and drinking too much hot-chocolate. We did have more snow but schools were open so we enjoyed 'sledging' to school and getting covered In snow on the way back when it decided to fall from the sky!

Me and one of my friends went to see The Impossible in cinema's and loved it! It was sad, moving, exciting, heart-wrenching. OK, there were some scenes that were I bit detailed in terms of injuries but I couldn't believe it was a true-story. The determination to find each-other was unbelievable and really showed how much family cares. I have never been in such a quiet cinema. An incredible film(Review-coming soon)

I finally got to read my first John Green book, The Fault in Our Stars, which was heart-breaking! I admit, I was sobbing at the end. It really impressed me! Next is Paper Towns! I also got my first Manuscript & Press Pack from the lovely people at Harper Collins. It's called Geek Girl(By Holly Smale) and came with some awesome Geek badges that have little black geek glasses on them and cute business cards. I was literally jumping-up-and-down with excitement when I heard it had come. I was literally wearing my badge all night!



My First Manuscript!

 

I also received another book called Dear Scarlett(By Fluer Hitchcock) which I admit I haven't started yet but have been wanting to read for months so I was very happy when I was told it was coming through the post!
I've also been digging my way through the albums I had for Christmas and been constantly playing RED! And have found a new favourite t.v. programme called Charmed(You need to watch it if you're a fan of supernatural books!)-it's amazing!  I've also been looking into going to some bookish things this year which I'm really excited about! And-now it's February it means that we are in the month of Beautiful Creatures!

*All pictures used in this post are mine-please do not try to copy.*