“Hello. Look, you probably bought this book because you read the blurb about how I’m an impoverished orphan and also at the heart of a national slut-shaming scandal, and you thought, Oh great, this is just the kind of heart-wrenching tale I need to feel better about my own life, but seriously, you have to relax. I am not some pitiful Oliver-Twist-meets-Kim-Kardashian type figure.” Izzy O’Neil is an impoverished orphan, aspiring comedian, and if you read the tabloids everything that is wrong with the youth of today. Finding herself in the middle of a sex scandal involving a politicians son and a garden bench her life starts to fall apart.…
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Teaching Spike about amazing women this International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day and what better way to celebrate than with books! This year we were lucky enough to be gifted some incredible books from Egmont to highlight incredible women. Two for me and two for Spike… And I wanted to share them with you today. Captain Sparklebeard – Spike’s picture book I knew as soon as I saw Captain Sparklebeard by Tim Knapman and Sam Lloyd that I wanted it for our collection. spoilers ahead! A book about a little girl who wants to eats ape the horrible life she has, who is shunned by pirates for being a girl… yet goes on to become the best…
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What If It’s Us – Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
“Arthur – Monday, July 9th I am not a New Yorker, and I want to go home. There are so many unspoken rules when you live here, like the way you’re never supported to stop in the middle of the sidewalk or stare dreamily up at tall buildings or pause to read graffiti. No giant folding maps, no fanny packs, no eye contact. No humming songs from Dear Evan Hansen in public.” Arthur and Ben. Non-native New Yorker thrown into the city, and New Yorker through and through. After a chance meeting at the post office the boys leave wondering. What if they can’t find each other again, what if…
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5 Ways to Celebrate World Book Day at Home
On Thursday 7th March, we will be celebrating the 22nd World Book Day: a registered charity which supplies gift vouchers to schools in the UK to ensure children are able to own their favourite books. World Book Day is usually celebrated within schools. Some schools celebrate book characters by encouraging children to dress up as their favourite book characters and often, book-related activities take place in the classroom. However, there are ways that we can bring World Book Day from the classroom and celebrate it in the house. Here are just 5 ways in how it can be celebrated at home: Bedtime Reading Bedtime reading has always proven great for…
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I’ll be Home For Christmas – a YA Anthology
Supporting homeless charity Crisis, this collection of short stories explores the lives of a number of young adults as they venture into very different Christmases. I have enjoyed reading short stories more and more since having Spike. I don’t have the time to commit to a book in full anymore and short stories give me the ideal reason to pick up a book for 10 minutes. This is why I thought I’ll be Home for Christmas was the ideal thing to read over the Christmas period last year. It features a number my favourite authors; Cat Clarke, Non Pratt and Juno Dawson. As well as a couple I’ve been meaning…
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What happened in 2018 & goals for 2019
I thought 2017 was pathetic for reading but 2018 was worse. I finished the year having read about 10 YA or non-picture books. I was almost finished I’ll Be Home For Christmas by New Years Eve but I didn’t quite manage it (Finished it on New Years Day instead). But even so… 11 books that aren’t picture books and a Goodreads total of 42 is awful! Not only that, I haven’t been reviewing the booked I have read! I’ve managed 11 blog posts on Readaraptor in 2018, which is ridiculous! I want to start reviewing more and reading more but finding the time is difficult with working full time and…
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Counting Stars – Keris Stainton
“So. It looks like I’m moving to Liverpool. I know. I can’t wait believe it either. My parents have agreed to let me give it a go. I’ve been offered a fantastic job at the theatre where I did my work experience and the brother of the woman I worked with – hi, Lola! – has a house where I can rent a room.” Anna is about to embark on the most amazing adventure. She has a job, a house share and a life to envy in the city of culture, Liverpool. Or that is what it would seem, however when Anna takes the plunge and uproots her life, nothing…
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We Come Apart – Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan
“Caught You have to be quick, none of this pretending to be browsing business that some shoplifters go for. It’s in grab what you want and out again.” Jess is pro at shoplifting. But she’s not so pro at making friends. Thats why she gets thrown into the Reparation Scheme. Nicu misses home and hates being stuck in this foreign land. He wants nothing more than to go home, until he gets caught stealing a bar of chocolate and meets Jess. *** I have mentioned it before and will probably mention it again, but I love books written in verse. Especially when they are written by Sarah Crossan like We…
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Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls – Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo
Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls reinvents fairytales, inspiring children with the stories of 100 heroic women from Elizabeth 1 to Serena Williams. Illustrated by 60 female artists from every corner of the globe, this is the most-funded original book in the history of crowdfunding. *** I knew as soon as I first heard about it that Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls was my kind of book. I can’t remember if I was pregnant with Spike or if I had already had her but I knew that this book would be something I’d be getting for me to read then pass on to her. This was my first reading of the…
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My top five (six) picture books this #InternationalChildrensBookDay
Did you know that International Children’s Book Day is today? It’s celebrated on Hans Christian Anderson’s birthday and is designed to “inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books” according to the IBBY website. With this in mind I thought I would share the picture books that are on my favourites list at the minute. These are the books that inspire me and that I want to share the most with Spike as she grows. Moon – Britta Teckentrup This book tells a story about nature and the moon phases across the world. How the moon changes and how that effects things on the planet. All with…
