Monday 31 March 2014

Charm and Strange

Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn


Title: Charm and Strange

Author: Stephanie Kuehn 

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery and Abuse

Published: June 3rd 2013, Electric Monkey

Pages: 259

Blurb: No one really knows who Andrew Winston Winters is. Least of all himself. He is part Win, a lonely teenager exiled to a remote boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts the whole world out, no matter the cost, because his darkest fear is of himself ...of the wolfish predator within. But he's also part Drew, the angry boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who, one fateful summer, was part of something so terrible it came close to destroying him. A deftly woven, elegant, unnerving psychological thriller about a boy at war with himself. Charm and Strange is a masterful exploration of one of the greatest taboos.


Because blood is blood, and every family has its own force.                                             
Its own flavor.  
Its own charm and strange.

Charm and Strange was confusing as hell. The book is split into two parts; before and after. In the before part the chapters switch from matter and anti matter. The before-matter chapters tells us of a day in the life of Win on a full moon and the before-anti matter shows us the past of Drew and what happened to him as a child.

Drew has anger problems, ever since he was young he’s been having random episodes of really intense anger hitting him full force and he cannot control it. This leads to him being intensely violent towards people and him being forced to have therapy and continuously being drugged up.

“I chase the night and it’s so obvious. Me. It’s been up to me all this time.”

Win in the present day has been at a boarding school since he was 12 and has changed his name to Win not Drew. He is constantly battling with his inner wolf – everything bad inside him – which has been restless but isn`t coming out.  He truly believes he will transform on the day of the full moon and when it happens he doesn`t. He is helped by an old and new “friend”, they take him to get the help he needs.

“About how they’d died and who I was and what I’d done. About what it all meant. About what I would become. What I had to become. My destiny.”

The anti matter chapters show how Drew was impulsive and self harming himself because he couldn`t control his emotions/feelings. His older brother tried to protect him until he couldn`t. One summer Drew and his brother go to live with their grandparents where they meet their cousins. The cousins part I honestly didn`t get! It was weird/confusing when he told them about his dream - ????

Spoiler AlertAnyway we find out that when Drew was younger his dad used drugs to intoxicate him and abuse him. Ever since this Drew has struggled with drugs and puking and not dealing with the abuse. The confusing part was that it’s not clearly shown and you have to sort of figure out for yourself what happens.

Also Drew changing his name and moving to a boarding school is because he and his siblings were so afraid of ending up being like their father and letting their inner wolf take control they decided to create a suicide pact. To choose death than be the monster they thought/knew they might become.

“Yes. Siobhan and Keith, they knew what we were. What the future held for us. And we all made a pact not to become…..that. To never grow up and hurt anyone. But I wasn’t strong enough. I’m weak. And so I lived.”

“I looked at Keith and he looked at me. I didn’t have to pull my hand back before they jumped. He let go.”

That was their end, but it was not my
beginning. My story began earlier, back
in Charlottesville, beneath the light of
the moon, at the hands of my father. It’s
the story that was too big for me to tell,
the one that grew to fill the depths of my
being and the far corners of my mind.
It’s how I lost my system of meaning.
But I haven’t lost everything.
Somewhere, somehow, adrift in the
sea and far from the stars, I’ve found
faith.
In myself.
And that makes all the difference.


Friday 28 March 2014

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan 


Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Author: John Green and David Levithan

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary,Glbt 

Published: May 10 2012, Walker Books

Pages: 308



Blurb: One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high-school stage.


From reading the blurb of Will Grayson, Will Grayson you would think that when the two Will Grayson’s meet something would happen between them and how it then affected their lives, something does happen but it’s not how I pictured it. What really connects them together is Tiny and what brings them together in the end is Tiny’s play.

Tiny’s name is ironic in the sense he’s not tiny, he’s the opposite. People are fascinated by his size (Will Grayson’s obsession with him fitting into the seat behind him) however he’s very elegant in the way he moves, dances and sings. Tiny doesn`t have a barrier around his heart and he falls in love so many times or what he believes to be love. But there isn`t anything wrong with falling in love and I believe Tiny is incredibly brave to actually have the guts to fall in love and have his heart broken continuously. You also feel pity for him because people say things about him and he has to act like these words don`t affect him; people commenting on his size, his sexuality and the way he expresses himself. Tiny is honest and not the greatest friend to Will Grayson but he does realise his mistakes especially when he changes what the play is about, not about himself but instead about love.

Will Grayson (1) is kind of bland because there’s nothing special about him. In the beginning of the book he’s complaining about Tiny and the effect he’s had on his social life. Later on he gets angry and sad at the way he’s always the back up for Tiny and lastly he confesses his love for Tiny in a friendship kind of way. He does have his drama with Jane who he likes but won’t have a relationship with and then when she is dating someone else he’s interested in her. I like how Jane and Will Grayson’s (1) relationship was different to Tiny’s and Will Grayson’s (2) as it was slower and more developed than the latter. It was sweet how Will Grayson (1) picked up the small things about Jane and how he was the one to confront Tiny about their behaviour to each other.

Will Grayson (2) was different to Will Grayson (1) because he was darker and moodier than Will Grayson (1). What Maura does to Will Grayson (2) is shitty, when you play on someone’s feelings just to get them to be with you. It’s just wrong! Will Grayson (2) goes through a lot of changes when he meets Tiny, he comes out with his sexuality, and he makes a true friend and is honest to his mother. Will Grayson mostly keeps to himself and he has no inner belief which leads to him breaking up with Tiny. He is selfish to think that Tiny hasn’t been through anything as worse as himself and when Tiny leaves he doesn`t tell him the truth. Through what he does in the ending it sweet and thoughtful.

Tiny’s play is something that brought together so many people and it showcased how many people Tiny loved and thought he had loved. The ending of the book was cute in the sense that different Will Grayson’s made appearances and showed their support for Tiny and finally even though the relationship for Will Grayson (2) and Tiny wasn`t properly shown to have been back on sometimes actions speak louder than words.          

Thursday 27 March 2014

Thursday New YA Book Releases

April 1st YA Book Releases


Love Letters to the Dead
by Ava Dellaira 

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 323 pages



Dorothy Must Die 
by Danielle Paige 
I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.

What happened?
Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission:
Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
Take the Lion's courage.
Then and only then—Dorothy must die!

Publication: April 1st 2014 by HarperTeen, 432 pages


Salvage
by Alexandra Duncan 
Ava, a teenage girl living aboard the male-dominated deep space merchant ship Parastrata, faces betrayal, banishment, and death. Taking her fate into her own hands, she flees to the Gyre, a floating continent of garbage and scrap in the Pacific Ocean, in this thrilling, surprising, and thought-provoking debut novel that will appeal to fans of Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, and The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Greenwillow, 520 pages




Gilded Ashes: A Cruel Beauty Novella 
by Rosamund Hodge 
A romantic and fantastical reimagining of the classic Cinderella tale,Gilded Ashes is a novella by Rosamund Hodge set in the same world as the author's debut novel, Cruel Beauty.

Orphan Maia doesn't see the point of love when it only brings pain: Her dying mother made a bargain with the evil, all-powerful ruler of their world that anyone who hurt her beloved daughter would be punished; her new stepmother went mad with grief when Maia's father died; and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval, yet she always spurns them. And though her family has turned her into a despised servant, Maia must always pretend to be happy, or else they'll all be struck dead by the curse.

Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. What's the point of pretending to fall in love with a girl just so she'll pretend to fall in love with him back? But when his father invites all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball, Anax must finally give in and select a wife.

As fate would have it, the preparations for the masquerade bring him Maia, who was asked by her eldest stepsister to deliver letters to Anax. Despite a prickly first encounter, he is charmed and intrigued by this mysterious girl who doesn't believe in love. Anax can't help wishing to see her again—and when he does, he can't help falling in love with her. Against her will, Maia starts to fall in love with him too. But how can she be with him when every moment his life is in danger from her mother's deadly bargain?

HarperTeen Impulse is a digital imprint focused on young adult short stories and novellas, with new releases the first Tuesday of each month.

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Balzer + Bray, 111 pages


Dear Killer
by Katherine Ewell 
Rule One—Nothing is right, nothing is wrong.
Rule Two—Be careful.
Rule Three—Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they’re the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest.
Rule Four—Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible.
Rule Five—The letters are the law.

Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life—the only way of life she has ever known.

But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit’s convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.

Katherine Ewell’s Dear Killer is a sinister psychological thriller that explores the thin line between good and evil, and the messiness of that inevitable moment when life contradicts everything you believe.

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books, 368 pages


The Ring and The Crown 
by Melissa de la Cruz 
Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the Lily Throne, and Aelwyn Myrddn, bastard daughter of the Mage of England, grew up together. But who will rule, and who will serve? 

Quiet and gentle, Marie has never lived up to the ambitions of her mother, Queen Eleanor the Second, Supreme Ruler of the Franco-British Empire. With the help of her Head Merlin, Emrys, Eleanor has maintained her stranglehold on the world's only source of magic. She rules the most powerful empire the world has ever seen.
 

But even with the aid of Emrys' magic, Eleanor's extended lifespan is nearing its end. The princess must marry and produce an heir or the Empire will be vulnerable to its greatest enemy, Prussia. The two kingdoms must unite to end the war, and the only solution is a match between Marie and Prince Leopold VII, heir to the Prussian throne. But Marie has always loved Gill, her childhood friend and soldier of the Queen's Guard.
 

Together, Marie and Aelwyn, a powerful magician in her own right, come up with a plan. Aelwyn will take on Marie's face, allowing the princess to escape with Gill and live the quiet life she's always wanted. And Aelwyn will get what she's always dreamed of--the chance to rule. But the court intrigue and hunger for power in Lenoran England run deeper than anyone could imagine. In the end, there is only rule that matters in Eleanor's court: trust no one.

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Disney-Hyperion, 384 pages



The Summer I Wasn't Me
by Jessica Verdi 
Lexi has a secret…

Ever since her mom found out she was in love with a girl, seventeen-year-old Lexi’s afraid that what’s left of her family is going to fall apart for good.
 

You are on the road to truth. Help is on the way.

The road signs leading to New Horizons summer camp promise a new life for Lexi—she swears she can change. She can learn to like boys. But denying her feelings is harder than she thinks. And when she falls heads over heels for one of her fellow campers, Lexi will have to risk her mother’s approval for the one person who might love her no matter what.

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Sourcebooks Fire, 352 pages


Learning Not to Drown
by Anna Shinoda 
Family secrets cut to the bone in this mesmerizing debut novel about a teen whose drug-addicted brother is the prodigal son one time too many.

There is a pecking order to every family. Seventeen-year old Clare is the overprotected baby; Peter is the typical, rebellious middle child; and Luke is the oldest, the can’t-do-wrong favorite. To their mother, they are a normal, happy family.

To Clare, they are a family on the verge of disaster. Clare: the ambitious striver; Peter: the angry ticking time bomb; and Luke: a drug-addicted convicted felon who has been in and out of jail for as long as Clare can remember—and who has always been bailed out by their parents.

Clare loves Luke, but life as his sister hasn’t been easy. And when he comes home (again), she wants to believe this time will be different (again). Yet when the truths behind his arrests begin to surface, everything Clare knows is shaken to its core. And then Luke is arrested. Again.

Except this time is different, because Clare’s mom does the unthinkable on Luke’s behalf, and Clare has to decide whether turning her back on family is a selfish act…or the only way to keep from drowning along with them.

Debut novelist Anna Shinoda's raw, gritty, powerful novel cuts right to the bone and brings to life the skeletons the lurk in the closet.

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 352 pages


Sekret 
by Lindsay Smith 
An empty mind is a safe mind.

Yulia's father always taught her to hide her thoughts and control her emotions to survive the harsh realities of Soviet Russia. But when she's captured by the KGB and forced to work as a psychic spy with a mission to undermine the U.S. space program, she's thrust into a world of suspicion, deceit, and horrifying power. Yulia quickly realizes she can trust no one--not her KGB superiors or the other operatives vying for her attention--and must rely on her own wits and skills to survive in this world where no SEKRET can stay hidden for long.


Publication: April 1st 2014 by Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children's, 337 pages


The Last Forever
by Deb Caletti 
Endings and beginnings sit so close to each other that it’s sometimes impossible to tell which is which.

Nothing lasts forever, and no one gets that more than Tessa. After her mother died, it’s all she can do to keep her friends, her boyfriend, her happiness from slipping away. And then there’s her dad. He’s stuck in his own daze, and it’s so hard to feel like a family when their house no longer seems like a home.

Her father’s solution? An impromptu road trip that lands them in a small coastal town at Tessa’s grandmother’s. Despite all the warmth and beauty there, Tessa can’t help but feel even more lost.

Enter Henry Lark. He understands the relationships that matter. And more importantly, he understands her. A secret stands between them, but Tessa’s willing to do anything to bring them together—because Henry may just be her one chance at forever.

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Simon Pulse, 320 pages


This Side of Salvation
by Jeri Smith-Ready 
Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else’s-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David’s still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there’s one thing he does know for sure: The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels.

Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties in to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven…and they want David to do the same. David’s torn. There’s a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey—especially Bailey—in hope of salvation.

But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined...

Publication: April 1st 2014 by Simon Pulse, 384 pages

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday


A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that people are eagerly anticipating.


My choice for Waiting on Wednesday this week is:   


Blackbird 
by Anna Carey 

Publication: September 16th 2014 by HarperTeen,256 pages


This twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.
 

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.
 

The Maze Runner series meets Code Name Verity, Blackbird is relentless and action-packed, filled with surprising twists.

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish 


This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is  Top Ten Things On My Bookish Bucket List



Expand my Bookshelf  - You Can Never Go Wrong With Too Many Books


Visit Book Related Events – That Are In The UK


Read More Classic Books


Read Books That are the Final Books in a Series; Allegiant, Finale, Requiem, Monsters, A Spark Unseen and Infinite  



Read Books That are the Second Books in a Series; The Indigo Spell, Through the Ever Night, Dare You To, World After, Unbreakable and Shadowlark



Meet A Well Known Author – Get The Author’s Book Signed


Continue Blogging – I'm a Newbie


Read More – I've Read One Book In Two Weeks



Juggle The Amount I Read With School



Join a Book Club 

Sunday 23 March 2014

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking The Shelves


Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews  

 Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course eBooks! 


Books I brought, borrowed or received :


This week I got all my books from NetGalley 


Saturday 22 March 2014

Reveal It

Reveal It

Reveal It is a post I do on Saturdays that concludes what I did this week and what I found



About Me

Starting with the good news, I have no more mock exams left so I'm free to read whenever I want. Hell Yeah! The bad news being that I didn`t post any reviews up because I'm still in a book slump it's been nearly two weeks of me reading the same book, not that it's bad it's just that I have no time. If any of you guys have any book recommendations leave a comment below.  Also as I'm from the UK Divergent hasn't been released so I'm still patiently waiting. More like cursing every lucky person who's already seen it. Finally I just past 1000 views on my blog after just over a month - for that I am so happy, surprised and thankful. 

Entertainment

Check out the trailer for The Maze Runner and The Giver  





Also check out this awesome  TFIOS Featurette





Book Related


Some book covers I spotted this week 









Thursday 20 March 2014

YA Titles by British Authors

YA Titles by British Authors Released/Releasing in 2014 


Shadowplay 
by Laura Lam 

The circus lies behind Micah Grey in dust and ashes.

He and the white clown, Drystan, take refuge with the once-great magician, Jasper Maske. When Maske agrees to teach them his trade, his embittered rival challenges them to a duel which could decide all of their fates. People also hunt both Micah and the person he was before the circus—the runaway daughter of a noble family. And Micah discovers there is magic and power in the world, far beyond the card tricks and illusions he's perfecting...

A tale of phantom wings, a clockwork hand, and the delicate unfurling of new love, Shadowplay continues Micah Grey’s extraordinary journey.

Paperback, 400 pages
Published January 2nd 2014 by Strange Chemistry



Finding Jennifer Jones 
by Anne Cassidy

Kate Rickman seems just like any other nineteen-year-old girl. She goes to university, she dates nice, normal boys and she works in her local tourist office at the weekend. But Kate's not really normal at all. 'Kate' is in fact a carefully constructed facade for a girl called Jennifer Jones - and it's a facade that's crumbling fast. Jennifer has spent the last nine years frantically trying to escape from her horrifying past. Increasingly desperate, Jennifer decides to do something drastic. She contacts the only other girl who might understand what she's dealing with, breaking every rule of her parole along the way. Lucy Bussell is the last person Jennifer expects any sympathy from, but she's also the last person she has left. Finding Jennifer Jones is the powerful sequel to the highly acclaimed, Carnegie Medal nominated Looking for JJ. It is a tense, emotional thriller about guilt, running away and wondering if you can ever truly know yourself.

Paperback, 304 pages
Published February 6th 2014 by Hot Key Books


Banished 
by Liz de Jager 

Sworn to protect, honour and slay. Because chaos won’t banish itself…

Kit is proud to be a Blackhart, now she’s encountered her unorthodox cousins and their strange lives. And her home-schooling now includes spells, fighting enemy fae and using ancient weapons. But it’s not until she rescues a rather handsome fae prince, fighting for his life on the edge of Blackhart Manor, that her training really kicks in. With her family away on various missions, Kit must protect Prince Thorn, rely on new friends and use her own unfamiliar magic to stay ahead of Thorn’s enemies. As things go from bad to apocalyptic, fae battle fae in a war that threatens to spill into the human world. Then Kit pits herself against the Elder Gods themselves – it’s that or lose everyone she’s learnt to love.

Paperback, 400 pages
Published February 27th 2014 by Tor UK



Half Bad 
by Sally Green 

Half Bad by Sally Green is a breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Easy.

Paperback, 400 pages
Published March 3rd 2014 by Penguin



Heart Break Girl
by Malorie Blackman

Dante's life was changed for ever the day his ex-girlfriend, Mel, showed up on his doorstep with a baby. His baby. Being a single parent is the hardest thing he's ever had to do - but Dante held it together, somehow. Now, he can't imagine being without his two-year-old daughter, Emma. So when Mel turns up out of the blue and announces she's come to take their daughter back, he'll do anything to stand in her way. A powerful, moving and thought-provoking new story from the bestselling author of Noughts & Crosses, Malorie Blackman.


Hardcover, 400 pages
Published March 6th 2014 by Doubleday Childrens



Shattered 
by Teri Terry 

This is the UK, Australia & New Zealand edition, released on March 6. The release date for US and Canada is May 1.

The riveting finale of the Slated trilogy!
A thought-provoking psychological thriller set in a disturbingly plausible future where the government and its enemies compete to control the minds of the young

Kyla is in danger from both the government Lorders who erased her memory and the terrorists who tried to use her. So now she’s on the run. Sporting a new identity and desperate to fill in the blank spaces of her life pre-Slating, Kyla heads to a remote mountain town to try to reunite with the birth mother she was kidnapped from as a child. There she is hoping all the pieces of her life will come together and she can finally take charge of her own future. But even in the idyllic wilderness and the heart of her original family, Kyla realizes there is no escape from the oppressive Lorders. Someone close to her may be one of them, and even more frighteningly, her birth mother has been keeping secrets of her own.

In this stunning series finale, Kyla finally finds out who she really is, and the road to this discovery, and to deciding who she wants to become, is full of dangerous twists and turns that will keep readers riveted.

Paperback, 402 pages
Published March 6th 2014 by Orchard Books



A Kiss in the Dark
by Cat Clarke

When Alex meets Kate the attraction is instant.

Alex is funny, good-looking, and a little shy – everything that Kate wants in a boyfriend.

Alex can’t help falling for Kate, who is pretty, charming and maybe just a little naive…

But one of them is hiding a secret, and as their love blossoms, it threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their lives.

Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: April 3rd 2014 by Quercus



Goddess
by Laura Powell

Strikes. Starvation. Riots. Britain is at breaking-point and Aura is blind to it all. The Cult of Artemis is the only home she’s ever known. Enclosed in its luxury lifestyle, the unrest gripping the country seems to belong to a distant world. Her dream is to serve the Goddess and taking a vow of chastity and obedience seems a small price to pay. But days before Aura is due to be initiated as a Priestess, she meets Aiden, the rebellious son of a cult insider, whose radical ideas and unsettling charm force Aura to question everything – and everyone – she knows.

Paperback, 304 pages
Expected publication: April 10th 2014 by Bloomsbury Childrens



The Fearless
by Emma Pass 

The Fearless. An army, powered by an incredible new serum that makes each soldier stronger, sharper, faster than their enemies. Intended as a force for good, the serum has a terrible side-effect - anyone who takes it is stripped of all humanity, empathy, love. And as the Fearless sweep through the country, forcing the serum on anyone in their path, society becomes a living nightmare.

Cass remembers the night they passed through her village. Her father was Altered. Her mother died soon after. All Cass has left is her little brother - and when Jori is snatched by the Fearless and taken to their hellish lair, Cass must risk everything to get him back.









Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: April 24th 2014 by Corgi Childrens




The Worst Girlfriend in the World
by Sarra Manning

Alice Jenkins is the worst girlfriend in the world according to the many, many boys who've shimmied up lampposts and shoplifted from New Look to impress her, only to be dumped when she gets bored of them. Alice has a very low boredom threshold. 

But she never gets bored with Franny, her best friend since they met at nursery school. Friends are for ever. Ain't nothing going to come between them. Girls rule, boys drool is their motto. Well, it's Alice's motto, Franny doesn't have much time for boys; they're all totes immature and only interested in one thing.
 

But then there's Louis Allen, lead singer of The Desperadoes, the best band in Merrycliffe-on-sea (though that could be because they're the only band in Merrycliffe-on-sea). He's a tousle-haired, skinny-jeaned, sultry-eyed manchild, the closest thing that Franny's ever seen to the hipsters that she's read about on the internet and she's been crushing on him HARD for the last three years.
 

She's never worked up the courage to actually speak to him but she's sure on some deeper level that goes beyond mere words, Louis absolutely knows that she's his soulmate. He just doesn't know that he knows it yet. It's why he cops off with so many other girls.
 

So, when Alice, bored with callow youths, sets her sights on Louis it threatens to tear the girls' friendship apart, even though they're better than fighting over a boy.
 

They strike a devil's deal - may the best girl win. Best friends become bitter rivals and everything comes to an explosive conclusion on their first trip to London.
 

Can true friendship conquer all?

Paperback, 336 pages
Expected publication: May 1st 2014 by Atom




Raging Star 
by Moira Young

Saba is ready to seize her destiny and defeat DeMalo and the Tonton...until she meets him and he confounds all her expectations with his seductive vision of a healed earth, a New Eden. DeMalo wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to create and build a healthy, stable, sustainable world…for the chosen few. The few who can pay.

Jack’s choice is clear: to fight DeMalo and try to stop New Eden. Still uncertain, her connection with DeMalo a secret, Saba commits herself to the fight. Joined by her brother, Lugh, anxious for the land in New Eden, Saba leads an inexperienced guerilla band against the powerfully charismatic DeMalo, in command of his settlers and the Tonton militia. What chance do they have? Saba must act. And be willing to pay the price.

Hardcover, 448 pages
Expected publication: May 13th 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry Books



Out of Control
by Sarah Alderson 

When 17 year old Liva witnesses a brutal murder she’s taken into police custody for her own protection. But when the police station is attacked and bullets start flying it becomes clear that Liva is not just a witness, she’s a target.

Together with a car thief called Jay, Liva manages to escape the massacre but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun and outwit two killers who will stop at nothing to find them.

When you live on the edge, there’s a long way to fall.

Paperback, 320 pages
Expected publication: May 22nd 2014 by Simon & Schuster UK


Dark Days
by Kate Ormand 

The future world has been divided into sectors--each the same as the other. Surrounded by thick steel fences, there is no way in and no way out. Yet a cyborg army penetrates each sector, picking off its citizens one by one, until no one is left. Behind the sectors' thick walls, the citizens wait to die. Few will be chosen to survive what's coming; the rest will be left behind to suffer. A new world has been created, and its rulers are incredibly selective on who will become a citizen. They want only those with important roles in society to help create a more perfect future. 

Sixteen-year-old Sia lives in one of the sectors as part of a family that is far too ordinary to be picked to live. According to the digital clock that towers high above her sector, she has only fifteen days to live. Sia has seen the reports and knows a horrific death is in store for her, but she is determined to make the most of her final days. Sia refuses to mourn her short life, instead promising herself that she'll stay strong, despite being suffocated by her depressed mother and her frightened best friend. Just when Sia feels more alone than ever, she meets Mace, a mysterious boy. There is something that draws Sia to him, despite his dangerousness, and together, they join a group of rebels and embark on an epic journey to destroy the new world and its machines, and to put an end to the slaughter of innocent people.

Hardcover, 256 pages
Expected publication: June 3rd 2014 by Sky Pony Press



Say Her Name
by James Dawson 

Roberta 'Bobbie' Rowe is not the kind of person who believes in ghosts. A Halloween dare at her ridiculously spooky boarding school is no big deal, especially when her best friend Naya and cute local boy Caine agree to join in too. They are ordered to summon the legendary ghost of 'Bloody Mary': say her name five times in front of a candlelit mirror, and she shall appear... But, surprise surprise, nothing happens. Or does it?

Next morning, Bobbie finds a message on her bathroom mirror... five days... but what does it mean? And who left it there? Things get increasingly weird and more terrifying for Bobbie and Naya, until it becomes all too clear that Bloody Mary was indeed called from the afterlife that night, and she is definitely not a friendly ghost. Bobbie, Naya and Caine are now in a race against time before their five days are up and Mary comes for them, as she has come for countless others before... A truly spine-chilling yet witty horror from shortlisted 'Queen of Teen' author James Dawson.

Paperback, 240 pages
Expected publication: June 5th 2014 by Hot Key Books



Picture Perfect 
by Holly Smale 

Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: June 5th 2014 by HarperCollins Children's Books













Chasing Stars 
by Helen Douglas

The boy Eden loves just saved her life. Now she must save his. To do so she must make a huge sacrifice. Eden can never see her friends or family again, as she travels a hundred years into the future. But the dangerous risk Ryan took to rescue Eden has been uncovered, and now Ryan faces an exile ...which will leave Eden separated from him - the one person she can't live without - and stuck in the future. She must fight to save both of them.

The mesmerising sequel to the author's wonderful debut, After Eden.

Paperback, 352 pages
Expected publication: June 5th 2014 by Bloomsbury Childrens Books



Unravel 
by Imogen Howson 

Untold dangers await telepathic twins in this sequel to the futuristic, romantic thriller called classic sci-fi, space-travel adventure at its best. After Elissa and Lin exposed the government's secret experiments inLinked, which Booklistcalled a roller-coaster ride into space that just about everyone should enjoy, their home planet Sekoia is thrown into chaos. Determined to do their part to help the planet they've hurt, they return to Sekoia only to discover that things are far worse that they imagined. Resources are suddenly scarce, people are scared, and there's a rising current of anger against the Spares. When Lissa and Lin find themselves among another group of Spares and twins, they feel like they've found their kindred spirits at last. But a threat none of them could have expected is lying in wait for Sekoia's Spares.

Hardcover, 480 pages
Expected publication: July 8th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers



The Memory Keepers
by Natasha Ngan 

"No one can take your memories from you... can they?"

Seven is a thief with a difference - he steals downloadable memories from banks and memoriums to sell onto London's black market, trading secrets and hidden pasts for a chance at a future of his own. He makes sure he keeps some special stuff back to 'surf' himself though - it's the only real form of entertainment he can afford. But one night, as Seven is breaking into a private memorium in a wealthy part of London, he is caught in the act by one of its residents; Alba, the teenage daughter of London's most famous criminal prosecutor. Instead of giving him away, Alba promises to keep Seven's secret - as long as he allows her to go memory-surfing herself. In doing so, they discover a hidden memory about Seven's past, revealing a shocking secret about Seven's childhood, the government and a mysterious experiment known as The Memory Keepers...

Now Seven and Alba will have to race against time to unlock the maze of The Memory Keepers - but can they keep themselves out of harm's way before the London Guard - and Alba's father - catches up with them?

Paperback
Expected publication: September 4th 2014 by Hot Key Books