project-ukya - Tumblr blog

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Missed the first Project UKYA liveshow tonight? Never fear! Now, with the help of this handy post, you can watch it and click the links to the Goodreads pages at the same time!

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things I should be doing: reading

things I want to do: read

thing that I am putting off for no conceivable reason: reading

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Obsessed with the beautiful Czech version of The Bone Season.

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To me, UKYA is not a question of geography, but of spirit. It’s dreaming big in double maths. It’s getting all dressed up in a vintage dress to take the bus into town and hang out in Nandos. It sounds like the old Morrissey song: spending warm summer days indoors (and writing frightening verse to a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg). Whether town or country, city or sea - by an insider or a visitor - it’s something that I can relate to, no matter how fantastic it might be. It’s a sense of humour, always. It’s comforting in its familiarity, even when it’s showing me something new.

Eleanor Wood on young adult literature from the UK (via stupidhrfmichael)

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HEY IM READING BLOOD RED ROAD BY MOIRA YOUNG AND IT IS REALLY GOOD SO IF YOU NEED SOMETHING TO READ CHECK IT OUT

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My little souvenir from my time in London. Bought Solitare by Alice Oseman! Can’t wait to start reading it!

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Solitaire

by Alice Oseman

In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story. My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now. Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden. I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden. I really don’t. This incredible debut novel by outstanding young author Alice Oseman is perfect for fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell and all unflinchingly honest writers.

"There comes a point, though, when you can’t keep looking after other people anymore. You have to start looking after yourself." Solitaire is a refreshing and brutally honest realistic fiction written by a teenager (Alice Oseman is only nineteen) for teenagers so it’s totally and utterly relatable.  You know what I loved the most about Solitaire? Tori. Whilst she’s cynical, sarcastic and rather mentally troubled, she’s real and it’s great to read and see her develop and I loved every second of it. I also loved Michael Holden and his bumpy touching relationship with Tori and how, at the end, it was all about acceptance.  The Solitaire aspect of the story invited mystery and suspense, and although I guessed early on who was behind it, the reveal is still rather spontaneous.  For a debut novel, Solitaire was fantastic and I’m looking forward to reading more from Alice Oseman in the future. I would highly recommend to fans of contemporary realistic fiction, and fans of authors such as John Green. A lot of thanks to Alice for sending me a free (signed & annotated throughout - this made my reading experience so much better. I won in an instagram giveaway) copy to read!

RATING: ★★★★★

Buy now at Book Depository

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my special skill is being able to remove stickers off of books

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To flip through the pages feels like being hugged by a friendly person while your bed and a big cup of cocoa are waiting for you.

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Today (19th April 2014) is UKYA Day, a day to celebrate UK young adult writing. It’s also Silent Saturday, the day my book is named after. So here’s a free audio excerpt especially for UK YA Day - find out what happened on Silent Saturday! #UKYADay #SilentSaturday #Belgium

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A brilliant post from Stacey here, with a recap of Malorie Blackman's Why YA? event at the London Book Fair. 

I attended the London Book Fair again this year! Last year, I blogged about the New Adult: Reinventing Teen Fiction seminar and this year, one of my favourite seminars was Why YA?, in which Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2013-2015 Malorie Blackman talked about why she will be focusing on promoting reading to teens and young adults during her laureateship. Also on the panel was Melissa Cox, children’s buyer for Waterstones and one of my favourite people in the book industry, and Jonathan Douglas, Director for National Literacy Trust, who did a brilliant job as chairperson. Head over to Pretty Books to read all about it.

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Introducing... the UKYA Book Doctor!

The UKYA Book Doctor is a feature hosted on our Tumblr page (and occasionally on our main blog) that I'm really excited about. Using our ask box, you can ask the 'UKYA book doctor' for a UKYA book recommendation.

For example, you may ask: I'm looking for a really good book about angels and I might recommend Angel by L.A. Weatherly. Or, you may say, 'I'm having a bad day. I need some funny book recommendations!' and I will recommend Weirdos VS. Quimboids by Natasha Desborough.

I'm going to be trial running it until the end of the month, so ask away! We'll also be posting recommendations based on scenarios or events.  Ask away! 

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TRIBUTE by Ellen Renner