What I'll be reading in May 2017.
May
is here. It's official – Justin Timberlake said so. It's the month
when the crocuses sprout, the evenings stretch out and they taste of
gin with sprigs of mint stuck in.
Already
Star Wars Day has been and gone – and with it many friends'
publication days, congrats all! – as has the most prestigious
occasion of the month, little sis' birthday (she's 19, lol what). The
month is moving fast, and after a turbulent April I really need to
get my shit together now (she says, typing slowly from under a
blanket on the sofa halfway through a New Girl series 1 re-watch).
Starting with reading!
As
you guys know, I keep to a month-by-month schedule with my reading
these days. Every month of 2017 so far has been all the more
interesting because of this. I've had some very clear themes emerge
and stuck to specific genres – middle grade fiction, Walker Books only, and a couple bouts of non-fiction.
However,
May 2017 is going to be somewhat different. I have decided that much
like my life at present, my reading plan this month is going to
be...a bit crazed.
Basically,
I'll be reading all the
things I keep meaning to read and putting off for no reason
whatsoever!
This
was inspired by my reading activity after my release from hospital
last week. I read 4 books in as many days, all of them delightful and
all of them ones I'd had in the TBR for a while. Some excellent YA (I
went a bit Cat Clarke mad), the end of 'Mad Girl' by Bryony Gordon
(that woman gets it)
and an old favourite from my school days 'Bindi Babes' by Narinder
Dhami (after revisiting that lovely story, I considered doing a
re-reading month! Maybe another time...).
Right,
so. This month, I will definitely be
reading...
'The
Fallen Children',
by David Owen.
A
mixture of supernatural tale and contemporary YA, this novel is inspired by a classic 'The Midwich Cuckoos' and tells the tale of a group of young people on an estate who all experience some freaky shit.
Author Alice Oseman has said: 'The
Fallen Children is a pacy, gripping, intriguing superhero origin
story, but beneath that, it's a poignant examination of the extent to
which modern society spits on its young adults'.
This
wicked treat was released on May 4th
– Star Wars Day – and I cannot wait to read the proof I was sent
and buy
myself one of the many (360 to be exact) different coloured final
copies.
'The Island at the End of Everything', by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.
Y'all know how much I adore Kiran, right? Her debut 'The Girl of Ink and Stars' recently won the Waterstones Children's Book Award, no big deal guys. I wrote a glowing review of it, and look forward to writing another for this! Also, I'm hopefully (surgery wound permitting) chairing a panel of authors and experts in a London Waterstones at the end of this month, and I cannot wait to discuss contemporary world issues and their portrayal in MG fiction with this excellent author and friend. So really, reading this is vital research!
If you're after some beautiful lyrical prose and magical messages, get your hands on this book, ASAP.
'The Island at the End of Everything', by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.
Ami lives on Culion Island, where some inhabitants - including her mother
- have leprosy. Ami loves her home, with its blue seas and lush
forests. Then disaster strikes when government official Mr
Zamora appears and declares that islanders untouched by sickness will
be forced to leave the island. Banished across the sea and put in an
orphanage, Ami is desperate to return, and soon finds hope in a colony
of butterflies...
Y'all know how much I adore Kiran, right? Her debut 'The Girl of Ink and Stars' recently won the Waterstones Children's Book Award, no big deal guys. I wrote a glowing review of it, and look forward to writing another for this! Also, I'm hopefully (surgery wound permitting) chairing a panel of authors and experts in a London Waterstones at the end of this month, and I cannot wait to discuss contemporary world issues and their portrayal in MG fiction with this excellent author and friend. So really, reading this is vital research!
If you're after some beautiful lyrical prose and magical messages, get your hands on this book, ASAP.
Another book that will need reading (and I will do so most happily!) for this panel event is 'Tender Earth', by Sita Brahmachari.
Laila is figuring out who she is, and more importantly, who she wants to be. She is the youngest child, and the only one now at home as her siblings Mira and Krish both depart for a new term at university. Laila feels left behind. Her best friend is making her feel that way, too. Add to that starting at a brand new school...yikes. Laila must find her own place at school and at home, make new friends and discover her voice as she steps out into the world.
It's a gorgeous coming-of-age story, and a return to the world created by Sita in the novel 'Artichoke Hearts' (another one of hers I'll be reading).
So...that's it! I know, I know, I've only listed 3, I know. But in all honesty it's in perfect keeping with this month's theme to only list a few for-sures and leave the rest open! It'll make my reading wrap-up at the end of the month more exciting too, surely.
Laila is figuring out who she is, and more importantly, who she wants to be. She is the youngest child, and the only one now at home as her siblings Mira and Krish both depart for a new term at university. Laila feels left behind. Her best friend is making her feel that way, too. Add to that starting at a brand new school...yikes. Laila must find her own place at school and at home, make new friends and discover her voice as she steps out into the world.
It's a gorgeous coming-of-age story, and a return to the world created by Sita in the novel 'Artichoke Hearts' (another one of hers I'll be reading).
So...that's it! I know, I know, I've only listed 3, I know. But in all honesty it's in perfect keeping with this month's theme to only list a few for-sures and leave the rest open! It'll make my reading wrap-up at the end of the month more exciting too, surely.
I'd
say 'wish me luck, guys', but really I am feeling quite confident
this month. A little randomness is totally my style, as is the whole
'catching up on stuff' thing. Bring it!
Also, if you want to track my reading progress right down to page numbers, or y'know, fancy being friends and swapping recs on another bookish social platform, add me on Goodreads, please!
Also, if you want to track my reading progress right down to page numbers, or y'know, fancy being friends and swapping recs on another bookish social platform, add me on Goodreads, please!
Comments
Post a Comment