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lucy recommends…

Lucy Recommends… [7] – Diversity

Posted on 27 April, 2015

It’s time for another Lucy Recommends… today! I love writing these recommendation posts so much because it means I get to talk about lots of my favourite books.

Today I’m going to be recommending diverse fiction. They’re diverse for lots of different reasons and I would highly recommend all of them.

Crow Moon by Anna McKerrow

Crow Moon is one of my favourite books of 2015 so far and it’s the perfect diverse read. One particularly diverse element that stands out is the religious diversity in it because Crow Moon is a dystopia set in a pagan community. It was incredibly realistic and broke away from the typical stereotype of paganism. I loved it!

Amy & Matthew by Cammie McGovern

One of my favourite diverse reads, Amy & Matthew (also known as Say What You Will in the US) is about a girl with cerebral palsy and a boy with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I loved the juxtaposition between the physical and mental health condition and it also has a rather interesting twist at the end!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare always manages to create lots of amazing diverse characters in all of her books – racially, sexually and religiously. They all feel like your best friend!

The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell

When I read The Last Leaves Falling at the end of 2014, I knew it was something special. It follows the story of a Japanese boy called Sora who has a neurodegenerative disease and it discusses important issues such as assisted suicide and having dignity when dying, which are all very current issues.

Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Tanya talk about writing Follow Me Down and I think she writes diversely perfectly. A murder mystery novel set in Wiltshire, it’s about a Nigerian teenager called Adamma and is told in alternating timelines. I loved it!

What are your favourite diverse reads?

Lucy Recommends… [6] Keris Stainton

Posted on 25 March, 2015

I’m so excited for this edition of Lucy Recommends… because I’m going to be recommending one of my favourite UKYA authors! Keris Stainton writes amazing contemporary books that one can devour in less than a day. Here are some of her books:

Della says: OMG!

Della has such a realistic teenage voice and is the perfect introduction to YA for people looking to start reading it. It’s about a girl called Della whose diary goes missing and extracts from it appear on Facebook and are sent to her mobile. I think it’s my favourite of Keris’s books!

Jessie Hearts NYC

Set in New York, it tells the story of Jessie who moves to New York and hopes to forget about her ex-boyfriend, and Finn who falls in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. It was the first of Keris’s books I read and it really made me fall in love with her writing.

Emma Hearts LA

Can you guess where this one is set? In LA! It’s a companion novel to Jessie and I loved reading a book set in the US from a British person’s perspective.

Starring Kitty

My favourite of Keris’s books, and you can read my full review here! It’s so diverse and features great friendships. It’s perfect for readers of middle grade who’d like to start reading YA because it’s light enough that it introduces YA gradually, but it also represents the kind of emerging issues that YA does very well.

Have you read any of Keris Stainton’s books? Which was your favourite?

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Lucy Recommends… [4] – Big Books

Posted on 18 November, 2014

Lucy Recommends is a feature where I use all of my persuasive techniques to make you buy the best books around, whether it be by genre, author or series.

This time I’m going to talk about BIG BOOKS. I’m not exactly one to read lots and lots of big books, but there are a few I’ve really enjoyed. I consider a big book to be over 400 pages…

Diving straight into the deep end, it’s no surprise that I’m featuring A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin on a list of ‘big books.’ It took me over a month to read but because of its size it meant that it was very easy to absorb everything about the world of Westeros. You can read my full review here.

Undone by Cat Clarke is incredible. Telling the story of a girl out to get revenge for the death of her best friend, it’s enthralling and unputdownable. It was the first of Cat’s books I read, and has me craving to read more. Even more than a year after reading, it’s still fresh in my mind.

Winger is one of my favourite books of the year so far. When I first looked at it, I was intimidated by its size but it hooked me right away and the inclusion of comic strip-style graphics means that the time reading goes very quickly. Winger is centered around a boy called Ryan Dean who goes to an exclusive boarding school in the US. It’s about the trials and tribulations of being a teenager, told in a realistic manner. Very highly recommended!

Soulmates is a breath-taking romance novel, taking the term ‘soulmates’ to an extreme. What happens if you finally find that person you’re meant to be with forever, but it has horrifying effects? This is what happens when Poppy meets Noah. Once a cynic, meeting Noah changes more than just her belief in love… I loved Soulmates when I read it and it’s a book I could re-read over and over again. I know so many people who have loved it, and Holly definitely isn’t without her fans! A phenomenal debut novel.

Do you like reading ‘big’ books? Which ones are your favourites?

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Lucy Recommends… [2] – The Shatter Me Trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

Posted on 21 February, 2014

Lucy Recommends… is a feature aiming to persuade you to read a particular book, genre or series.

This time I’m going to be featuring the Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi, which I think you should all read. There are many mixed reviews, so it’s not everyone’s type of book, but I do see more positive than negative reviews.

Even if you don’t read the trilogy, you’re going to want to own the books because they’re so gorgeous. The trilogy starts off with Shatter Me, then Unravel Me, and finally Ignite Me. The books get better and better as they go on and Tahereh Mafi has written one of my favourite trilogies.

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Shatter Me is similar to The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken and the main character, Juliette, isn’t able to touch anyone. It is set in a futuristic world where everything is dying and the country is set into different sectors. Something that sets the books apart is the way they are written: there are parts of the book crossed out and we can tell that Juliette isn’t completely sane from this. Mafi writes in incredible prose though and there are so many beautiful quotes I could pick out.

Another major pro is that all three books have been released. Ignite Me, the final book, was released earlier this month and, boy, was it amazing. I was so nervous because I wasn’t sure how it would end, but everything was wrapped up nicely and I was incredibly happy. All three books took my breath away and I cannot wait to see what Mafi brings to the table next. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be amazing.

Have you read the Shatter Me trilogy yet? Are you planning on doing so?