Giveaway of Andrew Smith’s WINGER and STAND OFF

To celebrate the publication of Andrew Smith’s excellent sequel to Winger, Stand Off, I have three (3) sets of both books to giveaway! All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter form below. Some Andrew-tastic posts: Review of Winger Review of Stand Off Review of The Alex Crow Review of Grasshopper Jungle 22 … Continue reading

5 books like paper towns

Road Trip Books Like Paper Towns

Have you seen Paper Towns yet? If you have, here are 6 books like Paper Towns (some unusual!) to keep you going on those road-trip highs from some great bookbloggers. In no particular order: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven – the wanderings of Violet Markey and Theodore Finch; both the official, in the … Continue reading

winger 3 andrew smith

Andrew Smith Confirms Third Winger Novel (Winger 3)

Stand Off, the first sequel to Winger, is about to hit shelves but already Andrew Smith (Grasshopper Jungle, Winger) is thinking of the future. He just confirmed plans for Winger three (which would make it the second sequel) as well as a spin-off middle grade novel based on the character of Sam Abernathy, introduced in … Continue reading

Thoughts from Paper Towns

Because I’m currently in Australia, I was able to see Paper Towns on Tuesday 21st July, about 3 days before it gets released in most other places. Yay for Australia! I wasn’t actually anticipating seeing this film in cinemas at all; apart from the fact that I am out and about backpacking in the Southern … Continue reading

I Want To Read Your Blog

For a while now, I’ve used Bloglovin to keep up my blog reading. It’s helped me get a better overview of what’s happening in the blogosphere, and gives me an easy one-stop place to check all the blogs I want to read. I love it. Except, it’s sort of annoying to discover new blogs; the … Continue reading

Things I want to see in LGBT YA

Things I Want to See in LGBT YA

(This post was actually written a long time before the USA gay marriage ruling – but I couldn’t let such a golden opportunity pass without posting something relevant!) #WeNeedDiverseBooks has been going for a while, which is great – but here are some things I’d LOVE to see in YA fiction, because I feel like … Continue reading

I went to bea and this is what I thought

I Went to BEA and This Is What I Thought

I walked into the Jarvits center and was staggered by its size. Here was a convention center, its atria clad in glass, that took a couple of minutes to walk from end to end. It was huge (but also probably just normal convention center size; I’d never been to one before). And all of it … Continue reading

BEA15 – Speeding up Your Book Blog

This post was originally delivered as a presentation at the Bloggers Conference, Book Expo America 2015 as part of the panel “Optimizing your WordPress Blog”. You can download the powerpoint presentation, but I have included a more comprehensive guide below, which includes verbal infomation not written on the slides. Speeding Up Your Book Blog This … Continue reading

Speaking at BEA

Some of you will know that I am spending the next few months travelling le monde; I’ll be visiting such places as New Zealand, the eastern Australian coast and South Africa; but before all that begins I’m spending a week in New York City. Two reasons: I’ve never been to NYC, and I’d have to … Continue reading

Elizabeth Wein (photo credit David He)

Elizabeth Wein: Ethiopia, Flying and “Foreignness”!

It is a pleasure today to welcome Elizabeth Wein, author of the brilliant Young Pilots series that includes Printz-honoured book Code Name Verity review, Rose Under Fire review and now, Black Dove, White Raven review. I’d like to start by asking what your inspiration for Black Dove, White Raven is. I know that’s such a … Continue reading

Dear UKYA blogging community: don’t get your knickers in a twist.

I love you very much. Lots of you are great friends – we’ve had super times talking and reading and partying together. But recently, we’ve been going through a few existential crises. A few comments from authors, or by publicists in emails, have had us flustered. We feel like we’re being treated unfairly for something … Continue reading

22 Questions: Andrew Smith

Introducing 20 Questions, a new format for interviewing authors. Alongside in-depth, one on one interviews, 20 Questions aims to provide a more spontaneous opportunity for writers to talk about their lives and their stories. Andrew Smith is the award-winning author of several young adult novels including the critically acclaimed Winger and Grasshopper Jungle, which received … Continue reading

His Dark Materials Readalong wrap-up!

If you follow me on Twitter (@RhysWolfgang), you’ll know I’ve been re-reading Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials as part of the #HDMreadalong to celebrate 20 years since the publication of Northern Lights (The Golden Compass). I last read Pullman’s acclaimed series for the first time when I was about 11 –- about 8 years ago … Continue reading

Are John Green’s Books Better Read than Watched?

(And by John I mean his books, obviously!) Having just seen the first Paper Towns trailer – below – it’s an idea I can’t shake off. Now that the second adaptation is in the can, and the third – Looking for Alaska – ever likely, I can’t help but wondering if Green’s stories are better … Continue reading

Is Andrew Smith Sexist? (short answer: no)

I woke up this morning to find Andrew Smith, author of Grasshopper Jungle and The Alex Crow, completely eradicated from social media. A little more digging revealed the cause: he had been accused of being sexist following an interview in Vice, in which upon being asked about the lack of females in his book, he … Continue reading

5 YA novels with BRILLIANT WOMEN

To celebrate International Women’s Day, here are 5 YA novels penned by brilliant female writers with absolutely great female characters! To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: forget the title, which exudes romance, this book is really about Lara Jean and her three sisters. The moral of the story? Being sisters isn’t always EASY but … Continue reading