Starring Kitty - Keris Stainton

I only bought this the other day, and I couldn't wait to read it. I absorbed it in two days straight. It was a lovely, short read that I could have read in a day, had I been free that day. I love books like that.

Kitty is keeping a lot of secrets. When Hannah is complaining about how she never sees her mom, Kitty keeps quiet about how everyone at home is struggling with her mom's illness. When Sunny complains that her parents won't let her have a boyfriend, Kitty doesn't mention that she likes someone...a girl. Even though Hannah and Sunny are her best friends, she can't find the words to tell them. Especially about Dylan, the girl she's seeing. Kitty distracts herself from her problems by taking part in a local film competition with her friends.

Kitty doesn't know a lot about multiple sclerosis - her parents won't talk much about it and she was told not to google it - but she knows enough. Her little sister Grace, however, doesn't really understand what's happening. My heart broke for both of them.

In the midst of her mom's illness, Kitty is struggling with her sexuality. But she isn't worried what her friends and family will do - her older brother, Tom, is gay - it's the bullies at school she's worried about. What will they do? And I think that's what got to me the most, that someone can make your life so miserable that you can't even be yourself.

I really enjoyed this book, the only way I can describe it is that it's a very special story. I love how Keris writes, and I love her as a person - I can't wait to start her writing course in May! I'll definitely be getting Spotlight on Sunny as soon as I see it.

Verdict: 5/5

Crow Moon - Anna McKerrow

I read this along with the readukya book group on goodreads, and I really enjoyed it! I'm so glad I didn't leave it on my shelf, like I have with so many books I've bought in the past.

When the earth starts running out of fuel, and countries begin wars with the few that still have some, it becomes a corrupt and terrible place to live. In England, a select few decide to move to Devon and Cornwall and create the Greenworld: a civilisation that lives naturally, without the need for fuel and electricity.

The Greenworld is split into covensteads, which are protected by witches. Danny's mom is one of them, and when he sets out on a quest to replace her destroyed tarot cards, he meets another witch, Saba, who he falls in love with instantly. The only downside is her boyfriend, Tom.

Danny soon learns that he, too, is a witch - a very powerful oen, and he has a psychic connection with the evil gang leader and former witch, Roach. He wants to use the magic portals - sacred places within the covensteads, as the door to the afterlife - to solve the fuel crisis in the Redworld. And he will do anything to gain control of the portals.

I really liked this book, but I didn't like Danny's character much, due to his disrespect of Saba and Tom's relationship and his desire to sabotage it. I think my favourite character was Saba's sister, Melz - she seems like my kind of person. I really enjoyed the details Anna includes of the magic rituals, as it made the story seem more real to me. I can't wait for the next book, coming out next year!

Verdict: 4/5

First, Last and Always - Kim Lehman

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and Lucky Stars Publishing for this book. In return, I have written an honest review of the book.

Charlotte Hubbard is overweight and shy, living in the shadow of her pretty and popular sister, Alexa. Charlotte dreams of falling in love, and wonders out loud to her best friends, Lani and Miles, who could ever love her?

Miles Fiester has loved Charlotte since the third grade, but has never found a good time to tell her. When she thinks the new boy, Grayson, may like her, he panics. He might have lost his chance.

As they start their first year of high school, is now finally the right time for Miles to tell Charlotte how he feels?

There is so much heartache in this book, I could barely cope. I really felt sorry for Miles. Nothing ever goes right for him - he can't tell Charlotte how he feels in case it ruins their friendship, his deadbeat is always making promises he can't keep, and his dream of finally making the basketball team after so many failed attempts looks further away than ever. I really liked Miles, and I found it admirable that he never gave up. 

Also, Charlotte gets bullied quite a bit. But it's not only from the kids at school, but her own sister does it too. Alexa may not see that she's doing it, but it's still hurtful to be called fat by a member of your own family.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved that it was dual perspective, because that way you could follow both Miles and Charlotte around. It was really well-written, and I especially loved hoe sarcastic Miles was. 

Verdict: 5/5

P.S. thank you all so much for reading my reviews! I haven't been doing this very long, and I've just hit 1,000 views and I'm overjoyed that people are interested in my blog. I really appreciate each and every one of you. <3

Under My Skin - James Dawson

I've had this book for over a month now, and I've finally found the time to read it amongst my university work - and I'm so glad I did. I absolutely loved it! Another brilliant offering from the reigning Queen of Teen, and one of my favourite authors.

Sally Feather is a shy seventeen-year-old girl. The closest she has ever gotten to an evil being is watching episodes of Satanville with her best friends, Stan and Jennie. Until one day, she is lured into a tattoo parlour, where she chooses to have a pin-up girl tattooed on her back, by the name of Molly Sue.

Just when Sally thinks she can't regret this decision any more, Molly Sue starts talking to her. She can move around Sally's body and even take control of her. She returns to the place she had the tattoo, House Of Skin, to find it has disappeared. What is going on - and what does Molly Sue want with her?

When Molly Sue starts taking control of Sally's life, she tries everything she can to get rid of her possessed ink. But Molly Sue is strong, and it will take death to get rid of her.

I really enjoyed this book, it made my skin crawl in places because it was so creepy. James' books could never disappoint me, and even though this isn't my favourite (Cruel Summer still has the number one spot in my heart) it's still a brilliant book which I have already recommended to a few friends. And as evil as she was, I though Molly Sue was a brilliant character, I loved the way she talked and the things she said. She had so much sass!

If you haven't read this yet, you really should. 5/5

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli

I read this during my #readukya readathon, because I was just so excited to read it. I'd heard so many good things about it, so I jumped straight in, forgetting it was a US book. But even though it won't count as part of my readthon - which didn't go as well as planned to due personal problems anyway - I don't regret a single second I spent reading this amazing book.

At sixteen years old, Simon Spier isn't ready to come out as gay yet. Even when someone at his school reads his emails and threatens to tell everyone, Simon does everything he can to stop this from happening - if not for his sake, then for Blue's.

Simon emails Blue everyday. They go to the same school - they found each other on 'the Tumblr' - but neither will reveal who they are because, like Simon, Blue isn't ready to come out either. So Simon is even more keen to keep Martin from telling everyone his secret. But if he looked more closely at Blue's emails, he would know who he was straight away. All the clues are there.

I loved Simon's friendship group. Nick and Leah have been his friends forever, and Leah has a huge crush on Nick. So when new girl Abby steals Nick's attention, Leah becomes distant. I actually really loved Leah, and I think she was my favourite character, especially towards the end. It was a lot of pressure on Simon to have to hide who he really was from his friends and family, and I assume this is what it's like for a lot of young people today. 

I love the way the book is written, because Simon's voice is just so funny! It's told entirely from his perspective, but emails from Blue are interspersed in there, so you get to know Blue a little as well. I love dual perspective novels, but I think this worked better as a single perspective, as when Blue is revealed, it is much better than if I had known from the start who he was. It made it more exciting, I thought.

This book is so wonderfully diverse, I advise you all to go and pick up a copy straight away! It completely lived up to the expectations I had from reading other reviews of it, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

And as one last comment: I will be using the phrase 'almost too Disney' in my everyday speech from now on. Be prepared!

Verdict: 5/5, of course!