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Books
Katya Balen chats playing with language in October, October
"I also find not thinking about what I’m writing often helps new expressions to flow."
Read an extract from David Valdes’ debut novel, Spin Me Right Round
This post is sponsored by Bloomsbury.
Following gay Cuban-American teen, Luis Gonzalez, as he travels back to the 80's in an attempt to save the life of a closeted student, David Valdes' irresistible YA debut, Spin Me Right Round, brings…
Julian Sedgwick talks honouring Japanese culture and philosophy in Tsunami Girl
"Amidst the trauma and sadness there was humour, and a determination to build new, possibly even better, communities."
WIN a copy of Finding Jupiter by Kelis Rowe
This post is sponsored by Walker.
A beautifully written and page-turning exploration of grief, passion, heartbreak and fate, Kelis Rowe's debut YA novel, Finding Jupiter, is an emotional and powerful contemporary read your bookshelves will…
Finbar Hawkins chats his writing journey before penning his debut, Witch
"Novel writing is about you sitting a desk until that draft is done, so it’s a solitary, immersed process. And then you rewrite it. And again..."
Alex Wheatle talks writing Jamaican dialect and teenager’s perspective in Cane Warriors
"One of the things a conquered people lose first is their language, so keeping a hint of that language in the narrative is very important to me."
WIN a set of Heartstopper books by Alice Oseman
Win a set of Heartstopper books, the graphic novel behind the beloved Netflix adaptation.
Exciting new YA reads for June 2022
2022 has already gifted our bookshelves with countless new YA reads to fall in love with and despite the year having reached its halfway point, the fabulous new releases just keep coming. With stories of belonging, first love, wishes,…
Naomi Gibson talks AI programming in her debut YA novel, Every Line of You
Every Line of You is a thriller about a girl who uses AI to cope with her grief, except the project becomes bigger than she ever anticipated...
Finn Longman talks compassion, hope and dealing with pain in their debut YA novel, The Butterfly…
"Compassion, because Isabel is human and deserves second chances and deserves safety, and hope, because there is too much despair in the world already."
Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock chats small towns and linking short stories in Everyone Dies Famous in a Small…
"Short stories, like radio, need to be succinct and every word must be essential."
Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam talk hope and poetry in their novel in verse, Punching the Air
"Hope is knowing that there is always another day, another minute, another second to make things right."
“I like books which grab you on page one and don’t let you go – and that those are the kind of…
The Queen of YA fiction is back.
David Valdes on his queer time travelling YA debut, Spin Me Right Round
This post is sponsored by Bloomsbury.
Following modern day gay teen, Luis Gonzalez, after he finds himself having travelled back in time to his parents' era to save a closeted classmates life, David Valdes' debut YA novel, Spin Me Right…
Win 1 of 5 signed copies by Ellie Pillai is Brown by Christine Pillainayagam
This post is sponsored by Faber.
If you're in the market for a laugh out loud, rom-com with a charismatic main character with a passion for music, Christine Pillainayagam's brilliantly funny debut, Ellie Pillai is Brown, is the book for…