Letterbox Love #37

Letterbox Love came about after some drama with the American book haul memes, so the UKYA bloggers came together on Twitter to organise one of our own. Summaries are taken from the cover, or Amazon/NetGalley/Goodreads in the case of e-books, unless otherwise stated. Hosted by Narratively Speaking.

For review:

Flirty Dancing, Jenny McLachlan (e-proof)

A warm, hilarious bestseller-to-be. Geek Girl meets Dirty Dancing meets Lousie Rennison’s Tights, all rolled into an irresistible story of friendship, bullies and how to steal a heart on the dancefloor.

Bea Hogg is shy but fiery inside. When national dance competition Starwars comes ot her school looking for talent, she wants to sign up. It’s just a shame her best friend agreed to enter with school super-cow Pearl Harris. Bea will fight back! But when school hottie, Ollie Matthews, who also happens to be Pearl’s boyfriend, decides to enter the competition with Bea, she will have more than fight on her hands.

This warm, nuanced, hilarious story about friendship, fortitude...and dancing is impossible not to fall in love with. Jenny’s voice is fresh and convincing, and she handles both darker and lighter elements of the story with equal panache.

Geek Girl and Dirty Dancing? Yeah, I don’t need any more information than that. Thanks Bloomsbury!

Two Boys Kissing, David Levithan (proof)

The two boys kissing are Craig and Harry. They are hoping to see the world record for the longest kiss. They’re not a couple, but they used to be.

Peter and Neil are a couple. Their kisses are different. Avery and Ryan have only just met and are trying to figure out what happens next. Cooper is alone. He’s not sure what he feels.

As the marathon progresses, these boys, their friends and families evaluate the changing nature of feelings, behaviours and this crazy thing called love.

*dances around the living room, clutching Two Boys Kissing to my chest* Thanks Electric Monkey!

Gift:

Half Bad, Sally Green (proof)

You can’t read, can’y write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You’ve been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you’ve got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys.

And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Easy.

I’m not really a fan of witches generally, but this has had so much buzz recently and I;m curious. The lovely books lady at The Times was raving about it and gave me a copy from her amazing book cupboard.

Bought:

Banished, Liz de Jager (paperback)

A Blackhart’s Calling:

to banish evil and hold back the night.

Kit is proud to be a Blackhart, now she’s living with her unorthodox cousins and sharing their strange lives. Especially since their home-schooling includes spells, fighting enemy fae and using ancient weapons.

But it’s not until she rescues a rather handsome fae prince, fighting for his life on the edge of Blackhart Manor, that her training really kicks in. With her family away on various missions, Kit must protect Prince Thorn, rely on new friends and use her own unfamiliar magic to stay ahead of Thorn’s enemies.

As things go from bad to apocalyptic, fae battle fae in a war that threatens to spill into the human world. Then Kit pits herself against the Elder Gods themselves – it;s that or lose everyone she’s learnt to love.

It’s Liz’s debut! It’s so cool to buy a book written by your friend in an actual bookshop and IT’S SO GOOD!

Sophie