Letterbox Love #115

Letterbox Love is a way to give all of the books I receive for review some exposure. Summaries are taken from the cover, or Amazon/NetGalley/Goodreads in the case of e-books, unless otherwise stated.

Orbiting Jupiter, Gary D Schmidt (e-proof)

A heartbreaking story, narrated by twelve-year-old Jack, whose family is caring for fourteen-year-old Joseph. Joseph is misunderstood. He was incarcerated for trying to kill a teacher. Or so the rumours say. But Jack and his family see something others in town don’t want to.

What's more, Joseph has a daughter he’s never seen. The two boys go on a journey through the bitter Maine winter to help Joseph find his baby – no matter the cost.

This sounds so strange and I can't wait! It's had some really wonderful reviews so far. Thanks Andersen Press and NetGalley!

Yesterday I was invited to go to Macmillan for a lovely Christmas blogger event and these are the books I came home with:

The Thing About Jellyfish, Ali Benjamin (proof)

Suzy is twelve when her best friend, Franny, drowns one summer at the beach. It takes two days for the news to reach Suzy, and it’s not something she can accept: Franny has always been a strong swimmer, from the day they met in swim class when they were just five. How can someone all of a sudden, just no longer be there?

Suzy realises that they must have got it wrong: Franny didn’t just drown, she was stung by a poisonous jellyfish. This makes a lot more sense to Suzy’s logical mind than a random drowning – cause: a jellyfish sting; effect: death.

Suzy’s journey to acceptance is quiet – she resolves to either say something important, or nothing at all. But it’s also bursting with bittersweet humour, heart-breaking honesty, big ideas and small details.

Burning Midnight, Will McIntosh (proof)

Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn’t pay much – Alex Holliday’s stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers – but it helps him and his mum make the rent. No one knows where the brilliant-coloured spheres come from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at maths, better looking. The rarer the sphere, the greater the improvement – and the more expensive the sphere.

When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. What they find will change more than just their lives…Because the entire world fights over spheres, but no one knows what their powers are…until now.

The Christmas Star, Eva Ibbotson (paperback)

Snuggle in around the fire and enjoy this collection of three wonderfully festive stories for the whole family by one of the country’s best loved storytellers, illustrated by the award-winning Nick Maland.

In Vicky and the Christmas Angel a young Viennese girl discovers the magic behind her family’s Christmas celebrations.

In The Christmas Star a fortune teller at the local Christmas market changes the lives of one family forever.

The Great Carp Ferdinand is a story about a hero with a difference, as Ferdinand – the carp intended for the Mannhaus family’s Christmas dinner – wins over the household in the lead-up to Christmas.

Thank you so much Macmillan!

Sophie