Letterbox Love #72

Letterbox Love is a way to show you all of the lovely, lovely books I’ve gotten in the post, bought and everything else over the last week. 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:

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli (e-proof)

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at a risk of being thrust into the spotlight. And worse still, so will the privacy of ‘Blue’, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing. With messy dynamics emerging in Simon’s once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s life suddenly becomes just a little complicated. Now Simon has t find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out – without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or a fumbling shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s ever met.

Thanks PRH and NetGalley! Margot from the Epic Reads team said that this is her most anticipated from 2015 and that it was utterly, utterly wonderful, so I’m excited.

Bought:

A Thousand Pieces of You, Claudia Gray (e-book)

Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father’s killer through multiple dimensions.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes – and promises to revolutionise science forever. But then Marguerite’s father is murdered, and the killer – her parent’s handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul – escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of people she knows – including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul’s guilt – as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is far more sinister than she expected.

A Thousand Pieces of You, the first book in the Firebird trilogy, explores an amazingly intricate multiverse where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of them all.

This book just intrigues me! Also, unbelievably gorgeous cover.

The Art of Being Normal, Lisa Williamson (hardback)

Two boys. Two secrets.

David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he’s gay. The school bully thinks he’s a freak. Only his two best friends now the real truth – David wants to be a girl.

On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal – to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in Year 11 is definitely not part of that plan. When David stands up for Leo in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny way of not staying secret for long...

Man, I am so excited for this. I snapped it up as soon as I spotted it in Waterstone’s yesterday – it’s out a few days early!

I treated myself to a few book in the Amazon 12 Days of Kindle sale:

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (e-book)

Rosemary’s young, just at college, and she’s decided not to tell anyone a thing about her family. So we’re not going to tell you much either: you’ll have to find out for yourselves what it is that makes unhappy family like no other.

Rosemary is now an only child, but she used to have a sister the same age as her, and an older brother. Both are now gone – vanished from her life. There’s something unique about Rosemary’s sister, Fern. So now she’s telling her story; a looping narrative that begins towards the end, and then goes back to the beginning. Twice.

It’s funny, clever, intimate, honest, analytical and swirling with ideas that will come back to bite you. We hope you enjoy it, and if, when you’re telling a friend about it, you do decide to spill the beans about Fern, don’t feel bad. It’s pretty hard to resist.

Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

“Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don’t let you go around again until you get it right.”

According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch – the world’s only totally reliable guide to the future, written in 1655, before she exploded – the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after sea...

People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four Bikers of the Apocalypse are hitting the road. But both the angels and demons – well, one fast-living demon and a somewhat fussy angel – would quite like the rapture not to happen.

And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist...

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: The Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams

On 12 October 1979 the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor (and Earth) was made available to humanity. This was of course, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But this was just the beginning. We followed the adventures of hapless protagonist Arthur Dent and his alien side-kick, Ford Prefect, across a trilogy of five books: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. And this merry spacewagon, featuring a flying sofa, a paranoid android, a gift-wrapped fishbowl, bath towels and much else besides, became an instant classic.

Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets, Jessica Fox

Jessica Fox is 26 years old, lives in Hollywood, and has a high-flying career at NASA. Working late one night, dreaming of another life, she’s seized by a moment of madness. She taps “second hand bookshop Scotland” into Google, and clicks on the first link she sees.

A month later, she arrives 2,000 miles across the Atlantic in Wigtown, on the west coast of Scotland. When she knocks on the door of the bookshop she will be working in for the next month, she is greeted not by the 80-year-old recluse she was expecting, but by a handsome young bachelor called Euan...

The rollercoaster journey that ensues – which takes in Scottish Hanukah, bringing yoga to the West Coast, and a waxing that she will never forget – will ultimately break and mend her heart. Three Things You Should Know About Rockets is a book for everyone who has ever though “What if” – a true story about grabbing life by the horns, and taking the plunge.

Sophie

The Winner's Curse, Marie Rutkoski

Pages: 369

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: 10^th April 2014

Edition: UK e-book, purchased

Kestrel lives the lavish lifestyle of a Valorian General’s only daughter, and such riches come at a cost for Valoria’s captives – and for her. As the Herrani face death or slavery, Kestrel’s destiny is shaped by her father. He gives her two choices: join his army or get married. Desperate to realise her own future and knowing that it will invite scandal, she pays a small fortune for a handsome Herrani blacksmith at a slave auction. Arin not only plays Kestrel’s power games, he understands what she needs and soon she is torn between loyalty to her people and her feelings for him. But Arin is not all he seems and Kestrel will learn that the price she paid for him is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

The first novel in a stunning new trilogy, The Winner’s Curse is a story of romance, rumours and rebellion, where dirty secrets and careless alliances can be deadly – and everything is at stake.

I’ve heard really wonderful things about The Winner’s Curse so I finally succumbed and decided to give it a go. While I enjoyed it, it didn’t blow my mind like I was expecting it to.

I think that one of the main reasons that The Winner’s Curse has been so well received is Kestrel. She’s a breath of fresh air. Though she does have a few of the tried and tested traits of dystopian heroines: strength, bravery, badassery, she also turns some tropes on their head. Instead of being a phenomenal fighter, Kestrel is an excellent strategist and can only just hold her own in combat; she’s one of the rich and privileged; the revolution doesn’t start with her and she is sharp and brittle and not always likable. She’s brilliant.

Arin is a strong and refreshing character as well, but together, I just didn’t feel it. Though there was clearly a crush brewing and some hints at feeling, I felt like there was sudden instalove as the revolution truly began. It seemed to go from minor flirtations to doing incredibly risky things for each other and it just didn’t sit right with me. I think this aspect of The Winner’s Curse really took away some of my enjoyment of the novel; if the relationship between Arin and Kestrel could have continued in the way of the slow burn of the beginning I really think I would have taken to it whole-heartedly.

Though Marie Rutoski’s debut didn’t blow me away, I did enjoy it and I’m looking forward to digging into the sequel, The Winner’s Crime after such a strong set up at the end of the first instalment!

Sophie

What I Want From YA in 2015

To be surprised. I want to pick something up on a whim or a recommendation and fall head over heels in love.

I want sassy, funny, real, heart-warming contemp like that from Keris Stainton, Cat Clarke, Non Pratt and CJ Skuse.

Dystopias that break the mould. I want unique, refreshing and thought-provoking, like Shatter Me or The Jewel.

The new Sarah Dessen novel – Saint Anything - in my hands as soon as physically possible.

Some unbelievable standalones.

Unusual books – like Grasshopper Jungle.

For books to remind me why I love this blogging thing. I think I’ve forgotten this year.

What do you want from YA in 2015?

Sophie

The Year of The Rat, Clare Furniss

Pages: 305

Publisher: S&S

Release Date: 1^st January 2015

Edition: UK paperback, review copy

To Pearl, there’s nothing sweet about her premature half-sister, Rose. It was Rose that caused her mother’s death and Rose that turned her world upside down.

To Pearl, Rose is The Rat.

Achingly sad, yet refreshingly real, The Year of the Rat will make you laugh, cry and hold your loved ones a little tighter.

When The Year of The Rat was released earlier in the year I was a little hesitant to read it. I was worried it would hit a nerve and be too hard to read, and while it was difficult at times, it’s a beautiful novel and I’m glad I braved it.

Every word that Clare Furniss writes is filled with visceral emotion and it really packs a punch. I don’t even know how many times I cried, let alone the full-on sobbing at the end... Pearl has been broken down and destroyed by the unexpected death of her mum. I know how lost and betrayed and empty she felt and even as the people in her life believed she should be moving on and getting over it, I knew that her feelings were genuine and couldn’t be switched off.

But Pearl had something magical, something that I dream of – she had visions of her mum. Full-bodied, touch, sound and smell visions of her mum that allowed them to interact and Pearl to begin to work through everything that follows such a traumatic event. But the best thing about Pearl’s visions? Peal’s mum wasn’t portrayed through rose-tinted glasses. She was revealed in all of her flaws and imperfections and it just made her death, and Pearl’s anger and grief, even more real and poignant.

The Year of The Rat is a highly emotional and beautifully written debut. If this books is anything to go by, Clare Furniss has a wonderful writing career ahead of her.

Thanks to S&S for the review copy.

Sophie