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Run by two girls in England, Death Books and Tea will read and review almost anything remotely weird. We live on horror, manga, steampunk, dystopia, manga, anything paranormal and tea, but will read other stuff if it looks good enough. So come in, settle down, and we can share books, tea and cake.
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1. The Last Eight Weeks

Technically this is about the last ten weeks, since the last decent post about this was before  Fresher's week and we're also one week into the holiday, but uni term length has already got me seeing life in eight week blocks. My first time at university has been a hectic couple of months, but something I want to share.

University life

It's brilliant. The texts we're doing (read about them here)  have all gotten better with studying, and all my tutors this term have been helpful.  There's been a lot of socials and chances to meet some lovely people. My college full of people who are extremely friendly, and we have some beautiful surroundings- just look at my library!



Theatre

Oxford has a lot happening on stage,, way more than I could ever fit in! But the shows that I've been to see (The Nether, the Queer Cabaret, Much Ado About Nothing, Jealous of Herself, The Last Five Years, Trojan Women) have all been high quality, that I liked for different reasons. Also, I'm writing for the Cherwell from time to time- it's exciting to be writing for more of a community (I still love this little blog though!)

Reading

I took eight books up for fun with me thinking I could do one a week. Hahaha. I got about halfway through The Republic of Thieves, and a little way in to Frangine. The thing is, when most of your time is spent reading, the last thing for relaxing is more reading, especially when there's shows to go see and people to be around and  the chance to not be solitary for once. So not much reading for the blog happened.   Now it's the holidays, there is much more time for reading. So this will  stay a book blog. Just not a busy one (though it hasn't been such for a long time).

Dancing

You may have noticed from my twitter that I really enjoy swing dance, and I knew when I went to uni I wanted to carry that on and maybe take up another style. Well, I trialled for the dancesport team which would do ballroom and latin, but I didn't get in. I also trialled for the rock and roll team, and I did get in! It's more energetic than I thought it'd be, and different in style, but there's also the chance to do acrobatics, which are a lot of fun, and competitions, which will happen in February.  Me on an official sports team... never thought that would happen!


YA Salon - 7th December

I had a day in London last week, where I got to catch up with a lot of friends- two hadn't seen since starting university, and then, later in the evening, many bloggers and authors I hadn't seen in some time. It was my first time at a YA Salon, and at this one, the focus was the book I'll Be Home For Christmas, an anthology where £1 of each sale goes to Crisis. It was a fun evening, with a fiendish Christmas in literature quiz, and the trial of  book blind dating, where a panel of authors answer questions, the person asking chooses one of them, and that author  gets to tell us about their story). The addition of mince pies and mulled wine made the night even better.

What next?

Well, now it's the Christmas holidays. I have catching up to do with my school friends, a trip to Devon with my dad's side of the family, a Christmas day with my mum's side, a lot of reading for both Latin and French before next term starts, and also need time to myself.  But I'm still enjoying the little blogging I'm able to do, so I'll try and keep that up. If you particularly want to see my life and books and happenings, you'll find me on Twitter or Instagram though. Until then, enjoy the holidays, let's hope for a new year bringing good news for a change, and goodbye for now.  

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2. Theatre Review- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, performed by Poltergeist Theatre

Title: Much Ado About Nothing 
Writer: William Shakespeare
Director: Jack Bradfield 
Performed by: Poltergeist Theatre
Seen at: The Michael Pilch Studio

Review: Shakespeare’s tale of two schemes concerning lovers – one to get a couple together, one to tear another couple apart- could conceivably happen anywhere. Jack Bradfield sets the action in a house party at the turn of the millennium, when anything might happen.




Poltergeist Theatre’s production introduces new perspectives to the characters. I liked how Hero and Claudio, who are traditionally the couple who conform to society’s gendered expectations, are the ones whose genders are played with, keeping the genders and pronouns they have in the text, whilst being played by actors and wearing clothes coded to another gender. The editing of the play blends this all together, as Claudio’s rant at the alter focuses more on the infidelity he believes Hero to be guilty of, and is less directly misogynistic, which might have felt weird coming from someone in a skirt. In addition, I enjoyed the addition of a redemption arc for Margaret when she realises her complicity in the shaming of Hero.

The cast was very strong. Alice Moore’s Beatrice was sharp and had a wide range of comic facial expressions, and Adam Goodbody’s Benedick was the least cocky I have ever seen him, even vulnerable in his love at times, and together, they make a touching couple. Benedick’s other important relationship, his friendship with Claudio. Is also well played, from their camaraderie at the beginning to seeing the conflict of issuing or receiving the challenge to the duel. Georgia Figgis plays Claudio in many states-excited in love, drunk, angry, upset- and the sadness she brings makes you feel sympathy for him, at least until he very convincingly rages again. Another standout for me was Lillian Bornstein’s Don Pedro, who looked utterly heartbroken after Beatrice refuses his marriage proposal.
Design wise, it’s tied together well. Both Georgia Bevan’s costumes and Adam Marshall’s lighting revolve around winter greens and rich purples, set against the white snow and plainer bases to the costumes. The transitions between scenes often resemble fast-forwarding in a video, keeping with the video theme in a stylised and polished way. Many a time a character is seen with drugs, a glass, or a bottle, which seems to motivate some of the more extreme reactions. The music, an original soundtrack by Alice Boyd, is melancholy, and the haunting rendition of Sign No More is particularly beautiful.
One thing emphasised in the marketing was the use of live-streaming and television. The major use of the live feed is when policemen Dogberry and Verges, perform to a handheld video camera, which shows on screen. This is an inventive way of allowing their actors, Imo Allan and Marcus Knight-Adams, to double as villains Conrad and Borachio, but the scene where the constables capture the criminals, repeatedly passing the camera between them, did seem a little clumsy. The television is also used in other parts of the play, to be played with, or for comic effect or for exposition. Its use would be greatly improved by ensuring that the audience could always see what was happening on screen- either by having a second screen that the actors didn’t interact with, and was only there for the audience, or simply by having the actors moving around instead of sitting or standing still in front of it.

The other thing that was conveyed in the marketing was the edgy perspective they would take on the play- the “death” of Hero and Benedick’s challenge to Claudio are emphasised. I was expecting a darker tone than what I normally expect from a Much Ado-but this production went beyond my expectations. Yes, there are moments of pure comedy, such as the scene when Benedick is tricked into believing Beatrice loves him, and the unexpected audience participation, but it’s a lot darker than something often played as a rom-com is. The editing of the script focusses on the sad, angry, and tense moments, and even the very last line -drawing attention to the Prince’s failure to find a wife- leaves you with a sombre mood.

If you’re going hoping for a cheery, fun, or romantic night, this is play not for you. However, if you’re going for Shakespeare performed very differently, or something to play with your mood, or a uniquely brilliant interpretation of a classic, Poltergeist’s Much Ado is one to watch.




Another edition of this review may appear on the website of the Cherwell

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3. Carnegie Medal Nominations 2017

First, to anyone at YA Shot in Uxbridge today, have a great day! Second, if anyone here's going to be at the UKYA Blogging Awards at Uxbridge tonight, yay! I'll see you there.  On with the post!

photo from CILIP website

It seems to to come round quicker and quicker every year, Yesterday, the nominations for the CILIP Carnegie and the Kate Greenaway medals were released. Due to my being at uni now, I sadly don't have the brilliant booklet my school librarian produced which had all the blurbs of the books recommended, so this post is based upon a)the bits I've heard from social media over the year and b)when I googled the things with interesting titles. But here- a list of the books that I am glad to see on the list, and would totally bump up a reading pile if I ha
d time to do any reading for pleasure right now.


  • Crush by Eve Ainsworth. I've heard people say how well written Ainsworth's characters are in both this and 7 Days, so  even with the heavy subject, it should be good.
  • Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman. Othello in space with a girl as the lead? I've had this on my pile at home for ages, but the concept of this is great and so is Blackman.
  • Twenty Questions for Gloria by Martyn Bedford. I like thrillers when I read them, I just haven't really read that many. I should though. 
  • What's A Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne. I'm sorry, I haven't read any in this feminist trilogy/series (not sure which...) but so many people say good things about it.
  • Why I Went Back by James Clammer. Myth and magic and mystery? And maybe a better version of Skellig? 
  • Monsters by Emerald Fennell. The atmosphere of  an Enid Blyton story (which I loved when I was little) plus murder? Yep.
  • The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon. From the blurb, the story of a refugee in a detention centre, and a girl with a notebook of family history, it looks beautiful. 
  • Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin. Alternate history and fantasy and a badass main character. Looking forwards to it.
  • Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. So many people have told me to read Oseman's work. Some day, hopefully.
  • Unboxed by Non Pratt. Loved Remix and Trouble, hoping for more good things. 
  • Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Again, loved Between Shades of Grey, and hoping for another book of similar quality. 
  • Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens. Murder Most Unladylike and Arsenic for Tea were just fun reads-mystery, friendship, and a Chinese main character. I should catch up on this series.

And also, the things I have read and think totally deserve to be here!
  • All Of The Above by Juno Dawson. About finding your identity, and with some pretty good poetry.
  • George by Alex Gino. A middle-grade story about a transgirl, which just left me feeling happy.
  • London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning. I read this book about my favourite city in on sitting and it's full of great characters and adventure. 
That's not to say the other books are undeserving! There's 114 of them, as well as 93 nominated for the Kate Greenaway award, and I applaud the judges who will read ALL of them. But even more applause goes to all the creators who made the books. Congratulations on the nomination, and good luck!

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4. National Coming Out Day 2016

National Coming Out Day is the celebration of people coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, an ally to the LGBTQ community, or something else-however you want to define yourself. In coming out, you can increase the representation of LGBTQ people in your community, reduce the silence which can help perpetuate negative stereotypes and hatred because there's no-one to speak out against them, or to remind perpetrators that queer people are real, and everywhere, and not some other alien concept. It can also help you just be happier with yourself and acknowledge who you are for you.

photo credit: trec_lit MmmmmMmmm via photopin (license)
For some people, due to their personality and their surroundings and other things, this is easy. For others, it's difficult.  But there's  books about it, both by showing characters who do so, or by helping you deal with it yourself.  (I'm sorry this preface was not meant to be  this serious in tone but it just happened that way).

Coming out isn't the be-all and end-all of a queer person's life. But it's also kind of a thing that happens whenever you meet new people and you need to judge whether they're going to accept you if the fact that you want a girlfriend ever comes into conversation, or (more likely) when you want to correct them about you getting married to a man.

I'm not especially a fan of books with coming out as the -only- plot line. I live in very liberal societies, where everyone I know of is accepting or at least tolerant, and I've come to expect more exciting things from my books.  But then they can be necessary for those who aren't comfortable comfortable in their societies or to themselves, or who don't know how to go about doing so, or who want reassurance that it won't be awful. Also, they are useful to particularly focus on how different societies may treat people coming out. And like any story, they have the  potential to be amazingly told, and 

Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Will I ever write a post about lgbtq books that doesn't feature Simon? Probably. But today is not that that day. Cute, with some excellent points about coming out in the emails between Blue and Simon, and overall giver of happy feels.

All of the Above by Juno Dawson
This one proves that labels aren't always necessary, which is an important thing to note if you're trying some on for size. In addition, overall giver of intense feels, and a few pieces of brilliant poetry.

Read Me Like a Book by Liz Kessler
Featuring a few queer people in varying stages of outness to themselves and society, I liked following Ashleigh's journey, and the way it resolved. In addition, loved seeing other people's different issues in life, issues I don't see much in YA.

This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson 
Non fiction, an advice guide, written in a fun friendly style not just about coming out, but about love, sex, friendship, discrimination, and other things for everyone.

This post was kind of a mix of everything and I know I missed off books at some point. Comment below- what books would you recommend with coming out as a theme?

Also, if you are coming out today, at all, or especially for the first time, remember only do so if you're safe and happy to do so- and may it all go well!







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5. What I'm Taking to Uni

So this past few months, many exciting things have been happening for me, which have been better documented on instagram and twitter. I had another packed Edinburgh Fringe, full of brilliant comedians, poets, and theatre pieces. I've had some great times with my friends, which is just as well because we're now scattered across the country and the continent,  because we're all off to uni! I can't believe I was in Year 8 when I started this blog and I now I've got a place at my first choice university to study Classics and French, but hey, time flies!

Along the many bags of clothes and equipment I have packed before I move into the college tomorrow, obviously, I have books, and I thought I'd share what I'm taking. But first, exciting news... 


I got nominated, alongside Sally of The Dark Dictator, and Andrew of The Pewter Wolf, in the UKYA Blogger Awards for Champion of Diversity! Thank you for everyone who nominated me, in despite of the fact that my championing of diverse books, at least this past couple of years, hasn't really been via my blog, more in person- see my TEDx Talk on why you should read diversely, which I might vlog some day seeing as I'm not sure what happened to the footage, the We Need Diverse Books board we put up at my school that stayed in a main corridor for over a year, and anyone who has read Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda because they asked me for a recommendation and that's been my go to book to pass on. I hope to be able to step up both my blog and my promotion of a range of books in the future, and it's nice to have a little spur to do so. And congrats to everyone else who got nominated, in all categories! You can find a list of all categories and nominees here (until it gets buried when they tweet other things).


The main post is under the cut- the books I'm  taking-and hopefully keeping up there, if they fit on whatever shelving they give me!




My Course Books

The books that I'll be studying. I've read all the required bits, so here's a summary of what they're about  and what I thought of them.


  • The Poems of Catullus, translated by James Minchie. My copy of this is falling apart, so I put it in a binder ring. I love most of Catullus' works-it's often funny or emotional or both- he crosses the line a lot though!
  • Juvenal's Satires, translated by Peter Green. Using anecdotes, it reads like a long list of complaints about Roman society, pointing out all the various moral failings that have come through.
  • En Attendant Godot (Waiting For Godot) by Samuel Beckett. It's a play of two men who are waiting for Godot. They contemplate life, meet a handful other people, and wonder why they do so. It feels like Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, a lot of talk, less things happening, good to study, probably boring to watch.
  • Supplement au Voyage de Bouganville (Supplement to Bougainville's Journey) by Denis Diderot, I liked the depiction of Tahitan society, and also the way it contrast Tahitian and European society and ideals.
  • The Poems of Propertius, translated by H. E. Butler, of which I read Book 1. Mostly love poetry, describing his relationship with Cynthia, but there's a couple of poems for friends too.  
  • Essais (Essays), of which I read Des Cannibales by Michel de Montaigne, Again contrasting  European society with another. I liked the challenge of reading the 16th century French.
  • The Satyricon by Petronius. A pair of lovers go wandering around the continent, meeting the weirdest of society. Ends abruptly, though probably due to losing the text, but the various episodes, satirising different figures in society, are...interesting.
  • Cicero's Defence Speeches, of which I read Pro Caelio. Here Cicero is trying to defend Caelius against charges of violence andmurder, which he does by presenting Caelius as a young man of outstanding virtue, even if he has made some mistakes, and by presenting Clodia Metelli, whose evidence would be important to the case, as a whore. It's funny in some places, misogynistic in many more, and is basically blaming a woman for anything a man does wrong.
  • The Aeneid by Virgil. Following Aeneas, a Trojan noble who flees Troy after its defeat, as he wanders, searching for a new place for his people to settle down. A fair bit of travelling gives way to some really graphically battles. I have a lot of love for Camilla, the warrior woman who's featured in book 11.
  • Phedre by Jean Racine. The mythological story of a queen who falls in love with her stepson and the husband/father's rashness is presented here in a play. I enjoyed the rhythm of this as I read this aloud, and I liked how it didn't completely villainise Phedre (ok, the blame all shifts on to the Nurse but I feel Phedre gets presented in a worse light in Euripedes' and Seneca's versions so it's nice she gets a little more sympathy here)

Supplementary Books 

Books kind of relating to Classics and French, but not directly relevant (this term)- intended for when I want to do something different but also feel productive! 
  • Les Femmes Savantes by Moliere
  • Les  Fleurs de Mal by Charles Baudelaire
  • Les Mains Sales by Jean Paul Sartre
  • World Mythology by Mark Daniels
  • Bisexuality in the Ancient World by Eve Cantarella
  • The Latin Love Poets by R.O.A.M. Lyne
  • Frangine by Marion Brunet (and then I can finally give this back to Caroline- sorry for keeping this so long!)
  • Goddesses, Whores, Wives, & Slaves by Sarah Pomeroy

Fun Books

The ones that will be for pleasure, for review, and for hopeful enjoyment!

  • The Hypnotist by Laurence Anholt. Set in 1960s America, this historical thriller plus hypnotism looks intriguing.
  • Life: A User's Manuel by Georges Perec. I picked this up for the title. I'm hoping for good things from the many many characters.
  • The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. I haven't read Everything, Everything yet either, but I've heard lots of people enjoyed it.
  • Girl Trouble by Carol Dyhouse. A looking at how society perceives women and what they do throughout the 20th century.
  • Daughters of Time - A History Girls Anthology. I love how there's a range of time periods the women at the centre of each story is drawn from, and a range of things they do. 
  • The Genius and the Goddess by Alduous Huxley. I got this as a surprise gift, so I don't know what to expect. I didn't mind Brave New World, and I'm hoping i like this as much as I did that, or more.
  • As I Descended by Robin Talley. This is the one book I've been waiting for all year, and I'm slightly scared to read it with such high expectations (lesbian contemporary Macbeth!). I'll get to it soon though.
  • Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Between Shades of Grey was such a beautiful book, I have high hopes for this one as well.
  • Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton. A mute girl falls for the new girl. I remember getting excited for this, but never getting round to it.
  • The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch. I love this fantasy series with the detailed world building and the clever characters (especially the ship of lady pirates introduced in book 2). I also hear we get to meet the main character's lost love in this book, something I've been waiting for.
I know I'm being very overoptimistic with my for fun books here, considering I have eight weeks and a lot more reading I'll get once I'm there, but at least I won't be running out of things to get through!  What books would you suggest I get through first? And what would you take from a packed to-read shelf to last you for a couple of months?

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6. Theatre Review- Macbeth, performed by Act Three Theatre

Title: Macbeth
Writer: William Shakespeare
Performed by: Act Three Theatre
Major cast: Josh Beecham, Ned Walkely, Simon Morgan
Seen at: Paradise in the Vault, Edinburgh Fringe
Summary: An exciting new take on William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Using the original language but set in a young offenders’ prison, it is bold, fast-paced, and performed entirely with a cast of three.



Review: The story of Macbeth is performed by three actors and set in a modern young offender's prison. I wanted to see this show because Macbeth, multiroling, and a vastly different setting to its original-what more could I ask for?
We open with Macbeth holding a titlecard/ID card, presumably having a mugshot taken, then an opening physical sequence with some impressive stage fighting to set the scene. Then the play develops in its new setting, where guards are witches and kingship is represented by a dressing gown and a paper crown.
The setting works well for the most part, prison hierarchies being a good new setting for kingdoms, and the costumes suited the production, but I did wonder where is Malcolm going when he announces leaves for England, if he's meant to be locked up.
The cast are all really good. My favourite thing about it though was the doubling, because, while necessary with three characters, makes some good links between the characters- Simon Morgan playing both Duncan and Banquo, the two direct victims of Macbeth's ambition, Ned Wakely playing both Lady Macbeth and Banquo's murderer (I know they kept Macbeth's line "Be innocent of the knowledge", but it just got me thinking of how cool it might have been if they'd kept the implication that she killed Banquo), and also Josh Beecham saying the Doctor's words in the sleepwalking scene, while still (I think) being Macbeth, adding a different, kind of caring, spin on him.
I don't know if it was intentional, but the lighting in the "Is this a dagger I see" scene and the banquet scene made the actors' eyes look black, demonic, which went well with those scenes.
The editing of the script is amazing. I think we ended slightly before the advertised hour, but the major plot points were all conveyed. Also, so much love for the delivery of "Birnam" just before the attack on Macbeth. The twist and wordplay and cleverness of getting around the prophecy was just...yes.


Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a fast, intense version of Macbeth.
Links: Company


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7. Theatre Review: This Much by John Fitzpatrick, performed by Moving Dust

I am aware that my timeliness is terrible. I saw this show eight months ago, I wrote this review eight months ago, I found it again tonight.  
I saw it at Edinburgh, and it's now playing at Soho Theatre as part of the Pride festival. 

Title: This Much (or A Act of Violence Towards The Institution of Marriage)
Writer: John Fitzpatrick
Director: Kate Sagovsky
Performed by: Moving Dust
Cast: Lewis Hart, Simon Carroll-Jones, and James Parris
Seen at: Zoo City

Review:Gar is in a long term relationship with Antony, and they're thinking about marriage , but meets Albert on an app. This leads to a romantic drama exploring the meaning and importance of marriage.
I saw this in the programme. I loved the title and the picture and thought maybe if I have time. I then saw this being promoted on the Royal Mile- three men in wedding dresses standing on plinths- and thought, yes, I have to see this. I didn't really know about the play though.
The drama progresses well. Something's always happening, there's twists, tension and anger is mixed with lighter moments, and aside from the ending which seemed a little abrupt, it flows well.
The actors work together well, and the deepness of relationships came through physically in interacting with each other.
The direction and scene setting was brilliant. They use lightweight boxes which are stacked in various ways to create different scenes, and which hold the smaller props. I think everything there was used at least once, with varying degrees of creativity. The scene changes happen in full view, accompanied by disco music and carried out with the emotion present in the scene. I loved watching them as it added unspoken aspects to the personalities.
There's only three or four lines of seating on three sides of the stage so it's a very intimate show. It's made more so by full nudity, (unexpected for me, expected for anyone who takes note of online warnings) but the close setting was good for really feeling the emotions coming off the play. And for those, wow. It cycles through a full range of feelings and situations you find in a relationship- the excitement of meeting someone new, the ease of living together, the hurt of a betrayal, what happens next- and the closeness of the venue means you see all the effects the events have on the characters, even the really subtle ones.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a very exposed realistic play.
Links: twitter | company | Soho Theatre tickets


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8. Giveaway- THE UNICORNE FILES by CHRIS D'LACEY

Hey, it's been a long time since I had a giveaway for you...but here one is! To celebrate today's release of A Crown of Dragons, the last book in the series of The Unicorne Files by Chris d'Lacey, Laura from Chicken House has kindly offered the chance to win the whole trilogy!



A Dark Inheritance: When Michael Malone discovers his supernatural ability to alter reality, he is recruited by an organization dedicated to investigating strange and paranormal phenomena. He joins in hopes of finding his father, who mysteriously vanished three years earlier. Michael's first task is to solve the mystery of a dog he rescued from a precarious clifftop -- a mystery that leads him to a strange and sickly classmate and a young girl who was killed in a devastating accident. Stakes are high as Michael learns to harness his newfound ability and uncover the deadly truth about his father's disappearance.

Alexander's Army: After the success of his first assignment from the UNICORNE agency, fourteen-year-old Michael Malone is given another unexplained mystery to solve. When UNICORNE detect strange goings-on in a comic book shop, Michael is sent to investigate- a task which is made all the more difficult by allies he can no longer trust, and an enemy he can't actually see.

A Crown of Dragons: Michael, a special agent for the secretive UNICORNE agency, embarks on his most dangerous mission yet: investigating the artefact his father was researching before he disappeared. But the truth is darker than he could’ve imagined. His father is lost in an alternative reality, and Michael is the only one with the power to save him...


If you'd like to enter, use the Rafflecopter below. Entry is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and entry closes at 12am on Friday 10 June. Winner will be chosen some time on Friday.

Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


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9. Theatre Review- Richard III and Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, performed by The Handlebards

Review written with input from two of my friends who saw it with me, Lottie and Amy. Their opinion is reflected here too. 


Title: "Richard III" and "Much Ado About Nothing"
Writer: William Shakespeare
Director: Emma Sampson  (Richard III), Nicola Samer (Much Ado)
Performed by: The Handlebards
Major cast: Liam Mansfield, Matt Maltby, Paul Hillar, and Stanton Plummer-Cambridge
Seen at: The Museum of the Order of St. John
Review: In Richard III, Richard, Duke of Gloucester murders his way to the throne and doesn't stop once he's there. In Much Ado About Nothing, plots to set up and break up pairs of lovers happen with varying degrees of success. The Handlebards, four actors who cycle with set, props and scenery to wherever they're going, are taking these shows on a tour.
I was incredibly looking forwards to seeing these. The comedy of the Handlebards that I'd seen before, plus one of my favourite shows (Much Ado) plus one of the plays I knew had many murders (Richard III) all combined to make me think I must see these shows somehow.
Both shows are imbued with the Handlebard style-brightly colour coding the actors, easy to remove and/or alter accessories, inventive ways of holding props to symbolise characters on stage when a scene needs more than four people on stage, audience participation, and epic levels of multiroling, energy, and enthusiasm.
The four actors are all new to being part of the Handlebards, and work together well. Liam and Paul play lovers in both plays (Richard and Anne and Benedick and Beatrice) and in both play off each other well, especially in Much Ado when both believe the other to be in love with them. All four of them have an extensive range of physical movement and  voices and facial expressions that differentiate the characters, which is necessary when most of them are learning about 20 characters each.
The music was good.  In Richard III, Richard's theme music is overdone in part one of the play (the same music and choreography each time means it loses its effect), or maybe it seems that way  due to the fact the theme was the only music in part one; part two had much more musical accompaniment (and occasional musical feature) so the recurrences seemed more integrated. It is especially performed well on a mop bass with jazz-style singing. Much Ado About Nothing has a lot more music, which is used throughout for scene transitions, comedy, and where the script calls for singing. They all sing and play their instruments well.
On to each performance specifically. I only knew that Richard III was about a lot of murder to become king; and  I was very pleased with how easy it was to follow. I think the multiroling helped with this a lot. With most Histories, I often see most the cast being men who are all named after parts of England and who all look the same and are very easy to mix up. but here, the huge differences between characterisation made it easy to tell what's happening. Despite all the murder, it's played pretty much as a full-scale comedy- timing, music, Richard's movements, the murder weapons.... oh and the ghosts. That was a most wonderful scene involving lots of bedclothes and wooooooing and the opposite of what you'd expect the souls of the dead haunting their murderer. The whole audience was laughing throughout this scene, and the whole play. It was a brilliant atmosphere and a great night.
Much Ado about Nothing was sadly not as good as I was hoping. It may be because we all studied it and loved it and know it, that it was easy for us to notice little slips and where they cut or shortened some of our favourite bits, such as Beatrice's "double heart for his single one" line, and Benedick's   listing of what he wants in a woman, which relates to his longer speech after his tricking scene. I am also used to seeing this performed at pretty much breakneck speed (like at their Richard III speed), and this felt comparatively slow in parts.  I think what they had in mind would have been brilliant, but the fact that  some things just didn't go as planned, such as scene changes and parts of the set starting to fall down, got in their way. They really did do their best at whatever the circumstances threw at them-Beatrice's temporary deafness being a highlight of their improv. In addition, the Watch scenes were good, I loved Stanton's ballet-dancing Claudio, and Matt made an absolutely adorable Hero.I think as they perform more, they'll get used to what they want to do and they'll get quicker, and I'd like to see Much Ado later on in the run if I can.
All this said, this is a great company. They're learning not only two plays, but multiple roles within the plays, plus cycling to wherever they need to go. Also, we did see them on the first public performances. The overall style of their acting, the huge comedy/comedic potential, the running gags both within plays and across plays, and the sheer amount of energy and connection they have with each other and the audience make the well worth coming to see.

Overall:  A high strength 4.5 tea to Richard III and a solid strength 3 tea to Much Ado About Nothing averages out to Strength 4 tea to a set of shows that you should catch if you can.


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10. Book Review- This Is Not a Love Story by Keren David

Title: This Is Not A Love Story
Author: Keren David
Series:  N/A
Published:  7 May 2015 by Atom
Length: 352 pages
Source: library
Other info: Keren David has also written the When I Was Joe series (When I Was Joe, Almost True, and Another Life), Salvage, Lisa's Guide to Winning the Lottery, and Cuckoo. 
Summary : Kitty dreams of a beautiful life, but that's impossible in suburban London where her family is haunted by her father's unexpected death. So when her mum suggests moving to Amsterdam to try a new life, Kitty doesn't take much persuading. Will this be her opportunity to make her life picture perfect?
In Amsterdam she meets moody, unpredictable Ethan, and clever, troubled Theo. Two enigmatic boys, who each harbour their own secrets. In a beautiful city and far from home, Kitty finds herself falling in love for the first time.
But will love be everything she expected? And will anyone's heart survive?
Review: Kitty and Theo have recently moved to Amsterdam. Kitty's mother's boyfriend's son is Ethan. The three of them must deal with falling in love, keeping secrets from each other, and getting through life.
I wanted to read this because it kept getting flagged up in chats for featuring bisecusl boys, and I'd been meaning to read things by Keren for a long time. Keren reading short story from Ethan's viewpoint made me want to know more about him and therefore I started on this.
It did seem a bit wandering regarding Kitty and Ethan's story, to start with (probably because I'm generally less interested in people working out who they like until there's bigger conflicts involved). I did like seeing the development of Theo's relationship with Sophie, which is told partially by flashback partially in the present too. I also liked seeing all the relationship strands between Kitty, Theo and Ethan converge and how that all panned out. The building and breakdown of relationships in this book are tumultuous, but good to read about.
I really enjoyed reading about different cultures - Jewish and Dutch. I especially liked that Keren provided characters with different attitudes to aspects of their culture, offering a range of characters within such an under-represented group.
The side characters made a good group. My favourite was Rachel, Kitty's sister, who was funny, and a good support for Kitty.
There's a lot of things our main trio have to deal with. Family relationships, working out friendships, health issues, fitting in when moving abroad... A lot is happening here, and I quite liked seeing how Theo and Kitty fit in after the move.
Part one is the climatic event, part two is before, part three is after. I liked this structure, as it catches your attention immediately, and establishes characters.
I loved the ending. Kitty's discussion with her friends is good for reminding all of us of some lessons in life. Characters' justifications for the way they wanted things were realistic, especially Ethan's (last paragraphs of chapter 44) and while the strands unpacked within the novel are tied up, there's still an openendedness for the future.
Overall:  
Strength 4 tea to a story that is not about love, but is about relationships, romantic, familial, and friendshippy, and overall about life.


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11. Theatre Review-A Midsummer Night's Dream, performed by the Arcola Queer Collective

Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Writer: William Shakespeare and Patrick Cash and company
Director: Nick Connaughton
Performed by: Arcola Queer Directive
Cast:  Sheena Anyanwu, Diego Benzoni, Miss Cairo, Daniel Correia, Anthony Cranfield, Vickie Dillon, Rudi Douglas, Camilla Harding, James Hartley, Stuart Honey, Damien Hughes, Krishna Istha, Rubyyy Jones, Damien Kileen, Bex Large, Phil Rhys Thomas.
Seen at: Arcola Theatre

Review: Hermia and Lysander are a happy couple, much to the protests of Hermia's homophobic mother Egeus. Helena is a young man in love with Demetrius, who pushes him away. The couples all get mixed up at a nightclub, La Forêt, when the owner Oberon uses Puck to matchmake. Meanwhile, Oberon's relationship to his wife Titania is breaking down over the care of an abducted Irish musician, while the backstage team of La Forêt prepare for their turn in the spotlight. Through Shakespearean verse and contemporary additions, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a tale of love, relationships, and how that all works out.

I was very excited for this. Midsummer is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, and the fact that they were making it to include queer characters and modernised made me even more interested.
I'm glad I knew it had added monologues before going in. I wouldn't have hated it if I hadn't, I would just have been puzzled to start with. The monologues are good additions, and I'll come to them later.
We're introduced to the last night of La Forêt. Introducing Puck as the in house drug dealer sets the tone. Then for the rest of the play, which happens mostly as Shakespeare intended, with some flashback scenes and speeches added in. 

I like most of the new characterisations. The Mechanicals have a weird love triangle/pining thing going on (Flute loves Quince, Snug makes physical moves on Quince, I'm not sure whether Quince reciprocates either of them. It's not really explored, or maybe I didn't notice it ) but they do produce a good play by the end of it. Theseus and Hippolyta were...bizarre. Were they high? Their comments are amusing ("Hermia can go to a convent or die" "That's a bit much." And "I will kiss the wall's hole" "Shakespeare is a pervert") but I'm not sure where their characters were going.
Other characters get better development. Puck is a cabaret, Doctor Frankenfurter like figure, introduced by a monologue of how he ran away then got into this culture. Hermia talks about her relationship with her mother. Helena's speech about porn and falling for Demetrius is funny and makes you love him. Bottom comes out of character and delivers a passionate speech, including poetry, about their identity and society, which I thought was a brilliant performance. 

There are four characters that this production of Midsummer changed my views on. First, Demetrius, who from the Shakespeare is normally one of my lesser favourites due to him being a bit of an asshole. Here, his speech about HIV gives him a reason for pushing Helena away, despite his feelings for him, and does not make him seem heartless.I also liked it because Oberon, listening to this speech, now has a more valid reason to work to get Helena and Demetrius together and finally yay bisexual visibility. Then there's Oberon and Titania, who are again a warring couple, but there's a confrontation scene at the start of the second half between them that is distinctly modern and pulls up the issues in their lives as they discuss the family and identity they left behind and how to go forwards. We see more flaws in both their characters than from the Shakespeare, and added new levels of manipulativeness, and I liked the new take on the relationship. Finally, there's the kidnapped boy they're fighting over-Irish here, as opposed to Indian, and given a chance to talk about his new life and chemsex, as opposed to being namedropped and maybe brought on with the fairies. He also provides really good keyboard and singing. 

The staging of this is good. They stay mostly on the main stage but sometimes use the upper level, where the Irish Boy and keyboard is stationed, and an aisle, for the flashbacks.I also enjoyed the little bits of audience interaction which made it more inclusive, but not so much to intrude on the main action.

They make full use of innuendo in the Pyramus and Thisbe scene, and the Titania and Bottom seduction scene, providing adult physical comedy that differs to the comedy I'm used to seeing from Midsummer (and the comedy that others are used to too-the performance I was at saw a group of old people leave for the interval and not come back).

The comedy is less present in the lover's fight scene, when Lysander and Demetrius are both artifically in love with Helena, while Hermia looks on. I think it might be because it takes the bad situation for Hermia (having both her suitors completely change tack and court her best friend Hermia) and makes it worse because there's something a little more heartwrenching as her girlfriend Lysander (who I think might have been a lesbian?) starts wooing a gay boy, and the friendship and romance falls apart. 

I think the strength of this performance is that they take the issues surrounding courtship and marriage that are present in the Shakespeare, and look at the issues surrounding courtship and marriage today, particularly within the queer community.


Overall:  Strength 4.5 tea to a play that easily weaves together Shakespearean and modern stories to create a play that is both funny and serious, but entirely powerful.
Arcola Queer Collective is currently performing Le Petit Prince, between 8 -13 February. More information here.


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12. Book Review- Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

First post of 2016! I'm starting as I hope to go on, with a review. Enjoy!
Title: Because You'll Never Meet Me
Author: Leah Thomas
Series: N/A
Published: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Length: 344 pages
Source: Publisher
Other info: This is Leah Thomas's debut. A sequel,  currently Nowhere Near You, should come in 2017.

Summary: Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.
A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine.

Review: Ollie is allergic to electricity-contact with devices means he'll have a seizure, or it will short out. Moritz was born without eyeballs and he has a pacemaker. And they live on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Still, they form a friendship, writing letters to each other, talking about their present and past.

I got sent this by the publishers. I didn't know what to expect, but the blurb looked good.
The story is told through the letters between Moritz and Ollie. Both write totally differently, reflecting their contrasting personalities. I think Ollie's style was more engaging, it is, for the most part, more enthusiastic, while Moritz is more controlled. However they're both styles that make you want to read on to learn about the characters, as they tell you about their struggles to interact with society, and their attempts to make it work.

Most of the book is telling us about the lives of the boys, separate from society for different reasons, but trying to interact. We meet friends like Liz, Fieke, and Owen, who help our main characters develop. I really liked watching Moritz and Ollie change, especially Ollie, as they both become more confident to do things on their own. Favourite moment- Moritz being taught how to read ink on paper.

When we do learn about their history, which seems quite late considering its focus in the blurb, for me, it's very out of the blue. I liked that we got a lot of coming of age and different stories, and this ending... I didn't see it coming, and it's a bit of a genre shift. Then again, I guess all the references to Daredevil does bring in some elements of it early...  I still prefer the friendship/growing up differently element of this story.  However, I did like the very ending, and the fact that you wonder about the stories of the other people who would be involved. I didn't see it coming, and There's a lot that could be written, in fanfic or by Thomas, or can be left open to your imagination.



Overall: Strength 4 tea to a story about an unusual friendship between two characters you love to watch.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads |  Foyles

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13. 2015 Round Up and Bookish Survey

The amount I have blogged this year has been shockingly low.... I do aim to have time to rectify that, because I love the community, but school and doing everything is difficult. *sigh*
Anyway, like last year, I'll fill this out as best as I can! Thank you,Jamie (The Perpetual Page Turner) for making and hosting this!

2015 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 93
Number of Re-Reads: 4, I think: The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Genre You Read The Most From:
...not sure. A bit of many things. Not much historical. A fair bit of contemporary.



Best In Books

1. Best Book You Read In 2015? Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli- see my review here.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? The Honours by Tim Clare. I love Clare's poetry, and was very excited for this, but it's not as gripping as I hoped and it's just been sitting by my bed.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read? Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. End Part One. Huge twist. Loved it.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)? Half of my time as literacy prefect at school has been spent pushing Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Also, Cat Clarke's Undone (three people immediately wanted to read it after I featured it in an assembly, which I call an immense success).

 5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?
The Gentlemen Bastards/Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Fantasy, adventure, sass. And the sequel- all that, plus lady pirates!!!

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015? I'm choosing two (collaborating) authors -Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison, who wrote Lobsters - their book is good and in person they're absolutely lovely: Look what they wrote in my copy!




7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone? Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison (contemporary, not LGBT focussed, romance) was light, funny, and true.

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz- fantasy, beautiful descriptions, and a really unique take on magic.

 9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year? Simon vs, aka the hug in book form. Or King Lear by Shakespeare, because that's for my English exam...

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015? The US cover of Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley.

11. Most memorable character of 2015? The Count from The Snow Child, in The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. Anyone who knows that story knows why. Anyone who doesn't know is probably better off that way.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015? Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. So much happiness. Review here
.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015? This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. So many perspectives, insights, and emotions. Review here.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?   How To Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lilis. Such an adorable story, aware of
fandom, and happy and funny and lovely.

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015? I want to put something from the James Michie translation of Catullus' poems, but I can't choose a favourite.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015? Pub Stuntman by Tim Clare, 67 pages. The Secret History by Donna Tart, 628 pages.


 17. Book That Shocked You The Most Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, as detailed earlier.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) Aristotle and Dante, as they discover the secrets of the Universe.
(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year The epistolary friendship between Ollie and Moritz in Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke – review here.


21. Best Book You Read In 2015That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, as a result of peer pressure. My review here.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015? Locke, Ezri and Zamira from Scott Lynch's works.

23. Best 2015 debut you read? The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Wiliamson - I reviewed it here

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year? The worlds in Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and Otherbound by Corrinne Duyvis

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read? Prudence by Gail Carriger.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015? This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
 and All of the Above by Juno Dawson.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year? … I don't know

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul? This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015? The Bees by Laline Paull. Entire dystopian set in a beehive.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?  Can't decide.

Your Bookish/Blogging Life

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015 I can't think of one. I met lots of new people on twitter and real life, but I can't call one a favourite!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015? Not of a book, but a theatre review of Secret Shakespeare with theHandlebards.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog? Bisexual characters for Bi-visibility day!

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)? Hmm.... attending YALC, Love Hurts signing, and YAShot, hosting people like Lisa Williamson and Kim Curran for blog tours.... many brilliant things.... but I'll go with TEDx! Non Pratt, Tom Pollock, Sarah Sky, and Faye (A Daydreamer's Thoughts) and Fionnula (Books for Birds) came, we had lots of talks, one by me (also, the editing people are very busy so the videos are going to be a long time coming... should I record as a vlog my talk on why you should read diversely? I was proud of it, and my ability to deliver it to 100 people without too many mistakes...)

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015? the many excellent twitter chats with people. Or my first Drink YA- lots of awesome people, and book themed cocktails! 

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year? Keeping up with it all!
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)? By view, according to Google Analytics, it's my EPQ on whether YA reinforces or challenges gender stereotypes...

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love? ….do any of them really deserve much love? eh... Not about a book, but my review of Spring Awakening performed by Renegade Theatre was nearly 1,000 words and no-one commented on it...

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? Thanks to Jim (YA Yeah Yeah) and Stacey (The Pretty Books) , Judd Books! Second hand book store in London, cheap, great non-fiction section. Yay!

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year? Haha probably not.

Looking Ahead


1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?
  Suetonius' Lives of the Twelve Caesars, for a research project which has become neglected in the last few weeks.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)? Robin Talley's As I Descended- I'm scared to read it because I've built it up to be mindblowing and I don't want to be disappointed but LESBIAN CONTEMPORARY MACBETH!!!


3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? Can't think of any.

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016? Can't think of any.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016? Keep up with reviews!

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone: This is Where it Ends.

Thank you for staying with me for another year of intermittent blogging and overenthusiastic tweeting! It's been a busy year for me, what with AS exams, starting work for A2, taking on a weekend job, applying for unis, and trying to gain some order with my life,  and next year looks to be similar or busier... anyway, happy new year, everyone!

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14. Book Review- The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

Title: The Penelopiad
Author: Margaret Atwood
Series: Canongate Myths
Published:  October 2005
Length:  198 pages
Source: library
Other info: Atwood has written many things, such as The Blind Assassin, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Heart Goes Last. The Penelopiad was written as part of the Canongate Myths series.
Summary : For Penelope, wife of Odysseus, maintaining a kingdom while her husband was off fighting the Trojan war was not a simple business. Already aggrieved that he had been lured away due to the shocking behaviour of her beautiful cousin Helen, Penelope must bring up her wayward son, face down scandalous rumours and keep over a hundred lustful, greedy and bloodthirsty suitors at bay...And then, when Odysseus finally returns and slaughters the murderous suitors, he brutally hangs Penelope's twelve beloved maids. What were his motives? And what was Penelope really up to? 

Review: Since her husband Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War, and then gets caught up for ten years on the way back, Penelope has been left running her household, and fighting off suitors who want to marry her, and eat her out of house and home. Now that she's dead, she's ready to tell her side of the tale, as are the twelve maids who were hanged.
According to Goodreads, I read this a few years ago and gave it three stars, but I don't remember doing that. Now I know the Odyssey a bit more, and we're doing a feminist-orientated piece of English coursework, I decided to pick this up, and now I understand things better, I loved it.
There's reinterpretations and challenges to the characters and stories. Obviously, there's those against Odysseus, where there's the question of whether the Cyclops he fought was a monster or a one-eyed barkeeper, and whether his years with Circe and Calypso were spent in brothels or nymphs and witches. But there's also a conversation with Antinous, one of the suitors, explaining why they wanted to marry Penelope so much, and the presentation of Helen as vain, proud, and wanting to conquer men just because she can. Atwood has taken inspiration from multiple sources, not just Homer's epic, but also theories from Robert Graves (who used many writers to inform his work) and Homeric hymns. I like the possibilities this gave Atwood to work with, and the ways she used them.
Penelope's voice often dryly comments on various parts of the stories, and I enjoyed her different insights. What I liked most was the use of the chorus, the twelve maids, whose chapters mostly alternate with Penelope's and change styles each time. Poems, songs, plays, and a transcript of a modern-day murder trial are some of the ways the maids pass their story on in many ways. The writing is well crafted, allowing each of the styles as well as Penelope's main narration to work together to make a story that is intriguing and easy to read.

Overall: Strength 5 tea to a book that makes you think about the different interpretations a myth can have, and provides a new one.



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15. YA Shot Tour- Interview with Lisa Williamson

Today, I’m very excited to welcome Lisa Williamson on the YA Shot tour!
YA Shot is an event that will take place  in Uxbridge on 28 October, organised by Alexia Casale and many other people. Over 71  will be there, tickets are up-to £20, and there’s a full day of panels and booky –MG and YA- things happening!

 Lisa Williamson is the author of The Art of Being Normal, which I reviewed here and really enjoyed. I got the chance to interview her, and I loved her answers, and couldn’t wait to share!

Do you think reading is important for teens today, and why?

I do! I'm convinced those who read fiction make for kinder, more sensitive and empathetic people. Having said that, not every teen is going to be reader and I think it's important we don't ever make anyone feel bad or inadequate about not reading for pleasure. What we should really be doing is finding a way of exposing reluctant readers to the range and breadth of books out there in such a way that doesn't feel enforced. I often meet young people who adore the Hunger Games films but would never think of reading the books. Changing that mindset without being preachy is hard! I often describe my personal experience of reading the Hunger Games for the first time and try to communicate just how intense that was, because instead of sitting in a cinema full of people watching Katniss fight to the death, I was actually there with her, in her head, just the two of us! For me growing up, books represented escape and relaxation. I loved how private and personal my relationship with a book felt, regardless of how many other people I knew had also read it. Reading also helped me figure out who I was, or rather who I wanted to be, and how to make sense of my place in the world. 

Has reading ever done anything for you that you wouldn't mind sharing?

As I mentioned, as a teenager, reading was an escape. When I was thirteen, I was bullied for a short but intense period. Reading made me feel safe and a bit less lonely. I've grown up with the feeling that books are my friend. 

Do you have any stories of people saying how TAOBN has helped them?

I do, and it's probably been the best part of being a published author. TOABN is told from the point of view of a young transgender person, and although I'd done masses of research and endeavoured to be as authentic and sensitive as possible, I was mindful of my responsibility as an author and, pre-publication, very fearful of 'getting it wrong'. Since the book has been out, I've been overwhelmed by the tweets and emails I've received. One young person said the book gave him the courage to come out to his parents. Another said she'd given it to her friends to help them understand what she's going through. Another said how happy she'd been to see the book displayed proudly in a high street bookshop and how it made her feel like she was no longer 'a freak'. All these messages have moved me deeply and demonstrate just how vital diverse books are! 

Do you think books can help people in ways that other media can't?

Books are an amazing tool for sparking discussion. It can be daunting to have a conversation with your family about, for example, gender identity, but if you use a fictional story as a stimulus, it can be a much easier and safer way in. My boyfriend's mother died recently having suffered from Alzheimer's for a number of years. There is a lot of literature on the subject available online. However, I found the most useful material for helping me understand the disease were fictional titles (namely Still Alice, Elizabeth is Missing and Unbecoming). By inviting me to step into the shoes of a dementia sufferer, my perceptions and understanding were turned upside down and I feel I became more compassionate and patient as a result. Emotions are so powerful and I think stories that tap into this part of our brain have the power to change hearts and minds in a way I just don't think a pamphlet or online article can. 

What's your favourite way of promoting books to teens?

Talking to them! I love talking to teenagers, not just about books but pretty much anything that excites them. I did an event recently where I ended up talking a lot about my personal experiences as a teenager. I was really open about being bullied and being in an emotionally abusive relationship and feeling scared about my future and afterwards several teens came forward and opened up to me in return. I think there's a real expectation that adults have their shit together and I wonder if we're doing teenagers a disservice by not being more open about our thoughts and feelings, even if they're in retrospect. I think it would have made a massive difference to me growing up. 
I also love speaking at literary festivals. A whole festival devoted to books? What's not to love? 

How important do you think compulsory reading eg for GCSEs is?

I think it's very important, even if those young people never go on to read a single book ever again. However, I definitely feel it's time to shake up the reading list. Teenagers are reading the same books I read at school twenty years ago and that's not right. For one, the teachers need to feel passionate about what they're teaching and how can they feel energised and motivated to teach a book when it's the tenth, twentieth, maybe even thirtieth time they've shared it with a class? The books I remember from school are often the ones I got the sense my teacher really got a kick out of teaching us.

I wonder if it's at all practical to introduce weekly or even daily 'story time' in schools? Every time I read aloud in a school, the kids seem to really chill out and actually listen. It made me think of how there's something really relaxing and uniting about listening to a story in a big group. Being read to at school would also mean young people who don't usually read off their own backs would be exposed to stories they would wouldn't be otherwise, and might, just might, be motivated enough by the experience to seek out a book of their own. 

If you could give one book to every teenager, what would it be and why?

Yikes, that's tough! This is perhaps a more female-focussed title (although I think boys should most definitely seek it out too!) but 'Am I Normal Yet?' by Holly Bourne is an utter joy, celebrating female friendship in a way that's not often seen in YA fiction. It's also funny and moving and explores mental health in a way that's really accessible and real. I also recently read 'Goodbye Stranger' by Rebecca Stead. It's for slightly younger readers (the protagonist is twelve) and absolutely nails the nature of adolescent friendships in a very beautiful and understated way. I'm all about the friendship at the moment! 



Reminder: you can find Lisa on Twitter here, TAOBN on Goodreads here, and you can buy it in hardback from Hiveor from David Fickling. If you’d like to wait for the paperback, it’ll be here on 7th January 2016.


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16. Theatre Review: Willy's Bitches

 I'm sorry for taking so long to get this up! 

Title: Willy’s Bitches
Written By:Shannon Thurstone
Performed by: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Director: Philip Howard
Music: Tamara Saringer 
Seen at: Assembly Checkpoint, Edinburgh Fringe
Review: Willy’s Bitches is a cabaret show featuring various women of Shakespeare. A variety of characters are used, selected from tragedies, comedies, and histories, and they take you on a journey of classical dialogue and modern music.
 So, there’s a joke in my family that anything I read/watch is gay, feminist, murderous, or Shakespeare. I was looking through the giant list of shows at Edinburgh and I came across this, which promised to be three of these things...I had to go and see it!
My favourites were Rachel Graham as a cold, distant, creepy Lady Macbeth, and Hannah Kerbes and Samantha Taylor Burnes as Beatrice and Kate, drinking and singing a bawdy song. Jenny Douglas was a really strong Julia, who is played with a lot more madness than a)I would have read from Two Gentleman of Verona and b) than Brigid Shine’s sweet and vulnerable Ophelia. Melanie Morton and Shannon Thurston make a great comic pair as Helena and Hermia fighting, while Queen Mary (Ash Henning) was powerful and terrifying.  I’m also in love with how they  performed Lavinia’s part, with eerie harmonising as she emerges following her mutilation, then Lauren Meyer sings a powerful song about rape culture.
The music is really good- I wish they’d released a soundtrack. The harmonies introducing Lavinia sounded brilliant, and every actress had a voice that fit their song. There’s a small band on stage, which provides the men for the women to interplay with, which I liked seeing (Lady Macbeth scaring I think it was the clarinettist, while the guitarist takes the part of York). The music varies between styles, which fit the plays being referenced.
The staging was simple, some chairs and a table, which got moved around as and when needed. By costume, we saw each of the plays being set in very different settings, mixing the canon time period with modern with 50s fashion, and I liked the mixture of aesthetics.
I wasn’t expecting it to be in this format (being listed as a musical, I was expecting all the women to interplay with each other a lot more than they did, and it would have been nice if they had) but the transitions from play to play worked, even if it did just end seemingly randomly following Margaret’s section. I’d have also liked a bit more of the speech to come through, and to get to know a bit more of the women’s stories from what I saw on stage, rather than filling in gaps with research afterwards.

Overall: Strength 4 tea to a strong new take on Shakespeare

 LinksCompany


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17. Happy Bisexual Visibility Day!

So, I'm still snowed under with work because fitting everything around a personal statement that needs to be in in two days, four hundred characters shorter than it currently is while still conveying everything I want it to, is making me lose the will to live. Still, I need a break, and I thought I'd do a little post. And it's Bisexual Visibility Day (at least for the next three two hours-it took me a long time to write this). I could do a thoughtful post of what I want or don't want in bisexual representation in fiction/the media, or other analyses. But as I'm kind of tired, so here's a few of some of my favourite bisexual (using my definition of characters  "has the ability to be attracted to 1)people of our own gender and 2)people of other genders") I've encountered in books.



Micah and Drystan from Pantomime by Laura Lam (my review here)
They're really intriguing people-we meet them in a circus,  in book two, they're magicians, Drystan's funny, and Micah's genearlly awesome.  Also, their relationship is adorable (if only Laura hadn't done -that- to Aenea!!!)

Kitty and Delilah from Hollow Pike by James Dawson (my review here)
The last time I read Hollow Pike was a few years ago, and my memory is kind of hazy, but I remember loving how  Kitty stands up for herself,  while Delilah is eternally sweet, and they make a brilliant couple.

Professor Lyall from The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger
I think I remember Akeldama saying that Lyall was bi... If he is, he makes this list- werewolf beta who gained a professorship from studying sheep breeding, makes sarcastic remarks and

Magnus Bane from the Infernal Devices/ Mortal Instruments series  by Cassandra Clare
Once again, another character whose sarky comments make me love them. Also, his magic, his adventures, and his fashion sense.

Olivia, Orsino, and Viola from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
OK, it's not officially stated, but Orsino does fall for Viola while he believes she's a man, Viola's soliloquy never says she's rejecting Olivia, she just seems to be "argh we're all in love in a A loves B loves C thing", and I don't think  Olivia would have minded too much to have married Viola (believing her to be a man), then later found her a woman, having already fallen in love.

I've also read other books featuring bisexual characters- Far From You, Grasshopper Jungle, Adaptation... I can't make my mind think of them right now- but I wouldn't be putting them on this list because the characters weren't as memorable. And sorry for such a short post! I hope to be able to concentrate on blogging soon... *needs sleep first*

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18. Book Review- This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Title:   This is Where It Ends

Author:  Marieke Nijkamp
Series:   N/A
Published:    5th January 2016
Length:  292 pages
Source: The #TIWIEUKTour organised by Luna of Luna’s Little Library
Summary :  10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Review: This is the story of a school shooting, told as it happens from the perspectives of the shooter's sister Autumn, Autumn's girlfriend Sylv, Sylv's brother Tomás, and the shooter's ex-girlfriend, Claire. 
I wanted to read this because it's an amazing setup, and Marieke is brilliant on Twitter.
This was a would-be-one-sitting-if-life-didnt-get-in-the-way book.  It starts normally, setting up friendships and relationships (quite a few, and it’s a little confusing   because there’s lots of people introduced at the same time but you pick it up as you carry on)  to start with it’s just a normal school day  but after 10.05 it's full on until the end. There's books where you can't stop reading, then there's this.
I liked the multimedia approach, showing tweets, blogs, and texts from those involved and on the outside. The helplessness of everyone on the outside comes through, and I liked the way Marieke showed how tragedy doesn’t just affect those there.
Emotions. All the emotions for everyone. Particularly on page 212 of the proof, where one character slips into the conditional and that’s one of the most heartbreaking parts in the book (there's a few). But everywhere you see characters you know and don't know and fear for them and need to know what's going to happen.
I think the biggest thing about this book for me is how immediate it is. I’m  someone who’s grown up in the UK, where the last school shooting happened in 1996, before I was born, and was followed by pressure groups and the banning of handguns. As a result, when we hear of things like this happening, it’s horrifying and upsetting but you still feel distanced because, despite knowing that this could happen anywhere, living in the UK with its strict gun control laws makes it  harder to imagine a society where there’s the possibility of something like this happening and you practise what to do if it does, despite knowing that this is some people’s reality.
 TIWIE does one of the things I like most about reading contemporary/realistic fiction: make different situations real. The fully diverse cast of victims, survivors, and shooter is developed, and we see their dreams, their experiences, and lives. We see the people involved as people, not just names in a news report, which is, I think, why TIWIE is so hard hitting.


Overall:  Strength 5 tea to one of the most intense books I've ever read.


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19. Theatre Review: Secret Shakespeare by William Shakespeare and The Handlebards

So, my Edinburgh Fringe theatre reviews are ready to be posted! They’ll come as often as I can, but I have a lot of school work to do, plus I’m doing work exp
erience at a law firm and ugh travelling is tiring. They’ll come though. And book reviews will resume shortly, and maybe some other things. Thanks for sticking around!   

Title:  Secret Shakespeare (A Shakespeare play, but I can't say which one)
Writer: William Shakespeare
Director: James Farrell & Emma Sampson
Performed by: The Handlebards
Major cast:  Calum Hughes Mcintosh,  Callum Brodie, Tom Dixon, Paul Moss
Seen at:  ...somewhere pretty.

Review: The Handlebards are four actors who have been cycling up from London to Edinburgh, carrying their costumes and props, and stopping every so often to perform a show. Secret Shakespeare is where the audience joins them to meet up in the city centre, get given bikes, ride out about 5 miles-ish, and then enjoy the show. I'm not allowed to tell you much about the play in specifics, due to the secret thing, but I'll say what I can.
The ride was easy, even for someone who hasn't ridden for years, and led by professionals. We cycled through parts of the city I probably would never have seen if I'd spent all my time in the centre, so that was nice.
The location was beautiful. Beautiful behind the audience, beautiful behind the stage, it was a great place to be. It's an open air show, with tents providing the wings and gazebos for the audience to sit under. Oh, and the rain wasn't too bad!
When they said what play they were doing, I was very happy. I hadn't seen it before, but I was familiar with the storyline.
I love the puppetry. It's first used to illustrate the exposition speech, which was very useful because it is a confusing set up. It's later used to represent characters in some scenes where there's meant to be more than four characters on stage. Other ways of getting around the "only four actors" thing includes holding out key identifying costume pieces, audience participation, and plates.
The multiroling is superb. All four actors have to switch costumes and characters very very quickly, sometimes speaking back to themselves. Costume, voice, and movement changes make clearly defined characters. I really enjoyed the characterisation, especially of the women.
I did find it going a bit too fast in places, and I'm not sure if it's because of the Handlebards format or the writing. Probably both. Despite this, I really enjoyed the show.



Overall:  Strength 5 tea to an inventive take on an old play, and a great evening out.

Links:  Company

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20. Edinburgh Fringe 2015

You may have noticed from Twitter and Instagram, I'm at Edinburgh Fringe!! I'm having a brilliant time and I've seen some wonderful shows. Now, I've promised reviews to all the plays I've seen, and they are being written. But formatting and dealing with pictures does not work on my phone, so I'll post the properly formatted theatre reviews when I'm back at home. In the meantime, my reviews are uploaded to the Fringe ticketing website, so you can look at them there. 

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21. Mini Reviews: Rainbow Boys and Shades of Grey

Title: Rainbow Boys
 Author: Alex Sanchez
Published: October 2001 by Simon and Schuster
Source: Bought
Review: A look at life for queer teens at the turn in the millenium. I like how some things, such as pressures of coming out, falling in love, and dealing with bullying, are themes that are still relevant today, but it really does seem firmly set in its time place. I also like the fact it shows people in different stages of accepting their sexuality, and various questions related to all of them.
 It felt like a gentle story of exploration. Our three main characters discover sexuality, new love, and new experiences.I feel it was probably a great book when it was first published, when the market of books featuring queer characters was very very small. Reading it today, when we have a lot more representation, with a lot more nuanced characters, I felt it was very very tropey- Nelson especially seemed like the archetypal flamboyant gay, with not much else going for him. On a much less serious note, “chartreuse” hair....  Then again, this was written in the early 2000s, so Rainbow Boys might be an originator of these tropes. Or maybe all that could get sold at that time. I don’t know. Despite this, I did enjoy following the characters and their emotions.  I also like how it did bring up the issue of safe sex well
My favourite thing is that whoever chose the models for the cover I got does not appear to have read the book.

Overall: Strength 3 tea to  an early LGB YA novel.
Links: Goodreads


Title : Shades of Grey
Author: Jasper Fforde
Published: December 2009 by Penguin
Source: Bought
Review: I picked this up because of the cover, and bought it because a review said it was "full of witticisms, wordplay, and puns", and was described as a cross between Douglas Adams and George Orwell. For me, it didn’t live up to the fun I expected from the comparison with Adams, but the Orwellian aspects were strong.
I most enjoyed reading about this new society Fforde created. Extracts from the Rulebook head every chapter, and we got a good look at the workings of the society as we learnt bits about it gradually. The characters were interesting, but I didn’t really connect.
I felt that plotwise, it took a long time to get going, and when it did, it was often really confusing. It did clear up towards the end, providing a clear set up for later books in the trilogy, but for this book, it was quite late. There’s many different strands, with a murder mystery, marrying to improve social status but maybe being in love with someone who you can’t marry, finding out about the Something That Happened. Normally, I like mixes like these, but for some reason, it felt really confusing here.

Overall: Stregnth 2 tea to a book with a great concept, but was less fun to read.

Links: Goodreads

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22. Snapshot reviews- Firestarter, Only Ever Yours, Firewallers, The Crane Wife

Hi everyone! Firstly, I had a brilliant time at the Sunday of YALC. I got more books than I should have done, and met so many wonderful people. Thank you everyone for a great day!

Second, Rebecca is the winner of a signed, unpersonalised copy of The Lost and the Found! I will post it some time this week/  There’s still one unsigned copy to be won... if you're reading this on Saturday 25th, there's a twitter giveaway going on... 


Third! I have a giant pile of books I’ve read that I don’t feel I can write fully about.  So I asked Georgia, aka the Bibliomaniac, if I could use her format of very mini reviews (such as here) and she said yes! Thank you, Georgia!  Here’s a very quick snapshot at some things I’ve been reading...





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23. Book Review: The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

Title:  The Art of Being Normal
Author:  Lisa Williamson
Series:   N/A
Published:    1 January 2015 by David Fickling
Length:  368 pages
Source: library
Other info: This was Lisa’s debut
Summary :  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 know 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 eleven is definitely not part of that plan.
When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long…


Review: David, seen by everyone as a boy, really a girl, is continually teased and misunderstood by everyone bar his best friends, from parents to bullies. Leo is the new guy, with rumours about why he left his old school running around, and he just wants to be invisible. They  become friends after  Leo sticks up for David, and they
I enjoyed watching the friendship between David and Leo, the ups and downs and the things they tell eachother. Both narrations are well fleshed out, and so are most of the side characters.  My favourites were probably Alicia, Essie, and Felix, who are all great in their own way and who I want to befriends with.
I enjoyed the represntation of trans people here. I loved the fact that we see a trans character who has already undergone some of the transition process, and that being trans is not the only facet of their being, they have siblings, families, friends, and romantic issues to navigate too. I also liked the way we saw how gender expectations also influenced the trans characters’ perceptions of themselves, such as David’s despair at his growth spurt, defying his hopes to be small and feminine, because of the expectations society sets for women.
I  really appreciated the look at life as a queer child in a modern, less tolerant environment. I’m really lucky to live in a very tolerant school where our trans community, as far as I know, are treated with respect by both staff and students, and there’s no physical bullying. I know nationwide  figures for bullying, but like with many things, it all becomes more real, more important, if you’re reading a more fleshed out story, be it fact or fiction, than just looking at statistics.
I found  it weird that Leo continues to call David David and he when he’s learn David’s chosen name. I don’t know if that’s internalised cisnormativity or something. I just noticed and wondered why he of all people would continue  with that. It changes by the end though. Eh, I don’t know.
I really liked the look at  complex family relationships. Leo’s quest to find his father. David’s continual hiding and eventual coming out. The support given and not given to each child. It varies, and feeds into each character.
Emotions were had when reading this. Sadness for the environment that allows the continued bullying. Sadness and happiness when Leo and Alicia get together. Happiness and pride for David when coming out. Pure happiness at the Christmas ball they put up and how happy David.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to an eyeopening story about friendship, family, and  being transgender today.


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24. Book review and GIVEAWAY! The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke

Title:  The Lost and the Found
Author:   Cat Clarke
Published:   2 July 2015 by Quercus
Length:   441 pages
Source: publisher
Other info: Cat Clarke has written awesomeness! I have reviewed Entangled, Undone, A Kiss in the Dark, and Torn here. She has also written Fallen.

Summary : LOST. When six-year-old Laurel Logan was abducted, the only witness was her younger sister. Faith's childhood was dominated by Laurel's disappearance - from her parents' broken marriage and the constant media attention to dealing with so-called friends who only ever wanted to talk about her sister. FOUND. Thirteen years later, a young woman is found in the garden of the Logans' old house, disorientated and clutching the teddy bear Laurel was last seen with. Laurel is home at last, safe and sound. Faith always dreamed of getting her sister back, without ever truly believing it would happen. But a disturbing series of events leaves Faith increasingly isolated and paranoid, and before long she begins to wonder if everything that's lost can be found again...

Review: Six year old Laurel Logan was abducted.  However, after thirteen years, she’s back. The Logan family must deal with the resulting media coverage, and the challenge of putting together a family that’s changed so much.
I wanted to read this because I generally love Cat Clarke (she’s one of the few authors with a collection on my keep-forever shelf) and she’s good at writing books that leave you thinking.
I loved how we didn’t see Faith drop everything she had in in the pre-return life when Laurel came back, she kept with her relationship and her  friendship and they supported her. I loved the relationship that grew between Faith and Laurel.  I loved the family relationship (my parents are separated and I totally understand the resentment from one parent when the other gets a new partner (also, Michael is absolutely wonderful with his cooking and love of Harry Potter)).
I loved the gradual revelation of things regarding Laurel. Cat tends to write brilliant characters, with lots of elements to them, and she’s done it again. You see things lots of things get set up that can change things majorly, little tensions build, and you want to know how it’ll play out, even though at times it does take time to get to the reveal. I did see the big twist coming from the start. Not the details, but the main thing.  But I’m really happy with the way it developed from there, because we got a new side of Laurel that I hadn’t expected.
My favourite thing was the questions raised regarding the treatment of missing people in the media. It’s so accurate and it’s nice to see it coming up and being challenged. Also, the very last paragraph of the penultimate chapter, the second person thing before the news article. That just left me with emotions.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a slowly growing thriller about family and  many kinds of relationships.

Here’s chapter 8 of THE LOST AND THE FOUND, in case this hasn’t convinced you to read it.



And hey, I have two copies of THE LOST AND THE FOUND to give away! UK ONLY, ends end of 15 July 2015. To enter,  comment with your email address and why you want to  read this book! Upto three extra entries may be gained by linking your spreading of the word of the giveaway, ie by tweet, facebook, or your blog. Good luck, and don’t forget to check out the other stops on the tour!


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25. TEDx HAPPENED!


You may have noticed me on Twitter speaking about TEDx. Well, it happened, and it went really well.
TEDx is an offshoot of the TED talks, where a collection of speakers come and do short talks on a subject of their choosing. The x marks the event as independently organised. One of my friends, Tanya, decided we should do a TEDx event. She looked into getting a license, she got one, and plans started being made.
  


We had a mix of students and external speakers and performers, all covering a range of topics.


NON PRATT, author of TROUBLE and REMIX, talked about how we condition generations into genders.
SARAH SKY, author of the JESSICA COLE series, gave us a quick tour though female spies, past and present.
The A LEVEL DRAMA group did part of their performance of Monsters, revolving around the killing of Jamie Bulger
SHONA DIXON analysed  the response to Ebola.
DR GEORGINA NEALL talked about, among other things, how she balances studying, working, and raising four children.
TOM POLLOCK, author of THE SKYSCRAPER THRONE series, examined the media's role in creating fear in the masses.
GABBY WASSER told us about how mushrooms can help, heal, or bring about an apocalypse
CHARLOTTE SPRUZEN was one of two explaining the science of science fiction, looking at how time travel would theoretically work.
SONDER, a band made up of two students, played two songs.
SARAH RABY BUCK gave the second science of science fiction talk, explaining how biochemistry could work on other worlds.
NATALIE RUSSO talked about the importance of language and why it's not too late to learn a new one.
JEANNIE GALSTON , ex Miss Universe, told us what it was like to be a model in the days before Photoshop.
NAFEESA MOHAMMED performed some of her work (she's an amazing slam poet) and what poetry means for her.
I, NINA CRISP, did a talk about why you should diversify your reading. What else would I say?
REBECCA JURDON summed up very eloquently the failings of an exam orientated education system.


All these talks will soon be available on YouTube, so if you missed them and want to see them, or if you want to relive them, you can! I'll link them when they're available.


We had a selection of world food, both main and desert. The highlights were the  cupcakes. We sold books, both the authors' and some diverse ones I highlighted in my talk.


We also had plans to have a bloggers' alley, but it didn't work out because we forgot that devices need to be registered to the school's WiFi system to work, and that the council's service blocks all blogs anyway. Still, it was brilliant to see FAYE (A Daydreamer's Thoughts) and FIONNUALA (Books for Birds).


Thank you, everyone who came and supported us, especially all our external speakers and bloggers who came from a long way away! Also, thank you all the people who worked hard on making TEDx Beaconsfield High a thing. It was brilliant.

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