We'd seen #CursedChild the day before this photo and Potter fever was still running high. It was seriously the best thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Such a spectacle, with magic happening right in front of your eyes on stage! Embarrassingly, my eyes started leaking almost as soon as I sat down (I'm not crying, you're crying!) and I was so emotional during both parts. It was amazing to be back in that world. Go see it if you can! ⚡️

Loved it! Arsinoe, Katharine and Mirabella are triplets borne to the Queen and separated at 6 to hone their gifts; naturalism, poison and elementalism. At their coming of age, one of the three young Queens must kill the other two in order to claim the throne. Add in lots of juicy political plotting, intrigue and solid characters and here we are. Unfortunately now I have to wait for the next book! No swearing, some mild sexual references.

I'll be so sad when the holidays are over and I can't escape to the park to read. Diving into my proof of Three Dark Crowns, released on the 22nd of next month. Love KB so hoping for good things!

Starting the day off the right way! First pick for #24in48 - finishing off the one I started yesterday. I'm super busy this weekend but you can't let that get in the way of a bit of reading :)

Pokemon hunting by the canal with a lovely new book. I love summer holidays ☀️

This is such an important read. Highlights the plight of the Burmese Rohingya people, declared by the UN and Amnesty International as one of the most persecuted people on earth. Hunted into extinction by the Myanmar government, forced from their homes and killed or left to die. Many end up in refugee camps and detention centres like the one described in the book and never get out. Read it. Read it. Read it.

About to settle down with my beautiful proof of The Bone Sparrow. I love proofs even more than regular books. There's something so special about them and I'm so greedy for them. They're like the shiny Pokemon of books.

Got my copy signed by the incredible Jim Kay 😍😱 Listened to him give an absorbing and interesting talk on illustrating the novels; he's such a brilliant man, really friendly and funny, and his illustrations are sublime.

I devoured this in one sitting as soon as I got my hands on it and then made my SO sit and listen to my (many) favourite poems. Longfella is amazing, go see him live if you can. Super inspiring, passionate, terribly sad and wonderfully funny. Get it!

I can't explain how much I love this.

ADORE ADORE ADORE this book! It's beautiful and charming; lilac edged pages and wonderful typography, and a sweet and melancholy story I didn't want to end. A million stars out of 5. I want to give it to everyone I meet. Please read it!

Yay! Won a free copy of this for my library from Penguin and it came this morning! May have to check it thoroughly before I let the pupils at it..! It sounds excellent.

READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW! It was SO funny; it's been a long time since a YA book made me laugh this much. Reminiscent of the late great Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson books but with less sarcasm towards parents. Funny, smart, and I want Lou as a best friend! 5⭐️

I'm in love with this book! It's so beautiful and has a bit of a The Graveyard Book vibe to it.

The best thing about this was the Goo Goo Dolls ref in the title. I found it too coarse and vulgar, almost for the sake of it. The characters seemed cliché, which is a shame if it's based on true events. Didn't bail but didn't enjoy. ARC from NetGallery.

'Zoe' has done something awful, something she can't admit to her family, so she decides to write letters to a death-row inmate to confess. Interesting, engaging characters, kept me on my toes til the end. Love her little sister, Dot! 4/5*

Got this as an ARC from NetGallery for an honest review. I enjoyed this a lot; more than I expected to. Risuko and other children are bought and trained to be kunouchi - assassins and spies and bodyguards. Only downside was "smirked" was used on almost every page ??

Getting started on my ARC of Risuko - love it so far. Risuko ('Squirrel') has been bought from her family by a cantankerous Lady and is being trained for... something. Lots of samurai, fighting and intrigue. YA.

Nothing better than lying in the sun with a brand new book ☀️

ARC from NetGallery. Hmm, this was ok. Mallory's a painfully shy ex-foster kid who was abused as a child. She runs into her old protector on day1 of school and they fall in love. The writing was good, but all the way through I kept asking myself "what's the point of this?". I wouldn't read it again.

So glad I got an ARC of this from NetGallery. Hawthorne feels like an outsider in her own life, and when pretty popular Lizzie Lovett disappears one day she finds herself creating wacky theories about it. A strong voice from p1, funny and relatable for anyone who's ever felt misunderstood. TBR it!

A brilliant ending to the series, with an ending I wouldn't want to change. Actually, I can't think of anything I'd want to change!

Got an ARC of this from NetGallery and it was SO good! Maddie's gram is dying, and she books the whole family onto a 'death with dignity' cruise where they'll tick off things on her bucket list with her. Funny, wise, heartbreaking. Whack it on your TBR pile, you won't regret it.

Ronan lynch's stare was a snake on the pavement where you wanted to walk. It was a match left on your pillow. It was pressing your lips together and tasting your own blood.

Ok so. I was a little reluctant to start this for some reason but I'm so glad I stuck with it. The writing was beautiful, the mystery was intriguing and it was so atmospheric. I loved the descriptions of the tree and Faith was was a kickass protagonist. Read it!

She did not feel hot or helpless any more. She felt the way snakes look when they move.

Same as my review for Blacksad; more gorgeous illustrations bringing the stories of private detective cat John Blacksad to life. Don't expect cuddly kids' stories though, these are whip sharp, intelligent and gloriously dark.

I ADORE THIS! Crime noir set in 1950s America, populated by anthropomorphic animals. Also, you know when the cover of a GN is so beautiful and you hope the art inside lives up to that promise but it never does..? This really does! It's beautiful, start to finish. Get it. Read it. Love it.

This was such an important but uncomfortable read.

Emma's a pretty unlikeable 18 y/o who loves to feel desired by men. After waking up with a gap in her memory after a party, she learns the truth of the events of the evening through explicit photos on social media. Scary, relevant, cautionary.

Got an ARC through NetGallery and loved it! At turns funny, thought-provoking, wise and sad, EET made me glad to not be a teenager any more and thankful I'm comfortable with myself and my life now.

Tried so hard to like this, and love some of his other work. I felt this thought too much of itself and tried to be clever but didn't quite make it. I finished it but didn't enjoy it.

Written as a sequel to the classic, the Psammead returns at the start of WW1. The family will not be the same by the end of the book.

Another brilliant LGBTQ offering from David Levithan and introduced me to Nina LaCour. Mark's in love with his best friend Ryan. Kate's in love with a girl she hasn't met. Their friendship is the core of the book. Loved it!

Grace and Tippi are homeschooled conjoined twins who decide to brave school for the first time, hoping for friendship and maybe even love, but mainly the chance to be as normal as possible. What happens will change their lives forever.

Loved this. Sarah and Linda are on each side of the integration struggle in a previously all-white highschool. Their lives become more difficult as they realise they're falling for each other. Uncompromising view of racism in Virginia in the late 50s. LGBT gets extra bonus points.

Liked this more than I thought I would - arsonist Iris meets her dying uber-rich father for the first time in years, while her golddigging mother tries to work out how to get her hands back on his fortune. Lies are uncovered and revenge meted. Read it!

Shelby's been overprotected her whole life, but when she gets hit by a car her mum takes her on the run for reasons unknown. Also there's a mystical coyote who keeps appearing. It's way better than it sounds - read it!

I loved this sweet story. Ethan lives on a houseboat and is homeschooled after a traumatic event causes him to stop speaking. He meets Polly, a girl his age whose friendship slowly starts to bring him out of his shell. Good for KS2 and low ability KS3.

This book, and the whole Fitz series, is phenomenal. I first read this years ago and I read the series minimum once a year (usually just before a new book release). Hobb's world building is so intricate, her characters are well-fleshed and the premise is fascinating. This librarian's favourite ever.