Book Review: The earth, my butt and other big round things!

4/5 stars!

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Eating disorder, sexual violence, suicidal thoughts, self harm

The plot really started after the first 100 pages.

This book has been updated since it was first published in 2003, little details like the characters texting now rather than emailing. I love that these changes have been made because this story is a very important one.

We follow Virginia as she comes to terms with something happening in her family that flips everything on its head. It's not fully detailed because we are seeing life from Virginia's perspective and she doesn't know all of the details. The event is horrendous but the victim has hope and seems to rather be a survivor. She represents the readers who have also been through a traumatic event but have come through it. This book also shows that both families involved are still very human.

I do wonder though, whether it's only American students that eat their lunch alone in a bathroom stall. I have never experienced this happening before - let me know in the comments if you did this and aren't from America.

The food police are the worst!

I disliked Virginia's friendship with Shannon. She always seemed to have an excuse for not calling or texting V. I also disliked the school bully, obviously, Brie. However, there is something going on with her and V doesn't support her even though she is probably the only person questioning it.

V's Mum can't use the word 'fat' and I wonder if this has anything to do with her childhood that was hinted at. Anais could be a great sister but she is in Africa throughout the entire book so she doesn't have a big role to play. Maybe she will be more present in the second. I hope.

I loved Alyssa. She is going to be a great friend for V and this feels like a great set up for the second book. I also loved Mrs Crowley who was the only supportive adult that V interacted with. Dr Love seemed to point her in the right direction.

Book Review: Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index

5/5 stars

One of my favourite books of the year so far!

Trigger warning: sucidal thoughts

p. 254 'Our kisses still spin fireworks and raging snow'

We follow Juniper, 65 painful days after her sister, Camilla's death. Juniper finds an unsent letter from Cam to You on the first day back to school and this sets off a snowball effect throughout the school year. We see Juniper as she makes new friends, rekindles old friendships and stands up to the school bully. She always has the right intentions but sometimes she doesn't take the easiest path to get there which causes conflict between the characters.

I love Juniper's friendship group, each have secrets of their own that connects them. Kody, Angela, Nate, Sponge (Lawrence) and Brand. Each character was well thought out and it was easy to tell them apart. I didn't support Juniper's relationship the whole time because it was toxic in parts, however, the love interest redeemed themselves in the end.

This book was beautifully written and I couldn't read it quick enough!

Book Review: Big Bones

3/5 stars

I had an E-Arc of this book but didn't get to read it before publication.

We follow Bluebelle A.K.A BB A.K.A Big Bones. A body-confident, plus-sized sixteen year old who wants to leave school and get an apprenticeship at the coffee shop Planet Coffee. She has a younger sister, Dove, and parents that are on the brink of an on-off relationship.

Bluebelle is an unlikable character because she is constantly judging other people that are smaller than her while complaining that everyone judges fat people. The only thing that changes her attitude, slightly, is her sister's accident in the second half of the book. After that, she realises she should go to the gym (even though she's completely happy with her body image).

The book is written a food diary and the chapters are titled with each food that she is eating or has a memory attached to.

I annotated a few pages while reading including:

p. 101 BB is making a Shepherd's pie and has written out the recipe (which I want to follow!)

p. 106 Another recipe - this time for egg-fried rice

p. 174 - I feel like this quite often.

Is it just me or does it feel like every girl is secretly on a diet?

I thought we were all in this 'eating what we want when we want' revolution together but I've got a sneaky fear that I'm the only one taking it seriously.

Or maybe even doing it at all.

p. 188 BB gets the bus home from work and I just kind of laughed-out-loud because she was complaining about her thighs chafing. I thought 'You should get some chub rub shorts!' (It's an inside joke, if you follow Louise Pentland!)

p. 349 BB kisses the love interest (spoilers!) and says she feels 'truly beautiful'. I feel like contradicts everything about her self-confidence. She said to begin with that she felt beautiful in her own skin no matter what other people thought... You shouldn't suddenly feel beautiful only because someone has an interest in you. 

p. 367 'if you ever want to get a girlfriend maybe stop being such a sexist pervert?' 

YOU GO, BB!

p. 390 First lines are usually the most important but I loved the last line 'You're a girl. And you can do whatever you want. The whole world belongs to you.'

Many people enjoyed this book for its body positivity and I can see a few things scattered throughout but not 100%. This book wasn't one of my favourites and I was going to DNF it after 100 pages. I'm glad I didn't because the second half improved the whole book. This book won't be at the top of my recommendations list.

Book Review: 99 Days

3/5 stars

I felt this story was forgettable and didn't bring anything new to the table. We follow Molly who was in a relationship with her childhood best friend last summer but she cheated on him with his older brother Gabe. Molly's Mum wrote a best selling book about it rather than comforting her daughter which pushed Molly to leave and spend a year at a boarding school.

I felt like I'd been dropped in the middle of Molly's story because everything had happened last summer and nothing was really happening now. She seemed to go straight back into bad habits, spending time with Gabe and unable to move on from Patrick even though he is in a new relationship. Molly didn't have any healthy friendships in this story and she didn't really spend time with her Mum (which is something that usually happens in YA that I'm not a fan of!)

The love triangle was frustrating because it felt like Molly hadn't learnt anything from the summer before. She didn't seem to have any interests of her own, although she had a summer job at The Lodge where she was Penn's personal assistant.

I am going to read the sequel 9 days and 9 nights which is Katie's new release. 

Book Review: You're Welcome, Universe

4/5 stars

We follow Julia who was expelled from Kingston School for the Deaf after creating a beautiful (illegal) mural on school property to protect her best friend. Julia's life is messy and complicated with friendships and relationships that don't always follow the straight path you're expecting.

I love the diversity of this book - Julia is a deaf main character and there are many illustrations of sign language throughout the pages. Also some of the conversations are incomplete because she isn't able to read their lips easily. Julia also has two mothers that are both deaf. I thought the characters all had their own personalities and I could separate them from each other. Sometimes having a big cast of characters means that they blur together. I like that the story wasn't romance heavy, it's just Julia and her love of art.

We have to follow Julia through the graffiti war as she tries to work out who this other artist is and why they are competing. I liked Julia's relationship with Mr Katz, her art teacher.

The most disappointing part was the toxic friendship that Julia rekindled towards the end of the book. If I was in Julia's shoes, I wouldn't have forgiven this person. That is why I have given this book 4 stars rather than 5.

If you liked this, you might also like A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

May Fairyloot Subscription Box!

This is my first Fairyloot box and I really love each item that was included. As you may know from my book reviews I am not a huge reader of fantasy books, however, each of these items are versatile enough for anyone to enjoy.

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!

SPOILERS!

Also a signed book plate, author letter, book mark, tarot card, book buddy code and sticker - My buddy code is...

Smoke in the Sun Bookmark

Tarot card

The other side of my tarot card

• The book - Onyx and Ivory (Published: 28 June 2018) 

Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett

Here's the description/blurb on Amazon:

Acclaimed author Mindee Arnett thrusts readers into a beautiful, dangerous, and magical world in this stunningly epic and romantic fantasy for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah Raasch.

They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king of Rime.

Cast out of the nobility, Kate now works for the royal courier service. Only the most skilled ride for the Relay and only the fastest survive, for when night falls, the drakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: She is a wilder, born with forbidden magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals.

And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by drakes in broad daylight—the only survivor Corwin Tormaine, the son of the king. Her first love, the boy she swore to forget after he condemned her father to death.

With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin must put the past behind them to face this new threat and an even darker menace stirring in the kingdom.

 

• Book sleeve by Reverie and Ink

Exclusive water-proof book sleeve 

This is water-proof and has a quote from An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

• Throne of Glass Page Flags by Fictiontea Designs

Tab up your books with these page flags!

• The Winners Trilogy Coaster by Evie Bookish and Save the Kingdom Tea by The Tea Leaf Co

Tea and coaster

• Norgard Vegan Bath Bomb by Little Hearts Gifts

It is themed around the book of the month. The scent is "moonstones and berries" which is fresh and fruity.

I gave this to my neighbour as she has five children under 10 years old who would enjoy it more than me. (It would be wasted otherwise as I don't have a bath) 

• The Remnant Chronicles Lip Scrub ‘Morrighan’ by Geeky Clean

'Morrighan' Lip Scrub

This is a cruetly-free and Vegan lip scrub. There are three flavours - Morrighan, Dalbreck and Venda