Month: August 2015

“This Slope is Treacherous” Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

August 31, 2015 / 10 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“This Slope is Treacherous” Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon is about a female Bubble Boy. Madeline has had to live most of her life in isolation in her house because she’s allergic to a ton of things. But then new neighbors move in, including a teenage boy named Olly. Slowly, she gets to know him, but that knowledge comes with the recognition that they can never be together…or can they? I fell in love with Madeline as a character immediately. The very first sentence of the book is “I’ve read many more books than you,” which, you know, pretty much is me (challenge: accepted!). […]

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#TopTenTuesday: 11 Books On My (Imaginary) Gender in YA Syllabus!

August 25, 2015 / 17 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Book List, Top Ten Tuesday
#TopTenTuesday: 11 Books On My (Imaginary) Gender in YA Syllabus!

I loved this week’s TTT topic so much that I ended up choosing 11 books! I would definitely want to teach a course called Feminism & Gender Identity in Literature for/about Youth, and here’s what would be on the syllabus: Tap & Gown by Diana Peterfreund – the whole Secret Society Girl series is a course in feminism, but Peterfreund does her best work in discussing sexual abuse, harassment and how to survive in an old boys club in this, my favourite of the four books. None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio – if this book isn’t already on course […]

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“Beauty Beyond Compare” Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

August 24, 2015 / 8 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“Beauty Beyond Compare” Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Dumplin completely and utterly spoke to me. I cried two times reading it – that, right there, should tell you just how emotional and resonant a book it is. It’s not that it’s sad – it’s that it’s relateable, and the issues that Willowdean was facing were ones I faced as a teen, especially with her mother, her friends, and feeling good enough to be with a guy. Let me explain: When I was eight, my mom showed me an article in the newspaper that showed Princess Diana and how she wore a lot of pink and purple, and told me that […]

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Cinderella Book Tag!

August 23, 2015 / 3 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Book List, Book Quiz
Cinderella Book Tag!

I’m woefully bad at getting to book tags, but after being tagged by Tiffany @ About to Read (the creator of the book tag) and Rachel @ Hello Chelly, I knew I had to get to this one! Evil Stepsisters: a book with characters you just hate Ugh, everyone in Royally Lost by Angie Stanton. Everyone was annoying, I could’t even finish the book. Prince Charming: a book with a gentleman Paul in A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray. There’s nothing sexier or more gentlemanly than the quiet love between him and Margaret. Cinderella: a character that is […]

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Waiting on Wednesday: Exit, Pursued by A Bear by E.K. Johnson

August 19, 2015 / 7 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Book Memes, Waiting on Wednesday
Waiting on Wednesday: Exit, Pursued by A Bear by E.K. Johnson

I found out about this book last week and I was completely floored by the title, the cover, and the synopsis. I was a cheerleader in high school, but I wasn’t popular, so this book kind of speaks to me in that way…but I also think it’s going to deal with the body and image issues that I had so much trouble with as a teen. I haven’t read anything by E.K. Johnston yet, but I have heard outstanding things about The Story of Owen and A Thousand Nights, and I’m excited to dig into my first work by this rising […]

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“Sad Beautiful Tragic”: Another Day by David Levithan

August 17, 2015 / 0 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“Sad Beautiful Tragic”: Another Day by David Levithan

Spoilers for Every Day – but honestly, I’m not convinced that you should pick up this book without reading Every Day first, even though I know it’s written so that you can. If you haven’t read Every Day yet, please go check out my review of that first! Another Day is definitely going to be one of those books that polarizes people – you’re either going to like it or hate it. I fall more on the side of liking, because I really liked Every Day and I’m a person who appreciates literary exercises, even if they don’t seem to […]

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Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’ve Read The Most Books From

August 11, 2015 / 16 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Book List, Top Ten Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’ve Read The Most Books From

This week’s TTT is all about the authors you’ve read the most books from. In the interest of not making my list too long, I’m only doing unrequired reading (otherwise, my whole list would be Virginia Woolf, Shakespeare, Alice Munro, George Orwell, Charles Dickens, etc – and even though I love those guys, this is a primarily a YA blog!).  1.  2.  3.  4.  5. 1. Diana Peterfreund – 10 books + 8-10 novellas/short stories; Viv Daniels – 1 book + 2 novellas: Unsurprising. She is my fave. If you haven’t read her work, you ABSOLUTELY should. 2.  Kieran Scott – 10; […]

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Waiting on Wednesday: The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

August 5, 2015 / 12 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Book Memes, Waiting on Wednesday
Waiting on Wednesday: The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

I absolutely adore everything about this synopsis for this book – the weird paranormal stuff, the Friday Night Lights feel, and yes, that stunning cover. It reminds me a bit of one of my favourite Roswell episodes, when the town starts disappearing and the “normal” teens have to deal with it (if you haven’t watched Roswell, you need to!).   Is The Love That Split the World on your TBR? What are you waiting for this week? Let me know and I’ll stop by! —– “Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases […]

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“They Don’t Know About Us”: The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

August 4, 2015 / 7 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“They Don’t Know About Us”: The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

Stella and her twins Cara and Drew have been through a lot together – Cara has non-Hodgkins lymphoma and has been in and out of the hospital as a teen. Now, with their eighteeth birthday coming up, Drew and Stella concoct a scheme to get her signed memorabilia from the world’s biggest boy band, the Heartbreakers – and Stella’s worst nightmare. A bunch of coincidences throw them together with the band for a night, where they have an amazing time together, especially Stella and lead singer Oliver. When an opportunity comes up for Stella to work with the band again, […]

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#TheStartofEmandYou Wrap-Up!

August 2, 2015 / 8 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Discussion, Feature, Personal, Wrap-Up
#TheStartofEmandYou Wrap-Up!

Guys, this week has been one of the most special in my blogging career. When I first came up with the idea of an Emery Lord appreciation week, I figured I’d just write my reviews and send out a few tweets. Never would I have guessed that I would get to interview Emery or commission a quiz from her! Thanks to all of you, and especially Bloomsbury, Penguin Canada, and Emery, this has turned into such a fun, emotional, literary week, so thank you so much for that. I’ve been reading all of the comments, and it has been so gratifying […]

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