Six Degrees Of Separation: YA Edition! (Unboxed; Non Pratt)

I'm getting worse and worse at doing these on time, but to be fair on myself, this month has been very hectic and stressful for me because I'm in the process of moving to a new Flat! I'm glad I've finally got round to doing this #6Degrees post though!

This month's chosen book is 'Unboxed', Non Pratt's brand new release for this year! I saw this book a lot at YALC and I have to say I'm pretty excited about it. I've heard great things! I still have 'Remix' sitting on my shelf and waiting to be read, which is exciting too.

My limited knowledge of 'Unboxed' tells me that it's a book that focuses on death, grieving, friendship and secrets. What better book could I have picked to match it with than 'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It has all of those things, and when I was much younger I was obsessed with it. 'Unboxed' is also a book that has made many ARC readers weep and I know that 'The Secret Garden' has made me do that many a time too.

'The Secret Garden' is a classic. A book from my childhood. And it involves a trio of friends! There's only one series that I can think of that would immediately spring to mind so readily. I chose 'Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets' by J.K. Rowling in particular because I really feel that that's the book where we see Ron, Hermione and Harry at their closest. Book one sees Hermione out of the picture for most of it, and book three is the next closest before squabbles start to arise from book four onward. Mary, Dickon and Colin are a really great friendship trio too and one that I also really loved to read as a child.

I chose Holly Black & Cassandra Clare's 'The Iron Trial' next because if ever there was a book that reminded me of an attempt at a Harry Potter-esque style story. Three friends, a school of magic, a mysterious villain with a connection to the hero, a baby that 'survived', Horcrux style revelations etc. I was disappointed that it was so similar but nowhere near in the same league as the original series, but Holly Black is a favourite author of mine and I have read far worse books.

Speaking of Holly Black, how about her Curse Workers series? 'White Cat' also involves magicians and a male POV, though there is little else to connect these stories other than the boarding school (though the one in 'White Cat' is not a magic one). Holly Black has such a great imagination and this book puts a great twist on some obvious tropes.

'Coraline' is a really wonderful book with another author with a wonderful imagination. This one however I chose because of the cats! In 'White Cat' it's kind of the point of the book, and in 'Coraline', the cat is Coraline's snarky companion who helps her out in times of need. Animal companions are the best in books and I really liked these two.

My connections took me in a lot of different directions this month. From Secrets & Friendships > Classic Reads From My Childhoods > Magical Schools > Same Authors > Cat Companions. I love my picks this month!

Six Degrees Of Separation: YA Edition! (#ZoellaBookClub Choice)

Every month I look forward to joining in with this meme, and this month is no exception! Jim from YA Yeah Yeah is exceptional when organising it and I am becoming a huge fan of the book choices based on themes rather than a specific book (last month's focused on #ReadProud, find my choices here). This month's 'theme' is Zoella's brand new book club! For those who haven't heard of it, then google her eight choices because there are some really good ones. I've read two of the eight and only hadn't heard of one of them, so I'm excited to eventually get stuck into them all!

My #ZoellaBookClub choice is 'All The Bright Places' by Jennifer Niven! I actually only finished this book a couple of days ago, but boy is it worth a read. I loved it! It handles some tough topics sensitively and builds some really great characters to get attached to and fall in love with. If you've seen Zoella's recommendations and simply don't know where to start then I would personally suggest this one. If you're a fan of road trips, teenage romance, contemporary YA or reads that make you cry then definitely read this.

Speaking of crying, you may have gathered that 'All The Bright Places' made me shed a few tears. In fact, I bawled like a baby. A book that easily springs to mind when I recall books that have made me ugly cry is 'The Fault In Our Stars' by John Green. It's an obvious choice I know but there's no denying that these two books are similar. Both are full to the brim of a slightly morbid obsession with death, eccentric characters who think ridiculously deeply into things and speak metaphorically, and plenty of travel here there, and everywhere. And while I don't want to spoil either of their endings, both books are incredibly sad.

'The Fault In Our Stars' predominantly focuses on Terminal Illness, a topic rarely found in YA. But it's not the first book I read on the subject: 'Before I Die' by Jenny Downham is. My friend at school (all those years ago) allowed me to borrow this from her and I have to say that it broke my heart in so many ways but also became one of my favourite books that year. There are elements to 'The Fault In Our Stars' that grate on people's nerves, and this is a much realer version of that book. The teenagers speak normally, there's a bucket list, and of course a romance that made a younger me melt.

Ahh Summer 2010. Such a long time ago, and I barely remember it, but I read a lot. As well as 'Before I Die', I also managed to get into Stephanie Meyer's 'The Host' which was basically my attempt to reconcile with Meyer's writing. I'm going to promote this book a lot because I really preferred it in comparison to her other work: body stealing aliens, a love triangle that was actually important to the plot, and an ending to die for. There were rumours of a series that never materialised, but I much preferred it as a standalone anyway. I urge people to give this book ago, even if you're feeling sceptical.

Of course you can't talk about Meyer without talking about...'Twilight'. The very name of this book makes me shudder nowadays, but while I didn't overly enjoy it as a young teen, I didn't hate it nearly as much as I do now (I didn't fully understand the huge problems in this series). Anyway, aside from the two books having the same author there's not a huge amount that they have in common (love triangle aside). I much prefer 'The Host' and I really wish that 'Twilight' and it's sequels had been at the same standard.

'Finding Sky' was also a pretty old read of mine. In fact , it must have been a couple of years ago that I picked up this book and read it in my boyfriend's room at his Uni Halls while he was at a lecture. This was the book that 'Twilight' should have been, and it runs with very similar ideas: a large family of 'gifted' individuals, a heroine freshly moved into a new, American town and a 'bad boy meets good girl' romance. Even the villains are very reminiscent of the Volturi. But it just doesn't have the same level of creep factor that 'Twilight' has, and Sky is a billion times more likeable than Bella. 

Six Degrees Of Separation: YA Edition! (#ReadProud Choice)

I'm a little late in joining this month because I've been on holiday, but there was no way I was ever going to miss this one. It's #ReadProud month, and in honour of that, Jim (YAYeahYeah) has kindly let us pick our own books! The only rule is that they are an LGBT read and so I've picked a wonderful starter read that then leads on to five other great reads that cover LGBT issues!

My starter choice, 'Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secret Of The Universe' by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is quite probably my favourite on this list. It was the first book that I can remember reading that solely focused on an LGBT relationship developing over time, and I loved it! Ari, the angry teen had so much angst but was a really interesting narrative to read the book from. Dante was the exact opposite: open and determined to see the positive things in life. Their relationship was the most satisfying thing to watch develop, and I would recommend this as a great book for anyone wanting to start reading LGBT fiction.

'Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe' was a  book that I'd seen everywhere when I first read it and had received countless recommendations about. The same applies to 'More Than This' by Patrick Ness. Both books displayed some phenomenal writing skills and had me completely gripped from start to finish as well. Their main similarity is the male POV (which is actually fairly hard to find in YA literature) and of course Seth is a sad, angry teenager who has a fraught, tumultuous relationship with his parents, just like Ari!

My next pick is an interesting one because it's from a completely different genre. However, I chose Laura Lam's 'Pantomime' for a variety of reasons. The first is that, like in 'More Than This', the LGBT part of the story is actually not necessarily the main plot-point. Ness' book is a Dystopian Thriller that includes a gay MC, and 'Pantomime' is a Fantasy that happens to have an intersex protagonist. I love stumbling across stories like this! Both stories are built up in the form of flashbacks too, and we learn more about the character's past issues in order to understand how they got to the present.

I chose Liz Kessler's 'Read Me Like A Book' because although I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as my other choices, it does cover the confusion that comes with LGBT issues very well. Just like Gene in 'Pantomime', Ashleigh is an unsettled young girl who goes on a journey of self-discovery. She doesn't understand why she has a crush on her female teacher, or why her boyfriend doesn't give her the same butterflies. Gene's situation is equally as complicated and misunderstood by those around her.

'Seven Ways We Lie' by Riley Redgate is up next, and I chose it purely for the setting. Just like 'Read Me Like A Book', it's set in a school! Of course, there is so much more to this story and it's honestly up there with my favourite reads this year! It features a character who openly identifies as Pansexual, who starts to fall for a guy who seems to display traits of Asexuality, even if he doesn't know it yet. I love that Redgate managed to feature characters who are comfortable with themselves, and others who are confused. It's such a great representation of teens right now!

My last pick sits on that border between YA and Adult reading, but I'm including it anyway because this book really needs more love and attention. 'Good Kings, Bad Kings' by Susan Nussbaum is difficult to read at times, but I highly recommend it for the huge amount of diversity it displays. Not only does it feature a Lesbian POV, but it's cast is ethnically and mentally diverse too, just like 'Seven Ways We Lie'. Both of these stories are told from multiple POVs and every voice is distinct, unique and important to hear.

Six Degrees Of Separation: YA Edition! (Only Ever Yours; Louise O'Neill)

The first Saturday of May has arrived and Round 4 is here! I love this Meme so much, and have been really looking forward to finding out about this month's chosen book. This Meme is run by Jim from YA Yeah Yeah so be sure to check out his blog and maybe take part, it's a whole lot of fun!

The book Jim has chosen is another one I haven't read yet (feeling so behind the rest of the world right now...) but it's high on the pile! 'Only Ever Yours' by Louise O'Neill is Speculative/Dystopian YA Fiction that is very reminiscent of 'The Handmaid's Tale' in that women are bred just for the sole purpose of pleasing men. It's a great choice and there are so many paths you could go down with this one!

'Only Ever Yours' deals with some pretty hefty subject matter, but the main synopsis instantly drew the plot-line of another book to mind: Kiera Cass' 'The Selection'. Both books essentially focus on a competition between girls in which they compete for the love and affection of a man and the 'privilege' of being his wife. I imagine that O'Neill's plot is much darker than Cass', but no one can question the similarities.

'The Selection' has a cover you can't ignore, and is just one of many popular 'pretty dress' covers that can be found in YA. Another one such cover that receives a huge thumbs up from me is 'The Winner's Curse' by Marie Rutkoski. Gorgeous, flowing, frilly dresses that are shot at interesting colours and are strong colours. I love them both!

'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins, like 'The Winner's Curse', involves a rebellion. It's a pretty common story element found in YA Fiction (particularly Dystopian and Fantasy) but these two stories really made it an integral part of the story-line. In 'The Hunger Games' a failed rebellion caused the games to become an annual events and the misery of Katniss' people. In 'The Winner's Curse', it becomes a pretty hefty part of the last third of the book that completely changes the course of events.

'The Hunger Games' became massively popular after introducing a pretty cool element to the story: the games themselves. When I read 'Hunter' by Mercedes Lackey it involved a lot of similar elements. There are young teens, fighting monsters and facing perils while also being filmed, betted on and adored by the public.

'Hunter' was published by Disney-Hyperion (a publishing company whose books I don't seem to be getting along with so far). Another book that I actually read quite recently published by the same company was 'Passenger'. Both of them really didn't impress me all that much, which is a shame because the covers are both great and the authors highly renowned.

Six Degrees Of Separation: YA Edition! (The Jungle Book; Rudyard Kipling)

Time for Round Three of this awesome, fun Meme and I've actually been goo and planned ahead this time! As soon as I found out what this month's books would be, I planned my links! This meme used to be hosted by Annabel Smith and Emma Chapman, but as now been taken over by Jim from YA Yeah Yeah (one of my favourite Book Bloggers)!

This month's chosen book is 'The Jungle Book' by Rudyard Kipling, and it's another one I haven't read as much as that shames me. I love the various films adapted from this book so really ought to make time to read the original masterpiece that started it all There's a Disney Live-Action remake of it coming soon, so I'm really looking forward to that!

I already know a great deal about Mowgli's story in 'The Jungle Book' and my first link has a lot of similarities in the plot. 'Wolf Speaker' by Tamora Pierce is the second book in 'The Immortals' series, and I love it! I chose the second installment because it really delves into Daine's history: as an orphan, she lived with the wolves for many years in the past and can communicate with animals around her. Does this sound familiar? Of course there's a lot more magic involved on Daine's part, and Pierce's book is set in a High Fantasy world rather than the jungle but I always draw that comparison between the two.

My next pick is obvious, because 'Alanna: The First Adventure' is also written by Tamora Pierce. I don't normally like to do 'same author' links, but I figure this doesn't matter so much because while set in the same world, they are different series. Chronologically speaking, Alanna's story is the first that should be read and this is the book to start with in the series. It's an absolutely fantastic series, and actually Alanna does make some cameo appearances in 'The Immortals' series!

One of the main plot points of 'Alanna: The First Adventure' is that Alanna spends most of the book a girl disguised as a boy. Another book that springs to mind as using this twist is 'Vengeance Road' by Erin Bowman. It's another book I absolutely adore and both Alanna and Kate are great heroines to look up to and admire. I love their ulterior motives and the way that they handle their respective situations.

'Vengeance Road' is a desert set adventure, and so is E.K. Johnston's 'A Thousand Nights', though of course the desert is different. Both authors make really great use of imagery so that while you read them, you can imagine the blistering sun, scorching sand and isolated feeling that comes with such a place. There's a lot of horse riding in both too, and I have to add as a side note that the hard-cover versions of both books are some of the prettiest I've seen!

'A Whole New World' by Liz Braswell, like 'A Thousand Nights', is a retelling of an Arabian folk tale. This one is based off Aladdin though I'm sorry to say that I didn't like it nearly as much due to it being more like fanfiction of the Disney film than an actual retelling. Nevertheless, their shared setting and reference to Genies/Djinn and magic cannot be ignored. 'A Thousand Nights' was a lot better though.

What a lot of different connections this month, I really enjoyed this set of books! I travelled from Orphans Raised By Wolves > Shared Authors > Girls Dressed As Boys > Desert Adventures > Arabian Folklore Retellings! I can't wait to see what Jim has in store for next month!

Six Degrees Of Separation: YA Edition! (Fangirl; Rainbow Rowell)

It's time for Round Two of this awesome new meme, based on the more adult version that used to be hosted by Emma Chapman and Annabel Smith, and now hosted by Jim from Ya Yeah Yeah! For those that haven't played, the basic premise is to take the YA read that the host suggests every month and think of six books that link to each other in different ways. A bit like word association, but links can be anything from genres and character archetypes to the Author's home country!

This month's book is 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell. I haven't actually read any of this well-loved lady's work but I've heard so much, particularly from my sister who has read a fair number of her books! It doesn't matter that I haven't read this book however as I definitely know enough abut it to draw a link to another book! I would love to read this one in the future, I just have way too many books on the priority list at the moment!

As soon as I read the synopsis for 'Fangirl' and saw this link I knew exactly which book I would be choosing! Both it and 'This Raging Light by Estelle Laure contain characters named Wren. In fact, both Wrens are actually sisters of the Main Characters too which makes the link even stronger!

First and foremost, 'This Raging Light' is a book about child neglect, as Lucille and Wren are left to fend for themselves when their Dad has a mental breakdown and their Mum can't take the stress any more and leaves them alone for a 'vacation'. Carey and Nessa, the two sisters in 'If You Find Me' by Emily Murdoch are also abandoned by their Mother. Both books do also contain a sub-plot relating to first love but it's not the main premise of the story.

My next pick, 'Deep Blue' by Jennifer Donnelly, may seem like a bit of a leap seeing as it's about mermaids. However the two have a character type that is commonly found in YA Fiction: the Bitch nasty, immoral, selfish one. In 'If You Find Me' it's Carey and Nessa's new step-sister Delaney who is struggling to come to terms with the changes in her life, who does improve later in the book but is very hateful to begin with. 'Deep Blue' has Lucia Volnero who has basically no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Ugh.

'Deep Blue' has won the Green Earth Book Award which selects from books that convey a message about being eco-friendly and helping our planet. Another book that definitely covers this issue is Nicola Mar's 'A Red Tale', set during a time of 'global cooling' where it snows in Jamaica. I think more books should include this as an issue facing our world right now so I thought this was a really nice link.

'A Red Tale' as a book didn't quite impress me as much as I thought it would despite a really interesting cover and intriguing plot synopsis. Another book that I thought I would loved and remain thoroughly disappointed by is 'A Song For Ella Grey' by David Almond. I know a lot of people really like this book and this might be an unpopular opinion, but I just found the language way too over the top and 'flowery' for my liking, as well as intensely disliking the narrator of the story. It's a shame because Greek Mythology is a real love of mine but unfortunately, I couldn't take it seriously.

Just to recap, this month I moved from Shared Sister Names > Parental Neglect > Mean Girls > Promoting Environmental Issues > Disappointing Reads. What a rollercoaster it has been! I eagerly await next month's book choice!

Six Degrees Of Separation: YA Edition! (Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone; J.K. Rowling)

You may have noticed that my posts for the Six Degrees Of Separation meme hosted by Annabel Smith and Emma Chapman have somewhat disappeared off the radar recently. This is mostly due to the increasing lateness and absence of the host posts and it made me a little sad as I enjoyed the challenge so much! Luckily, Teens On Moon Lane are here to save the day! Even better: there's is a YA edition which means that I'm (a) more likely to have read the books, (b) am totally going to start again on the books I've used and (c) will get a ton more recommendations to read! Also, it might make things even more of a challenge as I'll only be allowed to use YA books!

So this month's picked read is a book that I'm sure nearly everyone will have read. 'Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone'! This series has become iconic classics in the eyes of children, teens and even adults all over the world. It was one of the few series that I pre-ordered and waited in line for every time, and it was the one to make me realise how much I loved Fantasy as a genre. I've picked the first book in particular rather than the whole series, but that was an option too. Now for my six links!

'Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone' contains probably one of the most famous friendship trios of all time: Harry, Ron & Hermione. They are my absolute favourites too because they are so different, and yet their love for each other seems to hold no bounds despite their friendship being tested at times. Another great trio? Patrick, Charlie and Sam from 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky. I love these three! They are the symbol of how teen friendships should be: accepting each other's differences and protecting each other's hearts.

'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' covers the very heavy topic of Mental Illness too. From the get-go it's clear that Charlie, our narrator, suffers from some form of social anxiety (more about his mental well-being is revealed later on). 'The Shock Of The Fall' by Nathan Filer also covered this topic and did it in a very impressive way. This story is also narrated by a young boy, Matt, an unreliable but interesting voice to hear the story from. I loved the scrapbook like form in 'The Shock OF The Fall', similar to Charlie's constant letter writing in 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower'.

My next pick, 'Neverland' by Shari Arnold has a different story-line to 'The Shock Of The Fall' but they had one thing in common: Grief. 'The Shock Of The Fall' starts with the death of Matt's younger brother Simon, and Livy Cloud is also grieving over the recent death of her younger sister to terminal illness. This grief forms the foundation of both stories and is the cause of some major plot points. I really enjoyed the way that both stories handled these topics too.

'Neverland' is a retelling of the famous Fairy Tale, J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'. My next pick 'Cinder' by Marissa Meyer also retells the famous story of 'Cinderella'. I adored both: each with strong female leads and a really great romantic story involved. These were the first works I read by each Author too.

'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown belongs to the Science Fiction genre, which is where my previous choice 'Cinder' also falls. Both are a form of Dystopian too, where society is filled with prejudice and controlled by powerful, tyrannical leaders. I adored both of these books, especially as they alluded to space: one of my favourite Sci-Fi settings. Both books are the first in a series too!

This month I moved from Magical Friendships > Mental Illness > Grief > Fairy Tales > Science Fiction. I can't wait to see next month's pick and pick more links!