The Overflowing Library

A manic month for me workwise in March ....

Books read in March

Fever by Lauren Destefano
Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris
The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams
Deenie by Judy Blume
When you were mine by Rebecca Searle
Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
The Prince who walked with Lions by Elizabeth Laird
Unrest by Michelle Harrison
Fateful by Claudia Gray
A Million suns by Beth Revis
The Last Echo by Kim Derting
Fever by Dee Shulman
Eve by Anna Carey
Raising Demons by Rachel Hawkins
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Girl Stolen by April Henry
Fear by Michael Grant
The Seeing by Diana Hendry

Favourite Book read in March

Unrest by Michelle Harrison
So creepy and brilliantly written. I loved it

Favourite book published in March

The Rising by Will Hill
I read this over Christmas and loved every page. I am so glad that everyone else is finally getting a chance to read this bad boy!


Bookish Highlights of the month

I went to the Michael Grant event run by the Norfolk Children's Book Group. As al…

Dark Storm by Sarah Singleton
Published by Simon Pulse


Ellie is staying with her maternal grandparents for the summer, while her recently bereaved dad takes off on holiday with his new girlfriend. Upset by his apparent callousness, missing her mother, and jealous for her dad's attention, she begins to spiral into depression. Her grandparents suggest she joins a local theatre group, to meet people her own age and get away from the dark thoughts that threaten to engulf her. But then she gets roped into a seance at the theatre, and is the only one who actually sees a real ghost. Now a spirit is contacting her from beyond the grave - and as the dead boy's story unfolds, Ellie finds herself falling in love with him. But if she solves his mystery and helps release his soul, will he be lost to her forever?


Dark storm is a beautifully written ghost story set in an atmospheric setting with interesting characters and an engaging storyline.

I have come to expect beautifully wri…

The Rising (Department 19) by Will Hill
Published by Harper Collins


The pulse-pounding sequel to DEPARTMENT 19. Blockbusting sequel to DEPARTMENT 19, the biggest boy teen launch of 2011 – with over 25,000 copies sold in hardback and a devoted legion of Facebook fans.Amazing author Will Hill will be out on the road again in April to promote THE RISING, as well as maintaining a constant presence on Twitter.DEPARTMENT 6 IS THE ARMY.DEPARTMENT 13 IS MI5.DEPARTMENT 19 IS ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN YOU AND THE END OF THE WORLD.After the terrifying attack on Lindisfarne at the end of the first book, Jamie, Larissa and Kate are recovering at Department 19 headquarters, waiting for news of Dracula’s stolen ashes.They won’t be waiting for long.Vampire forces are gathering. Old enemies are getting too close. And Dracula… is rising.

As you might well know if you follow my reviews one of the books that most took me by surprise last year was Will Hill's Department 19. Even my wimpy girl …

Forgiven by Jana Oliver
Published by Macmillan




Riley Blackthorne. Kicking hell’s ass one demon at a time...

Riley has made a bargain with Heaven, and now they've come to collect.

Lucifer's finest are ruling the streets and it seems that Armageddon might be even closer than Riley imagined. But with her soul and her heart in play it's all she can do to keep herself alive, let alone save the world. Riley's not afraid of kicking some major demon butt, but when it comes to a battle between Heaven and Hell, she might need a little help...


Forgiven is the third book in the demon trappers series. It lived up to my expectations and has left me desperate for book 4. Forgiven kicks off directly after where book 2 left ff so I would recommend maybe rereading a chapter or two from it before you start this one.

Riley is one of those characters who really want to root for. She's kick-ass yet vulnerable at the same time and that combination makes you love her all the more. In…

Au Revior Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
Published by Electric Monkey


Perry Stormaire is a normal high school senior– he is busy applying to college and rehearsing with his band –until he agrees to go to the prom with the Lithuanian exchange student who is staying with his family. It turns out that Gobi Zaksauskas is not the mousy teenager that she seems but rather an attractive, confident trained assassin. Instead of going to the prom, Perry finds himself on a wild ride through the streets of New York City as Gobi commandeers the Jaguar his father lent him for the prom in order to take out her targets. Perry learns a lot about himself – and ends up with some amazing material for his college application essays.

I loved Au Revoir Crazy European Chick from the first page and was unable to put it down until I'd finished it. It was funny, action packed and totally different from anything else I've recently read which was refreshing.

Perry is a high school student. Fo…

Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby
Published by Walker USA




Meet Josephine Foster, or Zo Jo as she’s called in the biz. The best pint-sized photographer of them all, Jo doesn’t mind doing what it takes to get that perfect shot, until she’s sent on an undercover assignment to shoot Ned Hartnett—teen superstar and the only celebrity who’s ever been kind to her—at an exclusive rehabilitation retreat in Boston. The money will be enough to pay for Jo’s dream: real photography classes, and maybe even quitting her paparazzi gig for good. Everyone wants to know what Ned’s in for. But Jo certainly doesn’t know what she’s in for: falling in love with Ned was never supposed to be part of her assignment.

Shooting Stars is a heartfelt and enjoyable YA contemporary read which makes you think about the important things in life.

The story follows Jo a pint-sized teen paparazzi who uses her tinyness to her advantage to get into venues her competitors can't in a bid to take pictures of hollywoo…

The Prince who walked with Lions by Elizabeth Laird
Published by Macmillan

A sweeping epic about a prince torn from his mountain home. Based on a true story.

The British Army is circling the stronghold of the King of Abyssinia. Under orders from Queen Victoria, its mission is to rescue the British Envoy, held prisoner.

Watching with terror and awe is the king's young son, Alamayu. He knows that his father is as brave as a lion, but how on earth can he and his warriors stand against the well-equipped foreigners? As battle rages, everything that Alamayu fears comes to pass. The fighting is cruel and efficient. By the time it is over, Alamayu is left without parents, throne or friends.

In a misguided attempt to care for him, the British take Alamayu to England. There he is befriended by the queen herself and enrolled in Rugby College to become a 'proper' English gentleman. What the English see as an honour is, to this lonely Ethiopian prince, a horror.

This is Al…

Finding Sky by Joss Stirling
Published by OUP



When Sky catches a glimpse of Zed for the first time, lounging against his motorbike at school, she is drawn to him just like every other girl in Wickenridge. But Zed sees something special in her that the other girls don't have. Zed tells her they are both Savants - people with special powers like telepathy and the ability to see into the future. Not only that, she is a Savant too, and his soulfinder - meant to be together.

When a soulfinder speaks telepathically to her partner, it's like all the lights coming on in a building. You lit me up like Vegas. But for Sky it's just not that easy - she's a mystery to herself, haunted by nightmares from her past before she was adopted, and riddled with doubt and insecurity. Just when Sky is slowly coming round to the idea of being with Zed she is kidnapped by a family of criminal Savants. In a chilling twist, Sky and Zed's relationship is put to the ultimate test a…

Bunheads by Sophie Flack
Published by Atom


As a dancer with the Manhattan Ballet Company, nineteen-year-old Hannah Ward is living her childhood dream. She gets to be up on stage in front of adoring crowds every night. And while she might not be a prima ballerina yet, she's moving up the ranks and surely if she works hard enough she can make it happen.

But devoting her whole life to ballet leaves very little time for anything else: friends, family, school have all fallen by the wayside. Hannah doesn't mind, until a chance encounter in a restaurant brings Jacob into her life. He's cute, he plays guitar and he's offering a whole future that Hannah never considered. And now she must choose between her lifelong dream or what could be the love of her life..


 Bunheads isn't my typical sort of read. It's girly, floaty and quite slow but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

The story is based around Hannah. Hannah is living her childhood dream dancing in New York for the…

Review: The Repossession by Sam Hawksmoor
Published by Hodder


34 kids missing. Vanished without a trace.

Believing she is possessed, Genie Magee's mother has imprisoned her all summer encouraged by the sinister Reverend Schneider. Beautiful Rian, love of her life, sets her free, and their escape washes them up at Marshall's remote farmhouse downriver. But why are there newspaper clippings of the missing kids pinned to Marshall's bathroom wall? And should they believe his stories about the experiments at the Fortress, an underground research station nearby?

Genie meets Denis. Missing two years now, but hasn't grown an inch. Rian is haunted by Renée, who insists she's not actually dead. Soon they discover the terrible truth about Reverend Schneider and worse, Genie is next ... and Rian can't do a thing to prevent it.

The Repossession is just the beginning

 I really enjoyed The Repossession. It was an interesting read with unique ideas and characters you…

Becoming Nancy by Terry Ronald
Publsihed by Transworld



For David Starr, being cast as Nancy in the upcoming school production of Oliver! is quite a shock. But David is up to the challenge. Living in a three-bedroom semi in 1970s' working-class East Dulwich, surrounded by his somewhat colourful relatives, he is bright, smart-mouthed, fanatical about pop music and ready to shine. Rehearsals begin, and he strikes up a friendship with the handsome yet enigmatic Maxie Boswell, captain of the school football team. As their alliance deepens it appears they might become more than just good friends, but that can't be right, can it? Discovering a confidant in empathetic teacher, Hamish McClarnon, and spurred on by his no-nonsense best friend, Frances Bassey, David takes on the school bully, the National Front, and anyone else who threatens to stand in the way of true love. Vibrant, warm, and full of life, this uproarious and touching coming-of-age novel, set against the back…

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson



From her first moment at Merryweather High, Melinda Sordino knows she's an outcast. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops - a major infraction in high-school society - so her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't know glare at her. No one knows why she called the police, and she can't get out the words to explain. So she retreats into her head, where the lies and hypocrisies of high school stand in stark relief to her own silence. But it's not so comfortable in her head, either - there's something banging around in there that she doesn't want to think about. But, try as she might, it just won't go away...

 Speak is one of those read I've heard about time and time again since I've started blogging as one that I need to read. I am pleased to say it packs the emotional punch I was promised.

This book really hits home when you see the way in which Melinda is treated for something …

I mentioned I had never read any Judy Blume and one of the lovely ladies in publicity at Macmillan immediately sent me these two books ...

Blubber by Judy Blume
Published by Macmillan



I'm almost ashamed to say before this book I hadn't ever read a Judy Blume despite hearing nothing but good things about her stuff. I really enjoyed it and am sad that I didn't discover her books when I was a teenager.

Blubber was a short yet poignant little book about bullying. I found it quite moving at points to see how the children were effected by the way in which others treated them because of something they had no control over. Equally it was very telling to see how the lead bully led her pack by keeping others afraid and on her side. It also gave real insight into how keeping silent about it really didn't help anyone at all and I think would show youngsters the importance of speaking out about problems if and when they arise. It also showed how easy it is for someone to become a …