The Overflowing Library

Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid Published by Razorbill Hephzibah: You've no idea what it's like having a freak for a sister. Rebecca: Born first, prettier, Hephzi's always been the popular one. The Father: When he was busy with his bottle we were usually safe. Usually. The Mother: Her specialist subject was misery and lessons of painful silence ... Hepzibah and Rebecca are twins. One beautiful, one disfigured. Trapped with their loveless parents, they dream of a normal life. But when one twin tragically dies, the other must find a way to escape. Because if she doesn't, she'll end up like her sister ***  Black Heart Blue is a touching book which I really enjoyed because it is unusual and both sad and heartwarming at the same time. I really enjoyed the way this story was told. It it told it split narrative for the majority of the book switching between the twins. One looks backs of the events the story is set around while the other is present te...

Heart Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne Published by Headline I think of all the things I could have been... a music student, in love, happy. But then Juliet stabbed my father and shattered everything I thought I knew about myself. She turned me into someone else, into this hard, angry, miserable girl who did the most terrible things. Things that make people take a step back when I walk into a room. That's what hurts... that you all think you know who I am. But the one thing Google will never tell you is who I used to be... who I might have become. But I can tell you. So here we go - I'll be me and you be the stranger on the bus.  Heart Shaped Bruise is an interesting read The story follows Emily a girl who is currently residing in a high security mental facility after stabbing a girl she went out of her way to befriend in a twisted way to get under her skin and ruin her life because the girl stabbed Emily's father. The best thing about this book is get...

The Messenger Bird by Ruth Eastham Published by Scholastic Nathan's father has been arrested. He works for the Ministry of Defence and is accused of leaking top secret information. But as he is dragged into a police car, he gives Nathan a message. It leads to a riddle, but it's not from Dad. It's from an ex-Bletchley Park employee, Lily Kenley, and was written in 1940. Nathan begins to follow the clues left behind by Lily. But how can this war-time story link to his father's fate? Hope for Dad's appeal is fading fast. He must solve the puzzle. Time is running out. *** The Messenger Bird is everything I have come to expect from a Ruth Eastham novel after reading and enjoying her first novel The Memory Cage last year. The book intertwines a modern day narrative with historical ideas and events, it has a main character you warm to and engage with and a storyline which is full of heart. I really enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed this book in three different ...

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth Published by RHCB   Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her. Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come. Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect ...

I'll be there by Holly Goldberg Sloan Published by Picadilly Press Raised by an unstable father who keeps constantly on the move, Sam Border has long been the voice of his silent younger brother, Riddle, but everything changes when Sam meets Emily Bell and, welcomed by her family, the brothers are faced with normalcy for the first time.  I'll be there is one of those books that you read and when you are done you are left with this lovely warm and squishy feeling inside due to the sheer wonderfulness of the story you've just been treated to. I'll be there isn't a fast and pacey read. If you want something with lots of action then this isn't the book for you. However if you want a story that'll fully engross you and keep you wanting page after page to find out what happens next. I literally finished this book in an evening because I needed to know what was going to happen next. I loved the three main characters in the book. Emily is ...

Thank you so much for having me as a guest on your wonderful Bookcase Showcase. This post was a real pleasure to put together, partly because, given half a chance, I could talk about my favourite books for ever (don't worry, I'll try not to) but mainly because my bookshelves are the one part of my house that I actually keep tidy. My husband and I are both English and Drama teachers so, when we bought this flat together, we needed a LOT of shelf space. My husband made these shelves to fit a lovely big alcove next to the living room fireplace. Taking the books out of boxes and arranging them here was a truly joyful experience. The bottom three shelves in this picture are full of plays, lots from our days as Drama teachers. Then there's poetry, and the top two shelves are novels. Since I stopped teaching and started writing for children, I've been reading more children's books and less grown-up literature, but it's nice to know that all my ol...

Slated by Teri Terry Published by Orchard Kyla's memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank, her memories lost forever. She's been Slated. The government claims she was a terrorist, and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla's mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?  Slated is an original YA dystopian read which is brilliantly engaging and absorbing read which I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the concept for this book. The society it is set in has found a new way of dealing with criminal teenagers. They are slated and given a fresh start with a new family and new home with no memories of what they have done in their past. I loved the idea of the world Kyla found herself in. She has no idea who she was, what she did and has to start from fresh. The thing that makes her different from other slated is that she...