Solitaire Book Launch Party!

We can now officially announce that we are so lucky to be hosting the Launch Party for Alice Oseman's Solitaire!

You might not have heard of this book yet. It's brand new. We announced it at our TFIOS party and here's what Alice had to say:

"Hello everyone!

I’m Alice Oseman, I’m nineteen years old and on the 31st of July, the amazing people of YA Birmingham are hosting the book launch for my debut novel, Solitaire. It’s going to be extra fabulous and you are all invited.

Solitaire is a coming-of-age story about a very pessimistic and very sarcastic sixteen-year-old girl named Tori Spring, who hates everything and is probably in love with her laptop. It’s also about an online group of prankers who decide they’re going to wreak havoc at Tori’s school. Tori Spring does not advise that you buy my book, but I strongly disagree. It has lots of awkwardness, many spectacular school pranks, a very annoying boy with glasses named Michael Holden, some Sherlock-style mystery-solving, numerous Tumblr references and teenage bloggers who get a bit carried away with themselves. It is definitely not a love story.

As you can imagine, I am very excited about all this and would love it if you could come to my launch, even if it is just to watch me drinking lots of wine and hyperventilating from excitement. I will draw pretty pictures in your copy of Solitaire, should you decide to buy one. And I’ll love you forever.

Hope to see you there!

Love Alice xxxxx"

We really think you're going to love Solitaire. If you've read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and loved it, then I guarantee you will adore this because it's 10 times better. And British. How many books open with an argument about Harry Potter Fandoms?? 

At 19 years old Alice really is an inspiration to anyone who thinks they can't get published. Come along to the launch and meet Alice and our big YA Birmingham supporters. She'll tell you about the book and answer any questions you have about the book and about writing.

We're going to have loads of lovely cakes and plenty of Diet Lemonade (and maybe something a little stronger for over 18s). You'll get your books signed and doodled on publication day and be part of something really special. I'm not joking when I tell you that Alice is going to be a massive star. 

See more about it on the Waterstones website

Find out more about YA Birmingham's events.

Visit Alice Oseman's blog.

The launch is on the 31st of July at 7pm. Tickets are just £1 and are available in store or on 0121 633 4353. This is your chance to meet an amazing up-and-coming author before anyone else!

YA Birmingham is proud to support Alice and Solitaire, young and British authors, and awesome literature on the YA scene. 

GUEST REVIEW: Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

PAGES: 480
PUBLISHER: Macmillan
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life. Without Wren Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She's got a surly room-mate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words ...And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone. Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible...

REVIEW

People always see me reading books around school and a lot of people don’t know me that well, so to start a conversation they usually ask me what my favourite book is. In the past, I have never been able to answer it properly because I’ve never had a definite favourite, I love so many books and it’s hard to just choose one. Also this person would also judge me based on the book I say, so I always chose carefully. But ever since last September, the answer to this question was clear. Fangirl is my favourite book. Then of course, a lot of people who I talk to have never heard of the book so they ask why I like it so much. I still do not know how to answer this question, because there are many reasons as to why I love this book. I recently discovered that my goodreads review isn’t exactly great because I didn’t know what to write. So this is my first proper review as to why I love this book. I’ll try to make it as non-spoilery as possible but just to make sure only read on if you have read the book.

Rainbow Rowell has this way of writing which I absolutely love. Before reading Fangirl, I had read Eleanor and Park and that’s how I got excited about the release of Fangirl. Eleanor and Park was a great and lovely book that really hit me with the feels. What I loved about Eleanor and Park was that she made me feel like I could relate to the characters, despite being nothing like them. During Eleanor and Park, I felt a special connection to both characters and this made me excited for Fangirl. But this isn’t a review of Eleanor and Park, that shall be for another post.

Fangirl started off with a sentence that just captured me right away and after reading the first page I couldn’t put it down.

There was a boy in her room.

Now I understand that isn’t exactly the best opening sentence but what caught my attention was the way that Cath reacted. Going into this book, I had a feeling I would be able to relate to the main character somehow, but I didn’t think she would be almost an exact replica of me and that’s what I loved. My experience with fangirls, led me to believe that they aren’t generally like me. I’m used to encountering the sort of fangirls who scream and cry at everything to do with their fandom, which attracts attention. I’m the sort of girl who hides behind my books and prefers to go unnoticed. And that is exactly what Cath was like, as you could tell from her reaction to there being a boy in her room. She froze and panicked and went silent, which is exactly what I would do. This then got me interested in the book and I flew through the first few chapters quickly.
   

REVIEW: Geek Girl - Holly Smale

GENRE: Contemporary/Humour/YA
PAGES: 356

PUBLISHER: Harpercollins Children's

FORMAT: PB

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

"My name is Harriet Manners, and I am a geek." Harriet Manners knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. She knows that bats always turn left when exiting a cave and that peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. But she doesn't know why nobody at school seems to like her. So when Harriet is spotted by a top model agent, she grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her best friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of impossibly handsome model Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves. Veering from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, Harriet begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did. As her old life starts to fall apart, will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

REVIEW

I received Geek Girl after being invited as a bookseller to HarperCollin's 'Big Book Parade' - which was an absolute dream come true. Not only did we get to see all the awesome new books due out at the end of this year, but we also got to fill bags with whatever books took our fancy. For free. Reviewing doesn't seem like enough for the goodies publishers give us but hopefully being able to recommend a book like this goes some way to show how appreciative I am.

Geek Girl follows Harriet Manners on her way to stardom. After accidentally getting 'spotted' by a modelling agency at the Clothes Show she is whisked away, destined to become the World's Next Top Model. Unfortunately, Harriet was only at the show to help her best friend get spotted and now Harriet has to make the choice: follow a new path and opportunities that have opened up for her life, or stay true to her friend and turn it down? How do you follow you dreams when it means changing the lives of those around you?

Yes, the premise of this book is pretty farfetched, it might not exactly be every girl's dream, but the idea of being swept away to a bigger and better life but also getting to stay as who you are is pretty close. Geek Girl is nowhere near the type of book I would normally pick up. The cover and title make it sound like a chick-lit book about a girl who thinks she's such a geek because she does her homework but then the hottest guy in school falls for her. Blah blah blah. Yes, this is how I judge books when I look at them. Luckily I also listen to my colleagues recommendations - and this is importance of talking about books.

Harriet Manner's is actually the exact type of character that I love. She is almost a proper geek. It's quite slapstick in its comedy; she's uber clumsy and awkward but really sweet, kind and funny. And her supporting cast - her dad, best friend, and even her stalker - are all hilarious. They are pretty much caricatures of the types of weird people we all know. Her family are not exactly normal but they are pretty adorable. Its sugary-sweet in places but you don't really care, because it's so awesome. They also give the story their more serious and totally heartwarming parts. Oh, and don't worry girls, there's a guy - it wouldn't be a YA book with out one would it? - who is a fellow model. He's not an airhead though. In fact the whole part of the modelling world that he and Harriet are in is so quirky its almost a comment on the ridiculousness of the modelling industry as a whole...

Harriet has a very dry sarcastic sense of humour and even though everything bad that can happen does happen to Harriet I couldn't help but find it hilarious. It made me snort on the train and even though that is fairly embarrassing, and even though I live in Birmingham, at least you've never found me hiding under a table a the Clothes Show. And I've been to the NEC - it could have happened. I also loved that it was a British geek book - so many run on American geek vs. prep stereotypes.

Geek Girl is a Bridget Jones for a new age and a testament to anyone who ever feels socially uncomfortable. She's awkward, oblivious and just plain fab.

- Bex.