Round up of The British Book Challenge 2016

It’s that time of year again… time to reflect on the British Books I’ve read this year for the British Books Challenge. I read a grand total of 66 British books! (I shall add anymore to this post if I read more between now and 1st January) Yay!

The challenge involves reading 12 books from British authors, so I think we can safely say I smashed that number! 😉 I really enjoy finding British authors to read as much of my reading is dominated by US authors (they are amazing though!) Linked below are the reviews of the 66 British books that I read!

1. Lighter Than My Shadow– Katie Green
2. For Holly– Tanya Byrne
3. Am I Normal Yet?– Holly Bourne
4. The Demon Headmaster– Gillian Cross
5. The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig– Emer Stamp
6. The Haunting– Alex Bell
7. In A Dark, Dark Wood– Ruth Ware
8. The Number One Rule For Girls– Rachel McIntyre
9. Carrie’s War-Nina Bawden
10. The Sin Eater’s Daughter– Melinda Salisbury
11. Radio Silence– Alice Oseman
12. The Samaritan– Mason Cross
13. Moving– Jenny Eclair
14. More Of Me– Kathryn Evans
15. The Next Together– Lauren James
16. The Boy In The Dress– David Walliams
17. Consumed– Abbie Rushton
18. V is for Violet– Alison Rattle
19. Read Me Like A Book– Liz Kessler
20. Follow Me Back– Nicci Cloke
21. Noble Conflict– Malorie Blackman
22. When I Was Invisible– Dorothy Koomson
23. Poppy’s Place– Karina Charman
24. The Horse and His Boy– C.S. Lewis
25. Orangeboy– Patrice Lawrence
26. Always With Love– Giovanna Fletcher
27. The Moonlight Dreamers– Siobhan Curham
28. According To Yes-Dawn French
29. The Borrowers– Mary Norton
30. Swimming To The Moon– Jane Elson
31. The Castle– Sophia Bennett
32. The Woman Next Door– Cass Green
33. Songs About A Girl– Chris Russell
34. Maggot Moon– Sally Gardner
35. Shtum– Jem Lester
36. The One We Fell In Love With– Paige Toon
37. My Embarrassing Dad’s Gone Viral– Ben Davis
38. Cuckoo– Keren David
39. Harry Potter and The Cursed Child– J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
40. All About The Hype– Paige Toon
41. The Girls– Lisa Jewell
42. Head Over Heels– Holly Smale
43. Crush– Eve Ainsworth
44. Perijee and Me– Ross Montgomery
45. How Not To Disappear– Clare Furniss
46. A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding– Jackie Copleton
47. Looking for JJ– Anne Cassidy
48. A Boy Made Of Bricks– Keith Stuart
49. Robyn Silver- The Midnight Chimes– Paula Harrison
50. Isadora Moon Goes To School- Harriet Muncaster
51. The Last Act of Love– Cathy Rentzenbrink
52. Time To Say Goodbye– S.D. Robertson
53. On The Other Side– Carrie Hope Fletcher
54. Beautiful Broken Things– Sara Barnard
55. The Widow– Fiona Barton
56. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase– Joan Aiken
57. Dead Romantic– C.J.Skuse
58. Haunt Me– Liz Kessler
59. Missing, Presumed– Susie Steiner
60. Strange Star– Emma Carroll
61. Ballet Shoes– Noel Streatfeild
62. The Lie Tree– Frances Hardinge
63. Into The Trees– Robert Williams
64. Lighthousekeeping– Jeanette Winterson
65. Infinite Sky– C.J. Flood
66. The Sleeping Prince– Melinda Salisbury

A massive thank you to Kirsty from Overflowing Library for hosting this challenge this year.

As this is one of my favourite challenges, I am definitely on board for 2017. In 2017, the challenge will be hosted by Michelle from Tales of Yesterday. Sign up here!

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My Embarrassing Dad’s Gone Viral and Missing Arabella Mini Reviews

Today I’d like to chat about two recent releases from Oxford University Press. I was sent a copy of both books unexpectedly. They both looked like fun reads so I was happy to give them a go! Click on the book image to get to the Goodreads page for the book.

Synopsis:

What’s a boy to do when his mum disappears, his dad moves him and his sister to the middle of nowhere, and his life takes a very swift downward turn . . . secretly launch his dad on the internet as the Next Big Thing, of course!

Hi guys!
I bet every one of you knows what it’s like to have an embarrassing parent – right? I bet they’ve done something so cringey that you wanted the ground to open up and swallow you whole. But let me tell you, my friend, NOBODY has a dad like mine. He takes embarrassing to a whole new level. If embarrassing was an Olympic sport, my dad would have, like, a gazillion gold medals.

This hilarious story will have instant appeal to a YouTube-watching generation and is told through a series of vlogs. Combining Ben Davis’s brilliantly-funny voice and Mike Lowery’s amazingly-amazing illustrations is sure to make this a hit with readers everywhere. After all, everyone knows what it’s like to have an embarrassing parent, don’t they?

Synopsis:

A twin banished . . . an unbreakable bond . . . an unlikely fairytale. Sometimes a disaster is just a disaster, and nothing good can be said about it. But sometimes a disaster is an excuse for a fresh start.

Arabella and Henrietta are twins. If you saw them, you’d find it very hard to tell them apart. But once you get to know them, you’ll discover that although they look alike, that’s where the similarity ends . . .

Henrietta is a constant headache for her parents-always causing problems and upset. Why, oh why can’t she be more like Arabella?

Sent away to live with strange Aunt Renfrew, Henrietta wonders if she’ll ever see Arabella again. But the bond between sisters is strong, and even stronger when your sister is also your twin and your best friend. And so Arabella begins her journey through the forest to find Henrietta . . .

Stacking The Shelves #146

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you’re adding to your shelves, be it buying or borrowing. From ‘real’ books you’ve purchased, a book you’ve borrowed, a book you’ve been given or an e-book they can all be shared!

As ever, click on the book image to get to the Goodreads page!

NetGalley:

Thanks to Penguin Books

I enjoyed Jennifer Niven’s debut novel, but her latest release looks like it’s going to be more of my sort of thing. It cetainly looks like another heart-wrencher that’ll explore important issues.

Oxford University Press

I was sent these two books by OUP not knowing anything about them. They are due for release in August! They look like fun middle grade reads. I’ll certainly give them a go.

 

That’s it for me this week. I’m happy with a small haul… so much to catch up on!

What have you added to your shelves this week? Feel free to leave a link to your post and I’ll stop by! Happy Reading!

British Books Challenge 2014: The round up!

The British Book Challenge was set up to show support for British Authors. By signing up I promised to read at least 12 books by British Authors. That’s equal to one book a month.

It’s safe to say that I exceeded this challenge this year.

• Witchfinder– Ruth Warburton
• Darkness Watching– Emma L. Adams
• Forbidden– Tabitha Suzuma
• The Savages– Matt Whyman
• The Look– Sophia Bennett
• Della says OMG!- Keris Stainton
• Who Framed Klaris Cliff?- Nikki Sheehan
• Storm and Stone– Joss Stirling
• Dear Dylan– Siobhan Curham
• Dead Jealous– Sharon Jones
• Follow Me Down– Tanya Byrne
• You Don’t Know Me– Sophia Bennett
• The Drowning– Rachel Ward
• Dead Silent- Sharon Jones
• Hollow Pike– James Dawson
• The One Plus One– Jojo Moyes
• Through The Looking Glass– Lewis Carroll
• Red Ink– Julie Mayhew
• Kiss Me First– Lottie Moggach
• Trouble– Non Pratt
• Johnny’s Girl– Paige Toon
• The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson– Paige Toon
• Running Girl– Simon Mason
• Little Women– Louisa May Alcott
• A Room Full of Chocolate– Jane Elson
• A Kiss In The Dark– Cat Clarke
• The Madness– Alison Rattle
• Keep Your Friends Close– Paula Daly
• A Commonplace Killing– Sian Busby
• Echo Boy– Matt Haig
• The Magician’s Nephew– C.S Lewis
• Geekhood– Andy Robb
• The Sound– Sarah Alderson
• The Private Blog of Joe Cowley– Ben Davis
• You’re The One That I Want– Giovanna Fletcher
• Flyaway– Lucy Christopher
• Thirteen Weddings– Paige Toon
• Dandelion Clocks– Rebecca Westcott
• Say Her Name– James Dawson
• Longbourn– Jo Baker
• Riot- Sarah Mussi
• The Year Of The Rat- Clare Furniss
• Wedding Night– Sophie Kinsella
• Another Way To Fall– Amanda Brooke
• By Any Other Name– Laura Jarratt
• Peter Pan– J.M Barrie
• Smart– Kim Slater
• Tape– Steven Camden
• Precious Thing– Colette McBeth
• Fallen Grace– Mary Hooper
• Have A Little Faith– Candy Harper
• Golden Boy– Abigail Tarttelin
• The Anti-Prom- Abby McDonald
• The Wind In The Willows– Kenneth Grahame
• Flirty Dancing– Jenny McLachlan
• The Lie- Helen Dunmore
• Noughts and Crosses– Malorie Blackman
• Another Night, Another Day– Sarah Rayner
• More Than This- Patrick Ness
• Half Bad– Sally Green
• Eeny Meeny– M.J Alridge
• She Is Not Invisible- Marcus Sedgwick
• The Girl Who Walked On Air– Emma Carroll
• Dangerous Boys– Abigail Haas
• Daughter– Jane Shemilt
• To Be A Cat– Matt Haig
• Unhooking The Moon– Gregory Hughes
• Before We Met- Lucie Whitehouse
• The 100 Society– Carla Spradbery
• Salvage– Keren David
• Lobsters- Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
• Fifteen Bones– R.J Morgan
• Knife Edge– Malorie Blackman
• The Girl Who Wasn’t There– Karen McCombie
• Cloud Busting– Malorie Blackman
• Trust Games– Simon Packham
• No Going Back– Alex Gutteridge
• The Memory Book– Rowan Coleman
• The Ask and The Answer– Patrick Ness
• Christmas With Billy and Me– Giovanna Fletcher
• Monsters of Men- Patrick Ness

The Private Blog of Joe Cowley

How did I get it?:
Received from Oxford University Press (Children’s) in exchange for a honest review!

Synopsis

Sunday 1st January
So here’s the thing. I’ve decided to start writing a blog. A private one. The idea is that it’ll help me sort my life out, because quite frankly, it can’t get much worse . . .
· I gained the nickname Puke Skywalker after vomiting over Louise Bentley on the waltzer.
· I am subjected to daily wedgies by my arch-enemy Gav James.
· My so-called best mates are trying to get me killed in a bid to win £250 on You’ve Been Framed.

This cannot go on. I have to do something, or I’ll end up like Mad Morris down the park who thinks he’s Jesus. By the end of next term, I’m going to be a completely different person.

At least, that’s the theory…

Thoughts:

I’ve had this book since I attended the OUP Children’s blogger event last year. I’ve just managed to slot it into my reading schedule. It claimed to be the funniest book I’ve read this year. Well, I haven’t read many funny books this year so far, but The Private Blog of Joe Cowley did make me laugh out loud a few times.

The Private Blog of Joe Cowley reminded me of a modern day Adrian Mole. I think that’s always going to be a comparison when a male character writes a diary of sort. Joe’s blog entries are much more risqué than Adrian’s ever were.

Joe’s life is full of teenage angst both at home and school. His mum and dad are divorced. Joe’s dad now lives with the young Russian Svetlana and his mum lives with Jim. At school he is taunted daily by Gav. Joe’s fourteen years old and never been kissed, and after an unfortunate experience with a girl where he gains the nickname Puke Skywalker, Joe wonders if he’ll ever get anywhere with girls. He really likes Lisa Hall, the pretty, popular ex-girlfriend of Gav. He also likes Natalie, a purple-haired ’emo’.

The Private Blog Of Joe Cowley is a quick and easy read. It has some incredibly cringe worthy, but also funny moments. I think teenage and older readers alike would enjoy this!

Would I recommend it?:
Yes!

Stacking The Shelves #57

Click on the image to take you to Tynga’s blog to learn more!

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you’re adding to your shelves, be it buying or borrowing. From ‘real’ books you’ve purchased, a book you’ve borrowed, a book you’ve been given or an e-book they can all be shared!

As ever, click on the book image to get to the Goodread’s page!

Bought:

Hereafter by Terri Bruce has been on my radar for a while now. I’m hoping to read this book soon! I’m attempting to get up to date with the majority of my series, so I pre-ordered Into The Still Blue by Veronica Rossi, it arrived this week and I’m very much looking forward to finishing the series.

NetGalley:

If you’ve visited this blog before, or regularly come back, you may have noticed that I can never stay away from NetGalley. It’s an addiction I tell you! Luckily, I’ve got my NetGalley ratio above the 80% ratio that they recommend, so I feel less guilty about requesting new pretties! 😉 Out of this selection I’m particularly looking forward to Tease by Amanda Maciel.

ARCS received/donated

Random House

I was supposed to be attending the Random House event, but I was unwell so couldn’t go. My lovely friend picked me up a goodie bag though, with these four books. My copy of Echo Boy by Matt Haig is signed. I can’t wait to read it. Bird by Crystal Chan seems to be really popular too. I’m reading Running Girl by Simon Mason with Luna for our ‘Comparing’ feature next month. I’ve read The Name On Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns as an e-book, but it’s lovely to have a ‘real’ copy. If you click on the book image for that particular book, it’ll go to my review!

Oxford University Press

I received final copies of Who Framed Klaris Cliff? and Storm and Stone. I have read and reviewed these already, book images go to my reviews! I’ve heard good things about The Private Blog of Joe Cowley by Ben Davis, so I’m looking forward to reading it! Disregarding the freaky cover of Replica by Jack Heath, it actually sounds very good!

Hatchette Children’s Books

I’m so excited to read Riot by Sarah Mussi. I’ve heard some brilliant things about it! It might have to be bumped up the TBR list! I also like the look of Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington. I also received a copy of The Moment Collector by Jodi Lynn Anderson.

What have you received this week? Have you read any of the books in my haul yet? Feel free to leave your link to your Stacking The Shelves post and I’ll come by and visit!