Interview with a Children’s Bookseller
Despite saying earlier in the year that I’d keep this blog going, it’s been getting undeniably dusty. Sorry, dear blog! It turns out that young babies and writing (in any form) just don’t mix easily. I have still been reading lots though — you can keep track of what I’ve been reading on Goodreads here. Recent favourite books include Lauren James’s The Loneliest Girl in the Universe, and Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison’s Freshers. I’m currently re-reading Pullman’s His Dark Materials and remembering how much I love it. I’m still blogging sporadically over at Author Allsorts, where this week we’ve been talking...
Books Read in June 2017
How Hard Can Love Be? (The Spinster Club #2) by Holly Bourne — YA contemporary. I really loved the first in the series, Am I Normal Yet?, and have been wanting to read the other books for ages. How Hard Can Love Be? follows Amber as she heads to the US for the summer to reunite with her estranged alcoholic mother, making friends and falling for someone along the way. I liked it a lot; the romance gave me a Stephanie Perkins vibe and I liked that it side-stepped some cliches. The Bookshop Girl by Sylvia Bishop, illustrated by Ashley King — MG fiction. I picked this up because I’d heard cute things about it, and also because the girl on...
Books Read in April & May 2017
Feathers by Rose Mannering (Tales Trilogy #2) — Fairytale-inspired YA fantasy. I really enjoyed the first book in the trilogy, Roses, and have been meaning to read book two for some time. Rose Mannering can *write*; her prose is beautiful. Feathers introduces new main characters and a new storyline, with allusions to characters from Roses. I’m intrigued to see how everything and everyone will come together in the last book. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller— Adult historical LGBT fantasy, based on the myth of Achilles. A gift from my bookseller sister. All I knew going into it was that I would likely cry at the end! Epic, romantic,...
Update + Books Read in March 2017
So, something new happened in the last month — I had a baby! Part of me thought that might be the end of this (already quite neglected) blog, as my days are now filled with feeding and nappy changing, and even when my baby sleeps he does it a lot of the time on me. It’s tricky to do much in the way of writing, social media, blogging, or even reading when you only have one hand free for a portion of the day, and zero hands free the rest of the time. But I love the bookish world too much to give it up completely, so although I’ll likely be even quieter on social media and this blog than usual, I’m not going anywhere! Without further ado,...
January Update
January’s been an unusual month. I’ve read hardly anything. Instead, I’ve: a) Worked a lot. b) Marathoned every single episode of Breaking Bad. Yes, I’m years behind everyone else, and yes, it was clever and dramatic and *amazing*. c) Been preparing for a life change which is happening soon. (I’ll blog briefly at some point to explain my increasing online absence, but it basically involves an oven and a bun.) Here’s what I did read. (Three books! Three?!) 8 Rivers of Shadow by Leo Hunt — YA fantasy / horror. Sequel to 13 Days of Midnight, which I loved. 8 Rivers...
Books Read in December 2016
How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss — YA contemporary. I loved Clare’s debut, The Year of the Rat, so had high hopes for her follow-up. How Not to Disappear didn’t disappoint; Clare Furniss knows how to pack an emotional punch! HNtD is about a teenage girl taking a road trip with her long-lost great aunt Gloria, who’s suffering from dementia. Along the route, Gloria relives memories and reveals long-buried secrets before they can be lost to her illness. I kept reading to find out Gloria’s big secret, and fell in love with the characters along the way. Thin Air by Michelle...
Favourite Reads of 2016
This year I read 123 books. Last year I read 113, which surprised me, because I thought I’d read less this year! Here are my favourite reads of the year. (Books read, not necessarily published, in each month.) As you’d expect, they’re mostly YA, but a couple of adult books have sneaked in. Click the book covers to go to my reviews for that month. Let me know your favourite 2016 reads in the comments! January February March April May June July August September October November December (review to come) Share...
Glimpse
Inspired by Alfred Noyes’ poem 'The Highwayman', Glimpse is a ghost story, a love story, and a story of overcoming trauma.
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About Kendra Leighton
I’m a YA writer and chocolatier. Glimpse, my debut novel, was inspired by Alfred Noyes' poem 'The Highwayman'. It was published in 2014.Read more...
