Weekly Tales – 28/12/2014

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Welcome to my weekly wrap up on Tales Of Yesterday where I share what I have been reading this week, what books I have bought or have been privileged to have received and any general bookish or sometimes not so bookish things I have been up to over the past week.

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Currently Reading

Okay so I am beyond excited!!  I just started to read this today and a quarter of the way in and absolutely loving this already!  I have been wanting to read this for ages and thanks to lovereading4kids and the publishers David Fickling Books who sent me a copy!  I am hoping to have this reviewed by release day which is the 1st January 2015!

This week I have also read and reviewed All I Want For Christmas by Esme Taylor – I really enjoyed this book and was a lovely pre-Christmas read.  You can see my review here.

Also over the Christmas period I read My True Love Gave To Me – twelve winter romances by various authors.  This book was perfect and my review will follow in the next couple of days.  If you have read this book I would love to hear your thoughts on which story was your favourite so I can feature it in my review – please feel free to tweet me @chelleytoy .

My son, Corey started off his Corey’s Corner by reviewing the fab The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone – catch his review here.

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Book Post

I have been extremely lucky and privileged this week to have won some books in competitions on twitter which I plane to read and review.  Thank you so much to all.

Firstly, thanks to the wonderful Lovereading I won a signed copy of this beauty.  Thank you so much for picking me and I cannot wait to read!

Publisher – Viking

Published – 6th November 2014

Make them laugh, and they’re yours forever . . .

It’s the swinging 60s and the nation is mesmerized by unlikely comedy star Sophie Straw, the former Blackpool beauty queen who just wants to make people laugh, like her heroine Lucille Ball.

Behind the scenes, the cast and crew are having the time of their lives. But when the script begins to get a bit too close to home, and life starts imitating art, they all face a choice.

The writers, Tony and Bill, comedy obsessives, each harbour a secret. The Oxbridge-educated director, Dennis, loves his job but hates his marriage. The male star Clive, feels he’s destined for better things. And Sophie Straw, who’s changed her name and abandoned her old life, must decide whether to keep going, or change the channel.

I have also been lucky enough to win the following book from YABirmingham through twitter.  I am beyond excited to read this book as I have been told it will break my heart.  Thank you YA Birmingham!

Publisher – Harper Collins

Publication Date – 3rd March 2015

Dara and Nicola used to be inseparable, but that was before – before Dara kissed Parker, before Nicola lost him as her best friend, before the accident that left Dara’s beautiful face scarred. Now the two sisters, who used to be so close, aren’t speaking. In an instant, Nick lost everything and is determined to use the summer to get it all back.

But Dara has other plans. When she vanishes on her birthday, Nicola thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl has vanished, too – nine-year-old Elizabeth Snow – and as Nicola pursues her sister, she becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances may be linked.

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Christmas Books

I hope every one had a fab Christmas?!  I have eat far to much and feel only fit for PJ’s at the moment!  Did Santa leave any books under the Christmas Tree?  He did for me and here they are – exciting times!

Publisher – Chicken House

Published – 4th October 2012

Alone in the world, Sophie dreams of being someone special, but she could never have imagined this. On a school trip to Russia, Sophie and her two friends find themselves on the wrong train. They are rescued by the beautiful Princess Anna Volkonskaya, who takes them to her winter palace and mesmerises them with stories of lost diamonds and a tragic past. But as night falls and wolves prowl, Sophie discovers more than dreams in the crumbling palace of secrets.

Publisher – Black Swan

Published – 1st January 2008

HERE IS A SMALL FACT – YOU ARE GOING TO DIE

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION – THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH

It’s a small story, about:

a girl

an accordionist

some fanatical Germans

a Jewish fist fighter

and quite a lot of thievery.

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW – DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES

Publisher – Indigo

Published – 2nd October 2014

The spiral has existed as long as time has existed.

It’s there when a girl walks through the forest, the moist green air clinging to her skin.

There centuries later in a pleasant green dale, hiding the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who they call a witch.

There on the other side of the world, where a mad poet watches the waves and knows the horrors they hide, and far into the future as Keir Bowman realises his destiny.

Each takes their next step in life.

None will ever go back to the same place.

And so their journeys begin…

Publisher – Penguin

Published – 25th November 2014

 I have this dream that, secretly, all teenage girls feel exactly like me. And maybe one day, when we realize that we all feel the same, we can all stop pretending we’re something we’re not… But until that day, I’m going to keep it real on this blog and keep it unreal in real life.

Penny has a secret.

Under the alias Girl Online, Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship, boys, high school drama, her crazy family, and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets Noah, a gorgeous, guitar-strumming American. Suddenly Penny is falling in love – and capturing every moment of it on her blog.

But Noah has a secret, too, one that threatens to ruin Penny’s cover – and her closest friendship – forever.

Publisher – Macmillan Children’s Books

Published – 5th June 2014

‘I found Jean’s friend dead in the river. His name was Colin Kirk. He was a homeless man, but he still wanted to live.’

There’s been a murder, but the police don’t care. It was only a homeless old man after all.

Kieran cares. He’s made a promise, and when you say something out loud, that means you’re going to do it, for real. He’s going to find out what really happened. To Colin. And to his grandma, who just stopped coming round one day. It’s a good job Kieran’s a master of observation, and knows all the detective tricks of the trade.

But being a detective is difficult when you’re Kieran Woods. When you’re amazing at drawing but terrible at fitting in. And when there are dangerous secrets everywhere, not just outside, but under your own roof.

I also received some creative writing books as I want to do more writing in 2015!

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Other Bookish Goings On

Other than Father Christmas visiting this week I received a lovely email from Scholastic inviting me to my first ever book bloggers brunch at their head office in London towards the end of January.  I am so excited for this and the invite mentions that the lovely Eve Ainsworth and Mel Salisbury will be talking at the brunch as well as scholastic showcasing some exciting new books for 2015!  Can’t wait and thank you so much to Scholastic for inviting me!

Another fab thing of the past week was @thatjessebloke starting up bookishpeeps.com which is a fab new forum to talk about all books MG and YA amongst other things!  Its such a fab idea and a great place to have a bookish talk about various bookish things  – perfect.  Join in the on the forum by clicking on the link above and registering.

Have you read any of the books above?  Are you planning on buying any of the books above?  What did Father Christmas leave you under the tree?  I really would love to hear from you – why not leave a comment using the reply button at the top of this post or why not tweet me on twitter – @chelleytoy – I would love to hear from you.

Happy Reading