The countdown to the release of Derek Landy’s new book is on, with Demon Road being released on Thursday! I’m reading it the moment and IT. IS. EPIC! Whether or not you’re a Derek Landy fan you will be blown away.
You can enter the draw to win Demon Road button badges and Demon Road Maps here on the blog too.
Check out these videos of Derek Landy introducing Demon Road and the brand-spanking new book trailer.
Today I’m super excited to host an interview with Leah Thomas, author of the wonderful Because You’ll Never Meet Me. It is one of the most extraordinary books I’ve read in a long time. You can read my review here on the blog. I had a few questions about Because You’ll Never Meet Me and Leah Thomas has very kindly answered them for me. Read on to find out what inspired Leah to write her wonderful story, where her characters came from and her favourite books and movies.
Thank you, thank you! I love hearing “I love”! And I love hearing “anything quite like it.” But in truth, so many things inspired this story that to me it feels more like “everything quite like it.” Parts of it were inspired by my homesickness while living abroad, parts of it draw directly from the comics and superhero stories that informed my childhood, parts come straight out of working with kids and in schools, with being raised by social workers (like Liz, yes), and a huge chunk of the story comes from the conviction that distances don’t matter so much when you can share words with people, in stories or in letters or in music.
Ollie was easy. Ollie demands to be heard, and I’m pretty sure he was hollering noisy things in my ears for at least a few years before I finally let him holler at other people. There are certain characters that really fight to exist, and he was one of them. I am often captivated by good people who put on a show of being happy even when they may not be, because they care more about how those near them feel than they care about themselves. This is, to me, a very selfless but sad way to live life, and with Ollie, he can’t quite pull it off, because he does value himself.
Moritz is the natural foil to Ollie: he’s very introverted and the front he puts up is that he couldn’t care less about the world, but the opposite is actually true. His self-loathing is so apparent but also so wrongheaded.
Both these characters are approaching their lives with whatever coping strategies they can, and when they contact each other, discover new possibilities for managing the crappy hand life dealt them.
I think these two boys really need each other. They are each other’s hope.
Of course research goes into any kind of writing, and where medical issues are concerned this is a must, but I’m going to reiterate: this is by no means a factual book, or at least was never intended to be. Yes, I very much wanted to write about characters with disabilities (and will continue to, because representation is everything!), but in my mind I was doing so within a science fiction framework. On a personal level, an immediate family member has epilepsy, and certainly my experiences with that informed the book, and as far as research into echolocation – it’s true and truly amazing that some people who are visually impaired adapt in remarkable ways, but in the book this is hugely, hugely exaggerated.
Because You’ll Never Meet Me falls very much in line with the spirit of superhero stories – just with a realism aspect that I hope is empowering, if a bit odd.
I feel like I already lived the life of Ollie! I grew up in the woods of northern Michigan, at the end of a dirt road, and so did a lot of my friends. It’s funny how many people from my hometown recognize aspects of our childhood in the book.
Having said that, I’d love to live in Germany. There’s a distinct lack of diskotheks here!
Oh, gosh, what a huge question! Have you got time to read another book? Because this could go for so many pages. I’ll try to name a few things, in a random blob of text:
Harry Potter, Kurt Vonnegut, Discworld, Wes Anderson, His Dark Materials, MT Anderson, Fullmetal Alchemist, Nancy Farmer, Hannibal (Bryan Fuller), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Coraline, Ray Bradbury, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Tim Burton (the older stuff – you should have SEEN my wall collages in high school), Steven Universe, Patrick Ness, Harold and Maude…
Seriously, do people find ways to answer this question?! INTERROBANG?!
Yes, yes, yes! (Sorry; I’m still excited by the fact.) The sequel to BYNMM, hesitantly titled Nowhere Near You, was actually drafted back in 2013, and will be released in early 2017! And following that, Bloomsbury’s also bought the rights to a work-in-progress called Birds and Other Transdimensional Things, which tells the story of a mother and daughter who have trouble with parallel universes, but more trouble with their relationship.
Thanks so much for having me aboard! I’m still pinching myself.
Last night the winners of the 2015 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults were announced in Wellington. Not only were the judge’s winners announced but also the children’s winners, with the children of New Zealand choosing their favourites in the newly revamped Children’s Choice Award.
Congratulations to all the finalists and the winners! You’re all super stars and absolutely deserve your recognition.
Junior Fiction Winner – Monkey Boy, by Donovan Bixley (Scholastic NZ)
Picture Book Winner – Jim’s Letters, by Glyn Harper, illustrated by Jenny Cooper (Penguin Random House NZ (Puffin))
Nonfiction Winner – Mōtītī Blue and the Oil Spill, by Debbie McCauley and Tamati Waaka (translation) (Mauāo Press)
Young Adult Fiction Winner – Singing Home the Whale, by Mandy Hager (Penguin Random House NZ)
Maori Language Award – Ngā Kī, translation by Kawata Teepa (Ngai Tuhoe, Te Arawa) of Keys by Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan (Huia Publishers)
Best First Book Award – Māori Art for Kids, by Julie Noanoa (Potton & Burton)
Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award – Singing Home the Whale, by Mandy Hager (Penguin Random House NZ)
Children’s Choice Junior Fiction Winner – Island of Lost Horses by Stacy Gregg (HarperCollins)
Children’s Choice Picture Book Winner – The Anzac Puppy by Peter Millett, illustrated by Trish Bowles (Scholastic NZ)
Children’s Choice Nonfiction Winner – The Letterbox Cat & Other Poems by Paula Green, illustrated by Myles Lawford (Scholastic NZ)
Children’s Choice Young Adult Winner – Night Vision by Ella West (Allen & Unwin)
Nosy Crow is one of my absolute favourite publishers! They publish some spectacular books for children of all ages, from picture books to novels. I can always tell a Nosy Crow book by the original, engaging stories, the stunning illustrations and high-quality production values of their books. They are books that appeal to adults as much as kids.
Here are a couple of their recent super picture books that I really love. Go out and grab them to share with the kids in your life.
There’s a Bear On My Chair by Ross Collins
This is the story of a very unhappy mouse whose chair has been inexplicably taken by a polar bear. This very clever story starts off quite simply but builds momentum as the mouse gets increasingly agitated about the bear being on his chair. It’s chock full of interesting rhyming words like ‘flair’ and ‘leisurewear’ and I kept wondering what words Ross would find next to rhyme with bear. Ross’ illustrations are sparse but full of humour. I especially love Mouse’s expressions as he tries all sorts of things to get bear to move, including offering him a pear and giving him a glare. Ross has used some great aspects of design in the book which make it stand out for me. Each of the pages is a different colour, with words that have a different emphasis highlighted in red. There are also a couple of pages with no words on them to highlight the suspense. It makes you wonder what is going to happen on the next page. I’ve read this aloud to younger children and they all love it!
Superhero Dad by Timothy Knapman and illustrated by Joe Berger
I love picture books about superheroes! One of my favourite library Story Time themes is superheroes and I’m always looking out for new picture books to share on this theme. There seems to be a shortage of them but there are more being published, including this SUPER picture book by Timothy Knapman and Joe Berger. One of the coolest things about this book is the cover – there’s a circular cut-out where the dad’s face peeks through from the page underneath. When you open the cover there is just a normal dad underneath the costume. The story is told by a boy who thinks his dad is absolutely super. You can hear his snoring from miles away, his jokes are super funny and he makes monsters disappear. Timothy Knapman’s rhyming text rolls off your tongue and Joe Berger’s bright and vibrant illustrations really are super. It’s a wonderful story about the super things that dads do and the super sons that they have. I love the message of this book, that everything that dads do with their kids, no matter how small, makes them superheroes.
Use Your Imagination by Nicola O’Byrne
This absolutely fantastic picture book came out last year but is still one of my favourite books from Nosy Crow. I read this book every week to children in schools all over Christchurch as part of the Christchurch City Libraries’ Travelling Roadshow. It’s all about using your imagination and creating stories, a message that I love to see in books and one that I spread every day in my job. The story follows Rabbit, who is bored and looking for something to do. The Wolf, who is a librarian (I LOVE this touch!), comes along and suggests that Rabbit write a story using her imagination. Rabbit points out what big eyes Wolf has and he replies, ‘All the better to read stories with my dear.’ Wolf and Rabbit come up with suggestions for a story that they could tell, and just when you think you know how it’s going to end, Nicola O’Byrne turns the story on its head. The best way to read this book is by having someone be Wolf (my favourite part) and someone being Rabbit.
I love the imagination and creativity of Nicola O’Byrne’s books (she also created Open Very Carefully)! Nicola O’Byrne is one of those authors whose books I will always anticipate and I can’t wait for her next book, coming in January 2016, called The Last Book Before Bedtime.
Derek Landy’s new book, Demon Road, is released in NZ on 1 September. I can’t wait and I know there are heaps of Skulduggery Pleasant fans like me who are keen to see what story Derek Landy tells next.
The wonderful people at HarperCollins NZ have created some goodies to promote Demon Road. They have sent me some Demon Road Maps and button badges to give away to you lucky readers of My Best Friends Are Books. Check them out!
To get in the draw for a road map and some badges just email bestfriendsrbooks@gmail.com with the subject ‘Demon Road’ and your name and address. If you are a school librarian or teacher and would like a set of 10 badges to give away to Derek Landy fans at your school please email me to and let me know. Open to New Zealand only.
Sometimes I find it really hard to express what I think of a book. This usually happens when I’ve read a book that is amazingly wonderful. I do love it when this happens but I can’t quite explain why I loved it so much. This has happened with The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly. Please bear with me as I try to explain.
The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, and her ability to trust.
And when Minnow rebelled, they took away her hands, too.
Now the Kevinian Prophet has been murdered and the camp set aflame and it’s clear Minnow knows something. But she’s not talking. As she adjusts to a life behind bars in juvenile detention, Minnow struggles to make sense of all she has been taught to believe, particularly as she dwells on the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of; if she is willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is an amazing book and I absolutely loved it! It’s a powerful, harrowing and haunting story that had me gripped from beginning to end. Minnow’s story is a compulsive read and Stephanie Oakes had me hanging on her every word. From the very first page you want to know Minnow’s story and how she ended up standing over a blood-soaked body. Through her story that she tells to Dr Wilson and her cell-mate Angel, we piece together Minnow’s life. I love the way that Stephanie Oakes draws out the story, giving us pieces of the puzzle right to the very end.
Minnow is an really interesting character, who shows determination, resilience and bravery in a horrible situation. Spending most of her life in The Community, Minnow must follow the rules and edicts laid down by The Prophet, the leader of the Kevinians. Minnow sneaks out of The Community and meets a boy called Jude who helps her to discover that the world isn’t exactly how The Prophet has portrayed it. Minnow starts to doubt everything she has been told and when she refuses to marry The Prophet and runs away, she faces the horrific consequences. Stephanie Oakes’ description of Minnow’s hands being chopped off by her father with a hatchet is harrowing and will stick with me. I could picture quite clearly what was happening and it made me physically cringe. Even though Minnow has no hands she has the strength to carry on and make her life her own.
I also loved the relationships that Minnow had with the other characters in the book. Minnow’s cell-mate Angel is a friend and confidante to Minnow. Although Angel doesn’t reveal much about herself and why she is in the correctional facility, Minnow opens up to her and tells her her story. Angel spends most of her time reading and when she learns that Minnow can’t read she helps her to learn. Another character that helps Minnow learn to read and shares her passion for books is one of the teachers, Miss Bailey. Both Miss Bailey and Angel help to open up a new world for Minnow. Dr Wilson, Minnow’s psychologist, is the most intriguing characters because you don’t quite know what his motives are.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is an amazing story that ends with a sense of hope. It’s a book that I won’t forget and I’m sure to keep thinking about Minnow and what her life might be like after the story has finished.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is the debut young adult novel by Stephanie Oakes. It is an amazing book and I absolutely loved it! It’s a powerful, harrowing and haunting story that had me gripped from beginning to end. You can read my review here on the blog.
Thanks to HarperCollins NZ I have 3 copies of The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly to give away.
Thanks to everyone who entered. The winners are Chris K. and Melinda.
Aaron Blabey writes very funny picture books. His picture books about Pig the Pug and Thelma the Unicorn are hilarious and are some of my favourite picture books. I was excited when I heard that Aaron Blabey was going to be publishing a series of books for older children, called The Bad Guys. The first book in the series, Episode One, is out now and it is absolutely brilliant!
They sound like the Bad Guys, they look like the Bad Guys . . . and they even smell like the Bad Guys. But Mr Wolf, Mr Piranha, Mr Snake and Mr Shark are about to change all of that! Mr Wolf has a daring plan for the Bad Guys’ first good mission. The gang are going to break 200 dogs out of the Maximum Security City Dog Pound. Will Operation Dog Pound go smoothly? Will the Bad Guys become the Good Guys? And will Mr Snake please spit out Mr Piranha?
The Bad Guys: Episode One is a short, witty and incredibly funny book that will have you laughing out loud. It’s the sort of book that makes you laugh all the way through. The humour works on different levels so – there is lots to make younger kids laugh but adults will get some jokes that kids might not.
The story focuses on a group of animals who are always thought of as bad guys – Mr Wolf, Mr Snake, Mr Piranha and Mr Shark. They get a pretty bad rap, from attempting to eat old women to eating anything and anybody. Mr Wolf is sick of being misunderstood so he calls his friends together and they set out to prove they can be good guys. Their plans never quite seem to go as planned and have hilarious consequences.
There are so many things I love about The Bad Guys! The way that Aaron tells the story draws the reader in, with Mr Wolf speaking directly to the reader at the start of the book. It’s a cross between a graphic novel and a chapter book, with sparse text and funny illustrations, so will appeal to beginner readers right through to older children. I love Aaron Blabey’s illustrations because his characters are so expressive and it’s the combination of these illustrations and the text that make this book so funny.
The Bad Guys begs to be read aloud so grab a copy of Episode 1 and laugh along with your children as you introduce them to the bad guys who just want to be good.
Steve Camden is an exciting new author that I’ve been hearing a lot about. It’s All About Love is Steve’s second young adult novel and it sounds fantastic. Read the blurb below and watch Steve’s video of his poem about It’s About Love.
He’s Luke. She’s Leia.
Just like in Star Wars. Just like they’re made for each other. Same film studies course, different backgrounds, different ends of town.
Only this isn’t a film. This is real life. This is where monsters from the past come back to take revenge. This is where you are sometimes the monster. And where the things we build to protect us, can end up doing the most harm…
It’s About Love is out now from HarperCollins New Zealand.
I’m not usually a fan of biographies. I prefer fiction than nonfiction, and I usually get bored reading about someone’s life, even if it’s someone that I admire. When I picked up Jessie Hartland’s new graphic biography of Steve Jobs though I was captivated!
Steve Jobs: Insanely Great tells the story of Steve Jobs in a unique and exciting way, using a graphic format that will appeal to teens and adults alike. The book starts with Steve’s early life, when he was a mischief-maker and tinkerer, and it takes us through his teenage years, his short time at college and the businesses that he started from the ground up. The book is full of Steve’s achievements, his ups and downs, the people that he met and who influenced him, inspirational quotes, and a visual history of technology. You get a real sense of how Steve Jobs thought and what he wanted to achieve.
Steve Jobs’ life was absolutely fascinating! He knew what he wanted and strived for it, from starting Apple Computer in his parents’ garage to creating cool gadgets that revolutionised the music, phone and tablet computer industries. He was always looking to create new and exciting things and wanted to make technology that was better than anything before. He made millions of dollars (and lost millions) along the way.
One of my favourite aspects of Jessie Hartland’s book is that he takes you through the development of technology over Steve Jobs’ lifetime. Jessie shows us the history of computers and computer games and how Steve developed his Apple computers. Jessie also gives us a visual history of technology, from the 1960s when Steve was a child, through to the 2000s.
Steve Jobs: Insanely Great is a brilliant book about an icon who brought us some amazing technology that most of us couldn’t live without. Give this book to the technology-crazy person in your life.
My Best Friends Are Books 