1. Pick up a book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
2. Turn to page 77
3. Find a snippet, sentence or paragraph you like.
4. Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to AusYABloggers, using #77Saturday

1. Pick up a book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
2. Turn to page 77
3. Find a snippet, sentence or paragraph you like.
4. Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to AusYABloggers, using #77Saturday

1. Pick up a book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
2. Turn to page 77
3. Find a snippet, sentence or paragraph you like.
4. Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram. Link back to AusYABloggers, using #77Saturday

This weekend I've been reading The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliot. This is a brand new (it came out yesterday!) fantasy book - the first in a planned series - for readers aged 12ish and up. Walker Books kindly sent me this copy, and I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it, so I wanted to share a snippet today (with a full review to come after I finish).

Here we go - from page 77 of The Good Hawk:

  "I'm sorry about everything that's happened today," I say. I can assure you I was against it as much as you were."

   "I thought so."

  "Oh, I don't mean... It's just, well, before today marriage was forbidden on Skye. I presume they told you that?"

You can find The Good Hawk on Goodreads here.

1. Pick up a book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
2. Turn to page 77
3. Find a snippet, sentence or paragraph you like.
4. Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram. Link back to AusYABloggers, using #77Saturday

One of my reading goals this year (something else I'm still planning to talk about a bit here soon) is to read more diversely in terms of gender. I didn't read any books by trans or nonbinary authors last year, and I'm really keen address this hole in my reading this year!

Today I had the pleasure of reading George by Alex Gino, a sweet little book about a 10 year old trans girl:

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl.

George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy.

With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

Here's my little snippet from page 77 (although, to be honest, this is actually from page 76 because it was just too good not to share).

"Charlotte isn't dumb!" George threw her fork down. It ricocheted off the edge of her plate and twirled end over end in the air. All eyes were on the utensil, which spun as if in slow motion. It hit the ceiling and bounced on Scott's head before rattling to the floor."


I really enjoyed this book! Not only is it a fantastic and story, I also loved that there is a section in the back of the book where the author answers some FAQs, and gives some information about supporting trans people. The writing is really accessible - perfect for young people who might be going through something similar, and definitely engaging enough for adult readers to enjoy and learn from too.

xo Bron

Since it's Saturday I thought I'd join in with the Aus YA Bloggers 77 Saturday blog meme, and share a little snippet from page 77 of Angel Mage. I was a bit nervous that it would be spoilery - since I haven't read the book yet - but I found an intriguing bit to share that I don't think gives anything away!

Henri gulped. He knew that most of such questioning was done with angelic magic. But sometimes that didn't work, and there would also be Refuser prisoners on whom angelic magic could not be used. Which meant this Second Assistant to the Clerk of the Question would have to sit in on the torturing. Writing down whatever people screamed and mumbled out, in between begging for mercy and, failing that, begging for death.

Aaargh! Sounds fantastic and kind of creepy (which seems to be kind of a theme for me in my reading right now haha).

Here are the 77 Saturday rules, in case you want to join in too!

1. Pick up a book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
2. Turn to page 77
3. Find a snippet, sentence or paragraph you like.
4. Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to us (AusYABloggers) and use #77Saturday

 Let me know if you join in too  - I'd love to read  it!

xo Bron

First, the Seventy-Seven Saturday Rules:

1. Pick up a book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
2. Turn to page 77
3. Find a snippet, sentence or paragraph you like.
4. Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram. Link back to AusYABloggers, using #77Saturday

And here's the snippet I loved from p77 of Ninth House:

"Who are you? Alex would sometimes think, looking at another girl in a navy peacoat, pale face like the waning moon beneath a wool cap, ponytail lying like a dead animal over her shoulder. Who are you?"
 
I just started reading Ninth House today, and it honestly had me hooked (and CREEPED OUT!) by the end of the first chapters. There are some hints of some pretty heavy subject matter to come, and I'm loving the way the story is unfolding bit by bit. Definitely worth the hype so far!

xo Bron
***

Title: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Released: 09 October 2019
Publisher (in Australia): Hachette Australia
Format: Paperback (uncorrected proof copy), 450p
Source: I was lucky enough to win this in a giveaway from Hachette on Instagram
Find it on Goodreads 

I had some mixed feelings about this book, and its predecessor Sky.

Sky isn't the most likeable character, but she is also a teenager who has just had her life turned upside down by the death of her mother, and is meeting her father for the very first time, so I can kind of mostly forgive her. Across the two books I don't really feel like I've got a good sense of who she is as a person, with the exception of her views on animal rights (more about that later), and there were a few times where she did things that I felt were out of character for what I expected from her. She does do a lot of really reckless and alarming things in this book, and I'm not sure that the balance of the seriousness and danger of these actions versus the idea of "following your heart" is quite right.

I did enjoy the supporting cast perhaps more than Sky herself - I think she is super lucky to be surrounded by people who are so supportive of her, and willing to offer her unconditional love. I liked the presence of the adults in her life throughout both books, and the way that they are all flawed in their own ways.

While I enjoyed the overall story, I did feel like sometimes the animal activist bits felt quite forced in, and a bit preachy/lecture-y. I think that Snow was definitely better in this respect than Sky, and I was pleased to see some balance to the discussion of eating meat. I know every book can't be/do all things, but I think it would be good to see the discussion framed more around the benefits of eating less (or no) meat/animal products, rather than the negatives of a meat diet. Also, perhaps a bit more practical information for young people who might be inspired to look into veganism and use this as a starting point (in terms of what sorts of things people do eat, or where to get more information about nutrition etc).

One of the main themes in this book is - obviously - family. As I mentioned above, I did enjoy that the adults were all flawed and I liked the discussion about how there are no perfect parents and sometimes we have to forgive people. I do think that perhaps this went a little too far with some of the things that happen with Jaxon's dad, and the idea that the most important thing was that Jaxon and his dad should be together, when his dad was really quite dangerous. While I'm all for family love and forgiveness, I don't agree that absolutely everything must be forgiven just because someone is blood, and this is one of the reasons I love 'found family' stories.

The book comes with a sneak peek of the third book in the series, Star, which I think is the final installment (to be released in 2020).

Thank you so much to the Aus YA Bloggers and Pantera Press for having me along on the tour! Make sure you check out the other wonderful bloggers who are posting their thoughts on Snow this week too - you can find more info here!

 xo Bron

***
Snow by Ondine Sherman is out now from Pantera Press
Source: Free copy provided by Pantera Press
Format: Paperback, 265 pages
On Goodreads