Reading Challenge: April
Hello there fellow bookish gals, guys and otherwise. You have stumbled upon April's reporting Chat Post for our 2020 Reading Challenge. There is still plenty of time to catch up. If you are interested in what the challenge is all about (there are prizes to be won) click HERE to read the introductory post.
This months theme is Spookalicious.
To report your months reads comment below, answering the questions.
Reporting questions:
1) What book did you pick for this month’s read?
2) Did you enjoy it?
3) What rating would you give it out of five?
4) Was there anything in your book that touched you /resonated with you in some way?
5) What was your favourite part of the book?
6) Who would you recommend read this book?
7) Try to sum up the book in one sentence.
We look forward to finding out what you've all been reading.
Next Months theme is After Dark.
Next Months theme is After Dark.
Blog Tour : Taking Down Evelyn Tait
About The Book
Taking Down Evelyn Tait
Written by Poppy Nwosu
Published by Wakefield Press
Add to Goodreads
Review copy courtesy of Publisher
★★★★
Written by Poppy Nwosu
Published by Wakefield Press
Add to Goodreads
Review copy courtesy of Publisher
★★★★
The door creaks open and standing in the entrance is my absolute worst nightmare.
Perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect brain.
Perfect sneer.
Evelyn Tait.
Impulsive Lottie – heavy-metal fan, expert tomato-grower and frequent visitor to the principal’s office – is in even more trouble than usual.
Her best friend Grace has dropped an unlikely bombshell: she’s dating Lottie’s mortal enemy, good-girl Evelyn Tait.
Studious Jude, the boy next door, has the perfect war plan. Lottie will beat Evelyn at her own good-girl game, unveiling Miss Perfect’s sinister side in the process.
Taking life more seriously starts as fun, but soon offers its own rewards . . . so long as Lottie can manage gorgeous Sebastian’s sudden interest, Jude acting weird, and the discovery that she might actually be good at something.
Taking Down Evelyn Tait is a story about family, friends and embracing who you are. Even if that person is kind of weird.
Tash's Thoughts:
Taking
Down Evelyn Tait, was the first opportunity I have
had to read Nwosu’s work. Coming highly recommended after her debut last year .
I was eager to read this book and this was one Lveozya novel I was not going to miss .
From the first page, I instantly connected
with impulsive Lottie. Lottie is the type of character that captures your attention with her POV. She isn’t afraid
to speak her mind and never lets her past, challenge the current situation even when she is torn between worlds . Her teachers and dad are torn though , what to do with Lottie when she doesn't want to listen .
It’s not an unfamiliar situation, there is
always teenagers falling throw the cracks, acting out to seek attention. Lottie
isn’t without cause for this behaviour. There was something deeper
lurking, she isn’t without flaws. I understood her anger to this person that I
had no clue about but came across clear
as mud. Everyone has a person who drives
them mad and it’s high school. There is
always tension to be found.
What I didn’t expect was the twist that
changed the whole story in one instance. Lottie went just from a mischief teen who has a chip on
her shoulder. There was a story to unpack, one that was full of misunderstanding
and family drama. It became more then taking down Evelyn Tait.
It’s a story of growing up and making wise
decisions. Lottie is at the stage of every teenager has to deal with, starting to recognise there is a greater
world out there and their actions and feelings don’t just affect her.
Lottie has a hard road in this book. Her actions are not completely unfounded.
Evelyn is proven to have her own issues that have contributed to the situation
at hand. There always two side to the
story and the story reveals it in own
time as the girls go about their day dealing with their complicated lives. Lottie might have one idea in her mind to deal
with her problems roping in others to help, however by the end we are presented with another conclusion.
To say the least is not totally unsurprising which I will
leave you to find out for yourself as Lottie is a person you want to know and you want to know what accomplishes right?
There is plenty to love about the girls as individuals, and how they deal with their
relationships. It’s not just Lottie's and Evelyn’s book. There is plenty of other characters that worm their
ways into your minds as you read this book who help support this family centric novel.
There something about reading Australian contemporaries
the tone and stories make it feel you
are in your own backyard listening to these teens deal with their problems . There
is reason why Australian YA has grown so much in the few years since there has
been a movement. Readers seek novels where there is connections and ability to recognise yourself in the
characters. Taking Down Evelyn Tait was a novel that offered that through its delightful
characters and the chaos of growing up, love and healing.
Follow Tash at Thoughts by Tash , Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
About The Author
Poppy Nwosu is an author of YA fiction. Her debut novel, Making Friends with Alice Dyson, was shortlisted for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Unpublished Manuscript Award, and the 2019 Readings Young Adult Book Prize, and will be published by Walker Books US in America in 2020. She was also awarded the 2019 Writers SA Varuna the Writers' House Fellowship for Young Writers.
Growing up in central North Queensland, Poppy enjoyed a thoroughly wild childhood surrounded by rainforest and cane fields. After studying music at university, she moved overseas to Ireland, where she spent two years visiting stunning Europe. These days Poppy and her husband still love to travel, but they also like to come home again to their house in Adelaide near the sea.
Poppy’s quite obsessed with stories, books, movies, writing and music.
Growing up in central North Queensland, Poppy enjoyed a thoroughly wild childhood surrounded by rainforest and cane fields. After studying music at university, she moved overseas to Ireland, where she spent two years visiting stunning Europe. These days Poppy and her husband still love to travel, but they also like to come home again to their house in Adelaide near the sea.
Poppy’s quite obsessed with stories, books, movies, writing and music.
Connect with Poppy
Taking Down Evelyn Tait Tour Schedule
Wakefield Press together with the #AusYABloggers is celebrating the release of Taking Down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosu. On tour, you'll find Australian bloggers, reviewers, instagrammers and youtubers and will begin on Monday 30th March until Friday 3rd April 2020.
Tour Schedule
|
About The Book
Written by Poppy Nwosu
Published by Wakefield Press
Add to Goodreads
The door creaks open and standing in the entrance is my absolute worst nightmare.
Perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect brain.
Perfect sneer.
Evelyn Tait.
Impulsive Lottie – heavy-metal fan, expert tomato-grower and frequent visitor to the principal’s office – is in even more trouble than usual.
Her best friend Grace has dropped an unlikely bombshell: she’s dating Lottie’s mortal enemy, good-girl Evelyn Tait.
Studious Jude, the boy next door, has the perfect war plan. Lottie will beat Evelyn at her own good-girl game, unveiling Miss Perfect’s sinister side in the process.
Taking life more seriously starts as fun, but soon offers its own rewards . . . so long as Lottie can manage gorgeous Sebastian’s sudden interest, Jude acting weird, and the discovery that she might actually be good at something.
Taking Down Evelyn Tait is a story about family, friends and embracing who you are. Even if that person is kind of weird.
About The Author
Poppy Nwosu is an author of YA fiction. Her debut novel, Making Friends with Alice Dyson, was shortlisted for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Unpublished Manuscript Award, and the 2019 Readings Young Adult Book Prize, and will be published by Walker Books US in America in 2020. She was also awarded the 2019 Writers SA Varuna the Writers' House Fellowship for Young Writers.
Growing up in central North Queensland, Poppy enjoyed a thoroughly wild childhood surrounded by rainforest and cane fields. After studying music at university, she moved overseas to Ireland, where she spent two years visiting stunning Europe. These days Poppy and her husband still love to travel, but they also like to come home again to their house in Adelaide near the sea.
Poppy’s quite obsessed with stories, books, movies, writing and music.
Growing up in central North Queensland, Poppy enjoyed a thoroughly wild childhood surrounded by rainforest and cane fields. After studying music at university, she moved overseas to Ireland, where she spent two years visiting stunning Europe. These days Poppy and her husband still love to travel, but they also like to come home again to their house in Adelaide near the sea.
Poppy’s quite obsessed with stories, books, movies, writing and music.
Connect with Poppy
Seventy-Seven Saturday: Wilder Girls
Every Saturday we will bring you a short snippet from page 77 of a book. It might be a book one of us is reading or perhaps just the book closest to us.
The Rules:
- Pick up a Book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
- Turn to page 77(or 77% if you are on an e-reader)
- Find a Snippet, Sentence or Paragraph you like.
- Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to us (AusYABloggers) and use #77Saturday
Star's Choice
Title: Wilder GirlsAuthor:Rory Power
Released: 9th July 2019
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Add it to Goodreads
She comes hustling through the trees, all noise and frantic steps. Blood on her cheek, a rip in her jacket, her hair coming out of its braid. In a second, she's in front of me, and she grabs my shoulders, gives me a shake.
Star's Thoughts
Ooooh, this sounds like someone's just witnessed something and they might be going into shock? Either way, I'm intrigued!
Follow Star at Little Miss Star, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
Seventy-Seven Saturday was inspired by The Friday 56 by Freda's Voice. If you decided to share your Seventy-Seven Saturday on your blog please link back to us and tag us on Twitter of Instagram @AsuYABloggers and #77Saturday
Seventy-Seven Saturday: All Of Us With Wings
Every Saturday we will bring you a short snippet from page 77 of a book. It might be a book one of us is reading or perhaps just the book closest to us.
The Rules:
- Pick up a Book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
- Turn to page 77(or 77% if you are on an e-reader)
- Find a Snippet, Sentence or Paragraph you like.
- Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to us (AusYABloggers) and use #77Saturday
Star's Choice
Title: All Of Us With WingsAuthor: Michelle Ruiz Keil
Released: 18th June 2019
Publisher: Soho Teen
Add it to Goodreads
When everyone was laughing at something in the movie, Xochi went for the door. She looked back at Leviticus one more time, drawn in by a gravitational pull toward the impossible, but there was only Kylen watching her go.
Star's Thoughts
I think most of us have felt like this before - looking back at someone as we leave a room only to find they weren't looking at us at all.
Follow Star at Little Miss Star, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
Seventy-Seven Saturday was inspired by The Friday 56 by Freda's Voice. If you decided to share your Seventy-Seven Saturday on your blog please link back to us and tag us on Twitter of Instagram @AsuYABloggers and #77Saturday
Seventy-Seven Saturday: Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief
Every Saturday we will bring you a short snippet from page 77 of a book. It might be a book one of us is reading or perhaps just the book closest to us.
The Rules:
- Pick up a Book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
- Turn to page 77(or 77% if you are on an e-reader)
- Find a Snippet, Sentence or Paragraph you like.
- Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to us (AusYABloggers) and use #77Saturday
Sarah's Choice
Title: Percy Jackson and The Lightning ThiefAuthor: Rick Riordan
Released: June 28th 2005
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books
Add it to Goodreads
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
Sarah's 77: To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safety to Half-Blood Hill.
Sarah's Thoughts
Rick Riordan is hands down one of the best YA/MG authors there is and he just seems like a top bloke - seriously read his books and follow him on twitter or goodreads and you'll come to think so too.
The Lightning Thief is the first book in his Percy Jackson series and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. I look forward to introducing my boys to his words and worlds once they are a little older.
Follow Sarah at Sarah Says, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
Seventy-Seven Saturday was inspired by The Friday 56 by Freda's Voice. If you decided to share your Seventy-Seven Saturday on your blog please link back to us and tag us on Twitter of Instagram @AsuYABloggers and #77Saturday
#LoveNZYA Throwback Thursday:
Throwback Thursday #LoveNzYA edition is our way of spreading the love of backlist Kiwi books that you might have missed. We'll hopefully be posting a new book every second week, and we'd love you to join us!
Brooklynne's pick
Title: Maddigan's FantasiaAuthor: Margaret Mahy
Released: 1st December 2005
Publisher: Harper Collins
Add it to Goodreads
When twelve-year-old Garland Maddigan asks Timon and Eden where they have come from, she is overwhelmed by their answer: the future. In a post-apocalyptic time, Garland's family's traveling circus troop, Maddigan's Fantasia, leaves the city of Solis once a year to perform and earn a living. However, this year Solis has given the Fantasia the crucial task of obtaining a new solar converter, the only power source in Solis, because the old one is failing. Misfortune finds the Fantasia in their travels, and Garland's father dies in an attack by Road Rats. Then suddenly two mysterious boys, Timon and Eden, appear with their baby sister, claiming to be from the future - a world in which the Fantasia has failed in its mission and the evil Nennog has taken power. The boys have come to help the Fantasia, but danger has followed them across time. Can the Fantasia protect Timon and Eden, and succeed in their quest to save their world? Internationally renowned author Margaret Mahy spins a vivid tale of time travel, adventure, and magic that no reader will soon forget.
why I chose it
First off, is there a more Kiwi author out there than Margaret Mahy. She is the most prolific and well-known children's and Young Adult author in New Zealand, and this book is a great example of why. This dystopian novel is action-packed and fun to read, especially as it clearly takes place in New Zealand. I found it entirely gripping and that was before the time travellers arrive. It's also been made into a rather successful TV series Maddigan's Quest, which stars a young Rose McIver.Seventy-Seven Saturday: Stepsister
Every Saturday we will bring you a short snippet from page 77 of a book. It might be a book one of us is reading or perhaps just the book closest to us.
The Rules:
- Pick up a Book (your current read, or the closest book to you, or your next read, etc)
- Turn to page 77(or 77% if you are on an e-reader)
- Find a Snippet, Sentence or Paragraph you like.
- Share it on your blog or Twitter or Instagram and link back to us (AusYABloggers) and use #77Saturday
Star's Choice
Title: StepsisterAuthor: Jennifer Donnelly
Released: 14th May 2019
Publisher: Scholastic
Add it to Goodreads
Fate nodded. She gave Isabelle's hand one last squeeze. "Yes, and I hope you will, too. Be careful of those fleeing Paris, child," she warned. "Not all refugees are harmless old biddies like me. Some are scoundrels, just looking to lead young girls astray. Be wary. Close your shutters. Bolt your doors. And above all, trust nothing - nothing - to Chance."
Star's Thoughts
IDK, this feels like foreshadowing to me! But it's also good advice, too. Especially in fantasy worlds - trust no one.
Follow Star at Little Miss Star, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
Seventy-Seven Saturday was inspired by The Friday 56 by Freda's Voice. If you decided to share your Seventy-Seven Saturday on your blog please link back to us and tag us on Twitter of Instagram @AsuYABloggers and #77Saturday
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