Everyone's a Winner! Late winner announcements and apologies

Hello Readers,

I want to start this post off with a big fat humongous "I'm sorry!" I haven't been able to blog for a while now, which happens and is not usually the end of the world, but in this case it meant that winners of two of my competitions were not announced, and this is totally unacceptable. I feel really bad for keeping you waiting and, for that reason, I have decided that it is my responsibility to make it up to you.

So, instead of choosing one winner for my Department 19 competition, and my Feeling Sorry for Celia giveaway, I have decided to award a prize to anyone who has entered, just for the fact that you've waited a while for your prize.

Guest Post: Department 19 by Will Hill + Competition

Possibly one of the biggest fans of Will Hill and Department 19, KamzKool is a young school-aged blogger and motoring fanatic. Will Hill's novel instantly captured him, and his super-fan-status was sealed when he was able to attend the secret event to celebrate the second book in the series, The Rising.  KamzKool has been kind enough to share on EBT a few words on his favourite book and the event he loved so much. Also there's a competition at the end to WIN YOUR OWN COPY!

Review: Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty + Giveaway

Feeling Sorry for Celia
Author: Jaclyn Moriarty
Published by Macmillan Children's Books, Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9780330397254 (2010 Paperback Edition)

Visit Jaclyn Moriarty's Website
Feeling Sorry for Celia on the Pan Macmillan website

"Dear Ms Clarry,
It has come to our attention that you are incredibly bad at being a teenager.
Yours sincerely,
The Association of Teenagers"


It isn't just the story, but also is the pleasure of reading this book due to how it was written, that makes this book wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that I want to share it with you and have included a giveaway at the end of this review.

Feeling Sorry for Celia is a beautiful story about being a teenager, looking at friendship, family, love and school life. It is fun to read, for the most part non-judgemental, and most of all it shows that real life and real people are just not perfect. It was a real pleasure to read: funny, heart-warming and very honest. I think many people will recognise some part of their teenage self in this book and its characters.

Shelf Clearance: YA Giveaway

This competition is now closed and the winner has been announced at the bottom of this post.

If you're reading this, it hopefully means that you have seen my blog post all about my shelf clearance mission in an attempt to bring back some sanity to my life. If you haven't read it yet and are interested, then head over to my article Shelf Clearance, Kindle and Giveaways, but if you just want to win some stuff and don't really care why, keep reading.

I have this bundle of books to give away, which includes Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shephard, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer (both published by Atom), Bite Club by Rachel Caine (published by Alison and Busby), The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, and Raising Demons by Rachel Hawkins (both published by Simon and Schuster UK):

Shelf Clearance, Kindle and Giveaways

I have so little space (well none actually) for my many books that even I am going crazy because of it. The fact is, at this rate, I'll never get to read all the books that I have because it will take me too many years to unearth them from all the boxes, storage trunks (I wish I was kidding) and bookshelves around my house. Also, I may have to substitute furniture in my room for boxes and trunks of books if I do not find a solution soon (I reckon the bed will be first to go - storage trunks with a mattress on top will do the job just fine). I know many of you are thinking 'you can never have too many books', and I agree, as would my Mum. Or at least she would have agreed until I started to transform myself into a modern day Don Quijote (or should that be Doña Quijote in my case).

The Eclectic Bookshelf's 2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge

Last year I began to read a lot more Young Adult fiction and enjoyed a number of brilliant titles and series, including Michelle Harrison's 13 series published by Simon and Schuster UK, Hayley Long's Lottie Biggs series and Amy Kathleen Ryan's Glow, published by Macmillan. This year I wanted to keep that going and get through some of the YA titles on my shelves, as well as some of the exciting new titles coming out this year.

I needed a challenge that was not too specific about the type of YA and would be good for non-expert YA bloggers like me (I have seen such accomplished YA blogs!). Then I found The Eclectic Bookshelf's 2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge. There are four levels:

1. The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.
2. The "Fun Size" YA Reading Challenge – Read 20 Young Adult novels.
3. The Jumbo Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 40 Young Adult novels.
4. The Mega size YA Reading Challenge – Read 50+ Young Adult novels.

I will be taking the "Fun Size" Challenge. While I am being cautious about not overstretching myself with reading challenges this year, as I wish to focus on my blog and on maintaining the "fun" element of blogging and reading, I have decided that 20 YA novels, based on my shelves and some of the titles publishing this year, is manageable. Also, as I have made a target of 50 blog book reviews at least this year, and have dedicated almost half to another challenge, this will help me almost complete the other half.

An Awfully Big Blog Adventure Online Lit Fest Day 2

I hope you all read my post yesterday about An Awfully Big Blog Adventure's first ever Online Literary Festival, taking place this weekend. The first day, yesterday, was absolutely amazing. There were some really great blog posts, or 'events', run by the authors, including a look at the issue of author blogging, the addictive nature of writing, and how helpful it can be to be part of a writers group or society such as the 'other' SAS - the Scattered Authors Society. There were a whole host of competitions to win book for all ages (I entered quite a few!) and it wasn't all about reading either; some authors chose to make videos for us. Oh yes!

So, today is day 2 of this awesome festival. Unfortunately I won't be able to stay for the whole thing... but that is the other awesome aspect of this amazing online literary festival. All the posts are still be available to see after the event has ended (yes, that does include the competitions!). The vibe isn't quite the same as a new event every 30 minutes (I was exhausted yesterday, it was lovely to comment and live tweet, and even from home it had a real buzz about it), but it does mean that no one has to miss out. So, if you didn't 'attend' yesterday, you can still check back on all of yesterday's events.

So, here's to another fun day. Hats off to An Awfully Big Blog Adventure for this awesome festival. I'll be attending the evening events, so I hope to see you all there! Get the kids and the family ready for a 10:30 am start, a day of literary fun awaits!

An Awfully Big Blog Adventure Hosts First Ever Online Lit Fest

It is an exciting weekend for children, parents, authors, bloggers and the publishing industry! That's because this weekend, the 9th and 10th July,  An Awfully Big Blog Adventure are hosting the first ever online literary festival.

To coincide with the blog's third birthday, they have created this incredible idea.  The online festival has been organised by a range of wonderful children's authors, and will be the first of its kind. Every half an hour will see a contribution from an author, and the line-up includes a range of subjects, from blogging, to tips on writing, and insights into some of the inspiration and origins for their own incredible work.

In addition, there are some awesome competitions, including book giveaways and, for you aspiring writers, the chance to win a critique!

Review: Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett

Scarlett Dedd

By Cathy Brett

Headline Publishers

• ISBN: 9780755347872
• Publication date: 02 September 2010

Scarlett Dedd is one of the first books that I have read in my rediscovery of YA literature, and it was certainly a treat. It is a funny, intelligent, teenage story that is well written, well presented and has an authentic teenage voice in the person of Scarlett.

I have written a little synopsis for you:

 Scarlett is your typical teenager in so many ways, yet she is also quite different, unique. Like any typical teenager she is unhappy with her family life, though she is sure she has more reasons to be than most, not least due to her surname which has been cause of much ridicule for all her life. You see, Scarlett is a Dedd, and if the name wasn’t doomed enough, that also meant frightfully pale skin that never tanned, lifeless hair and gloomy eyes. That, along with the family’s poverty, which meant second hand clothes and a horrid diet, was enough to test the patience of any teenage girl.

So when Scarlett finds out that she has to go on a seven day school-trip to Northern France as part of her History classes she decides to draw the line and take matters into her own hands. One way or another, she was getting out of her trip. However, Scarlett’s super-plan goes mortifyingly wrong, not just for her, but for her family too, and soon she discovers a whole new meaning to being part of the Dedd family.

As if being a teenager was not hard enough, Scarlett has to learn a whole new existence, and in the process learns the true meaning and value of family and friendship.