Joyous & Moonbeam

Joyous & Moonbeam by Richard Yaxley

"All Life Is Joyous"

Joyous is always looking on the bright side of life, always trying to see the good in every situation, no matter how difficult or challenging that proves to be. Joyous' life has been a hard one, full of violence, ugliness and sorrow and yet he still manages to see life as a beautiful gift. It is a lesson that is hard to learn but beneficial to all.

Ashleigh has not been happy for some time, slowly her family is falling apart and her cries for help, her desperate please for her parents’ attention are going unheard. In these dark days of her life it is difficult see anything good or positive. But then she meets Joyous and he shows her the good in life, in herself and he calls names her Moonbeam.

Joyous & Moonbeam are the unlikeliest of friends, offering each other understanding, companionship and the freedom to be themselves. As bad as things can get, there is always something positive to be found, although it may some work to see it. A touching, quirky and joyous tale that teaches you to appreciate the good things in life.

Richard Yaxley @ Scholastic

On sale: 01 April 2013
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781862919877
Recommended age: 9+
In a word: Joyous
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
xx

The Host

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

A Love That Refuses To Fade!

In all the planets she had lived on, all the species she had lived as, Wonderer had never before experienced such emotion, such violence and such resistance as she did with her human host. It wasn't supposed to be this way, the human hosts previous consciousness was supposed to fade away. But this human Melanie, her new host, wasn't leaving without a fight.

Melanie was a constant presence in her mind, a loud, angry and strong presence, trapped inside her who refused to fade away, refused to give up her secrets, refused to let go of the person she once was, of the people she loved most. Wonderer knew all this, felt all this and couldn't help being influenced by her hosts body, couldn't help loving those Melanie had loved.

The choice to venture off alone to find the humans that Melanie and she both love is really no choice at all, despite the fact that the humans are dangerous, violent creatures. But when she finds these humans they both love, they see only the monster who has taken their Melanie from them. Although Melanie still exists inside her, is it really possible for Wonderer to go on living as two people.

The Host is a science fiction romance that goes the heart of what it is to be human. A love story at the end of the world, where humans as we know them are being hunted to extinction, their very consciousness being replaced by alien souls. This is the story of one souls experience of humanity, the violence, the emotions, the irrational natures and the love that is the only hope humans have left.

Stephanie Meyer Webpage

Stephanie Meyer @ Hachette

On sale: 01 February 2012
Price (AU): $19.99
ISBN: 9780751550979
Recommended age: 15+
In a word: Wanderer
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
xx

Girl Defective

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell

Life Is Strange!

Sky’s life is far from normal; to start with her name is actually Skylark, her brothers’ Seagull. Her mother has run off to Japan to become an alternate music artist, her father has become an absent alcoholic with the single goal in life of finding the record 'Wishing Well' by the Millionaires and her socially awkward brother believes himself to be a detective. And then there is Nancy.

Girl Defective is a vulnerable, naive, lonely girl, learning, making mistakes and growing up. Absorbed in a mystery, experiencing her first love, betrayed by her best friend, taken for granted by her family, she will learn to accept others for who they are and herself for her own strangeness. A charming misadventure that is quirky and chaotic, full of life discoveries, friendships, defects and acceptance.

Simmone Howell Webpage

Simmone Howell @ Pan Macmillan

On sale: 01 March 2013
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9780330426176
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Sky
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
xx

Guest Post - Hidden: Writing After Cancer

Blog Tour - Hidden

Writing After Cancer
Guest Post by Marianne Curley

  

Writing After Caner

I was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer just weeks after finishing the final revisions for The Key. The doctor put me in hospital immediately for a stem-cell bone marrow transplant. I had only weeks to live.

Thankfully, the transplant was a success, but during my third week in hospital I experienced a fall onto my back, and because the chemotherapy treatment made my bones brittle, the fall was devastating. I lost three vertebrae and quite a few inches in height. I couldn’t concentrate because of the chronic pain, and the medication they gave me to ease the pain made me sleepy.

The first year after the fall and transplant I could do little but recover slowly and build my strength up again. I had to be careful of germs and watch how I moved for fear of the pain that would sear through my back and down my legs with every movement.

Eventually the crushed bones of my vertebrae settled into place and the number of tests I needed for my transplant reduced to once every three weeks, allowing me to make the seven-hour trip home to Coffs Harbour. During this first year at home, combined with the return trips to the hospital every three weeks, I couldn’t hold my concentration long enough to write squat.

But I was grateful to have made it through the transplant, thrilled to be alive and I couldn’t wait to get back into writing. I struggled through my sleepiness to write two manuscripts over four years. Unfortunately, they haven’t made publication, but they showed that I could write. It was a matter of hitting on the right topic, creating the best characters and producing a strong, vibrant story.

So how has my battle with cancer affected my writing? I would have to say it has made me more determined to succeed, and it has given me an insight into life that not everyone gets to experience (thankfully!)  Cancer also helped me feel a whole gambit of emotions, from utter despair and hopelessness to a sense of utopia and nirvana. I now have an insight into some of life’s hardest experiences, fears and deepest emotions, which has created a rich and profound well of memories to draw from.

 

Follow the Hidden blog tour on facebook @
Hidden Facebook page.

Find out more about the book Hidden @
Hidden Bloomsbury Australia page.

 

The Avena Series #1

THE AVENA SERIES:
Hidden by Marianne Curley

She's Such An Angel!

Taken at birth and hidden away from all who love her, Ebrielle is unaware of who she is, what she is capable of and how much danger she is about to bring to those around her. Given a new name and new life on earth, Ebony has grown up in an overprotective family surrounded by sheltered peace, until the night she sneaks out to go to a party, meets a boy and uncovers a truth that will change her life.

Josh's life has been anything but peaceful. Orphaned at a young age he has experienced more loss and hardship in the last sixteen years then most have in their whole lives, and now just when he has met a girl that could be the one, he finds his short life is about to end. However as one deal is made to save his life, another may be made to bring it to an end.

Hidden is the story of an angel, a demon and a human boy all fighting it out for the love and life of a girl with violet eyes and untold powers. As the forces of good and evil turn earth into a battle field, one girl is trying to figure out who she is, what she wants and where she belongs. The beginnings of a new angel series that is sure to please.

Marianne Curley Webpage
Marianne Curley @ Bloomsbury Australia

On sale: 01 March 2013
Price (AU): $15.99
ISBN: 9781408822623
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Ebony
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
xx

Google Hangout & Giveaway - Hidden

Blog Post - Hidden

Marianne Curley Google Hangout
& Giveaway

Hidden Google Hangout

Hidden by Marianne Curley is out today and Bloomsbury Australia has put together a Q&A with the author Marianne Curley.
Watch and enjoy!

Hidden Giveaway

For those lucky enough to be in Angel Place in Sydney today, Bloomsbury Australia's own Angels will be giving away copies of Hidden to celebrate its launch.

Follow the Hidden blog tour on facebook @
Hidden Facebook page.

Find out more about the book Hidden @
Hidden Bloomsbury Australia page.