Discussion: Fat Rep in YA

Representation in YA categorically needs to be better. Yes, it’s improving, yes albeit slowly, the field is becoming more diverse.
It is no-where near perfect, however.

There are so many readers of YA that find themselves under-represented, and I am in no position to talk or evaluate their points of view, so I shall just be focusing on my personal experience, as a ‘plus-size’ reader struggling to truly find herself in the places she chooses to escape.

Advertisements

The ABC book challenge.

And it’s been a week already! Time for the second post in The ABC book challenge. Only 24 more posts to go…

…slightly feels like I’m counting down until Christmas…

…I’m not actually going to finish this tag until Christmas. Deary me!

Carrying on.

I saw this post on Jacquie’s blog ‘Rattle The Stars‘ – she’s one of my fave bloggers so definitely go and check her blog out!

The ABC book challenge.

My first comeback book tag, and boy have I picked a long one! The ABC book tag – one every week for each letter of the alphabet, so you’ll be seeing this every Saturday for the next 26 weeks.

I saw this post on Jacquie’s blog ‘Rattle The Stars‘ – she’s one of my fave bloggers so definitely go and check her blog out!

A review: The Girls – Emma Cline

I first heard about The Girls back when I worked in a well-known bookstore. It was one of their ‘Picks of the Month’ and it definitely caught my eye. However, as is always the case – there were other books I wanted more so, as many a forgotten title have, this took a backseat.
Then I came across it in a used bookstore, and I didn’t hesitate, my initial intrigue and my personal goal of trying to expand my genres. I bought it and I’m happy to say, it did not disappoint.

California. The summer of 1969. In the dying days of a floundering counter-culture a young girl is unwittingly caught up in unthinkable violence, and a decision made at this moment, on the cusp of adulthood, will shape her life….

Evie Boyd is desperate to be noticed. In the summer of 1969, empty days stretch out under the California sun. The smell of honeysuckle thickens the air and the sidewalks radiate heat.

Until she sees them. The snatch of cold laughter. Hair, long and uncombed. Dirty dresses skimming the tops of thighs. Cheap rings like a second set of knuckles. The girls.

And at the centre, Russell. Russell and the ranch, down a long dirt track and deep in the hills. Incense and clumsily strummed chords. Rumours of sex, frenzied gatherings, teen runaways.

Was there a warning, a sign of things to come? Or is Evie already too enthralled by the girls to see that her life is about to be changed forever

As always, this is spoiler-free!

A review: The Power – Naomi Alderman

The winner of the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction 2017, The Power by Naomi Alderman is an honest novel that reverses gender roles in society and makes us look at ourselves as a species.

Without a doubt, The Power is one of the most interesting concepts I’ve read this year. It caught my eye the moment it hit the bookshelves, in the bookshop I used to work in. With its eye-catching cover and intriguing blurb; it quickly became a must-have!

What if the power to hurt were in women’s hands?

Suddenly – tomorrow or the day after – teenage girls find that with a flick of their fingers, they can inflict agonizing pain and even death. With this single twist, the four lives at the heart of Naomi Alderman’s extraordinary, visceral novel are utterly transformed.

 

 

 

 

As always, this review is spoiler free!