Meet Amber…
Tag: ya lit
Congratulations to @eleanorford on Twitter – the very lucky
winner of the signed copy of THE MANIFESTO ON HOW TO BE INTERESTING. Happy reading!
There will be lots more opportunities to win copies of Holly’s books – so stay tuned and be sure to follow Holly on Twitter (@Holly_BourneYA).
Read the first chapter of THE MANIFESTO ON HOW TO BE INTERESTING at www.usborne.com/readmanifesto.
Top 5 Feminist YA Books
Ahead of tonight’s #UKYAchat about feminism and gender
equality in YA, Holly has written about her top 5 feminist YA Books for Queen of Contemporary blog. Here’s a juicy taster of what to expect:
‘Am I Normal Yet? is the first book in a
trilogy about a group of girls who set up their own feminist campaign
group called ‘The Spinster Club’. I think YA gets a bad rep when it
comes to feminism. So many people keep bleating out the dreaded words
‘Bella’ and ‘Swan’ – like Twilight isn’t a) TEN years old, and b) Not
the only YA book out there. In fact, YA have LOADS of incredibly
feminist books…’
Head over to Queen of Contemporary to see the books Holly has included in her top 5!
And don’t forget to log into Twitter at 8pm, search for #UKYAchat and join in the conversation with authors, bloggers, librarians and readers about feminism and gender roles in YA.
#TBT Q&A with PaperTrailYA
Hello Day 18 of #100DaysofNormal! On this gorgeous June day, we’re throwing back to a brill Q&A Holly did with PaperTrailYA blog earlier this month. Here’s a teeny-tiny taster:
‘Hi, Holly! Thank you
so much for taking the time out of your schedule to chat with us today.
How does it feel to be bringing out your third novel Am I Normal Yet?
I’m
so excited and yet SO terrified at the same time. This book is like my
Horcrux, and I really hope everyone loves it as dearly as I do. What’s
so exciting is it’s the first in a trilogy. I’m loving getting to stay
with the same bunch of characters for three books, after writing two
standalones.’
Read the interview in full at http://bit.ly/1QFmPWB.
Congratulations to @emmarrobinson on Twitter – she’s the very lucky winner of the signed copy of SOULMATES. We hope you enjoy it Emma!
Read the first chapter of SOULMATES at www.usborne.com/soulmates.
There will be lots more opportunities to win copies of Holly’s books – so stay tuned and be sure to follow Holly on Twitter (@Holly_BourneYA).
Wahoo! It’s Day 15 of #100DaysofNormal and to celebrate we have this rather fab Twitter competition. Head to Holly’s Twitter page for a chance to win a signed copy of her first novel, Soulmates! We have one to giveaway to one very lucky winner!
Good luck!
Win ‘Am I Normal Yet?’ – an amazingly Goodread.
We’re celebrating Day 10 of #100DaysofNormal by giving you the chance to win one of 10 copies of Am I Normal Yet? with Goodreads. Head over to Goodreads to enter: http://bit.ly/1GrIrPm
And don’t forget to add Am I Normal Yet? to your Goodreads bookshelf!
Good luck everyone 🙂
Read the first chapter of ‘Am I Normal Yet?’
“It started with a house party. This wasn’t just any house party. It was also My First Date. Like first EVER date. In my entire life. Because, finally, following all the crap that had gone down, I was ready for boys.
His name was Ethan and he liked the Smashing Pumpkins (whatever that is) and he’d managed to grow real stubble already. And he liked me enough to ask me out after sociology. And he was funny. And he had really small, but cute, dark eyes, like a ferret or something. But a sexy ferret. And he played the drums and the violin. Both! Even though they’re, like, totally different instruments. And and…
…and – oh, Christ – what the HELL was I going to wear?Okay, so I was stressing. And obsessing. “Obstressing” times a million. In an utterly deplorable way. But this was a big deal to me. I was doing something NORMAL for once. And I reckoned I could just about pull it off. And I did know what I was wearing. I’d run through every possible clothing combination in existence before opting for tight jeans, black top and a red necklace, i.e. what I reckoned to be the safest date outfit ever. I was going to be normal again. But I was going to step back into it safely...”
This is just a tiny taste of Am I Normal Yet?, which is out in the UK on 1st August 2015.
Read the ENTIRE first chapter now at:
www.usborne.com/readAmINormalYet
We’d love to hear your thoughts – let us know what you think of the first chapter by using the hashtag #100DaysofNormal.
Normality is overrated
Amy and Hannah here from Usborne – hello! We’ve hijacked Holly’s Tumblr for Day 2 of #100DaysofNormal because we want to tell you a little bit more about her amazing new novel Am I Normal Yet?, which is out on 1st August.
We asked the very lovely Holly to sum up the book for us in just 3 words:
‘NORMALITY. IS. OVERRATED‘
We completely agree! Holly’s main character, Evie, has OCD – she feels as if she is failing at being a teenager, let alone being ‘normal’.
Evie’s just come off her meds and is dipping her toe into the pool of man folk at college. But relationships can mess with anyone’s head – something Evie’s new friends Amber and Lottie know only too well (don’t we all!). The trouble is, if Evie won’t tell them her secrets, how can they stop her making a huge mistake?
OCD, feminism, bad boyfriends, and the importance of cheesy snacks – it’s all there in this wise, heartbreaking and funny novel.
And there’s more! If you didn’t already know, Am I Normal Yet? is the first in a trilogy – hooray! Yes – 3 books from Holly, so we asked her to give us a sneak peek at what to expect:
‘The trilogy centres around the friendship of three girls – Evie, Amber, and Lottie – and their grassroots feminism group. In book two, Amber spends the summer in an American summer camp to try and rebuild her estranged relationship with her mother. Expect road trips, prom kings with hidden depth, female chauvinist pigs (evil cheerleaders) and lots of tears. And, in the final book, Lottie takes on the ENTIRE PATRIARCHY in a one-girl campaign, calling out every instance of sexism she sees for an entire month. Imagine “Yes Man” for feminism, then add cheesy snacks and a totally inappropriate crush. I cannot WAIT for you to fall in love with these girls as hard as I have.’
We’re off to meet Holly now to do some top-secret #100DaysofNormal stuff. It’s VERY EXCITING but we couldn’t possibly tell you what it is until tomorrow!
Be sure to follow Holly on Twitter and be the first to hear the news.