Gabbie's bookish thoughts

Paper Lanterns is a new literary journal, founded in 2020 by Grace Kelley, Ruth Ennis and Amy O’Sullivan, to be published four times a year. Acting as a platform to promote the voices of young people in Ireland and across the world, this journal provides new and exciting content for a teen and young adult audience. It is also perfect for enthusiasts of teen and YA literature; from teachers and librarians, to parents and youth workers. This is a YA journal for writers, artists, dreamers, and doers. This is a space for the underrepresented voices and a platform for publishing and promoting young writers and artists so they are seen and heard. We also make space for those who were once young adults to submit their work! Those who proudly and loudly represent young voices in today’s world. (Paper Lanterns) by Rebecca Johnson and cover design by Eleanor Braydon   Yet another stellar issue from Paper Lanterns ! If you were to check my previews reviews , it'd be easily apparent that I am...

  * I was provided a proof copy by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*  Synopsis: Join Greta and Minette once more for the heartwarming conclusion of the award-winning Tea Dragon series! Over a year since being entrusted with Ginseng's care, Greta still can't chase away the cloud of mourning that hangs over the timid Tea Dragon. As she struggles to create something spectacular enough to impress a master blacksmith in search of an apprentice, she questions the true meaning of crafting, and the true meaning of caring for someone in grief. Meanwhile, Minette receives a surprise package from the monastery where she was once training to be a prophetess. Thrown into confusion about her path in life, the shy and reserved Minette finds that the more she opens her heart to others, the more clearly she can see what was always inside. Told with the same care and charm as the previous installments of the Tea Dragon series, The Tea Dragon Tapestry welcomes old fri...

Synopsis: Camille, a revolutionary's daughter, leads a band of outcasts – a runaway girl, a deserter, an aristocrat in hiding. As the Battalion des Mortes they cheat death, saving those about to meet a bloody end at the blade of Madame La Guillotine. But their latest rescue is not what she seems. The girl's no aristocrat, but her dark and disturbing powers means both the Royalists and the Revolutionaries want her. But who and what is she? Review: I'd been looking forward to this novel ever since I heard about its upcoming release. On paper, Dangerous Remedy The historical fiction elements seemed well researched without ever feeling as though the author was trying to dump all her notes on you, which is always a fine line to tread when it comes to historical fiction if you ask me. The ... From revolutionary Paris' atmosphere, to complicated romantic bonds, to found family, to scientific experiments and savants with a god complex, to a girl that doesn't seem quite huma...

― About Paper Lanterns     Paper Lanterns is a new literary journal, founded in 2020 by Grace Kelley, Ruth Ennis, and  Amy O’Sullivan, to be published four times a year. Acting as a platform to promote the voices  of young people in Ireland and across the world , this journal provides new and exciting content for a teen and young adult audience . It is also perfect for enthusiasts of teen and YA literature, from teachers and librarians, to parents and youth workers. The journal is divided into three sections. Our  literature, from teachers and librarians, to parents and youth workers.      The journal is divided into three sections. Our Creative Writing section showcases work from talented teens, as well as work from adult writers of teen and YA literature, tied in with beautiful artwork and photography. The  talented teens, as well as work from adult writers of teen and YA literature, tied in with  beautiful artwork and photography...

YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN BY LEAH JOHNSON ★★★★★ CW: anxiety, panic attacks, mentions of death of a loved one, illness of loved one, homophobia (challenged) & outing    Synopsis:      Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.       But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.   ...

WILDER GIRLS by Rory Power ★★★★ Synopsis:      It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.       It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.       But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true. Review:      I went into this...

I'm convinced that by now everyone who's been following me on any form of social media has noticed that I am always eager to shout about my love of Irish author Helen Corcoran's debut f/f YA fantasy QUEEN OF COIN AND WHISPERS. After some understandable delays (publishing in the age of pandemics, am I right?), we are nearing the release day for the book and I am ecstatic to watch this wonderful novel make its way into the world. To celebrate its release, I reached out to debut author extraordinaire Helen Corcoran herself, who was kind enough to answer some of my questions. Please note that I tried to stir away from any potential spoilers to give you all the chance to read it first! Without further ado, here you go: •   You've mentioned before how you had a bunch of other projects on the backburner. How did you know that QUEEN was the one that you needed to stick to for so long? With QUEEN, I'd always wanted to write about a princess who was ready to assu...

Rating:  ✮✮✮✮✮ Synopsis: I am Renata Convida. I have lived a hundred stolen lives. Now I live my own. Renata Convida was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King's Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a Robari, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata's ability to steal memories from royal enemies enabled the King's Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.  Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown and helping the remaining Moria escape the kingdom bent on their destruction. The Whispers may have rescued Renata from the palace years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred--or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she turned "hollow" during her time in the palace.  When Dez, the commander of her unit, is taken captive by the notorious Sangrado Prince, Renata will do anything to save the boy whose love ma...

(artwork "la gente es colorida" by Allie Rafferty, designed by Fiachra Johnston)) I have been excitedly watching from the sidelines as the wonderful team of Paper Lanterns  turned this very exciting idea into a reality and put together a literary journal dedicated to teen & YA lit and the people celebrating it. From original creative writing pieces to interviews and reviews, Paper Lanterns  promised many things.  I'm delighted to tell you that I was lucky enough to get an early look at their first issue and it achieved all the things it aimed to; reading through it, I couldn't help but be reminded why I love the community built around this type of literature so much, the kind of talent and passion of those part of it. It also reminded me just how smart, talented and interesting the teens that these stories are for are themselves and the kind of fantastic work they can put into the world when given the chance (with the addition of equally fantastic words comi...