THIS NEW BLOGGER IS A BIT PANTS!!

This new blogger is a bit pants (rubbish) – half of my banner is missing – what the hell happened to the profile thingy – it doesn’t connect you to like minded people anymore i.e. People who have the same favourite film or book??

Whassup with that??

I DON’T LIKE IT MUMMY!!

On other news I have read four books this week!! Ok, ok they are only children’s books about 200 pages each, but I thought I should be reading a variety of genre instead of my usual sci fi/fantasy stuff, which is the stuff I really love.

Three of the books I have read are short listed for something called the CIILP Carnegie Awards (some librarian thing). They are all very good and very readable and I would recommend these for 14+ age group as they deal with some delicate/intimate issues and would appeal equally to boys and girls.

My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgewick - is a type of fantasy, but also deals with a boy’s relationship with his Father.

Beast by Ally Kennan - deals with a young lad on the verge of adulthood, he has been in and out of foster care most of his life and has a hugely dysfunctional family. His Father buys him a pet at some point – the pet takes over the boy’s life. This is another good one for relationships and children’s strength of character.

A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd – based in a small village/town in Ireland, this is a story of a young girl’s passage into adulthood. It also illustrates the small-minded mentality of people and how prejudice and gossip can ruin people’s lives. This is a beautiful tale, which again shows children’s strengths and weaknesses and shows us how mistakes can radically change lives.


The last book - Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess (not a Carnegie finalist) – is a story based on the Icelandic Volsunga Sagas and is quite a shocking read for children – but no more shocking than the computer games, which most children of a much younger age group play. Violence, War, Sex and Relationships, with believable characters and mutants, boys should definitely enjoy this – maybe not the icky sex bits – but the strategies and the way the story is told from the viewpoint of different characters. I’m a girl/woman and I really enjoyed it!!

On the home front all is calm and loving again in the household – just how I like it.

I’m looking forward to my half-term holiday next week and have some DIY planned for part of the week – well planned, but I probably will only get around to maybe one of those things, but hey ho it’s my life!!

Ta ra
Jo x