Author Spotlight: Sarah Crossan

“These I have loved:
Pork with apple sauce; tea in a heavy mug;
The smell of new books, and musty ones;
A girl with red coils for curls
–Her scream–Her smile;
The slap of a blonde dog’s tongue
Against my face; and an old face–Nana’s;
A broken fence–a secret pathway between two houses;
The sinking into a familiar bed;
Sheets white and crispy clean;
The return of a woman in a green coat–
Imperfect and human; The sound of poetry;
And of pencil lead scuffing the page as I write;
Made-up stores; and Truth.
These I have loved.”
― Sarah Crossan, Apple and Rain

Each time I read a Sarah Crossan novel, I’m become more and more moved and awed. I’ve always been a big fan of verse novels since studying one in high school, but I haven’t ever had quite the reaction to them until I started reading Sarah’s work. Her style of voice is astounding and true, her stories relatable and powerful. Each of her books are poetic storytelling at its best.

Apple and Rain was the first of Sarah’s novels I read.  It’s not a verse novel, but it does incorporate poetry into it and I found Sarah’s prose still had the verse-feeling to it somehow.  Apple and Rain is a story about a girl’s reunion with the Mum who left her and the secret she’s kept from her daughter. It’s about being lost and finding the strength to open up to love again. It’s truly a remarkable and breathtaking story that I recommend to any one who’s felt let down and alone, who needs a reminder of what’s special in this world.

I actually reviewed this book a few years ago when I first started my blog; not the best review I’ve written, that’s for sure, but read it here.

The Weight of Water is the first of Sarah’s verse novels I read, and it’s truly a heartbreaking and insightful look at a daughter and her Mum’s relocation from their home country Poland to the UK. The novel focuses largely on Kasienka’s effort of trying to fit into a new culture and her Mum’s desperate attempt to find her husband. It’s a tremendous novel about the alienation of immigrants, and the search for love and new beginnings.

Again, I wrote a review on this book a few years ago. Read it here  

It’s been a long time since a book really made me cry, but One did. It made me cry quite hard, and I was surprised by that. I’m not entirely sure if I can really express how much Sarah’s beautiful words and painting of two remarkable sisters touched my heart. This is a tender, honest novel that I wish I could experience reading again for the first time.

After reading One, I discovered I still hadn’t read Moonrise, so I quickly got in hold of a copy and wow, this time around I wasn’t as surprised that it made me cry so much I had an enormous lump in my throat for hours afterwards. I’m not even joking. It really, really got me deep this novel. I was so affected by the story, the characters, the writing style. By the heartbreak, the injustice, the strength of family. I was left speechless. Thank you, Sarah Crossan, for writing such an important novel.

Moonrise was also mentioned in a recent Top Five Wednesday post of mine, read it here

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Please read Sarah Crossan’s books! She is a remarkable, one of a kind storyteller 🙂

Until next time,

Jasmine @ Thesepaperwords

Author Spotlight: Alice Oseman

If you’re looking for YA books that are character driven and are not all about those tropes we’re all a bit fed up with, check out Alice Oseman’s books! Alice is one of my favourite YA authors. As an aspiring writer, she really inspires me and I’d love to be able to write novels that tackle issues the way she does.

Alice writes relatable, unpredictable and diverse YA contemporaries that explore Internet culture, friendship and a number of social issues with a whole lot of sarcasm, honesty and comic genius. In each book, the characters and the relationships they form with others and how they come to understand themselves and the world they live in is wonderful and illuminating.

I read  her first novel Solitaire soon after it was published and have recently re-read it after reading the novella Nick & Charlie and the ongoing web comic Heartstopper (read it on Tapas, it’s adorable!), both of which are set in the same universe though they focus on Tori Spring’s brother and his boyfriend. I’ve also read Radio Silence and I Was Born For This, both of which are so different. Radio Silence is my favourite novel of Alice’s so far, though each have been so enjoyable and interesting. I wish I could read them all again for the first time!!

“I wonder – if nobody is listening to my voice, am I making any sound at all?”
― Alice Oseman.

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Have you read any of Alice Oseman’s books? Tell me what you thought of them!

Til next time,

Jasmine @ Thesepaperwords

Author Spotlight: Adrian Tchaikovsky

During our travels a large amount of mine and my fiance’s time was spent reading Adrian Tchaikovsky novels, a total of 14 books (2 series and 1 standalone). I owe that entirely to my fiance, as he told me to read Shadows of the Apt series first, and then we read Children of Time and Echoes of the Fall together. I cannot say this any better: Adrian Tchaikovsky is a dynamic, diverse, literary genius.

Let’s talk about Shadows of the Apt series first. It’s a fantasy series of 10 enormous books (most over 600 pages) set in a universe where people with insect-inspired powers are at war. The phenomenal characters are all different; there are Beetles, Wasps, Mantis’, Spiders, Dragonflies and many more. They each have distinct insect traits and backgrounds that are all different and compelling.  The characters and world Tchaikovsky has created in these books are seriously creative imagination on steroids. The series has incredible, lovable characters, a rich, detailed world and a plot that twists and turns in unpredictable and ever-changing dives. I am so glad today that I read this series and can only say that you will not regret leaping head first into Tchaikovsky’s mind here!

The second series we read of Tchaikovsky’s is Echoes of the Fall, a trilogy that is so different to Shadows we might not have known it was by the same author. The only similarity we could find at the start was that the link between humans and animals was similar to the Insect element in Shadows, but with creatures like Wolves and Tigers and used in a completely different way. Apart from that, this fantasy series was worlds apart in voice, style and plot. Sure, it has some of the same themes (self-discovery, quests, war), but the fantasy experience we got from it was completely different. It’s a trilogy really worth reading, you will fall in love with the characters and the world :).

Now, onto Children of Time, Tchaikovsky’s standalone science fiction novel that won the 2016 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Both my fiance and I were completely gobsmacked by this novel. It’s unlike any science fiction novel I’ve read. Only thing that comes close are Becky Chamber’s Wayfarers (read my review for those here), but Children of Time is still one of the most unique novels I’ve ever read, regardless of it’s genre. It’s a compelling story about human nature and more, told through the perspectives of humans and, wait for it, spiders. It is truly an amazing book and I can’t say enough how much I want more of you experience the wonder of it.

I think Tchaikovsky is an incredible writer and I can’t wait to read more of his work! I am in awe of the stories he has created and so happy that he finally managed to get his work published after years of being rejected. Keep on going strong, Adrian Tchaikovsky, thank you for writing such amazing stories!