Cloudwish by Fiona Wood :: Blog Tour Review and Giveaway

Title: Cloudwish

Author: Fiona Wood

Companion Novels: Six Impossible Things, Wildlife

Release Date: 1st September 2015

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

For Vân Uoc Phan, fantasies fall into two categories: nourishing, or pointless. Daydreaming about Billy Gardiner, for example? Pointless. It always left her feeling sick, as though she'd eaten too much sugar.

Vân Uoc doesn't believe in fairies, zombies, vampires, Father Christmas - or magic wishes. She believes in keeping a low profile: real life will start when school finishes. 

But when she attracts the attention of Billy Gardiner, she finds herself in an unwelcome spotlight. 

Not even Jane Eyre can help her now. 

Wishes were not a thing.

They were not.

Correction.

Wishes were a thing.

Wishes that came true were sometimes a thing.

Wishes that came true because of magic were not a thing!

Were they?

In A Nutshell:

"Yay, new Fiona Wood!"... *calm down, take a deep breath* ... "Omigod, new Fiona Wood!"... *a stampede occurs to secure a copy*

My Review:

Fiona Wood’s latest novel, Cloudwish, picks up where her second book concluded. Now in Year 11 at Crowthorne Grammar, our favourite characters, Lou, Michael and Sibylla, take a step back and play supporting roles to the main character, Van Uoc, who had a minor appearance in Wildlife.

Van Uoc’s story begins when she inadvertently makes a wish when holding a glass vial marked ‘wish’, found in a visiting author’s creative writing ‘inspiration box’. Somehow, the vial mysteriously disappears and Van Uoc thinks nothing of it except for her distress that she can’t return the item to the author.

When Billy Gardiner, the subject of her wish, starts paying attention to her that very same day, Van Uoc initially thinks she is the butt of his latest joke, until no joke is made. Billy is constantly popping up and Van Uoc’s carefully strategized existence of staying under the high school radar is suddenly null and void. Suddenly, people are staring at her and the rumour mill lights up. Matters are only made worse when she incurs the wrath of super-bitch Holly, who makes it her mission to tear Van Uoc down.

Van Uoc is left wondering if her wish has actually come true, and if it has, how can she reverse it? Because no one wants to be with someone if the feelings aren’t real, do they?

Van Uoc’s parents sought asylum in Australia 30 years ago following the Vietnam War. This background provides a place for Wood to highlight some of the shameful behaviours displayed in Australia toward people seeking asylum, something that has been occurring for as long as I can remember.

Van Uoc’s frustrations at the way current asylum seekers are treated and viewed, as well as the first generation Vietnamese-Australian kids, is prominent throughout the book. This is such an important perspective to be shown, particularly given its constant debate in Australian politics, and it highlights the misconceptions associated with asylum seekers and refugees, and specifically how Van Uoc is perceived at school. As Holly likes to remind her, Van Uoc is seen by some of the students and their families as the ‘poor, Asian Scholarship Kid’. This class elitism and snobbery frustrates Van Uoc who has worked so hard for everything and she can’t understand why a person’s worth is decided by how much money they have.

It is so important to see a diverse range of characters in books, and in particular as the main character. This is not only so readers understand that there are many different ways of life, but also so that those who may not be part of the majority are able to see their life represented, reflected and validated.

Cloudwish is the third companion novel in Fiona Wood’s collection, following Six Impossible Things and Wildlife. Like the others, Cloudwish is filled with characters you (mostly) want to be friends with and consists of a story about family, friendship, standing up for others and believing in yourself.

Thank you to Macmillan for this review copy.

Giveaway!

Thanks to the lovely people at Macmillan Australia, I have a copy of Cloudwish to give away to one lucky reader!

The giveaway is only open to Australian residents (Apologies to international readers!) and the winner will be contacted after 30th September 2015.

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5th Blogoversary and Australia Day Giveaway!

For those of you who have been following updates over the past week, The Tales Compendium has just celebrated its 5th birthday! Pretty cool, huh!?

As mentioned in the Getting To Know posts throughout the week, in which I interviewed the Aussie bloggers behind Reading Wishes, YA Madness, Inkcrush and Alpha Reader, I'm now holding a give-away to celebrate my 5th blogoversary. But because the week was also about celebrating Aussie YA bloggers, I thought why not wait until Australia Day (today!) and do a double giveaway of signed books by Aussie YA authors!

So yes, this is happening! Signed copies of Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield, Zac & Mia by AJ Betts, The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, Vulture's Gate by Kirsty Murray and Guitar Highway Rose by Brigid Lowry are up for grabs. 

Please fill out the form below for your chance to win! Entries close 26th February 2015 and you must be a follower to enter. Extra entries for those who share the giveaway on their blogs or social media.

The Tales Compendium Turns Four!

So today is my 4 Year Blogoversary! Quite an achievement huh? 

To celebrate I'm doing a little giveaway to show my appreciation for sticking with me through the years. I love the book blogging community so here's to another 4 years!

What's up for grabs?

*A copy of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn. Signed by David.

*A signed copy of Forsaken, the first in the Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver

*A Jana Oliver Swag Pack containing a Demon Trappers sticker, a Demon Trappers Guild iron-on patch, signed Jana Oliver postcard, signed Grade One Demon (Klepto-Fiend) postcard and a signed Briar Rose postcard.

*A Gayle Forman Mini Swag Pack containing Just One Day and Just One Year postcards and a Team Adam badge (If I Stay/Where She Went)

Competition closes 23rd Feb 2014.

The Tales Compendium 4 Year Blogoversary Giveaway

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Aussie Author Month Giveaway: Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield

 The final give-away I have up for grabs for Aussie Author Month is the amazing Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield. And, like the others, it is signed!

 

‘They call me Friday. It has been foretold that on a Saturday I will drown…’

Seventeen-year-old Friday Brown is on the run, trying to escape memories of her mother and the family curse. She befriends Silence, a strange boy with a troubled past. But it is the charismatic Arden who will challenge Friday in more ways than she’d like. In Murungal Creek, a ghost town in the outback, Friday must face her own past. She learns that family, like fate, is more than what you’re born with—and that love is always worth fighting for.

 

What I said:

Friday Brown is "an exceptional Australian novel".

(Click to read the full review)

 

 To enter:

- Fill out the form below

- You must be a follower of this blog

- The give-away is international

- Entires close 30th April 2013

- Extra entires available for those who share the give-away on their blog, facebook and/or twitter

Aussie Author Month Giveaway: Guitar Highway Rose by Brigid Lowry

As part of my Aussie Author Month, I have some signed books to give away! 

Up for grabs today is Guitar Highway Rose by Brigid Lowry!

Rosie is restless. She wants a nose-ring, and more... she wants to do something. Asher is the new boy in her class. He has dreadlocks, a guitar and a bad case of the gypsy blues. And he just wants to get away.

Sometimes we know we shouldn't and that's exactly why we do.

 

What I Said:

 A favourite of mine since 1999, "Guitar Highway Rose is a novel about growing up. It’s about the family dynamic, in a variety of forms such as mothers and daughters, husbands and wives. It’s about teenage acts of rebellion and the restlessness felt at being in that limbo age of adolescents. And it’s about hope."

(Click to read my full review)

To enter:

- Fill out the form below

- You must be a follower of this blog

- The giveaway is international

- Entires close 30th April 2013

- Extra entires available for those who share the giveaway on their blog, facebook and/or twitter

Aussie Author Month Giveaway: Creepy and Maud by Dianne Touchell

As part of my Aussie Author Month, I have some signed books to give away! 

 

Up for grabs today is Creepy and Maud by Dianne Touchell!

 

 

I am in love with the girl next door. Our windows are almost opposite each other's, over the side fence.

I call her Maud. That's not her real name but that's what I call her. She's sort of shortish and curvy. Titian hair. No freckles. A dark, smudgy birthmark on the back of her left calf. A nose piercing her dad knows about and a bellybutton piercing I assume he doesn't. All right, so I have spent a bit of time looking in there.

Am I sounding creepy? Love is sort of creepy. When you fall in love, you presuppose all sorts of things about the person. You superimpose all kinds of ideals and fantasies on them. You create all manner of unrealistic, untenable, unsatisfiable criteria for that person, automatically guaranteeing their failure and your heartbreak. And what do we call it? Romance. Now, that's creepy.

 

 What I Said:

"Creepy and Maud is an off-beat novel with peculiar characters who view the world from a distance. The story is told in first person, swapping between the two title characters, although not evenly. The text is often blunt, but lyrically interesting, and matches the quiry and slightly odd characters who are just trying to make a connection with someone who understands them."

 

Click here to read the full review.

To enter:

- Fill out the form below

- You must be a follower of this blog

- The giveaway is international

- Entires close 30th April 2013

- Extra entires available for those who share the giveaway on their blog, facebook and/or twitter

Aussie Author Month Giveaway: Preloved by Shirley Marr

As part of my Aussie Author Month, I have some signed books to give away! 

First up is Preloved by Shirley Marr...

If you had a second chance at love, would you do it all over again?

 Amy has enough to deal with for one lifetime. A superstitious Chinese mother. A best friend whose mood changes as dramatically as her hair colour. A reputation for being strange. The last thing she needs is to be haunted by someone only she can see.

Logan is a ghost from the Eighties. He could be dangerous. He's certainly annoying.

He might also be Amy's dream boy.

What I said:

"Preloved is a story filled with Chinese superstitions, ghost tales, 80’s fashion, an obsession with The Princess Bride and quotes from Labyrinth. It is a story about letting go, reincarnation, letting love in all its forms in, and accepting yourself. A story for the younger YA market although will be adored by those of us who wish we had grown up in the 80’s."

Click here to read my full review.

To enter:

- Fill out the form below

- You must be a follower of this blog

- The giveaway is international

- Entires close 30th April 2013

- Extra entires available for those who share the giveaway on their blog, facebook and/or twitter

The Tales Compendium Turns Three!

Today marks three years since I started The Tales Compendium. Can you believe it? I can't. It started as a way to keep track of all the reviews I wrote for my job in a book store but it very quickly turned into something so much more. I was amazed to discover a whole blogosphere of like-minded people and the blogging community is wonderful. I have made so many friends and discovered some fabulous authors.

Highlights from the last three years include:

(click the image to take you to the post)

Interviewing Rachel Caine for Penguin at an event here in Perth.

 

Meeting one of my all-time favourite authors David Levithan at the Perth Writers Festival

 

 

Starting Perth YA Fans Unite and organising an event with Melina Marchetta

 

Meeting some of the amazing Perth authors at the annual A Night With Our Stars

  

 

Meeting Maggie Stiefvater and Sarah Alderson

  

Doing work experience in Sydney at Walker Books for two weeks

 

Watching the blogging and young adult community come together in support of YA Saves

 

And of course discovering some truly amazing books...

   

      

    

     

  

Thanks for sticking around over the last three years. To show my appreciation, please enter my giveaway to win one of the 12 books above (under AU$15 and subject to availability). Entries close 6th February and The Book Depository must ship to your country. You must be a follower to enter.


THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED VIA EMAIL.
THANKYOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED.

Melina Marchetta Giveaway!

As you may have noticed, this week has been Melina Marchetta Week here at The Tales Compendium.

Day One - On the Jellicoe Road Review
Day Two - Saving Francesca Review
Day Three - Looking for Alibrandi Review
Day Four - Event Recap

So what do you think today's post will be about?
That's right, it's a giveaway!

I have a signed copy of Looking for Alibrandi and a signed copy of On the Jellicoe Road up for grabs!



You must be a follower via GFC to enter and the giveaway is open internationally until 11:59pm 30th September 2012. Please fill out this form.

I hope you have enjoyed Melina Marchetta Week!

Blog Tour: Love Notes From Vinegar House Giveaway

You may remember I reviewed Love Notes from Vinegar House last week. Well today, as part of Karen Tayleur's blog tour, I'm giving away a copy of Love Notes, curtsey of Walker Books.

The giveaway is open internationally and entires close 19th July at midnight AWST. You must be a follower via Google Friend Connect and fill out this form. To make it a little more interesting, since we are talking ghosts in Love Notes from Vinegar House, I'm asking you to tell me what you are scared of. Personally, I'm petrified of cockroaches *shudders*



“There are some things you should know about me if we are going to be friends. Like I don’t believe in ghosts.”

Freya Jackson Kramer has done some stupid things before, but this is the first time they’ve been splashed across Facebook. When she escapes to Vinegar House for the holidays, she thinks she’s leaving her troubles behind. But Freya’s troubles are just beginning.

How will she deal with her manipulative cousin, Rumer? How can she avoid the ex-love of her life, Luke Hart? And what secrets lie in the locked attic? This is a book for readers who believe in ghosts, for readers who disbelieve, and for those who are still sitting on the fence.

Click here for my review

Preloved Blog Tour - Interview with Shirley Marr and Giveaway

Today I have the lovely Shirley Marr stopping by as part of her Preloved Blog Tour! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Preloved the blurb says...

If you had a second chance at love, would you do it all over again?

Amy has enough to deal with for one lifetime. A superstitious Chinese mother. A best friend whose mood changes as dramatically as her hair colour. A reputation for being strange. The last thing she needs is to be haunted by someone only she can see.

Logan is a ghost from the Eighties. He could be dangerous. He's certainly annoying.

He might also be Amy's dream boy.

**************************************************************************

I've just finished reading Preloved so I haven't had a chance to review it yet but, I loved it! Like Amy, I have often felt I have grown up in the wrong decade, although my reasoning is more to do with music than the fashion! Stay tuned for a review next week.

In the meantime, Shirley has answered some questions to help us get to know the real Shirley Marr!

I was the kind of kid who…
was always lost in her own world. Sitting up in trees and imagining stories. I remember me and my sister lying in our white walled bedroom and I would describe to her this magical land we were in instead.

My mother always told me…
never to trust smart, witty and good looking boys. If they are too good to be true, they are probably demons. Or ghosts. Or even worse - your imagination.

The biggest lesson I learnt at school was…
I could be both a Goth and also sit at the front of the class (because I liked learning) and not get struck down by the Stereotype Lightning God. So I go through life these days just being generally weird, and being anything I want to be.
<--------- Teenage Goth Princess Shirley


My first big crush was…
David Bowie. Goblin King. Pants magic pants. How could I resist?

I earnt my first pay cheque…
Being an accountant. I am still earning my pay cheques this way these days! Writer Shirley is poor and lives on love and raindrops.

I really hate it when…
I'm reading a book on public transport and I start to cry.

I’m very good at…
baking. I had to fold my cupcake catering side-business when I became an author because I couldn't hold down two hobbies. I'm always going to kinda regret I never got my own little baking van. --------> Pacman cupcakes for an 80's inspired party.



The hardest thing I’ve ever done…
is writing novels. I put all my soul into it. Both Fury and Preloved feel like my horcruxes.

I’m frightened of…
ghosts

When I’m in the shower I sing…
Naked and Sacred (I guess it's fitting?) by Chynna Phillips. I'm a diehard 90's teen. It's also my Karaoke song!

The last book I read was…
On The Jellicoe Road By Melina Marchetta. She demonstrates why the Aussie YA crown belongs to her with this book.

I would love to meet…
Every fictional character I have ever had a crush on.

When I get the munchies I eat…
anything sweet. if I am desperate, I make this Five Minute Mug Cake. I eat it with guilty pleasure and then pretend nothing happened.

I hope I never…
have to cry again.

Life is…
too short. Read and re-imagine a better world. Write a novel and live forever.

Thank you Jess for having me on your lovely blog today. Tomorrow I will be heading over to My Girl Friday to talk about the awesome 80s, so please join me then!

~Giveaway~

Thanks to Walker Books, I have a copy of Preloved to give away! To enter, please leave your first name, email address and answer to the following question, in the comments below. Entries close 30th April 2012 AWST and winners will be drawn using random.org.

Now to stick with our 80's theme and because I love 80's music...
What is your favourite song from the 80's?

Two-Year Blogoversary Giveaway Winners!

Thankyou to everyone who entered my Two-Year Blogoversary Give-away.

Congratulations to the following winners:
Lilian - Long Reach
Jasprit - Sean Griswold's Head
Vivian - Burn Bright
Veronika - Fallen
Celine - Immortal Beloved
Jasmine - Blood Red Road
Jammie - Wish You Were Dead
Rebecca - Divergent

Some of you have the same names so please check your inbox as all the winners have been contacted via email.

Two Year Blogoversary Giveaway!

So apparently I missed my two year blogoversary back on January 23rd. Oops!
But, to celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway!

So, what do you win? I'm giving away 8 different books. There will be six Australian winners and two international winners. You must be a follower of The Tales Compendium to enter. The lucky people will be drawn on March 20th.

The books are:







To enter, fill out this form.