As 2015 Comes To An End...

Well it's that time of the year again... December is coming to a close and I lament the fact I haven't read anywhere near as many books as I wanted to and that my To-Read pile has grown to dire heights.

I read 21 books this year, some of which I never got to write reviews for including Every Word, the final in the Mycroft and Watts series by Ellie Marney which I adored; Out of Control by Sarah Alderson, which I scrambled for after loving Conspiracy Girl; One True Thing by Nicola Hayes as I tick off all the fab Aussie YA on offer; and Storm and Spark in Brigid Kemmerer's Elemental series, featuring the delicious Merrick brothers!

So out of those 21, the question is, what did I love the most? Well I was able to narrow it down to three and funnily enough, one is OzYA, another is US, and the third is UK. These were amazing and I highly recommend you read them all. Click on the covers for the links to my reviews.

      

2015 Faves!

This was my 6th year of blogging and the only thing I love more than reading all the incredible YA lit that is produced, is being part of the amazing community. I've been rather absent this year, particularly in the last 6 months but I have been so proud of watching how everyone has come together in support of the LoveOzYA movement and those who continue to spread the OzYA love. It warms my heart every time I see a shout-out. Check out the hashtag #loveozya on all platforms!

I also joined the bookstagraming crowd which has been super fun. I've included a sample video below with some of my pics. Come follow me at @thetalescompendium

There were so many exciting books released this year and evidently, I didn't get to most of those on my TBR. But with this sadness comes the excitement that I always get through a rather large portion of my yearly tally in January. So with that in mind, I have set aside part of the pile to tackle throughout January. 

I'd love to hear what your favourite reads of 2015 were and what you can't wait to tick off your TBR in 2016. Leave a comment below! No matter how large my pile is, I'm always looking for new stuff to add to it!

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Title: I'll Give You The Sun

Author: Jandy Nelson

Release Date: 2nd April 2015

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close - until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they are barely speaking. Then Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy as well as a captivating new mentor, both of whom may just need her as much as she needs them. What the twins don't realize is that each of them has only half the story and if they can just find their way back to one another, they have a chance to remake their world. 

In A Nutshell:

I absolutely adored I'll Give You The Sun! I just want to wrap my arms around it and curl up in a hammock by the beach and let Jude and Noah’s story swirl around my head while waves crash around me.

My Review:

Oh my gosh, this book! I just want to wrap my arms around it and curl up in a hammock by the beach and let Jude and Noah’s story swirl around my head while waves crash around me.

I’ll Give You The Sun is told from alternating perspectives – Noah, aged thirteen, and Jude, his twin sister, when they are sixteen. Thirteen-year-old Noah is quirky and artistic and lives in a world of his own. He doesn’t fit in with the kids at school who are interested in surfing and girls and he is constantly bullied. There is a ray of hope when Noah has the possibility of joining a prestigious art school and a potential new friend arrives in town for the summer who is just as ‘odd’ as Noah. At thirteen, Jude loves to surf and take risks and has plenty of friends. She’s more interested in clothes and makeup than trying out for the art school that she also has potential for and is always arguing with their mother. Jude wonders why her twin can’t just be ‘normal’ yet they still share a special connection and are there for each other.

Fast forward three years and the twins have essentially swapped personalities. Noah has friends and likes to party and take risks. Jude is withdrawn, shuts everyone out and spends most of her time speaking to the spirit of their dead grandmother. The once unbreakable bond between the twins has fizzled and they rarely say more than two words to each other. It is fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time, to see how three years can change a person.

I often find novels that swap between different times to be a bit confusing but I didn’t have that problem with I’ll Give You The Sun. As the year and the perspective alternatives, Jude and Noah’s stories are revealed. We see Noah’s side of the story from three years ago, and Jude’s in present day. There are breadcrumbs throughout and vital information is shared which correlates with what is revealed in the following chapter. This is done skilfully so that by the end of the novel, we have a complete picture of what has happened over the course of three years and why Jude and Noah have ended up as virtual strangers.

At thirteen, Noah begins to spread his wings only to be squashed. At sixteen, Jude starts to come out of her self-imposed shell. What happened in between?  Over the three years, both deal with multiple things that are hard enough to deal with one at a time, let alone all at once. As a reader you just want them to get through their pain and come out the other end, happy and reinvigorated with a passion for the things they love. I’ll Give You The Sun can be funny and uplifting, heartbreaking and hopeful as Noah and Jude battle the pain, guilt and secrets that have plagued them over the years and extinguished what once made them magical and unique in their own ways. As you uncover their story, you will fall in love with them.

I loved Nelson’s debut, The Sky is Everywhere. But I absolutely adored I’ll Give You The Sun. Jandy Nelson is an auto-buy author for me and I can’t wait to see what she gives us next.