If you like ___ then read ___ - Studio Ghibli Edition

No, I am not giving any context :)

Howl’s Moving Castle 

Sorcery of Thorns by Margret Rogerson

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones

Castle in the Sky

Starflight by Melissa Landers

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Grave of the Fireflies

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Cat Returns

The Cat Who Saved Books by Louise Heal Kawai

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Kiki’s Delivery Service

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

The Ex Hex by Rachel Hawkins

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

My Neighbour Totoro

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

The Wind in the Willow by Kenneth Grahame

Fairy Tale: A True Story by Monica Kulling 

Spirited Away

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

Princess Mononoke 

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Only Yesterday

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret World of Arrietty 

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Wild Beauty by Anna Marie McLemore 

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

When Marnie Was There

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

When the Butterflies Came by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Ponyo

Between the Lines by Samantha Van Leer & Jodi Picoult

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie

The Wind Rises

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

From Up on Poppy Hill

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Better Together by Christine Riccio

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Porco Rosso 

We Hunt the Flames by Hafsah Faizal

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Biggles the Camels are Coming by W.E. Johns

Whisper of the Heart

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 

The Upside to Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Pom Poko

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Adam Douglas 

Shelf-Confidence September BPC Day 25: Hair In The Wind

Rating: 5/5 stars

Date reviewed: july 21 2020

Even though this is a middle grade book, It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Like that cover alone is stunning! I loved it! It kept me on the edge of my seat, although the whole doll thing was a little predictable since it came from the Caribbean where all that voodoo stuff was, so it was a little obvious that the doll had something to do with voodoo and the creepy-fate kind of stuff. Although when I was on the chapter where things really started to pick up and I was able to sort of put pieces together and figure out the plot, it became too obvious that the right thing to do was to return the doll to the rightful owners. All the magic, timetravel, mystery, creepiness, and regular life-ness come together to create a wonderfully written novel. It also reminded me a lot of Princess and The Frog, I guess because of the bayou, alligator, fireflies, dolls and voodoo, and the multiple New Orlean mentions. I now also really want to read Circle Of Secrets which concentrates on Larissa's best friend, Shelby Jane, and When The Butterflies Came which concentrates on her 'enemy', Tara Doucet.

Character Secrets from the Forbidden trilogy by Kimberley Griffiths Little!

CHARACTER SECRETS:

"How would you describe the main character in one sentence?"

Answer: Despite Jayden’s own vulnerability, she loves her family fiercely and is willing to sacrifice herself for others.

"Besides your main character/s, do you secretly have a soft spot for another character?"

Answer: Asher, the Prince of Edom. He’s secretly/not so secretly in love with Jayden and will do anything for her, even though he knows he can never have her.

"If you were going to write a spin-off about one of your characters, who would it be and why?"

Answer: The villain, Horeb, Jayden’s betrothed. We love to hate him, but we want to know more details about why he’s so evil. 

Returned (Forbidden #3) by @kimberleygriffithlittle​ is out now!

New things are up for trade that I recently got, if u are interested in any of these audios message me and I’d be more than happy to trade! :)

Earl Carpenter, Sofia Escobar, Nadim Naaman (u/s), Wendy Ferguson, Jeremy Secomb, Cheryl McAvoy, Anna ForbesFebruary 28, 2012; London

Peter Joback, Sofia Escobar, Killian DonnellyMarch 19, 2012; LondonPeter Joback's first performance.

Marcus Lovett, Anna O'Byrne, Simon Thomas, Barry James, Tim Laurenti (u/s), Nicola Rutherford (u/s), Cheryl McAvoy, Jeremy Secomb, Layla Harrison (u/s)October 15, 2012; London

Marcus Lovett, Anna O’Byrne, Simon Thomas, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Lara Martins, Cheryl McAvoy, Jeremy Secomb, Anna ForbesNovember 23, 2012; London

Marcus Lovett, Anna O'byrne, Simon Thomas, Barry James, Tim Laurenti (u/s), Lara Martins, Cheryl McAvoy, Jeremy Secomb, Anna ForbesApril 22, 2013; London

Ben Forster (The Phantom of the Opera), Lisa-Anne Wood (alt. Christine Daaé), Ashley Stillburn (u/s Raoul, Victome de Chagny), Charlotte Vaughan (u/s Carlotta Guidicelli), Michael Matus (Monsieur Firmin), Christopher Dickins (Monsieur André), Meshell Dillon (u/s Madame Giry), John Ellis (Ubaldo Piangi), Daisy Hulbert (u/s Meg Giry) June 24, 2016; London eve, havebeenchangedforgood's master

Ben Forster (Phantom), Maria Coyne (u/s Christine), Nadim Naaman (Raoul), Megan Llwellyn (Carlotta), John Ellis (Piangi), Christoper Dickens (Monsieur André), Michael Matus (Monsieur Firmin), Jacinta Mulcahy (Madame Giry), Alicia Beck (Meg) August 29, 2016; London Untracked. Maria's second performance as Christine.

Ben Foster(Phantom), Celinde Schoemaker(Christine), Nadim Naaman(Raoul), Charlotte Vaugham(Carlotta), Simon Lloyd(Monsieur), Mark Oxtoby(M.Andre), Jacinta Mulcahy(Madame Giry), Daisy Hulbert(Meg Giry), Paul E. Tabone(Piangi), Matt Blaker, Tim Laurenti, Adam Robert Lewis, Luke M. Call, Edcet Costello, Adrian Delacey, Carla Coyne, Leo Miles, Lindsay Gardiner, Tim Morgan, Ryan Coscinski, Paul Morrissey, Phillip Griffiths, James R. Brown, Hette Hobbs, Tom Sterling, Ellen Jackson, Joanna Strand, Richard Kent, Victoria Ward, Fiona Morley, Claire Tilling, Georgia Ware Mymummysaysimamiracle’s master. Untracked, January 5, 2017; London Matinee

Ben Forster (The Phantom), Maria Coyne (u/s Christine), Nadim Naaman (Raoul), Lara Martins (Carlotta), Mark Oxtoby (Andre), Sion Lloyd (Firmin), Jacinta Mulcahy (Madame Giry), Paul Ettore Tabone (Piangi), Daisy Hulbert (Meg) February 13, 2017; West End

Ben Forster (The Phantom), Celinde Schoenmaker (Christine), Nadim Naaman (Raoul), Lara Martins (Carlotta), Sion Lloyd (Firmin), Philip Griffiths (u/s Andre), Jacinta Mulcahy (Madame Giry), Paul Tabone (Piangi), Daisy Hulbert (Meg) March 4, 2017; West end

Ben Lewis, Kelly Mathieson, Leo Miles (u/s), Lyndsey Gardiner, Siôn Lloyd, Richard Kent, Victoria Ward, Paul Ettore Tabone, Georgia Ware? September 9, 2017; London

Ben Lewis, Kelly Mathieson, Jeremy Taylor, April 2018; London

Tim Howar, Amy Manford, Jeremy Taylor, Kimberly Blake, Ross Dawes, Alan Vicary, Rachel Spurrell (u/s), Paul Ettore Tabone, Georgia Ware June 14, 2019; London

Tim Howar, Amy Manford, Jeremy Taylor, Kimberly Blake, Tim Morgan, Alan Vicary, Jacinta Mulcahy, Paul Ettore Tabone, Georgia Ware June 28, 2019; London

Adam Robert Lewis (u/s), Kelly Mathieson, Jeremy Taylor, Kimberley Blake, Ross Dawes, Alan Vicary, Paul Ettore Tabone, Rachel spurrell (u/s), Georgia Ware 25th July 2019, Evening, London (MY MASTER) Notes: Recorded from the front row of the Grand Ciricle, Adam sounded fantastic! And Rachel Spurrell was an amazing Mme Giry

Tim Howar, Amy Manford, Jeremy Taylor, Ross Dawes, Alan Vicary, Kimberley Blake, Paul Ettore Tabone, Rachel Spurrell (u/s), Georgia Ware 26th July 2019, Evening, London (MY MASTER) Notes: Amy & Tim sound the best they ever have here.

Derrick Davis (The Phantom), Jenna Burns (u/s Christine), Jordan Craig (Raoul), Trista Moldovan (Carlotta), David Benoit (M. Firmin), Rob Lindley (M. Andre), Susan Moniz (Madame Giry), Phumzile Sojola (Piangi), SarahGrace Mariani (Meg) July 21, 2019; Costa Mesa

Brad Little (Phantom), Emilie Lynn (Christine) January 8, 2016; Beijing, hometomthe's master.

Ian Jon Bourg (u/s Phantom), Clara Verdier (alt. Christine), Matt Leisy (Raoul), Beverly Chiat (Carlotta), James Borthwick (Monsieur Firman), Curt Olds (Monsieur Andre), Melina Kalomas (Madame Giry), Thabiso Masemene (Piangi), Kiruna Lind-Devar (Meg Giry) March 24, 2019; Manila

Jonathan Roxmouth (The Phantom), Meghan Picerno (Christine), Matt Leisy (Raoul), Beverly Chiat (Carlotta), James Borthwick (Monsieur Firman), Curt Olds (Monsieur Andre), Melina Kalomas (Madame Giry), Luke Grooms (u/s Piangi), Kiruna Lind-Devar (Meg Giry) 29th March 2019

Jonathan Roxmouth (The Phantom), Meghan Picerno (Christine), Matt Leisy (Raoul), Beverly Chiat (Carlotta), James Borthwick (Monsieur Firman), Curt Olds (Monsieur Andre), Melina Kalomas (Madame Giry), Thabiso Masemene (Piangi), Kiruna Lind-Devar (Meg Giry) Aloysius’ master *Final Matinee in Singapore June 8, 2019 Matinee; Singapore

Here’s my list incase u would like to check it out :)

After tragedy strikes on the day they were to wed, Jayden must support Kadesh as he ascends the throne and becomes king of Sariba. But with the dark priestess Aliyah conspiring to control the crown, and the arrival of Horeb, Jayden’s former betrothed, Kadesh’s kingdom, as well as his status as king, is at stake. Jayden knows that the time to be merciful has come and gone, and that some enemies can only be halted by death. Now she and Kadesh must prepare to fight not only for their love, but also for their kingdom.

6 14 23 37 41 44 79 94

6: describe your personality in 3 words or less

loud, memorable, crazy14: if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?

I’d want to live either in New York or France, because I really like the history in New York and the culture in France.

23: describe your dream date

Me and my significant other(s) either going out to dinner together or staying at home and watching a movie while we’re cuddling together

37: do you read a lot? whats your favorite book? 

I try to read as often as I can, although I usually have too much homework to read at night. My favorite book (currently) is When the Butterflies Came by Kimberley Griffiths Little

41: top 10 favorite songs

Fiesty - Jhameel

Waiting for Love -  Aviici

Can I Get A Witness - SonReal

Entropy (Sim Gretina Remix) - Awkward Marina

Go to War - Nothing More

Hey There Delilah -  Plain White T's

So Far Away - Martin Garrix & David Guetta

Breakeven - The Script

Safe and Sound (Taylor Swift) - Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider

Believer - Imagine Dragons

44: what is your biggest fear? 

Being forgotten/ losing the ones I love

79: do you believe in ghosts?

No, but sometimes something happens that can convince me for a while *cough* Alex *cough*

94: favorite lyrics right now

“You tried so hard to make a hero out of me”

Series Secrets from the Forbidden trilogy by Kimberley Griffiths Little!

SERIES SECRETS:

"Did anything happen in your series that surprised you, that you didn't plan?"

Answer: Asher spying on Jayden while she bathes at the oasis because he’s secretly in love with her. Didn’t see that coming until my fingers were typing the words!

"Any advice for writers currently working on a series?"

Answer: I thought Book 3 would literally kill me, but even though I was late, I kept going despite tears, panic attacks, and heart palpitations.  

"If your series wasn't written for YA, how would it be different?"

Answer: The FORBIDDEN trilogy could easily be for adults and, indeed, I get almost more fan mail from adults than I do teens.

Returned (Forbidden #3) by @kimberleygriffithlittle​ is out now!

Came across Nicks essay about living in a far-away country and what it means to be a creative human at the arse-end of the world. This comes from a past edition of Griffith Review which is a pretty impressive literary essay magazine. Full of cultural and thought-provoking stuff. Go Nick. I probably shouldn’t just copy’n’paste but I did borrow it from Brisbane library to read in the flesh. Just wanted to share with all you Tame Impala and POND fans.

Creative Darwinism by Nick Allbrook

- This is my city and I’m never gonna leave it. Channel 7 News 

WRITING ABOUT MY experience of making music in Perth is a strange thing, because as soon as a ‘scene’ is bound and gagged by the written word it is finished, petrified, swept up into the Rolling Stone archives and forever considered ‘history’. It might be revered and glorified, but it’s still long gone. This could be a very restricting view to take on a community like Perth, which is still just as inspiring and productive as it ever was. I can’t pretend to understand where ‘music scenes’ begin or end. It seems a futile and narrow-minded pursuit. So before I begin, I want to say that this is merely a reflective exercise. There was never a ‘golden age’, and if one does exist I can’t see it, because it’s floating all around, invisible and omnipresent.

For years I suffered serious cultural guilt as a Western Australian. The orthodoxy and banality made me feel isolated, relegated to the company of eccentric long-haired ghosts singing to me from inside my Discman. Every birthday and Christmas, Dad would give me a care package of CDs. This blessed nourishment of Jethro Tull, Lou Reed, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie shone a light into the murky tunnels of my future. Playing music and generally being a flaming Christmas fruitcake became my sole purpose, and me and a few other school friends – Steve Summerlin and Richard Ingham of Mink Mussel Creek, and many other brilliant but criminally under-recognised projects – revelled in our little corner of filthy otherness. This outlook was key to our musical and creative development. We railed against the boredom of Perth not with pickets or protest, but with a head-in-the-sand hubris that made us feel invincible and unique. We found more comrades along the way – Joe Ryan, Kevin Parker, Jay Watson – and together we erected great walls of noise and hair and mouldy dishes around our Daglish share house commune citadel on Troy Terrace where we incubated, practised, recorded, talked and grew. A friend stick’n’poke tattooed a spiral shape into my arm to represent that way of life (which I’d lifted from Hermes Trismegistus and other alchemical mumbo jumbo I learned at university). Look inside and the world can be whatever you want. Look out and it’s ugly and shitty. In Perth, use of public space is regulated to the point of comedy, and Orwellian restrictions on tobacco, noise, bicycles, alcohol and public gatherings breed a festering discontent and boredom because no one likes being pre-emptively labelled a deviant. Being trusted enriches the soul – you can see it on the face of the child who leads the family trek. You can see the flipside on the faces of disenchanted detainees. On weekends, this restlessness is unleashed across clubs and pubs in Northbridge and Subiaco in an avalanche of Jägerbombs (17mL of Jägermeister dropped into a larger glass of Red Bull and then consumed with haste) and Midori and violence and cheap sex. When the Monday sun staggers over the horizon, people rub their eyes and heave a great sigh and the city reverts to its utilitarian state – the ‘bourgeois dream of unproblematic production’, as The 60s Without Apology (University of Minnesota Press, 1984) puts it, ‘of everyday life as the bureaucratic society of controlled consumption’. That this description of pre-revolutionary 1950s and ’60s America is so apt for Perth is damn scary. Or hilarious. I can’t decide. I guess it depends on the depth and colour of your nihilistic streak, or if you actually live here. Whichever way you look at it, it does not paint a picture of a city conducive to creativity. Art is the antithesis of logic and functionality – it is romance and wonder and stupid, pointless lovelies. As good old Mr Vonnegut so often said, it’s an exercise to make your soul grow. So how, in a super-functional and conservative environment whose every will is bent towards digging really, really big holes in the ground, have I seen and heard and felt some of the most brilliant, pure and original creativity in the world? I USED TO dream about living in a cultural powerhouse like Paris or Berlin or New York, but after spending time in these places I’ve realised that the emptiness and isolation of Perth – boredom to some – was a far better environment for creativity. The ‘cultural capitals’ are so rich in art and wonder that it can feel pointless to add to it. Maybe just being in those ‘cultural capitals’ fills us up with wonder? Strolling through Berlin at night, ducking into a bar with fish nailed to the roof, skipping across the cobblestones for some cheap beers in a record shop in a Russian caravan in an abandoned peanut factory…that kind of stuff fills the romantic void. Having a Ricard and a few Gitanes on the terrasse of Aux Folies; stumbling through Camden after a lock-in at the Witch’s Tit or the Cock’n’Balls or the Cancerous Bowel or whatever you call it; recollecting a possible conversation with Jah Wobble over a pint…Perth? It has no secret tunnels to romantic fulfilment. For me, music and art have always been a way to manufacture that romance lacking in upper-middle-class Western Australia. To be honest, if I had lived in New York I probably would’ve been so damn hung-over – or busy ensuring that I would be later – that a whole lot less creation would’ve gone on. Mundane and discouraging places like Perth create a vicious Darwinism for creatively inclined people, where survival of the fittest is played out with swift and unrepentant force and the flippant or unpassionate are left behind, drowning in putrid mind-clag. You have to really need it, and without the mysterious and poetic benefits of a vibrant city culture this has to come from deep inside. Amber Fresh, otherwise known as Rabbit Island, is one person who produces constant streams of music, drawings, essays, poems, calendars, videos and photos from her home. She fills her world with little pieces of homemade, lo-fi, photocopied beauty and magic. They don’t have funding or precedent or material ambition – and the result is something fresh and original. Mei Saraswati does the same thing, although completely different styles of music. She has produced, mixed, mastered and illustrated scores of albums in her bedroom and then released this other-worldly electronic R’n’B brilliance onto the internet with no fanfare, simply to turn around and start making more. These are just two examples. There are many more. SOMEHOW, BY BEING a cultural long-drop, Perth lit a fire under my arse. In more scholarly terminology this could be called a ‘spirit of negation’ – a margarine version of the same zeitgeist that has catalysed most worthwhile movements throughout history, from dadaism to punk to all the intellectual and artistic wonders of The Netherlands freshly unchained from their dastardly Spanish overlords. Being isolated spatially and culturally – us from the city, Perth from Australia and Australia from the world – arms one with an Atlas-strong sense of identity. Both actively and passively, originality seems to flourish in Perth’s artistic community. Without the wider community’s acceptance, creative pursuits lack the potential for commodification. There’s no point in preening yourself for success because it’s just not real. It’s a fairytale, so you may as well just do it in whatever way you like, good or bad, in your room or on the top of the Telstra building, which – as anyone with any common sense will attest – was built for that one potential badass to drop in on a skateboard and parachute off. Growing up in the Kimberley and then Fremantle, the true machinery of the music business evaded me. It was about as real as the Power Rangers and twice as awesome. Led Zeppelin and U2, all the way down to whatever was on Rage that morning, was just a pretty dream. But if I grew up in a city where success in music was common and highly visible, I reckon it would have been far more alluring. I would’ve understood how to go about it, probably before I actually realised how deep my love of music was. With the template for success laid out so precisely – gigs to be got, managers to be found, reviews to be had and the ultimate dream of ‘making it’ tangibly within reach – Perth would find itself producing far less original art. Because as it stands, it doesn’t really matter if you’re crap or silly or unbearably offensive, you wouldn’t get much further doing something different anyway. This helps to preserve a magical purity because it’s executed with love – with necessity. And what’s more, when these artists keep going and practising and advancing – which they must – somehow their crassness coagulates into something brilliantly individual and accomplished, and you can see it performed in an arena that makes the audience feel truly blessed. I saw Rabbit Island and Peter Bibby and Cam Avery play in backyards. I saw cease play in a tattoo parlour in Maylands. Me and Joe Ryan were plastered against the wall by their sound, gawking up at Andrew, the guitarist, precariously standing on his enormous amp wearing high heels and full fishnet bodystocking, slowly trying to drive his guitar through the top of his cabinet like some pagan-burlesque reimagining of King Arthur. After hours they slowed to a halt, and the crowd cheered from the stairs and bathroom door and kitchen and I remembered where we were: in a tiny share-house in Maylands, in the flaming cauldron of hell or the halls of Valhalla. Mink Mussel Creek played there a few times and once, in a flash of drunken inspiration, someone turned the only light in the room off mid-performance. I saw the fourteen guitarists of Electric Toad destroy a warehouse art gallery wearing ’90s WA football jerseys. Tame Impala and Pond played in Tanya’s garage and every time I cried and danced and felt like the breath of God was being embarrassingly saucy all over my skin. We played our very first show in that garage and I can still see Jay demolishing the tiny drum kit – kick, snare, ride, tom – as sparks floated from the forty-gallon drum and lit the faces of the people looking in from the dark. None of us had ever seen anyone play like it in real life, let alone in a garage, sitting on milk crates. As far as genres go, our music ‘scene’ in Perth was an anomaly. A mad mosaic of groups and artists only held together by gallant separation from conventional Perth society. Nick Odell, the drummer of CEASE and Sonny Roofs, still has a poster for a gig at Amplifier Bar that I remember as a kind of microcosmic Woodstock – a tactile realisation of all the beauty and communion we cherished. The line-up included us (Mink Mussel Creek), CEASE (aforementioned stoner/doom/drone lords), Sex Panther (punk-party queens), Oki Oki (Nintendo synth pop) and Chris Cobilis (experimental laptop noise music). I think most members of the bands ended up on stage at more than one time, wrapped in Cobilis’ wires or yelling into a madly effected microphone in front of CEASE. I certainly did. Nowhere else would such a ridiculously mismatched line-up consider themselves a tight community. We all partied together, played together and are still friends. I think this spirit is lacking in a lot of the more culturally enlightened parts of the world. Maybe in these vibrant communities the countercultural idea is so entrenched it becomes capitalist orthodoxy and loses its edge. It is subjected to the rationality it once challenged. In the cultural capitals – Paris, Berlin, New York – creativity and original thinking are accepted and valued parts of mainstream life. In Perth they are not. Paris has over four hundred streets named after artists and writers, and this honour is not restricted to the most unobtrusive or patriotic. Rue Albert Camus, Rue Marcel Duchamp and the recently proposed Place Jean-Michel Basquiat, for example, show the state glorifying revolutionaries, absurdists, libertines and a gay, heroin-using, Haitian–American graffiti artist. Today we can stroll along the verdant Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui, named after the man who led the uprising of the Paris Commune. A revolutionary, a prisoner, an anarchist. In modern terms: a terrorist. There, art is a basic fact of everyday life, while in Perth it is an anomaly hidden in garages and living rooms – deep beneath a conservative fishbowl of productivity. So, all things considered, ‘cultural capitals’ should be havens for art and music, and Perth should not. The romance just seeps into the pores, ja? I always thought this before I left Western Australia, but have since found it to be otherwise. I asked a young photographer and artist in Amsterdam about the music scene there and her reply was wholly negative. A lot of Parisians seem to feel the same way. I look back on my time in Perth and think about the huge number of brilliant musicians and artists who I saw and knew, often not in official venues but in backyards or sheds or the abandoned entertainment centre (yes, CEASE). Perhaps with the freedom – almost expectation – to create, revel and throw it all around the streets, it all just gets a bit boring. Like much good art, it doesn’t really ‘mean’ anything, so writing an essay about it is an odd activity. The experience of a city or community varies so much that it can never be defined while it is still occurring. When it’s actually happening, a ‘scene’ is not really a ‘scene’ – it’s completely intangible and only coagulates into a definitive and convenient ball when history puts it in a cage, when someone from the outside looks in and decides there’s something shared between a bunch of vaguely artistic fools. I guess that’s what I’m doing now, which is pretty ridiculous seeing as nothing is finished and the Perth artistic community is so ethereal that it couldn’t and shouldn’t be labelled at all.

From Griffith Review Edition 47: Looking West © Copyright Griffith University & the author.

Here’s a masterpost of YA books (and a few crossover MG titles) to be released in February 2017. Check out this month’s new releases below. Feel free to use this as a guide to this month’s releases, but please do not repost it in its entirety elsewhere. If you found this masterpost helpful, a like, reblog, or link back to Paperback’d would be much appreciated!

February 1st

Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Wipeout (The Seven Signs #3) by Michael Adams ✤ Goodreads

February 2nd

All About Mia by Lisa Williamson ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 7th

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Burning World (Warm Bodies #2) by Isaac Marion ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Denton Little's Still Not Dead (Denton Little #2) by Lance Rubin ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Disruptor (Seeker #3) by Arwen Elys Dayton ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2) by Brenda Drake ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

King's Cage (Red Queen #3) by Victoria Aveyard ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Lessons in Falling by Diana Gallagher ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Returned (Forbidden #3) by Kimberley Griffiths Little ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Rise of Fire (Reign of Shadows #2) by Sophie Jordan ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Romeo & What's Her Name by Shani Petroff ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Starfall (Starflight #2) by Melissa Landers ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Traveller by L.E. DeLano ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Wintersong by S. Jae Jones ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 9th

Ariadnis (Erthe #1) by Josh Martin ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 13th

Any Boy But You (North Pole Minnesota #1) by Julie Hammerle ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

There's Something About Nik by Sara Hantz ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Weddings, Crushes and Other Dramas (Willa and Finn #2) by Emily McKay ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 14th

American Street by Ibi Zoboi ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Dare You (Nikki Kill #2) by Jennifer Brown ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2) by Brittany Cavallaro ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Release (The Prey #3) by Tom Isbell ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

A Season of Daring Greatly by Ellen Emerson White ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Stranger than Fanfiction by Chris Colfer ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Switching Gears by Chantele Sedgwick ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 15th

When Morning Comes by Arushi Raina ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Who We Are Instead by Kyla Stone ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 17th

Frogkisser! by Garth Nix �� Goodreads | Amazon

February 21st

Beautiful Broken Girls by Kim Savage ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3) by V.E. Schwab ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Day of Ice (A Crusoe Adventure #2) by Andrew Lane ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Dragon's Price (Transference #1) by Bethany Wiggins ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Making Faces by Amy Harmon ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Ronit & Jamil by Pamela L. Laskin ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 22nd

The Eleventh Hour (Agent Nomad #1) by Skye Melki-Wegner ✤ Goodreads

The Things We Promise by J.C. Burke ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 23rd

In Your Light by A.J. Grainger ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Close Your Eyes by Nicci Cloke ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

February 28th

10 Things I Can See from Here by Carrie Mac ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Avenged (The Arnaud Legacy #3) by Lynn Carthage ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Beast Is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Free by Lauren McLaughlin ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Gardenia by Kelsey Sutton ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

A Good Idea by Cristina Moracho ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Heels, Heartache and Headlines (Hollywood High #5) by Ni-Ni Simone & Amir Abrams ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

A Lie for a Lie by Robin Merrow MacCready ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Lifeblood (Everlife #2) by Gena Showalter ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Off the Ice (Juniper Falls #1) by Julie Cross ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

One Blood Ruby (Seven Black Diamonds #2) by Melissa Marr ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Rebels Like Us by Liz Reinhardt ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Sad Perfect by Stephanie Elliot ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Velocity by Chris Wooding ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Well, That Was Awkward by Rachel Vail ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

Wild Lily by K.M. Peyton ✤ Goodreads | Amazon

What new YA books release this week?

What February YA books release this week? We have a list of this week’s new YA books! For more lists of weekly releases and all things YA lit, visit our website, follow us here and on Twitter, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter!

U.S.

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson Publisher: Simon Pulse Release date: February 7th Tommy and Ozzie have been best friends since second grade, and boyfriends since eighth. Then Tommy vanished. More accurately, he was erased from everyone’s memories. Everyone except Ozzie.

The Burning World (Warm Bodies #2) by Isaac Marion Publisher: Atria Release date: February 7th R is relearning how to be human. Then helicopters appear on the horizon. Someone is coming to return things to the way they were, the good old days of stability and control and the strong eating the weak.

Denton Little's Still Not Dead (Denton Little #2) by Lance Rubin Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Release date: February 7th Denton Little lives in a world where everyone knows the day on which they will die. The good news: Denton has lived through his deathdate. Yay! The bad news: he can never see his family again.

Disruptor (Seeker #3) by Arwen Elys Dayton Publisher: Delacorte Press Release date: February 7th Quin has spent her life as her father’s pawn. She was trained to kill and manipulated to guarantee her family’s power. And now that she’s broken free of that life, she’s found herself trapped again.

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza Publisher: Razorbill Release date: February 7th Rhee, also known as Crown Princess Rhiannon Ta’an, is the sole surviving heir to a powerful dynasty. With planets on the brink of war, she’ll stop at nothing to avenge her family and claim her throne.

Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2) by Brenda Drake Publisher: Entangled Teen Release date: February 7th Being a Sentinel isn't all fairytales and secret gardens. Sure, jumping through books to protect humans is awesome, but Gia could do without the part where people are always trying to kill her.

King's Cage (Red Queen #3) by Victoria Aveyard Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: February 7th Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, now a king, a boy made of lies and betrayal.

Lessons in Falling by Diana Gallagher Publisher: Spencer Hill Press Release date: February 7th When Savannah blows out her knee - and her shot at a gymnastics scholarship - she decides to let her best friend plan a memorable senior year. That is, until Cassie tries to kill herself.

Nowhere Near You (Because You’ll Never Meet Me #2) by Leah Thomas Publisher: Bloomsbury Release date: February 7th Ollie and Moritz might never meet, but their friendship knows no bounds. Their letters carry on as Ollie embarks on his first road trip away from the woods--no easy feat for a boy allergic to electricity.

Returned (Forbidden #3) by Kimberley Griffiths Little Publisher: HarperCollins Release date: February 7th After tragedy strikes on the day they were to wed, Jayden must support Kadesh as he ascends the throne and becomes king of Sariba. But the dark priestess Aliyah is conspiring to control the crown.

Rise of Fire (Reign of Shadows #2) by Sophie Jordan Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: February 7th When a battle against the dark dwellers mortally injures Fowler, Luna is faced with a choice: put their fate in the hands of mysterious strangers or risk losing Fowler forever.

Romeo & What's Her Name by Shani Petroff Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books Release date: February 7th Understudies never get to perform...which is why being Juliet's understudy in the school's Shakespeare production is the perfect role for Emily. She meant to learn her lines, really.

Starfall (Starflight #2) by Melissa Landers Publisher: Disney Hyperion Release date: February 7th When Princess Cassia Rose fled her home world of Eturia to escape an arranged marriage, she had no idea her departure would spark a war. Now she is violently dragged back to account for her crimes.

To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough Publisher: Tor Teen Release date: February 7th As a toddler, Erin survived for three days alongside the corpse of her murdered mother, and the case fascinated a nation. Now, Erin is once again at the center of a homicide.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom Publisher: Poppy Release date: February 7th bipolar disorder makes Mel’s life unpredictable. And when a former friend confronts Mel with the truth about the way their relationship ended, deeply buried secrets threaten to come out.

Traveler by L.E. DeLano Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books Release date: February 7th Jessa has spent her life dreaming of other worlds and writing down stories more interesting than her own, until the day her favorite character, Finn, suddenly shows up and invites her out for coffee.

Wintersong by S. Jae Jones Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Release date: February 7th When her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price.

Any Boy But You (North Pole Minnesota #1) by Julie Hammerle Publisher: Entangled Crush Release date: February 13th Elena Chestnut has been chatting with an anonymous boy late into the night, and she has no idea who he is. He can't be Oliver Prince, hot-and-bashful son of the family running the rival sporting goods store.

There's Something About Nik by Sara Hantz Publisher: Entangled Crush Release date: February 13th Nik Gustafsson has a secret: He’s not really Nik Gustafsson. He’s the son and heir to one of the most important families in Europe—one where duty always comes first.

Weddings, Crushes and Other Dramas (Willa and Finn #2) by Emily McKay Publisher: Entangled Crush Release date: February 13th Willa is happy to be the maid of honor in her dad’s upcoming wedding to uber-celeb Mia McCain. Not as happy about her soon-to-be stepbrother, the infuriating—and infuriatingly gorgeous—Finn McCain.

U.K.

Ariadnis (Erthe #1) by Josh Martin Publisher: Hachette Release date: February 9th On the last island on Erthe, Chosen Ones are destined to enter Ariadnis on the day they turn eighteen. There, they must undertake a mysterious and deadly challenge.

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Release date: February 9th When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece.

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan Publisher: Bloomsbury Release date: February 9th Nicu has emigrated from Romania and is struggling to find his place in his new home. Meanwhile, Jess's home life is overshadowed by violence. When Nicu and Jess meet, friendship grows into romance.