‘The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh’ by Helen Rutter

It was another teenage novel.

Billy Plimpton wants to be a stand-up comedian, but he thinks something is stopping him: his stammer.

We follow Billy has he deals with bullies, a dying grandma and girls. The book culminates in an end of year talent show that doesn’t go to plan.

If I was an 11 or 12 year old, I’d love the book!

Also, each chapter starts with a joke. Nice.

The past, the present and the future walked into a bar.

It was tense.

‘Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black’ by Marcus Sedgwick, Julian Sedgwick and Alexis Deacon

I read this because it was partly written by Marcus Sedgwick, he writes YA fiction and is always very good.

This book is a slight detour from his normal stuff, as it was for me. The title was a big clue – not my normal read – but always good to have a go of something different.

Teaming up with his brother Julian and artist Alexis Deacon, this novel brings together prose, poetry and illustration as it follows the story of two brothers in WWII.

It was all a bit too dreamlike and strange for me. The ‘real’ parts were brilliantly written, just too much of the weird stuff for me.

‘Elvis in London’ by Alice Beneyto

Not good this one.

It follows Eddie, who wins a talent competition impersonating Elvis Presley. Although, the win wasn’t really a surprise: he is the reincarnated Elvis Presley. It’s just that he is too afraid to tell anyone.

It wasn’t a great read, but I saw it out until the end.

‘You Are Here’ by David Nicholls

Loved this book. I feel as though the 4/5 stars I gave it was probably a bit harsh.

Nicholls definitely knows how to do love and loneliness.

No spoilers here. Read it.

‘Ducking Long Way’ by Mark Atkinson

It’s a running book – been a while since I’ve read a running book.

This book is an autobiographical book about Mark Atkinson’s running, this is probably a good place to point out that he is a very good runner, so ignore the times he can run ultras in and concentrate on his experiences. These are experiences all ultra runners will have.

A good entertaining read. it will definitely enthuse you to get out running and aim high.

I’m off to book in a couple of marathons and a few ultras!

‘When Our Worlds Collided’ by Danielle Jawando

It’s another book that got 4 out of 5 stars. Another YA novel.

One moment can change everything

Really liked this book – I would definitely recommend this to older kids at school.

A fourteen-year-old lad gets stabbed outside a busy shopping centre. The novel follows three teenagers, from very different walks of life, who are thrown together when they witness the stabbing.