Adding to the TBR pile #1

I may have gone a little crazy in the local bookshop today. The YA section is small, but quality. After a good half hour of browsing, I picked up these (in addition to the stack of audiobooks I may have 'accidentally' downloaded a couple of days ago...)

The Things We Promise by J.C. Burke

March 2017, Allen & Unwin, #OzYA

From the cover: 
Gemma's older brother Billy made her a promise that he would ensure she looked fabulous for her first school formal. But his circumstances change dramatically and Billy's promise becomes the least of the family's concerns...

Why I need to read it:
It's set in Australia in the 1990s - my time period of choice. I read the other day (somewhere) that we are so attached to the music of our teen years because of the way our brains develop and change during adolescence, and for me, I feel like books are a bit the same. Books set in this time period seem to really bring out strong emotions in me (see my rambling / raving about Yellow  to see what I mean.)

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

March 2017, Allen & Unwin

From the cover:
Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-travelling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart.

Why I need to read it:
I had picked up this book a few times, purely because the cover is so gorgeous. However, the blurb didn't really suck me in. It was the review over at inkcrush that convinced me to bring it home and add it to the TBR pile. If it's one of inkcrush's favourites of the year, then that's recommendation enough for me.

The Dream Walker by Victoria Carless

June 2017, Hachette, #OzYA

From the blurb:
 The weight of a secret can drag you under...
Sixteen-year-old Lucy Hart has been counting the days till she can get the hell out of Digger's Landing - a small Queensland fishing hamlet home to fifteen families, a posse of mongrel dogs, and Parkers Corner Store (no apostrophe and nowhere near a corner).

Why I need to read it: 
Again, the Australian setting and pretty cover sucked me in (not to mention the Aussie author - Aussie YA authors are killing it right now). Also, on the back cover, it says that fans for Gary Crew will love it... and I love Gary Crew. Last term I made my year 10 class spend two weeks analysing The Watertower. So this one seems like a winner, and I'm tempted to let it leap up to the top of my TBR pile.

Now, you'll have noticed three other books in the picture from my Instagram feed... because I buy so many books from this little book store, the owner will sometimes slip me a sampler or something he's been given by a publisher. Today, I totally scored. He handed over two samplers - one from Hachette and one from Allen & Unwin. Getting these is dangerous... I know it's going to make me add even more to the list of books that I need to read. Christmas is (not really) coming, right?

The other book he gave me was Confessions of a High School Disaster by Emma Chastain. I admit, it's one that I have picked up a few times, but put back down because it's a little younger than I usually read. But now I have it, it's on the TBR pile... and if I don't love it, I can use it as a prize in my year 7 or 8 classes.

And just like that.... the winter holidays are over. I'll be back at school in less than 12 hours. 😢