Alphareader - Danielle Binks

We would have babies and get fat and quit drinking and not spend every waking moment together. We would turn up to events for which we had accepted invitations without texting absurd excuses. We had grown up. It was an essential part of letting go, deciding which ribbons of the past we wanted to tie around our fingers and which were best left on the maypole. I could weep for the unfairness of it all now. For the necessity in closing the door on the travelling salesman of youth. I could weep with such fondness for us all.

- 'You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead' by Marieke Hardy 

You will hear thunder and remember me, And think: she wanted storms. The rim Of the sky will be the colour of hard crimson, And your heart, as it was then, will be on fire. That day in Moscow, it will all come true, when, for the last time, I take my leave, And hasten to the heights that I have longed for, Leaving my shadow still to be with you

You Will Hear Thunder, Poem by Anna Akhmatova

Happy Halloween 2021!  - here’s ‘The Monster Of Her Age’ vibing with other the-story-behind-Horror books 🧟‍♂️📖 and also the 👑, Shelley’s Frankenstein. A meta (sorry 😬) way to engage with the genre if Horror is not your thing, and also if you really want a YA queer kissing book 😘 Also featured are:

🎃 ‘Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction’ by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson

🎃 ‘She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein’ by Lynn Fulton, illustrated by Felicita Sala

-Melina Marchetta, Quintana of Charyn

“Talking to yourself can be useful. And writing means being overheard.”

— Zadie Smith, ‘Intimations’

⭐️ Top 25 Reads of 2021 ⭐️

I’ve had an amazing reading year this year (mostly due to the super-boost I got last January from starting my reread of The Saddle Club) so I wanted to highlight some of the best books I had the pleasure of reading. Feel free to ask me questions about any of these books or you can find my reviews of them by searching the title or author on my blog 😊

I’ve listed the titles below in the order they appear in the collage above (which is no particular order lol) and I’ll mark them with rainbow flags and wheelchair symbols to denote queer and disability rep!

The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk ♿️

Social Queue by Kay Kerr ♿️ #LoveOzYA

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones ♿️

The Boy From the Mish by Gary Lonesborough 🏳️‍🌈 #LoveOzYA

(US release March 2022, also titled “Ready When You Are”)

Stars in Their Eyes by Jessica Walton & Aśka ♿️🏳️‍🌈 #LoveOzYA

Near the Bone by Christina Henry 

Growing Up Disabled in Australia (ed.) by Carly Findlay ♿️🏳️‍🌈

The Monster of Her Age by Danielle Binks 🏳️‍🌈 #LoveOzYA

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh

Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent

The Degenerates by J Albert Mann ♿️🏳️‍🌈

How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi 🏳️‍🌈

Burden Falls by Kat Ellis (also titled “Wicked Little Deeds)

The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa

Stay Another Day by Juno Dawson ♿️🏳️‍🌈

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero 🏳️‍🌈

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare 🏳️‍🌈

Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller #LoveOzYA

Echo After Echo by AR Capetta 🏳️‍🌈

Girls on the Verge by Sharon Biggs-Waller

Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan 🏳️‍🌈

Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron ♿️🏳️‍🌈

These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling 🏳️‍🌈

This Is Not A Ghost Story by Andrea Portes

I Kissed A Girl by Jennet Alexander 🏳️‍🌈