Kathryn's Inbox

  Strawberries are not technically berries.

No writer has ever understood pre-adolescent politics quite like Judy Blume. Consequently her novels are always a pleasure to look back on, whether she is discussing the trials and tribulations of being an unpopular know-all in  Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, racism in Iggy's House  or religion in Are You There God? It's Me Margaret.  Blume's characters are imperfect, often relatable and always honest, which probably explains why her novels remain enduringly popular with their target audience as well as adults, some of them more than fifty years since they were first published. Blubber offers a truthful look at schoolyard bullying and classroom politics, and speaks honestly with its target audience. Jill lives in a small town. She has just started fifth grade, and for her and the other kids in town, it means starting at a new school in a larger town, which only accommodates grades five and six. At her new school, she has been placed in a different class from her best

Imagine this ... In a downstairs basement, that leads off a small alley in Tokyo is a cafe. An old fashioned style cafe that has been serving coffee for more than one hundred years. There also just happens to be one chair in the cafe which visitors can use to travel through time. The catch? Most of the time it is occupied by a ghost who'll curse anyone who asks them to move. And anyone lucky enough to get to the coveted seat will soon find that one, time travel is limited only to inside the cafe, it cannot be used to alter the past and travellers must return to the present before their cup of coffee gets cold. Because of these limitations, there aren't that many people eager to travel through time. But for four individuals, it might just change the course of their future. This was an enjoyable short read. Although I loved each of the time traveler's stories, I'd be lying if I said that the last one, Mother and Child didn't make me tear up. The reasons for each of t

  "Sooner or later even the fastest runners have to stand and fight." ~ Stephen King

  Lana Del Ray's legal name is Lizzie Grant.

Charlie Spring is a character that author Alice Oseman seems to come back to time and time again. Initially Charlie was introduced to readers via Oseman's first novel, Solitare, as the brother of protagonist Tori Spring. From there, Charlie has starred in This Winter, a prequel to Solitare, Heartstopper a successful webcomic which later turned into a four volume series of graphic novels, an upcoming Netflix series ( see more here ) and a novella, Nick and Charlie .  And okay, Charlie has a fairly compelling story arc, with his struggles with his sexuality, his romance with Nick, and anorexia. That's a heck of a lot of material for one teenage boy. So why then, when Oseman writes about Charlie Spring does it feel as though the author is writing fan fiction of her own work? This Winter is set after the events of the Heartstopper  and prior to those of Solitare and Nick and Charlie. It is Christmas. Charlie is home from hospital and recovering, Tori is trying to work out how to

Saba Sams' short story collection with the very provocative title is a rollercoaster ride through the experiences of adolescence, early adulthood and finding a way to feel at ease with ones body. The protagonists in these stories are often in situations that are not of their choosing, some, but not all, find themselves exploited sexually, and others are suffering through the complexities of friendships and family life. In Snakebite Meg finds herself taken advantage of by Lara, her excitement craving friend and occasional lover, who she forgives over and over again. In The Mother and the Girls, two best friends who belong to a travelling circus with their mothers are inseparable until a boy becomes between them ... or does he? In Tinderloin and Here Alone, the female protagonists are exploited by predatory men. And then there is the titular story Send Nudes where the insecure, obese protagonist who seems ripe for exploitation makes a decision that empowers herself, horny men be

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  “We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day.” ~ Brad Meltzer

  Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

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  "Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose." ~ C.S. Lewis

  Blushing can be caused by a rush of adrenaline.

Sometimes, I'm just in the mood for something light, and fortunately, Lovesick fit the bill nicely. An Australian contemporary romance, it tells the story of Melbourne based Beth, a twenty-something medical receptionist who finds herself caught between two men--Brendan, a caddish but cute doctor from her work, and Shane, a down to earth tradie who seems to be genuinely interested. The answer to which one is the right man for Beth should be easy, until Shane suddenly cuts off all contact. This was an interesting romance that remains fun and lightweight, despite exploring some dark themes. One of the central characters is suffering a serious mental health issue, while Beth ends up caught in a spiral of medical examinations and heavy going tests, because she cannot properly describe her anxiety symptoms to her GP, something that many readers may be able to relate to. Another central character has well, a type of addiction that causes them to behave badly, and recklessly. However, the

I had no idea what Ice Planet Barbarians was, exactly, when I found a copy in the Science Fiction and Fantasy section of my local bookshop. Was this science fiction? A romance? A blend of the two? Or was it something that was better described as, so bad its good. It turns out that Ice Planet Barbarians is a little of all three. It tells the story of Georgie, a young woman who is abducted by aliens, who are a part of a bizarre intergalactic trafficking scheme, that involves human women aged in their twenties. Along the way, the ship crashes into an ice planet, known (of all the tricky, deceptive things,) as Not-Hoth. Struggling to find help on Not-Hoth, George encounters Vektal, a large, blue alien, who immediately falls in love with her and claims her as her mate. And that's fine, because in another bizarre twist, it turns out that the pair are a perfect sexual match, and that's where the novel gets quite steamy, well, so long as the reader is okay with reading about alien--h

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  “I've had the sort of day that would make St. Francis of Assisi kick babies.” ~ Douglas Adams

The Baby-Sitters Little Sister Graphic Novel adaptions are still going strong. Graphix/Scholastic are up to the fifth book in the series now, and there is absolutely no hint that this is going to be the last one. And it's no wonder. They've managed to update Karen's School Picture--quite possibly the most outdated book in the series--and turn it into something special. As the title suggests, school picture day is coming up at Stoneybrook Academy. That's a pretty big deal when you're six years old, and Karen reacts accordingly. She's keen to pick an outfit and she and her best friend at the little house Nancy Dawes are preparing their winning, movie star smiles. The only trouble is, Karen has been getting a lot of headaches lately, and she's having trouble with her vision. And then it turns out ... (dramatic pause ...) Karen is having a stroke. No, not really. (The symptoms are somewhat dramatic though, as often tends to be the case in Ann M Martin's wo