Top Ten Tuesday | Readfresh My Memory

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Books I Really Liked but Can’t Remember Anything/Much About'. I decided to play around with the theme a little this week and talk about ten of my favourite/most loved books that I'd like to reread because it's been a while since I last read them!

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: It's been a long time since I last read this series and every year I say I'm going to reread them only to forsake them for newer reads. This year I'd really like to try and get to them because it's been so long since I read them I think it'll be like reading them for the first time all over again.

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman: This was the first book that made me bawl my eyes out. I'd like to reread it soon, especially as I believe there's finally going to be an adaptation on the BBC!

Sabriel by Garth Nix: I have a copy of Goldenhand that I still haven't read because it's been so long since I read The Old Kingdom series I've forgotten quite a lot about it. I'd love to reread these books because I adored them growing up and Sabriel was always one of my favourite heroines.

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya: Fun fact! Natsuka Takaya and I have the same birthday. I love the anime and read the manga when I was younger but only read up to around volume 11, so I'd love to reread the series from the beginning and finally finish it.

Witch Child by Celia Rees: Celia Rees was one of the most formative authors of my childhood and early teens, and it's thanks to her that I grew up so interested in historical fiction and books about witches and witchcraft in particular. I loved Witch Child the first time I read it, but I do worry that I might not love it as much if I read it again now.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: A film adaptation of this one is being released later this year starring Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Wilson so I'd like to try and reread it before I see the film. It's an excellent book and one I highly recommend if you're in the mood for a ghost story!

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie: I had to read this one during my first year of university and I really, really enjoyed it. I'd love to read it again.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: Another one I had to read for university, although I grew up loving the 1993 adaptation, and another one I absolutely loved. This is probably my favourite children's classic, with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland a very close second, and I think this would be a lovely one to reread in the spring.

Feed by Mira Grant: One of my favourite books of all time and yet it broke my heart so much that I haven't read it from beginning to end again since the first time I read it. I think I might try and reread this one this year!

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë: My favourite Brontë and one of my favourite Victorian novels. It's a short, quiet book, but I love its exploration of how class doesn't matter if you're a woman - either way you could potentially be treated badly by the men in your life, and that's why it's important to support each other. In my opinion Anne Brontë was the most feminist of the Brontë sisters and I want her to receive far more love than she does.

Which books did you talk about this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Cover Lover

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a cover theme freebie, so I thought I'd share my ten favourite historical fiction covers!

Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre: I still haven't read this, I haven't heard the best reviews, but I will always love that cover. It reminds me of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette with that juxtaposition of the historic and the modern.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier: Daphne du Maurier's books have many pretty covers, and rightly so, but I love how nautical this edition of Jamaica Inn is. I didn't love Jamaica Inn a huge amount when I read it, though all of du Maurier's novels pale in comparison to Rebecca, but it's a fun book and a great one to read if you happen to be visiting Cornwall.

Witch Child by Celia Rees: The cover of Witch Child is what convinced me to pick up a copy in my early teens, and it's thanks to this book that I love historical fiction so much now. This cover is haunting and I can't help but be drawn in to those eyes.

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge: I will love anything that has some of Chris Riddell's art on it. I haven't read this one yet, but I'm glad to have this edition on my shelves.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: This cover has so much character, and I think it's certainly one of the many reasons this book did so well when it was released. If you haven't read this one yet I recommend giving it a try - it's a very good book!

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: My favourite covers are simplistic ones, and that's why I love these editions of Waters' novels. This edition of Fingersmith, in particular, I like a lot; I don't own many books with grey covers at all, but this book uses the colour well.

The Witchfinder's Sister by Beth Underdown: This book is even more beautiful in person because it's textured. I haven't this one yet either, but it's a recent release and I'm planning to pick it up soon.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood: I really like these editions of Margaret Atwood's books too, with bold colours and a black and white image in the centre, and this edition of Alias Grace always catches my eye.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry: I own the normal hardback edition, which I think is beautiful, but I love the colours on this special edition, too.

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon: Again, I love a simplistic cover and this one's as simple as they come.

What did you talk about this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Witch, Please

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a Halloween freebie, so I thought I'd share my favourite fictional witches with you!

Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: We all know this girl was going to make my list. I love Luna and Ginny and Tonks and so many other HP ladies, too, but Hermione speaks to my inner nerd; she never plays dumb to impress anyone and she's a darn good witch.

Sabrina Spellman from Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996-2003): I grew up in the '90s and always watched this show when I came home from school. I loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It's so much fun - and funny! - and I spent a lot of time wishing I had a cat like Salem. What I loved most about Sabrina was that, despite all the magic, her struggles were still the usual struggles teenagers find themselves facing, from homework to bullying to boyfriends.

Mildred Hubble from The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy: Before Harry Potter, I read The Worst Witch. I can clearly remember being given some of the books for one of my birthdays from my Nana and, like Sabrina the Teenage Witch, I loved the TV series. Poor Mildred's rather hopeless, but you certainly can't fault the girl for trying! That's what I love about her; she makes a mistake, then she gets back up, dusts herself off, and tries again.

Winifred, Mary and Sarah Sanderson from Hocus Pocus (1993): I know these three are the villains but they're SO MUCH FUN. I adore Hocus Pocus, I watched it so many times when I was a child, and Bette Midler's rendition of 'I Put a Spell On You' will always be my favourite.

Sally and Gillian Owens from Practical Magic (1998): I know Practical Magic is also a book, but I'm afraid I'm only familiar with the film. The first time I watched it I didn't like it that much, but then I watched it again and ended up loving it. It's not the best film in the world - it's a little cheesy and, ultimately, very '90s - but what I love most about it is that the love at the centre of it all is the love between these two sisters, and to me that's what witchcraft should be about. Witchcraft is covens and sisterhood, by blood or not, and this film understands that.

Ursula from The Little Mermaid (1989): I know, another villain, but Ursula's just fabulous, and she's the only sea witch on the list! She has one of the best Disney villain songs in my opinion (though I think Be Prepared is my favourite) and, like the Sanderson sisters, she's so much fun. It's easy to like witches like them because we know they're going to be defeated, even though it's freaking terrifying that Ursula shrinks merpeople down when they can't pay up and then eats them. I considered putting Maleficent on this list purely because she's one of the few Disney villains who genuinely terrified me as a child, but while I think Sleeping Beauty is beautiful it's never been one of my favourite Disney movies; I'm a child of the '90s, so I love Ursula a little more.

Eglantine Price from Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971): Bedknobs and Broomsticks is one of the most underrated Disney films in my opinion, and it's also one of my favourites. Like Practical Magic this was a book first but I'm afraid I'm only familiar with the film starring the fantastic Angela Lansbury. Eglantine is almost an adult Mildred Hubble - she's constantly turning people into rabbits when she means to turn them into toads - the big difference is she's being taught by a magician who doesn't believe in magic, so he gets something of a shock when he discovers that when she casts his spells, they work. Honestly what isn't there to love about a witch who fights Nazis?

Liza Hempstock from The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: Neil Gaiman's one of my favourite authors and The Graveyard Book has to be my favourite book of his (with American Gods a very close second) because of its characters. I adore Bod, I adore Silas, I adore Miss Lupescu and I adore Liza Hempstock - in fact she's quite possibly my favourite character in the book. Bod is taught to fear the unmarked grave just outside the cemetery, buried in unconsecrated ground, but it turns out to be the unmarked grave of a teenage girl executed for being a witch. The fact that all she wants is a gravestone breaks my heart a little and I love her.

Mary Newbury from Witch Child by Celia Rees: I had to include Mary on this list because Witch Child is the book that really got me into witches, not only in fiction but also in terms of European and North American history. 

Meche from Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: One of my favourite heroines from one of my favourite books. If you want to read about witchcraft that's a little different then you need to read Signal to Noise, because not only is it set (refreshingly) in Mexico, as opposed to all the British and American witch stories out there, but Meche learns to cast magic with her vinyl records. I just adore her.

What did you talk about this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | My Favourite Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Favourite 2016 Releases So Far This Year', but I can't do that because I haven't read much so far this year, certainly haven't read many 2016 releases so far this year, and haven't read many favourites so far this year. So instead I'm going to talk about my favourite books of all time!

Childhood Favourites

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl: I had a real hard time trying to decide whether I was going to put Fantastic Mr. Fox or The Magic Finger on this list. Like many, many children all around the world I grew up on Roald Dahl, he's the children's author, and while I love so much of his work, for whatever reason it was always Fantastic Mr. Fox I requested at bedtime. In fact my dad read this to me so many times (at my request) that I knew it off by heart. I loved books about animals when I was a little girl, and I think I loved Fantastic Mr. Fox so much because it was about animals outsmarting humans. This book is always close to my heart, and The Magic Finger is a very, very, very, very close second.

Witch Child by Celia Rees: I think I've mentioned this book many times now on my blog, but it's Celia Rees I have to thank for first getting me into historical fiction when I read Pirates! when I was about eleven or twelve years old. I read Witch Child when I was around fourteen and just loved it. It's influenced so much of what I read and what I write to this day, and a few years ago I was lucky enough to meet Celia Rees and get my copy signed!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling: Obviously Harry Potter was going to get a mention on this list, how could it not? I don't think The Order of the Phoenix is the most popular book in the series, but it's always been my favourite despite the fact that it's the book in which my favourite character dies. I wrote a blog post all about why I love it so much here if you want to check it out!

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman: I'm pretty sure I read this book around the same time I read Witch Child, maybe a year later, and it broke me. If you haven't read this book yet, you need to; Blackman addresses racism in such a clever way, and I adore Sephy and Callum.

Sabriel by Garth Nix: Another book I first read when I was around fourteen. I love Lirael and Abhorsen too, and as far as readers go I think Lirael tends to be a little more popular, but I'll forever have a soft spot for the very first book in this series, with a heroine who first introduced me to the idea that a fantasy book about a woman doesn't have to have a romance at the heart of it.

Recent Favourites

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: Sarah Waters is one of my favourite authors, and while Fingersmith is also a fantastic book it's The Little Stranger I love most. It's slow and spooky and so well executed, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I read it.

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Here we have one of the only books partially set during high school that's actually reminded me of how it felt to be a teenager. This book means an awful lot to me for reasons I'm probably never going to discuss on here because they're just too close to my heart, but as well as that personal affinity I felt to this book it also just so happens to be a fantastic story with fantastic characters. If you love magical realism, music and misfits, you need this book in your life!

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: This is the kind of high fantasy I love. It's not about the end of the world or defeating a dark lord, it's a coming of age story mixed with courtly intrigue and some of the best fictional characters I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I love this book.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: To me, this is the sci-fi equivalent of The Goblin Emperor. It's a bit funnier, a little like reading Firefly, but it's science fiction that doesn't involve the future of the galaxy being at stake; instead the story revolves around a group of people on a journey in an enclosed space, and Chambers uses this setting to explore ideas about gender, sexuality, family and what it means to be human. This book is exquisite.

Feed by Mira Grant: I sobbed when I finished this book. I'm still not over it.

Which books made your list this week? I'm looking forward to some 2016 recommendations!

Top Ten Tuesday | Native American Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a Thanksgiving themed freebie, and here in the UK we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd talk about some books that feature Native American characters because I just don't think there are enough out there, not only in books but in films and television, too. The recent film, Pan, is proof enough of that, where Tiger Lily was portrayed by Rooney Mara, who is whiter than milk.

More Native American representation please!

Witch Child by Celia Rees: Celia Rees is one of my favourite authors from my late childhood/early teens. Along with Eva Ibbotson, she's one of the authors I have to thank for sparking my interest in historical fiction when I read her novel Pirates! Witch Child was the second novel of hers that I read, and I loved it; it influenced me in a huge way in both what I read and what I write. Witch Child is told entirely in diary entries, from the point of view of Mary Newbury who is sent to 'the New World' after her beloved grandmother is executed for witchcraft. Once in America, however, she finds herself torn between the community of English settlers she should belong to, and the Native American tribe who seem to understand her abilities better than anyone else ever has. Love this book!

Sorceress by Celia Rees: This is a sequel to Witch Child, set in the present day, which follows a historian who is obsessed with Mary's diary, and Mary's descendent, Agnes, a young Native American girl. I didn't enjoy it as much as Witch Child, but it's still a good book.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie: This book, like most of the books on this list, is one that I haven't gotten around to reading yet. It tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist who leaves the school on his reservation to attend an all-white school where he is the only Native American pupil. It sounds fantastic.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: I'm not even a little bit ashamed to mention this one. First off, I'm never going to deny that I went through the Twilight phase. I loved these books when they first came out, and I think they did a lot for YA in the publishing world. Secondly, say what you want about this series, but it's pretty much the only series I've read with a lot of Native American characters. Even better? None of them are white-washed in the movies. Just gonna throw that out there.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie: I mentioned Tiger Lily before, so I had to give this book a mention. I read Peter Pan for my Victorian Popular Fiction module at uni, but I have to admit I didn't really like it that much. It's sold as this whimsical, childhood story, but it's creepy as eff, man. It's a weird book.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney: This book takes place in Canada, so I guess they're really Native Canadians rather than Native Americans. I started this book and couldn't get into it, but it has such high ratings on Goodreads that I want to give it another try, and given the cold setting I think it'll be a great winter read!

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks: Last year I read Year of Wonders and really enjoyed it. I've been eager to seek out more of Brooks' work ever since and Caleb's Crossing is the one I'm most interested in; loosely based on the story of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard in 1665, Brooks tells the story of a young woman, Bethia Mayfield, who longs for the education that her sex deprives her of. Bethia's father, a minister, wants to convert the local Native American people, and so he sends Caleb, a Native American boy and friend of Bethia's, to university. Bethia finds herself working as his housekeeper, and I think this book'll be so interesting to read.

The Orenda by Joseph Boyden: This is another piece of historical fiction, and what I love about it is that it includes conflicts between Native American tribes as well as conflicts between Native American people as a whole and white settlers.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs: This is the first book in the urban fantasy Mercy Thompson series. Mercy is a walker (skinwalker, I'm guessing, which is a creature in Native American mythology) with the ability to shift into a coyote at will, as well as a mechanic. She sounds pretty darn cool to me!

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich: This is another one that sounds fantastic. It's set in a small town in North Dakota where, generations before, a farm family were murdered. The case has yet to be officially solved but, from the description, I'm guessing the murder was blamed on Native Americans living on a nearby reservation. I can't wait to read it! Also I want to read as much of Louise Erdrich's work as I can, because she seems to write about Native Americans quite a lot.

What did you talk about this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | It's Not Me, It's You

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

I've returned from my hiatus, so it's time to jump back into Top Ten Tuesday!

This week's theme is 'Ten Characters You Just Didn't Click With'. Thankfully this doesn't happen to me too often, but there's nothing worse than reading a book in which you don't give a diddly-squat what happens to the protagonist.

Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth: I ended up DNFing Divergent when I tried to read it. I didn't believe the world and, more importantly, I just didn't care about Tris at all. I felt like she had zero personality and I didn't care what happened to her.

Lincoln from Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: Eh... I just thought Lincoln was a little weird. I enjoyed the sections between Beth and Jennifer for the most part, but I thought Lincoln was a pretty boring guy in dire need of a bit of a gumption.

June and Day from Legend by Marie Lu: Okay so technically this is two, but actually June and Day are basically the same person, only one of them's a girl and the other's a boy. I really, really didn't like Legend (check out my review here), and June and Day were such boring protagonists. I don't care about people who can do everything perfectly. Give me characters with flaws.

Snow White from Fables by Bill Willingham and Various Artists: I love Snow in The Wolf Among Us - in fact I love all the characters in that game - but in the graphic novels? Not so much. Snow in particular, however, grated on me. She was so self-righteous, and perhaps that might have worked with another writer, but I really wasn't a fan of how Willingham wrote any of the characters. You can check out my review of Fables, Vol.1: Legends in Exile here if you like!

Jocelyn, Allegra, Prudie, Grigg, Bernadette and Sylvia from The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler: I know, I'm cheating again, but this is another instance in which I found it very difficult to differentiate one character from another. I did like this book, but not enough to keep it once I'd finished it. You can check out my review here if you like!

Ayla from Darkhaven by A.F.E. Smith: I liked Myrren and I liked Elisse, but I just didn't get along with Ayla. She spent the entire book as a damsel in distress when she had the potential to look after herself. You can check out my review here if you like!

Stargirl from Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli: She was a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and, as such, I found her impossible to relate to.

Tana from The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black: This was another book I didn't really like, you can check out my review here if you'd like to know why, and the characters were a large part of my dislike. I didn't really care what happened to any of them.

Jonas from The Giver by Lois Lowry: I wanted to love this book and I was disappointed, again you can check out my review here to find out why. I just couldn't connect to Jonas at all, and because of that I found it impossible to worry about what would happen to him. Like so many of the characters on this list, I just didn't care.

Ellen Laidlaw from Blood Sinister by Celia Rees: Ellen should have been very cool. She's a young lady in 19th century England who wants to study medicine, but unfortunately she fell into the poisonous 'I'm not like other girls' way of thinking and thought her dreams and ambitions were better than everyone else's; particularly the women who wanted to get married and have children. Feminism is all about choice, and if a woman chooses to be a wife and mother, and enjoys it, she has every right to be as proud of her choice as any other woman, and she shouldn't be criticised for it.

Who made your list?

Top Ten Tuesday | Favourite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten ALL TIME Favourite Authors'. This was a tricky topic for me, not because I had too many authors to choose from but because I'm not entirely sure if I have favourite authors to begin with. For example, I love Harry Potter, but having not read any of J. K. Rowling's work other than that series I don't know if I could class her as a favourite author because I might not love everything she's written. Does that make sense?

So rather than choose authors who happen to have written a book or a series that I love, I'm trying to pick authors whose work in general I enjoy, meaning I love them as an author and not just the one book or series they might have written.

Neil Gaiman

(1960-)

This guy is a genius. Pretty much everything he writes is exquisite, and his imagination just never stops. As a writer myself I'm incredibly envious of the way he crafts his fiction, and I think just the amount of adaptations his work has received shows how popular he is: Stardust and Coraline have both been adapted into films, Neverwhere and Good Omens have both been adapted for the radio, and Bryan Fuller, the genius behind Hannibal, is going to produce a TV adaptation of American Gods. My favourite book of his would have to be The Graveyard Book, though American Gods is a very close second.

Roald Dahl

(1916-1990)

I think almost every British child was raised on Roald Dahl's stories. He's probably one of the best children's author ever. Like Gaiman his imagination was unending, and he wrote plenty for adults, too. I devoured his books as a child - I loved everything from Fantastic Mr. Fox to The Witches to Matilda to The BFG to James and the Giant Peach - and I think my childhood would have been incomplete without them. My favourites of his have always been Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Magic Finger, though it's so difficult to pick a favourite.

Jacqueline Wilson

(1945-)

Another of my favourite children's authors. When I was a little older, I read pretty much everything Wilson wrote, I just loved her stories. She never speaks down to children, and she's never afraid to tackle issues that many people think are 'unacceptable' for children's fiction, such as cancer, divorce, sex, death, eating disorders and bullying. I loved her Girls series, and I also loved Lola Rose, The Diamond Girls and How to Survive Summer Camp. My favourite, however, was always The Illustrated Mum.

Daphne du Maurier

(1907-1989)

I don't know why I didn't get around to reading anything by Daphne du Maurier until last year, because I knew I was going to love her. I'm trying to read as many of her books as possible now. Her writing style is so beautiful, and she certainly wrote plenty while she was alive. My favourite book of hers so far has to be Frenchman's Creek - it's just so much fun!

Celia Rees

(1949-)

Celia Rees is another favourite author from my childhood/early teens, the lady who first got me into historical fiction when I stumbled across a copy of Pirates! in my local library. After that I read Witch Child, and I still love them both dearly now.

Frances Hodgson Burnett

(1849-1924)

I didn't actually read any of Frances Hodgson Burnett's books until I was in my 20s, when I finally got around to reading A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, but as I grew up with the film adaptations from the '90s I've always loved those two stories in particular. Out of the books I think The Secret Garden might be my favourite, but only just!

Shirley Jackson

(1916-1965)

Shirley Jackson is another author I only discovered recently, in the past year or so, but I've loved everything of hers I've read. So far I've read The Haunting of Hill House, The Lottery and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I don't know how she does it, but there's something about her writing style that leaves me constantly uneasy. Her skill isn't in what she says, but what she doesn't say. If you're a fan of horror, be sure to check her out!

Terry Deary

(1946-)

What can I say? I basically grew up on the Horrible Histories books. I'm always going to have respect for the way in which Terry Deary made history fun for children, whether they're children who already love history or children who've always found it intimidating until they open one of his books. If I ever have children they're definitely going to have these books on their shelves.

Seanan McGuire

(1978-)

Also known as Mira Grant, Seanan McGuire is the author of the October Daye series, an urban fantasy series featuring faeries, and also the author of the Newsflesh trilogy which you all know I love by now. I just love her, and I'm making it my mission to read everything she writes. So far my favourite book of hers is most definitely Feed. Not that any of you will be shocked.

Tanya Huff

(1957-)

Another SFF writer who I love and discovered during university. She's well-known for her female-led SFF and her knack for completely subverting gender stereotypes. Her stories are so much fun, and I love her Blood Books in particular!

Who made your list?

R is for Rees | Blogging from A to Z

Pirates!
by Celia Rees

When it comes to the genres we love, I think most of us can name one particular book that really whet our appetite for them. For me that book was Pirates! 

Celia Rees is a British author who's pretty well known for her historical fiction aimed at children and teens; she's probably best known for Witch Child, another book that got me into historical fiction when I was young before I really recognised historical fiction as its own genre. I think I was around 11 or 12 when I first found Pirates! in my local library, and I just couldn't resist a story about two girls running away to become pirates.

I know it probably sounds strange me saying that I didn't really recognise historical fiction as a genre, but I've been into history for as long as I can remember so it never really occurred to me that a book set in the past needed its own genre; I thought everyone would pick up historical fiction as willingly as they'd pick up contemporary because I thought history was cool and, hey, you're still just reading a story about people, right?

It wasn't until I got a little older that the realisation dawned on me that not everyone finds history as interesting as I do - which is fine! I didn't start becoming interested in science fiction until the past year or so - and there certainly is some terrible historical fiction out there, but I'm glad I had writers like Celia Rees and Eva Ibbotson who made sure, from a very young age, that I would never find the genre intimidating!

Top Ten Tuesday | Are you still okay?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Characters You'd Like To Check In With', which basically means ten characters you'd like to visit to see how they're doing now that their story is over! I had a lot of fun compiling this list, especially as many of the characters mentioned are characters from my childhood.

I'm probably going to be mentioning spoilers in this post, even if they're only little, because it's very hard to talk about characters after a book or series has finished without giving away a little of the ending. So if you haven't read any of the books or series that I mention and you want to, please be wary of that!

Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: I'm going to be very surprised if this guy isn't on pretty much everyone's list - or at least everyone who's a fan of Harry Potter. To be honest it'd be nice to make sure all the characters I love are okay. Or at least the ones who survived the final book. But it's Harry in particular I want to check on. I know, thanks to the epilogue, that we know he's okay, but after the horrible childhood he had, followed by some tumultuous years at school, I just want to sit back and watch him do mundane things that people have to do when they become husbands and fathers. Strange, I know, but nothing would make me happier than seeing him just hanging out with his kids, and being part of a loving family like he always wanted.

Sabriel from The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix: To be honest I'd like to check in on Lirael, too, but considering Sabriel basically got to become the queen when she married Touchstone I think checking in on her would be a lot of fun. I'd love to spend the day watching her go about her duties like the absolute babe she is, and if Touchstone and Mogget are there then I'd be even happier!

Nobody Owens from The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: I only read The Graveyard Book last year but it's quickly become one of my favourites. I just want to make sure Bod's alright and that he's managed to make a life for himself after leaving the graveyard and all his friends and family in it.

Johanna Mason from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: Is it just me or does Johanna just... disappear by the end of Mockingjay? I can completely understand why Suzanne Collins couldn't write an epilogue detailing where everyone was and how they were doing, but as Johanna is one of my favourites in the series I'd love to know that she's alright; that she managed to find some sort of peace, and maybe that she spent her days travelling around Panem, smashing the patriarchy.

Connie Goodwin from The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe: I'm pretty sure, if I remember correctly, that Connie's part of this story takes place in 1991 (the year I was born, woo!) meaning if I were to check in on her now she'd be in her 40s, approaching her 50s. I'd just like to see how her life has been so far, and if she managed to come to terms with her powers and produce any magical daughters of her own. With Sam, hopefully, who is one of my book boyfriends because I imagine him as exceedingly hot.

Callie Rose Hadley from the Noughts & Crosses series by Malorie Blackman: Wow, Callie's early life is one real roller-coaster ride. This series is amazing, and if you haven't read it yet then I highly recommend that you do. From what I remember I'm pretty sure Callie wanted to go on to study law and improve their shitty justice system, and I'd just love to see if that's what she did or if, like so many of us, her dreams changed.

Dolphin Westward from The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson: As with pretty much all the characters on this list, I just want to make sure Dolphin's okay. She was in foster care when we left her, and I'd love to know that her Mum got better and that Dolphin was well taken care of and that, hopefully, she managed to have a regular relationship with her Dad and his family.

Queen Violante from the Inkworld trilogy by Cornelia Funke: I loved this trilogy when I first read it - it's so imaginative and the characters are such fun - but it was Violante I loved most. By the end of Inkdeath the crown was hers and the people had grown to love her, so I'd jump at the chance to see how her reign is going - well, I hope!

Minerva from Pirates! by Celia Rees: Pirates! is the book I have to thank for my love of historical fiction. I read it back during my pre-teen days and loved it, and in particular I loved Minerva. It's been a while since I read it, but from what I can recall she was pregnant by the end of the book. I'd just love to check in on her and see how she and her little pirate family are doing.

Neil Parker from the Puppy Patrol series by Jenny Dale: When I wasn't reading Roald Dahl, Grimm's Fairy Tales or this huge dinosaur encyclopedia I used to constantly get out the library, I was reading animal books. I was an animal nut when I was little, and to me the Parker's life was a dream; Neil's parents owned a kennels, meaning he and his sisters were surrounded by dogs. I loved reading about their adventures when I was little, and I'd love to know what they'd be up to as adults.

Which books made your list?

Top Ten Tuesday | Womance

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a freebie, so today I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite female friendships! If guys can have a bromance, girls can have a womance!

Katniss and Johanna from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: I know so many fans of The Hunger Games are huge supporters of Katniss and Peeta's relationship, but it's always been one of my least favourite aspects of the series for a bunch of reasons I won't bother getting into now. Personally one of my favourite relationships in the series, other than the ones between Katniss and Prim and Katniss and Rue, was the friendship between Katniss and Johanna. Everyone worships Katniss, and I think Johanna is one of the few people who keeps her grounded and makes her feel semi-normal. I love their dynamic, and I wanted more Johanna in Mockingjay.

Agnes and Rosalie from Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë: Whether the relationship between Agnes and Rosalie can be described as a friendship is debatable, but it's certainly interesting and was one of my favourite things about the novel; by exploring the relationship between a governess and her ward Brontë explored what is expected of women regardless of their station and class. This is a great classic, and one I highly recommend - Anne has been the forgotten Brontë for too long!

Cinder and Iko from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: I want an Iko of my own. She's adorable, and I love that her and Cinder are such good buddies; Cinder goes through so much crap that she needs someone loyal like Iko on her side.

Ismae and Anne from Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers: The most obvious friendship in the His Fair Assassin trilogy is the one between Ismae, Sybella and Annith, and while I also love their relationship I really loved the friendship that blossomed between Ismae and Anne in Grave Mercy. Poor Anne is surrounded by enemies, and even though she has her brother Gavriel to watch her back, Ismae becomes the confidante that a young girl in her position needs. In return, Anne makes sure Ismae feels welcome in her court. Their relationship was one of my favourite elements of the book.

Beth and Jennifer from Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: I actually liked the relationship between Beth and Jennifer more than I liked the relationship between Beth and Lincoln - oops! These two are a lot of fun, and reading their messages to each other throughout Attachments reminded me of some of the conversations I've had with my own friends.

Tonks and Ginny from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: I almost put Hermione and Ginny here because I do love their friendship too, but I loved how Ginny saw Tonks as a sort of cool big sister. That and I've always had a soft spot for Tonks; she's always been one of my favourites, and as a teenager I'm fairly sure she was my style icon. Not that my school would have ever let me dye my hair bright pink.

Nancy and Minerva from Pirates! by Celia Rees: This is another book in which the relationship between the two female leads is more powerful than any of the romances. I loved Celia Rees's books when I was a teen and still hold them very dear to my heart now; I think it's this book that made me want to search out more fiction in which friendship, and not romance, was the main focus.

Valkyrie and Tanith from the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy: Like Tonks and Ginny these two have a very surrogate sister feel to them. Tanith is one of my favourites anyway, but I loved the friendship she developed with Valkyrie and always love their scenes together whenever I read these books.

Lirael and The Disreputable Dog from The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix: One of the main reasons I love Garth Nix's writing so much is because in The Old Kingdom he created more than one female led fantasy story in which the main focus isn't romance. Sure Sabriel finds Touchstone, but that relationship is never the driving force behind the plot in Sabriel, and in Lirael Lirael's most important relationship is the one she develops with The Disreputable Dog who, despite being a dog, has always made me think of an eccentric, all-knowing auntie.

Ellie, Nadine and Magda from the Girls series by Jacqueline Wilson: As a child Jacqueline Wilson was one of my favourite authors; I read everything she wrote until the publication of Love Lessons which I didn't like at all. I don't like to say I grew out of her writing because I don't know if you can grow out of an author that you love, but as a teenager I didn't like her books directed at teenagers at all despite having loved all her children's books as a child. Having said that, the Girls books are definitely directed at a teenage audience and I loved them; Ellie is a fantastic heroine for Teen fiction, and I loved the emphasis this series has on friendship. And I don't think it hurt that I absolutely loved the CITV adaptation, either!

What did you talk about this week?