World Book Night 2013

Okay, so we've all heard of World Book Day! The book fairs you had in primary school where you dress up as you favourite book character ( in my case Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz) and buy books from fold out shelves. But have you have heard of World Book Night? It's World Book Day's stepsister. I must admit I hadn't either until about 2 weeks ago.

So what exactly is it? World Book Night is a celebration of the best books around. Its aim is to encourage those who don't normally read to start reading. Members vote for their favourite books -  you don't have to pick from a list, you just type in your favourite book and nominate it. Then an independent editorial committee picks a selection of books based on these nominations. The books are then printed in there thousands and distributed by volunteers across the country. These volunteers are known as 'givers' and you can apply to be a giver if you are over the age of sixteen. I would love to be a giver next year - obviously!

World Book Night 2013 will be held on April 23rd and you have until August 31st 2012 to vote for your favourite books!

A big thanks goes to World Book Night for supplying me with this image to use in this blog post! www.worldbooknight.org

To find out more about World Book Night please visit www.worldbooknight.org

When I Was Joe By Keren David - Book Review

If you follow me on Twitter ( no excuses) then you may know that recently I've been 'comunitweeting' with Keren David the author of When I Was Joe. From this I  discovered that Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery is going to be turned into a musical! Its really exciting for me as Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery is one of my favourite books so I'll definitely be amongst the first to see it.

Anyway this post is titled When I Was Joe book review so i'll begin.

When I Was Joe is a book about a 14 year-old boy. No, it is not a book about a boy who has a sex change and yes someone has actually asked me that at school before. It is a book about a boy who witnesses a violent and  fatal stabbing and confesses to the police. You may have noticed I haven't told you his name this is because it changes twice in the book (and I don't want to confuse you all). The boy and his mother, Nic, have to be put into witness protection.  The boy now becomes Joe.

The book is based on the idea that Joe is very different to who he was before the crime. Before the crime Joe was, to put it lightly, a bit of a lameo. He followed his best friend and clung on to him -which  put a strain on their relationship. As Joe, he cannot have any contact with his best friend and therefore Joe discovers who he really is - however negatively this affects those around him.

I would recommend When I Was Joe to both girls and boys - although the main character is a boy who says girls can't enjoy books with boys as main characters eg. Harry Potter? Its probably best for those aged 11 and over due to the very mild sexual references and the themes explored in this book. It probably ideal for a Year 9 student.

The book had a very clever way of revealing the story behind Joe and the violence he saw. However the plot wasn't perfect. I think the story of 'Claire' was some what under detailed and in a way unrealistic - without giving too much away. It felt like the last third of the book was crammed with lots of activity.

Overall I thought When I was Joe was an excellent book and I can't wait to read Almost True - the next in the series!
For more information about the author and book visit   http://wheniwasjoe.blogspot.co.uk/