YALC Adventures!

On Saturday, I went to the Young Adult Literature Convention in London, and oh my gosh, it was amazing! This was the first convention I had been to, so I wasn't sure what to expect; a part of me was terrified that this event - the event I had been looking forward to for three months, the event that had made me happy when exams were bringing me down - would be a let-down. But thankfully, YALC surpassed my expectations and the trip was worthwhile.

My friend and I had to get up at 5:30 AM. I am not good on a morning. Really, I'm grumpy if I wake up at nine, let alone five, but then I remembered where I was going and my mood instantly improved! Our train ride was uneventful - apart from a woman complaining very loudly about croissants - and we arrived at Olympia in what we thought was good time: about twenty past ten.

Oh, how wrong we were! The queue just to get into LFCC (as the YALC was only open until ten) must have been at least two miles long, and we ended up stuck pretty close to the back in a leafy suburb of London! This made us both very worried, as one of the main reasons we came to YALC was to see the Shadowhunters talk with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan. The talk started at half eleven; by ten past we were only just turning the corner onto a street where we could actually see Olympia. This resulted in a lot of frantic time-checkings, complaints (on my part, I'm not a patient person!), and about three extra runes on our arms and legs. There were some good things about the queue, though. For one thing, it was a lovely Summer day so we were nice and warm, and we moved quite quickly. It also meant that we could see some of the incredible costumes people were wearing, and every time we saw a fellow Shadowhunter we flapped a bit!

This outfit gets five stars at least!

We arrived at the YALC entrance at 11:24, but we sprinted up the staircase and managed to slide into some seats for the panel just in time. The actual panel was great, as you could tell that Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan were really good friends, and they kept making jokes. I liked how Sarah knew so much about the Shadowhunting world as well, and how she had opinions about all of the characters. The panel gave an insight into how co-writing works, and what lies ahead for the characters in The Dark Artifices and The Last Hours.

The Shadowhunters Panel

Then came the next problem. As we had literally just aimed for the panel, we hadn't found the person with the tickets for the virtual queue for the Cassandra Clare signing. This meant that when we did take our tickets, we were far behind. Like, really really far behind. 358 and 360 out of 400 to be exact. The end time of the signing came, but Cassandra Clare decided that she would take a break and then come back and sign one of everyone remaining's books! It was so kind of her, and I just hoped that I remembered to say thank you, as I think I was a bit star-struck and I can't exactly think of what I said! I know that I said Will was my favourite character, which resulted in the two authors joking about what Will and Jem would do if one was ahead of the other.

Apart from those two times when we were scared we would miss something, YALC was EXCELLENT with a capital everything! There was such a variety of books for sale at the YALC bookshop, and the publisher stands were well-stocked too. There was also two tables full of freebees, so now I have various samplers, badges, bookmarks, and lanyards! Near the line for the Cassandra Clare signing there were two Shadowhunters giving out postcards of the beautiful new UK covers of The Mortal Instruments, which I've stuck on my bookcase.

All of the free things I collected

Overall, the one thing that really made me enjoy YALC - aside from meeting Cassandra Clare - was the sense of community in it. When I was walking around, I just felt like, ah, I have found my fellow booknerds! I had a great conversation with one of the sellers at Hot Key Books about Vivian Vs the Apocalypse, and another about Shadowhunters with someone at Atom Books, and it was refreshing to know that everyone in the room shared a love of books. There were so many people buying books, talking about books, reading books, which was wonderful to see!

However, there were some things that could have been better. Personally, I feel like the YALC should be open until eleven, as some people (i.e. Me and my friend) live miles away from London and I don't think we could have gotten to London any sooner! Also, I think that the Reading Zone could have been a bit bigger; by the end of the day people were sat everywhere.

This bookhaul could have been a lot, lot bigger.

Next time, I plan on going for the full weekend, and I plan on being braver! There were so many times when I wanted to strike up a conversation with someone about books, but I felt too shy to do it. Were you at YALC? What did you think?

Overall, YALC was fantastic, and I couldn't stop smiling and talking about it until at least eleven! The next day, I read the tweets about Sunday and just wanted to be there. For those thinking of going next year, I would definitely definitely definitely recommend it, and I hope to see you there next year!
Thanks for reading(:

YALC 2015!

YALC is fast approaching, so I thought I would let you know my plans for Saturday, the day I'll be going!

If you didn't know, YALC (or the Young Adult Literature Convention) is a book convention held in the UK. This year is only the second year it's been running, but I've heard that last year it was very popular. YALC was brought to life with the help of Malorie Blackman, who was Children's Laureate in 2013. This year it's being run alongside the London Film and Comic Con in - unsurprisingly - London, which means that, for people like me who live nowhere near the capital, there will be a long journey for some!

This will be my first ever convention-type-thing, and I am so excited! One of my best friends and I have had our tickets booked for months, ever since I found out that Cassandra Clare will be there on the Saturday, and even though we'll have to get up at a ridiculously early time, I think it will be worth it. There is a small part of me that's nervous, though; I've heard that last year YALC was quite crowded.

In honour of going to meet one of my all-time favourite authors, my friend and I have decided that we're going to cosplay as Shadowhunters (which I'm sure will earn us some funny looks on trains!). I'm channelling my inner Isabelle and wearing a white dress, my Isabelle necklace, and a Lightwood replica ring that I bought from Hebel Designs. However, unlike Isabelle, I will not be wearing seven-inch heels, as a) I can barely walk in three-inch heels, and b) I anticipate lots of queuing and standing around, and it would be nice to be able to still walk by the end of the day.

I plan on taking a lot of photos and blogging about the day, and I might even try my hand at vlogging, if I'm feeling brave. I also plan on bringing back a LOT of books! Seriously, I'm thinking of bringing another bag with me in addition to my rucksack, which will be full of snacks and water as apparently food is expensive. I'm already going to bring at least three books for Cassandra Clare to sign: Clockwork Princess, City of Glass, and City of Fallen Angels. And I might even bring The Bone Season if I finish it on time (452 pages in 4 days - challenge accepted!).

As you can probably tell, I don't know what to expect from Saturday, but I can't wait to find out what a book convention is like. The amount of times I've looked at pictures from BEA and Bookcon and envied everyone for being there...! Are you going to YALC? Did you go there last year? What did you think?

Bowlerhatgirl Recommends...Contemporary Books!

Hi!
I thought I would do another recommendations post, this time recommending my favourite contemporary books! These will be split into two categories: mysteries and summery reads.

Mystery/ Thriller Contemporaries:

1. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas - I loved this book so much that I think it's one of my favourite books of 2014! Anna and her group of friends go on holiday to Aruba, but the trip takes a sinister turn when Elise, Anna's best friend, is murdered. Soon, Anna is trying to clear her name, and we discover what really happened to Elise. This was incredible. It has one of the most shocking endings I've ever read, and I think anyone who likes mysteries will love Dangerous Girls.

2. The Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - I recently just finished this series, and I'm annoyed at myself for not reading them sooner! On the surface, Burn for Burn is about three girls - Kat, Lillia, and Mary - getting revenge on people who have done them wrong. But once you read Fire With Fire (for those of you who have, my review is here), it sets off in another completely different (but equally amazing) direction. The ending to Fire With Fire was as much of a shock as Dangerous Girls, and the plot remained fast-paced and unpredictable right up until the last page of Ashes To Ashes.

3. The Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard - I have finished EVERY BOOK in this series. ALL SIXTEEN, AS WELL AS THE TWO EXTRAS. There are a lot of books in the PLL series, which often puts a lot of people off, but they are easy to read and I love them. Also, there are points where you can stop reading (after book eight or book twelve, I think) and the story will feel relatively wrapped up. The books are very different to the TV show, though, so if you want to read the books and have watched the show, make sure you know this beforehand. If you still really don't want to read eight books, Sara Shepard has another series out called The Lying Game series (Which I have not read every book in, yet), and a duology consisting of The Perfectionists and The Good Girls. All of these are full of twists and turns and mystery and characters doing bad things and trying to cover them up!

Summery reads:

1. The Anna Lola Isla series by Stephanie Perkins - full of gorgeous boys, funny lines, and OTPs, any of these books are perfect for the Summer. Anna & the French Kiss is set in Paris, Lola and the Boy Next Door is set in San Francisco, and Isla and the Happily Ever After is set in New York, Paris and Barcelona, so if you want to travel the world while staying at home, you can! Each is adorable, and they're all linked together in a lovely way.

2. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson - Emily is shy, and her best friend Sloane isn't. One day, Sloane disappears, leaving Emily a list of things to do. She hopes it will lead to her best friend, but it might take Emily further out of her comfort zone than she would have liked. I love how there are playlists and extras in this book, like in Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - which I would also recommend for summer - and it's just so wonderfully suited to summer!

3. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson - this is quite similar to Since You've Been Gone, as both of the protagonists have tasks to do set by people they're close to, but 13 LBE takes us around Europe as Ginny follows her aunt's seemingly crazy instructions, all packaged in blue envelopes. Over the summer, Ginny meets friends, sees the world, and also meets a great boy, which I think is what everyone wants out of a summer! Like Stephanie Perkins' books, it allows you to travel to fantastic places like Rome, Scotland, and Amsterdam, and I love how Maureen Johnson writes, so I loved this book.

4. The Threads trilogy by Sophia Bennett - If you love fashion, Threads is probably your kind of book. It centres around Nonie, daughter of a famous model, and her friends Edie - who wants to save the world - and Jenny - who's going to be an actress - as they befriend a girl called Crow, who has the makings of an incredible fashion designer. The books cover a wide range of issues apart from fashion, like body image, poverty, and deciding what to do with your future, and they have a special place in my heart for being one of the first series to really stay with me (and one of the books managed to find a place in my bath as well, so is now twice the size of the others).

All of these books are wonderful contemporaries! I also have lots of contemporary books on my TBR list, so I may do another recommendation post later on in the year. Have you read any of these? What did you think? What are some of your favourite contemporary novels? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading(: