Bookish and Feint

HAPPEE BIRTHDAE, HARRY ! Today marks the 39th birthday of Harry Potter, the eponymous hero of the series that arguably transformed children's publishing forever. Rowling’s series demonstrated that children’s fiction could surpass 300 pages and young bookworms would remain undeterred . Older book series were republished in bind-up editions as a new generation of readers became accustomed to lengthier books, and established children’s authors found they had been ‘ let off the leash ’ . What could previously only be achieved in a series of books could now be realised in fewer, or better still, the series' world-building could become more expansive. Adults who hadn’t read a children’s book since their own childhood were surreptitiously reading purloined copies (under duress, of course, to see what the fuss was about) and rediscovering what kids intrinsically understand; that the world is filled with hope and joy, sadness and fear, and none of it is half as comp...

by Ashley Edward Miller  and Zack Stentz I read and reviewed this a while ago but I've been re-watching the TV programme  Elementary,  which for those who don't know, is a modern incarnation of the literary Holmes and Watson dream team, and I always think fondly of the eponymous Colin Fischer whenever Sherlock Holmes pops up, so I thought I'd put it up here. ------------- 'Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions. But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate’s birthday celebration, Colin is the only for the investigation. It’s up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and Colin’s frequent tormenter, didn’t bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn’t have frosting on his hands, and there was white chocolate frosting found on the grip of the smoking gun…' ------------ Colin Fischer   is marke...

by  Alice Oseman 'Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they've never met ... until one day when they're made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance.  But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised. Heartstopper  is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie's lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.' __________ Heartstopper ,   Volume 1 , collects together the first two chapters of Oseman's LGBTQ+ webcomic about teens Charlie and Nick, whom readers may recall if they have previously read Oseman's earlier YA novel,   Solitaire .   Solitaire   focuses on Charlie's sister Tori, but in   Heartstopper   Tori becomes a background character whilst Charlie ...