May reading round up...

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
'milk and honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. It is about the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. It is split into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose, deals with a different pain, heals a different heartache. milk and honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.'
5/5

Girlhood by Cat Clarke
'Harper has tried to forget the past and fit in at expensive boarding school Duncraggan Academy. Her new group of friends are tight; the kind of girls who Harper knows have her back. But Harper can't escape the guilt of her twin sister's Jenna's death, and her own part in it - and she knows no one else will ever really understand.
But new girl Kirsty seems to get Harper in ways she never expected. She has lost a sister too. Harper finally feels secure. She finally feels...loved. As if she can grow beyond the person she was when Jenna died.
Then Kirsty's behaviour becomes more erratic. Why is her life a perfect mirror of Harper's? And why is she so obsessed with Harper's lost sister? Soon, Harper's closeness with Kirsty begins to threaten her other relationships, and her own sense of identity.
How can Harper get back to the person she wants to be, and to the girls who mean the most to her?'

Upon finishing this book I decided I want to go back and read Clarke's other books, and I'm pleased to learn there is quite a back catalogue to enjoy! This was a really well written book about female friendship, trust and grief. I love how all the characters were explored and I really enjoyed the setting of a Boarding school in Scotland, it gave a cosy insight into a life I know nothing about as well as a mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat.

4/5

See How They Lie by Sue Wallman

'Mae feels lucky to have grown up at Hummingbird Creek, an elite wellness retreat where rich teens with psychological problems can get the help they need from her father, a prominent psychiatrist. The Creek has world-class cuisine, a state-of-the-art sports centre and the latest spa treatments. Every aspect of daily life is monitored for optimal health, and there are strict rules for everyone. When Mae is caught breaking the rules, the response is severe. She starts to question everything about her highly controlled life. And at the Creek, asking questions can be dangerous'

In short I LOVED this book. It had a creepy dystopian feel to it and the premise was really interesting and different. The more you learnt about life at Hummingbird Creek the more it sounded like a weird futuristic prison. I was in suspense throughout the book and the writing was really tense and twisty. I am now eager to get into more YA thrillers as this was brilliant and I highly recommend!
4.5/5

Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman
'The story centres around a girl called Skye, who is sent to a camp for troubled teenagers after her sister dies in an accident. However, once she is at the camp she starts receiving text messages from someone pretending to be her dead sister.'

This is Wallman's debut book and although it was nowhere near as amazing as See How They Lie this was an enjoyable YA thriller centred around grief and guilt. I found this a quick and easy read, and I'm really excited to see what Wallman writes next. 
3/5

Do What You Want Zine edited by Ruby Tandoh & Leah Pritchard
'A ZINE ABOUT MENTAL WELLBEING, RAISING MONEY FOR MENTAL HEALTH CHARITIES.

Contributors include writers from the Guardian, the New York Times, NYMag, The Telegraph, The Observer, Rookie, Pitchfork and ELLE.

Our highlights are: Why Should I Go to Therapy? by Ask Polly’s Heather Havrilesky || An interview about OCD with writer and actress Mara Wilson || Food for Thought: Diana Henry, Tejal Rao, Meera Sodha, Ruby Tandoh and more share their recipes for life || The Many Faces of Eating Disorders: interviews with survivors || Eleanor Morgan writing about Plastic Minds || The Cost of Care: an interview with Sally Burke, from Channel 4’s acclaimed documentary series Kids on the Edge'

I highly recommend getting a copy of this zine if you can, it's packed full of brilliant content revolving around mental health and there were lots of relateable, honest and humorous pieces in here. It didn't quite get a five start for me simply because I would love to have seen more content on less talked about mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar etc... but otherwise I loved it. 4/5

Geek Girls Unite by Leslie Simon

'For every girl who marches to the beat of her own drum, Leslie Simon has your manifesto: a smart, expansive, and winningly entertaining celebration of comedy queens, film geeks, bookworms, craft mavens, indie chicks, and other all-star women. Following the breakaway hit book Everybody Hurts, Simon’s energizing look at today’s pop-culture and counterculture heroines—like Amy Sedaris, Tina Fey, Sofia Coppola, Regina Spektor, and Jenny Hart—is an empowering, eye-opening, and, above all, fun journey. Readers of The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking and The Modern Girl’s Guide to Life will love joining forces as Geek Girls Unite!'

This book was a real disappointment, although the premise was good it ended up being a snooty write up of the exact definition of being a geek in the writers eyes. Although Simon states being a geek is about being different blah blah blah she then goes on to tell you that to be a "real" geek you need to dress a certain way, like certain things and follow certain rules. This was written with such a bitchy tone that the book annoyed the hell out of me- it was the opposite of empowering. The only thing I can say I enjoyed was the design and layout of the book, but really, don't waste your time! 2/5