Month of Guests 2013: Keris Stainton

The lovely Keris Stainton is here again this year!  And without further ado, onto Keris....

My Favourite YA Tearjerkers

I love a good tearjerker. For some reason, I always end up reading the saddest books in public - I've sobbed on many trains and planes and I finished My Sister's Keeper in Starbucks, blowing my nose on the napkins. So I thought I'd share a few of my favourite YA tearjerkers in case I'm not alone in my love of books that make you blub…

Dear Zoe by Phillip Beard

I sigh whenever I think about this book - it's just gorgeous. It's narrated by Tess in the form of one long letter (divided into chapters) to her three-year old sister Zoe who died in a car crash almost a year earlier, on September 11, 2001. It's been compared to The Lovely Bones, but I found it warmer and less sentimental. 

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

This book isn't even out until January next year, but it was reading it via Netgalley that gave me the idea for this post. When Emma's pregnant mother collapses and dies, Emma's stepfather decides to keep her body alive to try to save the baby. Emma can't grieve for her mother because she's still there, Emma visits her every day, and she's furious with her stepfather for not letting her mother go. She finds it hard to care about anything at all, until she meets Caleb Harrison, who is struggling with a family tragedy of his own. I had to keep putting this book down to catch my breath. It's so romantic, but also, unsurprisingly, incredibly sad. 

The Twice-Lived Summer of Bluebell Jones by Susie Day

This book is, I think, slightly younger than YA, but don't let that put you off. On her 13th birthday, Bluebell wishes for someone to rescue her and an alternative version of herself appears. 'Red' is Bluebell (or 'Blue') one year on. She's a lot more confident and she has great ideas for improving Blue's summer, but she seems to be hiding something… It's smart and funny and true and heartbreaking. 

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

You've probably already read this one (and, if not, why not?). It's one of my all-time favourite YA books and I recommend it to everyone. Set in 1986, it's a story of first love and it makes my heart hurt to think about it. (I saw a Tumblr post that had a photo of this book in the corner of the room, with the caption 'Sit there and think about what you've done'. Yes.)

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Thank you so much Keris!  It's great to have you back again - thank you so much!! :D

Hope you all enjoyed Keris' post! And don't forget to follow Keris' Site and Blog, follow her on Twitter and Pinterest, and check out her books on Goodreads! :D

And keep up to date with MonthOfGuests on Twitter using #MonthOfGuests2013! And stop by tomorrow for an amazing post by the brilliant Julie Berry!!

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My mum always claimed that when she lived in America for a year, my dad wrote to her every day and, in one of his letters, proposed. My dad denies this. But when she got home they got married anyway. In 1966 they emigrated to Canada. They'd wanted to go to New Zealand, but it was full.

I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which, by all accounts, is very cold. And also hot. But when I was four months old, my parents moved back to the UK. Don't worry, they brought me too - this isn't a misery memoir. And so I grew up on the Wirral. You probably haven't heard of it.

When I was 18 I moved to London and, a few years later, after meeting and falling in love with (I don't mean "at first sight". At first sight, I didn't like him and he didn't like me either. But that's another story) a fellow northerner we moved back "up north". Now we live in Lancashire (which is lovely, particularly when it's not raining. Which is about two weeks a year) with our two ridiculously gorgeous sons and a pug. Okay, we haven't got a pug, but maybe if I write it here it will come true. If you write it, pugs will come.

I've been writing stories for as long as I can remember (I spent much of my teen years writing stories about George Michael falling in love with me so I've obviously always had a good imagination), but I didn't write a novel until 2004 when I took part in National Novel Writing Month. I haven't quite finished that one yet (!), but I have finished a few others.

I now write full time and I think it's probably the best job in the world. Although if George Clooney is ever looking for an underpant-wrangler, I'll probably apply