Lou Kent
@readupastorm.bsky.social
Reads, doesn't really write, works as a secondary school librarian, used to teach in primary, reads some more.
Mainly reviews everything read (middle grade, young adult and fantasy in the most part).
Mainly reviews everything read (middle grade, young adult and fantasy in the most part).
What an excellent book! Cosy fantasy about an orphanage of magical beings. Heartwarming, with wonderful characters. Just beautiful. My Y7 book group have been knocking it out of the park with recommendations recently (not that this book is YA, they just read widely!). 💙📚
December 12, 2025 at 5:11 PM
What an excellent book! Cosy fantasy about an orphanage of magical beings. Heartwarming, with wonderful characters. Just beautiful. My Y7 book group have been knocking it out of the park with recommendations recently (not that this book is YA, they just read widely!). 💙📚
A quiet book about finding the peace within ourselves. Kind of a slice of life book about a group of Y7s and their teachers over the school year. #kidlituk 💙📚
December 10, 2025 at 8:49 PM
A quiet book about finding the peace within ourselves. Kind of a slice of life book about a group of Y7s and their teachers over the school year. #kidlituk 💙📚
Loved this! Thrown in at the deep end, the reader must navigate the world with no hand-holding. So much exposition but brilliantly done and I still need to know more! It almost reads like a villain backstory - but isn't. Dark academia, witty, intelligent and grim in places. #YAlit 💙📚
December 9, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Loved this! Thrown in at the deep end, the reader must navigate the world with no hand-holding. So much exposition but brilliantly done and I still need to know more! It almost reads like a villain backstory - but isn't. Dark academia, witty, intelligent and grim in places. #YAlit 💙📚
Brilliantly creepy MG horror with a definite X-Files feel. An exciting start to a series. The horror fans in my library will love this one. #kidlituk 💙📚
December 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Brilliantly creepy MG horror with a definite X-Files feel. An exciting start to a series. The horror fans in my library will love this one. #kidlituk 💙📚
A feminist fairy tale based on Little Red Riding Hood. Interesting characters, family secrets, power, grief and a protagonist who has a disability (true representation as this is not a book about having disabilities). The woods in the story are truly magical. #kidlituk 💙📚
December 5, 2025 at 10:06 PM
A feminist fairy tale based on Little Red Riding Hood. Interesting characters, family secrets, power, grief and a protagonist who has a disability (true representation as this is not a book about having disabilities). The woods in the story are truly magical. #kidlituk 💙📚
This series continues to be amazing - so much action and humour. The audiobook is great - excellent narration from Rupert Degas, whose accents are brilliant. #YAlit 💙📚
December 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
This series continues to be amazing - so much action and humour. The audiobook is great - excellent narration from Rupert Degas, whose accents are brilliant. #YAlit 💙📚
Wow! What a story! Horrifying, heart-warming and brilliantly written, this middle grade horror about bravery, family and grief is perfect. The illustrations are brilliantly creepy too. #kidlituk 💙📚
December 2, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Wow! What a story! Horrifying, heart-warming and brilliantly written, this middle grade horror about bravery, family and grief is perfect. The illustrations are brilliantly creepy too. #kidlituk 💙📚
Reposted by Lou Kent
My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books.
Lots more here: www.theguardian.com/books/series/tom-gauld-s-cultural-cartoons
Lots more here: www.theguardian.com/books/series/tom-gauld-s-cultural-cartoons
November 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books.
Lots more here: www.theguardian.com/books/series/tom-gauld-s-cultural-cartoons
Lots more here: www.theguardian.com/books/series/tom-gauld-s-cultural-cartoons
Horror, appropriate for younger teens. Some great, gruesome moments, werewolves and zombies. I wish I'd read the first in the series before picking up this, the third! #YAlitUK 💙📚
November 28, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Horror, appropriate for younger teens. Some great, gruesome moments, werewolves and zombies. I wish I'd read the first in the series before picking up this, the third! #YAlitUK 💙📚
An enjoyable YA fantasy set in an alternative London in 1923 where dragons and humans live under a peace treaty. There is a dystopian feel with rebellion threatening. It is dark academia, romance and politics. I will definitely read the sequel to discover what was meant in the last pages! #YAlit 💙📚
November 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
An enjoyable YA fantasy set in an alternative London in 1923 where dragons and humans live under a peace treaty. There is a dystopian feel with rebellion threatening. It is dark academia, romance and politics. I will definitely read the sequel to discover what was meant in the last pages! #YAlit 💙📚
A moving tale of a girl living near Ypres in 1914, an Indian gunner for the British Army and a teenage German soldier. The horror of war is shown in vivid detail while still being appropriate for older children. Friendship, bravery and humanity are key themes. #kidlituk 💙📚
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
A moving tale of a girl living near Ypres in 1914, an Indian gunner for the British Army and a teenage German soldier. The horror of war is shown in vivid detail while still being appropriate for older children. Friendship, bravery and humanity are key themes. #kidlituk 💙📚
This was a lot of fun! Magic, baking, politics and full scale battles (not to mention a sapient gingerbreadman and a carnivorous sourdough starter) tied up in a very witty, middle grade, fantasy novel. #kidlit 💙📚
November 19, 2025 at 8:25 PM
This was a lot of fun! Magic, baking, politics and full scale battles (not to mention a sapient gingerbreadman and a carnivorous sourdough starter) tied up in a very witty, middle grade, fantasy novel. #kidlit 💙📚
Reposted by Lou Kent
The schools and early years offer for the National Year of Reading has been released. The links to the @literacy-trust.bsky.social videos are below.
EYFS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8YH...
Primary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw8X...
Secondary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLQ...
Please share widely.
EYFS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8YH...
Primary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw8X...
Secondary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLQ...
Please share widely.
Official Early Years Settings Offer - National Year of Reading 2026
YouTube video by National Literacy Trust
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:58 PM
The schools and early years offer for the National Year of Reading has been released. The links to the @literacy-trust.bsky.social videos are below.
EYFS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8YH...
Primary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw8X...
Secondary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLQ...
Please share widely.
EYFS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8YH...
Primary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw8X...
Secondary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLQ...
Please share widely.
A powerful YA historical verse novel. It packs a punch in its exploration of the American South in the 20s and gives us more of the characters and events in The Door of No Return many years later. I look forward to the final in the trilogy. #YAlit 💙📚
November 18, 2025 at 6:32 PM
A powerful YA historical verse novel. It packs a punch in its exploration of the American South in the 20s and gives us more of the characters and events in The Door of No Return many years later. I look forward to the final in the trilogy. #YAlit 💙📚
Contemporary YA dealing with themes of body image and positivity, friendships and social media, tearing open the consequences of diet culture. Great characters! #YAlitUK 💙📚
November 16, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Contemporary YA dealing with themes of body image and positivity, friendships and social media, tearing open the consequences of diet culture. Great characters! #YAlitUK 💙📚
An interesting take on humanity and refugees in this middle grade fantasy adventure. Engaging, thought-provoking and, most of all, an enjoyable ride. #kidlituk 💙📚
November 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
An interesting take on humanity and refugees in this middle grade fantasy adventure. Engaging, thought-provoking and, most of all, an enjoyable ride. #kidlituk 💙📚
Middle grade fantasy with a fairytale feel. Animal shape-shifting, family bonds, magic and war in a beautifully written standalone story. #kidlituk 💙📚
November 10, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Middle grade fantasy with a fairytale feel. Animal shape-shifting, family bonds, magic and war in a beautifully written standalone story. #kidlituk 💙📚
A YA verse novel about teen pregnancy, consent and identity. Brilliantly written and an important read - it approaches the themes sensitively and without preaching. #YAlitUK 💙📚
November 9, 2025 at 3:58 PM
A YA verse novel about teen pregnancy, consent and identity. Brilliantly written and an important read - it approaches the themes sensitively and without preaching. #YAlitUK 💙📚
A YA novel, romance and mystery, that I would have loved as a teen. I saw the twist coming but it still delivered a gut punch! #YAlit 💙📚
November 7, 2025 at 4:11 PM
A YA novel, romance and mystery, that I would have loved as a teen. I saw the twist coming but it still delivered a gut punch! #YAlit 💙📚
A story about nature, families, bullying and loneliness. There is so much going on in 141 pages and everything is so vividly imagined. The front cover is stunning. ##YAlitUK 💙📚
November 5, 2025 at 9:34 PM
A story about nature, families, bullying and loneliness. There is so much going on in 141 pages and everything is so vividly imagined. The front cover is stunning. ##YAlitUK 💙📚
Dark, atmospheric and haunting. Trauma, grief and guilt are explored in the wreck of a whaling ship on the shores of Iceland. 💙📚
November 2, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Dark, atmospheric and haunting. Trauma, grief and guilt are explored in the wreck of a whaling ship on the shores of Iceland. 💙📚
Part ghost story, part literary criticism of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this book oozes atmosphere and creepiness. There's no denying it's a strange book but the 'author's descent into madness was a fitting read for Halloween. 💙📚
October 31, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Part ghost story, part literary criticism of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this book oozes atmosphere and creepiness. There's no denying it's a strange book but the 'author's descent into madness was a fitting read for Halloween. 💙📚
A great novel for young teens about a girl who makes up a best friend who then becomes real. It is a story of what friendship means and, ultimately, the power of stories. #YAlitUK 💙📚
October 30, 2025 at 12:36 PM
A great novel for young teens about a girl who makes up a best friend who then becomes real. It is a story of what friendship means and, ultimately, the power of stories. #YAlitUK 💙📚