Turning Pages By Penguin Books NZ

Last updated on 10 March 2019

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Welcome to Turning Pages by Penguin Books NZ!

A few weeks ago, Penguin Books NZ contacted Sophie and I over on our Rants and Reviews Podcast Instagram, telling us about a cool new endeavour they were embarking on. They asked us if we would be interested in receiving a Turning Pages box of goodies, and of course, like good little book bloggers/podcasters we are, we said yes. Queue several weeks of excitedly thinking about the box and what might be inside it, awaiting it’s arrival. When it arrived, Sophie and I held off opening it until we could open it together and record our reactions for an upcoming Bonus episode of Rants and Reviews; keep your eyes peeled for that coming super soon!

What is Turning Pages?

So what exactly is Turning Pages? The lovely folk over at Penguin Books NZ explained it a little in their message to us and also in a letter which came in the box. In short, Turning Pages is a Goodreads group for all things YA; discussions, recommendations, and reviews. It’s a group which will be used by Penguin to send out ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) of upcoming books, giveaways of final copies, and even the occasional read-a-thon or challenge. Basically a fun place for YA lovers in New Zealand.

But what about the box, Anjali? What was in the box?!

Okay, okay! Sorry! Inside the box was a review copy of a book that has just been released, a Superproof (more info on that coming soon) and a bunch of goodies! Check it out:

Invisibly Breahting, by Eileen Merriman

A moving story about unconventional love, bullying and being true to yourself.
Felix would love to have been a number. Numbers have superpowers and they’re safe – any problem they might throw up can be solved.
People are so much harder to cope with. At least that’s how it seems until Bailey Hunter arrives at school. Bailey has a stutter, but he can make friends and he’s good at judo. And Bailey seems to have noticed Felix:
Both boys find they’re living in a world where they can’t trust anyone, but might they be able to trust each other, with their secrets, their differences, themselves?

I hadn’t actually heard of this book before, but as soon as I saw the cover it reminded me of another, which turned out to be another of Merriman’s stories: Pieces of Me, and Catch Me When I Fall. I haven’t read either of those yet, but after already starting Invisivbly Breathing and really enjoying it so far (I may have read half the book in one sitting after I opeened the box), I think I might need to pick the other two up.

Merriman is actually a New Zealand author, and she lives here in Auckland. Invisibly Breathing is set in Wellington, and that’s quite fun to read so far.

2019 Penguin Teen Superproof and bookmark

You may be wondering what a ‘superproof’ is, right? I definitely didn’t know what one was until we received this box. A ‘proof’ in book terms is like a nearly-finished-draft, it’s not quite the final copy but it’s pretty close. When you receive an ARC from a publisher, they’re often proofs; 99% finished but changes might still be made come release day. A ‘superproof’, therefore, as we discovered, is a collection of sections/chapters from a range of different books which are coming out this year. So in the 2019 Penguin Teen Superproof, there are 10 short sections from 10 upcoming YA books which will be released as the year goes on.

We knew we were getting a Superproof in the box, but both Sophie and I were expecting more of a pamphlet-like collection, perhaps an A4 print out, haphazardly stapled together with a page or two for each book. But we were most definitely mistaken; the 2019 Penguin Teen Superproof is beautiful. It’s an actual printed book, in the typical Penguin style (you know the one I mean), with this gorgeous swirly, floral pattern in the indigo background. It’s a full sized book, with additional features in it, like a letter at the beginning explaining what the proof is, a quiz at the back, and a photo competition. A-mah-zing! I’m actually really looking forward to reading through some of these proofs (does it count towards my Goodreads Challenge…I kinda wanna say yes!).

The bookmark that was with the superproof looks the same as the book on the front, but on the back side there is a tick list of all the books that are featured in the proof, so you can tick them off as you read them. Genius!

Poster, letter and book snippet

Now for the goodies in the box! We knew we were getting a recent YA release and the superproof, but from here on in, everything was a surprise. There was a poster with eight Penguin YA books coming out in the next few months (some of which were in the superproof), including the movie tie in edition of The Sun Is Also A Star, by Nicola Yoon, which I haven’t read yet but have somewhere on my bookshelf. I’m really looking forward to some of these books, and I haven’t even read the superproofs chapters of them yet!

The letter was the first thing we pulled from the box, and it’s a lovely A4 letter from Penguin, explaing the Turning Pages group and a little about the box.

The last thing in this picture is a beautiful fold-out pamphlet of one a recent released: Love, Lie, Repeat, by Catherine Greer. It has a section from the book on the inside, as well as an interview with the author.

Penguin Bookmarks

As well as the tick box superproof bookmark, there were six Penguin Classics bookmarks in the box. They are of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Nineteen-Eighty-Four, The Secret History, Lolita, Of Mice and Men, and On The Road. On the back is a collection of Penguin Books.

Turning Pages pencils

How great is this colour?! Love these pencils, with the gold ‘Turning Pages’ writing on the ends.

Popular Penguins tote bag

A finally there was an across-the-shoulder tote bag, with a Popular Penguins book over on the front. Perfect for trekking off to the library or the bookstore with to fill up with books!

And that’s the end! Thank you so much to Penguin Books NZ for this incredible box of goodies. Sophie and I were incredibly stoked to be asked if we would like to receive a box each, and I know I speak for both of us when I say we’re looking forward to joining the Goodreads Turning Pages community.

If you guys would like to be part of it, head on over to Turning Pages by Penguin Books NZ, and follow along on Instagram.