In a previous life, I worked at a teen girls’ magazine. Alongside securing eye make-up and facial exfoliant from beauty product sales for my girlfriend and mum and continually asking female co-workers to please take me off their email list of explicit dude pics, my duties involved reading and reviewing the latest YA book releases.
Amid initial scepticism, embarrassed skimming and ironic guffaws, I quickly discovered some rewarding reading experiences. Among the most memorable were John Green’sLooking For Alaska, a literary tale about friendship and loss featuring characters who discuss Rabelais and Kerouac; Frank Portman’s endlessly hilarious