YALFU! Young Adult Literature Festival, Utrecht

Good evening, dragonflies! 

A few posts ago, I told you I was going to a book convention. That event, YALFU, happened on Sunday, and I loved every moment of it! 

This event was a part of th International Literature Festival in Utrecht. On the Sunday, they had a YA special which was fascinating. 

1. The Authors
The most notable thing about any book convention is usually the authors you get to meet and greet. Now, most of these were Dutch authors that I had never heard of, but it gave me the chance to test how much Dutch I really understand - I was so happy when I realized I understood almost everything they had to say! 

The first trio had really interesting insights on what its like to grow up in the modern world. I finished highschool years ago but could still relate to their examples. They also had a nice overview of how life is for girls versus boys when you're young which I found to be super insightful. 

A few more authors came around, who were very interesting to listen to. Finally, Becky Albertalli came on stage - you know her from Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda, as well as Leah on the Offbeat and a few other books! She was so happy and quirky! 

Sadly I didn't get to meet her, because the line was super long and anyway I had forgotten my book to get signed at home ^^ Oops! But that did give me the opportunity to see some friends! 

I also met some people! I met one of my instagram besties, as well as someone I've been following for months @sjmtrash, we were talking and once we shared our handles we could not believe we had just met in real life! It was amazing! I also met some absolutely amazing people who I didn't previously 'know' and with which we now have a bookish group chat. It was really amazing to be comfortable with people right away, as this is so rare for me. 


2. The shops
Oh this made me so happy! A lot of the dutch shop owners I can consider to be my friend - the girls from Oriandle, Till and Dill, and Rome made Candles were all there and so much fun to see again! I highly reccomend checking out their things on Etsy, they're all unique and incredible! 

I hauled a lot of stuff. 

And I hauled a lot of books. 

3. Book Haul
So, way way back in July, I placed a BookOutlet order, bought books off an instagram friend, and placed a second BookOutlet order with a friend of mine to save on shipping. Then the book convention happened and well we got some books for free. 

I was on the train with a backpack from my weekend's travels, a bunch of merch, and 18 books (3 for a friend). 

It was not easy! 

But in the end, I have the biggest book haul ever! 

From top to bottom, I hauled... 
- The Chaos of Stars, by Kiersten White (BookOutlet)
- Leah on the Offbeat, by Becky Albertalli (BookDepository)
- Throne of Glass (NL), by Sarah J Maas (YalFU)
- This Adventure Ends, by Emma Mills (BookOutlet)
- Otherworld, by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller (Anniek, thanks!) 
- The Crown's Game, by Evelyn Skye (BookOutlet)
- The Diviners, by Libba Bray (Anniek as well!)
- Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy, by Cassandra Clare (BookOutlet)
- The Midnight Dance, by Nikki Katz (Bookoutlet)
- Walk on Earth a Stranger, by Rae Carson (BookOutlet)
- Kids of Appetite, by David Arnold (BookOutlet) 
- The Clockwork Scarab, by Colleen Gleason (BookOutlet) 
- StarFlight, by Melissa Landers (BookOutlet) 
- The Last Magician (NL), by Lisa Maxwell (YalFU)
- Tower of Dawn, by Sarah J Maas (BookOutlet) 

Whew that's a lot! Just a dislcaimer, I am not a BookOutlet afiliate. Nope, it's just an obsession! 


4. Some merch I got! 
As I mentioned, I saw a lot of my favorite shopowners this weekend, so of course I got some things from them! Anniek also passed on some things to me! This stuff does not include all the quote cards and other goodies we got from the event itself, because most of it was really quite indie, very Dutch and something I'll probably not get very far with. ^^

This first batch is all the bigger items. The Parabatai candle from Letters and Lights smells absolutely divine! Anniek sold that to me, as well as the Will-and-Tessa tile that does not represent my main ship (Jessa ftw) but that I love nonetheless! 

The tea comes from my baes Julia and Sheuly from Oriandle! It's based off Winnie the Pooh and has Ceylon black tea, Lapacho, Chamimile and Rose. It is perfection! 

Finally the cards come from the beautiful and talented ladies at Till and Dill! This is their new design and I am in love! 





         
 Now these smaller items I could not resist! The dragonfly bookmark is also from Letters and Lights and well when I saw it I kind of freaked out! I adore it! 

The Simon candle was based of Love, Simon and, even though I never read the books, I had to get it. Purely because its chocolate smell is like a drug. 

The Parabatai necklace is one of my favorite items! I got it from Oriandle! Parabatai is one of my favorite fictional concepts, I wish it was a thing in real life! 

Finally, Anniek gave me the absolutely epic Zelda necklace that I wore all day! I sent a snapchat thanking my 'bookfriend' and yet most of my friends freaked out because they thought I said "boyfriend', oops! 

Ok the 'intense' look failed, plus I'm not wearing black! Good
going, Caro! 

Finally, I got a bigger item that I did not have the right space to take a photo of while writing this post, so I got up and did this, haha! 

I got this tote bag from Reviews and Roses (as well as a sticker that I can't show you because it's stuck on my laptop, oops!), that says "Shadowhunters, looking better in black than the widows of our enemies since 1234" which I always thought was such a badass quote! 

Next time I use it I promise I'll be wearing black! ^^ 





5. Fun News!

So this bit of news has nothing to do with the festival except for the fact that it happened on the same day! 

You guys have most definitely heard of The YA Chronicles - a monthly subscription box that's all over instagram and booktube. Well, I'm going to be one of their September-December reps! *cue dance music* As soon as I know my discount code I'll let you guys know, they have some of the most incredible items sent out every month! 

That's it for this recap! The entire weekend was amazing, actually! I went to my old town and saw my parents who where there as well, and I stayed with some really close friends of mine, we had so much fun! I enjoyed every bit of it <3 

Stay bookish!