yallwest 2016 | santa monica, ca

Hamilton singalong

yallwest, the sister festival to yallfest, had their second annual festival in santa monica, california at the santa monica high school and santa monica library this past weekend, and it was a blast. 

other than books galore, there were fun activities as well such as giveaways, spin the wheel and dress up in costumes at the Epic Reads tent, the HAMILTON sing-a-long, food trucks (the mac n cheese grilled cheese from the grilled cheese food truck was the best), a dj, meet + take a pic with your favorite authors, ARC giveaways, panels, other fun interactive activities/workshops and more.

every single line were so long, so it was impossible to meet all the authors. but i did get to meet nicola yoon, who was signing next to holly black (darkest part of the forest) and tarehi mafi (shatter me trilogy)! i also saw andrew of endlessly reading just a few spots in front in nicola's line!

many YA publishers set up tents as well and displayed their books in all their glory. periodically, they also did arc drops and games and other prizes. it's never a dull moment stopping by.

and yes, there was a HAMILTON sing-a-long. confession: this was the first time i ever heard a hamilton song gasp! and i wouldn't have it any other way. the yallwest ambassadors and volunteers were absolutely outstanding. watch the video here.
and that's a wrap! although i only went for 8 hours, it was still so much fun. surrounded by books and readers alike, games, bookish friends, authors, games, music, FOOD. until next year, yallwest.

authors i met:

nicola yoon (everything, everything)

evelyn skye (the crown's game)

erin summerill (ever the hunted)

bloggers i met:

andrew from endlessly reading

stacie from shybooknerd

books i obtained:

ruined by (bought)

what light by jay asher (arc drop)

our chemical hearts by (arc drop)

we know it was you by (arc drop)

out of my mind by (won at epic reads game)