Toffee
Sarah Crossan
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
What is this about?
Allison has run away from home and with nowhere to live finds herself hiding out in the shed of what she thinks is an abandoned house. But the house isn't empty. An elderly woman named Marla, with dementia, lives there - and she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past called Toffee.
Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be. And so, Toffee is who she becomes. After all, it means she has a place to stay. There are worse places she could be.
But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real friend, she begins to ask herself -where is home? What is a family? And most importantly, who am I, really?
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Everest: The Remarkable Story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
Alexandra Stewart
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
What is this about?
In the late morning of May 29th 1953, the sun was shining brightly on the roof of the world, a gentle breeze was blowing and two men were there to witness it for the first time ever . Their names were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay and the roof of the world was Everest.
This is the breathtaking story of how two very different yet equally determined men battled frost-biting temperatures, tumbling ice rocks, powerful winds and death-defying ridges to climb the world's highest mountain.
Join these two unlikely heroes on the most amazing of adventures and discover the impact of hundreds of men and women that helped Hillary and Tenzing achieve their goal. But triumphs can be marred with tragedy as not everyone who climbs Everest survives ...
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No Ballet Shoes in Syria
Catherine Bruton
Publisher: Nosy Crow Ltd
What is this about?
Aya is eleven years old and has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria. When Aya stumbles across a local ballet class, the formidable dance teacher spots her exceptional talent and believes that Aya has the potential to earn a prestigious ballet scholarship.
But Aya and her family must fight to be allowed to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves and to find Aya's father - separated from the rest of the family during the journey from Syria.
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Becoming Jo
Sophie McKenzie
Publisher: Scholastic
What is this about?
Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: four sisters whose stories are forever imprinted in our hearts. But what if their stories had different endings?
Reimagined by bestselling author Sophie McKenzie and told throughthe eyes of everybody's favourite sister, Becoming Jo perfectly captures the magic, exuberance and spirit of the original and much-loved book.
Over 150 years after its publication, Becoming Jo proves just how timeless the characters and themes found within Little Women really are.
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My So-Called Bollywood Life
Nisha Sharma
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
What is this about?
Winnie has an apparently perfect boyfriend, and according to a prediction, he should be the love of her life. But now that Winnie has called time on their relationship, can she carve her own future without worrying about who she is meant to be with?
To a backdrop of Bollywood movies, the school film club and her home life, author Nisha Sharma follows Winnie gradually discover that life isn't always like a Bollywood movie...
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Lenny's Book of Everything
Karen Foxlee
Publisher: Pushkin Children's Books
What is this about?
LENNY'S BOOK OF EVERYTHING is Lenny's account of her childhood and growing up with her younger brother, Davey, who has a condition that makes him grow too quickly.
It's the 1970s and the children live with their mother, a single parent, in a flat. Money is tight and they are often looked after by their Hungarian neighbour, Mrs Garpard.
The siblings are close and through Lenny, we discover more about their games and dreams, and the prize set of encyclopedias they win. But behind this lies an ever-growing fear about Davey, and the reason why he won't stop growing...
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The Boy Who Steals Houses
C.G. Drews
Publisher: Orchard Books
What is this about?
Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he's ever known. Now Sam's trying to build a new life for them.
He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he's caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing - each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.
But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.
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Extraordinary Birds
Sandy Stark-McGinnis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
What is this about?
December knows everything about birds, and everything about getting kicked out of foster homes. All she has of her biological mum is the book she left behind, The Complete Guide to Birds, Volume One, and a photo with a message: 'In flight is where you'll find me.' December knows she's truly a bird, just waiting for the day she transforms and flies away to reunite with her mum. The scar on her back must be where her wings have started to blossom - she just needs to practise and to find the right tree. She has no choice; it's the only story that makes sense.
When she's placed with Eleanor, a new foster mum who runs a taxidermy business and volunteers at a wildlife rescue, December begins to see herself and what home means in a new light. But the story she tells herself about her past is what's kept December going this long, and she doesn't know if she can let go of it ... even if changing her story might mean that she can finally find a place where she belongs
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The Gifted, the Talented and Me
William Sutcliffe
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
What is this about?
Fifteen-year-old Sam is not a famous vlogger, he's never gone viral, and he doesn't want to be the Next Big Thing. In fact he's ordinary and proud of it.
None of which was a problem until Dad got rich and Mum made the whole family move to London. Now Sam's off to the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented, where everyone's busy planning Hollywood domination or starting alt-metal psychedelica crossover bands.
Sam knows he'll never belong, even if he wanted to. And that's before he ends up on stage wearing nothing but a fur onesie ...
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Night Walker
Ali Sparkes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
What is this about?
Elena, Matt, and Tima are Night Speakers. They wake up at the same time, every night, and since the beginning of these wake-up calls they have all had the power to speak any language. And that doesn't stop with humans.
Something weird is going on at the hospital-children are going in, and not coming out. The Night Speakers are investigating, but even they, with their incredible powers of communication with the animal world, are struggling to find out the truth.
But Spin's got a ringside seat. Because Spin's got a secret, and he's about to come out of the shadows
This is the third standalone book in the adventure-packed Night Speakers series.
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All the Invisible Things
Orlagh Collins
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
What is this about?
With Pez, the days felt endless - cycling, climbing trees, sucking sour sweets till our tongues burned. I'd give anything to be that girl again.
For four years Vetty Lake has been keeping her heart in hiding. Since her mum died and her family moved out of London, it's felt so much safer not to tell people how she really feels. She's never even told anyone she's attracted to girls as well as boys.
But now Vetty's 17 and coming back to London she's determined to start living out loud. She's convinced that reconnecting with her childhood best friend Pez is the key. She was always fearless around him.
But when she sees Pez again, he's different. Guarded. It's like their special connection never existed. And suddenly Vetty's sure he's been hiding too.
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Beauty Sleep
Kathryn Evans
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
What is this about?
Laura can't remember who she is. But the rest of the world knows. Because Laura is famous - a dying girl who was frozen until she could be cured. A real-life Sleeping Beauty.
But what happens when you wake up one day and the world has moved on forty years? Could you build a new life - while solving the mystery of what happened to the old one?
A darkly twisted thriller plunging a pre-tech girl into a futuristic world.
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Awake in the World
Jason Gurley
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
What is this about?
Vanessa has been reaching for the stars since she was a little girl, and is determined to get into her dream Ivy League university to study astronomy.
Zach is a talented artist, but he's not even thinking about college. He needs to stay home and support his family, working on the same oil rig where his dad was killed in an accident.
Their future looks poles apart... but then again, opposites attract.
A gorgeous romance about that special person who changes everything - perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven and Nicola Yoon.
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All We Could Have Been
T. E. Carter
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
What is this about?
Teenaged Lexi is starting at a new school, again, and hoping that - this time - she can last a year. Because she has had to leave every other school when her past has caught up with her...
Every year, she starts somewhere else under a new name, hiding in plain sight for as long as she can manage. Her record is 134, but it's senior year now and if she can make it till June, she can disappear into the real world. Maybe a big city, where no one recognizes her and no one knows about her brother and what he did.
But this time things are different. This time there's her new friend, Ryan, who makes her believe that she belongs somewhere. This time there's Marcus, the boy who looks at her in a way no one has before. This time she's actually started to miss her older brother, Scott, even though she knows she shouldn't. He's the reason that she's been in hiding away from the world, and from herself.
It's just 162 days, but for Lexi that's a few days too many. Because it turns out you can't really run away from who you are. Eventually, the truth will always catch up with you.
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Music and Malice in Hurricane Town
Alex Bell
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
What is this about?
Jude Lomax scrapes a living playing the trumpet on the neon streets of Baton Noir. Then she is invited to play at the funeral of the infamous cajou queen, Ivory Monette. Passing through the cemetery gates, Jude finds herself possessed by the murdered queen's spirit. And Ivory won't rest until she's found the person responsible for her death.
If Jude wants to be rid of the vengeful spirit, she must take a journey deep into the dangerous underbelly of the city, from the swampy depths of the Black Bayou to the velvet opulence of the vampires' secret jazz clubs. But as Jude untangles Ivory's web of secrets, she is confronted with a few dark truths from her own past...
The first in an eagerly awaited series from the author of FROZEN CHARLOTTE,
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