Dark Matter: Deception: Book 2
Teri Terry
Publisher: Orchard Books
What is this about?
Deception is the second book in the Dark Matter series (the first is Contagion) by Teri Terry and it is another rollercoaster ride. As the epidemic spreads, survivors are being hunted like witches, for the authorities fear their strange new powers. Kai is desperate to trace Shay, who tricked him and disappeared. Meanwhile, Shay is searching for the truth behind the origins of the epidemic.
As the story progresses, we learn more about each character and about the deadly virus that has spread the country. There are also more survivors to get to know... The plot is pacy and full of twists and turns that will keep you engaged until the end.
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Mary's Monster: Love, Madness and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein
Lita Judge
Publisher: Wren & Rook
What is this about?
Through extensive research, Lita Judge has crafted a beautiful biography of Mary Shelley. She was the creator of Frankenstein (or 'The Modern Prometheus') and this year, 2018, is the 200th anniversary of its publication.
Delving into Mary's journals, letters and later biographies, Lita tells Mary's story through free verse, supported by stunningly evocative black and white illustrations. The history of how her novel, Frankenstein, came to be; the experiences that shaped her sorrow-filled life, the emotional journey of its 'birth', are all carefully told through Lita Judge's text and the images she created to support it. A beautiful and remarkable book.
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Flying Tips for Flightless Birds
Kelly McCaughrain
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
What is this about?
Flying Tips for Flightless Birds brings the passion and commitment of life behind the 'big top' curtains to life. The story is told by Finch, twin of Birdie, together with Birdie's blog about circus life.
The twins, and Finch in particular, go out of their way to be different from their peers, especially in what they wear and how they act, and they seem reluctant to befriend anyone else at their school.
However, layer by layer, Finch's views are peeled away to reveal why he is so afraid of making new friends, together with Birdie's gentle suggestions that perhaps it was time they did. A near tragedy on the trapeze brings the twins' relationship into focus and also sets them free to discover their own identities.
This is a warm-hearted story - it's also brilliantly funny!
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Night Speakers
Ali Sparkes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
What is this about?
The Breakfast Club meets The Rest Of Us Just Live Here... An unlikely trio of teenagers are drawn together when they all wake up at exactly time, 1:34am, every night. Something strange is going on, and they';re desperate to discover exactly what.
Together, meeting secretly in the dead of night whenever they can, they discover they can speak any language - even that of animals... Then they are drawn into an adventure as supernatural elements of the world around them are revealed.
This is a great mix of regular everyday struggles with parents, troubles at school, awkward friendships - and ancient superstitions, beliefs and beings. Night Speakers: Sleepless is an incredibly moreish book.
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The Stig Plays a Dangerous Game
Jon Claydon
Publisher: Piccadilly Press Ltd
What is this about?
Sam Wheeler is the new boy in town, but it's a strange town. Everyone is engrossed with a new video game. While a student at the local school has disappeared, no one seems to care. Everyone is busy trying to please the billionaire who recently moved in the the mansion on the hill. And of course there have been sightings of a mysterious figure wearing white racing overalls. Together with his friends, Minnie Cooper and Ford Harrison, Sam sets out to save the town once and for all.
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Make Me Awesome
Ben Davis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
What is this about?
Hey you! Yes, you! Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and thought Wow! My life is really rubbish? I can tell from looking at you that you probably have. But I'm here to tell you that all that is about to change.
Why not climb aboard the Make Me Awesome programme and buy a one way ticket to Awesometown, calling at Successville, Dollarsdale, and Camp You're the Greatest!
My name is Chuck Willard and I CAN make you AWESOME, just like me!
(Well, maybe not that awesome, I'm one of a kind)
When Freddie Smallhouse signs up to the Make Me Awesome programme, he's ready to turn himself from zero to hero, all with the help of his idol, Chuck Willard. Freddie embarks on various schemes to make himself awesome safe in the knowledge that Chuck is always there, at the end of an email, to give him lots of personal advice . . . isn't he?
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Things I'm Seeing Without You
Peter Bognanni
Publisher: Chicken House Ltd
What is this about?
Seventeen-year-old Tess talks to Jonah every day; through texts, tweets and emails. So when she discovers Jonah has committed suicide, her world implodes. Feeling heartbroken and traumatized Tess unexpectedly finds herself at her estranged father's house, wondering how well she really knew Jonah. Now, having dropped out of high school, struggling with questions about life and loss, Tess and her father come together to try and find the answers.
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Truly, Wildly, Deeply
Jenny McLachlan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
What is this about?
Annie is starting college. She can't wait. No more school, no more uniform, and no one telling her what to do. It's the start of a new adventure and Annie's not going to let anyone or anything get in the way of that. Freedom matters to Annie. She has cerebral palsy and she's had to fight hard to get the world to see her for who she truly is.
Then she meets Fab. He's six foot two, Polish and a passionate believer in.well, just about everything, but most of all Annie and good old fashioned romance. The moment Fab sees Annie, he's wildly drawn to her and declares she must be his girl. Annie's horrified. She doesn't want to be anyone's anything, especially if it means losing her independence.
But then Annie finds herself falling for Fab. As things go deeply wrong, Annie realises that love can make you do wild, crazy things, and so she sets out to win his heart with a romantic gesture of truly epic proportions!
Fans fell in love with the warmth, wit, romance and fierce friendships in Flirty Dancing, Love Bomb, Sunkissed and Star Struck. Jenny McLachlan writes the best kind of real-life fiction - with big themes and characters you'll love, her books go straight to your heart.
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Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
What is this about?
Zelie remembers when Orisha hummed with magic, but that all changed when their ruthless king ordered that all maji were to be killed. At the age of six she watched as her mother was chained and hung from a tree outside her home because of her powers.
During this king's reign magic and dark skinned people with white hair, now called Diviners, are hated. Ten years on, Zelie has been given a chance to bring the magic back and with the help of her brother, a princess and, on occasion the crown prince, she takes the chance to strike back at the king.
This debut YA novel has breathless pacing, wonderful worldbuilding that lets your imagination run wild and a strong heroine that the reader roots for.
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Tender
Eve Ainsworth
Publisher: Scholastic
What is this about?
Marty and Daisy spend their lives pretending. Marty pretends his mum's grip on reality isn't slipping by the day. Daisy pretends her parents aren't exhausting themselves while they look after her incurably ill brother. They both pretend they're fine. But the thing about pretending is, at some point, it has to stop. And then what?
Touching on mental health, family, friendship and the pressures that teenage carers face, as author Cat Clarke says, TENDER is "a compassionate, compelling and unflinching novel".
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Where the World Ends
Geraldine McCaughrean
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
What is this about?
Every summer Quill and his friends are put ashore on a remote sea stac to hunt birds. But this summer, no one arrives to take them home.
Surely nothing but the end of the world can explain why they've been abandoned - cold, starving and clinging to life, in the grip of a murderous ocean. How will they survive?
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Begone the Raggedy Witches (The Wild Magic Trilogy, Book One)
Celine Kiernan
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
What is this about?
On the night that Aunty dies the Raggedy Witches come for Mup's mam. Pale, cold, relentless, they will do anything to coax Mam back to Witches Borough. When they kidnap Mup's dad, Mup and her mam must leave the mundane world to rescue him. But Mam is strange on this side of the border - striding, powerful, and distant. Even if they can save Dad, Mup is not sure anything will ever be the same again...
A fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Frances Hardinge, Katherine Rundell and Sally Gardner.
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A Far Away Magic
Amy Wilson
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
What is this about?
Starting a new school after the strange death of her parents, Angel doesn't want to be bothered with friends, yet finds herself drawn to Bavar, another loner, who seems determined to merge into the background. Angel can sense something strange and different about him and a friendship develops between them. As she comes to know him better, Angel learns that Bavar is responsible for trying to protect the world from raksasas, monsters trying to enter the world through a magical rift. Determined to break the cycle, Bavar is trying to find his own way on life. However, his story and Angel's are more closely linked than either could imagine.
Told from alternating viewpoints, A Far Away Magic is a compelling, unusual story, full of magic and mystery.
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Secrets of a Teenage Heiress
Katy Birchall
Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd
What is this about?
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to grow up in a glamorous hotel? If so, this book is for you! Flick is a confident, lovable but ever so slightly self-obsessed teenager who seems to have a knack for getting into trouble. She is the daughter of the owner of Hotel Royale, the grandest hotel in London who finds herself grounded after being discovered hiding inside Prince Gustav's wardrobe (don't ask!) Childhood friend Cal comes to her aid to help her pull off a plan to get her to the Christmas Ball.
There is a wonderful chemistry and humour between these too. This book contains stunning surroundings, fabulous and not so fabulous friendships, a sprinkle of celebrity style - and Fritz, the adorable dachshund with his own set of social media followers. It is a feel-good read with great characterisation.
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Tin
Padraig Kenny
Publisher: Chicken House Ltd
What is this about?
Christopher is a 'proper' boy, a real boy, orphaned in a fire. He works with an engineer who creates mechanicals. These mechanicals are Christopher's best friends. Then there is a devastating accident and Christopher's world is turned upside down; life will never be the same again.
Set in an alternative 1930s and filled with richly drawn characters, this book explores what it means to be human and themes of love and friendship. It is a fast-paced adventure with echoes of the Wizard of Oz and Northern Lights.
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