In Your Light
Annalie Grainger
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
What is this about?
Sixteen-year-old Lil's heart was broken when her sister Mella disappeared. There's been no trace or sighting of her since she vanished, so when Lil sees a girl lying in the road near her house she thinks for a heart-stopping moment that it's Mella.
The girl is injured and disorientated and Lil has no choice but to take her home. But something’s not right... The girl claims she's from a peaceful community called The Sisterhood of the Light, but why then does she have strange marks down her arms, and what - or who - is she running from...?
Could she hold the key to Mella's disappearance?
Download an extract
Ghost Boys
Jewell Parker Rhodes
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
What is this about?
12-year-old Jerome is a 'good' boy. He never gets into trouble, he comes from a loving, close family, does his homework and takes care of his little sister. One day he is shot by a white police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real one. As a ghost, Jerome starts to realise he is not alone, that there are many, many ghost boys, all killed for being black. Some of these boys are real children.
This is a story about race, timely in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. It also looks at the impact of the shooting on the white officer and his family and it makes it clear that no-one is left untouched by these events. Jerome watches as his family fall apart and he is unable to help them. Their grief is simply written but all the more powerful. 'I watch my family crying, talking in whispers... I can't think of anything worse than watching my family hurt.'
This is a must-read book, an emotional and involving story.
Download an extract
Boy 87
Ele Fountain
Publisher: Pushkin Children's Books
What is this about?
Shif has a best friend, and lives with his mum and sister. He's really good at maths, loves chess and wants to be an Engineer. He's living an ordinary life until he's followed by soldiers on his way home from the shops. From that moment, his life is changed forever.
Before he knows it, Shif is on his own, he's terrified and he doesn't know if he'll ever see his family again. On his incredible journey, Shif will endure unbelievable hardship and encounter people who have nothing but still show him life-changing kindness.
This is a story that will stop you in your tracks and make you really think about how other people live their lives.
Download an extract
Brightstorm: A Sky-Ship Adventure
Vashti Hardy
Publisher: Scholastic
What is this about?
Twins Arthur and Maudie receive word in Lontown that their famous explorer father died in a failed attempt to reach South Polaris. Not only that, but he has been accused of trying to steal fuel from his competitors before he died!
The twins don't believe the news, and they answer an ad to help crew a new exploration attempt in the hope of learning the truth and salvaging their family's reputation. As the winged ship Aurora sets sail, the twins must keep their wits about them and prove themselves worthy of the rest of the crew. But they also need to find some answers, fast.
Download an extract
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.
Download an extract
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.
Download an extract
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!
Download an extract
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.
Download an extract
The Stig Plays a Dangerous Game
Jon Claydon
Publisher: Piccadilly Press
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.
Download an extract
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?
Download an extract
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.
Download an extract
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.
Download an extract
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.
Download an extract
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".
Download an extract
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?
Download an extract
