Book Recommendations

An epic fantasy story set in a feudal Japanese society, this is an

exciting tale of treason, violence and death. Tomasu is a young

boy from the Hidden clan, all but wiped out by Iida Sadamu, the

cruel Lord of the Tohan clan. Saved, then adopted, educated and

renamed Takeo by the good-hearted Otori Shigeru, the boy

grows up to love and respect his guardian. However, when

Shigeru plans to marry, in order to promote peace between the

two clans, Takeo has an opportunity to avenge himself on Iida.

This is a taut, compelling love story in the Samurai warrior

tradition.

Publisher: Young Picador

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Interest Level

Age 12+

Trapped under the rubble of the 2010 Haitian earthquake, 15-year-old Shorty looks back upon his life so far. Shorty’s life in the slums of Haiti is characterised by experiences of extreme violence, poverty and loss, but still, he does not lose hope that he will be rescued from the darkness and rubble that now surrounds him.

Shorty’s story is juxtaposed with that of e18th-Century Haitian leader Toussaint l’Ouverture who led the island’s slave population in a rebellion against the French – like Toussaint, two hundred years later, Shorty is looking for freedom.

This disturbing portrayal of the harsh realities of life for both the 18th and 21st-Century inhabitants of Haiti, does not make for easy reading. However, Lake’s depiction of the deprivations experienced by generations of Haitians makes this a thought-provoking and memorable novel.

Publisher: Bloomsbury

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Interest Level

Age 15+

Shot through with danger as adolescence can be, this is a

powerful coming of age novel which combines dark realities

with optimism and naivety. When Iris’s mother takes off on a

road trip, things at home begin to fall apart. The arrival of a

family of travellers close by sets off a chain of events which

leads to tragedy. But Iris sees Trick and his family differently;

she knows he isn’t the boy his is made out to be. But, when

everything spirals out of control, will she ever be able to feel

the same about him? Beautifully written, this is a poignant story

of young love from a talented new author.

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Interest Level

Age 14+

As Zimbabwe breaks free of British colonial rule, young Lindiwe

Bishop encounters violence at close hand when her white

neighbour is murdered. But this is a domestic crime, apparently

committed by the woman's stepson, Ian, although he is released

from prison surprisingly quickly. Intrigued, Lindiwe strikes up a

covert friendship with the mysterious boy next door, until he

abruptly departs for South Africa.

Years later, Ian returns to find Lindiwe has been hiding her own

secret. It is to bring them closer together, but also test a

relationship already contending with racial prejudice and the

hostility of Lindiwe's mother. And as their country slides towards

chaos, the couple's grip on happiness becomes ever more

precarious.

Vividly evoking the traumatic history of a nation once brimming

with promise, The Boy Next Door tells an engrossing,

unpredictable story of love against the odds, and of the shadows

cast by the past.

Publisher: Sceptre

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Interest Level

Age 14+

Karl is madly in love with his girlfriend Fiorella. To prove his

love for her she wants him to write her letters, telling her

exactly how he feels. There is only one problem, Karl is dyslexic

and struggles to write. Afraid Fiorella will dump him if she finds

out, Karl seeks help from Fiorella’s favourite author and asks

him to write the letters for him, and gradually a new friendship

develops between them. But when Fiorella finds out, she

perceives Karl's actions as a betrayal.

This thought-provoking novel from acclaimed author Aidan

Chambers explores unexpected friendships and the

consequences which can result from loving the wrong person.

With its powerful storyline and complex characters, this is a

sensitive and serious teenage read.

Publisher: The Bodley Head Ltd

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Interest Level

Age 13+

Michael leads a bleak, unhappy existence, working for his

parents' horse-dealing business, occasionally attending school

and trying to come to terms with a family tragedy. Then he

meets the vibrant and rebellious Annie, who lives the other side

of the mysterious River Annan, and the two become close.

This novel evokes a strong sense of place and is a compelling

exploration of the issues of young adulthood: the search for love,

loyalty, independence and meaning.

Publisher: Red Fox

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Interest Level

Age 13+

Working in India at the Golden Tiger Reserve is Charlotte's dream job; then a horrific train crash tears her world apart. Amidst the wreckage, handsome, unsettling Jack latches on to her.

Charlotte begs her fellow backpackers to help shake him off, inviting old friend Otto to visit and play boyfriend; anxious for Charlotte, Jen and journalist Mark also arrive at the reserve.

But as Jack's behaviour gets stranger, danger from violent, tiger poachers is also mounting; Charlotte begins to suspect Jack may be involved with the poachers - and will stop at nothing...

This novel deftly combines conservation issues with a tautly plotted thriller. It's a consistent page-turner, racketing up the tension while sensitively portraying the relationships between the characters and their reactions to India.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books

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Interest Level

Age 13+

Eva is an echo, created by the mysterious Weavers as an exact

copy of someone else. Growing up in a remote cottage in the

peaceful Lake District, she is raised by a caring group of

guardians, who safeguard her for the Weavers but leave her in

no doubt of the true purpose of her existence - to replace her

‘other’, Amarra, a 15-year-old from Bangalore, if she ever dies.

Forced to study every detail of Amarra’s life, Eva knows

everything about her ‘other’ - what she does, what she eats, who

her friends are, even what it's like to kiss her boyfriend. She

must watch the same films, read the same books, and study the

same subjects - and when Amarra gets a tattoo, Eva has to get

one too. But when Amarra dies suddenly in a car crash, Eva soon

discovers that everything she has done has not prepared her for

what it will really mean to take over Amarra’s life.

Leaving behind everyone she has ever known, she sets out for

India where she must find her place within Amarra’s grieving

family - and convince Amarra’s friends, and even her boyfriend,

that Amarra is still alive. If she fails, she faces the ‘sleep order’,

which will end her life forever. Then there is the danger of the

hunters - those who think that echoes are an abomination, and

would stop at nothing to destroy them.

Publisher: Definitions

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Interest Level

Age 14+

Since the car crash that killed her beloved twin brother, Gaby

Winters has been living in the sunshine of Pandanus Beach,

trying to deal with her grief and loss. It doesn’t help that she is

plagued by terrible dreams in which she is fights and kills

horrifying demons and monsters. Then Rafa appears in the local

bar, claiming to have been a friend of her brother – and she

realises that she recognises him from her nightmares.

As the quiet life she has carved out for herself is turned upside

down in ways she could never have imagined, Gaby is forced to

accept that everything she thought she knew about herself, her

life and her family is a lie, and that her strange nightmares are a

clue to her real past, that someone has worked hard to make her

forget.

Publisher: Indigo

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Interest Level

Age 15+

17-year-old Campbell is a cynic: she doesn't believe in magic, true love, unicorns or miracles. A cancer sufferer who has been in and out of hospital for the last five years, her time is running out, and she has no energy left for hope or optimism. But Campbell's mum and younger sister Perry won't give up on her. Determined to do whatever it takes to make Cam well again, they set out on the road for a summer holiday in a mysterious town called Promise, where it's rumoured that miracles come true. Promise may be hard to find, but once you're there, anything can happen - from fish raining from the skies and flocks of flamingos to purple dandelions and everlasting sunsets. In spite of her initial reluctance, Cam soon begins to make herself at home in Promise, befriending puppies, rescuing orphan birds, making new friends, falling in love for the first time - and maybe even beginning to believe that miracles really can happen. Publisher: Razorbill

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Interest Level

Age 14+

Oskar and Eli. In very different ways, they were both victims.

Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how

they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12

year old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate

at the city's edge. He dreams about his absentee father, gets

bullied at school, and wets himself when he's frightened. Eli is

the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn't go to school

and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200 year old vampire,

forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of

fresh blood. John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel is a unique and

brilliant fusion of social novel and vampire legend, a deeply

moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty.

Publisher: Quercus

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Interest Level

Age 14+

Jackson Meyer appears to be an ordinary, albeit exceptionally

wealthy, college student in New York City. However,

appearances can be deceptive: Jackson can travel through time.

Jackson’s not sure where his time travelling ability comes from,

so with the help of his brainy friend Adam, he attempts to

discover more about his powers. Soon Jackson learns that most

of his life to date has been built around a web of lies and he no

longer knows who he can trust. To make matters worse, Jackson

begins to realise that his powers maybe putting his beloved

girlfriend, Holly, in serious danger.

This gripping time-travel novel fuses the highs and lows of first

love with the elements of a fast-paced thriller. The emotional

ending will leave readers desperate for the next instalment of

this planned trilogy.

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

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Interest Level

Age 15+

Seen through the eyes of Christopher, a mathematical genius

and Sherlock Holmes fan, who also has Asperger's syndrome (a

form of autism), the novel opens with his discovery of a

murdered dog on his neighbour's lawn.

In his search to discover the identity of the killer, Christopher

also uncovers some disturbing information about his own family,

which throws his ordered world into chaos, and he embarks on a

journey to London to find the mother he thought was dead.

This funny, touching and compelling novel was the winner of the

inaugural Booktrust Teenage Prize.

Publisher: Red Fox

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Interest Level

Age 13+

Kleber is 17 years old and at sixth form college in Paris. He’s

trying to secure himself a place in a shared flat, but things are

complicated by the fact that he is bringing his elder brother

who has learning difficulties.

Barnaby (known as ‘Simple’) is 22. While their self-interested

father wants to return Simple to a gloomy institution by the

name of Malicroix, Kleber is determined to try to provide his

brother with the life he feels he deserves, despite the

challenges both will face on the journey towards independence.

So the book sees them move into a chaotic student flat, home to

drunken revelry, tension and sexual jealousy. Some members of

this lively community prove more welcoming than others but all

will find their lives changed by the arrival of the brothers.

Some of the terminology may grate (such as terms like 'mute',

'handicapped' and 'spaz') and readers may feel uncomfortable

with the description of Simple as having a ‘mental age of three’.

However these reservations about language aside, readers are

sure to be won over by the engaging charm of Simple.

Publisher: Bloomsbury

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Interest Level

Age 14+

Agu is just a boy when war arrives at his village. His story is

shocking and painful, and completely unforgettable. Beasts of

No Nation gives us an extraordinary portrait of the chaos and

violence of war. It is a gripping and remarkable debut.

Publisher: John Murray

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Interest Level

Age 14+

In the aftermath of the car crash that killed her boyfriend, Wren

puts aside her plans for college and retreats to her father’s

isolated artist studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Her

parents and friends are worried, but all Wren wants to do is to

hide from the world and be left alone. When she least expects it,

she meets Cal, who has his own struggles to overcome, and the

two are drawn to each other. But will Wren be able to move on

from her guilt and unhappiness and open her heart to him?

This moving tale of love, loss, grief and growing up is written in

a direct, sparse but powerful first-person narrative voice.

Thoughtful, slow-paced and contemplative, it will particularly

appeal to young adult readers who enjoy stories about complex

emotions and the intricacies of relationships.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books

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Interest Level

Age 14+

Black Mamba Boy is a sumptuous and bittersweet journey book that starts in Aden in 1935 in war-torn Eritrea and Sudan, to Egypt, Palestine and to Britain. Jama, a ten-year-old from the wrong side of the tracks, a slum dweller, who, when tragedy befalls him, decides his only chance to find himself a place to call home is to find his father. The book comprises his journey. The novel is confident and boundless in its emotion-wrenching.

Publisher: HarperCollins

Shortlisted 2010 Long listed 2010

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Interest Level

Age 14+

Dante is waiting for the postman. It's 'A' level results day and he

has high hopes, but a knock on the door brings an old girlfriend

and some news that will change his plans for good.

Written from the point of view of two teenaged brothers: Dante,

who is looking forward to university and a successful career,

unexpectedly finds himself faced with the demands of full time

single parenthood, and Adam, who is happy to be gay and

makes no secret of it, but ultimately suffers from the intolerance

of those around him.

A hard-hitting novel dealing with some of the real issues facing

teenagers. This is also a moving story about father-son

relationships.

Publisher: Corgi Children's

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Interest Level

Age 14+

Seventeen-year-old Finn Maguire's life is not a happy one. He's

already dropped out of school, and is stuck working in a

depressing burger joint in order to make a bit of money to

support himself and his dad, a washed-up ex-TV actor who

always claims to be on the brink of another big break, but never

quite comes up with the goods. But when Finn arrives home to

find his father lying in a pool of blood, his already difficult life

takes a dramatic turn for the worse. Soon, Finn is in the

interview room at the local police station, being interrogated by

an aggressive policeman, and treated as if he himself is under

suspicion of having committed the crime.

Determined to prove his own innocence and to discover the

truth about his father's murder, Finn sets out to discover who

was really responsible, taking him on a dangerous journey into

London's criminal underworld.

Publisher: Doubleday

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Interest Level

Age 14+

This debut novel is set against a backdrop of 1980s Ireland and

a community dominated by the Catholic Church. Shell’s much-

loved mother is dead and her father is a feckless alcoholic,

which leaves her trying to care for her younger siblings

virtually alone.

Shell, who is a naïve dreamer of a girl, catches the eye of local

boy Declan Ronan but also feels a strong connection to the new

young priest, Father Rose.

Soon Declan sets off for a new life in America, leaving the

unworldly Shell pregnant and with no one to turn to in an

unforgiving community. When Shell finds her mother’s old pink

dress in her father’s wardrobe, she tries it on and a terrible

sequence of events unfolds.

Publisher: David Fickling Books

Short listed 2006

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Interest Level

Age 14+