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Find out moreThe books in this section have been given a primary age range of 13+. There comes a point in a young life when the time is right to move on from the books and children’s authors they enjoyed as a child to reading books and authors that offer greater challenges as they grow up into adulthood. The books in this 13+ category are exactly that. They bridge that gap to introduce you and your teenager to authors who write for that early teen reader but also adult authors who also write for a teenage / young adult audience. The books in this section are suitable for 13-15 year olds. The books in this section might also be given a secondary age range. Some are suitable for 11+ year olds reading above their age. Please note, content & subject matter will be suitable for a 11 year old. Non-Fiction in this section is often fascinating and educational to a wider age range.
A glorious silver anniversary edition of J.K. Rowling’s classic first story, featuring the original 1997 cover illustration by Thomas Taylor and exciting bonus material to celebrate 25 years of Harry Potter magic. This is where the adventure begins, as Harry Potter discovers that he is no ordinary boy but a wizard of great reknown, as well as expected at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Moreover, at Hogwarts, he encounters "He Who Must Not Be Named", a master of magic whose ambition is more dark and terrifying than Harry can possibly imagine.
June 2022 Book of the Month | Multi-stranded and suffused in sapphic love, Cynthia So’s If You Still Recognise Me debut is a compassionate, cute ode to fandom, finding love, and finding your people. The novel also deftly explores the intersection of sexism and racism, homophobia, and abusively manipulative relationships while remaining a super-sweet coming of age story that’s populated by characters who will make many a heart melt. Elsie is British-Chinese, bisexual, and has a serious crush on Ada, who she met on a comic fandom forum. Though separated by the Atlantic, Elsie is about to disclose her feelings when Joan, her best friend from childhood, returns to study at Oxford Uni after moving to Hong Kong. Cue all sorts of unexpected complications. Elsie is also still struggling with the lingering effects of an abusively controlling ex, whom she now suspects is one of those “men who see Asian women as submissive and obedient playthings they can dump all their problems on and then discard.” In addition, Elsie’s family is reeling from the death of Gung Gung, her grandad. Why hadn’t they visited him for eight years, and why is her Uncle Kevin so absent? At least Elsie has her new gay, and possibly asexual, comic store co-worker to turn to. A quest to do something wonderful for Ada and her family facilitates a superb representation of older lesbian, gay, bi and non-binary characters – individuals leading gorgeously fulfilling lives who inspire Elsie as she finds herself falling deeply in love, resulting in a sparkling, satisfyingly sincere summer read.
June 2022 Book of the Month | Interest Age Teen Reading Age 8+ | This is a story that we need to be told. A Carnegie Medal winner, Tanya Landman is one of our finest writers. She is particularly good at writing about historical events, picking out their relevance to our lives today with an unflinching honesty. This short novel is set in the decade before the second World War. Elsie and her family live in a packed, noisy tenement block just off Cable Street in the heart of Stepney. The family are poor, but so are all their neighbours and, despite the daily arguments between Mrs Smith and Mrs Rosenberg, they get along. Until the arrival of Oswald Mosley that is. Elsie’s story details the rise of Mosley and his party, and the impact it has in Stepney, turning neighbours into enemies, bringing friends into danger, and playing to the very worst in people. The story concludes with the famous Battle of Cable Street when ordinary East Enders – in defiance of the Home Secretary and the police – bravely barred Mosley’s Blackshirt bully boys from marching through their home. The events are as shocking now as they were in 1936 and truths about the reception Mosley received from the British establishment will make you feel ‘sweaty and awkward’ as Elsie says. The facts speak for themselves, but Elsie’s voice is clear, direct, full of anger at the injustice she sees.
Exploring pertinent themes of identity, racism and resistance, A.M. Dassu’s Fight Back is a powerful, moving triumph. A gripping story that will support and inspire young readers who experience Islamophobia and racism, and enlighten all readers on how to be a better ally. Thirteen-year-old Aaliyah is into reading, K-pop, and loves her best friends Lisa and Sukhi. But life as a Muslim isn’t easy in a society that ripples with racism. After a terrorist bombing, she’s passed a note in class - “Is the London attacker one of your uncles? I heard your dad got the weapons from Pakistan for him”. Meanwhile, Aaliyah’s lawyer mum is abused in a supermarket for wearing a hijab. Then, when another attack happens closer to home – very close, in fact – the abuse escalates and Aaliyah is ghosted by Lisa, whose controlling older brother Darren holds despicable “take back our country” views. Though hurt, Aaliyah’s response is one of pride and courage. She decides “wearing a hijab would empower me to be true to myself… I’d show everyone a proper Muslim wasn’t anything like the few bad ones plastered all over the news. It was time I came out and was confident about who I was. It was time to fight.” When her school bans hijabs in response to complaints from pupils and parents, and Darren organises a “BRING BACK OUR SAFE WHITE NEIGHBOURHOODS” protest, Aaliyah decides that enough is enough and speaks out at a public event. Perfectly pitched and paced, and radiant with Aaliyah’s courage, Fight Back is an engaging must-read that challenges racist stereotypes as it shines with the vitality of empathy, friendship and positive protest.
June 2022 Book of the Month | With an opening that couldn’t be more arresting – “Corpses. Each one female and young…They’re mounted on stakes at the mouth of the jungle” – Namina Forna's The Merciless Ones, sequel to her powerful patriarchy-confronting debut, The Gilded Ones, presents a thrilling return to the richly-evoked kingdom of Otera. Some six months after she freed the Gilded Ones goddesses from imprisonment in the mountains and promised to “fight for all the women of Otera”, Deka is alerted to the rise of a dark power that she and her army must quell, alongside adapting to changes in her own gifts. Driven by Deka’s fiercely indomitable quest to save the kingdom, gender identity and sexuality are explored alongside themes of feminist empowerment - “Male and female…The mere thought unsettles us. Humans like to sever themselves according to these lines, although they are not so simply sorted…They force them to choose – male, female One or the other." With a whole lot of snaking twists, betrayals and impossible decisions, this is YA fantasy at its most fire-cracking, and thought-provoking with it.
Romantic love, family love, friend love, and selflove — Ebony LaDelle’s Love Radio debut is an uplifting joy, with two adorable teen characters teetering on the cusp of adulthood while dealing with big problems from the past, and questions about the future. Dani definitely isn’t looking for love. Not after what happened when her former friend left her alone with that college boy. And not when she’s so set on going to college and becoming a writer. A writer with the impact of her heroines, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and bell hooks. Meanwhile, Prince (AKA DJ LoveJones), is obsessed with music, and offers love advice on his hugely popular radio show around caring for his sick mom and adorable little brother Mook. When they meet, the fiery sparks can’t be ignored, so Dani agrees to giving Prince three dates to convince her not to swear off love. Cue a stack of sweetness from Prince (the dates he comes up with are so, so thoughtful), and Dani doing a whole lot of soul-searching. Alongside delivering a beautiful, exhilarating love story, the author weaves in Black history, and shows the power of kids seeing themselves represented in books. It also offers gorgeous representations of family love, support, respect and fun gatherings that allow everyone to thrive. All of which means Love Radio is inspirational, empowering, and super-sweet — what’s not to love?
This enchanting, empowering sequel to This Poison Heart, one of our 2021 favourites, twists, turns and captures the heart through exquisite storytelling and world-building. Blending compellingly relatable characters with ancient magic, Greek myth, and a sweeping quest to save loved ones, it’s as lush and thrilling as the kind of flamboyant botanicals its endearing protagonist has the command to conjure. Briseis has powerful ancestresses, and the power to create and control plants. Though she’s long worked to hide her gifts, she now has an opportunity to save her mother’s soul. In order to find the last piece of the Absyrtus Heart that will enable her to realise this, she must turn to her blood relatives and find her place in her ancient magical lineage. Briseis’ quest sees her voyage to a Greek island and battle with enemies who are descended from Jason, Medea’s vindictive husband. With tension mounting as time slips away and it seems as if deadly foliage has taken a stranglehold, love blossoms for Briseis too, making this consummately exhilarating.
Kicking off a new series in enchanting, gripping style, Brigid Kemmerer’s Forging Silver into Stars will thrill and delight fans of The Cursebreaker series that saw the author garner global acclaim for creating fabulous YA fantasy twists on timelessly appealing fairy tales. Forging Silver into Stars heralds a heady return to the richly-evoked worlds of Emberfall and Syhl Shallow, and here we also re-meet Tycho of A Heart So Fierce and Broken fame, who voices one of the novel’s three narratives. Four years after Grey took control of Emberfall, magic is still outlawed in Syhl Shallow, and Tycho now works as the King’s Courier, entrusted to relay confidential messages between the two kingdoms. In this context we meet best friends Jax and Callyn, who know first-hand how magic can lead to devastation, for magic killed Callyn’s parents, magic did nothing to help Jax in the wake of a debilitating accident, and magic cannot rescue them from the tax collector’s threats. Alongside their immediate problems, magic is rising in the wider world, with a magesmith married to their queen, and a stranger inviting them to help an anti-magic, anti-establishment plot in return for much-needed silver. Enter Tycho - instructed to root out the conspirator, handsome Tycho turns Jax’s head and unleashes torrent of conflict. Appealingly familiar to fans of The Cursebreaker, this is also fresh, and zings with tension and the tingles of romance, with the stage well set for future twists and escalations.
Telling a time-slip tale of 1980s homophobia and friendship, David Valdes’ You Spin Me Right Round is a thrilling rollercoaster ride of humour and a heart - think Back to the Future with a 21st-century twist. Luis Gonzales, a drama-loving 17-year-old fashionista of Cuban heritage, is his high school’s Student Body President and on the Prom Council, determined to change school policy so he and his boyfriend Cheng can go to prom together - the “opposite gender” guest policy sucks. Reeling from having his dream quashed at a meeting, Luis is transported to a 1985 incarnation of his school, back to when his mom and dad attended. “I’m here, I’m queer, it’s 1985 - get used to it”, Luis announces with bravado, but life for a gay brown teenager in a predominantly white Christian school in the 80’s is far from easy. With time ticking away, and Luiz desperate to find a way to save closeted Chaz from homophobia and get back to his mom and Cheng, readers are in for a trip that’s thought- provoking and funny, with Luiz’s slick, witty voice propelling the drama at breakneck speed.
From an author acclaimed for her ability to tackle important global issues in the personal context of well realised and nuanced characters, we have a story set after a world-wide antibiotics crisis. Children must be protected until their immune systems have fully developed because a simple infection could kill. All schooling is on-line until the age of 14 and digital technology is central to all aspects of life. This theme is brilliantly worked through and will really resonate with readers who have experienced lockdowns, increased online shopping, online learning and of course not being able to meet their friends. They will understand the nuances of facing live interactions for the first time as these children join their designated boarding schools. How does live socialising work? What are the cues that help you understand behaviour? This would not be an Ele Fountain novel without also a cracking mystery to solve and wider political implications to consider, such as the risks to autonomy created by algorithms and realising just how easy it is to lose a digital identity. We learn that we need to watch very carefully how far big tech and big pharma can control our lives. This is a really rewarding read for children who are old enough to make the connections with the experiences they have lived through and who will be entirely gripped by the dilemmas, both ethical and physical which confront the main characters, as this gripping adventure plays out. Highly recommended
An intriguing, thoughtful and poignant exploration of what makes us ‘us’ that explores grief with a deft and gentle touch. A coming-of-age story with an incidental LGBTQ relationship and a technological twist. Exploring social media, memory and identity, there are lots of discussion points for readers. Perfect for fans of Show Us Who You Are, A Pocketful of Stars and Troofriend.
Research shows, sadly, that boys and men are just as concerned about their appearance as girls and women with all the problems and misery that can entail. That makes this book particularly important. It talks to young men clearly and openly about the issues surrounding body image and is full of advice on how they can protect their health and learn to understand and be happy with their bodies. There are tips from experts throughout but even more importantly, quotes from boys themselves and a question-and-answer format makes it very clear and accessible. Covering everything from developments during puberty to coping with social media and healthy eating, it’s comprehensive and engaging, big on reassurance backed up by evidence and lived experience. A must have for schools, GPs and parents of boys.
June 2022 Graphic Novel of the Month | A gripping, emotional and intimate look into the life of a Black family living through the early months of 2020, Oxygen Mask serves as a moving reminder of the human spirit.
Touching on major moments in the story of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights including the Stonewall Uprising, the first Gay Pride Rally and the dazzling history of drag and the ballroom scene, We Are Your Children is a wide-ranging and inclusive account of a multifaceted movement, with detailed and characterful colour artwork. This book showcases figures from queer history like Harvey Milk, Julian Hows, Carla Toney, Crystal LaBeija, We Wha, Vincent Jones, Marsha P. Johnson, Alan Turing, Sylvia Rivera and many more. From the secret slang adopted by gay Londoners the 60s, to the decades of sit-ins and marches, there are countless fascinating stories to be told: stories of resistance, friendship, love, fear, division, unity and astonishing perseverance in the face of discrimination and oppression.
‘The Adventures of Jimmy Crikey: The Emerald Lake’ by Wallace E Briggs is the fourth book that follows an alien orphan Jimmy McGellan, nicknamed Jimmy Crikey by bullies due to his unusually large feet. Now Jimmy is a teenager, and while he lives happily on earth among his four witch guardians and has lots of friends in different realms, he feels like something is missing. With the same fast pacing as previous books, we not only see Jimmy help the Aquamites of Emerald Lake from flesh eating serpents but also fall in love. Although this is the fourth book in the series I think that there is sufficient information provided to read this as a standalone, or to read the books slightly out of order but I would suggest that to get the most enjoyment out of this book and get to know all of the characters, it would be best to follow Jimmy’s adventures from the beginning. Combining both fantasy and sci-fi, The Adventures of Jimmy Crikey are great for readers who like a sure thing, who want adventure without too much tension and jeopardy. Amongst the magic and the witchcraft, as always it’s the things that make Jimmy different are the things that enable him to help his friends and keep the inhabitants of the Emerald Lake safe, which is a great message for young readers. Perhaps catering to the older end of the middle-grade audience, readers aged 11/12 looking for a fast paced adventure could enjoy this series. Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading4Kids Ambassador
A unique family from a magical house finds themselves in a pickle that spans space and time. The Redmaynes in ‘The Little House on Everywhere Street’ are a little different from your average family. And that’s before you take into account the tardis-like house they live in and the curious treasures found within it. The children, Emile, Felice and George are lucky to each go to school in three seperate countries (Felice in Paris, George in New York and Emille in London), but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what they discover their house can do. This is a story with a family at its heart. No one member of the family takes the lead, as the reader spends time with each of the children as well as parents Mr and Mrs Redmayne. Light humour and cream teas abound this story as the delicate tightrope the house and the family exist on, is shaken by naive and ill-advised tampering. There’s plenty of scope to expand on the Redmaynes’ story in the future. I would be interested to know more about the reasons for the children’s separate schooling - it would appear Mr and Mrs Redmayne chose where George went to school in New York and when I was reading initially I did wonder about the reason three separate countries had been selected. Overall, I liked the concept of this book. I found that the author gave plenty of time to develop the characters and the multiple settings and timeframes had been incorporated into the storyline seamlessly. A lot of background research and knowledge must have gone into making each setting feel authentic to the reader. This is a madcap adventure which I would say catered to a 10-12 age bracket in plot and theme with the exception of the single use of a swear word. As it is, readers around the age of 12 may find this a humorous adventure. Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading4Kids Ambassador
*Now an acclaimed live-action Netflix series!* Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. This joyful trip into the LGBTQ+ world of Heartstopper is the perfect gift for anyone who loves the graphic novels or Netflix TV series - from Alice Oseman, bestselling author and winner of the YA Book Prize. Now in full colour for the first time! The full-colour Heartstopper Yearbook is packed full of exclusive content from the Heartstopper universe - including never-before-seen illustrations, an exclusive mini-comic, a look back at Alice's Heartstopper artwork over the years, character profiles, trivia, and insights into her creative process - all narrated by a cartoon version of Alice herself. By the winner of the YA Book Prize, Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie's lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.
From the author of Black Heart Blue and Gloves Off - both LoveReading favourites - Wrecked is a breathtakingly affecting novel-in-verse that sees teenager Joe stand trial for causing a fatal car crash. Exploring thought-provoking themes around toxic relationships, self-preservation, truth and betrayal in an ultra-accessible, engagingly authentic style, this comes highly recommended for reluctant readers. Framed within the context of Joe’s excruciatingly tense trial at which he pleads not guilty to a charge of causing death by reckless driving, his narrative slips back and forth through key moments in his life, most crucially how he got together with Imogen, his girlfriend of many years, who was with him when the crash happened. When the police arrived at the scene, Joe was said to be the driver. “The truth is in hiding, it’s scared, it’s weak/ You see, I’ve been waiting so long for my chance to speak” - so goes Joe’s internal monologue before we hear evidence that tears his character apart. But someone is lying and, little by little, we learn more about Imogen, how she “lifted my shell and prodded deep underneath at flesh unprotected, she bit with sharp teeth - she stole chunks of my certainty.” Alongside the unfolding of past events and the present-day trial, additional devastation is unravelling in Joe’s family. Wrecked is an exceptional addition to the canon of contemporary novels-in-verse for young adult readers (see also Punching the Air, The Poet X, Clap When You Land, Rebound, Black Flamingo, Gut Feelings and the work of Sarah Crossan), and mention must be made of the book’s layout too – words and letters stutter, tumble, slip and fall across and along the pages, stirringly reverberating Joe’s state of mind. We explore the powerful themes in Wrecked with Louisa Reid in a Q&A.
In English teacher Louise Reid’s first venture into the verse novel, she uses the form magnificently using layout and different font sizes and styles to show as well as tell Lily’s story. We meet her in the opening poem, Roadkill at her lowest ebb. Bullied at school and battered and abused outside it, betrayed by childhood ‘friends’ and mentally trapped in a self-critical prison. This is an unflinching portrait of a girl who does not fit in and who hates herself. But it is also a picture of a family in poverty and the link between poverty and obesity is well known, but not often acknowledged and ‘fat shaming” is a particularly insidious and dangerous form of bullying where the victims are often blamed. The author also gives a voice to Bernadette, the loving mother equally trapped in her own misery, overweight and virtually housebound and to Lily’s feelings for her which veer back and forth from love to shame and blame. The layers of characterisation and backstory are subtly and delicately revealed in this beautifully paced narrative. Equally touching is the depiction of her father, quiet, loyal and desperate to help. It is at his suggestion that Lily takes up his old hobby of boxing. With training and the gym comes fitness, but more importantly other support structures and tentative friendships and Lily’s bravery helps Bernadette take some positive steps too. Their journey is not easy but never anything other than utterly convincing and psychologically authentic. This important novel has home truths for both sexes to ponder and a cleverly neutral cover and the highly accessible verse format means that it can be promoted to even the most reluctant of readers. We explore the powerful themes in Louisa's follow-up verse novel Wrecked in a Q&A with the author.
From killers to conservationists, the story of three generations of the Petersen family, their history as whale hunters and later their mission to save the great whales and our planet. Summer, the Present. Fiery and fi erce, computer geek and eco-activist, Abby is holidaying with hergrandmother on an island off the Norwegian coast. Having developed and befriendedan AI computer, Moonlight, she hopes to organise a global protest. On the island, shelearns her great grandfather rejected the family's whaling livelihood, instead creatingthe fi rst whale song recording. Inspired by him, Abby and Moonlight translate thewhales' songs and discover their stories. Whales are under threat, their numbersrapidly dwindling. Abby is determined to help. Autumn, 30 years later. The world's ecosystems are collapsing. There is no sight or sound of whales. Abby, herdaughter, Tonje, and a now almost conscious Moonlight live on a isolated island in the Atlantic. They search for any sign of whales, but so far there is only silence. Winter, the future. Tonje's search was not in vain. Despite climate crisis and the threat of extinction,there is always hope for the future, as nature and technology combine in acaptivating, action-packed story with a powerful environmental call to arms.
A gripping near-future thriller: love triangles, betrayals and fights for freedom in a world turned upside-down . . . The tension of Suzanne Collins meets the heartbreak of Malorie Blackman, with echoes of Station Eleven. Welcome to the Arcadia. Once a luxurious cruise ship, now it is home to the stranded. For forty years, they have lived, and died, on the water. A place of extreme haves and have-nots, gangs and make-shift shelters, its people are tyrannized by a country they can see but can't get to. A country that says it doesn't want them. Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out for a rare chance to live a life on land. Nik is a rebel, intent on liberating the Arcadia once and for all. Together, they will change the future . . .
As satisfying (and sweet) as the confectionary its unforgettable protagonist is an expert on, Jessica Scott-Whyte’s The Asparagus Bunch tells the chock-full-of-charm story of Leon and his fellow neurodiverse friends. Refreshing and endlessly insightful on Leon’s autism spectrum disorder, it’s a funny, thought-provoking delight. Confectionary aficionado Leon is 4779 days old (“13 years and 1 month, if you’re mathematically challenged”), and lives with his mum Caroline who works at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. “Most people think I’ve got an attitude problem,” he acknowledges, but Caroline isn’t most people, and neither are the friends he makes at his sixth new school, which he joins as Dr Snot diagnoses him with autism spectrum disorder. After being shown round school by creative, kind dyslexic Tanya, and meeting loveable bee keeper Lawrence, who’s also neurodiverse, the three form The Asparagus Bunch club, subverting how Leon was mocked for having “asparagus” (he’s also called “ass-burger”). When the Bunch resolve to tackle the school bully, Leon decides revenge is a dish best served salty in the form of Scandinavian salmiakki confectionary, until Dr Snot advises against it. With Leon being a self-professed “man with a fork in a world of soup”, there are misunderstandings and fallings-out between friends and family. But above all, there’s empathy, comedy and a joyful sense of life being about “making the most of what comes along,” in the wise words of Dr Snot.
Rabbit and his mum have moved to the coast to run a small caravan park. Rabbit has been struggling since he saw his father die - he finds it hard to speak. When he befriends a local boy, Joe, Rabbit begins to feel better - but he keeps having strange dreams of a frightened white horse. Hunting for the animal, the two boys stumble across something much more dangerous: a man being held hostage by a criminal gang. Their discovery will set them on a dangerous path that will risk everything Rabbit holds dear...
One evening Edie is babysitting for a neighbour, Donna, who has repeatedly caught sight of an estranged friend from overseas. What is troubling Donna, however, is that it seems she's been in the same place at the same time as this friend on a number of occasions over the past few days. At Donna's request, Edie looks into these apparent coincidences, using a combination of investigative work and conversations with her rabbi (who is tutoring Edie in preparation for her bat mitzvah) about the nature of fatalism and determinism. Meanwhile, Edie's school friend Harry Coranger is suspicious of his stepfather, who has become involved with ultra-radical anti-capitalists who, furious at the state of the planet and its greed-fuelled decline, are plotting an audacious double atrocity: a bombing and a hijacking. When Harry bizarrely disappears, Edie becomes embroiled in trying to find him and, ultimately, foil the terrorists' plans. Utilising her brave instincts and skills as a supersleuth for hire, Edie sets about resolving and averting the mysteries and crises that she is confronted with as she comes to realise that things often happen outside of chance, and outside of our understanding and control. Outside Chance is the second instalment in Anthony Kessel's four-book Don't Doubt the Rainbow series a new contemporary middle-grade detective series with a difference. To solve each mystery, 13-year-old Edie Marble must harness the Three Principles, a new approach to understanding how the mind works that is currently proving invaluable in improving mental health and well-being in children internationally. Reading age 11+.
(Solitaire, Radio Silence, I Was Born For This, Loveless) | A review for Loveless Through the tangled identity struggles of authentic characters you’ll truly care about, Alice Oseman’s Loveless extends an understanding hand to aromantic asexuals (people who experience little-to-no romantic or sexual attraction, also known as aro-ace) while guiding all readers through fears of being alone and dealing with the pressure to hook up. Moreover, it’s a thoroughly entertaining, gripping page-turner that shows finding happiness isn’t dependent on romantic love. Georgia is desperate to experience her first kiss before she and her two best friends head to Durham University. After being made to feel “weird” and “disgusting” when she confesses to her peers that she’s never kissed anyone, Georgia seizes an opportunity to snog the one and only crush she’s ever had. When this goes spectacularly wrong in a scene that sizzles with tension and scorching comic timing, it hits her that “I hadn’t ever fancied anyone,” that the reality of kissing and romance “disgusts me.” But still she resolves to “try harder. I wanted forever love. I didn’t want to be loveless.” At Durham, while still struggling to find love, Georgia finds new friends in her outwardly confident, sexually active roommate, and Sunil, president of her college’s LBGTQ society. Sunil’s compassion and personal experiences help her discover who she is, to realise that she’s not alone in not feeling sexual or romantic attraction. Georgia’s journey to discovery is far from smooth, though, with many friendship-threatening, edge-of-your-seat errors made along the way.
Bestselling authors, Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber, joined forces on an utterly compelling YA romantic fantasy bursting with high-stakes adventure and crossover appeal about twin princesses separated at birth. Two sisters. One throne. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown? Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister's place in the palace. Trained from birth to avenge her parents' murder and usurp the princess, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility including marriage into a brutal kingdom. Life outside the palace walls is a place to be feared and she is soon to discover that it's wilder than she ever imagined. Twin sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other's lives a whole lot better... An irresistible fantasy romantic comedy from two YA superstars - perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber, Sarah J Maas and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander.
May 2022 Book of the Month | Here’s a book parents are going to want to share with their daughters, as it celebrates confidence, difference and everything that makes us feel happy in ourselves. Shelina Janmohamed was inspired to write it by a conversation with her own young daughter and the approach she takes is clear, fun and full of information that young people will find stimulating and useful. She’s open that how you feel about the way you look matters but shows that, as ideas of beauty are always changing, across cultures and time, beauty can be what you want it to be. She introduces us to lots of women, all regarded as beautiful, who challenged conventional ideas of beauty, confident in themselves and their bodies and encourages readers to be the same. She explores the role of social media, enabling readers to look critically at images they are shown and form their own opinions. The text is always engaging and supportive, and the photos and accompanying illustrations by Chanté Timothy amplify the message being delivered. Inclusive, intelligent and inspiring, this is an empowering examination of a topic that has been preoccupying girls for centuries. Shelve it alongside Open: A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be by Gemma Cairney, another invaluable illustrated guide to navigating growing up.
This impactful tale is beautifully crafted from a variety of viewpoints, written in a mixture of prose, narrative verse and journal entries, woven together with evocative illustrations by Natalie Sirett. While it is Kai’s story and his fall into darkness that is at the heart of the story, we also hear the voices of Orla, from the high-rise flats like Kai, and Zak from the big houses across the other side of the wilderness. This is the place where they spent most of their out of school time growing up and where they discovered and restored the bothy, which becomes the dramatic backdrop to astounding creativity but also danger, degradation, despair and near death. We later hear from new arrival Omid who has faced trauma and loss himself, which helps him make the connection with Kai, whose family has fallen apart following the loss of his beloved baby sister Sula. Despite the best efforts of his friends, Kai falls in with a dangerous crowd, gets excluded and his self-destruction seems inevitable. But the bonds forged in their childhood ultimately prove stronger. Kai’s deep connection to nature and in particular to a pair of ravens, who have their own narration, and the creativity which is sparked by Omid’s inspiring art, help to bring him home. There are so many important themes in this multi-layered novel which speaks so powerfully about the importance of urban green spaces and community and the way society can fail to recognise the true value of things. This highly original novel perfectly captures raw adolescent emotions and fills the reader with empathy and understanding. Highly recommended.
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