The Lost Witch
YA readersOn the surface, this is a story about a girl who discovers she's a witch, in a world where that is a highly dangerous thing to be. But it's contemporary life that really fascinates Melvin Burgess and this is as much a story of growing up and independence as it is a story of dark magic. It also contains a thoroughly disturbing dissection of coercion and control as central character Bea is manipulated into doing things that cause irrevocable harm to herself and others. The book opens with Bea and her family returning home after a day out. Crossing the moors they run into The Hunt, violent supernatural creatures tracking and attacking other witches. Bea is able to stop them, powerfully summoning help but revealing her supernatural ability at the same time. With the awakening of her witch nature, the world becomes a different place, more beautiful but more frightening as she is surrounded by visions that only she can see. Befriended by other witches she is given a terrible choice: safety and freedom with them means she must leave her own human family for ever. Under pressure from her parents she decides to give up her new powers for a 'normal' life, but is snatched away at the last minute by the wild boy she is beginning to love - is it a rescue, or an abduction? It's typical of Burgess that the book raises so many questions about temptation and individual choice, freedom and responsibility; typical too that the consequences of Bea's decisions are shown to be so painful, and permanent. Powerful, uncompromising reading.
Long Way Down
13+ readers YA readersAND THEN THERE WERE SHOTS. Everybody ran, ducked, hid, tucked themselves tight. Pressed our lips to the pavement and prayed the boom, followed by the buzz of a bullet, didn't meet us. After Will's brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn's gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will's friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he's doing. This haunting, lyrical, powerful verse novel will blow you away.
The Wordsmith
11+ readersSpeculative fiction with a powerful political premise. Lovereading Comment to follow.
Ruby's Worry
3+ readers 5+ readersEveryone could learn from Ruby. She’s a perfectly happy little girl, until she discovers a worry. The worry – depicted as a scribbly yellow shape – is hardly noticeable at first, but starts to grow and soon it’s with her all the time, stopping her from doing the things she loved. As Ruby worries about her worry – the worst thing you can do – it gets bigger still until it takes up the whole row at the cinema. The problem is solved when Ruby finds someone else with a worry; as they talk about them, something amazing happens – their worries disappear. Readers will recognise Ruby’s problems and see their own lives reflected in hers. Sensitive and very reassuring this clever book raises lots of opportunities for children to talk about their worries.
The Storm Keeper's Island
9+ readers 11+ readersJuly 2018 Debut of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month July 2018 Swept along by the wind and sea and suffused with magic and mystery this is an ebullient adventure story that compels its readers to believe just as the young hero Fionn begins to do. Sent to stay on the wild Arranmore Island with his reclusive grandfather, Fionn enters a world dominated by the forces of magic – and by water which has always terrified Fionn. Gradually, Fionn begins to understand his grandfather’s now fading power as to accept and embrace his own new destiny. Catherine Doyle has a lightness of touch as a story-teller that makes the impossible convincing. ~ Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for July 2018: A First Book of the Sea by Nicola Davies Junkyard Jack and the Horse That Talks by Adrian Edmondson All About Families by Felicity Brooks A Stone for Sascha by Aaron Becker Sleep by Kate Prendergast The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle The Cook and the King by Julia Donaldson Catherine was inspired to write The Storm Keeper’s Island by her real-life ancestral home of Arranmore Island (where her grandparents grew up) and the adventures of her many sea-faring ancestors, particularly her grandfather. “When my grandfather, Captain Charles Boyle, left Arranmore as a young man, he took a piece of it with him. I remember peering over his ship’s railings into sapphire seas in Galway Bay, getting a red-and-white fishing rod from him on my fourth birthday and spending long afternoons tying sailor’s knots on his blue ropes, listening to stories of his wild and restless island. Not too long ago, my grandfather developed Alzheimer’s disease. I have spent the past couple of years trying to navigate the difficult long goodbye, learning to reconcile the person I love with the version of him that is slowly fading away. Fionn faces the same challenge: the struggle to view his grandfather as a man who lives with Alzheimer’s disease but is not diminished by it. A man who is still the sum of all of his experiences, despite his inability to recall them. If Malachy Boyle cannot remember his own adventures, then Fionn must remember them for him. He learns, as I am learning, that for all the transiency of memories, love is not so easily erased by the winds of time.”
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Gryffindor Edition
7+ readers 9+ readers 11+ readersJuly 2018 Book of the Month | In Book 2 of this phenomenal series Harry Potter, a boy wizard, is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last......even getting there is an adventure in itself! This special House edition has been published to mark the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is available in both paperback and hardback. Last year saw the special House Editions for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone issued - find them here. The Special House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are: Gryffindor Hardback, PaperbackHufflepuff Hardback, Paperback Ravenclaw Hardback, PaperbackSlytherin Hardback, Paperback
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Gryffindor Edition
7+ readers 9+ readers 11+ readersJuly 2018 Book of the Month | In Book 2 of this phenomenal series Harry Potter, a boy wizard, is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last......even getting there is an adventure in itself! This special House edition has been published to mark the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is available in both paperback and hardback. Last year saw the special House Editions for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone issued - find them here. The Special House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are: Gryffindor Hardback, PaperbackHufflepuff Hardback, Paperback Ravenclaw Hardback, PaperbackSlytherin Hardback, Paperback
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Hufflepuff Edition
7+ readers 9+ readers 11+ readersJuly 2018 Book of the Month | In Book 2 of this phenomenal series Harry Potter, a boy wizard, is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last......even getting there is an adventure in itself! This special House edition has been published to mark the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is available in both paperback and hardback. Last year saw the special House Editions for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone issued - find them here. The Special House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are: Gryffindor Hardback, PaperbackHufflepuff Hardback, Paperback Ravenclaw Hardback, PaperbackSlytherin Hardback, Paperback
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Hufflepuff Edition
7+ readers 9+ readers 11+ readersJuly 2018 Book of the Month | In Book 2 of this phenomenal series Harry Potter, a boy wizard, is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last......even getting there is an adventure in itself! This special House edition has been published to mark the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is available in both paperback and hardback. Last year saw the special House Editions for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone issued - find them here. The Special House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are: Gryffindor Hardback, PaperbackHufflepuff Hardback, Paperback Ravenclaw Hardback, PaperbackSlytherin Hardback, Paperback
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Ravenclaw Edition
7+ readers 9+ readers 11+ readersJuly 2018 Book of the Month | In Book 2 of this phenomenal series Harry Potter, a boy wizard, is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last......even getting there is an adventure in itself! This special House edition has been published to mark the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is available in both paperback and hardback. Last year saw the special House Editions for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone issued - find them here. The Special House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are: Gryffindor Hardback, PaperbackHufflepuff Hardback, Paperback Ravenclaw Hardback, PaperbackSlytherin Hardback, Paperback
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Ravenclaw Edition
7+ readers 9+ readers 11+ readersJuly 2018 Book of the Month | In Book 2 of this phenomenal series Harry Potter, a boy wizard, is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last......even getting there is an adventure in itself! This special House edition has been published to mark the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is available in both paperback and hardback. Last year saw the special House Editions for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone issued - find them here. The Special House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are: Gryffindor Hardback, PaperbackHufflepuff Hardback, Paperback Ravenclaw Hardback, PaperbackSlytherin Hardback, Paperback
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Slytherin Edition
7+ readers 9+ readers 11+ readersJuly 2018 Book of the Month | In Book 2 of this phenomenal series Harry Potter, a boy wizard, is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last......even getting there is an adventure in itself! This special House edition has been published to mark the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is available in both paperback and hardback. Last year saw the special House Editions for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone issued - find them here. The Special House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are: Gryffindor Hardback, PaperbackHufflepuff Hardback, Paperback Ravenclaw Hardback, PaperbackSlytherin Hardback, Paperback
LoveReading4Kids Top 10
