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Find out moreFind out what other people are getting excited about reading next. The books here are the ones that our members and browsers have selected and read about in the last 7 days. As it changes daily it is well worth coming back on a regular basis to check it out.
Shortlisted for the Centurion Book Award (Bath) and the Kernow Youth Book Award. Bestselling Gill Lewis’s new story tells of the amazing, life-affirming powers of dolphins. Kara’s life is in a mess; her mum has disappeared, she is in trouble at school and her father is about to sell their beloved boat in order to pay off his debts. Within her tight knit fishing community there is also trouble as catches get scarcer and greed pushes the locals into taking action which will damage the seabed forever. Brought up by her mum to fight for the conservation of all wildlife and dolphins in particular, Kara, helped by her new friend Felix, takes on all comers in this passionate and lyrical story about the power of the creatures in the sea, the sea itself and the desperate need to protect it from destruction. The Lovereading Comment: Like the author's debut, this wonderfully written and unforgettable novel will pull at the heart strings. It's so poignant and utterly captivating that the reader will find him or herself at the end of the book before they know it. It's all about choices and risking everything to find the truth. It is the second novel from the author of the sensational Sky Hawk. Click on Readers Guide on the right hand side of this page for some notes and activities, which are also suitable for classroom use. Shortlisted for the Key Stage 2 category of Brilliant Books, Oldham Schools’ Book Award.
One of our Books of the Year 2015 - September 2015 Book of the Month Buckle up, because you are in for a hell of a ride! Amber’s parents strike readers – and her – as eccentric, but nothing prepares her for the awful truth, revealed on her sixteenth birthday: they are demons, and so is she. Not that that will stop them from killing and eating her. Fleeing her parents, Amber embarks on a road-trip like no other. In the company of inscrutable bodyguard Miles and Glen, a gormless Irish hitchhiker with supernatural issues of his own, she speeds down America’s Dark Highway, careering from one terrifying encounter with something nasty and dead to another, racing to complete a deal with the boss demon to save her life. An exhilarating mix of comedy and thrills, Demon Road had me laughing out loud one minute, jumping out of my seat the next: hard to believe that something this gory should be so much fun! Unmissable! ~ Andrea Reece A message from Derek Landy ‘I was brought up on thrillers. At first, it was the Universal and Hammer movies, played in black and white and glorious technicolour on my TV screen when I was a kid. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. The Fly. The Wolfman. Once bitten, I was ravenous – much like the zombies in Dawn of the Dead that I first watched on late night TV. I was ravenous, and so I devoured. Demon Road was born out of this lifelong love and incorporates elements from slasher movies, Stephen King novels, modern urban legends and that classic sub-genre: the killer car.’ Stop press... Derek will be appearing at the Cheltenham Festival on Saturday 3rd October. Click here to find out more. Further information from the Cheltenham Festival.
A short novella based on the beloved characters from Alice Oseman’s acclaimed debut novel Solitaire and graphic novel series Heartstopper – now a major Netflix series. From the author of the 2021 YA Book Prize winning Loveless. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? CHARLIE: “I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.” NICK: “Things me and Charlie Spring do together include: Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we're kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.” Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie are the perfect couple – that they’re inseparable. But now Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’ for God’s sake! But as the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Or are they delaying the inevitable? Because everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever…
Zoella Book Club title Summer 16 | Shortlisted for the UKLA 2016 Book Award in the 12 - 16 year old category. Longlisted for the 2015 Guardian Children's Book prize Fans of John Green will love this heart-wrenching teenage novel. School students Violet and Theodore Finch first meet on the ledge at the top of the school bell-tower. Of course, it is out of bounds and neither should be there but, for different reasons and in different ways, both are struggling to believe that their lives are worth living. Together, they have something worthwhile to share and maybe, through that sharing, they can save each other – and themselves? Jennifer Niven convincingly captures their despair and their hope and the importance of friendship. All the Bright Places was the biggest selling YA novel of 2015. Jennifer Niven says “Years ago, I knew and loved a boy. The experience was life-changing. I’d always wanted to write about it—I just wasn’t convinced I would ever be able to. ‘All the Bright Places’ was written about a very hard, sad, lovely time during a very hard, sad, stressful time - and now here it is in your hands. (I am still pinching myself that it even exists.) Thank you, reader. To me, you are the brightest of places.”
June 2022 Debut of the Month | Chester Chestnut is a happy little chap, but sometimes even the happiest of chaps get worried or nervous and when this happens Chester’s tummy starts to hurt. Follow the journey of Chester Chestnut as he learns about his anxious thoughts and feelings, where they come from and how to control them. A great tool to use at home and in classrooms to discuss feelings of worry and anxiety.
Blaze the Phoenix is the third in a series of books set in a magical world of unicorns and dragons, running parallel with a normal world of family life and friendship. It follows the adventures of Rosie and Kat as they attempt to solve the mystery of a time turning phoenix in Starfall forest. The characters and creatures are imaginatively described, though if you have not read the previous books, you need a glossary to keep up with the fast developing plot! There is somewhat of an overload of creatures, magic crystals and flutterpuffs, all introduced quite quickly and a lot to absorb. The book is beautifully illustrated by Morgan Huff. What is clever is how Lockhart writes about the magical world seamlessly with the more mundane world of school, friendship, and the village fundraiser. The two worlds appear to blend quite effortlessly. Amidst the magic and adventure, there is also a more serious message, one of friendship, loyalty and growing up. As the two girls try to solve the mystery, they are learning valuable lessons in life skills and family life. Rosie is thought of as responsible and mature by the Magical Vet team but regarded by her parents and teachers as just a child. A feeling many young people feel as they are growing up. A fun, fast paced adventure story for all those animal lovers.
Shortlisted for the prestigious Sheffield Children's Book Award 2011 Best-selling author Malorie Blackman has an exceptional ability to see the world from a teenager’s angle. With his stellar A-level results in his hand, Dante has a great future mapped out for himself. But then his ex-girl friend turns up and Dante finds that he is… a dad! Blackman uses her trade mark of twin voices as Dante and his brother Adam unravel the stories from their pasts, their intense feelings for each other and their growing love for the baby. A deeply moving and convincing story which never descends into sentimentality.
An entertaining and surprising adventure, this shows that wishing can be dangerous as Kevin soon finds out after accidentally letting his wish list fall in the river. When Abandinus becomes his own personal god, Kevin’s life takes off in some unexpected directions. While much of what the god brings has its good side there are some aspects he’d very much rather be without!
As with so many of Geraldine’s novels, she has in Gold Dust created an entirely original yet believable world, this time in Brazil. Utterly engrossing, fast-paced, full of humour and heartbreak your imagination will run riot throughout the novel and you’ll be in awe of the author’s skill in creating something quite so good.
This is adventure number six for the Bolds, a family of hyenas living happily in Teddington disguised as humans. Let’s hope there will be more too, because there are very few stories more joyful, cheering and entertaining than these and only Paddington to compare for characters as lovable and inspirational. If you’ve read previous Bolds books, you’ll know that they’re always ready to help other animals and to open their doors to those in need. Of course therefore they give homeless aardvark Annika a warm welcome and set out to track down her missing friends, escapees from the same zoo, Charlie the skunk and Fergie the fruit bat. The latter, we discover, have been camping out in Parliament Square with friendly eco-warriors. Can the Bolds find them somewhere permanent (and quieter) to live? This is the Bolds, so of course the answer is yes. Gloriously silly, genuinely heart-warming and beautifully plotted, it all ends with a special party for twins Betty and Bobby Bold, and an ‘au revoir’ to another friend, Fifi, the singing poodle superstar. She promises to return, ‘Wherever life might take me, my heart belongs with the Bolds.’ That will be true for all the dear readers too, this one included.
Our top 10 is based on page views, calculated over the previous 7 days and includes all books on the LoveReading4Kids site.