52 BOOKS FOUND..

AGE RANGES : 14+

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When Shadows Fall

Sita Brahmachari

Kai, Orla and Zak grew up together, their days spent on the patch of wilderness in between their homes, a small green space in a sprawling grey city. Music, laughter and friendship bind them together and they have big plans for their future – until Kai’s family suffers a huge loss. Trying to cope […]

Environment/Climate Change, Fiction, Friendship, Migration/ Refugees, Personal/social issues

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

The Wolf Road

Richard Lambert

A tale of loss that is also a gripping thriller, a realistic study of grief that skirts the margins of fantasy, it walks wolf-like between worlds and genres. Richard Lambert writes with a poet’s eye; he has created something magical here. The storytelling is as bold, sinewy and uncompromising as the beast that shadows Lucas […]

Adventure, Bullying, Emotion/ Feelings, Family, Fear, Fiction, Grief/Loss, Mental Health and Wellbeing

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

The Sound of Everything

Rebecca Henry

The Sound of Everything is a heart-felt coming of age story for all those who struggle to feel like they deserve love. Betrayal, rejection, violence Kadie has known it all. She’s tough and prepared for everything. Everything except love. Kadie has has just arrived in yet another foster home. She trusts no one and lives […]

Communication, Family, Friendship, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, Love, Violence

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Second Best Friend

Non Pratt

Jade and Becky have always been best friends; inseparable and often indistinguishable. They’re not quite chalk and cheese, but are quite different: Jade is outgoing, swinging from one crush to another, and likes a good party. Becky’s quieter, not interested in relationships, and prefers to stay in. Jade’s never really noticed the differences before, but […]

Friendship, Love, Romantic, School/ Learning

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Just Like Tomorrow

Faiza Guene & Sarah Ardizzone

Fifteen-year-old Doria isn’t in a good place. Or to be precise: she’s in the sadly misnamed Paradise Estate on the outskirts of Paris. Her father has gone off back Morocco to find a wife who can give him a boy, and her illiterate, non French-speaking mother is having to fend for herself with a cleaning […]

Adventure, Communication, Emotion/ Feelings, Family, Fiction, Funny, Government, law and crime

AGES: 14+

Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black

Alexis Deacon & Julian Sedgwick & Marcus Sedgwick

Harry Black is lost between the world of war and the land of myth in this illustrated novel that transports the tale of Orpheus to World War II-era London. Harry Black, a conscientious objector, artist, and firefighter battling the blazes of German bombing in London in 1944, wakes in the hospital to news that […]

Fiction, Graphic Novel/ Comic, Historical, Historical Fiction, War, World Wars 1&2

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Rose, Interrupted

Patrice Lawrence

Being a teenager is hard enough, but it’s even harder in a world you’ve never known … Eighteen months ago, 17-year-old Rose and 13-year-old Rudder escaped a strict religious sect with their mum. They are still trying to make sense of the world outside – no more rules about clothes and books, films and […]

Family, Fiction, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, Personal/social issues, Romantic

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Indigo Donut

Patrice Lawrence

Seventeen-year-old Indigo has had a tough start in life, having grown up in the care system after her dad killed her mum. Bailey, also seventeen, lives with his parents in Hackney and spends all his time playing guitar or tending to his luscious ginger afro. When Indigo and Bailey meet at sixth form, serious sparks […]

Adventure, Crime/ Thriller, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Love, Personal/social issues, Romantic

AGES: 14+

Star Dancer

Beth Webb

It is the end of the Iron Age. In the face of the Roman Invasion, the druids believe a warrior-magician will appear when the stars dance. Two children are born that night, a girl, Tegen, and a boy, Griff, a ‘half head.’ Both are rejected. As they grow, Tegen and Griff struggle against treachery […]

Chiltern Open Air Museum, Historical

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Breakdown

Sarah Mussi

It is 2084. Nuclear radiation has poisoned the country. Society has fallen apart. Starvation is rampant, and power shortages have resulted in piles of obsolete gadgetry. Necessity has driven those who’ve survived to complete self-reliance, if they have the means to do so. For Melissa and her Nan, survival is just about possible, so long […]

Adventure, Crime/ Thriller, Dystopian Fiction, Environment/Climate Change, Government, law and crime, Romantic, Science Fiction, Survival

AGES: 14+

Kite Spirit

Sita Brahmachari

During the summer of her GCSEs Kite’s world falls apart. Her best friend, Dawn, commits suicide after a long struggle with feeling under pressure to achieve. Kite’s dad takes her to the Lake District, to give her time and space to grieve. In London Kite is a confident girl, at home in the noisy, bustling […]

Emotion/ Feelings, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Grief/Loss

AGES: 14+

Brace Mouth False Teeth

Sita Brahmachari

A heartwarming tale of wit, warmth, friendship and self-confidence. Zeni’s week goes from bad to worse when she is fitted for braces and then sent to Magnolia Gardens Care Home for her Work Experience placement. But then Zeni meets Alice, an old lady with a story to tell and some lost false teeth to find. […]

Fiction, Friendship

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Secrets of the Henna Girl

Sufiya Ahmed

Life as Zeba knows it could be over for good . . . Zeba Khan is like any other sixteen-year-old girl: enjoying herself, waiting for exam results . . . and dreaming of the day she’ll meet her one true love. Except her parents have other plans. In Pakistan for the summer, Zeba’s world is […]

Family, Fiction, Romantic

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

The Survival Game

Nicky Singer

In a world full of checkpoints and controls, can love and hope defy the borders? A searing, timely story, as arresting as it is beautiful. Imagine a world … Where there are too many people on a too-hot earth and your only chance of salvation is to journey north. Where you must prove […]

Environment/Climate Change, Science Fiction, Survival

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Graphic Canon of Children’s Literature

Rachael Ball

The original three-volume anthology The Graphic Canon presented the world’s classic literature – from ancient times to the late 20th century – as eye-popping comics, illustrations and other visual forms. In this follow-up volume, young people’s literature through the ages is given new life by the best comics artists and illustrators. Fairy tales, fables, fantastical […]

Fairy tales and folk tales, Fantasy/ Supernatural, Fiction, Funny, Graphic Novel/ Comic

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

That Asian Kid

Savita Kalhan

Published in August 2019. It was Pick of the Week for Love Reading 4 Schools, and Book of the Week at Letterbox Library. Jeevan’s an A star student in every subject apart from English. He suspects his English teacher, Mrs. Greaves, of marking him down on purpose. But no one believes him – even […]

Family, Fiction, Friendship, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, Identity, Justice, Racism, School/ Learning

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Behind Closed Doors

Miriam Halahmy

Fifteen year olds Tasha and Josie are near-neighbours. But when their families let them down, they find themselves unlikely allies in a battle for survival. Josie s mum is saving the planet by collecting most of it, but her house is no longer safe for her own daughter. Tasha has all the clothes and kit […]

Emotion/ Feelings, Empathy, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Romantic, Self-discovery

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Siege

Sarah Mussi

Leah Jackson – in detention. Then armed Year 9s burst in, shooting. She escapes, just. But the new Lock Down system for keeping intruders out is now locking everyone in. She takes to the ceilings and air vents with another student, Anton, and manages to use her mobile to call out to the world. First: […]

Crime/ Thriller, Fiction, Mystery/murder

AGES: 14+

Illegal

Andrew Donkin

This is a powerful and timely story about one boy’s epic journey across Africa to Europe, a graphic novel for all children with glorious colour artwork throughout. Ebo: alone. His sister left months ago. Now his brother has disappeared too, and Ebo knows it can only be to make the hazardous journey to […]

Empathy, Fiction, Graphic Novel/ Comic, Grief/Loss, Identity, Migration/ Refugees, Multicultural/international

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Race to The Frozen North

Catherine Johnson

Matthew Henson was simply an ordinary man. That was, until Commander Robert E. Peary entered his life, and offered him a chance at true adventure. Henson would become a navigator, craftsman, translator, and right-hand man on a treacherous journey to the North Pole. Defying the odds and the many prejudices that faced him to become […]

Adventure, Crime/ Thriller, Fiction

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Clouds Cannot Cover Us

Jay Hulme

The poems have been carefully selected to chart the poet, Hulme’s journey from growing up in a working-class family in Leicestershire to his feelings and thoughts about school life and his experience as a transgender teenager. As Hulme says himself: “When it was decided that this collection would be for teenagers I was left with […]

Friendship, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, LGBT/ Gender, Personal Stories, Poetry, Prejudice

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Island

Chris Riddell & Nicky Singer

Urban teenager Cameron arrives on an uninhabited Arctic Island. He’s prepared for ice and storms and, stripped of his smart technology, possibly boredom. But he’s not prepared for 24-hour daylight and erupting graves! At first Cameron believes the explanations of his research scientist mother. But, as the island reveals itself to him, he begins to […]

Animals, Environment/Climate Change, Faith/ Culture, Fantasy/ Supernatural, Fiction, Friendship, Historical, Multicultural/international, Myths and Legends, Nature/ Outdoors, Travel

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Thirteen Chairs

Dave Shelton

Jack stands in the dark on the landing of the old house, and looks at his feet – He has been here for minutes, his hand on the door handle, debating whether or not to go in. A high-ceilinged room lit only by candles. Thirteen chairs, one empty. Twelve ghostly storytellers, waiting to begin. Come […]

Fantasy/ Supernatural, Graphic Novel/ Comic, Spooky/Scary

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Unboxed

Non Pratt

A brilliantly diverse cast of characters face heartbreak and home truths as they return to their old school and discover no one can ever truly go back.Four friends meet up at their old school to open the memory box they stowed there years ago – with five letters inside for four of them, because their […]

Fiction, Friendship, Grief/Loss, Self-discovery

AGES: 14+

Truth or Dare

Non Pratt

How far is too far when it comes to the people you love? Claire Casey hates being the centre of attention. But if it means getting Sef Malik to notice her, it’s a risk she’s happy to take. Sef is prepared to do anything to help his recently disabled brother. But this means putting Claire’s […]

Family, Fiction, Romantic

AGES: 14+

Web of Darkness

Bali Rai

When the incredibly attractive Benedict befriends Lily online, she is thrilled. He is so much more mature than boys her age and he seems to know exactly how she’s feeling. She finds herself opening up to him, telling him things she wouldn’t tell anybody else. And she needs someone to confide in more than […]

Crime/ Thriller, Fiction, Romantic, Spooky/Scary

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Why Comics

Asia Alfasi

Why Comics? are the educational arm of Positive Negatives, an innovative organisation producing comics about current events and issues around the world, bringing together talented graphic artists and real-life testimony. Each comic is linked to resources you can use in the classroom, and can be a rich addition to your literacy, humanities or SMSC curriculum.

Empathy, Graphic Novel/ Comic, Identity, LGBT/ Gender, Migration/ Refugees, Multicultural/international, Non-fiction, Personal Stories

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Rook

Anthony McGowan

When Kenny and Nicky rescue a rook left for dead, Kenny is determined to keep it alive. Nicky doubts the scruffy bird will make it, but then Nicky has plenty else to worry about – a school bully, his first love, and the fact that everything is about to go very, very wrong.

Adventure, Animals, Bullying, Fiction, Friendship

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Riot

Sarah Mussi

England is struggling under a recession that has shown no sign of abating. Years of cuts have devastated Britain: banks are going under, businesses closing, prices soaring, unemployment rising, prisons overflowing. The authorities cannot cope. And the population has maxed out. The police are snowed under. Something has to give. Drastic measures need taking. The […]

Crime/ Thriller, Mystery/murder, Romantic

AGES: 14+

Rhythm and Poetry

Karl Nova

Rhythm and Poetry (otherwise known as RAP) is by Hip Hop artist and poet Karl Nova. The beauty of rap lyricism and Hip Hop influenced poetry is displayed with wit, humour and positivity. His approach is to meet young people where they are and engage them with the style and attitude they are familiar with. […]

Friendship, Funny, Music/ Dancing, Poetry

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

The Jungle

Pooja Puri

There was a story Jahir used to tell me. About how the first humans were born with wings. Can you imagine what that would be like? To fly anywhere in the world without worrying about having the right papers? Mico has left his family, his home, his future. Forced to set out in search […]

Empathy, Fiction, Migration/ Refugees, Multicultural/international, War

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

The Secret of Nightingale Wood

Lucy Strange

1919. Henry has moved to the countryside with her parents and her baby sister, Piglet – all still scarred by the death of her brother. Alone in her head, she begins to explore her surroundings, encouraged by her only friends – characters from her favourite books. Nobody much notices when she wanders into the woods at the bottom of the garden and meets Moth, a striking witch-like woman. Together […]

Family, Grief/Loss, Historical Fiction, Magic, Nature/ Outdoors, World Wars 1&2

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Our Castle By the Sea

Lucy Strange

England is at war. Growing up in a lighthouse, Pet’s world has been one of storms, secret tunnels and stories about sea monsters. But now the clifftops are a terrifying battleground, and her family is torn apart. This is the story of a girl who is small, afraid and unnoticed. A girl who freezes with […]

Bletchley Park, Chiltern Open Air Museum, Historical Fiction, Magic, War, Water, World Wars 1&2

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Geis

Alexis Deacon

A Matter of Life or Death

Adventure, Graphic Novel/ Comic, Magic

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Alpha

Barroux & Bessora & Sarah Ardizzone

An incredible story of journeys and survival.

Empathy, Fiction, Grief/Loss, Migration/ Refugees, Multicultural/international, Personal Stories, Picture Books, War

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

The Pomegranate Tree

Vanessa Altin

'As we sat in the little courtyard listening to the gunfire in the streets below us, I started to write...’

Family, Fiction, Grief/Loss, Migration/ Refugees, Multicultural/international, War

AGES: 10-12

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo

Catherine Johnson

Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2016, this is a very curious tale indeed . . .

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Maladapted

Richard Kurti

An exciting, fast-paced thriller that shows the power science has to change not just our lives, but our very selves.

Adventure, Crime/ Thriller, Mystery/murder, Science Fiction

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Killing Honour

Bali Rai

A powerful, hard-hitting teen thriller on the controversial topic of honour killing by multi-award-winning author Bali Rai. The Lovely Bones meets East is East.

Crime/ Thriller, Fiction, Mystery/murder, Personal/social issues, Politics/human rights, Religion

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

City of Ghosts

Bali Rai

An epic tale of love, war and rebellion. Can the ghosts of the past change the future of the citizens of Amritsar . . . ?

Friendship, Historical, Historical Fiction, Multicultural/international, Romantic, War

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

She Wore Red Trainers

Na'ima B. Robert

A Muslim Love <3

Faith/ Culture, Family, Fiction, Multicultural/international, Prejudice

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Buffalo Soldier

Tanya Landman

What kind of a girl steals the clothes from a dead man's back and runs off to join the army? A desperate one. That's who.

Adventure, Historical, Historical Fiction, Multicultural/international, War

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Getting Away With It

Anne Cassidy

They thought the joyride would be a bit of a laugh. They weren't meant to crash. No one was meant to get hurt. But now Mark's caught up in the worst possible scenario

Crime/ Thriller, Mystery/murder

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+

Artichoke Hearts

Sita Brahmachari

As Mira is experiencing grief for the first time, she is also discovering the wondrous and often mystical world around her.

Empathy, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Grief/Loss, Mental Health and Wellbeing

AGES: 12-14

AGES: 14+