Schools & Libraries Book Reviews

Name: Donna Burkert
12 January 2026;

Genre: Family & Home

The Secrets of Wild Hill: Lottie's Dream by Olivia Tuffin is a delightful mix of desire, challenge and intrigue, all beautifully wrapped up in the world of horses. Lottie wants to ride more than anything in the world, she even deliberately failed her entrance test to the posh...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
09 January 2026;

Genre: Mental Health & Wellbeing

Perfect for the National Year of Reading 2026, Inspire Me! is a wonderful collection of 'words that matter', all carefully chosen by Nicolette Jones. Inspire Me! is such an excellent title for this books as there is an incredible wealth of material here...

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Name: Jacqueline Harris
08 January 2026;

Genre: Funny Stories

Finn is the middle child of three. His older brother Jonah is a bully and yet somehow very popular at school and his younger sister Maisie is a unicorn obsessed five-year-old. And Finn describes himself as a 'Fail Magnet'. He does seem to have a lot of disasters of epic proportions and is cons...

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Name: Beverley Somerset
07 January 2026;

Genre: Animals

Katie Ellis is in her second year at Paddock Grove; a boarding school with fantastic facilities for future equestrian stars. Katie has her beloved horse, Sheriff, with her, and has a great group of friends who love riding just as much as she does. When Katie is selected as captain of the Paddo...

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Name: Beverley Somerset
05 January 2026;

Genre: Family & Home

The Secrets of Wild Hill: Lottie's Dream is a well-written and cleverly plotted novel, combining horses and riding with a family mystery story. Lottie Manderson loves spending time at Wild Hill, her grandparents' livery yard, where her beloved pony Patch, is stabled. He...

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Name: Louisa Farrow
05 January 2026;

Genre: Adventure

Roma lives permanently at Miss Oliphant's School for Young Ladies in the middle of the Kalabon jungle. Her mother died in childbirth and Roma dreams of becoming a doctor and specialising in treating women. Unfortunately, all the places are reserved for men. Undeterred Roma does all she can to...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
02 January 2026;

Genre: Adventure

Completely enchanting, Magpie Girl is an absorbing book which would make a excellent story time read! Safely back home in Maidswell after having mysteriously disappeared, Lavender Wild has no memory of her time away from home, but is able to speak to birds and has beaut...

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Name: Beverley Somerset
02 January 2026;

Genre: Funny Stories

The Not-So Great Escape is a funny, heartwarming and sensitively written novel. 12-year-old Hedley lost his mother in a car crash a year ago. His father took to his bed following the accident and never leaves their flat. Hedley is having trouble coping; he sees the worst-case...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
01 January 2026;

Genre: Funny Stories

Finn's life seems destined to be a series of epic fails. Year 7 is plagued with boring lessons and evil teachers, while at home he has to contend with a unicorn-obsessed, evil little sister, a muscle-bound, vain older brother and a father who, since the divorce, has taken up wearing Lycra. Arm...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
11 December 2025;

Genre: Historical Fiction

Set in the long, hot summer of 1976, Tomorrow’s Ghost is a wonderfully atmospheric story which connects two girls, both orphaned, across time. In the summer of 1976, Anna wakes from a strange dream to hear her aunt Maggie making plans to send her away for the summer to...

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