Teenagers Book Reviews

Name: Louisa Farrow
01 July 2021;

Genre: Representation & Inclusion

Tally is ten years old and in Year 6. She's good at plenty of things but she really doesn't know who she is. Her teacher describes her as a model pupil, she has friends and is hoping for a big part in the school play. At the same time, she's finding it a growing struggle to fit in and at home...

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Name: Jane Rew
30 June 2021;

Genre: Friends and family

This isn't just an adventure story involving three children - Faith, her younger brother Noah, and Sam - on the run, on the lookout for treasure, hope, a secure home. Nor is it a simple story of ghosts - as if ghosts were real anyway! Nor yet is it just about shattered families and friendships...

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Name: Nicola Jenkin
30 June 2021;

Genre: Suspense & Thrillers

I thoroughly enjoyed Fleur Hitchcock’s Murder in Midwinter so was very excited to read her latest offering, Waiting for Murder. It was just as good - fast paced, with plenty of thrills and twists. Dan is spending the summer in the sleepy village of Sandford with his arc...

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Name: Nicola Jenkin
30 June 2021;

Genre: Friends and family

How to be Me is a beautiful book. Cath Howe has perfectly captured just how important the creative arts are can be. Whether that be in finding self-confidence, making friends, or dealing with trauma. Lucas is feeling very alone. After the death of his mother, his father...

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Name: Rhiannon Cook
30 June 2021;

Genre: Myths & Legends

Simi has always lived in Lagos, a bustling city full of noise and people, so it comes as a huge shock when she is sent to stay with a Grandmother she has never met, in the remote village of Ajao, a quiet place unconnected to modern Nigeria. An air of secrecy shrouds Simi's family life and her...

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Name: Linda Brown
30 June 2021;

Genre: Fantasy

The Theft of Sunlight is a thrilling, gripping and entertaining story that was borne out of a re telling of The Goose Girl, Thorn, of which I also highly recommend. Rae lives a happy life in the village of Sheltershorn with her family and friends until a child is snatched from...

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Name: Maddie Age 14
22 June 2021;

Genre: Bullying

Paige tries to live her life under the radar; unnoticed by anyone at school, at home and at the one club she attends. Her best - and only - friend is her Alexa, and she only comes out of her shell one afternoon a week at her Aunt Polly's house. At home, Paige is shoved aside and labelled a nui...

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Name: Jane Rew
20 June 2021;

Genre: Representation & Inclusion

I like the colour scheme: shades of fluorescent orange and monotone. I like the bold design: the use of placards for headings, the inclusion of a Contents page, Introduction, Note to Reader, and concluding Thanks. I like the humour, evident in the choice of examples covered and in the illustra...

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Name: Linda Brown
10 June 2021;

Genre: Fantasy

A Gathering Midnight is the sequel to Midnight's Twins and what a great action-packed second book it is. I really could not put this down; adventure, action, myste...

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Name: Kelly Buxton
10 June 2021;

Genre: Magical Realism

Skyborn is a tumbling, twisting and turbulent adventure akin to that of Peter Bunzl's Cogheart series. Alice, who has a 'firemark' on her cheek, has turned her back on her privileged life. She is on the run from her grandfather, Lord Pattern, longing for a life of acceptance for who she is. Wh...

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