The Demon’s Watch, by Conrad Mason
Age: 10+
Themes: magic; adventure; fantasy
Synopsis: On the island of Fayt, humans live peacefully alongside trolls, goblins and other magical creatures. However, their harmony is under threat from the League of the Light who are determined to wipe out all non-human creatures. Fayt’s survival lies in the hands of The Demon’s Watch led by Captain Newton and also an unlikely half-goblin orphan boy, Joseph Grubb.
Forest of the Pygmies, by Isabel Allende
Age: 11+
Themes: travel; adventure; Africa; friendship; magic
Synopsis: 17 year old Alex and his close friend Nadia, are taken by Alex’s grandmother, Kate Cold, to Kenya. The purpose of Kate’s trip is to document an elephant-led safari for the National Geographic magazine. However, their plans change when they cross paths with Brother Fernando, a Spanish missionary. Two of Brother Fernando’s missionary friends have gone missing in the remote tribal village of Ngoube. This inhospitable village is ruled by three wicked characters, King Kosongo, Commandant Mbembele and the sorcerer Sombe, who rule over the tribal people by fear. King Kosongo also enslaves the Pygmies from the surrounding forest. Read the rest of this entry
The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
Age: 9+
Themes: Adventure; family; friendship; Venice
Synopsis: When 5 year old Bo and his 12 year old brother Prosper are orphaned, they run away to the magical city of Venice. They are fleeing from their aunt and uncle who are keen to adopt the angelic looking Bo but not his less adorable brother. Determined not to be separated, the two boys would rather risk a life of homelessness than for Bo to be snatched away by the glamorous but heartless Esther Hartlieb. Read the rest of this entry
The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge
Age: 9+
Themes: Fantasy; adventure; friendship; reconciliation; fairy-tale.
Synopsis: When 13 year old Maria Merryweather is orphaned, she leaves her life in London to go and live with her cousin, Sir Benjamin Merryweather, in the village of Silverydew in Moonacre Valley. Arriving there, Maria soon realises her cousin’s home is full of magic and wonder. However, beneath the surface of happiness and content, Silverydew is suffering at the evil hands of the Men from the Dark Woods. These hostile relations began many generations ago but Maria soon learns that she has a vital role to play in bringing reconciliation. Read the rest of this entry
The Weight of Water, by Sarah Crossan
Age: 10+
Themes: Multiculturalism; refugees; family; Poland.
Synopsis: The Weight of Water opens with 12 year old Kasienka and her mother leaving their homeland, Poland, and travelling to England. They are searching for Tata, Kasienka’s father, who headed to the UK three years previously. Kasienka and her mother arrive in Coventry, equipped only with a suitcase, a laundry bag and a scanty knowledge of the English language. They make a home in a grotty single room in a high tower block overlooking the Coventry Ring Road. Read the rest of this entry
Words in the Dust, by Trent Reedy
Age: 10+
Themes: Afghanistan; war; childhood.
Synopsis: Words in the Dust is told from the viewpoint of a young Afghan girl, Zulaikha. The story only recalls 18 months of her life, but this period is hugely seminal and life-changing for her. Zulaikha’s story is mainly driven by her misfortune of being born with a cleft-lip which distorts her mouth, nose and teeth. Zulaikha’s deformity has brought her a life of misery and suffering. Read the rest of this entry
The Other Life, by Susanne Winnacker
Age: 12+
Themes: dystopia, futuristic, courage, romance.
Synopsis: Fifteen year old Sherry has been trapped in a sealed bunker with her family for three years, ever since the government released a rabies virus which spun out of control. Humans became rabid, transforming into grotesque, animal-like creatures. Wild and savage, the weepers as they were known, hunted down other humans, either eating them, or infecting them and thus turning them into weepers too. Read the rest of this entry
India Dark, by Kirsty Murray
Age: 13+
Themes: childhood, theatre, travel, India, friendship, perspective.
Synopsis: Based on a true story, India Dark follows the dramatic events of the Lilliputian Opera Company in 1910 as they embark on a world tour, acting, singing and dancing their way from Australia to India. The Lilliputian Opera Company is made up of 29 youngsters aged between 7 and 18. Their boss is Arthur Percival, a lecherous, two-faced man who leads his band of youngsters on a traumatic journey that steals their innocence and leaves them irreversibly changed. Read the rest of this entry
My Name is Rose, by Sally Grindley
Age: 9+
Themes: identity, Gypsy culture, Western culture, oppression.
Synopsis: Rose is a ten-year old Gypsy girl from Romania. The story opens with Rose living a happy and content nomadic life with her loving family. However, in Chapter 2 Rose’s world collides with the rich, opulent world of the ‘gadje’ (non-Gypsy people). A rich businessman named Mr Luca crashes his car into the gypsy caravan, killing Rose’s entire family. Racked with guilt, Mr and Mrs Luca take Rose home with them to England. Read the rest of this entry
The Case of the Deadly Desperados, by Caroline Lawrence
Age: 9+
Themes: mystery; adventure; USA; historical.
Synopsis: This is the first book in what promises to be a brilliant new series from Caroline Lawrence, author of the Roman Mystery series. For her new venture, The Western Mysteries, Lawrence travels back in time and space to Virginia City, 1862 – the wild, lawless land of pistols, spurs and desperados. Read the rest of this entry
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