Sarah Crossan(Bloomsbury Children’s Books) Kasienka’s father has left her mother and moved to England. The mother, persuaded that she can make him change his mind, uproots Kasienka’s whole life, fitting it into a suitcase and a laundry bag, and they arrive in Coventry. Forced to live in a bedsit, Kasienka and her mother must get …
11+
Scattering Like Light
S.C. Ransom(Nosy Crow) Please be aware that Scattering Like Light is the final tome of a trilogy and therefore there might be spoilers in this review! Scattering Like Light picks up where Perfectly Reflected left off. Alex and her family are on their way to Spain for a family holiday. But on Alex’s mind is …
Grace
Morris Gleitzman(Puffin) Grace is an ordinary little girl, but she does not live an ordinary life. Born within a fundamentalist Christian community, she is sheltered from the rest of Australian society, unable to interact with “sinners”, and forced to follow harsh, chauvinistic rules. But Grace still has fun in her life, mainly thanks to her much-loved …
Lost Christmas
David Logan(Quercus) A year ago, Goose had the perfect life: loving parents, Christmas around the corner, a new puppy. But this was all taken away from him suddenly when his parents were killed in a car crash on Christmas Eve. Now, a year on, he lives with his grandmother who is slowing losing to dementia, and is …
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece
Annabel Pitcher(Orion) Five years ago, Jamie’s sister Rose was killed during a series of simultaneous terrorist attacks in London. Overcome by grief, the family has fallen apart: his mum has left the family for a man whom she has met at a victims’ support group, his dad does nothing but drink all day and Rose’s twin …
Between
Jessica Warman(Egmont) On the dawn of her eighteenth birthday, Elizabeth Valchar wakes on her father’s yacht after a night of partying and walks onto the deck to investigate a noise. She finds herself staring at a dead body in the water. Her own body. Liz is forced to witness her family and friends coming to …
A Monster Calls
Patrick Nessfrom an original idea by Siobhan Dowd, with illustrations by Jim Kay(Walker Books) Connor has been having nightmares for a while. But one night, a monster, which seems to have been born from the yew tree in the churchyard opposite their house, comes to him at 12.07 am exactly and continues to do so every night. At first …
Perfectly Reflected
S.C. Ransom(Nosy Crow) Please be aware that Perfectly Reflected is the second in a trilogy of books and that there are some spoilers in this review! To enjoy Perfectly Reflected fully, please read Small Blue Thing first (you can find my review here) Perfectly Reflected picks up a few days after the end of Small …
Prisoner of the Inquisition
Theresa Breslin (Random House Children’s Books) When young Zarita makes exaggerated accusations against a beggar to her Magistrate father, she cannot foresee that the catastrophic consequences will not only be instant but that they will also resonate for years to come. Her life is changed for ever, and so is the life of the beggar’s son, Saulo, …
Trash
Andy Mulligan(David Fickling Books) Raphael, Gardo and Jun-Jun are dumpsite boys. They spend all day sorting through piles of rubbish and the huge landfill site which is also their home, hoping to find, amongst the human excrement, bits and bobs that they can sell on. When Raphael finds a small leather pouch containing some money as well as some …