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On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

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On the Come Up

Hip-hop is power in this unmissable YA read

The Urban Dictionary defines the expression ‘on the come up’ as ‘somethin’ that’s not quite happenin’ yet, but on the vurge (sic) of blowin’ up or makin’ some serious noise,’ a definition that perfectly sets the scene for On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, her second brilliant YA novel.

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Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

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Two Can Keep a Secret

 Perfect for winter weekends on the sofa

‘Sucks how people in this town keep getting away with murder doesn’t it?’

When twins Ellery and Ezra come to stay in Echo Ridge, they’re already acquainted with its unsettling history. On the surface, a bastion of decent small-town America, Echo Ridge has witnessed the murder of not one but two homecoming queens. Does the town’s respectable veneer conceal a shocking trail of deceit, conspiracy, and sheer bloody murder? You bet. As the unknown killler stirs once more, it’s time for a screamfest in the thrilling Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus.

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The Skylark's War by Hilary McKay

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The Skylark’s War

Costa Prize winner set to become a modern classic

Edward VII is on the throne and it is ‘the time of gas lamps and candlelight.’ Motherless Clarry and Peter Penrose are being raised by an austere and indifferent father, freedom coming but once a year, in the form of idyllic summers spent roaming the Cornish coast with their beloved cousin Rupert. Little do they know that life is about to change irrevocably, as war looms on the horizon, poised to steal their youth and innocence. The Skylark’s War by Hilary McKay has just scooped the Costa Children’s Book Award 2018. A family saga of immense scope, it’s a worthy winner indeed.

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My Year by Roald Dahl

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My Year

Dahl’s delightful last book is finally back in print

‘Is February, we ask ourselves, any better than January?’

Roald Dahl thinks maybe yes, because if you can battle through it then the worst of the winter is probably over, and this fierce and bitter month will yield to March and the approaching spring. My Year by Roald Dahl is a warmly conversational guide to the changing seasons of the English countryside. Inexplicably out of print for several years, this charming new edition is a must for Dahl fans and young nature enthusiasts alike.

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Cicada by Shaun Tan

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Cicada

Weird and wonderful brain food

‘Data entry clerk. Seventeen year.

No sick day. No mistake.’

Meet Cicada. He is a quiet, conscientious insect who has toiled away in a dreary office for many thankless years. His working day is so bleak, can there be any hope for his future? A new book by Shaun Tan is always a cause for celebration. An acclaimed author-illustrator, he has redefined the picture book. Here, with Cicada, he illuminates the world of the unappreciated, bullied and ignored.

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Pages & Co

A magical tribute to the power of reading

I often wish I could recapture the intensity of my childhood reading, that joyful and total immersion in a fictional world. Debut novel Pages & Co by Anna James reminds me of those exhilarating days. It tells the story of bookwanderer Tilly Pages, and her magical ability to travel into her favourite books and hang out with beloved characters. Some books are safer than others however, and when Tilly sets off on a quest to find her long-lost mother, it seems that danger may literally be lurking on the very next page.

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The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

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The Strange Library

Tempt your teenagers into the mesmerising world of Haruki Murakami

How about making 2019 the year you introduce your teenager to more challenging literature? The Strange Library, a novella by Haruki Murakami is the ideal gateway to his adult fiction. Complemented by bold and fantastical illustrations, this 2014 reissue is set in a city library, or more accurately, in the hellish alternative-library-universe that appears to have subsumed its basement. Sucked into a labyrinthine nightmare, both narrator and reader are set to experience an extraordinary mind trip.

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What Would Boudicca Do? by Elisabeth Foley and Beth Coates

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What Would Boudicca Do?

Sage advice for 21st century feministas

The intro to What Would Boudicca Do? by Elisabeth Foley and Beth Coates, a cheerfully irreverent advice guide for young women, tells us that ‘life can be troublesome for modern gals.’ Whether it’s being generally underestimated, or dealing with the specifics of bullying, body shaming, or toxic relationships, our girls are still, in 2018, living under the shadow of centuries of patriarchal oppression. But what of our foresisters, those who lived in a world where feminism hadn’t even been invented? Take a dip into this collection of everyday problems as tackled by inspirational women in history. Your very own agony aunts from a bygone past.

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The Ice Monster by David Walliams

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The Ice Monster

Big daft woolly fun

London, 1899. Meet Elsie, the 10-year-old heroine of our tale. Recently escaped from Wormly Hall Orphanage, she’s about to embark on a transition from barefoot urchin to world famous adventurer, in less time than it takes to say “another fizzingly fabulous book from David Walliams.”

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The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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The Little Prince

Charming new translation marks 75th anniversary

Imagine being able to watch the sun set forty-three times in one day, heating your breakfast over a volcano, and hitching an interplanetary ride with a flock of birds. Mere details in the life of the Little Prince, the questing innocent who drops to Earth from the stars, in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s famous fable. Celebrating its 75th anniversary, this edition has been translated by the always excellent Michael Morpurgo.

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