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The Lifters

8-11 years

A warm hearted and imaginative children's fiction debut from Dave Eggers

Imagine if the ground beneath your feet was riddled with tunnels, home to a predatory and ‘voracious underground hurricane that thinks and feels’ its way to destruction. Heavy stuff. This scenario is visited upon 12-year-old Gran Flowerpetal in this new book from the brilliant Dave Eggers. His first foray into children’s fiction, The Lifters presents us with a spirited and magical adventure, and the ever-popular theme of kids having to take charge and save the day.

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After the Fire by Will Hill

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After the Fire

Teen/Young Adult

Intense and original YA Book Prize winner

What happens to the child survivors of a brainwashing cult? How do they begin to process the horrors they have seen? Loosely based on the Waco siege of 1993, After the Fire by Will Hill is a stunning depiction of the lead-up to and aftermath of an armed siege on a Texan cult compound. This highly original novel has scooped the YA Book Prize 2018, and is undoubtedly the best book I’ve reviewed so far this year. Events unfold through the eyes of Moonbeam, a teenage girl at the heart of the drama. Moonbeam knows no life outside The Holy Church of The Lord’s Legion and its formidable leader, Father John.

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Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

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Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Teen/Young Adult

Hey kids, drugs are bad

First published in 1971, Go Ask Alice was the YA phenomenon of its day, and features prominently on America’s Most Banned Books List. It’s the cautionary tale of a vulnerable teenager, lured into the heady world of the 1960’s counter culture. Even the squarest parents know what that means. Drugs, sex and general depravity must surely follow. Originally purporting to be the most sensational of real-life diaries, these days Go Ask Alice is viewed as a fictional and somewhat hysterical piece of anti-drugs propaganda.

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The Secret of the Night Train by Sylvia Bishop

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The Secret of the Night Train

8-11 years

Sparkling continental adventure

Max Morel is a true Parisienne, lucky enough to live within sight of the Eiffel Tower, and the best pain au chocolat shop ever. But her life feels small; never has there been a girl more ready for grand adventure. Little does Max realise that she is one fateful phone call away from being swept aboard an intoxicating night train ride across Europe, one that will include international jewel thieves and undercover detectives. Hold onto your hats!

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My Brother’s Ghost

8-11 years

Re-reading this evocative ghost tale on Allan Ahlberg's 80th birthday

Remember Each Peach Pear Plum, The Jolly Postman, and the infamous Burglar Bill? Many of us grew up with the books of Allan Ahlberg, one of our best-loved children’s writers. June brings his 80th birthday, and a celebratory review is definitely in order. I’ve chosen the lesser known but very lovely, My Brother’s Ghost, the story of a girl’s 1950’s childhood, enlivened by the ghostly guardian figure of her dead brother.

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Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different

8-11 years

Slaying stereotypes instead of dragons

It seems we’re finally living in an age of true girl power. Our bookshops are piled high with stereotype-busting titles, exhorting our girls to become scientists, inventors, activists. Endless shining possibilities beckon. But what about our boys? Is their book reading still dominated by gender cliché?

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Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson

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Mind Your Head

Teen/Young Adult

A clear and supportive guide to young people's mental health

Here in the UK, the month of May brings Mental Health Awareness Week, a brilliant opportunity for Bookstoker to explore the literary side of the subject. Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson is a book we feel no teenager should be without. Packed with information and strategies on how to cope with a range of issues, this practical guide will become a personal counsellor residing on your bookshelf.

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S.T.A.G.S.

Teen/Young Adult

Thrills and chills in this darkly clever YA Book Prize shortlisted novel

‘In order for the higher orders of species to thrive…the lower orders must be curbed.’ A line to chill the spine of the most seasoned thriller fan. Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2018, the deliciously dark S.T.A.G.S is the perfect lazy weekend read.

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Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls 2

8-11 years

Inciting joyful rebellion

Volume One of Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, a collection of 100 tales of extraordinary women, was one of the publishing sensations of 2017. Showcasing real women of courage and ingenuity, and riding the wave of thezeitgeist, the authors produced a beautiful factual book that has been translated around the world. A wonderful thing then happened, a clamour of readers’ voices calling for more tales, and offering up their own heroines. Here, in Volume Two, we see the results of a very happy collaboration.

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The It-Doesn’t-Matter Suit and Other Stories

5-8 years

Delightful storytelling from a literary icon

Hands up who knew Sylvia Plath had written stories for children. I certainly didn’t, and was thrilled to stumble across this trio for young readers. Discovered among her papers after her death, and subsequently published, they aretales of magic and mischief, and cast their author in an unexpected and welcome new light.

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