Recommended by: Sam Bateman/@slbsamantha Author: Hayley Webster Form and genre: Fiction Length: 134 pages Brief synopsis: Willow is struggling socially & academically. Her mum is struggling too – since Dad left them & grandma (the lynchpin who held them all together) has died. Willow has no one who sees & values her for who she …
Recommended by: Bob Cox/@openingdoors.bsky..org Author: Susan Hill Form and genre: Prose Length: 162 pages (Novella) Brief synopsis: Colin. May. Frank. Berenice. The Prime children grew up in a bleak country farmhouse called The Beacon. Colin and Berenice married locally. May went to university in London, but came home within a year and never left …
Recommended by: Emma Westwood Author: Maureen Johnson Form and genre: Prose/Coming of age romance Length: 320 pages Brief synopsis: Ginny, aged 17, is left 13 little blue envelopes by her free-spirited young Aunt Peg. Little does she know just how much they will change her life… Age recommendation: Y9+ Trigger Warnings: n/a Notable reasons for …
Recommended by: Nicola Traverse/@Mrs_Trav_ Author: Tia Fisher Form and genre: Poetry/Bildungsroman narrative Length: 410 pages Brief synopsis: A poignant poetry novel about a young boy struggling to navigate life after the death of his father. With his home life in pieces and struggling with secondary life, Eric becomes embroiled with a drugs gang. Before he knows …
Recommended by: Nicola Traverse/@Mrs_Trav_ Author: Phil Earle Form and genre: Prose/historical fiction Length: 320 pages Brief synopsis: While most children are evacuating FROM war-torn London, Joseph is sent TO London. With his mother gone and his father at war, Joseph’s gran can’t cope with his behaviour and so he sent to live with Mrs F. Mrs F …
Recommended by: Nicola Traverse/@Mrs_Trav_ Author: Form and genre: YA/prose/realistic Length: 400 pages Brief synopsis: Two young strangers meet on a bridge, both intending to jump. The book then explores the 4 possibilities:One jumps, the other doesn’t,They both jump.Neither jumps.Beautifully written with excellent character development. Age recommendation: 14+ Trigger Warnings: Mental Illness/struggles/suicide Notable reasons for recommending: Allows …
Recommended by: Nicola Traverse/@Mrs_Trav_ Author: Christopher Edge Form: ProseGothicFemale protagonistHistorical Fiction Length: 256 pages Brief synopsis: Penelope Tredwell owns and writes The Penny Dreadful under the pseudonym Montgomery Flinch. In order to boost sales she hires an actor to take on the persona of Flinch. When a letter from Bedlam arrives asking for Flinch’s expertise with …
Recommended by: Nicola Traverse/@Mrs_Trav_ Author: Patrice Lawrence Form: Prose/YA/Bildungsroman narrative Length: 440 pages Brief synopsis: After giving him drugs to take and hold, Marion’s date dies next him on a fairground ride. Marlon then finds himself breaking the promise he made to his mother. He promised never to follow in brother’s footsteps, but after this …
I do a lot of curriculum work. For quite a while now I’ve been trying to articulate something for myself with little success. This blog post has been invariably a Twitter post, a very long thread, and then a collection of notes sitting in my drafts folder for aaages. Anyway, I met a lady last …
Recommended by: Rebecca Tulloch/@bectully Form and Genre: Autobiography Length: 176 pages. Summary: A young man’s inspirational description of his life as a paraplegic man. He broke his neck when he jumped into the sea abroad after his A levels. This inspirational story is now a West End musical, it’s author is a public speaker and artist. …