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: 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: 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: 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 …
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. …
Recommended by: Stephen Dilley/@stephenjdilley Form and Genre: Novel Length: 350 pages Summary: Hard-hitting but beautifully written novel about a Black British teenage boy’s experiences in prison and after his release, exploring some of the injustices in the criminal justice system and wider British society which disproportionately affect people of colour, but also showing how poetry can help people …
Recommended by Emma Sheppard @emma_au_soleil Author: Marjane Satrapi Form: Graphic Novel Length: 352 pages Brief synopsis: The author / narrator’s experience of growing up in Iran during the revolution. Age recommendation and challenging content: Deals with military coups, imprisonment, oppression of women, religious rule, murder and death, torture and war. Age 13+ Notable reasons for recommending …
Recommended by: Stephen Dilley/@stephenjdilley Form and Genre: Verse novel. Length: 400 pages. Summary: This verse novel, the first in a trilogy, explores Asante history and the horrors of the slave trade. The first half of the story explores eleven-year-old Kofi Offin’s childhood in Upper Kwanta before he is captured and sold into slavery, which is …
*This website is supported by our users. We sometimes earn a small commission when you click through affiliate links. Please read more in our disclaimer Recommended by Josie Colley Form and Genre: Prose/children’s fiction Length: 304 pages Summary: October grows up in the forest with her father, away from society and truly connected to nature. On her birthday, when …
*This website is supported by our users. We sometimes earn a small commission when you click through affiliate links. Please read more in our disclaimer Recommended by: Racheal Gartside Author: Andrea Levy Form: Historical fiction – novel Length: 350 pages Brief synopsis: The story of post-war Caribbean migration told through four narrators. The novel handles …