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 …
Recommended by: Gemma Molyneux/@GHOEnglish Form and Genre: Picture Book Length: 40 pages Summary: A story about a very neat badger who goes a bit too far when tidying up the forest. Age recommendation and challenging content: EYFS/KS1 Notable reasons for recommending this book: It has a great message about the importance of nature; it has beautiful illustrations; lovely rhyming story. Perfect …
Recommended by: Gemma Molyneux/@GHOEnglish Form and Genre: Picture Book Length: 32 pages. Summary: Humphrey the whale is on a quest: to find the one perfect object that will make him feel complete but nothing seems to do the trick. Humphrey soon learns that life is not about collecting stuff. Age recommendation and challenging content: EYFS/KS1 – but there are some fantastic …
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: Leah Ponsonby Form and Genre: Fiction novel and Thriller Length: 480 pages Summary: England has been infested with ghosts and the story follows a trio of teenagers who have set up their own agency to help tackle the problem. Very suspenseful with elements of humour thrown in Age recommendation and challenging content: Loss of parents, …
Lockwood & Co The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud. Read More »