One in a Hundred Thousand by Linni Ingemundsen is a heartwarming book about learning to fit in, even when you are ‘different’. Sander has Silver-Russell syndrome, which means he does not grow as much as any other boys his age, and he is smaller than his younger brother. This makes him worry about lots of things, and when Niklas arrives, his troubles just get worse. Everyone thinks Niklas is amazing; clever, handsome and kind, but Sander doesn’t see him that way. Sander doesn’t like the way he brags about his life; his girlfriend, bike ramp and many injuries he has gotten from it and his ‘amazing’ hair. He is so perfect, and, compared to Sander, you know who everyone would choose. Despite all of this, Sander sees something in Niklas, something buried deep in him mind, and he is scared…This is an amazing book, which teaches you the value of friendship and how (quoting Wonder): ‘You can’t blend in when you were born to standout.’ I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would be very interested in reading some of Linni Ingemundsen’s other books, as, if they are as good as this book, I will be buying them all!
I am 13 years old and I have Type 1 diabetes. I like reading, experimenting with new things, playing football and I support Arsenal. At school my favourite subject is Drama.
Laura-May here, I just finished Julia and the Whale and what can I say I loved it, the story for me was beautiful. It wasn’t high action it wasn’t heart racing it was just beautiful. The type of story you can’t put down for its intriguing tale. It’s one of those metaphorical stories where the side-subject spoken about isn’t a thing at all but an underlying message for something deeper. It’s magical. The shark mentioned represents being limited having others hold you back or holding yourself back. The imagery was truly enchanting. And the characters were entertaining and relatable.
Big recommend for for 10-14 year olds who enjoy entrancing and descriptive books.
Thank You for reading my review!
I was born in Worthing but I live in Lancing, I really like it as I love my neighbourhood. Right now I’m in Year 9 and I’ve always loved English and reading in fact in Year 3 I entered the Wicked writing competition and I got down to the final with my story Playdates about a girl making friends with a ghost. And the library ANY library has always been a place I feel calm and happy. So many doorways to adventure I can never pick! In Year 6 I volunteered to help put books away at lunch times. And of course my highlight of the summer the library reading challenge I participated in for about 6 years straight. I try to spread my love for reading too be it by tutoring my neighbour in English or by recommending books to friends I just love it.
A captivating, powerful and luminous story from a bestselling, award-winning author about a mother, a daughter and the great Greenland shark. Wrapped up in mesmerising illustrations and presented as a deluxe hardback, this is a perfect gift for the holiday season, for 9+ fans of Philip Pullman, David Almond and Frances Hardinge. ‘Tom de Freston’s stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s story’ Cressida Cowell’A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light’ Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken LegsThe shark was beneath my bed, growing large as the room, large as the lighthouse, rising from unfathomable depths until it ripped the whole island from its roots.
The bed was a boat, the shark a tide, and it pulled me so far out to sea I was only a speck, a spot, a mote, a dying star in an unending sky… Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer – her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother’s obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope…
A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love – with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment.
This book is spit-your-drink-out and snort with laughter funny. And let’s face it, we all need a bit of that right now!
A riotous journey through school days and friendship dramas and surviving those horrendously embarrassing moments that feel like the end of the world, all whilst trying to break down gender barriers and break in to stand up comedy. Pretty Funny is here for you and all your self-care laughter medicine needs.
Does anyone ever really want to ‘fall’ in love? Knowing me I’ll just trip over it and graze my knee on the gravel of humiliation. Haylah Swinton is fairly confident she’s brilliant at being a girl. She’s an ace best friend, a loving daughter, and an INCREDIBLY patient sister to her four-year-old total nutter of a brother, Noah. But she has a secret. She wants to be a stand-up comedian, but she’s pretty sure girls like her – big girls, girls who don’t get all the boys, girls who a lot of people don’t see – don’t belong on stage. That hasn’t stopped her dreaming though, and when the seemingly perfect opportunity to write routines for older, cooler, impossibly funny Leo arises . . . well, what’s a girl to do? But is Leo quite an interested in helping Haylah as he says he is? Will Haylah ever find the courage to step into the spotlight herself? And when oh when will people stop telling her she’s ‘funny for a girl’?!
We love this book!
It’s about families and first love and finding your true self… and then finding the strength to actually like and comfortably become your true self.
Rebecca Elliott has perfectly pitched the young teenage voice and created a painfully funny and realistic picture of the early teen years. It’s a joy to read and an absolute page turner.
Mostly, this is a tonic. A healthy dose of self-worth and confidence building. A hugely positive and powerful hug of a book. It shows young teens how resilient and awesome and brilliant they really are and how to hold on to that power and smash their way through life, smiling and laughing and loving themselves.
Perfect for fans of Girl Online, Tamsin Winters and Louise Rennison, and a book that should be in every secondary school library. Perfect for 12+ but there’s nothing here that wouldn’t be appropriate for discerning 10+ readers who need a good old belly laugh.
If you like your adventures dark and dangerous and your stories gory, this is the book for you. Perfect for fans of the magic and story building of Harry Potter and the darkness of A.F. Harrold's The Imaginary.
Evernight is dramatically written; crying out to be read aloud. It would be a great choice for teachers who want to share some magic with Key Stage 3 pupils. We were totally engrossed, although we did have to read some of the more macabre sections through our fingers!
With fantastic characters who come alive through strong, dramatic writing, this is a vivid and engaging story. This is a refreshing take on good versus evil, with the evil being deliciously dark and dangerous and the good being feisty yet powerless.
Evernight is hard to put down and harder to let go of. We can't wait to see what happens later in the series.
About the book:
Thousands of years ago, the Evernight came to the Silver Kingdom and turned everything to darkness and chaos. It was only defeated thanks to the skill and bravery of the Witches. But now the Evernight is about to return, released by the evil Mrs Hester, and the only spell that might stop it is lost, deep below the great city of King’s Haven.
Then orphan Larabelle Fox stumbles across a mysterious wooden box while treasure-hunting in the city’s sewers. Little does she realise she is about to be catapulted into an adventure, facing wild magic and mortal danger – and a man who casts no shadow . . .
One magical friendship. One roaring adventure. The magical tale of a bold young chimney sweep and a remarkable tiger, a dangerously hypnotic ruby and a mystical land that’s found across an ocean and through a storm. Perfect for fans of The Girl of Ink and Stars and Pax.
Tiger Heart is a fierce historical fantasy where nothing is as it seems and magic can come from the most surprising of places. It is also deliciously dark; dealing with themes of capitalism, control and greed. A tale for our age, the nods to capitalist politics, child labour and animal welfare make this historical adventure all too relevant.
A fantastic story for children who enjoy their magic grounded in history with believable, authentic characters and a layer of worldly truth. We loved it!
About the book:
Fly never meant to end up in a cage with a man-eating tiger. And though she’s no princess, when the tiger bows to her, she can’t help vowing to free him and return him home. But the bird-filled jungles and cloud-topped mountains of the tiger’s homeland are an ocean away. And not everyone wants the tiger to return.
With dark and dangerous forces working against them, will Fly be able to fulfil her promises, keep them both alive and – just maybe – become the queen her tiger knows her to be?
The gods of The Myriad were as real as the coastlines and currents, and as merciless as the winds and whirlpools. Now the gods are dead, but their remains are stirring beneath the waves…
On the streets of the Island of Lady’s Crave live 14-year-old street urchins Hark and his best friend Jelt. They are scavengers: diving for relics of the gods, desperate for anything they can sell.
But there is something dangerous in the deep waters of the undersea, calling to someone brave enough to retrieve it. When the waves try to claim Jelt, Hark will do anything to save him. Even if it means compromising not just who Jelt is, but what he is…
Deeplight by Frances Hardinge is a deliciously dark exploration of identity and how far you will go to be true to yourself. It is an exploration of religion and the damaging effects of power, as well as a celebration of the life-giving power of stories.
The best fantasy has strong links with reality and Deeplight explores the teenage experience of identity and the confusions and contradictions of life beautifully. Dealing with themes of power, manipulation, bullying and the trials of friendship, it is about learning who you are and fighting for your independence.
With all the mystery and adventure we have come to expect from Hardinge, Deeplight doesn’t disappoint.
