The Boy I Am by K.L. Kettle, reviewed by Mel

Wow. When I read that this book was a dystopian thriller, I didn’t really know what to expect as I’m not the biggest fan of dystopians, yet I am a huge fan of thrillers. The Boy I Am was everything and more you can get from a book. There is an insane amount of plot and character building right from the get go, with carefully placed flashbacks which really let you connect with the main character, Jude Grant, in a way which I find rare in a book. The conflict/battle scenes were detailed on a level similar to The Maze Runner- every scene was clear and I didn’t get confused once. Jude Grant undergoes insane character development throughout this book as his beliefs of the world around him slowly crumble as the reality of the situation is revealed.

Such an interesting and well executed look into different types of power and gender roles.

A fantastic book for anyone who loves plot twists, thrillers, dystopians and fight scenes!!!!

 As I kid I always adored reading, and it was my number one hobby. That filtered away for a bit when I started secondary school, but since getting back into it again over lockdown I haven’t been able to stop. My mums an english teacher, so
she’s always encouraged me to read and help me understand how amazing it is. I am an optimistic, chatty, kind person with a big love for animals and treating the planet kindly. I took Early Modern History, Psychology, and English Lang/Lit (combined) for A level to help myself gain a better understanding of the reasons behind people’s actions

About the book

They say we’re dangerous. But we’re not that different.

Jude is running out of time.

Once a year, lucky young men in the House of Boys are auctioned to the female elite. But if Jude fails to be selected before he turns seventeen, a future deep underground in the mines awaits. Yet ever since the death of his best friend at the hands of the all-powerful Chancellor, Jude has been desperate to escape the path set out for him.

Finding himself entangled in a plot to assassinate the Chancellor, he finally has a chance to avenge his friend and win his freedom. But at what price?

A speculative YA thriller, tackling themes of traditional gender roles and power dynamics, for fans of Malorie Blackman, Louise O’Neill and THE POWER.

The Dragon with the Blazing Bottom by Beach, reviewed by Ted

About the book

The first in a fabulously funny and hugely commercial series about a dragon who has lost his flame – but may just find fire elsewhere . . .

Perfect for fans of The DInosaur That Pooped series. Sir Wayne’s dragon has lost his flame. Are his teeth TOO clean? Is his tongue TOO pink? Perhaps his diet is to blame.

Not to worry – Sir Wayne has a meal plan of EPIC proportions, including a big lump of lava, one burning bush, some sparklers and fireworks – the ones that go ‘WHOOOOSH’. Oh, and one VERY mouldy old piece of cheese – almost as green as the snot from a sneeze . . . What could possibly go wrong?!

A hilarious and dynamic character-driven picture book, with a truly explosive ending! From the hugely exciting new picture book talent, Beach. 

Due to be published 2nd September and we’re just as excited as Ted!

Pop! by Mitch Johnson, reviewed by Ben

POP is an adventure story about an overly popular drink called mac-tonic. The story starts where the drinks secret formula is lost at sea and a Mac-Tonic lover called Queenie finds it on the shore. The story continues with the trillion-dollar Mac-Tonic company’s attempts to regain the recipe of their bestselling drink. 
I enjoyed the book. The many plot twists and lies fed to the consumers – and the overkill marketing schemes – made the whole novel packed with adventure, discovery, and shocking truths about the company, which many of the population relied on to produce their favourite sugar and caffeine-packed drink. Another great theme to the book is its many morals and messages related to climate change, greed, and addiction. I thought the book touched well on these areas while still appealing to younger children (7–10-year-olds) as well as young teens. 
I can’t say I disliked any aspect of the book as it was such an incredible read. The messages are well put out and it has a very real side as it shows the evil of the Mac-Tonic corporation and its extreme marketing, which is a strategy that some companies use today.  
Mitch Johnson has a theme running through his two books- well written messages for the world today- kick his debut novel tackling children’s rights. 
I loved reading Pop – a well written adventure novel for a wide age range. 

My name is Ben and I enjoy reading books. I am 12 years old and I am in year 7 at school. I also enjoy playing cricket; playing sport in general; hiking and walking my dog Barney, who is an Australian labradoodle puppy. 

About the book

An outrageous theft. A huge reward. Two friends on the run.

An uproariously funny, action-packed new adventure about the power of courage, standing up for what’s right, and fizzy drinks, from the award-winning author of Kick. Queenie stares out at the ocean and dreams of a world beyond her small-town. She’s about to get her wish…

When the priceless recipe to the world’s most popular drink – thought to be lost forever – washes up at her feet, Queenie’s life instantly changes. Everyone wants it, and with a $10 million bounty on her head, Queenie’s soon on the run. Pursued by bounty hunters, black-ops helicopters and angry mobs, Queenie’s journey involves a trip to Area 51, a man-eating alligator and an unlikely new friend, Todd.

But being on the run also makes Queenie begin to see the world around her more clearly – a world in which a big corporation’s excess has left the planet covered in its plastic bottles and waste. Suddenly, the home she always dreamed of escaping, and the ocean she grew up with and took for granted, don’t seem so bad. If Queenie and Todd can bring down the bad guys, maybe she can go back home and make a difference…

Mystery of the Night Watchers by A.M. Howell, reviewed by Leontine

I really enjoyed this book. I like how it’s written as it never got boring and when a character was feeling a particular emotion I felt it too. 

This is a story about family, doing the right thing and standing up to bullies.

Nancy -the main character- is determined, brave and will stop at nothing when righting wrongs. She’s accompanied in the book by her friend Burch and Violet her little sister. You’ll join these characters as they try and solve the mysteries piling up. This fascinating story is based in the Edwardian era in Suffolk at the time Halley’s comet (a comet that passes Earth every 75 to 76 years) was approaching the globe.

I loved how there were a lot of details about how it would have been in those days.

This gripping story is written by the author of The garden of lost secrets and The house of one hundred clocks. 

The mystery of the night watchers is an exciting,new book, great for fans of The good thieves by Katherine Rundell.

My name is Leontine, I’m 10 years old and I live in Hove with my French mum, my Italian dad and my annoying little brother, who is 7 years old. I love reading books especially books about adventure, magic, myths and mysteries. I also enjoy reading comics with my brother.

About the book

From the bestselling author of The Garden of Lost Secrets and The House of One Hundred Clocks, A.M. Howell, comes a gripping new adventure filled with buried secrets and dark lies, set against the evocative backdrop of the Edwardian era. MAY, 1910As the blazing Halley’s comet draws close to the earth, Nancy is uprooted to start a new life in Suffolk with a grandfather she has never met.

With every curtain drawn shut, Nancy is forbidden from leaving her grandfather’s house: no one must know that her or her mother are there. Yet, when Nancy discovers the house’s secret observatory, she watches her mother and grandfather creep out every night… Where are they going? And why mustn’t any of them be seen? As the mysteries pile up, Nancy must bring dark secrets from the past to light – even if doing so will put her own life at risk.

The Cartoons that Came to Life by Tom Ellen and Phil Corbett, reviewed by Niamh

Hello! My name is Niamh and I’m aged 8. I’m an avid reader and some of my favourite authors and illustrators are Laura Ellen Anderson, Steven Butler, Steven Lenton, Sophy Henn and Sophie Anderson. I want to be an author and illustrator when I’m older and I love to write and draw in my spare time. I like to recommend books to my friends at school and believe you can never have too many books, even though I’m running out of space on my bookshelves! 

About the book

Perfect for fans of Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates series!

Finn loves drawing comic strips featuring his two cartoon heroes, Arley and Tapper. But after being teased at school, he finds he can’t draw them any more – and is shocked to see them climbing out of his sketchbook for real! With the help of his friend Isha, Finn needs to find a way to draw them back to their comic world – and quickly …

A brilliant action-packed comic series for readers aged 8-12, illustrated by Phil Corbett! A big-hearted adventure about celebrating individuality, friendship and true loyalty.

Deals with children’s insecurities, worries and the debilitating effect of anxiety with a lightness of touch. Author Tom Ellen is the co-author of three books for teens, including Lobsters, shortlisted for the YA Book Prize.

Genie and Teeny Make a Wish by Steven Lenton, reviewed by Evie

Title : Genie and Teeny Make a Wish 5/5

If I could wish for the best book in the world it would be this one! The amazing main characters are Grant the Genie and Teeny the dog. The story is about a dog and a genie trying to find a home, well Grant is but Teeny is a missing dog and Lavinia Lavender pretends she’s his owner!

Grant falls out of Genie world all the way to the human world. And when Lavinia Lavender captures them they get taken back home with her and have to find a way to escape! I loved this book because its really exciting and all really interesting. The illustrations in it are mind-blowing – you all will go koo-koo. My favourite part was on (page 51) it told you stuff you had to do to the book like turning the book or shaking it or turning it upside down, its hilarious.

You can also list three wishes and learn how to draw Grant. I give this book 5/5 – you must get it!

Hey I am Evie! I love playing with my friends, dancing, singing and having adventures through the stories that I read. My favourite stories so far are the Magic Ballerina books where some magic ballet shoes take dancers on magical adventures 🩰 . I also love crazy Roald Dahl books – they are so funny 😆 people get stretched, blown up and even disappear and I love snowy stories like Snow Day and also the enchanting Snow Dragon.  Reading is so amazing as every time you turn a page you go into another world and I love that 🥰. 

About the book

Meet Grant the genie, and his best friend – the puppy Teeny… The first in a series of magical adventures from the renowned illustrator, Steven Lenton, winner of Waterstones Picture Book of the Month and the Times Children’s Book of the Week. When Grant the Genie is cast out of Genie World, he lands on Earth with a big, fat bump! Without a lamp to call home, he has to settle for an old cracked teapot instead.

Grant is very lonely until he meets the puppy, Teeny. Then Genie and Teeny are kidnapped by the evil purple-loving Lavinia Lavender, and find themselves on-course for a rollercoaster of an adventure – when all they really want is a place to call home…

The Astonishing Future of Alex Nobody by Kate Gilby Smith, reviewed by Sophie

I’m Sophie and my greatest passion is BOOKS! I love reading, and I’d like to be an author when I’m older. I also like singing and art, and am kind of chatty 🙂

About the book

‘A wonderful time-travelling adventure with more twists and turns than the hands of a clock on a helter-skelter. Alex and Jasper are a fantastic dynamic duo, and the book has genuine friendship and warmth at the heart of a timey-wimey mystery. I loved it.’- L.D. Lapinski, author of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency.

Have you ever thought what it might be like if you were famous in the future? A brilliant middle-grade adventure for fans of Ross Welford – a story about friendship, courage and embracing our talents even when they make us stand out.

On the day Alex was born, crowds surrounded the hospital. On her first day of school, people spied from the gates. And recently, strangers came to watch her perform in her school play … as the llama. But why? Alex has always been a nobody.

Then a mysterious boy named Jasper starts at school and he alone seems to know the answer. But before he can tell Alex, he disappears … into the year 2100.

Can Alex brave traveling into the future to discover what’s happened to him and to unravel the secret of her own astonishing destiny … before time runs out?

One in a Hundred Thousand by Linni Ingemundsen, reviewed by James

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. 


Boy, Everywhere by A.M. Dassu, reviewed by Aysha

Hello my name is Aysha and I’m 10 years old. I love reading, sports and baking. The book I’m reading is Nevermoor The Trials of Morrigan Crow. I like to read mystery and adventure books. I play two instruments the piano and the tenor horn which I enjoy. In my spare time I like to draw. 

About the book

This debut middle-grade novel chronicles the harrowing journey taken by Sami and his family from privilege to poverty, across countries and continents, from a comfortable life in Damascus, via a smuggler’s den in Turkey, to a prison in Manchester. A story of survival, of family, of bravery … In a world where we are told to see refugees as the ‘other’, this story will remind readers that ‘they’ are also ‘us’.

Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, reviewed by Laura-May

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. 

About the book

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.