Margot and Me by Juno Dawson

Margot and Me by Juno Dawson

How can you hate someone in the present and love them in the past?

Fliss’s mum needs peace and quiet to recuperate from a long illness, so they both move to the countryside to live with Margot, Fliss’s stern and bullying grandmother. Life on the farm is tough and life at school is even tougher, so when Fliss unearths Margot’s wartime diary she sees an opportunity to get her own back,

But Fliss soon discovers Margot’s life during the evacuation was full of adventure, mystery … and even passion. What’s more, she learns a terrible secret that could tear her whole family apart…

Why We Need Libraries

Booktrust interviewed Frank Cottrell Boyce about libraries and reading.

“One of the great things about the library is the Unexpected. We are beginning to realise that while the internet seems to offer all human knowledge, what it most often tempts us to do is build little echo chambers.

“One of the great things about libraries of course is that they contain LIBRARIANS. No technology can replace real human interaction.

“Libraries are powerhouses of social mobility … it’s the only thing that can save us. And Libraries are the key to it.”

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The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily BarrSeventeen-year-old Flora Banks has no short-term memory. Her mind resets itself several times a day, and has since the age of ten, when the tumor that was removed from Flora’s brain took with it her ability to make new memories. That is, until she kisses Drake, her best friend’s boyfriend, the night before he leaves town. Miraculously, this one memory breaks through Flora’s fractured mind, and sticks. Flora is convinced that Drake is responsible for restoring her memory and making her whole again. So when an encouraging email from Drake suggests she meet him on the other side of the world, Flora knows with certainty that this is the first step toward reclaiming her life.

With little more than the words “be brave” inked into her skin, and written reminders of who she is and why her memory is so limited, Flora sets off on an impossible journey to Svalbard, Norway, the land of the midnight sun, determined to find Drake. But from the moment she arrives in the arctic, nothing is quite as it seems, and Flora must “be brave” if she is ever to learn the truth about herself, and to make it safely home.

Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2018

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

The Bone SparrowBorn in a refugee camp, all Subhi knows of the world is that he’s at least 19 fence diamonds high, the nice Jackets never stay long, and at night he dreams that the sea finds its way to his tent, bringing with it unusual treasures. And one day it brings him Jimmie. Carrying a notebook that she’s unable to read and wearing a sparrow made out of bone around her neck – both talismans of her family’s past and the mother she’s lost – Jimmie strikes up an unlikely friendship with Subhi beyond the fence. As he reads aloud the tale of how Jimmie’s family came to be, both children discover the importance of their own stories in writing their futures.
Winner of the Amnesty CILIP Honours 2017; Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2017

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child biggest seller of 2016

Jack Thorne’s script  for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was the biggest selling book of 2016, with sales of 1.45 million copies.

And sales of print books were at their highest since 2007, at £83.3m, in the run up to Christmas. Booksellers Association CEO Tim Godfray said: “Thank heavens so many were wide of the mark when predicting the demise of the printed book.”

 

Watership Down author Richard Adams has died

Richard Adams, author of the children’s classic Watership Down, died on Christmas Eve at the age of 96. Watership Down is a moving story about a group of rabbits who have to search for a new home after their warren is destroyed. It was first published in 1972, and won the Carnegie Medal. Adams wrote the book after telling the story to his daughters on a long car journey.

Watership Down was filmed in 1978, with Art Garfunkel singing the theme song ‘Bright Eyes’. A new television adaptation will be broadcast later this year.

 

The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson

The Goldfish Boy12-year-old Matthew is trapped in his bedroom by crippling OCD, spending most of his time staring out of his window as the inhabitants of Chestnut Close go about their business. Until the day he is the last person to see his next door neighbour’s toddler, Teddy, before he goes missing. Matthew must turn detective and unravel the mystery of Teddy’s disappearance – with the help of a brilliant cast of supporting characters.

Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans

Wed Wabbit by Lissa EvansYou’re called Fidge and you’re nearly eleven. You’ve been hurled into a strange world. You have three companions: two are unbelievably weird and the third is your awful cousin Graham.

You have to solve a series of nearly impossible clues.

You need to deal with a cruel dictator and three thousand Wimbley Woos (yes, you read that sentence correctly). And the whole situation – the whole, entire thing – is your fault.

Wed Wabbit is an adventure story about friendship, danger and the terror of never being able to get back home again.

Shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award 2017 and the Carnegie Medal 2018

Brian Conaghan wins 2016 Costa Children’s Book Award

The Bombs That Brought Us TogetherBrian Conaghan has won this year’s Costa Children’s Book Award for his novel The Bombs That Brought Us Together. His debut novel When Mr Dog Bites was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2014. The Costa judges described his latest book as “a necessary take on modern life in extraordinary circumstances”.

The winners of five categories – novel, first novel, children’s fiction, poetry and biography – were announced on 3 January. An overall winner will be announced on 31 January. Last year, Frances Hardinge’s The Lie Tree won both the children’s award and the overall book of the year for 2015, the first time a children’s book had won since Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass in 2001.

The Bombs That Brought Us Together on GoodReads