Calum Brooks has big dreams. One day he’ll write movies, but all he really knows about is fending for himself at home and life on the estate. Nobody is interested in that.
When his dad invites his new girlfriend and her son, Sergei, to move in, Calum’s world begins to change. His mates don’t like new people, so how’s he supposed to explain that he’s sharing a room with a kid from Poland?
Trapped at home after an accident, Calum is forced to ask Sergei for help investigating a series of break-ins at the local community centre. But Calum can’t help feeling that Sergei is hiding something. Maybe things do happen around here after all …
Mystery – Contemporary – Crime
Monthly Archives: May 2017
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
Inspired by true events that took place off the coast of Massachusetts – once home to a leper colony. Crow has lived her whole life on a tiny island with Osh, the man who rescued her from the sea as a baby, until she begins to question where she came from.
From the author of the critically acclaimed Wolf Hollow comes a moving story of identity and belonging.
Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift on a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow’s only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar.
Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn’t until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger.
Vivid and heart wrenching, Lauren Wolk’s Beyond the Bright Sea is a gorgeously crafted and tensely paced tale that explores questions of identity, belonging, and the true meaning of family.
KS3 Genre: Historical, Thriller
I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson
Jemma knows who did the murder. She knows because he told her. And she can’t tell anyone. Fourteen-year-old Jemma has severe cerebral palsy. Unable to communicate or move, she relies on her family and carer for everything. She has a sharp brain and inquisitive nature, and knows all sorts of things about everyone. But when she is confronted with this terrible secret, she is utterly powerless to do anything. Though that might be about to change… A page-turning thriller seen through the eyes of a unique narrator, this is a truly original, heart-rending and compulsive book for young adult readers. Perfect for fans of Wonder, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Looking for JJ. Penny Joelson began working with disabled people when she was a teenager, which gave her the inspiration and insight for this book. She teaches creative writing and lives in London with her family. Find Penny on Twitter: @pennyjoelson
Release by Patrick Ness
Release takes place over the course of one day in the life of Adam Thorn, a gay 17-year-old growing up in a deeply religious American home who is struggling under the suffocating weight of his devout family.
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2018
Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean
Based on a true story from 1727 on the isolated Scottish island of St Kilda when the annual trip to harvest seabirds turns into a courageous daily battle for survival stranded on the perilous sea stacks, imprisoned by the ocean, and by their fears of the unknown.
Every time a lad came fowling on the St Kilda stacs, he went home less of a boy and more of a man. If he went home at all, that is…
In the summer of 1727, a group of men and boys are put ashore on a remote sea stac to harvest birds for food. No one returns to collect them. Why? Surely nothing but the end of the world can explain why they have been abandoned to endure storms, starvation and terror. And how can they survive, housed in stone and imprisoned on every side by the ocean?
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2018