Ahem, right.

Burn, Suzanne Phillips (234 pages) – “What makes a killer?” asks the cover of the book. Burn examines what might push a school student to kill: an uncomfortable cautionary tale.

First sentence: Cameron’s mother’s new family thing is that you have to tell her everything you did with your day.

Ten Out of Ten, Meg Cabot (384 pages) – Mia’s last hurrah. At 384 pages it’s quite chunky for a Princess Diaries book, so there’s obviously a lot of tying up of loose ends.

First sentence: teenSTYLE chats with Princess Mia Thermopolis on what it means to be royal, her upcoming high-school graduation and prom, and her fashion must-haves!

What They Always Tell Us, Martin Wilson (293 pages) – James and Alex are brothers, but they’re quite different. James has it all together and Alex is a bit of an outcast, but this year things will change: Alex starts cross country running which leads him along an unexpected path, and both brothers befriend Henry, a smart 10 year old neighbour. Critics call this book “beautifully realised”, which is rather a nice compliment for a writer.

First sentence: On a Saturday morning in November, Alex finds himself alone for the weekend, so he decides to break a few rules.

Wondrous Strange, Lesley Livingston (327 pages) – Seventeen year old Kelley Winslow learns that faeries are not make believe when she meets Sonny Flannery, who guards the Samhain Gate that connects the mortal world with the Otherworld.

First sentence: Puck’s tortured words rang in Kelley’s ears as she lifted her head, struggling against the darkness that threatened to descend upon her.

How to Ditch Your Fairy, Justine Larbalestier (304 pages) – go figure, two fairy books in a row. In New Avalon everyone has a personal fairy that acts like a good luck charm for some specific piece of good luck. Charlie has a parking fairy, which sucks because she’s fourteen and the school bully drags her around like his personal parking space finder. Strange things happen when she decides to ditch her fairy…

First sentence: My spoffs looked funny in the top, which is odd because my spoffs are tiny.

The Spell Book of Listen Taylor, Jaclyn Moriarty (500 pages) – a weighty hot pink tome (don’t let that put you off on either count). Listen Taylor’s father is dating a Zing. The Zings are a wacky family that “lives in a world of misguided spell books, singular poetry, and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment” (thank you Amazon). Listen Taylor, despite the name, is a relatively normal, isolated girl. How will her world merge with the zany Zing world?

First sentence: After midnight the apartment waited, still in the moonlight and the heat.

The Reckoning, James Jauncey (346 pages) –  Fin lives on an island and dreams of escaping to the mainland. He sees a girl fall off a bridge and goes to help her but she dies in his arms. The verdict is suicide but Fin isn’t sure about that. The mystery surrounding the death of the girl will lead to discoveries about his own missing sister. Trivia: this is a very popular book title.

First sentence: It was like two worlds.

The Sniper, James Riordan (226 pages) – Based on actual events that took place during the Battle of Stalingrad, the story is about a teenage sniper whose job it is to shoot German officers. The Stalingrad snipers are legendary. If you’re interested in World War II history and you like action then read this.

First sentence: Night and day those eagle eyes search the city.

Also in:

New copies of the first three of the Squire’s Tale books by Gerald Morris: The Squire’s Tale, The Squire, His Knight and His Lady and The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf. The Squire in question is Sir Gawain’s squire, Terence… set in Camelot.