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Sons of Destiny
Darren Shan
This is the final part of the Saga of Darren Shan, the vampire's assistant. In the previous instalment Darren met again his nemesis, Steve Leonard, and has discovered that Steve's son, Darius, is his nephew. He now has to decide if he will become the Lord of the Shadows and walk the darker side for the rest of his life, or try to change his destiny. The fight between the vampires and the vampanese is still looming, when Darren finds out how his life has been manipulated from before he was born by Mr Des Tiny (destiny). Mr Tiny and his daughter Evanna (a witch who wears only ropes for clothes) play a major role in the outcome of this ending (or is it just the beginning?) of the vampire's assistant.
Lightland
H. L. McCutchen
Lottie Cook is a storyteller. She collects stories about her family - the mother she never knew, her war hero grandfather and herself. Her father depends on her to hold on to the memories and share them with him and her best friend Lewis. One day Lottie finds she cannot remember any of her stories, until her father carves for her a magical Story Box. Through this box Lottie and Lewis are transported to Lightland, a magical place created by the memories of people in the real world. LightLand is ruled over by the evil NightKing, who steals people's memories. Lewis and Lottie are caught in a battle between good and evil and must confront painful memories of their own to defeat the NightKing and return to their world.
LightLand is a lyrical fantasy with a touch of mystery, humour, and adventure.
Candy
Kevin Brooks
Joe Beck is an average teenage boy living in the suburbs of London with his Dad and a cool older sister. He goes to High School, and plays in a band, life is just ticking along nicely. But during a visit to the Doctor's in the city, he meets a young girl who captures his heart and it changes his world forever. Candy. This novel explores Joe's heartrending relationship with this troubled girl, and the darkness and secrecy of her drug-filled world. He cannot do anything to save himself getting caught up in her addiction, and tries his best to help her out of it, but the consequences of getting involved will haunt him forever. This is an easy and compelling read, for males and females alike.
So Hard to Say
By Alex Sanchez
Frederick has just moved to a new town and a new school. On his first day he meets an outgoing, bubbly girl called Xio, and they become instant friends. Xio wants more than friendship from Frederick, but he's not so sure. He finds he spends more time thinking about the school soccer star, Victor, than Xio. Does this mean he's gay? Frederick has seen and heard the way kids at school make fun of Iggy - a boy everyone thinks is gay. There are some tough decisions ahead for Frederick, he has just started settling in to school and doesn't want to lose his best friend Xio.
Told from the perspective of both Frederick and Xio, this is an uplifting story of self-discovery and acceptance.
How I Live Now
Meg Rosoff
Daisy is sent from New York to the English countryside to live with her Aunt Penn and her four cousins Osbert, Isaac, Edmond and Piper. Aunt Penn is off to Oslo for a few days, that is until someone lets off a bomb in London killing thousands. England is at war, airports are closed and Aunt Penn can't get home. Life without an adult around seems great. Daisy and Edmond fall in love.
War seems far off from the farm until the army come and requisition the house and land. Daisy and Piper are separated from the boys and sent away. The reality of war soon sinks in as the girls witness some horrific events and set off across country to try and find Edmond and the others.
A gripping story that I couldn't put down, this won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2004.
Bringing Reuben Home
By Glenda Millard
Reuben lives in the domed city of New Carradon and the date for his cessation is due, but Reuben wants to go home once more. Home to the outside! Can his granddaughter Cinnabar and her friend Judah help, or will they refuse an old man his last wish? Having grown up listening to her grandfathers stories of rain on his face and wind in the trees, Cinnabar has a longing to see for herself what it is like on the outside. She and Judah devise a way to get out with a working party. When they meet JC and he helps them get out of the compound, an accident means that Cinnabar needs help from some of the people who still live free and her past unfolds, until they must all work together for Reuben and his last chance for freedom.
Montmorency
by Eleanor Updale
This is a strange one, set in Victorian London. The main character loses his identity in a burglary gone wrong when he falls through a skylight and is munted beyond recognition. He's put back together by a prominent doctor, presented to the upper class as a miracle of modern medicine and eventually freed from prison. This is where his deceptive double life begins. By day, he calls himself Montmorency and presents himself as a wealthy aristocrat. In order to fund his new identity, however, he takes to the London sewers in the guise of Scarper, servant to Montmorency. Using his knowledge of the sewer system he is able to perform untraceable thefts all over the city. The plan works wonderfully, but the deception becomes difficult to maintain when Montmorency befriends a real aristocrat, and secret agent: Sir George Fox-Selwyn.
The story is packed with plot, and fruity characters. It's kind of a mixture of Jack the Ripper and Jekyll and Hyde, told in an easy, action packed manner with a sly dose of snooty English humour. Think 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' and you're halfway there. If you're not so much into the teenage angst style of things and just prefer a 'ripping good yarn', definitely give this one a look.
Noughts & Crosses
By Malorie Blackman
Noughts & Crosses - Black & White
Callum is a nought, Sephy is a cross.
In their world noughts and crosses simply do not mix because in their world black and white are right and wrong. Together since childhood Callum and Sephy have grown to love each other but the hostility and violence of their world demand they remain apart.
Despite this, they are determined to try. A wonderful novel which will leave you thinking.
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain wants to become a writer. Trouble is, she's the daughter of a once-famous author with a severe case of writer's block. Her family--beautiful sister Rose, brooding father James, ethereal stepmother Topaz--is barely scraping by in a crumbling English castle they leased when times were good. Now there's very little furniture, hardly any food, and just a few pages of notebook paper left to write on. Bravely making the best of things, Cassandra gets hold of a journal and begins her literary apprenticeship by refusing to face the facts. She writes, "I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic, two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud."
Rose longs for suitors and new tea dresses while Cassandra scorns romance: "I know all about the facts of life. And I don't think much of them." But romantic isolation comes to an end both for the family and for Cassandra's heart when the wealthy, adventurous Cotton family takes over the nearby estate. Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmations, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its reputation as a modern classic.
Malarkey
By Keith Gray
I can't help thinking about poor John Malarkey!
Having recently moved to a new school, Brook High, John finds that he is the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Through a series of events John is caught up in an incredible web of accusations, manipulation and deceit - and there are only 24 hours for him to prove his innocence. Malarkey is a fast moving and gripping read that continually keeps you on the edge of your seat.
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Caught in the Crossfire
by Alan Gibbons
Looking for a book you can't put down, then this one is for you.
Caught in the Crossfire tells the story of Rabia a young British Muslim girl and Mike an English boy, caught up in an environment of racism, fear and hatred following the terrible events of September 11.
Rabia lives in a secure home with her Muslim father and English mother she does however worry about her brother Tahir and his increasing anger at the treatment of Muslims.
Mike is trying to survive in a dysfunctional family with an abusive father, an unhappy mother and a brother whom he both loves and fears for.
Rabia and Mike discover their love for each other. The impact this has on their family and friends and the repercussions it has on their own lives makes this a compelling read for young adults.
Sisterhood of the travelling pants
by Ann Brashares
Once upon a time there was a pair of pants. They were just a soft, ordinary pair of thrift-shop jeans, until the four girls took turns trying them on--four girls, that is, who are close friends, about to be parted for the summer, with very different sizes and builds, not to mention backgrounds and personalities. Yet the pants settle on each girl's hips perfectly, making her look sexy and long-legged and feel confident as a teenager can feel. "These are magical Pants!" they realize, and so they make a pact to share them equally, to mail them back and forth over the summer from wherever they are. Beautiful, distant Lena is going to Greece to be with her grandparents; strong, athletic Bridget is off to soccer camp in Baja, California; hot-tempered Carmen plans to have her divorced father all to herself in South Carolina; and Tibby the rebel will be left at home to slave for minimum wage at Wallman's.
Over the summer the Pants come to represent the support of the sisterhood, but they also lead each girl into bruising and ultimately healing confrontations with love and courage, dying and forgiveness. Lena finds her identity in Greece and the courage not to reject love; Bridget gets in over her head with an older camp coach; Carmen finds her father ensconced with a new fiance and family; and Tibby unwillingly takes on a filmmaking apprentice who is dying of leukemia. Each girl's story is distinct and engrossing, told in a brightly contemporary style and like the Pants, the reader bounces back and forth among the four unfolding adventures. This is a fantastic story and the best part is that there's a sequel!
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
I have to confess when I first opened this book and saw it was written in the form of poetry, I was turned of straight away.
However I had been urged to read it and only after a few pages was gripped by this amazing story.
The story of Billie Jo a young girl growing up in the dust bowl of Oklahoma facing hardships and tragedies we can't imagine. This harsh landscape has a profound and lasting effect on her young life.
This book left a huge impression on me not only because of the wonderful story but more so from the style it was written in.
If you dislike poetry then you have to read this book. Believe me it will blow you away.
Saving Francesca
by Melina Marchetta (author of Looking for Alibrandi)
Francesca has just started Year 11 at Sebastian's, a school that has only recently started accepting girls. Finding themselves in a fully macho environment the girls end up banding together to make it bearable. It's a story with many themes and witty, real characters. It's a family story wound around Francesca's mother who is suffering from serious depression. Friendships in the new school also lead Francesca to look more closely at people that she had previously considered friends. There's the necessary romance element, with Francesca sharing a love/hate relationship with a senior called William Trombal. It's also a dead funny book, with realistic male characters and excellent contemporary language. Well worth a read.
Thunder Road
By Ted Dawe
Wow, this first book by New Zealand teacher Ted Dawe sure grabs your attention. "Thunder Road" astutely deals with many topical teenage issues such as sex, drugs use and the underworld, but will appeal to adult readers also.
19 year-old Trace goes to the city to escape issues with his Dad, and teams up with Devon, a fellow boarder where he lives. He finds a job, becomes interested in his female workmate, but in his time off, hangs out with Devon, whose passion is street racing on "Thunder Road" and drugs. Life cruises by pretty well for a while, until reality catches up with Trace, and he discovers what it really means to be Devon's friend. At times funny, scary, action-packed, and totally credible, this novel sends a clear message without being didactic. The character of Devon is in fact based on a young cousin of Dawe's, a live-wire street racer who tragically died in a car accident.
I found the characters incredibly well-drawn, and the plot riveting, despite being not a bit interested in cars. Thunder Road has earned it's selection as a finalist in this year's N.Z. Post Children's Book Awards, Young Adult section.
Recommended for 14yr +.
Juggling with Mandarins
V.M Jones
Pip McLeod's got problems; the biggest one is his dad. Shouting from the sidelines and arguing with the ref. Pip is not an ace player like his older brother Nick and can't live up to his father's soccer mad expectations. Then Pip discovers that he has a gift for something he never dreamed of, this becomes a passion. His life begins to move in new directions, he experiences feelings which are new to him and he has to find the courage to confront his father and live life on his own terms.
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