Sam is fifteen and is pretty normal. In fact, he's pretty proud of the fact that he's not special in his own brain. However, when his parents suddenly become very wealthy and move to a new home in London, he's put in a new school for the "Gifted & Talented." Every student at this school seems to be on a rocket-ship trajectory to something amazing. Sam, on the other hand, doesn't think he fits in, doesn't want to fit in, even. He's struggling to find where he belongs and constantly pines for going back to the way things were before he was labelled "gifted". Meanwhile, his mum is trying to find herself with pottery and yoga and rhythmic drumming and many, many more things. It's exhausting for Sam as he doesn't feel like he's living up to his siblings. Then something happens, Sam gets thrust into the school production of The Tempest. At first he's doing it out of ironic spite, but then he gets into it, the camaraderie, the tension, pouring your guts out on the stage. Sam starts to dig it, and begins to feel like maybe he's found his place. It's rare that I laugh out loud when reading a book, especially YA. I genuinely laughed hard while reading this, Sam's dry humour and awkward bad luck hits you in the guts on almost every page. It's the perfect read for anyone looking for a heartfelt story about trying to find your place, trying to figure out what you want to be and for anyone who wants a good laugh. You will see yourself in Sam and his family no matter what your situation is, I really recommend it, check it out!
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We've all been on school trips we've not enjoyed. I once had to go on a school trip to see how a local courthouse was run only to see a family member standing before the judge. Well, that has nothing on Ian's upcoming school trip. Ian's mum is being a little over protective about this particular trip. She's packed him ten pairs of underwear and is very interested in embarrassing him to the tenth degree every chance he gets. Ian's not worried, though, why would he be? It's just a school trip. School Trip from Hell, that is. What begins as a slightly unnerving visit to an eerie mansion turns into a full blown fight for survival as Ian and his friends fend off tentacled monsters and slow moving but equally deadly zombies. Not to mention the entire show is being run by some sort of evil mastermind zombie controlling creature. Mutant Zombies Cursed My School Trip is a hilarious addition to Matt Brown's other hilarious stories. They are sharp, clever and with a little bit of an edge to them, perfect reads for those in Year 6 or 7 who claim they hate reading when in fact they haven't found a book like this one. Cole is a boy with big problems. His mum is about to lose her job at the local museum and his dad, an ex music roadie, is out of work as well. Cole's best friend is Mason, a boy whose family doesn't have to worry about money. When Cole discovers that a painting in his mum's soon to be closed museum may house a secret to a lost treasure, he becomes obsessed with finding it. Then something extraordinary happens. When a famous artist visits Cole's school. she believes that Cole's painting is a unique work of art and that Cole is an artistic genius. Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, Cole must endure mounting pressure to create a new piece of art if he's going to save his family from poverty. On the back burner is the painting's secret treasure trail. As the deadline mounts, the pressure on Cole becomes too much to bear. I flew through this novel, Cole is a flawed character that you can't help but root for. We've all been in situations where white lies have gotten out of hand and this novel takes it to a level that is thoroughly enjoyable.His immersion into a world that is completely unknown to him was a real thrill to read. I also really loved the treasure hunt the children embarked on. The Boy Who Fooled the World is a novel that is perfect for ages 10+, it has a great moral base with genuinely funny and touching moments. Sanity & Tallulah are best friends, they have a normal life, except that they live on a space station called Wilnick in the "middle of nowhere" in outer space. When Sanity decides to go "mad scientist" and grow a 3-headed cat named Princess Sparkle Destroyer of Worlds, her parents get super annoyed. Then, to make matters worse, Princess Sparkle Destroyer of Worlds goes missing and strange things start to happen on the space station. Namely, lights go off and on and the entire electric system goes out of whack. Sure that Princess Sparkle Destroyer of Worlds is to blame, Sanity and Tallulah set out to find her, but what they discover is something far more sinister than they imagined. Hilarious, smart and fast paced, Molly Brooks has created an amazing universe that readers will not want to leave. Sanity & Tallulah are a great team with caring yet constantly annoyed parents who have to try to clear up after the trouble they inadvertently cause. They are a wonderful duo and I can't wait to read more of their adventures. Jemima Small is tired of standing out. Bullied for her weight, she's dubbed Jemima "Big" by the ringleader of the bullies, Lottie. Things get worse when she's made to enrol in a school run program called Health Club but which everyone at school calls "Fat Club." What keeps her together is her best friend Miki, her brother Jasper (even if he is annoying 90% of the time) her father and her aunt Luna. Her mother isn't in the picture, all Jemima knows is that one day she decided she needed to leave, that's it. It's a cloud that hangs over her head and when Jemima discovers the truth, it comes like a bucket of cold water. Keeping Jemima focused is her chance to be on Brainiacs, the most popular quiz show around. It's not just the money that is driving her, it's the idea that she can be something more than what everyone thinks she is. As the date for the Brainiacs tryouts approaches, Jemima struggles with her self confidence and finding her place in the world. I lvoed the characters in this novel. Jemima has a real friend in Miki, someone who relentlessly defends her against the tide of toxicity that spews from the bullies at her school. Tasmin Winter knows how to write the high school voice and the voice of the downtrodden and those who rise up against the hurt. This is an important book, it's a book that tackles tough issues in a way that is delivered flawlessly. Unfortunately Jemima's struggles mirror those of many students in the UK and around the world. Jemima struggles with the idea that because she doesn't look a certain way she isn't worth anything. This is a real issue causing real damage to our youth. This book is a message like a lightning bolt to anyone struggling with body image issues, bullying, doubt, anxiety, depression, the list goes on. It's a triumph and I already anticipate how popular it will be at our school. Perfect for ages 11 and up! India Smythe is 14 and can't seem to get out of her own way. She's funny, nice and has good friends but always finds herself in one awkward situation after another. When she discovers that Ennis, the most popular boy at her school, has taken a liking to her, her life goes into warp speed in an attempt to be cool enough to live up to what she thinks are Ennis' and his clique friends' expectations. What follows are a series of genuinely funny moments involving an expired and probably illegal perfume brand and a party where India's dad storms in, clueless yet overly protective of his daughter. Eventually India begins to wonder who she's becoming by trying to keep Ennis' eye. Not only that, she's not sure she likes who she's becoming. It can be hard to find funny novels for teens. As a Librarian, I'm always on the lookout. Sarah Govett has created a story here that would appeal to a 12 year old just as much as a 17 year old, and that's an amazing feat. It's warm, hilarious and has some important underlying issues involving social media, body image, friends, peer pressure and more. I absolutely loved this story and can't wait to get it into the hands of our students. Don't miss this one! London is melting under an oppressive heatwave. Nik & Norva live in the Tri, a high-rise building where their father is the caretaker. When one of the residents, Hugo, is found murdered, Nik & Norva are on the case. They loved Hugo, he taught an art class in the common area of the Tri and always had interesting information about the Tri and surrounding community. It's summer, so Nik & Norva have a lot of time on their hands to devote to the case, to the annoyance of the local residents and police. However, for the most part, the police aren't trusted in the Tri. This gives the detective duo more access to conduct their thorough and (sometimes) reckless research into who committed the horrible crime. As the suspect list mounts, Nik & Norva find themselves in a race against time to find the killer before their lives are turned completely upside down. High Rise Mystery is an amazing new series by author Sharna Jackson. I loved following Nik & Norva's adventure through the Tri as they unwraveled the crime. They are smart, curious, stubborn and not against bending a few rules to get the job done. They are the perfect team to solve the case and I'm excited to know that they will be back with new stories and new cases to solve in the future. The supporting characters in High Rise Mystery are just as strong. Nik & Norva's friend George is hilarious and more clever than he lets on. Mark is a potential love interest but also a suspect. Nik & Norva also don't like the way Jane has been acting, in fact, everyone in the building is a suspect. Good thing they are organised and ready to take on whatever is thrown at them. It's funny, smart and a great who-dunnit that should not be missed. Sharna recently spoke to the BBC on the importance of young readers seeing their lives, their cultures, religions, backgrounds and communities reflected in the books that they read. You can read the article here. It also references a new report published by BookTrust, the UK's largest reading charity. The report states that "over the pas 11 years, fewer than 2% of all authors and/or illustrators of children's books published in the UK were British people of colour." This is why BookTrust has launched #BookTrustRepresents, a campaign to promote and support these authors who are severely underrepresented in the UK. It's 1984 & Jo Kwan has just moved with her family to Coventry, UK to start a new life. However, it's not the life Jo had imagined for herself. She's going to live above the Chinese takeaway that her family owns and operates. She hasn't seen her older brother Simon for a few years because he was sent to live with their grandparents for reasons that are unknown to Jo. She has a younger sister Bonny who has taken to smoking and stealing money from the cash register in the shop. Jo also takes money but only when she really, really needs it. Jo's mother speaks little to no English, her father speaks both English and Chinese but rarely speaks. Throw in the fact that Jo and her sister can't understand Chinese and it makes for a very interesting family dynamic. Chinglish is told through Jo's diary entries and doodles. The story track's Jo's attempts to fit in at school and how she experiences casual and not so casual racism from both children and adults in her neighbourhood. Jo starts her diary by saying she is only going to include the nice memories. As the diary continues, more and more of the "bad stuff" creeps in, and man oh man there is a lot of bad stuff. I wanted to jump into this novel on several occasions and take Jo and her sister as far away from her parents as possible, more on that later. There are some genuinely hilarious moments in this novel which are always tinged with sadness. Jo never receives Christmas or birthday presents from her family, yet she's convinced that she did receive a chair shaped like a teddy bear when she was six years old. There's no evidence of the chair existing and her parents don't acknowledge that the chair was ever purchased. It's one of those moments that slowly burns inside your brain, it's terribly sad but I had to laugh at it because Jo has to ask herself if she's going insane, why would her parents decide to lie to her about buying a teddy bear chair? Who does something like that? Then there are the animal stories, many of which can be considered animal cruelty, which Jo fully recognises. I won't spoil any of them but one of them involves goats and again, made me laugh out loud and then wonder if I should be laughing but it's so tragic and bizarre that I just couldn't help it. Jo becomes needed more and more in the takeaway, and she has to experience real problems in there. Racist customers, drunk customers, customers who demand refunds and many other issues. Her school work slips, she starts taking more and more time off because of her life is simply spiralling out of control. Her father becomes increasingly sullen, despondent and abusive. As we learn more and more about his past (the little that Jo can piece together) Jo begins her quest to remove herself from the family. With the help of her friend Tina, she starts to trust herself and have a little self confidence, especially when it comes to her only respite: art. Jo's love of art transcends the absolute madness that is her home life. I really loved this story, it's hilarious and really heart breaking at the same time. Jo's life is completely unique and fascinating, it's like watching a car crash over and over again. You will definitely feel for her and her family, it's a story of tragedy, abuse, neglect and hope. I think it's amazing and can't wait for it to come out in September. Vera wants to be what she thinks is a "regular" person. But it's hard as a Russian girl living in the U.S. suburbs. All of her friends seem to have way more money than her and they get to go to cool summer camps. Vera? She's sent to Russian summer camp. Determined to fit in, Vera soon discovers that she once again starts to feel left out. There are cliques, boring history lessons and disgusting bathrooms that make life unbearable for her. Still, Vera puts her head down and tries to make the most of it, only the strong willed can survive, and she's a survivor. I really loved this comic from Vera Brosgol (Anya's Ghost), its her own memoir of her time at a Russian summer camp and you can feel the authenticity oozing off of every page. It's funny, sad and awkward all rolled into one great story. Any fan of Raina Telgemeier will absolutely love this amazing tale of adventure, hardship and outhouses from Hell. Loved it, don't miss it. AJ wants to be different. As it stands, he doesn't feel special, he hasn't grown over the summer holiday, he doesn't have anything that makes him stand out from the crowd and the girl he has a crush on has absolutely no idea that he exists. When he finds out that his crush, Nia, is in love with a popular teen vampire series, AJ takes matters into his own hands. Then the stars align and he and Nia are paired up to do a group project on, you guessed it: Transylvania! This is AJ's time to shine, if he can convince Nia that he's as into vampires as she is, she might actually notice him and see how much he cares for her. Not all is as it seems, though. Not only is Nia harbouring a deep secret, there's something seriously off with their new teacher from the UK. He acts strange, takes his phone out in class and has urgent, hushed conversations and gets agitated really, really quickly. As the mystery unfolds, AJ has much more on his plate than the social hierarchy at school. I really loved FAKE BLOOD, it's like The Lost Boys, only cooler, funnier and more interesting. There are tons of nods to vampire pop culture and teen literature. It's a hilarious parody that is really fun to read. I work with students who are going to absolutely love this, I can see them existing in this comic, they talk like this, they are the kids who come to the Library to escape the madness that can exist in the hallways on the outside. All Librarians should buy this and have it on display immediately, loved it. |
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