ACHUKA Children's Books UK

children's & YA recommendations on the go

You are here: Home / Archives for YA

The Humiliations of Welton Blake by Alex Wheatle

By Leave a Comment

BookTrust Book of the Day 16 Jan 2021

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

“Perfect comic timing” BookTrust

Welton Blake has done it! He’s asked out Carmella McKenzie – the best-looking girl in school – and she’s only gone and said yes! But just as he thinks his luck is starting to change, Welton’s phone breaks, kick-starting a series of unfortunate and humiliating events. With bullies to avoid, girls ready to knock him out and all the drama with his mum and dad, life for Welton is about to go very, very wrong … Hilarity follows disaster in this sharp-witted tale of the trials of teen life from award-winning author Alex Wheatle.

Preview>>>


 

Filed Under: YA

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

By Leave a Comment

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

“Bracken builds a rich world around a skeleton of ancient Greek mythology that is perfect to read on a dull weekend and sure to delight readers.” KIRKUS
“ambitious worldbuilding and breakneck pacing” PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“a ferocious triumph” BOOKLIST

From the No.1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkest Mindscomes a high-octane story of power, destiny and redemption. A lifetime ago, Lore Perseous left behind the brutal, opulent world of the Agon families – ancient Greek bloodlines that participate in a merciless game every seven years. A game that is about to begin again…

For centuries, Zeus has punished the gods with a game called the Agon, which turns them mortal for one week, and at the mercy of being hunted by those with godly ambitions. Only a handful of the original Greek gods remain, the rest replaced by the mortals who killed them and ascended. After her family’s sadistic murder by a rival bloodline, Lore escapes and vows to repay her parents’ sacrifice by doing one thing – surviving. For seven years, she has pushed back dark thoughts of revenge against the man responsible for their murder, a man by the name of Wrath who has attained unimaginable power. Except for one week, every seven years. A week that is fast approaching … When Lore comes home on the first night of the Agon to find Athena gravely wounded on her doorstep, the goddess offers her an alliance; they have a mutual enemy, after all. But as the world trembles under the force of Wrath – a god with the power to destroy all of humanity – will Lore’s decision to bind her fate with Athena’s come back to haunt her?

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

By Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 14 Jan 2021

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

“A resounding success.” KIRKUS

With his King Lord dad in prison and his mom working two jobs, seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter helps the only way he knows how: slinging drugs. Life’s not perfect, but he’s got everything under control. Until he finds out he’s a father…

US cover

Suddenly it’s not so easy to deal drugs and finish school with a baby dependent on him for everything. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. But when King Lord blood runs through your veins, you don’t get to just walk away.

Gone To The Woods by Gary Paulsen

By Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 11 Jan 2021
Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

“A rich, compelling read that is emotive and expressive without forcing empathy from the reader. Both brightly funny and darkly tragic, it is fresh in its honest portrayal of difficult themes.Readers will fall into this narrative of succeeding against overwhelming odds amid deep trauma.” KIRKUS
“Beautifully written, Paulsen’s memoir demonstrates that good can triumph over bad beginnings.” BOOKLIST
“Read like a wolf eats. Read when they tell you not to read, and read what they tell you not to read.” Gary Paulsen

If not for his six-hundred-mile journey from the busy Chicago city to a captivating Minnesotan farm aged five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book aged thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his daring teenage enlistment in the army, he might not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller.

Gone to the Woods: A True Story of Growing Up in the Wild is the  true story of Gary Paulsen’s childhood, of grit and growing up, and is Paulsen at his rawest and most real.


 

 

The Boy Ia Am by K. L. Kettle

By Leave a Comment

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

A speculative YA thriller, tackling themes of traditional gender roles and power dynamics

Jude is running out of time. Once a year, lucky young men in the House of Boys are auctioned to the female elite. But if Jude fails to be selected before he turns seventeen, a future deep underground in the mines awaits.
Yet ever since the death of his best friend at the hands of the all-powerful Chancellor, Jude has been desperate to escape the path set out for him. Finding himself entangled in a plot to assassinate the Chancellor, he finally has a chance to avenge his friend and win his freedom. But at what price?

The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor

By Leave a Comment

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

‘Britain’s female Stephen King’ Daily Mail

Welcome to Chapel Croft. For Rev Jack Brooks and teenage daughter Flo it’s supposed to be a fresh start. New job, new home. But, as Jack knows, the past isn’t easily forgotten. And in a close-knit community where the residents seem as proud as they are haunted by Chapel Croft’s history, Jack must tread carefully. Ancient superstitions as well as a mistrust of outsiders will be hard to overcome.

Yet right away Jack has more frightening concerns.

Why is Flo plagued by visions of burning girls?
Who’s sending them sinister, threatening messages?
And why did no one mention that the last vicar killed himself?

Chapel Croft’s secrets lie deep and dark as the tomb. Jack wouldn’t touch them if not for Flo – anything to protect Flo. But the past is catching up with Chapel Croft – and with Jack. For old ghosts with scores to settle will never rest . . .

First Day Of My Life by Lisa Williamson

By Leave a Comment

Times Children’s Book of the Week 3 Jan 2021

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

“a moral story about overcoming self-interest to look after others, and a compelling drama”
The Times

It’s GCSE results day. Frankie’s best friend, Jojo, is missing. A baby has been stolen. And more than one person has been lying. Frankie’s determined to find out the truth and her ex-boyfriend Ram is the only person who can help her. But they’re both in for a shock… EVERYTHING is about to change.


 

Last One To Die by Cynthia Murphy

By Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 6 Jan 2021

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

Are you a teen who thrills to be terrified? This book is for you.
Promoted as “Point Horror for the social media generation” [The book is published by Scholastic]
We love the striking jacket design.

Young, brunette women are being attacked in London. 16-year-old, Irish-born Niamh has just arrived for a summer of freedom, and quickly discovers that the girls being attacked look frighteningly similar to her. Niamh is determined not to let her fear destroy her summer. But can her new friends be trusted? Will she be able to stay ahead of the attacker? Or will she be next? Packed with voice-driven whodunit storytelling, and a retro slasher-movie feel reminiscent of cult classics, this dark, pacy, and irresistibly-creepy debut really has something for everybody!

Last One to Die is a YA horror novel and you’ve mentioned that Point Horror has been a big influence for you. Can you tell us a bit more about your debut, and the inspiration behind it?

Last One to Die came about after a huge writing slump. I was actually trying to write something else when I started listening to a podcast called Lore and an episode about a creepy Victorian villain, Spring Heeled Jack. I had never heard of him, but it planted a little seed which I kept coming back to. I shelved what I was writing and started to brainstorm a teen horror. I have always been a huge fan of anything remotely scary so went and re-watched all of the classics from my teens – Scream, Final Destination, The Craft – and I knew that I wanted to write something scary but also fun. I wanted to recapture that feeling I had as a teen where I was thrilled to be terrified!

from Curtis Brown’s website

 

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

By Leave a Comment

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

A blistering horror-thriller  that will grip you from its very first page.

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Wilder Girls comes a twisty thriller about a girl whose past has always been a mystery – until she decides to return to her mother’s hometown, where history has a tendency to repeat itself . . .

Ever since Margot was born, it’s been just her and her mother. No answers to Margot’s questions. No history to hold on to. Just the two of them, stuck in their run-down apartment, struggling to get along. But that’s not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And when she finds a photograph pointing her to a town called Phalene, she leaves. But when Margot gets there, it’s not what she bargained for. Margot’s mother left for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what’s still there?


 

Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann

By Leave a Comment

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

“This debut has a terrific voice: very funny and spirited with a sex-positive message.” The Bookseller 
“Exactly the book everyone needs right now. Witty, light, clever and absolutely absorbing.” The School Librarian 

Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann is a hilarious, life-affirming debut novel about all the big stuff: love, sex, death, family, heartbreak, kittens . . . and kisses that turn the whole world upside down.

As far as Phoebe Davis is concerned, love is to be avoided at all costs. Why would you spend your life worrying about something that turns you into a complete moron? If her best friend Polly is anything to go by, the first sniff of a relationship makes you forget about your friends (like, hello?), get completely obsessed with sex (yawn) and bang on constantly about a person who definitely isn’t as great as you think they are.

So Phoebe isn’t going to fall in love, ever.  But then she meets Emma . . .