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Picture Imperfect by Jacqueline Wilson

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 31 Aug 2026

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9781804997000

This sequel to The Illustrated Mum, published as an adult book, is now out in paperback.
ACHUKA lists it as a YA title of interest to any mid to late teen who is beginning to read adult fiction.
See other references to Jacqueline Wilson’s titles:
Jacqueline Wilson

See this BBC page for more background on this adult novel:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vl097jd8eo

She’s spent her life holding everything — and everyone — together. But she’s done being perfect.

Now it’s time to be herself.

Dol Westward has always been the dependable one — the steady hand, the peacekeeper, the fixer. Especially when it comes to her unpredictable mother, Marigold. But after years of putting everyone else first, she’s starting to wonder what’s left for her.

When life begins to fray around the edges, Dol realises she’s been chasing an idea of perfection that was never really hers. Old habits, old expectations — they’re hard to break. But maybe imperfection is the only place she can finally feel free…

A story about family, identity, and the messy truth of finding yourself — from the beloved author who always writes real life, honestly told.

The Crystal Vase by Astrid Goldsmith

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 5 Jun 2026

Publisher: Jonahan Cape
ISBN: 9781787334311

“What’s extraordinary about The Crystal Vase is just how much family history Goldsmith manages to squeeze into 200 pages without overloading the narrative. She takes us as far back as Kristallnacht in 1938, when the Nazis ransacked [Astrid’s grandmother’s] magnificent childhood home in Bad Homburg, smashing everything to pieces.” Observer
“One of the book’s great strengths is its tonal balance. Goldsmith writes with warmth and sharp humour, finding comedy in family negotiations and absurd demands without diminishing the weight of historical loss. The strained yet affectionate relationship between father and daughter grounds the story emotionally, showing how inheritance is as much about responsibility and misunderstanding as it is about love.” VoiceMag
“History is made tangible.” Financial Times

This memoir in graphic novel format, by the stop-motion animator Astrid Goldsmith, is published on an adult list but can be recommended for young adults, especially those interested in the history of Jewish displacement.

When her imperious, chain-smoking German Jewish grandmother dies, it falls to Astrid and her father to drive a hire van to the Black Forest and collect the family heirlooms from Gisela’s nicotine-stained apartment.

In Freiburg, they are faced with several lifetimes’ worth of belongings to sort through – infested Persian rugs, mysterious photographs, a toy monkey that started a marriage – and a grasping landlord, impatient to renovate.

As the list of demands from uncles, sisters and cousins grows longer, the rabbit-holes of history and memory grow deeper. Long-buried secrets and tales of survival are revealed – from Nazi Germany to colonial Africa – and old feuds are reignited, as father and daughter struggle with the responsibility of preserving the family legacy. More importantly, will they be able to fit everything into a medium wheel-base transit van?

Funny, bittersweet and beautifully drawn, The Crystal Vase is an odyssey of family arguments, identity crises, and late discoveries.

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Here is a short film about Mock Duck Studios, her other career as an animator:

Gone for Good by Sarah Crossan

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 4 Mar 2026

Waterstones YA Book of the Month March 2026

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
ISBN: 9781398549029

Connie Ryder is taken from her home in the dead of night and sent to Silver Lake Academy – a remote, high-security facility for ‘troubled’ teens. At Silver Lake, the vulnerable and the violent are locked in together under a brutal regime that aims to improve their behaviour. But when Connie learns she’s been given the bed of a missing girl named Belle, she is drawn deep into a chilling web of secrets and lies… 

A sensational, immersive and hugely propulsive ‘missing girl’ thriller, set against the backdrop of America’s controversial Troubled Teen industry.

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Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet

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Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 9780702343445

“[Bernet] does a masterful job of preserving the distinct personalities and ambitions of the classic characters, transporting them to a contemporary setting and making them fresh and relevant for today’s readers. Even teens who don’t know Little Women will be engaged by this fast-paced and suspense-filled page turner. A thrilling take on a beloved story that will keep readers riveted.” KIRKUS

A YA debut in which the March sisters find themselves suspected of murder when Beth is found dead at a New Year’s Eve party.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Beth March has been murdered, and all her sisters are suspects… But the March girls aren’t the only ones with a story to tell.

After a New Years Eve party, Beth is found dead.

All the March sisters see Beth’s body and wonder how – and who – could have killed their sweet little sister. And what was their motive?

The March sisters have always been close, but will Beth’s murder bring them closer together, or further apart? As each of the girls’ motives are uncovered, the March sisters might not be quite as sweet as they seem…

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The Rose Field: The Book of Dust Volume Three by Philip Pullman ill. Chris Wormell

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 3 Dec 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

“Pullman’s uncanny ability to conjure place… is once again in full evidence.” Guardian
“Readers who first warmed to [Lyra] as a fierce child running wild — whether they named a daughter after her or not — will find “The Rose Field” a worthy conclusion to this young woman’s coming-of-age.” New York Times
“Pullman’s narrative is always superbly clear and there is plenty to keep us turning the pages. It is, all in all, a satisfying conclusion to an extraordinary literary achievement.” Observer
“Powerful, profound and utterly unforgettable: a stunning trilogy conclusion.” Telegraph
“Alliances shift, assassinations are commissioned, mathematicians share the stage with alchemists and the vast world of the book is on the precipice of alarming change. But the sophistication of Pullman’s world-building never loses sight of its roots in spinning a yarn.” Times
“… exciting throughout, superbly paced and written, the work of a master novelist…” Washington Post
“Richly endowed with big ideas and larger-than-life characters.” KIRKUS
“Laced with magic, tension, and poignant existential introspection.” BookTrust

When readers left Lyra in The Secret Commonwealth she was alone, in the ruins of a deserted city. Pantalaimon had run from her – part of himself – in search of her imagination, which he believed she had lost. Lyra travelled across the world from her Oxford home in search of her dæmon. And Malcolm, loyal Malcolm, too journeyed far from home, towards the Silk Roads in search of Lyra.

In The Rose Field, their quests converge in the most dangerous, breathtaking and world-changing ways. They must take help from spies and thieves, gryphons and witches, old friends and new, learning all the while the depth and surprising truths of the alethiometer. All around them, the world is aflame – made terrifying by fear, power and greed.

As they move East, towards the red building that will reunite them and give them answers – on Dust, on the special roses, on imagination – so too does the Magisterium, at war against all that Lyra holds dear.

Philip Pullman is on X
https://x.com/PhilipPullman

Black Star by Kwame Alexander

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 19 Nov 2025

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The second book in a trilogy, this title follows on from  The Door Of No Return [2023]…

“An incredibly mature as a piece of work, both emotionally and historically.” JustImagine
“Expertly crafted” BfK 5-star review
“A powerful and thoroughly satisfying blend of sports, history, family saga, and self-discovery.” KIRKUS
“Full of animated Sunday dinners, church picnics and baseball practices…” NewYorkTimes
“Fully immerses readers in the time period and keeps them riveted by this family’s continuing story.” HornBook
“A supremely satisfying story it is, zinging with clarity and confidence and offering plenty of literary bang for its buck.” TheTimes

Twelve-year-old Charley is set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional baseball, even if that’s a lofty dream for a Black girl in the American South in the 1920s. Even so, her grandfather Kofi’s thrilling stories about courageous ancestors and epic journeys make it impossible not to dream big. She knows he has so much more to tell, but according to her parents, she isn’t old enough to know about certain things, like what happened to Booker Preston that one night in Great Bridge, and why she can never play on the brand-new baseball field on the other side of town.

When Charley challenges a neighbourhood bully to a game at the church picnic, she knows she can win, even with her ragtag team. Then a dispute on the field leads to Charley making a fateful decision, one that will bring consequences she never could have imagined.

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Thirst by Darren Simpson

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 Sep 2024

Waterstones
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See also:
The Memory Thieves [ACHUKA Book of the Day 25 Aug 2021]

“With strong characters, a tight plot, shocking scenes and a horrible villain, Thirst is a really cracking book, and one I couldn’t put down.” Alastair Chisholm
“A completely unique and totally captivating YA folk horror tale for those who love to imagine what might happen if nature has too much power.” ScopeForImagination

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Nobody talks about the strange happenings in Maimsbury. No one speaks of the hooded figures glimpsed in the woods, nor the children’s game that went so horribly wrong. But most of all, nobody dares whisper their doubts about the river they have worshipped for centuries.

Like everyone in Maimsbury, Gorse is used to the sacrifices made every spring to the River Yeelde. The life of a farm animal – in return for a year of plenty – seems a fair trade. That is, until a tragedy leads Gorse to a blood-curdling discovery.

Because this year is a Brim Year, and after giving so much, the river needs more than an animal’s life to sate its thirst…

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Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis-Featherstone

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 2 Sep 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

A compulsive, page-turning, first-person-voice YA thriller.

Eva has set her sights on studying English at Oxford University. Atmospheric old libraries; secret societies; eccentric professors – it’s the stuff of her dreams.

When she and her best friend (who she’s also secretly in love with), George, are invited to Interview Week, it seems like those dreams are coming true.

But only a day in, George is found dead on the steps of a university statue. And it is Eva who finds him.

All eyes are now on her as she races to clear her name, uncover the truth – and take back her future.

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Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton

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PUBLISHED 50 YEARS AGO

ACHUKA Book of the Day 29 Aug 2025

From the bestselling author of The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton’s Rumble Fish explores sibling relationships, the importance of role models, and the courage to think independently. This 2013 edition includes a new and exclusive Author’s Note.

Rusty-James is the number one tough guy among the junior high kids who hang out and shoot pool at Benny’s. He’s even proud of keeping up his reputation. Actually though, what he wants most of all is to be just like his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy. Rusty-James isn’t book-smart–he relies more on his fists than his brains. When he gets in over his head, the Motorcycle Boy has always been there to bail him out. The day Rusty-James’s world comes apart, the Motorcycle Boy isn’t around to pick up the pieces. What now?

Forever… by Judy Blume

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PUBLISHED 50 YEARS AGO

ACHUKA BOOK OF THE DAY 28 AUG 2025

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