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Oddity by Eli Brown ill. Karin Rytter

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Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week 22 Aug 2021

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“Brown’s first entry into children’s literature preserves his peculiar brand of whimsy in an episodic, often perilous adventure enlivened by charming woodcut-style illustrations.” KIRKUS
“A memorable adventure studded with light historical references and Rytter’s woodcut-style illustrations.” Publishers Weekly

The daughter of a murdered physician vows to protect the magical Oddity he left behind – if only she knew what it was – in an alternate nineteenth century in which the United States is at war with Napoleon’s France. When her physician father is murdered, thirteen-year-old Clover Elkin embarks on a perilous mission through warring frontier territories to protect the one secret Oddity he left behind. And as she uncovers the truth about her parents and her past, Clover herself emerges as a powerful agent of history.
A rich, startling, funny fantasy adventure, powered by an irresistible force-of-nature heroine; Clover Elkin is a born fighter – a heroine to rival Lyra Belacqua or True Grit’s Mattie Ross.

Follow the illustrator on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/karin_rytter_studio/

The Upper World by Femi Fadugba

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Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Month 5 Sep 2021

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This epic thriller is soon to be a major Netflix movie starring Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Black Panther, Judas and the Black Messiah).

Esso is running out of time and into trouble. When he discovers he has the ability to see glimpses of the future, he becomes haunted by a vision of a bullet fired in an alleyway with devastating consequences. A generation later, fifteen-year-old Rhia is desperately searching for answers – and a catastrophic moment from the past holds the key to understanding the parents she never got to meet. Whether on the roads of South London or in the mysterious Upper World, Esso and Rhia’s fates must collide. And when they do, a race against the clock will become a race against time itself . . .

Recommended Guardian feature…

Filed Under: YA

Endgame by Malorie Blackman

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 17 Sep 2021

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“Filled with love, sorrow, suffering and stinging satire on injustice, Noughts & Crosses is a remarkable novel, not least in tackling the subject of race with brilliant simplicity. Every page shocks; Knife Edge,the sequel, is no less impressive. The style is simple and direct, but the ramifications of what it describes are thought out in devastating detail. Children’s fiction has long been the repository of great satirical writing, but Blackman?s trilogy takes it into levels unseen since Orwell?s Nineteen Eighty-Four.” Amanda Craig in The Times, Jan 2004

20 years ago, Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses, a story that charted the deeply forbidden romance between Sephy (a Cross) and Callum (a Nought) was published. Theirs was a love affair that has had repercussions for their families for generations. Until now.

Endgame, the final book in the series, is a breathtaking conclusion to the groundbreaking series. The first Nought Prime Minister, Toney Durbridge, is about to go on trial for the murder of notorious ganglord, Dan Jeavons. Tobey insists he is being framed. There were ten seats at Dan’s dinner party the night he was killed and each guest had their own reasons for wishing him dead. Sephy Hadley was one of the guests that night. Haunted by the idea that she didn’t do enough to stop the death of her first love, Callum McGregor, Sephy will not sit quietly and wait for accusations to fall on her now. She has her children to protect . . . It’s time that actions speak louder than words. Time that the truth is uncovered. Time for the endgame.

Recommended Guardian feature: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/11/malorie-blackman-hope-is-the-spark

There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

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“Graphic violence and bloody mayhem saturate this high-speed slasher story.” KIRKUS
“The murders are both grisly and psychologically unnerving, and the novel’s intense realism makes them all the more disturbing.” Publishers Weekly

Now a Netflix movie:

Over a year after her parents sent her away from Hawaii to live with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska, Makani Young is still adjusting to her new life. She’s made a small group of close friends and even flirted with romance, but her past in Hawaii is still hard to forget.

And then . . . one by one the students of her new high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders. Makani doesn’t know who’s next on the list. Between this, and a secret scorching relationship with the school weirdo, this school year may turn out to be one to die for . . . literally.

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The New Girl by Sinead Moriarty

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At school, Ruby is the odd one out. Although Denise and Clara are her friends, they are each other’s best friend and she is the ‘other’ friend. So when new girl Safa, a refugee who has just arrived in Ireland from Syria, joins the class, she is put sitting beside Ruby. Safa and Ruby realise that their lives are very different. But as they get to know each other they soon discover that they have more in common than they might think.

A timely and heart-warming story of friendship from one of Ireland’s best-loved storytellers.

Filed Under: YA

Aftershocks by Anne Fine

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A family mix-up means Louie has to tag along with his engineer father and his team as they head for a routine job in the farthest flung and most neglected province of the Federation. A massive earthquake, with ensuing tsunami, devastates the entire isolated coastal region, laying bare the other-worldly manner in which the silent and strange Endlanders deal with life, death and the hinterlands of memory and loss. Their curious and unsettling ways raise ghosts for Louie, who has recently lost his own brother. This modern fable – part ghost-story, part coming-of-age novel and part astute social and family observation – explores the ways in which grief can affect not only individuals, but communities at large.

Cruel Castle by Bryony Pearce

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A RED EYE horror novel for teens, this gripping sequel to SAVAGE ISLAND is full of fast-paced action and gruesome twists and turns.

Having survived the horrors of Savage Island, Grady is now stuck working for Gold, the psychopath who masterminded the gruesome competition. Sent on a “team-building exercise” in a remote castle, he starts to plot his escape.
Ben and Lizzie are in hiding, presumed dead after escaping the island. If they’re ever to return to their families, they need to bring Gold down. So they secretly join Grady in the castle. But as the doors slam shut and the series of deadly challenges between them and freedom are revealed, it looks like history is going to repeat itself…

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Splinters of Sunshine by Patrice Lawrence

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Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week 19 Sep 2021

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After a fun Christmas Eve decorating the tree and singing along with his mum to Queen, fifteen-year-old Spey wakes up on Christmas morning to find the ex-prisoner father he’s never met asleep on the sofa. Then he receives a mysterious package in the post: a torn envelope filled with half a collage he made with his old friend Dee on her sixth birthday. Dee bounced between schools and pupil referral units until a tragedy meant she ended up in care outside of London, drawn into the world of county lines gangs. They haven’t spoken for years, but Spey is sure she must be in danger. He just doesn’t know where she is. There’s only one person Spey can think of who might be able to help …

On a roadtrip like no other, can Spey and his dad find Dee, and will they be ready to confront a criminal gang together?

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Every Line of You by Naomi Gibson

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“An absolute page-turner” Nikki Gamble, In The Reading Corner

This dark, modern twist on young love explores the complexity and scope of artificial intelligence while also examining bigger themes of humanity, revenge, grief, love and forgiveness. A powerful, high-concept crossover debut by a new voice in YA. Expect elements of horror, psychological drama and romance.

Lydia has been creating her AI, Henry, for years – since before her little brother died in the accident that haunts her nightmares; since before her dad walked out, leaving her and Mum painfully alone; since before her best friend turned into her worst enemy. Now, Henry is strong, clever, loving and scarily capable: Lydia’s built herself the perfect boyfriend in a hard-drive filled with lines of code. But what is Henry really – and how far is he willing to go to be everything Lydia desires?

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XOXO by Axie Oh

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 13 Aug 2021

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“Filled with humor and theatrics.” KIRKUS
“With heaps of drama, cheesy goodness that soothes the soul, and a touch of forbidden love, XOXO is perfect for fans of fierce female friendships, chaotic K-dramas, and swoony band romances.” The Nerd Daily
“From musical interludes and well-thought-out metaphors to unbelievably adorable interactions between soulmates, XOXO is without a doubt one of my favorite YA romances. A love letter to music and belonging, [XOXO] is an absolute gem that proves you can chase your dreams and be capable of love, so long as you open your heart and embrace opportunity. Breaking the mold that practice makes perfect, Oh makes it clear that sometimes, all you need is to live for yourself – everything else follows. Paperback Paris
“I make playlists after each book I write as something fun for myself and they also provide some nice extra content for readers. I recently shared my playlist for XOXO, which I spent months on—it’s a K-pop book so I really wanted to showcase a variety of artists, and curate it well with songs that fit the book’s mood and tone. I even attempted to match each song to a chapter, so there are 40 songs on the playlist!” Axie Oh

Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk in this modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop.

Jenny didn’t get to be an award-winning, classically trained cellist without choosing practice over fun. That is, until the night she meets Jaewoo. Mysterious, handsome, and just a little bit tormented, Jaewoo is exactly the kind of distraction Jenny would normally avoid. And yet, she finds herself pulled into spending an unforgettable evening wandering Los Angeles with him on the night before his flight home to South Korea.

With Jaewoo an ocean away, there’s no use in dreaming of what could have been. But when Jenny and her mother move to Seoul to take care of her ailing grandmother, who does she meet at the elite arts academy she’s just been accepted to? Jaewoo. Finding the dreamy stranger who swept you off your feet in your homeroom is one thing, but Jaewoo isn’t just any student. Turns out, Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world. And like most K-pop idols, Jaewoo is strictly forbidden from dating anyone. When a relationship means not only jeopardizing her place at her dream music school but also endangering everything Jaewoo’s worked for, Jenny has to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.

XOXO is a captivating YA romance that proves chasing your dreams doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your heart.

The author has been interviewed on The Happy Writer podcast.