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The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 21 Apr 2021
Times Children’s Book of the Week 17 Apr 2021

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“Stroud does not compromise. Scarlett is unpleasant, hard to love; Albert is irritating, weak. Yet through skill and good writing we begin to love and understand this odd couple, mini-me John Waynes, and by the end we’d pay a ransom (or at least the paperback cover price) to see them again. Luckily for us there is a new one trotting over the horizon . . .” The Times

Set in a broken, future England, where gunfights and monsters collide, this is the exciting first title in a phenomenal fantasy teen series by the bestselling children’s novelist. England has been radically changed by a series of catastrophes – large cities have disappeared and London has been replaced by a lagoon. The surviving population exists in fortified towns where they cling to traditional ways, while strangely evolved beasts prowl the wilderness beyond. Conformity is rigidly enforced and those who fall foul of the rules are persecuted: some are killed, others are driven out into the wilds. Only a few fight back – and two of these outlaws, Scarlett McCain and Albert Browne, display an audacity and talent that makes them legends.

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 19 Apr 2021
Times Children’s Book of the Week 3 Apr 2021

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“It’s cut like a gemstone. Turn the pages, and facets gleam.” Hiliary McKay
“Each narrative underscores the suffocating social expectations unique to their small rural communities, challenging the stereotype that nothing ever happens in them. Arranged in loose chronological order, the seemingly disparate stories contain overlapping secondary characters and locations, and Alaskan author Hitchcock uses small details of daily life to paint a strong sense of place and quirky characters.” KIRKUS
“Hitchcock is insightful on the limitations of sibling loyalty, poor parenting and the inherent contradiction of life in a small town: it is always boring but everything happens there.” The Times
“Despite its darkness, this book is a triumph of story-telling. The only indication that it is written principally for teenage rather than for adult readers is the fact that all its main characters are young. In every other way it is a story for all ages.” Nick Tucker, BfK 5-Star review

A second, highly anticipated novel from Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, author of The Smell Of Other People’s Houses. A collection of short stories linked by towns in Alaska and the American West capturing the experiences of young people living a frontier existence. Whether they are brought together by the spread of wildfire, by the priest who’s moved from state to state or by the hunt for a missing child, these tales blaze with secrets, rage and love.

The Supreme Lie by Geraldine McCaughrean

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 13 Apr 2021

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“Have you ever wondered during the last year: Are the Government telling us everything? Are the papers trying to scare us? Are they making things up? They’re probably not. But  there have been times when statesmen told lies, when newspapers invented the facts, when promises were worthless and, as a result, a lot of people died. I read of one such scandal that took place in America in the 1920s, and I set about designing a fictional country where imminent danger threatens, panic is everywhere, and the truth is hard to come by.” Geraldine McCaughream

Twice Carnegie medal winning Geraldine McCaughrean’s enthralling new novel is set in a world paralysed by natural disaster and dangerous lies.

Fifteen-year-old Gloria is maid to Afalia’s tyrannical Head of State, Madame Suprema. When the country is hit by unprecedented flooding, Madame Suprema runs away, fearing she will be blamed for the crisis. To cover up this cowardly act, Gloria is made to step into Madame Suprema’s shoes and is thrust into a world of corrupt and desperate politicians. As Gloria becomes aware of the forces toying with her every move, she must take decisions that could save, or end, thousands of lives – including her own…

A brilliant and darkly funny commentary on our present times with terrific cover art by Leo Nickolls.
Follow Leo Nickolls on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leonickolls/

The inside illustrations by Keith Robinson—recently a guest in ACHUKA’s weekend Meet An Illustrator feature—help strengthen the sense of verisimilitude.

Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Migration by George Butler

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 12 Apr 2021

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“George’s work gets to the essence of war and the experiences of the human beings caught up in it.” Jeremy Bowen

“The Paul Nash of our era.” Michael Morpurgo

“While photography is good in what it can reveal; drawing has that ability to have a considered approach of a different kind – simply because it is less instant and more reflective. Stories emerge from such drawings. George Butler is keeping reportage drawing alive.”   John Vernon Lord

“It is an unusual feeling to walk into a place that everyone is leaving. I have been stared at as if I am lost or mad, and sometimes I have felt as if I am both. However, by resisting the temptation to turn around and walk away I have made these drawings. I made them in refugee camps, war zones and on the move, and as I drew, people told me their stories.” George Butler

In striking and intimate illustrations, award-winning artist George Butler introduces us to the people behind the headlines. Drawings made on front lines, in refugee camps and on the move vividly capture stories of leaving home, travelling into the unknown and trying to make a new life. These powerful portraits of migration are a timely reminder of the humanity we all share and our universal need to seek safety and a better life.

While the illustrations themselves are at the heart of the book, I also want to praise Butler for the quality of his commentary. Older children and teenagers will surely appreciate the direct and unpatronising tone of his writing.

This is a very special publication. It is selected as ACHUKA Book of the Day on the day the UK’s bookshops re-open their doors after the long winter lockdown. Please look out for it.

Any young person inspired to take up location sketching may find the following title in the Urban Sketching series helpful:
The Urban Sketching Handbook Techniques for Beginners: How to Build a Practice for Sketching on Location – Urban Sketching Handbooks 11 by Suhita Shirodkar

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House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

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The Hollow sisters – Vivi, Grey and Iris – are as seductively glamorous as they are mysterious. They have black eyes and hair as white as milk. They share the same birthday, spaced exactly two years apart. The Hollow sisters don’t have friends – they don’t need them. They move through the corridors like sharks, the other little fish parting around them, whispering behind their backs. And everyone knows who the Hollow sisters are. Because one day the three Hollow sisters simply disappeared. And when they came back, one month later, with no memory of where they had been, it was as if nothing had changed. Almost nothing, apart from, for example, the little scar that had appeared in the hollow of their throats … and a whispering sense that something is not quite right about them, despite (or maybe because of) the terrible passion to be with them that they can exert on anybody at will…

A thrilling, twisting, novel that is as seductive and glamorous as the Hollow sisters themselves….

Read a Q&A with the author on Teen Librarian.

 

Filed Under: YA

Last Night At The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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“This standout work of historical fiction combines meticulous research with tender romance to create a riveting bildungsroman. San Francisco, “with its steep stairways and sudden glimpses of the bay between tall, narrow buildings,” is almost a character itself. Interspersed flashbacks that detail the personal histories of Lily’s parents and Aunt Judy and timelines of world events further put the 1950s Chinese American experience into context for readers.” HORN BOOK
“Lo’s lovely, realistic, and queer-positive tale is a slow burn, following Lily’s own gradual realization of her sexuality while she learns how to code-switch between being ostensibly heterosexual Chinatown Lily and lesbian Telegraph Bar Lily. In this meticulously researched title, Lo skillfully layers rich details, such as how Lily has to deal with microaggressions from gay and straight women alike and how all of Chinatown has to be careful of the insidious threat of McCarthyism. Actual events, such as Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s 1943 visit to San Francisco, form a backdrop to this story of a journey toward finding one’s authentic self. Beautifully written historical fiction about giddy, queer first love.” KIRKUS
“Smoothly referencing cultural touchstones and places with historic Chinese American significance, Lo conjures 1950s San Francisco adeptly while transcending historicity through a sincere exploration of identity and love. Back matter includes an author’s note explaining Lo’s personal connection to the story.” PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

The award winning author of Ash gives us a very different story of love and duty set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950s. Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father – despite his hard-won citizenship – Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

Follow the author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malindalo/

Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard ill. Christiane Furtges

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After five years at secondary school spent without any friends, Peyton King starts sixth form college determined that things will be different. Whatever happens, she will make friends at any cost. When she finds the friends she’s always dreamed of, including an actual boyfriend, she’s happier than she’s ever been.
But when they let her down in the worst way, Peyton is left no better off than when she started. Now Peyton knows the only chance she has of finding happiness is to look for it somewhere else. Her life may feel small, but it doesn’t have to be. With nothing but her sketchpad and a backpack, she buys a one-way ticket and gets on a plane. . .

In Destination Anywhere, Sara Barnard explores love, life and friendship in this exquisite tale of the lengths one girl will go to to change her story.

Follow Christiane Furtges on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fuertgesillustration/

Dark Lullaby by Polly Ho-Yen

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The world is suffering an infertility crisis, the last natural birth was over twenty years ago and now the only way to conceive is through a painful fertility treatment. Any children born are strictly monitored, and if you are deemed an unfit parent then your child is extracted. After witnessing so many struggling to conceive – and then keep – their babies, Kit thought she didn’t want children. But then she meets Thomas and they have a baby girl, Mimi. Soon the small mistakes build up and suddenly Kit is faced with the possibility of losing her daughter, and she is forced to ask herself how far she will go to keep her family together.

Pity Part by Kathleen Lane

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An uproarious grab bag of short fiction, mining and exaggerating the social anxieties that plague us all and twisting them into funny, deeply resonant, and ultimately reassuring psychological thrills.

There’s a story about a mood ring that tells the absolute truth. One about social media followers who literally follow you around. And one about a kid whose wish for a new, improved self is answered when a mysterious box arrives in the mail. There’s also a sprinkling of micro-fiction: a personality test (to find out if you have a personality), a fortune teller (that 100% accurately predicts the future), a letter from the Department of Insecurity, and an interactive Choose Your Own Catastrophe.

Bone Music by David Almond

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 2 Apr 2021
Times Children’s Book of the Week 27 Mar 2021

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The wonderful cover illustration is by David Litchfield.

Sylvia, brave-hearted and rebellious, moves out of Newcastle into wild, rural Northumberland. She feels alien in this huge, silent, seemingly empty landscape. Then she meets Gabriel, a strange yet familiar boy. They roam the forests and fells together and she sees nature with new eyes, becoming aware that the past is all around her and deep inside herself. From the wing of a dead buzzard, they create a kind of flute that was used in rituals in the distant past.

This is a book that celebrates humanity and explores the deep connections between ourselves and nature. It speaks to young people about what it really is to be a human being alive today.