Find the courage to be extraordinary… Ema Vašková has always felt different. In a family of famous scientists, there’s not much room for superstition or omens – but they seem to follow Ema wherever she goes. It doesn’t help that she appears to predict events before they happen, and has a peculiar fear of shadows . . . When Ema is sent to stay with her eccentric uncle in Prague, she fears she’ll lose the chance to ever fit in. But then she meets Silvie – a girl who finally sees Ema for the extraordinary person that she is. Soon the girls are meeting for secret midnight adventures, and facing Em ..read more

Lewis has a few things to say to his younger teen self. He knows she hates her body. He knows she’s confused about who to snog. He knows she’s really a he and will ultimately realize this… but she’s going to go through a whole lot of mess (some of it funny, some of it not funny at all) to get to that point. Lewis is trying to tell her this… but she’s refusing to listen. In WELCOME TO ST. HELL, author-illustrator Lewis Hancox takes readers on the hilarious, heartbreaking, and healing path he took to make it past trauma, confusion, hurt, and dubious fashion choices in order to become the man he ..read more

When Coco moves to the seaside town where her mum grew up, she’s excited to make friends and find out more about the family her mum has kept from her. What she doesn’t expect is to be met with resentment from the community. Whatever secrets her mum’s hiding, they run deep. But Coco is determined and her love of swimming and natural talent for freediving helps her start to break through with the ocean-loving locals. Until disaster strikes at sea… As history threatens to repeat itself, will Coco ever be able to undo the age-old rift? ** This book was such a mix of emotions for me. I loved it, I ..read more

Catrina and her family are moving to the coast of Northern California because her little sister, Maya, is sick. Cat isn’t happy about leaving her friends for Bahía de la Luna, but Maya has cystic fibrosis and will benefit from the cool, salty air that blows in from the sea. As the girls explore their new home, a neighbor lets them in on a secret: There are ghosts in Bahía de la Luna. Maya is determined to meet one, but Cat wants nothing to do with them. As the time of year when ghosts reunite with their loved ones approaches, Cat must figure out how to put aside her fears for her sister’s sake ..read more

When you set out for revenge, dig two graves Growing up in the sleepy English seaside town of Brynston, the fearless five – Ella, Max, Corey, Fallon and Zane – were always inseparable. Living up to their nickname, they were the adventurous, rowdy kids who lived for ghost stories and exploring the nearby islands off the coast. But when Max’s beloved older sister Jessica is killed, the friendship seems to die with her. Now years later, only Max and Ella are in touch; still best friends and a couple since they were thirteen. Their lives are so intertwined Max’s dad even sponsors Ella’s training f ..read more

14-year-old Leah loves wilderness survival books. In fact, sometimes she wishes she could escape into the wild. Then she could get away from the body image obsession at school and the bullies who pick on her little brother, Aiden. As long as she could still braid her hair, she could definitely survive without home comforts… and she could explore her passion for stargazing.  But alone in the woods one night, Leah’s life is transformed. She has the strangest sensation of gliding across the night sky, among millions of dazzling stars. This profound experience sparks a burning question in Lea ..read more

Enter the rich and fantastical world of Rema in the first instalment of this middle-grade graphic novel series with sweeping adventure and light romance! Tabby Simon is determined to learn what happened to her father, who was found dead after researching a tree that leaks a mysterious mist in her neighbourhood. She is unexpectedly led to Rema, a distant world of magic and beauty that is periodically invaded by a nearby planet desperate for resources. While Tabby searches for the truth surrounding her father’s death, she meets a handsome blue-haired boy named Philip. He has his own dangerous se ..read more

You are cordially invited to attend the Grand Opening of Sinclair’s department store! Enter a world of bonbons, hats, perfumes and MYSTERIES around every corner. WONDER at the daring theft of the priceless CLOCKWORK SPARROW! TREMBLE as the most DASTARDLY criminals in London enact their wicked plans! GASP as our bold heroines, Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lilian Rose, CRACK CODES, DEVOUR ICED BUNS and vow to bring the villians to justice… ​*** Middle grade adventures and mysteries make me happy, and this book really sparked the excitement I used to find from middle grade fiction when I was young ..read more

Unboxed is about four teenagers who come together after several months apart. In previous years, they had put together a time capsule about their best summer with a friend who was dying. Now that their friend has passed, they reunite to open the box. *** I have never read a Barrington Stoke book before, other than their Little Gems imprint which is aimed at early readers of Spike’s kind of age. Their young adult books, of which I knew existed, have passed me by for a long time. That is until I saw Unboxed in my local library. I will read anything by Non Pratt, she’s awesome and I love her book ..read more

What if? Why not? Could it be? When a fortuneteller’s tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller’s mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. I ..read more