Young Adult
The Unknowns, by Shirley-Anne McMillan ( paperback 2017)
£7.99
A teenage story of friendship, and boundaries, and preconceptions. Likeable main characters of Tilly and Brew, it’s edgy but realistic. My 15yo enjoyed this a lot.
Shirley Anne is from Lisburn and this is her second novel.
Tilly is perched at the top of Belfast's largest crane. She likes to climb up high at night in order to feel free from a city which, despite the best PR, is still full of trouble and conflict. Eventually, she comes back down to discover her bike is missing and in its place is a boy named Brew.
Wearing eyeliner and high-heeled boots, he offers her a drink from his flask of coffee before disappearing into the night. The next morning, Tilly's bike is returned, but tucked into the spoke of the wheel is a card with Brew's number on it. As Tilly learns to trust Brew, he leads her into a world she never knew existed - a world of parties in abandoned houses, completing missions that involve break-ins, and risking everything just to help strangers in need; the world of The Unknowns.
What Tilly doesn't anticipate is that they will also make her question everything she was brought up to believe in, and force her to make a choice that will stay with her for the rest of her life. The Unknowns is a story about hope in a city where increasing numbers of young people are struggling to get by, a place where there is no trust in the political system, and where some people still dare to dream.
I Capture The Castle, by Dodie Smith
£7.99
An absolute classic YA novel from the same Dodie Smith of ‘101 Dalmatians’ fame. The diary of Cassandra Mortmain, her extraordinary family and her crumbling castle home. Loved by teenagers and adults everywhere.
Skellig, by David Almond
£7.99
Skellig won The Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award when it was first published almost 20 years ago.
It’s powerful and moving, one of those books that you can’t put down.
Everyone should read it, not just teenagers.
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas (paperback)
£7.99
Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2018 Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community.It could also get her killed. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas ( paperback Feb 2019)
£7.99
New York Times #1 bestselling teen author of The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas returns with a powerful story about hip hop, freedom of speech - and fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you. Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri's got massive shoes to fill.
But when her first song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, Bri finds herself at the centre of controversy and portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. And with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it - she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.
Good Girl, Bad Blood, by Holly Jackson
£7.99
The highly-anticipated and brilliantly crafted crime-thriller sequel to the no.1 debut of 2019, A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER
Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective anymore. With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year.
The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her. But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared but the police won't do anything about it.
And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town's dark secrets along the way... and this time EVERYONE is listening. But will she find him before it's too late? Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, Eva Dolan, C L Taylor, We Were Liars and Riverdale
'There is a lot to really enjoy in this story and there is great energy to the writing, as well as some fine characterization' - Peter James, award-winning and no.1 bestselling crime thriller author of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series
I laughed. I cried. And I very much enjoyed attempting to solve the case with Pip (who I now want to be my best friend).... suitable for 13+
To Sleep In a Sea of Stars : Christoper Paolini (paperback Sept 2021)
£9.99
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a masterful epic science fiction novel from the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of the Inheritance Cycle, Christopher Paolini. Kira Navarez dreamed of life on new worlds Now she's awakened a nightmare During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation.
Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope . . .
They Wish They Were Us, Jessica Goodman ( Mar 2021, pb)
£7.99
Gossip Girl meets One of Us is Lying in this tense, taut, unputdownable murder mystery. In Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive boutiques to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems.Jill's best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill tried to move on. Now, it's Jill's senior year and she's determined to make it her best yet.
After all, she's a senior and a Player - a member of Gold Coast Prep's exclusive, not-so-secret secret society. Senior Players have the best parties, highest grades and the admiration of the entire school. This is going to be Jill's year.
She's sure of it. But when Jill starts getting texts proclaiming Graham's innocence, her dreams of the perfect senior year start to crumble. If Graham didn't kill Shaila, who did? Jill vows to find out, but digging deeper could mean putting her friendships, and her future, in jeopardy.
Guard Your Heart, Sue Diven ( paperback April 2021)
£7.99
Boy meets girl on the Northern Irish border in Guard Your Heart, by Sue Divin, Derry. Summer 2016. Aidan and Iona, now eighteen, were both born on the day of the Northern Ireland peace deal.Aidan is Catholic, Irish, and Republican. With his ex-political prisoner father gone and his mother dead, Aidan's hope is pinned on exam results earning him a one-way ticket out of Derry. To anywhere.
Iona, Protestant and British, has a brother and father in the police. She's got university ambitions, a strong faith and a fervent belief that boys without one track minds are a myth. At a post-exam party, Aidan wanders alone across the Peace Bridge and becomes the victim of a brutal sectarian attack.
Iona witnessed the attack; picked up Aidan's phone and filmed what happened, and gets in touch with him to return the phone. When the two meet, alone and on neutral territory, the differences between them seem insurmountable. Both their fathers held guns, but safer to keep that secret for now.
Despite their differences and the secrets they have to keep from each other, there is mutual intrigue, and their friendship grows. And so what? It's not the Troubles. But for both Iona and Aidan it seems like everything is keeping them apart , when all they want is to be together .
Destination Anywhere, by Sara Bernard( paperback April 2021)
£7.99
A breathtaking novel about finding yourself and finding a friend by the award-winning author of Beautiful Broken Things.Sometimes you have to leave your life behind to find your place in the world.
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.
Boys Don’t Cry, Fiona Scarlett ( paperback Feb 2022)
£9.99
What readers are saying:'Fiona Scarlett is certainly up there with the likes of Roddy Doyle . . . A beautifully written, authentic novel, that will make you both laugh and cry, I just want to recommend this book to everyone.'
'This is a heartbreaking and very emotional novel that is exquisitely written. Fíona's writing style helps to bring such raw emotion to the text that it was impossible to not shed a tear!'
'I cried so much reading this book . . . A stunning read that I'll be thinking about for a long time.'
'There is a lot of humour to balance the heartache . . . All humanity is here, in all its shades, and that's what stays with you long after you finish reading. A brilliant debut.'
The Supreme Lie, Geraldine McCaughrean ( 12 +, Paperback April 2021)
£8.99
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 by one of our greatest writers.
The Great Godden, Meg Rosoff ( paperback June 2021)
£7.99
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BOOK AWARD 2020This is the story of one family, one dreamy summer - the summer when everything changes. In a holiday house by the sea, in a big, messy family, one teenager watches as brothers and sisters, parents and older cousins fill hot days with wine and games and planning a wedding. Enter the Goddens - irresistible, charming, languidly sexy Kit and surly, silent Hugo.Suddenly there's a serpent in this paradise - and the consequences will be devastating. From bestselling, award-winning author Meg Rosoff comes a lyrical and quintessential coming-of-age tale - a summer book that's as heady, timeless and irresistible as Bonjour Tristesse and I Capture the Castle but as sharp and fresh as Normal People. Featuring a bonus essay from Meg Rosoff on her experiences of summer, this is THE unmissable book of the summer.
As Good As Dead, Holly Jackson ( paperback August 2021)
£8.99
THE THIRD AND FINAL THRILLING BOOK IN THE BESTSELLING AND AWARD-WINNING A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER TRILOGY
Pip Fitz-Amobi is haunted by the way her last investigation ended. Soon she'll be leaving for Cambridge University but then another case finds her . .
. and this time it's all about Pip. Pip is used to online death threats, but there's one that catches her eye, someone who keeps asking: who will look for you when you're the one who disappears? And it's not just online.
Pip has a stalker who knows where she lives. The police refuse to act and then Pip finds connections between her stalker and a local serial killer. The killer has been in prison for six years, but Pip suspects that the wrong man is behind bars.
As the deadly game plays out, Pip realises that everything in Little Kilton is finally coming full circle. If Pip doesn't find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears . .
. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is The New York Times No.1 bestselling YA crime thriller and WINNER of The British Book Awards' Children's Book of the Year 2020.
Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying,Eva Dolan, C L Taylor, We Were Liars and Riverdale
Defy The Night, Brigid Kemmerer ( PB, Sept 2021)
£7.99
A kinetic tale of the tension between duty, love and trust' - Cassandra Clare'Defy the Night is everything I crave in a fantasy romance' - Stephanie Garber
A spark of rebellion is all it takes to DEFY THE NIGHT. In a kingdom where sickness stalks the streets and only the richest can afford a cure, King Harristan and his brother Prince Corrick are forced to rule with an iron fist.
Tessa Cade is a masked outlaw marked for death, but she likes it that way. Together with the mysterious, handsome Weston, she robs from the rich to help the poor, distributing food and medicine to those who need it most. As it becomes clear that the only way to save her people is to assassinate the King, Tessa must face a deadly mission that will take her to the dark heart of the kingdom ... and force her to work with the very people she intended to destroy. From New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer comes a brand-new blockbuster fantasy series about a corrupt kingdom, a star-crossed romance and a girl who will do anything for justice.
Never Saw Me Coming, Vera Kurian ( paperback July 2022)
£9.99
Gripping! With a college campus setting, charming psychopaths, and a bitingly clever voice...a dazzling debut from a bold new talent.' Tess Gerritsen, Sunday Times bestselling authorMeet Chloe. First-year student, ordinary, legging-wearing, girl next door...and highly intelligent diagnosed psychopath. Chloe is part of a secret clinical study of young psychopaths run by the university's Psychology Department.Most psychopaths aren't criminals, but when a string of murders on campus causes upheaval, Chloe's private vendetta is sidelined. Partnered with fellow study participants she can't trust - and distracted by typical university life - Chloe has to walk the line between hunter and prey. Perfect for fans of My Sister the Serial Killer, Killing Eve and The Secret History, Never Saw Me coming is a sharp, electrifying and hugely entertaining thriller with an antiheroine who will work her manipulative magic on you.
Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep, Philip Reeve ( paperback, Sept 2021)
£7.99
It was always at sundown they were seen. In that twilight hour, when the walls between the worlds grew thin, strange things might slip through the cracks. Sometimes then, so the stories went, enchanted islands would appear in the empty ocean to the west of Wildsea.When Utterly Dark was a baby, she was washed up on the shores of the Autumn Isles and taken in by the Watcher of Wildsea. But everything changes when her guardian suddenly drowns. Now who will keep the Watch, and make sure Wildsea stays safe from the strange forces teeming in the deep ocean around them?A magical new story from the bestselling and prize-winning author of Mortal Engines.
The Red Gloves & Other Stories, Catherine Fisher ( Hardback, Sept 2021)
£12.99
Gripping stories of myth, horror, folklore and magic:
Two step-brothers share one nightmare; red gloves that reach for your throat; a changing room where a stranger asks to swap lives with you; and a ghost in the rain... An expert storyteller weaves nine spells. Fear mixed with wit, heart and magic.
* Low Stock *
Wahala, Nikki May ( paperback from Jan 2023)
£8.99
SEX AND THE CITY with a killer edge for fans of QUEENIE, EXPECTATION and MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLERS
Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London.
They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English. Not all of them choose to see it that way. Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future.
Ronke wants a husband (he must be Nigerian); Boo enjoys (correction: endures) stay-at-home motherhood; while Simi, full of fashion career dreams, rolls her eyes as her boss refers to her urban vibe yet again. When Isobel, a lethally glamorous friend from their past arrives in town, she is determined to fix their futures for them. Cracks in their friendship begin to appear, and it is soon obvious Isobel is not sorting but wrecking.
When she is driven to a terrible act, the women are forced to reckon with a crime in their past that may just have repeated itself. Explosive, hilarious and wildly entertaining, this razor-sharp tale of love, race and family will have you laughing, crying and gasping in horror. Fearlessly political about class, colourism and clothes, the spellbinding Wahala is for anyone who has ever cherished friendship, in all its forms.
History Is All You Left Me , Adam Silvera ( paperback, 2017)
£8.99
From the author of the INTERNATIONAL NO. 1 BESTSELLER THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END comes an explosive examination of grief, mental illness, and the devastating consequences of refusing to let go of the past. You're still alive in alternate universes, Theo, but I live in the real world where this morning you're having an open casket funeral.I know you're out there, listening. And you should know I'm really pissed because you swore you would never die and yet here we are. It hurts even more because this isn't the first promise you've broken.
Griffin has lost his first love in a drowning accident. Theo was his best friend, his ex-boyfriend and the one he believed he would end up with. Now, reeling from grief and worsening OCD, Griffin turns to an unexpected person for help.
Theo's new boyfriend. But as their relationship becomes increasingly complicated, dangerous truths begin to surface. Griffin must make a choice: confront the past, or miss out on the future...
PRAISE FOR HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME: 'There isn't a teenager alive who won't find their heart described perfectly on these pages.' Patrick Ness, author of The Knife of Never Letting Go
I am Not your Perfect Mexican Daughter ( YA) Erika Sanchez, PB Feb 2022
£8.99
SOON TO BE A NETFLIX FILM DIRECTED BY AMERICA FERRERA
This gripping debut about a Mexican-American misfit is alive and crackling.' New York Times'
A perfect book about imperfection.' Juan Felipe Herrera
A poignant but laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself.
When her sister Olga dies in a tragic accident, Julia is left to pick up the pieces of her family. She is also expected to fill the shoes of her sister. But Julia has never been the perfect Mexican daughter.
As Julia struggles to find her place in the world, she discovers Olga was not as perfect as everyone thought. Who was her sister really? And how can Julia even attempt to live up to an impossible ideal?
Rock Paper Killers ( YA), Alexia Mason ( March 2022 paperback)
£7.99
he brand-new addictive thriller that fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson will be DYING to read. The ROCK she fell from .. . The PAPER she clutched .
. . The KILLERS she thought were friends .
. . When five Dublin teenagers arrive at a rural coastal college to cram for their final exams, their most pressing concern is the prospect of a month with no partying.
Little do they know that one of them will never make it back home . . .
A page-turning and gripping thriller with a shocking twist, Rock Paper Killers is perfect for fans of Riverdale, One of Us is Lying and We Were Liars.
Truth Be Told, Sue Divin ( paperback April 2022)
£7.99
The gripping new YA novel from Sue Divin, the acclaimed and Carnegie shortlisted author of Guard Your Heart. She's writing about contemporary Derry and it's brilliant!
Northern Ireland. 2019. Tara has been raised by her mam and nan in Derry City. Faith lives in rural Armagh. Their lives on opposite sides of a political divide couldn't be more different.
Until they come face-to-face with each other and are shocked to discover they look almost identical. Are they connected?In searching for the truth about their own identities, the teenagers uncover more than they bargained for. But what if finding out who you truly are means undermining everything you've ever known?
The Agathas, Kathleen Glasgow ( paperback May 2022)
£8.99
The most popular girl in school is dead. And everyone's blaming the wrong guy. After falling from grace last summer, Agatha Christie-obsessed Alice Ogilvie needs to stay out of trouble.While smart and reclusive Iris Adams just wants to get the hell out of Castle Cove. But now they have a murder to solve. There are clues the police are ignoring, a list of suspects a mile long and some very dangerous cliffs.
Amateur detectives Alice and Iris are about to uncover just how many secrets their sleepy seaside town is hiding... 'Part Agatha Christie, part Veronica Mars, and completely entertaining.' Karen M. McManus, author of One Of Us Is Lying
Family of Liars, E Lockhart ( paperback May 2023)
£8.99
The thrilling prequel to the TikTok phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come. A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts. A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy. A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.
Welcome back to the Sinclair family. They were always liars. SPOILER ALERT! Read We Were Liars first.
(No word of a lie, it's better that way ...)
Friends Like These, Meg Rosoff ( PB July 2023)
£8.99
An irresistible account of female friendship ... Nobody describes the strength, pain and comedy of being young as elegantly and eloquently as Meg Rosoff' - Amanda Craig.
June, 1982. When eighteen-year-old Beth arrives in Manhattan for a prestigious journalism internship, everything feels brand new - and not always in a good way. A cockroach-infested sublet and a disaffected roommate are the least of her worries, and she soon finds herself caught up with her fellow interns - preppy Oliver, ruthless Dan and ridiculously cool, beautiful, wild Edie.
Soon, Beth and Edie are best friends - the sort of heady, all-consuming best-friendship that's impossible to resist. But with the mercury rising and deceit mounting up, betrayal lies just around the corner. Who needs enemies ...
when you have friends like these? From bestselling, award-winning author Meg Rosoff comes a gritty, intoxicating novel about a summer of unforgettable firsts: of independence, lies, love and the inevitable loss of innocence.
Prayer for the Crown Shy, Becky Chambers ( hardback, August 2022)
£17.99
After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home. They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe. Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter?
Book 2 in the 'Monk & Robot' science fiction series. Book 1 was A Psalm for the Wild-Built. Fans of Becky Chambers describe her writing as " a warm hug of a book". She is known for her imaginative world-building and character-driven stories.
When In Rome, Sarah Adams ( Paperback Sept 2022)
£9.99
A burned-out pop star stranded in small-town Kentucky can't help falling for her unlikely knight in shining armour - the notoriously grumpy owner of the local pie shop - in this charming slice of romance from the author of the TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet. 'This modern take on the Hepburn classic Roman Holiday is a quick, fun, slow-burn rom-com' ABBY JIMENEZ
When in Rome is a delectable romance, sweet and satisfying as a slice of warm apple pie' CHLOE LIESE 'Sarah Adams' books are woven with pure sunshine and rainbows .
. . It's everything you could want in a small-town romance, along with a heaping dollop of her signature wit and sparkling charm' AMY LEA'You can always count on a Sarah Adams rom-com to be equal parts funny, sweet, and swoony' SOPHIE SULLIVAN...............
Maybe Now, Colleen Hoover ( paper back Sept 2022)
£8.99
The long-awaited finale to the New York Times bestselling Maybe Someday series returns with all the characters you fell in love with.What is more important? Friendship, loyalty, or love?Ridge and Sydney are thrilled to finally be together guilt-free. But as the two of them navigate this freedom, Warren and Bridgette's relationship is as tumultuous as ever, and Maggie grapples with her illness. When she comes across an old list of things she wanted to do "maybe one of these days," Maggie decides to live life to the fullest and accomplish these dreams.Maggie keeps Ridge updated on her adventures, but he can't help but worry, even as Sydney grows more and more suspicious about their friendship. But if she's going to move past this jealousy, she'll need to reconcile how she and Ridge came together with the fact that Maggie will always be in their lives somehow...or end up walking away from the man she loves so much. Featuring new songs by Griffin Peterson, this emotive and satisfying finale proves that maybe someday might be right now.
How Do You Like Me Now? Holly Bourne
£8.99
Holly Bourne is a legend in writing on difficult topics for children and teenagers, this is her first ' grown up' novel for the 30 somethings - and it really hits the mark.
Everyone wants to be Tori Bailey. A straight-talking, bestselling author, she's inspired millions of women around the world with her self-help memoir and uplifting posts online.
What's more, her perfect relationship with her long-term boyfriend is the envy of all their friends. But Tori isn't being honest. While everyone around her is getting engaged and having babies, Tori's boyfriend will barely look at her, let alone talk about marriage.
And when her best friend Dee unexpectedly falls in love, suddenly Tori's in danger of being left behind. Tori's built a career out of telling women how to live their best life, but is she brave enough to admit it's not what she wants?*****The debut adult novel by bestselling author Holly Bourne is a blisteringly funny, honest and moving exploration of love, friendship and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of your thirties. Everyone is raving about this book! Brutally honest, appallingly funny and very moving - so accurate on the female interior, and the loneliness life in the public gaze.
LET DOWN YOUR HAIR, by Bryony Gordon ( paperback Sept 2022)
£7.99
Introducing the YA fiction debut from bestselling author and journalist Bryony Gordon in a modern twist on Rapunzel and one girl's quest to find a different sort of happy ever after. Barb may have zero friends IRL, but online, she is popular. Like, several-hundred-thousand-followers popular.Or at least, her hair is popular. Because Barb's hair is glossy and beautiful. Which is why hairbrush manufacturers pay her stupid money for a 30-second clip.
But most of the time Barb just wants to be a typical teenager, who has friends and a life. One who isn't confined to her bedroom on the 12th floor of the tower-block flat she shares with her aunt making content. One who can go about her business without everyone obsessing over the way she looks.
Barb just needs to save up some money to make a new life for herself. But it's soon clear something isn't right. Because when Barb runs her fingers over her scalp, she feels something smooth and different.
She gets out her mirrors and combs for a video and sees it ... a bald patch the size of a ten pence coin, slap bang in the middle of her head. Barb has alopecia.
In this stunning retelling of Rapunzel, Barb must learn that she is so much more than her hair and that there is no such thing as a happy ending ... just lots of complicated new beginnings.
We Are All Constellations, Amy Beashel ( paperback October 2022)
£8.99
A heartbreaking but hope-filled tale about the stories we tell ourselves to survive... You are strong. You are brave.You are not alone. Seventeen-year-old Iris is happy. She's fearless, she's strong.
She is everything but a girl who lost her mum. But Iris's dad and step-mum have been keeping a secret. One big enough to unravel her.
Only the magnetic Orla can provide an escape, until things get...complicated. As Iris questions who she is, it becomes clear she can't run away from grief. What happens when someone who has never faced up to the darkness lets it in?
Activist, Louisa Reid ( paperback Oct 2022)
£7.99
When an anonymous student posts on a website about the sexual abuse she suffered, and the school fails to deal with the situation, Cassie and her friends know it is time to act. A powerful verse novel** about speaking and standing up for what's right. Cassie goes to a prestigious academic school where girls have only just been admitted after decades of it being single-sex.
She and her friends prepare for battle - with a strike, an assembly, as well as outside school spending their weekends protesting to save the woodland from development. But will her activism only make things worse, or will she succeed in righting the wrongs that so many choose to ignore? And could there be a more personal reason for her behaviour? A powerful, timely verse novel about the need to act and stand up for what's right.
** Verse novels! Please don't be put off by thinking this is poetry, or difficult to read ... it's actually the complete opposite. If you are a reluctant reader, or dyslexic, this is a perfect way to get into a gripping and intense story without having to read as many lines of words. Try it!
Send Nudes, Saba Sams ( paperback Jan 2023)
£9.99
In ten dazzling stories, Saba Sams dives into the world of girlhood and immerses us in its contradictions and complexities: growing up too quickly, yet not quickly enough; taking possession of what one can, while being taken possession of; succumbing to societal pressure but also orchestrating that pressure. These young women are feral yet attentive, fierce yet vulnerable, exploited yet exploitative. Threading between clubs at closing time, pub toilets, drenched music festivals and beach holidays, these unforgettable short stories deftly chart the treacherous terrain of growing up - of intense friendships, of ambivalent mothers, of uneasily blended families, and of learning to truly live in your own body.
With striking wit, originality and tenderness, Send Nudes celebrates the small victories in a world that tries to claim each young woman as its own. _____________________________________________________________________'A roiling, raw, gut-punch of a debut collection, best read in one sitting ... I sat motionless for about half an hour after reading them; I can't wait to see what she writes next' PANDORA SYKES'A seriously impressive debut.
If We Were Villains, M L Rio ( paperback 2017)
£8.99
The 2023 Booktok obsession!
A vivid and immersive story of obsession perfect for fans of dark academia and Donna Tartt's The Secret HistoryOliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends - a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago.
As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off - villain, hero, tyrant, temptress - though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else's story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life. When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead.
The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
This Book Kills, Ravena Guron ( paperback Jan 2023)
£8.99
For fans of Holly Jackson and Karen M McManus." The Observer"An awesome book, full of mystery, friendship and sass. ***** " The Sun"Fun, twisty and insightful...will keep you on the edge of your seat." Adiba Jaigirdar, YA Book Prize winning author of Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating"I'll make it clear from the start: I did not kill Hugh Henry Van Boren. I didn't even help.Well, not intentionally." When Hugh Henry Van Boren, one of the most popular and richest kids in Jess Choudhary's school, is found dead, the student body is left reeling and wondering who the murderer could be... Jess, a student under strict instructions to keep her record clean or risk losing her scholarship, finds herself at the centre of the investigation when it's revealed that Hugh died in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote. And then Jess receives an anonymous text thanking her for the inspiration.
With time running out, Jess knows if she doesn't solve this mystery she'll finally have something in common with Hugh Henry. She'll be dead too.
Influential, Amara Sage ( paperback Jan 2023)
£8.99
Almond Brown has no friends in real life . . .but 3.5 million followers online. A heart-felt, whip-smart deep dive into what it would really be like to be internet famous at 17: a cautionary tale for our time from a writer who has grown up with social media. Almond is forced into the spotlight when she was just a perfectly filtered bump: her mum has been documenting their family through social media since before she was born.
And her family enjoy all the rewards that come from that level of influence. Only, it's not the life Almond would have chosen for herself, and being on a platform all the time has made her anxious and insecure. When the darkest side of the internet begins to haunt her, Almond feels like she's going to lose everything .
. . If only she could see that she has a real-life, too, full of friends and family who love her, and that it could save her.
The Things We Do To Our Friends, Heather Darwent ( paperback Jan 2024)
£9.99
The Things We Do To Our Friends: A deliciously dark, intoxicating, compulsive tale of feminist revenge, toxic friendships, and deadly secrets
Clare arrives at the University of Edinburgh with a secret. This is her chance for a blank slate: to find the right people and reinvent herself.
And then she meets Tabitha. Tabitha is charismatic, beautiful and intimidatingly wealthy. Soon Clare is sucked into her enigmatic circle of friends and their dizzying world of champagne on rooftops and summers in France.
Her new life has begun. Then Tabitha reveals the little project they're working on, a project they need Clare's help with. It's reckless, possibly perilous and might finally allow Clare to become who she was meant to be...
But how much is an extraordinary life worth if others have to pay?An intoxicating feminist page-turner with shades of The Secret History and Promising Young Woman, this novel will take you on a journey from Edinburgh's dazzling spires to the dripping staircases and dark alleyways of its underbelly.
Paperback from January 2024.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow :Gabrielle Zevin ( Paperback 29 June 2023)
£9.99
This is not a romance, but it is about love. 'One of the best books I've ever read' JOHN GREEN Sam and Sadie meet in a hospital in 1987. Sadie is visiting her sister, Sam is recovering from a car crash.The days and months are long there, but playing together brings joy, escape, fierce competition -- and a special friendship. Then all too soon that time is over, and they must return to their normal lives. When the pair spot each other eight years later in a crowded train station, they are catapulted back to that moment.
The spark is immediate, and together they get to work on what they love - creating virtual worlds to delight, challenge and immerse, finding an intimacy in the digital realm that eludes them in their real lives. Their collaborations make them superstars. This is the story of the perfect worlds Sadie and Sam build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money.
Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow takes us on a dazzling imaginative quest, examining identity, creativity and our need to connect.
Brutes, by Dizz Tate ( paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
A Lynchian reinterpretation of The Virgin Suicides." (Observer)"An astonishing debut that will burrow under your skin." (Sunday Times)
In Falls Landing, Florida - a place built of theme parks, swampy lakes, and scorched bougainvillea flowers - something sinister lurks in the deep. A gang of thirteen-year-old girls obsessively orbit around the local preacher's daughter, Sammy. She is mesmerizing, older, and in love with Eddie.
But suddenly, Sammy goes missing. Where is she? Watching from a distance, they edge ever closer to discovering a dark secret about their fame-hungry town and the cruel cost of a ticket out. What they uncover will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Through a darkly beautiful and brutally compelling lens, Dizz Tate captures the violence, horrors, and manic joys of girlhood. Brutes is a novel about the seemingly unbreakable bonds in the 'we' of young friendship, and the moment it is broken forever.
