Young Adult
Usually curated in our shop for content rather than reading ability, this age group covers approximately 14 - 25.
Often covering topical and contemporary topics, or perhaps an absolute classic that this age group will enjoy.
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas (paperback)
£8.99
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.
The Murder After the Night Before, Katy Brent ( paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
Something bad happened last night. I've woken up with the hangover from hell, a stranger in my bed, and I've gone viral for the worst reasons. But I can't remember a thing. My best friend Posey is dead.The police think it was a tragic accident. I know she was murdered. There's only one thing stopping me from dying of shame.
I need to find a killer. From the author of How to Kill Men and Get Away With It, don't miss this wickedly witty and utterly addictive novel, perfect for fans of Bella Mackie, Dawn O'Porter and Killing Eve. Praise for The Murder After the Night Before: What a ride! Unflinchingly realistic and raw but somehow also brilliantly funny at times, Brent's novel is a must-read.
The Stolen Lives, Sharada Keats ( paperback April 2024)
£8.99
Filled with suspense and romance, ideal for fans of Noughts & Crosses, The Hunger Games and Shatter Me. Six years ago, seventeen-year-old Mora survived the terrifying Skøl invasion.They stole her land. They took her family. And now not even her life is her own.
Skøl culture revolves around one motto: Life is Golden. You must pay the government for the right to survive. If you can't, you're cast out at best - at worst, culled.
Records of every citizen are held at the hallowed, highly secured Life Registry, which tracks who lives and who dies, who pays and who fails. Colonized survivors like Mora face endless servitude, repaying the 'debt' of their years lived before the invasion. Mora is resigned to her fate, finding glimmers of joy in her tentative friendship with another repayer, the handsome, elusive Kit.
But then she finds out that twelve-year-old Zako, the closest thing she has to a brother, is to be put to death by the dangerous new Skøl Governor. Finding the courage to fight back, Mora and Kit conspire to smuggle Zako to safety. But their plan draws them into a dark mystery - and to a heart-pounding mission at the Life Registry itself.
They must ultimately ask themselves: what are we worth to each other? Gripping, moving and suspenseful storytelling with a friends-to-lovers romance that crackles with tension. A girl driven by unthinkable grief. A boy targeted for his unimaginable ability.
A compelling story exploring the power of hope, courage and connection from a stunning new voice in YA.
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 Teenage Guide to Digital Wellbeing, Tanya Goodin ( paperback May 2024)
£12.99
A useful guide to digital wellbeing and living your best life – offline and on! Digital wellbeing is all about finding the balance between the digital world and the real world – and making sure we use smartphones and other digital devices in a healthy way, while living fulfilling lives beyond the screen. This guide helps tweens and teens do exactly that, inspiring them to set their devices aside (sometimes anyway!) and start living in the here and now. Written by digital wellbeing expert Tanya Goodin, it’s packed with positive prompts, thought-provoking science, and hands-on activities to encourage healthy habits around screen use – including nostalgic crafts, retro tech scavenger hunts, and phone-free nature excursions, plus practical tips on how to deal with digital challenges like comparison culture, cyberbullying, trolling, and much more.
This book is not about teenagers giving up their devices forever; it’s about being more mindful of how they use them, so they can live their best lives – on and off the screen. Teenagers will discover how to: Develop healthy habits, identify priorities, and set achievable goalsKnow their own screen limits and deal with digital distractionsStay safe and savvy on the internetFocus on the positive and productive uses of smartphones (no more doom-scrolling!)Combat comparison culture on social media and quieten their inner criticsNurture friendships and family relationships offline and onBuild resilience and self-confidence to live healthily and happily with their digital devices.
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.
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.
Things I wanted to Say, Monica Murphy ( paperback March 2023)
£9.99
Whit Lancaster is the cold, heartless and devastatingly handsome bad boy at Lancaster Prep.
Beautiful Summer Savage has no time for Whit. But his intense gaze traps her under a spell. Fills her with a longing she doesn't understand.
When Whit gets into trouble one night, Summer invites him in. Tends to his wounds. Lets her guard down, just for a moment .
. . Which is when Whit takes off in the dead of night.
Taking her journal with him. Now he holds all her darkest secrets, threatening to expose her to the entire school. So Summer strikes a deal with Whit.
A deal that leaves her at his mercy behind closed doors . . .
But what if he's at hers?
# booktok romance # not for kids !
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.
To Sleep In a Sea of Stars : Christoper Paolini (paperback Sept 2021)
£12.99
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 . . .
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.
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?
Us in the Before and After , Jenny Valentine ( paperback, June 2024)
£8.99
A tear-jerking, heart-breakingly beautiful novel from the award-winning Jenny Valentine, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera, Kathleen Glasgow and Laura Nowlin.
There is one side of that moment, and the other Before After I have dreamed about it ever since At the start of a long, hot summer best friends Elk and Mab face the fallout of a sudden death, and the lifelong consequences of a single tragic act. An intensely emotional story that raises questions about love, ghosts, and the unshakeable bonds of friendship.
‘An ode to life and love and loss and friendship – and the devastating beauty of it all. This is the kind of book that grips you by the heart and doesn’t let go.’ – Katherine Webber, author of Twin Crowns.
Nobody writes like Jenny Valentine – she is a true original.’ – Phil Earle, author of When the Sky Falls ‘A gorgeous journey on friendship, love and death. Jenny Valentine has written a book that you will want to read over and over again.’ – Abiola Bello, author of Only for the Holidays
Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep, Philip Reeve ( paperback, Sept 2021)
£8.99
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.
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?
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...............
Where The Heart should Be. Sarah Crossan ( paperback Feb 2025)
£8.99
This novel is written in verse. Please don't let that put you off - not only is it a lovely read for everyone, it kind of intensifies the emotions and is absolutely perfect for slow, reluctant or dyslexic readers
Ireland, 1846. Nell is working as a scullery maid in the kitchen of the Big House.
Once she loved school and books and dreaming. But there's not much choice of work when the land grows food that rots in the earth. Now she is scrubbing, peeling, washing, sweeping for Sir Philip Wicken, the man who owns her home, her family's land, their crops, everything.
His dogs are always well fed, even as famine sets in. Upstairs in the Big House, where Nell is forbidden to enter, is Johnny Browning, newly arrived from England: the young nephew who will one day inherit it all. And as hunger and disease run rampant all around them, a spark of life and hope catches light when Nell and Johnny find each other.
A beautiful, perfect, moving read’ – Cecelia Ahern, author of PS, I Love YouThe outstanding novel from the Carnegie Medal-winning, former Laureate na nÓg Sarah Crossan; thought-provoking and moving, it explores love and family during The Great Hunger.
Wild Geese, Soula Emmanuel ( paperback May 2024)
£9.99
Searingly sharp, deliciously funny, profound' Danielle McLaughlinNew home, new name and newly thirty: Phoebe Forde has stepped into emigrant life in Copenhagen with her anxious dog, Dolly. Almost three years into her gender transition, she has learned to move through the world carefully, savouring small moments of joy. A woman without a past can be anyone she wants - that is, until an unexpected visit from Grace, her first love, brings memories of Dublin and a life she thought she'd left behind.
Over the course of a single weekend, as their old romance kindles something sweet and radically unfamiliar, Grace helps Phoebe to navigate the jagged edges of migration, nostalgia and hope.
Paperback May 2024
Wise Creatures, Deirdre Sullivan (paperback Sept 2023)
£8.99
Deirdre Sullivan owns the space of slightly dark and creepy writings for YA - not to be missed if you like that sort of thing!
I always thought that hauntings began with houses. They don't, of course. It's people, isn't it? They begin with people. If anyone knows what it is to be haunted, it's Daisy. The ghosts of her troubled past are ever present. Daisy has always done her best to shut the ghosts away.
To shut away the wise creatures who used to whisper to her from the walls of the house. To live a normal life. But now, something is humming in the house.
Something dark, and unknown. And it's targeting Nina, her beloved sister. Daisy knows that something is up.
And that the wise creatures, locked away for so long, are back. And this time, who knows what they want?A haunting psychological horror novel from award-winning author Deirdre Sullivan
You Could Be So Pretty, Holly Bourne ( paperback October 2023)
£8.99
Uglies meets The Handmaid's Tale for the new YA generation in this mind-blowing novel from bestselling queen of YA Holly Bourne.
BEAUTY COMES AT A PRICE. AND GIRLS MUST PAY.
In Belle and Joni's world there are two options for girls: One, follow the rules of the Doctrine like Belle: apply your Mask, work hard to be crowned at the Ceremony, be a Pretty. Or two, fight the rules like Joni: leave your face bare, work hard to escape to the Education, be an Objectionable. But maybe there is a third option...
Change the rules. Reclaim your power. If you can...
What would you choose? Warning - this novel deals with issues that some readers may find upsetting, including references to pornography and sexual assault.
