Teens
The Broken Road by B R Collins
There's going to be a crusade. A boy came to the cathedral and preached. He's going to lead a crusade of children...
Rufus is about to begin his apprenticeship in his father's goldsmith workshop in Cologne. The prospect doesn't thrill him, but what choice is there? And then a boy comes to the city to preach. He wants to lead a crusade of children, believing that their innocence will part the seas and win Jerusalem back without the need for violence. It's a powerful message and Rufus, along with countless other Cologne children and apprentices, find themselves following the charismatic Nick on a doomed journey to the Holy Land. Full review...
Touch of Power: Avry of Kazan Book 1 by Maria V Snyder
The game is up. Despite the risk that she would be betrayed Avry couldn't stop herself from healing a sick child, and after years on the run she is in a cell awaiting execution. Then a band of misfit companions offer her freedom, in return for healing their prince. Unfortunately, said prince is the one who spread the idea of the healers' guilt in the first place, and as such he is Avry's sworn enemy. Full review...
BZRK by Michael Grant
When Sadie witnesses the private jet in which her father and brother are flying crash into the packed football stadium where she is also present, and narrowly escapes with her life, she might think that the world can't get any crazier. Yet, without any time to grieve the loss of her only remaining close family, she is thrust into the middle of a global conflict. One that involves nanobots and microscopic biots being used to fight for control over the minds of the world's most important figures. While BZRK, a resistance group, fights for sustained freewill and freedom, the Armstrong twins head a movement towards a collective human identity, which will make free will a thing of the past but also, they promise, will bring universal happiness. Full review...
Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson
Mortal Chaos is a powerful name, and it's perfectly apt for a book that describes a day in the lives of many characters, some from different countries, some adults and some children, some set for a typical mundane day while for others the day will be the definition of chaos. As the narrative rapidly alternates between the stories of these varied characters, it soon becomes apparent that they are all connected. How, you would think, could the day of a jockey, an airline pilot, a mountain climber on Everest, two boys exploring a forest, a boy in Africa, a thief, a gambler, a television crew, and an insane man with murder in his mind, all be connected? They don't know each other but the lives of all of these characters on this fateful day, depends on the actions of each other. Some will find themselves in life-threatening situations, while others will inadvertently end up causing them! Full review...
Pure by Julianna Baggott
A Hiroshima-like event called the Detonations has transformed life on earth. Shortly after the Detonations, when the survivors were still hoping for some form of help to arrive, a cloud of leaflets were released all bearing the same message:
'We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar, benevolently.' Full review...
Daylight Saving by Edward Hogan
The Leisure World Holiday Complex, with so many sports and games available, might be the holiday of a lifetime for some teens – but Daniel Lever certainly isn’t one of them. Dragged there by his dad, and feeling guilty over his role in his parents’ separation, Daniel’s expecting he’ll hate it, and his early experiences seem to suggest he’s right. Then he meets a mysterious girl who he’d like to know better – but why do her bruises keep getting worse, and does her watch really tick backwards? More worryingly, why can’t anyone else see her? Full review...
Girl Meets Boy by Edited by Kelly Milner Halls
Have you ever been in a relationship where you couldn’t understand what the other person was thinking? Perhaps that’s a dumb question… have you ever been in a relationship where you COULD understand what the other person was thinking? In a unique collection, twelve authors team up to write eleven stories telling things the same tales from both the boy's point of view and the girl's. It consists of five pairs of stories, each looking at the same events from a different angle, and a final collaboration which switches back and forth between the two viewpoints throughout the story. Full review...
The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
When her boyfriend breaks up with her - I don't love you - Brie Eagen literally dies of a broken heart. Truly. Unable to believe the x-rays, her cardiologist father insists on a complete postmortem and it's true - Brie's heart was broken in two and she died. Brie finds herself in an afterlife limbo with other lost souls and meets a boy called Patrick who tells her she must process the five stages of grief before she can hope to move on. But of course, Brie is at the first stage - denial - and doesn't want to move on at all. She wants to stay close to the family and friends she left behind but more than anything, she wants revenge on Jacob, who broke her heart... Full review...
Falling Fast by Sophie McKenzie
River is desperate to get the lead role in the inter-school performance of Romeo and Juliet, because she wants to be Juliet in real life. To know romantic love, and true passion. When she first sets eye on Flynn, who’s been cast as Romeo, she thinks this could be it. But would a boy as intense and as talented as Flynn even look twice at someone like her? As all fans of the Bard know, the path of true love never did run smooth… Full review...
Indigo Blues by Danielle Joseph
High school senior Indigo briefly dated an older boy called Adam. He took the relationship more seriously than she did, and she broke it off. He moved away... and that's the end of that, yes? Except... the reason Adam moved away was to become a rock star. Suddenly, he's top of the charts with a song about the girl who broke his heart. Indigo just wants to forget their relationship, but how can she do that when half her school, and several journalists, want to hear all the gory details about the pair of them? Full review...
Poison Heart by S B Hayes
When Katy first sees a girl staring at her from the window of a bus, she shouldn't think anything of it. Something makes her look back, though, and in that moment everything changes. For some reason Katy doesn't know, the girl - Genevieve - starts to follow her around, insinuating herself into Katy's college, her friendship group, and even her relationship with the wonderful Merlin. Can Katy, with the help of journalist Luke, find out what's going on before it's too late? Full review...
Saving Daisy by Phil Earle
Ever since finding a report which said she was responsible for the death of her mother, Daisy has felt unable to cope. Her dad, despite the good relationship they have, refuses to talk about her mum's passing, so she takes refuge firstly in her beloved films, but then in self-harm. As her life spirals more and more out of control, can Daisy be saved? Full review...
The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan
Kasienka's Dad is gone, leaving only a brief note to say he'd gone to England. Its two years after his departure, and Kasienka and her mother are moving to England to find him. With nothing but a suitcase and an old laundry bag, they leave Poland and their lives behind. But England isn't what Kasienka imagined, living in a single room, and sharing a bed with her mum, she longs to return to Poland. At home her mother throws herself into finding Kasienka's Dad, heartbroken that he left them; at school Kasienka finds herself a target of bullying. Full review...
The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Mara has just started her whole life over - new city, new school, new start. It's just what the doctor ordered, and her family - though still treating her like she might fall apart at any moment - are tentatively hopeful that it's just what she needs to get back on her feet. Mara just hopes her memories return. She needs to know what happened the night her two best friends and her boyfriend died in an accident she somehow managed to escape unscathed. Full review...
Burning Issy by Melvin Burgess
It's the early 17th century and Issy is living in Lancashire with her foster father Nat and foster brother Ghyll. Nat is a cunning man - a herbalist and healer - and Issy keeps house while Nat plies his trade and teaches Ghyll how to follow in his footsteps. It's a hard life and there is little to spare. And the family live on the edge of suspicion. Convinced he's being plotted against by Scottish witches, the King has unleashed witch-hunts on a deeply superstitious and fearful country. Healers like Nat are working in the grey areas of persecution and are only ever an accusation away from torture and trial, while time is running out for self-professed witches like Demdyke and her family. Full review...
Swift by R J Anderson
Ivy lives in an abandoned Cornish tin mine with the rest of her piskie clan. The piskies live in fear of kidnapping spriggans and so it's a closed life, with the females of the clan rarely going above ground. It's just too dangerous. This weighs heavily on Ivy, who has an independent spirit and sense of wanderlust. And Ivy has other sadnesses: her mother disappeared years ago, taken by spriggans, and she was born without wings so cannot fly like the others. Full review...