Joni is halfway through her A levels. But she has a lot more than A levels to think about. Life is pretty tough at the moment. There isn't much money about, the family is behind on bills, Dad's back is getting worse and worse, and little brother Jack has a school trip coming up that needs to be paid for. Older brother Jamie got the sack from his dream job and, although he found somewhere else to work, is a big ball of resentment. To make matters worse, the charity that runs the housing on their estate is running out of money and thinking of selling up. But Joni has a great group of friends and a lovely mum and dad and a teacher who thinks she could get into university. [[Skylarks by Karen Gregory|Full Review]]
<!-- Almond -->
|-
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
[[image:1444919555.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444919555/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
]]
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
===[[The Colour of the Sun by David Almond]]===
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]
''This book... explores what excites and mystifies me about the nature of being young, and dramatises the joys and excitements of growing up. And I guess it embodies my constant astonishment at being alive in this beautiful, weird, extraordinary world.''
This is what David Almond says about his latest novel for young people, ''The Colour of the Sun''. And, having now read it, I see what he is saying so clearly. This is a story of being young - both older than you used to enjoy being and younger than you aspire to be. And it's a story of finding strangeness in ordinary things.
[[The Colour of the Sun by David Almond|Full Review]]
<!-- Hogan -->
|-
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
[[image:1473668999.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473668999/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
===[[The Particular Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan]]===
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]
Masha's son Gabriel died some years ago. She'd been a single parent with help from her friend, Edward, who had grieved as much as Masha and whilst Edward has moved on (his boyfriend moved out in the immediate aftermath of the drowning, but there's now a new love interest) Masha is still stricken, feeling that it would somehow be disloyal to Gabriel if she was to be happy. An independent, rebellious woman has somehow been diminished. [[The Particular Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan|Full Review]]
<!-- Weir -->
|-
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
[[image:1472227670.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472227670/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
===[[Six Tudor Queens: Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir]]===
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]]
When it comes to Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, popular opinion is divided. Some see her as a scheming marriage-wrecker from an ambitious family who would stop at nothing to gain favour in the king's eyes. Others view her as a pious and God-fearing woman who brought calm and stability into Henry's life following his turbulent marriage to Anne Boleyn. Perhaps both sides are true, to an extent. In ''The Haunted Queen,'' the third book in the ''Six Tudor Queens'' series, author and historian Alison Weir puts flesh on the bones of a Queen haunted by the shadow of a formidable predecessor. [[Six Tudor Queens: Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir|Full Review]]
<!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->
|}
