RECOMMENDED FOR OLDER TEENS

A Song For Ella Grey by  David Almond

Claire is Ella Grey's best friend. She is there when the whirlwind arrives on the scene: catapulted into a North East landscape of gutted shipyards; of high-arched bridges and ancient collapsed mines. She witnesses a love so dramatic it is as if her best friend has been captured and taken from her. But the loss of her friend to the arms of Orpheus is nothing compared to the loss she feels when Ella is taken from the world. This is her story, as she bears witness to a love so complete, so sure, that not even death can prove final.

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “We love David Almond’s writing: his flights of imagination and exceptional prose style are a class above the rest.”

Salvage by Keren David

Before she was adopted by a loving family and raised in a leafy Home Counties town, Cass Montgomery was Cass Jones. Her memories of her birth family disappeared with her name. But when her adopted family starts to break down, a way out comes in the form of a message from her lost brother, Aidan. Having Aidan back in her life is both everything she needs and nothing she expected. Who is this boy who calls himself her brother? And why is he so haunted?

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “We loved Keren David’s contemporary family drama that looks at tough issues, such as adoption. It is one of the most compelling books we’ve read this year.”

Say Her Name by James Dawson

The truth is more terrifying than the legend. When Bobbie and her best friend Naya are dared by their schoolmates to summon the legendary ghost of Bloody Mary, neither really believes that anything will happen. So they complete the ritual, and chant Mary’s name five times in front of a candlelit mirror . . . Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary. . . And something is called forth that night. Something dark, terrifying and out of control. She will be there, just out of sight, in the corner of your eye. She will lurk in your nightmares. She will hide in the shadows of your bedroom. She will be waiting in every mirror that you see. She is everywhere. And she wants revenge.

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “Dawson is brilliant at writing teenage girls and we loved the fact that this book is like Point Horror but with a lot more subtlety and complexity. A really good read.”

Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Sam and Hannah have just the summer before uni to find ‘The One’. Their lobster. But fate works against them, with awkward misunderstandings, the plotting of friends and their own fears of being virgins for ever. In the end, though, it all boils down to love . . .

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “This book struck a very strong chord with us because we could really relate to teenage life as it is depicted here. The use of dual narration works very well and, best of all, it is hilarious!”

Half Bad by Sally Green

Nathan Byrne is Half Bad. He’s half white witch . . . half black witch. His mother was a healer . . . his father is a killer. He’s wanted by no one…but hunted by everyone.

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “This is a compelling and original book, set in a brilliantly fantastical world. It is also a wonderful exploration of family relationships.”

Finding a Voice by Kim Hood

Jo could never have guessed that the friendship she so desperately craves would come in the shape of a severely disabled boy. He can’t even speak. Maybe it is because he can’t speak that she finds herself telling him how difficult it is living with her eccentric, mentally fragile mother. Behind Chris’ lopsided grin and gigantic blue wheelchair is a real person — with a sense of humour, a tremendous stubborn streak and a secret he has kept from everyone. For a while it seems life may actually get better. But as Jo finds out just how terrible life is for Chris, and as her own life spirals out of control, she becomes desperate to change things for both of them. In a dramatic turn of events, Jo makes a decision that could end in tragedy.

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “The writer deals with a difficult subject matter in an honest and heartbreaking way. Hood draws us in to the impact of mental health issues on children and the challenges of disability but mainly just tells a beautiful and worthwhile story”

Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill

Frieda and isabel have been best friends their whole lives. Now, aged sixteen and in their final year at the School, they expect to be selected as companions- wives to wealthy and powerful men. The alternative - life as a concubine - is too horrible to contemplate. But as the intensity of the final year takes hold, the pressure to remain perfect becomes almost unbearable. isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty - her only asset - in peril. And then, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride. frieda must fight for her future- even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love she has ever known . . .

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “We were blown away by this book. The strength of the voice from the first page, the depth of the subject matter and the feminist, dystopian plot kept us gripped all the way through.”

Goose by Dawn O’Porter

Renee and Flo are eighteen and on the brink of their adult lives. But while Flo is determined to get to uni and take Renee with her, Renee can feel her sense of independence soar. In their final year before leaving their home on Guernsey, will Renee and Flo still be each other’s soulmates, or is this the end of their friendship?

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “This book is just perfect when it comes to portraying teenage girls on the cusp of adulthood, and all the problems they face. Brilliant.”

Trouble by Non Pratt

Hannah is smart and funny. She’s also fifteen and pregnant. Aaron is the new boy at school. He doesn’t want to attract attention. So why does Aaron offer to be the pretend dad to Hannah’s unborn baby? Growing up can be trouble but that’s how you find out what really matters.

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “We loved this book. The voices of the characters are spot on and it has a huge heart as well. It is the sort of novel that reads so easily but is devilishly hard to actually write.”

Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick

The spiral has existed as long as time has existed. It is there when a girl walks through the forest, the moist green air clinging to her skin. There centuries later in a pleasant greendale, hiding the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who they call a witch. There on the other side of the world, where a mad poet watches the waves and knows the horrors they hide, and far into the future as Keir Bowman realises his destiny. Each takes their step in life. None will ever go back to the same place. And so their journeys begin . . .

Quote: The Bookseller team said: “This book speaks about the teenage experience in a different but important way. It makes teenagers think about things beyond their