The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay

Being a resident of Cornwall, I was drawn to this book because it's partly set in this beautiful county, as well as Plymouth and France. I haven't read any of Hilary McKay's other books (I'm ashamed to say), not even 'Saffy's Angel', for which she won the 2002 Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. But I've heard wonderful things about her stories, so was itching to read this one.

The story follows brother and sister Clarry and Peter, growing up in Plymouth in the early 1900s with their father (their mother died after giving birth to Clarry), and holidaying in Cornwall during the summer holidays with their grandparents and their cousin Rupert. Their father doesn't have a good bond with them, always preferring to sit on his own in his study rather than talking to his children, so Clarry and Peter always desperately look forward to their summer jaunts by the sea. When not in Cornwall during the holidays, Rupert goes to boarding school, and Peter is told he must go too. He is adamantly against this, and takes drastic measures to make sure he doesn't have to go. However, in the long run his plan doesn't have much effect and off he goes. He does make a very close friend while there, Simon, who is also very much in awe of Rupert. While the boys are at boarding school, Clarry battles against the sexism of the time whereby young ladies weren't meant to have ambitions, or want to learn anything other than needlecraft and cookery. She's a strong-willed and independent girl, and stands up to her father to make sure she gets her way. However the First World War is soon upon them, and the rosy dreams of endless summer holidays and laughter is brought to an abrupt end. How will the war affect the children's friendship? And will they all survive it?

McKay is very clever at how she explains the horror and pain of the war in a realistic but not over-dramatic way. After all, her audience is young children aged 9-12, so they need to be told the facts, but not in a way to give them nightmares. It was educational concerning how females were treated at the time, and also about how people rallied around doing their bit for the war effort. I was slightly disappointed that there weren't more descriptive scenes about their surroundings in either Cornwall or Plymouth, the text was more conversational. However, saying that, I enjoyed the book, I loved all the characters (Simon's sister Vanessa was slightly over-enthusiastic for me!), and it was a moving and fast-paced story.

Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon

Joanna Cannon's previous (and debut) novel was 'The Trouble with Goats and Sheep' which I absolutely loved, so I was looking forward to reading this next book.

Florence (Flo only to her friends) resides in the Cherry Tree retirement complex. She lives alone in a ground floor flat, but she's never lonely as she has her best friend Elsie to keep her company. Elsie also helps Flo through her moments of forgetfulness and confusion. They team up with fellow resident Jack when Flo realises that a new resident is someone from the past she'd thought she'd never see again. With the manager of Cherry Tree threatening to move Flo to 'Greenbanks' - a more suitable home for her needs - Flo and her two friends have a race against time to solve the mystery of the new resident before Flo may be forced to leave.

This quirky second book does not disappoint. It has Joanna's same style of humour mixed with pathos with an underlying serious storyline. All the characters are realistic and rather adorable.  But it's also very moving, knowing that most of us will end up being a Florence, frustrated at realising that we're slowly losing our faculties, and there is only one ending for us all.

A delight to read.

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

First and foremost, a warning. This is an uncomfortable read - I found my toes curling and my gut and teeth clenching as I read some sections. But when there seemed to be hope in the story, I relaxed and prayed everything would be ok. Because the story is about abuse - sexual, mental and physical - of a 14 year old girl by her own father. But even though we know it's wrong and it's horrific, the daughter, Turtle, loves her father, Martin, so much that she accepts what is happening and doesn't try to escape. I think that part is so heartbreaking.

The two live in a large house on a huge piece of land, and the grandfather lives in a trailer in the orchard. When the mother was alive, the property was looked after, succulent fruits and vegetables growing in the garden, flowers abundant, the house clean and sparkling. But now everything has fallen into disrepair - weeds and brambles have taken over in the garden, grease rust and deadly spiders have taken over the house. With the loss of his wife, Martin's mind has also fallen into disrepair. He has brought his daughter up shunning attempts of friendship from others, and he teaches her how to shoot.

One day, Turtle bumps into two boys out trekking, they get lost and she helps them find the right path home. The arrival of these boys, Jacob and Brett, into the story inject humour, pathos, normality and hope into the story, and you wish it would carry on just being the three of them. But not all stories have happy endings - Martin doesn't want to share his daughter with anybody, and he will go to any lengths to stop that happening. 

I think this title will be big because the storyline is so shocking and unbearable everyone will be talking about it. The author was brought up by two mothers, and I wonder whether his attitude towards fathers has any bearing on the character of Martin. Gabriel's love of nature shines through the whole book - how can the beauty of nature be described so acutely alongside the ugliness of such characters as Martin? The contrast is obvious and purposeful.

An unforgettable read.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

There aren't many books that I've enjoyed so much that I want to read them again, but this is definitely one of them. I think it's because it took me by surprise. I'd read an interview with the author where she'd spoken about the main character, Eleanor. I obviously wasn't paying attention because I came to the book with a completely different expectation. What I knew of Eleanor was that she lived alone, didn't go out much, and was really very lonely, and that the book would explain how she'd become how she was, and how she got through life. Well, all of that is true, but as soon as you start to read the book, you realise that Eleanor is not like everyone else. She may have a job, a flat, and enjoys doing cryptic crosswords, but she is hugely scarred mentally by her childhood. Something happened which has caused her to interact with colleagues in a very different manner. She needs bottles of vodka to get her through a weekend. She has a bullying and controlling mother, and the only contact Eleanor has with her is a weekly phone call, during which the mother usually berates and belittles her.

Eleanor decides she needs someone in her life to love her and be her companion. She becomes obsessed with a local musician and tries to organise a situation where they can meet. While this is happening, one of her work colleagues, Raymond, befriends her. She doesn't particularly like Raymond, but will she be able to see past looks and realise who may be better for her in her life? 

This is an emotional and moving book about not fitting in and about mental health. It is Gail Honeyman's debut novel, but it has already been shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction prize while it was a work in progress, and it was chosen as one of the Observer's Debuts of the Year for 2017.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

(Review by Megan, age 14)

The original story behind the Netflix show, 13 Reasons Why is a very raw and emotional story about a suicidal girl who has left behind casette tapes for her peers who are the 'reasons why'. 

The book is different from the on-screen show, but is definitely still hard-hitting and certainly makes you think about the affect you make on other people's lives, that however small it may be, it can make a big difference. It might not be a story for everyone, but I think that everyone should read it, because unfortunately, it is based on countless true stories that are still happening around the world today.

Overall, a very touching, emotive and important tale, told in a realistic and heart-breaking way. I recommend this book to anyone aged 13+.

Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

While holidaying with her parents in a small riverside village not far from Manchester, a 13-year-old girl, Becky, goes missing. She was last seen by her parents while they were all out walking together. Being a teenager, she was sulkily keeping half a dozen steps behind them, and as they picked up speed, so she slowed down slightly so that when they next turned around to call to her to catch up, she had completely disappeared. She was never seen again.

The police were called, a search was set up, the villagers all volunteered their services to help in the search, a re-enactment of her last days was put together and aired, reporters swamped the village, pleas for information were televised daily. What happened to Becky? Was she murdered? Did she fall? Did she run away? Was she kidnapped?

So begins a tale of how a village and its inhabitants, and the family of the missing girl, all cope as the days, weeks, months, years go by. Life goes on, seasons change, babies are born and grow up, new families move into the area, but still the missing girl is in the back of everyone's minds, and the wonder of whether the truth of what happened to her will ever surface.

I thought this was a remarkable book. The author goes into such detail of daily life, much of which is repeated many times as that is how life is, but the story never becomes boring. You don't mind hearing about the badgers and the foxes and the plants and the changing weather, and the river and the reservoirs - you're hoping that in amongst all this information is a clue as to the whereabouts of the missing girl. I found myself continually on tenterhooks with the expectation of a revelation of what happened. I found myself suspicious of all the villagers - everyone seemed to have something they wanted to hide, some little secret.

Jon McGregor is probably most well known for his award winning novel 'If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things'. I hope this will be enjoyed just as much.

Swing Time by Zadie Smith

I haven't read a Zadie Smith novel since 'White Teeth', and that was years ago (1999) - so long in fact that I'd forgotten what it was about. I just looked up a précis and was surprised to read similar threads in the storyline to this one. In fact it seems that in a few of her books, Zadie sticks to themes that she knows and is obviously comfortable with - multiculturalism, racism, the state of society, class wars.

These themes abound in 'Swing Time'. The story mainly follows the life of the narrator, whose name is never revealed to us. Her mother is Jamaican, her father an East Ender with a possible criminal past, but who is now past trouble and dotes on his family. They live in a council flat on the Willesden Road. During childhood she becomes friends with Tracey during a dance class, though it quickly becomes clear that Tracey is the more natural dancer out of the two. Tracey has a white British mother, and an absent Jamaican father, who is regularly in and out of prison. The narrator's mother is not overly keen with Tracey as she lives on the opposite council block which contains the type of one-parent families that she'd frown at, and she's also not keen on how Tracey acts and the language that comes out of her mouth. We follow this friendship through the next few years, and we see how their lives take separate paths, how the friendship breaks up, how they both try to follow their dreams - Tracey becoming an actress in musical theatre, the narrator becoming a personal assistant to a famous pop star. But what does the future hold for them both?

The book is very long, and the narrator goes back and forth in time to give us snippets of her moments with Tracey when they were young, then back to the present, then back to when she got the job, then back again...At times, I wished the story was told in a straightforward timeline. There were places where I wasn't sure which job her mother had, where she was living, how old the narrator and Tracey was, etc. There's a huge part of the story that takes place in West Africa. The famous pop star that the narrator works for (imagine an Australian version of Madonna) has decided to use her millions to set up a new girls school there, so there is much travelling back and forth to the area to put things in place, make sure things run smoothly, etc. However, I found this part of the book rather laborious and boring, I kept looking at the page numbers on my e-reader and sighing to see how much I still had left to read. I was yearning to learn more about Tracey - the parts of the book that included her and the narrator were definitely the most exciting and interesting.

What I found interesting while reading this book was that I kept forgetting that the narrator was half Jamaican, so when characters make mention of her brown skin, I'm momentarily surprised. However, with Tracey, that's how I always pictured her - a dark skinned beauty with attitude, defiant, disrespectful, rude but ambitious.

The last part of the book took my interest again, but overall it was far too long and didn't hold my attention all the way through. I'm not sure I'll be reading another Zadie Smith book again.

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman is a truly remarkable young author. At age 18 she had her first book published by Harper Collins, 'Solitaire'. As you can see from my review of that book, I loved it and thought Alice just wonderful (she's also lovely in person - she came along to Waterstones Truro for a signing of Solitaire, and she spoke to our Teen reading group, who were inspired by her).

As you can imagine, I couldn't wait to read her second book 'Radio Silence'. I was just blown away. It's incredible. She pulls you right into the story, makes the characters real. This is because she writes about real situations that everyone can relate to. Alice herself is now 21 and is at university studying English. She was an excellent student at school. Guess what Frances, one of the main characters is about to do? She's an A-grade student at school and is expected/wants to go to Cambridge to study English. Alice is currently hating her course at University (just read her twitter messages). Guess what Aled, the other main character in the book, is going through? Alice is a keen user of Tumblr. A Tumblr story is a key thread in this book. I keep reading advice from other authors about writing about things you know. It's absolutely true - Alice is proof of this. Keep it real and your stories are addictive.

The one character I couldn't believe in was Aled and Carys's mother, Carol. I truly hope that Alice wasn't basing her on anybody she knows, because that is one evil character. Can a mother do such horrific things to her children to disturb them so much mentally? 

This is a fantastic book about discovering your true identity, believing in yourself, following your dreams and not feeling you have to do what is expected of you. It's also about realising that not conforming is ok - just because you're different doesn't mean you're weird. You're still a human being, with feelings. And lastly it's about the strength of friendships - never give up on your friends, true friends stay together forever.

Never Evers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

This is Tom and Lucy's second book. Their first 'Lobsters' was shortlisted for both the YA Book Prize 2015, and The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2013. Not having read this first book, but hearing good things about this second one, I was keen to get hold of a copy. I was also interested in reading it because it's aimed at a slightly younger audience than 'Lobsters' (a definite teen book due to content). 'Never Evers' is aimed at the tween market (12-14yrs), which my daughter, unbeknownst to her due to unfamiliarity with this book market lingo, is part of.

After struggling through the first 30 or so pages (girls being horrid to each other, boys just thinking about 'getting off' with girls) I was starting to think I couldn't read any more, but then the humour set in and I really enjoyed it. I finished it the next day. 'Mouse' has been kicked out of ballet school for not being good enough, and has returned to her old school just in time for the school ski trip. On that trip is Lauren, who she beat into getting the place for ballet school and who has since seemed to hold a grudge. Mouse is reunited with her old friends Connie (who is just hilarious and decided to bring her pet hamster on the school trip) and Keira. Also arriving at the same ski resort from a different school is Jack, Max (who decides the main reason for the trip is to kiss a girl and buy fireworks - random) and Toddy (who has some great cool one liners).

Jack falls for Mouse immediately, but many circumstances come between them, including the horrid Lauren and the local French pop star Roland (I just kept thinking of Justin Bieber as a comparison). Misunderstandings, accidents, lies, hamster bites, snow storms - they're all in there, and they all make a perfect package. I will definitely be passing this on to my daughter. 

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Wow.I mean, wow. This book may have 'little' in the title, but it is oh so big in many ways. Firstly, it's 720 pages long - big in paper. Secondly, it's big in characters - and I don't mean the amount of characters, I mean it's a hugely character-driven story, with so much detail about all the people. Thirdly, it's big in emotion - I cried so many times. I think that's where I should start really. This book is harrowing, it's upsetting, it's powerful, it's emotional, it's awe-inspiring, it'll take over your life, it'll become your friend that you cannot bear to leave, it'll be there when you're not reading it. When you finish reading it, it'll leave a massive hole in your life. You will decide to read it again. It's brilliant. It'll definitely win many literary prizes.

I should tell you a little bit about the story. It's set in America, and spans the lives of four friends from university to late middle age. Willem, Malcolm, JB and Jude. Even though we learn a lot about all of them, it is Jude who is the main focus of the story, as he is the main focus of all his friend's lives. He has suffered a shocking and traumatic childhood, one that no-one would believe a child could or should go through, and we watch with sorrow and unease as he carries this weighty disturbing baggage with him into adulthood.

This is Hanya's second novel. Her first was 'The People in the Trees'. I will definitely be seeking this one out.

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

I'll heartily recommend this to anyone over the age of 13/14. It's funny, it's very life-like, it's awkward, it's horrid, it's shocking, it's sad - it's just about everything you want in a teen book.

Stewart is 13, super gifted and intelligent, but slightly socially awkward. He lives with his mum and dad, until his mum dies of cancer and leaves Stewart and his dad devastated, sad and alone.

Ashley is 14, beautiful, popular at school, but slightly dim and not the nicest person in the world (an understatement). She also lives happily with her mum and dad, until her dad leaves them - for another man. Ashley is so ashamed and embarrassed she barely speaks to him any more - even though he lives in the converted shed at the bottom of their garden.

Stewart's dad and Ashley's mum work together. Romance blossoms and they end up living together - much to Ashley's horror. She has no intention on being nice to either of them, especially 'Spewart', and is completely mortified when he transfers to her school, and into her class.

This is a story of love, hate, prejudice, but above all, compromise and forgiveness.

There is an upsetting scene of an adult nature involving a teen girl and teen boy, which is why I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 14.

It's About Love by Steven Camden

This book grew on me the more I read it, and by the second day of reading I just couldn't put it down. It's about love - just like the title says, but it's more than just boy meeting girl, it's about love of film, love of family, love of friends.

Sixteen year old Luke has just started a Film Studies course at college. We know something's not right with his life from the start - he's paranoid about people staring, he doesn't talk very much, he's withdrawn, he has another voice talking in his head to him. Then he meets Leia, who's on the course with him, and they immediately click. They both love films, they're both named after characters in Star Wars, they both think the same things at the same time. They pair up in class to work together on a film script, and they both seem to be telling each other their life stories. Luke knows there's something between them, but it's not a full-on passionate love affair, it's a tentative 'getting to know someone better'. It's chaste and it's beautiful.

Then we learn more about Luke's brother, Marc, who's just about to come out of prison. He's been in for 2 years for serious assault, and life has been strange without him. How will it be when he comes home? Why does Luke has a scar on his face? Who is Craig Miller, and why is everyone scared of him?

The film thread is kept going throughout the book. We read screenplay scene descriptions (eg, 'INT car, dark, fingers drumming on wheel), the book cover itself looks like a manuscript, the characters play film games in the book (eg, Brad Pitt to Robert de Niro in 2 moves). It's all very clever, and it all adds to the atmosphere. Is everyone's life a film? Are we all characters in someone's manuscript?

A brilliant book about love, family and revenge.

Some of the characters from the book (Luke, Zia and Tommy) are in a stage play written by Steven called 'Back Down', and is currently touring the UK.

Steven Camden is also author of another teen book 'Tape'.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Mikey and his friends are just about to graduate from high school. It's their final couple of weeks before the summer holidays and then they're off on their separate ways to university. But there are a few problems :

1) Mikey has OCD - it's so bad he thinks the loop won't break and he'll die;
2) His older sister Mel has an eating disorder and needs constant monitoring;
3) His dad is an alcoholic;
4) His mum is running for Congress and everyone has to appear normal;
5) He loves Henna, but hasn't told her, but Henna loves new boy Nathan, who seems very suspicious;
6) His best friend Jared is part God of feline animals;
7) The town they live in is about to be taken over by Immortals - they come in the guise of police officers with blue rays coming out of their eyes. But it's OK, the indie kids are around to save the day;
8) The indie kids are being killed off one by one;
9) There are zombie deer.

I know, sounds weird. It definitely seems that way when you start reading it, but strangely the main theme of teens struggling with emotions, exams, anxieties, sexual preferences, whether someone's your friend or not, whether someone fancies you or not, parents - all the usual teen angst stuff - makes the story seem more normal than it actually is. Many of you will spot throw-ins from other top-selling kids' novels - vampires (check), Greek Gods (check), cancer victims (check), zombies (check). I loved all the characters, and I think many teens will find something from each of them to identify with. I did spend rather a large amount of time wondering whether there was an underlying meaning to the Immortals and the indie kids. Were the Immortals just authority figures trying to run the kids' lives? Were the indie kids just synonymous with people being different and that it was ok to be different, that they matter too and are just as important as everyone else, in fact they can be the heroes? However in the end, I just enjoyed it for what it is - something a little bit different and a little bit wonderful by one of my favourite authors.

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

I started to read this book with some trepidation - it's been getting quite a bit of hype in the press and from other bloggers, but recently I've been feeling a bit let down with the teen books I've read. It just seems to have been all sex, drugs, misery, death, and it's saddened me that, as the mother of a near-teen, this is what is out there for them to read. But times are a-changing and I guess I'll have to come to terms with the fact that children are growing up a lot faster than when I was a child. When I was 13 I was reading 'My Family and Other Animals' by Gerald Durrell and absolutely loved it. My daughter is currently re-reading 'Twilight' by Stephenie Meyer. See what I mean?

As testimony to the changing of attitudes and subject material in teen books, 'Simon...' is bang up to date with the current LGBT trend (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender). Simon is gay, but he hasn't told anyone yet. He is terrified of coming out to friends and especially to his parents. He forms an online friendship with Blue, who is also gay, and whose real identity is unknown, both to us and to Simon. They only know they go to the same school. Simon also uses a pseudonym when he emails Blue. It's this anonymity which makes it easier for them to open up to each other, to reveal how they both feel, to be there for each other when the time comes to tell their family and friends they are gay, even though for Simon that time is forced upon him after a very evil and vile incident. All the while we as the reader, and Simon, are trying to work out who Blue is.

It took me a couple of chapters, but I grew to love this book. You really felt for Simon when the time came to tell his parents. Even though in this modern world being gay is almost as much the norm as being straight, the author shows that there are still plenty of people who treat gays as weirdos, or someone to bully and tease for who they are. In one of Simon's e-mails to Blue, he asks "Don't you think everyone should have to come out? Why is straight the default?....It should be this big awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi or whatever." They decide it should be named the 'Homo Sapiens Agenda'.

The author, Becky Albertalli, is a clinical psychologist, and co-led a support group for gender nonconforming children in Washington, DC. In the book, she deals with her topics sensitively and with insight and understanding. I loved all the characters - well, nearly all - and couldn't wait to find out who Blue really was.

The It Girl by Katy Birchall

Katy Birchall is currently an Editorial Assistant at Country Life magazine. 'The It Girl' is her first book in a new series about schoolgirl Anna, her labrador Dog, and her dad. It is being marketed as 'clean teen', and for being ideal for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison. Seeing as my daughter loves the former and I love the latter, I was keen to give it a go!

Anna's parents are divorced, but are still good friends. Her dad is a journalist and has fallen in love with a famous actress, Helena, who he had to interview. Helena also happens to have a daughter Marianne, who is a socialite and an It Girl, so Helena and Anna's dad are keen for the girls to get along. Will the girls manage to become friends? What will Anna's school friends think of her joining the celebrity world?

On the whole, I rather enjoyed it. It was really funny, and it just so  happens that, like Anna, my daughter also loves the Marvel characters (she knows them through all the films though, rather than the graphic novels) and Star Wars, and we also have a yellow labrador who is rather mad. I liked Anna's friends Jess, Danny and Connor, but of course none of us likes a show-off meany bad girl, of which there are many in one's life during school days, and of which there are a couple in this book. This was the part of the story which I thought let it down slightly. It was very predictable where the story was going and what was going to happen - so many school stories focus so much on the bully or the nasty girl. The book just seemed to lose its originality and its humour for quite a few pages.

However, I'd definitely read the next in the series (due out 2016), as I'd love to read more about the wonderful, funny Anna and what happens next in her rather mad world!

Remix by Non Pratt

Last year, Non Pratt (if the text copyright page is anything to go by, then her real name is Leonie Parish) published her debut novel, 'Trouble', about a 15-yr-old schoolgirl who becomes pregnant. As you can see from my review, I enjoyed Trouble, so I was looking forward to reading Non's second novel. I was rather disappointed. It's just basically full of bad language and sexual references - two 16-yr-old girls going to a weekend festival with a box of condoms, one of the girls already sexually active, the other a virgin. I guess I should've seen it coming. I find it quite depressing that teenagers will actually want to read this (because they will), and I don't know whether it's for the reason that it's just a book of dialogue with no literary content at all, or whether it's because this this stuff actually happens in real life. Teenage girls (and boys) think nothing of sleeping around, just giving away their bodies to the first person who shows interest. 

'Trouble' was longlisted and shortlisted for many awards, but sadly I don't think 'Remix' is in the same league. Sorry Non.

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

The volatile and mysterious Leo has been transferred to Eden Park school after an incident at his previous school. There he attracts the attention of David. They both have something in common - they are keeping a big secret about their life. Leo's life is about to change drastically when his secret is found out and spread around the school. But this has a positive impact on David - it makes him reveal his secret to Leo, and as a result they realise they should be truthful to themselves and show everyone who they really are.

A wonderful story about transgender, identity, being true to yourself, standing up to bullies, and the strength of friendship. Also check out Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky for slightly younger children.

Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton

About a year ago, Megan witnessed a harrowing incident which made her unable to talk for the following 12 months. She blames herself for what happened, and there are demons inside her which bully her and tease her and encourage her to blame herself. Her mother struggles to look after her - she is a single mother with no family to help out, trying to hold down a job in the local cafe. Megan doesn't have many friends - the spiteful bully Sadie and her gang constantly talk nastily to her, knowing she can't reply. Her only friend is Luke - that is, until the bright and bubbly Jasmine starts at the same school. They instantly become inseparable friends, but when Jasmine starts to fall for Owen, Sadie's ex, Megan realises that it's not just friendship she wants with Jasmine. Then Jasmine starts to receive anonymous threatening notes and messages. Is Jasmine's life in danger, and can Megan be brave enough to cope with another awful incident in her life?

This book is surprisingly very readable. You want to find out what happened in Megan's life that made her stop talking. There are many issues that are covered in the book, mainly post-traumatic stress, and dealing with confusing emotions of who you love. These issues are dealt with gently and sensitively. The only thing I was slightly bored with was the set up of Megan living on a rundown estate, with yob boys hanging around, single mum, and the bully girls at school who seem to get away with all the nastiness they throw at Megan. But this is only probably because I've read a few books recently with the same formats - so much so that a couple of those books I got fed up with and stopped reading after a few chapters. But Abbie's easy style of writing and her way of enticing you into wanting to know what happens next, meant I quite enjoyed reading this - it only took me about 2 days to read.

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Well, in comparison to the last book I read which I struggled through in over a week, this wonder of a novel took me just under a couple of days, and I missed it when I wasn't reading it. If you liked We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, or Solitaire by Alice Oseman, then I think you'll love this.

Jam (short for Jamaica) is a teenager with troubles. Her boyfriend of 41 days, English exchange student Reeve, has died. He was the love of her life, he filled her days and nights. Now he's gone and she's reached the depths of despair. She cannot get over her loss. So much so that her parents feel the only way they, and she, can cope is to send her to The Wooden Barn, a special boarding school for fragile teenagers. She is chosen as one of 5 students to take part in Special Topics in English, where their wonderful teacher, the kind and elderly Mrs Quenell, hopes they can work through their troubles through studying texts. Their text is Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Mrs Quenell also gives each of them a journal which they must fill in as often as they can, and then hand it in at the end of term. It turns out that writing in the journal gives the students solace and comfort in more ways than they can imagine, and Belzhar (with the 'zh' pronounced as in Dr Zhivago) is born.

I just loved everything about this book - the characters, the plot, the storytelling. Meg Wolitzer has written a wonderful story about grief, acceptance, life and love.

Mountwood School for Ghosts by Toby Ibbotson

Before her death, the wonderful author Eva Ibbotson (Journey to the River Sea is just gorgeous) planned an outline for a new story with her son Toby Ibbotson. This book is the finished product.

Daniel and his friend Charlotte live in Markham Street, a quiet cul-de-sac. Unbeknownst to all the residents there, Jack Bluffit, head of the city's Department of Planning, is planning to bulldoze the whole area and erect a sparkly new shopping centre in its place. When Daniel and Charlotte find out about it, they try their best to stop the demolitions.

Meanwhile, three Great Hagges decide that the ghosts of today are just not scary enough, and so set up Mountwood School for Ghosts. There they teach them how to literally scare humans to death.

When Daniel and Charlotte's actions to stop the building work fail, they decide to seek the help of the three Great Hagges and their ghostly students. Surely that will put a stop to all the devastation?

While I really enjoyed this book, it almost felt like 2 separate stories - one of the two children, and one about the ghosts. It's only really at the end that the two come together. I must admit that I rather preferred the story of Daniel and Charlotte. I lost a bit of interest in all the different ghosts and their stories from the past. But that said, I finished it in a day and a half and would recommend it to our customers.