Underworld by Catherine MacPhail October 30, 2009

A group of students who are not normally friends, quite the opposite, are chosen to go on a team building school trip. There are tensions within the group which includes a bully, a crawler, a boffin, a loud mouthed girl and a new girl who is shy and overweight.  The teacher in charge has had cause to dislike the bully, and his personal feelings are in danger of coming to the surface. The trip includes a day exploring caves where legend has it a monster lurks, but that is just kid’s stuff – isn’t it?  Disaster strikes the trip and the only way the students will survive is by working together, but can they do it?

Lesley

Knife by RJ Anderson October 30, 2009

Knife is a fairy who is a hunter in her community and she has never had contact with a human being. She does have to hunt in the human world and she collides literally with Paul, a human boy in a wheelchair and breaks her wing. Knife is mystified by the strange behaviour of this human who she sees as lazy because he never leaves his “throne” and has everything done for him by other humans. The story tells of the close relationship that develops and is both funny and sad in places.

Beth

The Poison Garden by Sarah Singleton October 30, 2009

The Poison Garden by Sarah Singleton

It is the 1850s and Thomas has just inherited a strange box from his grandmother. The box leads him into a mysterious garden where his dead grandmother warns him she was poisoned. It seems she was one of seven members of the Guild of Magical Herbalists and one by one they are being murdered. Can Thomas solve the mystery before he is threatened himself? An evocative Victorian fantasy mystery.

Roz

Eating Things on Sticks by Anne Fine October 30, 2009

Harry has accidentally burned down his kitchen. While repairs are underway, he persuades his Mum to let him go on holiday with his less than reliable uncle to a remote island. They stay with Uncle Tristram’s unconventional friend, Morning Glory and events conspire to make the trip a memorable one culminating in the ‘eating things on sticks’ challenge. This is a warm, funny story, with short chapters interspersed with lots of good line drawings. Harry is a very likable character and you worry for him as he unintentionally creates havoc. 

Sally

The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth September 29, 2009

Returning to Scotland for the first time since her father vanished when she was only a day old; Hannah discovers that her family was cursed centuries before.  In order to break the curse she must travel back to the time of Mary, Queen of Scots and find all four pieces of the puzzle ring.  Magic, mystery, secrets and history; this story has them all.

Hannah

Stolen by Lucy Christopher September 29, 2009

Gemma is sixteen and this debut novel opens with her kidnapping from Bangkok airport and her imprisonment in an isolated house in the Australian outback – alone with her kidnapper. This psychological thriller gradually builds the tension of her struggle for survival, her relationship with her captor and the massive sense of isolation she feels until an emotional climax. Strong characterisation, an intriguing plot and wonderful descriptions of the desolation of the Australian outback.

Roz

The Witching Hour by Elizabeth Laird September 29, 2009

Maggie gets caught up in accusations of witchcraft in a turbulent 17th century Scottish Highland adventure. She faces many hardships and betrayals as she attempts to escape her accusers facing the possibility of imprisonment and even execution. Along the way she meets people prepared to defy the King and risk everything they hold dear in order to worship in their own way.

Sue

The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan September 1, 2009

Nick and his brother Alan spend their lives on the run with their reclusive mother. They befriend Mae and Jamie (very reluctantly on Nick’s part) and after a terrible event are united by the need to save their loved ones from the curse of being marked by a demon. Time is running out and they need to face the Magicians to gain their cure. But dark secrets and surprises await. A gripping page turner.

Sue, LRE

The Silver Blade by Sally Gardener September 1, 2009

Yann is bravely helping people escape the terror of the guillotine, whilst all the time being stalked by evil. He soon uncovers a secret which shakes him to the core. This is a novel about magic, secrets, romance and revenge. A wonderfully written story which gives the reader a real sense of Paris during the revolution.

Roz, LRE

Rowan the Strange by Julie Hearn September 1, 2009

Everyone in Rowan’s family is aware that his behaviour is strange. On the day the Second World War breaks out, thirteen year old Rowan is overwhelmed by panic and fear. His parents decide he needs help and they arrange for him to be treated at a hospital in Kent where he is provisionally diagnosed as schizophrenic. Unknown to the family, Rowan is enrolled in a controversial and potentially harmful trial of electro-convulsive therapy. The descriptions of the treatment are chilling. But this is also a story about the people Rowan meets on the ward. It is a difficult book which focuses on the way people with mental health problems were labelled and locked away. The main character, Rowan is particularly well drawn, as the story progresses he learns more about himself and the value of friendships.

Sally, LRE