Ally’s World: The Past, the Present and the Loud, Loud Girl by Karen McCombie My eldest sister is 17 going on 70, my other sister is away with the faries (literally – her room is a shrine to whoever invented fairy lights) and my little brother is a space cadet. Me? Somehow I ended up normal, but it’s a struggle, let me tell you… 

Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz 

No sooner has Alex splashed down off the coast of Australia he finds himself sucked into another adventure. This time he’s working for ASIS – the Australian Secret Service – and his target is the criminal underworld of South-East Asia: the ruthless world of the Snakehead. But this time Alex isn’t working alone. He’s teamed up with Ash, once his father’s best friend and now a secret agent with the key to unlock Alex’s past. But the odds are stacked against them. An old enemy has returned with a plan that will destabilize half the world. Caught between two secret services, with no one he can trust, Alex will need all his wits to survive. 

H.I.V.E: Higher Institute of Villainous Education The Overload Protocol (First recommended on Book Blast) 

A new power is rising to challenge Number One, the most formidable villain alive. But who is it? And why do they want to assassinate Otto Malpense, star pupil of H.I.V.E, and his best friend Wing Fanchu? Otto faces his toughest challenge yet – surviving the next twenty-four hours… and uncovering the terrifying truth which lies behind the Overload Protocol. 

The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins 

When Ludlow Fitch suffers an unspeakable betrayal he runs from the rotten, stinking City. On the night he enters Pagus Parvus a second newcomer arrives at the remote village. Joe Zabbidou, a mysterious pawnbroker who buys people’s deepest, darkest secrets, is searching for new customers – and for an apprentice. Shadowy
Ludlow seems perfect for the job. But as he begins his new life recording the villager’s fiendish confessions,
Ludlow’s murky past threatens to come into the light… 

Missing Persons Case 4: The Unsuspecting Gourmet by M.E Rabb 

Meet Sam and Sophie – runaway sisters from Queens, New York, who are trying to make new lives for themselves in the tiny town of Venice, Indiana. They have changed their names, dyed their hair… and even discovered a new talent – finding missing persons. But they must never forget the importance of staying missing themselves… 

The Making of May by Gwyneth Rees (First recommended on Book Blast) 

May’s life changes totally when she moves to a huge country house where her brother Ben has got a job as Gardner – despite lying about his qualifications. She quickly makes friends with Alex, the son of the Hall’s owner, and together they start to transform the overgrown walled garden – the secret garden May has always dreamed of. But May soon discovers strange goings on at the house. What lies behind the locked tower-room door that housekeeper Mrs Daniels guards so closely? As May sets off to unravel the tower’s secret, Mrs Daniels is on the trail of Ben’s big lie. Could May be about to lose Thornton Hall forever? 

The Intruders by E.E Richardson 

Joel Demetruis is quite looking forward to moving in with his new step-family, but his sister Cassie don’t want anything to do with Gerald and his two sons. To make matters worse, their new home is practically derelict. Joel is fascinated by the old house, but even he has to admit that there’s something not quite right about it. He keeps seeing things out of the corner of his eye, and he’s plagued by nightmares of a terrified boy who repeats the same fractured prayer over and over. Events in the house become harder and harder to explain, and as Cassie’s battle with her stepbrothers draws everyone deeper into the mystery, all four kids are forced to confront the question of just who the intruders really are… 

Stone Heart by Charlie Fletcher (First recommended on Book Blast) 

When George breaks a small dragon carving from the Natural History Museum he finds himself plunged into a world he can’t understand; racing for survival in a City where sculptures and stone carvings move and fight, where it’s impossible to know who to trust and where nothing is what it seems. Enter the original and breathtaking world of this epic adventure, the first of an exciting three book sequence, and you’ll never see the city the same way again… 

Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf by Jenny Nimmo 

This is the sixth thrilling magical adventure starring Charlie Bone! Charlie Bone has finally found his father, but he’s disappeared again. However, this time Charlie knows where he is – on a second honeymoon with his mother. But there’s no time to miss them, for there’s a strange salty mist in the air, and chilling howls in the night. And someone has been searching Charlie’s house. What are they looking for? And could Dagbert, the new boy with pale lips and cold aquamarine eyes, have something to do with it? The new boy with the power of harnessing water, whose father has Cook so rattled she’s threatening to leave the school. The new boy who sticks so closely to Charlie, his friends are almost driven away. Something is going on – and the Bloors have to be behind it. Charlie and his friends must find the creature who howls so desperately. But will they be in time? 

Untouchable by Kate Brian 

Reed’s boyfriend, Thomas Pearson — the popular, easygoing, irresistibly handsome and charismatic boy she fell in love with — is dead. No one knows how it happened, and everyone is after the truth. Or are they?Life at

Easton Academy begins to feel very different. Taylor is acting like the poster child for Prozac, Kiran is spiking her cornflakes, Noelle is being kind of…nice, and Arianna keeps floating along as if nothing has happened. Thanksgiving break arrives and Reed and Josh find themselves alone on campus. They are forced to confront the feelings they’ve been hiding. Those feelings combined with an empty campus result in the hottest hookup Reed could possibly imagine.But when Reed breaks the news about Josh to the Billings Girls, there’s no fun game of tell-all. Instead, Josh begins to look like suspect No. 1 in the murder of Thomas Pearson.

The perfect life Reed has constructed as a Billings Girl begins to crumble. And as everyone becomes more convinced of Josh’s guilt, Reed’s private suspicions lead her somewhere she doesn’t want to go. 

 

Crow Girl by Kate Cann.

Lily is an outsider. Girls bully her, boys don’t know she’s alive. She begins to hide her troubles at the nearby Wakeless Woods. But she is not alone. The crows are there. Watching. When she finds the crows, she finds herself – and a burning need to show everyone at school the new Lily. Will this Halloween be a night to remember? 

The Snake Stone by Berlie Doherty.

James’s parents are proud of his talent and determination – he’s in training for the Junior National Diving Championship. For James, diving is everything. Until he looks at the snake-stone and is drawn into thinking about his birth mother, and where she might be. He knows that to work out his future, he needs to make sense of his past. Embarking on a quest to find out who he really is, James sets off on a journey which brings him back to his true home. 

Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates.

Matt Donaghy has always been a Big Mouth. But it’s never got him into trouble – until one day when two detectives escort him out of class for questioning. The charge? Matt has been accused of threatening to blow up Rocky River High School. Ursula Riggs has always been an Ugly Girl. She has not time for petty high-school stuff like friends and dating. Ursula is content with minding her own business. And doesn’t even know Matt Donaghy. But Ursula knows injustice when she sees it and is not afraid to speak out… 

Catwalk Crazy by Kelly McKain.

Lucy Jessica Hartley here with some massively fabulous news! My life is about to become interesting with a capital ‘I’ and exciting with a capital ‘E’. That’s because I’m putting on a charity fashion show! It’s going to be ultra glamtastic, plus it will help me achieve my life’s ambition of being a real, actual fashion designer. Oh, and even fabber, my secret crush is one of the male models! Shhh! 

Secret of the Sirens by Julia Golding.

Mythical creatures still exist. You don’t believe it? That’s because for centuries they have been protected by a hidden society. Now the society is in danger. Kullervo a powerful and evil force, is gathering an army of creatures determined to destroy it, and then wipe out humanity. Connie has always been able to communicate with animals, but does she also have the ability to stop Kullervo and his allies, the Sirens? And if she opens her mind to such dark forces, will she be strong enough to resist their call? 

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson.

Annika lives as a servant at a grand house in Vienna, a glittering city famous for its great emperor and the exquisite white horses of the Imperial Riding School. Her life there would be perfect but for the mystery of her real mother. For, as a newborn baby, Annika was found in a church, and no one knows where she came from. But every day her mind swirls with dreams of a beautiful mother finally arriving to claim her. Then Annika finds out the astonishing truth about her past and is swept on an adventure of extraordinary discovery and unexpected danger… 

Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson.

Sylvie and Carl have been friends since they were tiny children. They’ve always played together, eaten meals with each other’s families, called each other boyfriend and girlfriend… and deep down, Sylvie has believed they will end up married to each other. They even have a magical fantasy world that belongs to them alone – as does the Glass Hut where it’s all created, at the bottom of Carl’s garden. But as they become teenagers, things change. They go to different schools and have different friends. Sylvie wishes she could spend all her time with Carl. But Carl has a new friend, Paul, which is taking all his attention. Carl seems much less happy to be called Sylvie’s boyfriend and in a game of spin the bottle he avoids kissing her. Sylvie can tell his feelings have changed and that her plans for the future may be affected. But can she guess at the true reason behind it all? 

A Spoonful of Jam by Michelle Magorian.

Summer 1947 – the second year of world peace. Elsie is still fighting a war. Against a vicious bully. Against the indifference of her father. Against being the scholarship pupil at the girl’s grammar school. But Elise fights back… In this rich and dramatic story of repertory theatre and family life, Michelle Magorian’s warmth, sense of humour and gift for understanding both the vulnerability and strength of her character are unsurpassed. 

Teacher’s Dead by Benjamin Zephaniah.

My name is Jackson Jones. I stood and watched a teacher die. For the first time in my life real shock… My whole body actually went numb. They say the brain is like a computer – well, my computer crashed. A teacher’s dead, murdered by two of his students in front of the school. In front of Jackson. But Mr Joseph was a good man. People liked him. Respected him. How could those boys stab him and jog away like nothing had happened? Without any sense of having done something wrong? Unable to process what he has seen, Jackson begins his own investigation into the murder. Everyone knows who did it, but has Jackson uncovers more about the boys, he becomes convinced of the need for people to understand why. 

Blood Sinister by Celia Rees.

Ellen is pale and drawn, bloodless…her illness a mystery. But the bizarre history she reads in the old leather bound diary won’t let her rest. Could it’s story, so strangely tangled up with her own life, be reaching out to claim her, bleed her dry…?

What I Was by Meg Rosoff: Shall I tell you about the year I discovered love? I’d been kicked out of two boarding schools and the last thing I wanted was to be here, on the East Anglian coast, in a third. But without St Oswald’s I would not have discovered the fisherman’s hut with its roaring fire, it’s striped blankets, its sea monster stew. Without St Oswald’s, I would not have met the boy with the beautiful eyes, the flickering half-smile and no past. Without St Oswald’s I would not have met Finn. And without Finn there would be no story. Shall we begin?

The Chimera Curse by Julia Golding: Connie is the world’s last Universal – the only person who can communicate with all the creatures; the only person who can keep peace between humans and the hidden mythical beings that are being destroyed by pollution. But the shapeshifter Kullervo craves her power. He wants to wipe out humanity. During a long hot summer as the sun beats down and the earth gets dryer, Kullervo prepares for war. The serpent-like chimera is just one of the frightening army. As the inferno of Kullervo’s hatred blazes into life, Connie and her best friend Col must stop him. But how? Who will survive the fight to the death?

Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird: Tara’s world is turned upside down when her father, a Kurdish resistance fighter, is betrayed to the Iraqi police. The family is forced to flee their home and make a terrifying journey to the mountains of Iran. But even there they are not safe…

Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers: Claire and her mom share the same house, but live on totally different planets. While Claire’s world revolves around school, shopping and her new boyfriend, Mom is always busy with work, work – and more work. But they do have one thing in common: the kitchen fridge. It’s where they leave notes for each other. It’s how they keep in touch. Then one day Claire comes home to a note that is different from all the others. And life is never the same again…

Forever Rose by Hilary McKay: In this book there are disasters, catastrophes, perils, adventures, friends, homes and a very definite happy ever after – which is just what Rose has always wished for.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke: The exciting sequel to Inkheart. Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of the extraordinary events of Inkheart, and the story whose characters strode out of the pages, and changed her life forever. But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater, torn from his world of words, the need to return has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the magical ability to read him back, he sets in motion a dangerous reversal that sees the characters of Inkheart transported to a charmed Inkworld, about to be fought over by rival rebels and princes.

Invitation Only by Kate Brian: Being accepted to the most prestigious boarding school in the country wasn’t enough for Reed Brennan. She had to break every rule to do it, but she has accomplished the impossible: Reed is a Billings Girl now, and her future as bright as the two-carat diamonds in her friends ears. With her new status comes respect, envy, and most importantly, opportunity. Not to mention parties! Unfortunately, at the next illicit party in the Easton campus woods, her roommate snaps some pictures of Reed in more than one compromising position. Now Reed’s being blackmailed. Either she dishes the dirt on the Billings Girls, or she will be exposed – and expelled. Meanwhile, Thomas, Reed’s MIA boyfriend, is rumoured to be making an appearance at the Legacy – an invitation only Halloween party in NYC. Too bad Reed isn’t even close to being invited… Life as a Billings Girl is every bit as glamorous as Reed imagined. What she didn’t bargain for is the tangled web of private lies these girls weave.

H.I.V.E: Higher. Institution. Of. Villianous. Education: Thirteen-year-old master criminal Otto Malpense has been chosen to attend H.I.V.E, the top-secret school of villainy. But there is one small catch – he cannot leave until his training is complete. There’s no way Otto is going to spend six years studying something he has such a natural talent for. He is left with one option. Escape. He just needs to figure out how. 

Six Steps to a Girl by Sophie McKenzie: Luke spots Eve at his dad’s funeral. She’s hot – and she’s the perfect distraction from his messed up family life. There’s only one problem – she’s got a boyfriend and hasn’t even noticed Luke exists. Still, Luke’s not going to give up that easily. When he meets Ryan at a party and hears about his six steps to guaranteed success with any girl, Luke determines to put them to the test…

Jinx by Meg Cabot: Why I couldn’t manage simply to fall in love with a guy and have him love me back in a nice, normal way was just another indication of how badly the stars were aligned the night I showed up on Planet Earth. I am Jinxed!!!