No Man’s Land is a bitingly clever speculative fiction that flips the perspective of books like When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit which feature living under the rule of fascism and fleeing as a historical distant ‘other’, or those about a modern refugee children coming to Britain as a socio-cultural ‘other’ instead here in Joanna Nadin’s … Continue reading No Man’s Land- Joanna Nadin
Alastair Chisholm’s debut Orion Lost is one of the books that really embodies the shift in children’s sci-fi to being more about exploring the inner world, reactions and behaviours of characters to danger and struggles in futuristic context, in his sophomore offering Adam- 2, Alastair has now incorporated the very concept of being human. Cover … Continue reading Adam-2 – Alastair Chisholm
What an incredible little novella The Ghost Garden is in collaboration between the amazing Emma Carroll and the awesome Barrington Stoke set in the weeks leading up to the British declaration of war in 1914. Emma Carroll brings to the dyslexia friendly publishing House her unique brand of weaving historical settings with a fantastical undertow, … Continue reading The Ghost Garden by Emma Carroll
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone is one of my favourite books ever. Moriarty manages to make her writing feel timeless, classic and modern in one, to sweep even the grown up away into its deeply layered worlds of magic. At first I was a little confused as this was billed as the sequel … Continue reading The Slightly Alarming Tale of The Whispering Wars- Jaclyn Moriarty
The classic anti war tale of the man of Iron that brings peace to the world (not the I love you 3000 one though & thus this book is called The Iron Giant in the USA) here is reimagined for a new generation with The frankly outstandingly exquisite full colour illustrations by the amazing illustrator … Continue reading The Iron Man- Ted Hughes Illustrated by Chris Mould
I haven’t cried this much in a long time. I avoided things that upset me for fear of it opening a flood gate of tears that I can’t shut. But I read Anna at War and Check Mates on the same day and whilst Check Mates made me all tearful, Anna at War had me … Continue reading Anna at War- Helen Peters
This book gripped me from the very beginning. It’s a book that snakes into your consciousness and prickles at your core wondering how you would be in any of the character's shoes, eldest, Middler, youngest, wanderer or adult. It's an intensely thoughtful book quietly observing the human condition and packed with the quirks of a … Continue reading The Middler- Kirsty Applebaum
Lily and the Fae 