Some are books I have read. Some are written by authors I have read. Some look new and intriguing and make me want to read them.
I hope you will come to your library and look for some of these titles.
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Northern Lights (sometimes titled: The Golden Compass in America)
- Phillip Pullman
Lyra and her animal daemon live a carefree life amongst the scholars of Jordan College, Oxford. Yet the destiny that awaits her will take her far from her home, to the magical frozen lands of the Arctic, amongst the witch-clans and ice-bears. Here, she will discover the truth about her identity, which will have immeasurable consequences reaching beyond her own world.
This extraordinary fantasy is the first book in Philip Pullman's multi-award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy. Exciting, original and enormously powerful it is an incredible feat of imagination, and one of the classics of 20th century children's literature.
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I read this trilogy years ago and loved how lyrical it was. I felt it was a magical, alternate world caught in an epic battle of good and evil on the grandest of scales.
His Dark Materials trilogy:
Northern Lights (Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass
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Coram Boy
- Jamila Gavin
Coram Boy is the story of Toby, saved from an African ship as a child, and Aaron, the illegitimate son of the heir to a great estate. The two boys' lives are linked by the Coram Man, a shady figure who collects abandoned and unwanted children from across the country, supposedly to deliver them to a safe new life at the Coram Hospital in London. In reality, however, the unscrupulous man sells the unfortunate children into slavery, or 'disposes' of them if they are of no use to him. Soon, Toby and Aaron find themselves bound together in an epic journey, fraught with danger and excitement.
Rich with historical detail, this enthralling, moving and sometimes deeply distressing read provides an important and thought-provoking insight into 1750s society. Packing a powerful punch, it is a tense tale full of twists and turns, and was a deserving winner of the Whitbread Children's Book Award.
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Noughts and Crosses
- Malorie Blackman
In Malorie Blackman's groundbreaking novel, the population is divided into two: the white Noughts are second-class citizens, and the black Crosses are highly-revered and perceived as the superior race. 15-year-old Callum is a Nought, and his best friend, Sephy, as well as being a Cross, is also the daughter of one of the most influential politicians in the country.
The story focuses on their relationship, which is frowned upon by society, and explores the discrimination they encounter at every turn. By reversing traditional racial stereotypes and presenting the White population as the oppressed race, Blackman has cleverly shown racial prejudice from a different perspective.
As well as being a compelling tale of love and friendship, this is an outstanding and thought-provoking exploration of the futility of prejudice. A contemporary classic.
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The Knife of Never Letting Go
- Patrick Ness
Winner of the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize, the story begins in a small town where women have been banished and only men remain. Due to a virus, everyone can hear each other’s thoughts, which they call 'Noise'.
Todd Hewitt, the last boy in the town, is on the brink of manhood. Forced one day to flee through a nearby swamp, he stumbles upon a patch of silence and – surprisingly – the first girl he has ever seen. Despite their initial mistrust of each other, Todd and Viola team up to evade the men who are chasing him. As they flee he discovers much about himself, his family, about friendship and about prejudice.
The first in a series, this enthralling sci-fi novel grips readers throughout, presenting them with tough questions about identity, ethics and the nature of truth.
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This is another book series I read some time ago. This world is unique and the characters are well thought out, believable and well-developed. One of my favorite characters was Manchee, a dog, because I felt the author got everything right about the dog’s behavior, loyalty and thought-process.
Chaos Walking trilogy:
The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, Monsters of Men
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The Graveyard Book
- Neil Gaiman
After his family are killed, Bod is brought up in a graveyard by ghosts – an array of century-spanning characters who care for him, impart wisdom and even teach body-fading skills. But Bod sometimes goes beyond the graveyard into the world of the living – and here his life is under threat from the sinister man Jack, who has pursued him since he was a baby.
Bestselling author Neil Gaiman offers up a wonderful story of life, death and coming-of-age in this book, which won the Booktrust Teenage Prize. The fabulously original story is full of humour and surprise and has a brilliantly engaging hero in Bod. Gaiman blends together the poetic, the resonant and the gruesome and Chris Riddell’s illustrations confirm the delicious sense of unsettling people and presences that run throughout.
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The Hunger Games
- Suzanne Collins
Welcome to Panem: its Capitol repressively rules twelve satellite Districts, enslaving the populations as workers and controlling them through hunger.
This harsh rule culminates in the annual Hunger Games - from each District, one female and one male Tribute are forcibly selected for a terrifying reality TV game-show in which contestants literally fight to the death. But Katniss Everdeen is no ordinary Tribute: she's used to surviving in the wild and in the unpredictable, hostile arena, she's not giving up.
Katniss and fellow District 12 Tribute, Peeta, become pawns in a complex political game in this scarily believable, highly addictive dystopian vision. It's a compelling story of survival, which challengingly explores ideas about society, control and freedom. The first in the groundbreaking Hunger Games trilogy, this bestselling book set a trend for dystopian novels for young adults.
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This is another dystopian trilogy I read years ago. I loved the strong, yet vulnerable main character thrust into an untenable situation of survival of the fittest. Or sneakiest. Or most ruthless. Or all of those things. May the odds be ever in your favor!
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay
[companion book: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes]
Heidi Y.