The books
This is a list of all the books reviewed on this site, in alphabetical order.
In the beginning we were a group of nine. Three are gone, dead. There are six of us left. They are hunting us, and they won't stop until they've killed us all. I am Number Four. I know that I am next.
Lirael finds there is a task that needs to be done. It needs to be done by anAbhorsen, and only she can do it.
Loyalty and treachery among warring Japanese clans.
Airships, hot-air balloons, pirates, desert islands, cloud cats, adventure and romance...
Follow Alice into her Wonderland and meet the Cheshire Cat, the Hatter and the March Hare for yourself - and many more too.
Alpha Force team come up against a team of ruthless poachers in Zambia.
Lyra discovers her destiny. She is to bring an end to death itself. How does she do that? And what are the consequences? Concluding part of His Dark Materials trilogy.
A weedy boy with magic powers gets in way over his head.
In 1940 a young Polish boy is dragged from his bed, given thirty minutes to pack, and transported with his mother and brother thousands of miles acrossEurope to Kazakhstan.
Normal young boy finds he is surrounded by aliens intent on saving mankind from its own worst excesses. But is the cure worse than the disease?
May is a difficult child and needs all the help she can get. When Tam Sams falls out of the future into her farmyard playground he is, indeed, an angel for May.
Shipwrecked and alone amongst savages, Kit learns that the opposite of despair is hope.
Alex Rider's back! 'The nearest thing the Brits have to a lethal weapon!'
Dangerous fairies, might grant your wish, might blast you away with a biobomb. Depends how they feel . . .
More improbable doings from Artemis Fowl and his fairy friend, Holly Short.
Fairies need Artemis. Artemis needs fairies. Fair exchange, no robbery. Tricky situation though.
Arthur goes in search of the Minimoys, and his Grandpa, and the family fortune, all in his own backgarden. But the garden is a big place when you're only three quarters of an inch tall.
Arthur goes in search of the Minimoys, and his Grandpa, and the family fortune, all in his own backgarden. But the garden is a big place when you're only three quarters of an inch tall.
It is 1199. Thirteen-year-old Arthur de Caldicot waits to hear whether his father will arrange for him to be a squire and a knight. And meanwhile, his father's old friend, Merlin, gives him a precious piece of stone - a seeingstone.
A funny little bit of magic leads Griselda Dogberry into another world. But baddies are after her.
More adventures with Barnaby Grimes as he runs errands across the city, through the alleys and over the rooftops. But there are dark forces to match himself against.
Quick-witted tick-tock boy meets wolf on rooftops. Disposes of same. Solves wicked mystery. Unsung hero.
Darkus tracks down his lost father...with the help of his uncle, friends and a vast beetle army. But he makes a serious enemy out of Lucretia Cutter, beetle collector.
Rilka sets out on a quest to catch a beguiler and to understand its nature. And in doing so she learns a lot about her own nature too.
First World War, Clanker technology versus Darwinist fabricated animal weaponry. Enemies or allies? Friends? Which secrets to keep and which to tell?
Can Gemma and Alice's friendship survive their separation? Another Jacqueline Wilson special.
A big bazoohley is a big prize, and Sam Kellow really needs to win one urgently, to help his parent's shaky finances. Can he spot his big chance when it comes?
Is the house haunted? Or is Conan himself haunted? Should he try to discover what happened in this house, in his own family all those years ago?
Passed from owner to owner, horse Black Beauty meets good, cruel and foolish men.
Zen Starling crosses into the void with Nova, the love of his life. Does he live happily ever after, or would he rather come home after all? Interstellar adventure.
The horse is a winner. The girl is a loser. Can the horse make anything of her? All the excitement of the Winner's Enclosure at the Grand National.
Serious retelling of a Viking saga set in a London of the future. Bloodcurdling.
Sensible princess has doolally mother who brings mayhem to the kingdom when she has one wish granted to her by a wood sprite. Princess and miller's son sort it all out.
Tiny people with big ideas. They don't want to move away from under the kitchen floorboards, but they will if they have to.
Most bizarre story of the lot. Compelling description of an evil lamb. How does he do that?
Is Egg a loner or lonely? And does she even know the difference?
Danny gets his military training the hard way - on the run with his ex-SAS grandfather.
Arthur and Maudie Brightstorm venture to the most remote corner of the world to clear their explorer father's name. A sky-ship adventure.
If you move into an old cottage that is built on ancient fairy crossroads you must expect to get strange things knocking on your door.
America in the Depression. Bud on the road, searching for his father.
Siobhan is being bullied, but she's also only a breath away from becoming a bully herself.
Bit of a cavort around a sparsely occupied valley whipping the locals up into a frenzy about a newly planned theme park and getting the local landowner (d. 1593) to help.
The answer lies just on the other side of the Jingle Stones portal.
Life as an evacuee with the difficult Mr Evans is bad enough. But did Carrie also bring down a curse on those she loved, living at Druid's Bottom?
In a divided kingdom Clennen the Singer travels from village to village carrying news. But when he agrees to take a passenger up to the north things begin to go wrong.
A harmless competition to tell the best tale. But nobody would want to judge this competition with the vindictive Mr Cink determined to win at any cost.
Can a blind boy really survive alone on a desert island without a fresh water supply and without food save what can be fished from the sea?
Chrestomanci the great enchanter takes orphans Gwendolen and Cat under his wing, but living with a great enchanter isn't as enchanting for Gwendolen as she had supposed.
Boarding school Great Orienteering Challenge offers multiple opportunities to argue, fall out and make friends...work as a team, earn a magnificent Finder’s Fee for a stolen artwork, and save the school from closure.
Agonizing childhood as an unloved and unwanted daughter.
Can the evil Selkor make himself the Chosen One simply by stealing the Keys of Power, or will the Keys choose for themselves?
Clary’s mother disappears. Clary is attacked by demons. Why are demons interested in Clary and her mother? How did Clary suddenly get the Sight? How did Clary get mixed up in this otherwordly adventure?
The City of Ember is built to last, but the once bulging store rooms are empty now. What will the people do to help themselves?
The Harsh are stealing time again and it's up to Owen the Navigator and Cati the Watcher to do what they can...
Clemency Pogue, Fairy Killer - girl with a conscience.
Do you think you can sell your soul to the Devil, and get away with it?
Young Prince Marcus inherits the kingdom from his father and then loses it when his airship is sabotaged. Can he make his way back to the Citadel and reclaim what is rightfully his?
He thinks he's an elf, but the Tribe don't want him. He's a liability. His fangs haven't grown. His voice is ugly. He's losing his sharp eyesight and hearing. Where can he go where he will be safe, and where does he belong?
Missing person hunt bumps into much bigger, sinister, deadly epidemic, end-of-the-world scenario. Seriously disturbing.
What a dream! Boys' adventures on a shipwrecked island, complete with cannibals and pirates.
Gothic horror fantasy. Coraline's got a job on, saving her parents, and herself, from the witch.
You need a lot of luck to survive the accident of birth in the eighteenth century, especially if you are born into poverty, or illegitimate, or if your path crosses that of Otis Gardiner, Coram man, trader in babies, blackmail and despair . . .
Corby Flood solves mysteries, mends broken lives, and is loved by everyone, except the five unamusing clowns in bottle green bowler hats...
You would know better, wouldn't you, than to strike a bargain with Zamiel, the Demon Huntsman?
Local crew solve mystery on their own doorstep, but not in your averageFamous Five style. A tougher kind of world.
Autistic boy deals with life head-on when he solves a murder mystery in his own street.
Times are difficult in the ancient and learned sky city of Sanctaphrax. But when Maris and Quint join forces to help her father with his important research, they unwittingly unleash the ancient curse of the gloamglozer . . .
A trustee of the orphanage offers to send Judy Abbott to college. But he insists on anonymity. All he asks is that she write a letter to him once a month to let him know of her progress through college. She is to address him as JohnSmith, and she is to expect no reply. So, you see, it is a rather one-sided correspondence!
Subsea settler Ty and Topsider Gemma join forces in an underwater adventure to find her lost brother and to track down the outlaw Seablite Gang.
There's no love lost between Rob and his sister. But Rob finds, rather to his surprise, that he'll go to a lot of trouble to get her back. Magic and mystery.
The only person who takes any interest in Nova is the dishy Liam. Unfortunately, he's a ghost . . .
Disturbing story of false accusation and betrayal. Bewildered and isolated,Jon confesses to a crime that he did not commit.
Haunted house. Or is it Michael himself who is being haunted?
Gruesome murder in eighteenth century London needs investigation.
Frankenstein-flavour murder mystery in Victorian smog-bound London, with a touch of the mad scientist thrown in.
Brindle is a space traveller marooned in Elizabethan England. But if you think something is a little adrift with Elizabethan England, just wait until you know Brindle better . . .
What lengths will this Headmaster go to to run an orderly school?
If Amber's parents can catch her they're going to eat her. That's because they're demons...but so is Amber and she may be just a teeny bit smarter than they are.
It's that old conundrum - if the devil himself were to pop up and offer you a bit of help with your earthly problems, would you really want it?
The Diamond Girls need someone with a heart of gold more than they realize...
Orphaned heiress Dimanche is in deadly danger from her evil guardian. Who can save her? Well, Polly Pugh, her super-nanny will help.
You can either adopt the bigotry of your culture, handed down through the generations. Or not.
What could be worse than losing your dogs somewhere out on the moor? Finding them again nine years later . . .
Bullying only works because the victims don't fight back - right? So, what happens if the victims join forces, and do fight back? Push and Pull, settle their differences.
How it was to be a disabled child in the Third Reich.
'I am with you 'til you die'. Peony, the wretched slave girl, etches it into the dungeon wall, and finally, into McLennan's heart.
April has nothing to link herself with her real mother, not even her name. The only way she can feel she is close to her mother is to work her way back through her early memories to the point when they were separated. On her fourteenth birthday she finds herself standing in the dustbin alley, where it all began . . .
Marooned, the wrong side of two hundred and fifty years. Can David and Keith do anything to help the drummer boy? Part one of the Earthfasts trilogy.
Keith dreams about a strange place, Quantoum. But when he seeks out the place and visits, his dream becomes a nightmare.
David meant to say the curse, but he never expected it to work! Now he's got a rather strange kind of friend who doesn't live by the same rules as everyone else . . .
Six short stories about ancient, elemental spirits, and water. Not just for children.
Real-life safari adventure. Ben and his gamewarden father rescue a baby elephant from a swamp. One good deed deserves another . . .
The enchanted kingdom of Elidor is under threat from the forces of evil. Where better to hide the treasures of Elidor than in a back garden in Manchester?
Gudrun has left the Jarlshold and returned to the land of the Snow-Walkers in the far north, beyond all natural knowledge. But she cannot leave Kari alone. She sends a rune-beast to fetch him, and doesn't care how many of the Jarl's people perish in the encounter.
In Erik's world, if you want to challenge authority, you do it in a computer game. So that's what Erik does...
Evil times bring forth great leaders, but Eragon never expected to be a great leader. Nobody can plan to be a Dragon Rider. It just happens...
If Matt really is the first of the five, how can he find the others? And what are they supposed to do? There's a tight deadline here, to save the world.
Desperate refugees from the last flooded places on earth are locked out of the New World Cities that tower above the ocean on massive stilts.
Courage, resourcefulness and teamwork...yes obviously, required to survive in the Amazon jungle. But also a sense of passing wonder at the beauty of it all.
Martin suffers terrible facial injuries in an accident. Can he still be his old self when he goes back to school afterwards?
Dinah and SPLAT face their old adversary, the Headmaster.
Wayward Crown Prince Pyrgus of the faerie realm, up against the evil fairies of the night, finds himself suddenly whisked off to the Analogue World, where he's supposed to lie low for a while . . . But he doesn't.
Locked away for no reason. Stripped of name, shaved of hair, dressed in grey. Little Fearless fights against the injustice for herself and all the other girls who aren't so brave.
Bully victim learns that courage in one particular matter can have a big effect on other difficult relationships in life.
Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged a Ring of Power, by which he could enslave all the free peoples of the world. Read how the Ring came to be lost and found again, and fell into the unlikely hands of Frodo Baggins, hobbit of the Shire. What will he do with it?
Adventures in the Underworld. Superhero bats, unlikely hero bats, deadly enemy bats. Fluffy beasties, human emotions.
A locked room murder mystery for the Wells and Wong Detective Society on board the Orient Express.
Part of the Darkweaver Legacy series. Powerful mixture of fantasy magic and mortal combat.
The psammead (pronounced sammyadd) grants the children anything they wish for. But is he deliberately trying to make things go wrong?
Edinburgh 1822. To overcome the loss of his mother Robbie must face up to some hard truths about medical research.
Global warming floods East Anglia, and quite a lot of the rest of the world, and society disintegrates into primitive bands.
Actually it's a 3 kg bag of flour. Simon loves his flour baby, but it is a real strain looking after it. How much worse is the real thing?
Far from home, in a strange and uncomfortable new country, Leelu finds a little bit of magic to help her settle in with her family and new friends.
Darryl finds an injured racing pigeon hiding under a bush in the local park, and takes it home. As he cherishes the damaged bird, he learns a lot about life, bullies, pigeon fanciers and pigeons.
Calvyn puts all his knowledge of magic into the forging of a powerful sword which he wields in a mighty battle of good against evil.
Something's going on in Franky's family, and Franky is in denial.
A tale of two boys in Hitler's Germany - one boy is German, the other is a German Jew.
Two girls from different class and culture grow slowly to understand what true friendship is.
It's bound to stir things up if you fight your way to a position of power in a computer-controlled world, and then develop a social conscience . . .
Peter finds out what it was really like to live in a medieval castle.
Anaximander learns that there is nothing more human than to commit a sin.
Georgie desperately needs help to overcome his terrible past and start living a normal life again, but who is brave enough to help him?
David roots around in the old service shafts of the flats where he lives, and disturbs something that would have been much better left alone.
Frankie is captivated by the Romanian gypsy girl who comes to live in his council block, but his mother leads the opposition fight to get them evicted.
Injured in a hit-and-run accident, Kits learns more about her best friend than she ever knew before. She learns that her friend is in danger, and she knows that she is the only one who can help.
Society has opted not to bother to learn history so that it doesn't have to face up to all those uncomfortable memories. But there's still a memory bank and someone has to be in charge of it.
Ellie has to be brave to search for her missing brother, so she does what Argent would do, their favourite fantasy character from childhood games.... Two stories in one.
Star-struck, young, on the streets: they're all desperate to get to the Academy. But who, exactly, runs the Academy? And why?
Nathaniel is junior in the government now, but he still needs his djinni, Bartimaeus, to help him out of a tight corner. Pity then that Bartimaeus is less than willing...
A world with no adults...just children, some with superpowers. How long will they last?
Reality TV teenage stars grow up in the spotlight. Antics and anguish.
Marianne escapes from Germany to Britain as a refugee just before the outbreak of the Second World War, but has to leave her parents behind.
Away from his deprived and brutal background in London, Willie Beech is thrown a lifeline when he is evacuated to the country.
He didn't intend to stumble into the great Irish potato famine of 1847, butTom can help the Monaghan family survive. What the Monaghan family can do for him, though, is far more precious . . .
Greg wakes up one morning to discover he has turned into a gigantic caterpillar!
Hamish doesn't really believe in the Wee Folk, but he still has to deal with them on a daily basis. Magic, Scottish variety.
Kit the magician and his friend, Prince Henry, sneak out at night on Kit's flying carpet in search of adventure . . . and find it!
Will dreams of success as a performer/songwriter, but what makes anyone decide to pursue their dreams?
On holiday on a Greek island, Cassie becomes pre-occupied by the mythical harpies. Have they really come back to seduce the boys away, including her own brother, or is she just feeling left out of the action? And where is Ben anyway?
Suddenly orphaned, rich little Harry shrugs off his horrible nanny and goes to have larks with his old aunties. But his aunties have quite a hobby . . .
The power of the Dark Lord increases, but somehow, Harry seems to be a match for him.
Harry gets closer to his deadly enemy, Lord Voldemort.
Boarding school romps, magic and adventure.
Wych-hunter Thaniel Fox is not sure what to make of the beautiful Alaizabel Cray when he finds her lost among the ghouls and ghasts of the Old Quarter.
Hazel Green, born leader, organizes a float for the carnival, with curiosity, flair, indignation, humour, intelligence and sensitivity (among other qualities).
Hazel stays in the country with her Aunt and cousin. Oh, and they are both seriously weird and the place is scary.
Excluded from a school trip, where best to hide out for a week than in the middle of a huge crowd of people, all busy going somewhere? But a week gives plenty of time for reflection on what's gone wrong . . .
'Damaged' children escaping from the council home are cast ashore after a rough raft ride onto the oozing mud of The Middens. But who on earth is that living in the abandoned warehouse, and do they really dig up a saint out of the mud?
A tale of highway robbery, but not necessarily the obvious kind.
Lee needs to build up his self-confidence so that he can deal with the bullies in his life.
If Hitler had really had a daughter, how could she have loved him? And how could she live a normal life after his death at the end of the war?
Bilbo Baggins, timid hobbit of The Shire, finds that he can indeed bring about the prophecies of the old songs, as he riddles with Smaug the Great Worm in the halls of the old King Under the Mountain.
How Stanley Yelnats manages to redeem the curse which has dogged the fortunes of his family for four generations.
Amina doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know her real family or where she comes from. She needs to find out . . .
Pidge and Bridget set out to save the world from destruction, with all the hounds of the evil Morrigan on their trail.
When the master disappears, there are plenty of others who would like to take his place as head of the huge, old house. What can the children do about it?
Seventeenth century Dutch trading family face ruin - unless Adam can take up the burden of leadership.
Chingwe, the Missing Link, (maybe), rescued from a freak show, becomes an object of interest to scientists and fundamental Christians. Both sides feel they have a point to make. But Nemo, flea handler extraordinaire at his parent's flea circus, just wants Chingwe to enjoy a quiet old age . . .
Can Katniss survive the appalling Hunger Games and unite the Districts against the Capitol?
Jake Patmore discovers some uncomfortable truths about scientific research when he delves into the past in search of the real story of his father's untimely death.
Beware the Creep. A sickness affecting the nation's teenagers. Favourite technology becomes embedded in the flesh. Part boy part computer, outside of society.
Escaping from a concentration camp, David learns to live life as he tramps across Europe.
The memoir of Elli Friedman, who recounts what it was like to be one of the few teenage inmates of Auschwitz.
Denny lives with guilt. But it isn't his own guilt, it's his father's. Every year the phone calls come, seeking to remind Denny's father of the tragedy which triggered the calls. This year, Denny wants it to be different . . .
Callum can’t even flunk magic school. His Dad’s always told him magic is dangerous, and Call is about to find out the truth. (It is).
A true story about a young American Indian girl left behind by her people when they move from their remote island home to the mainland.
Jack Holborn stows away aboard the Charming Molly and falls into the hands of a pirate crew.
Short story about the choices which Joe faces when his family is threatened by illness, and worse.
Exotic adventure deep in the heart of the Brazilian rainforest.
Leave home at fourteen. Life over at twenty. Not dead though, still having to live it. Heroin addiction.
Michael is washed up onto a lonely desert island, only to find it is already occupied . . .
David's a killer, by accident. He's nervous now. Nervous of ghosts, nervous of his strange cousin and the limits that she might push him to. But most of all, he's nervous of himself. A terrifying read.
Clever creatures, homo sapiens. Will they make a go of it? They are on the knife edge of survival.
Ronnie's on his own. He lives in a kind of No Man's Land of fear and bewilderment.
One day Tara is an ordinary schoolgirl, next day she is fleeing for her life to an Iranian refugee camp as an enemy alien. And where next?
Haunting, introspective book about a local community's roots and the effect of past events on the present inhabitants. Do they all see ghosts or are they just in tune with each other?
Haoyou rides his magnificent kite into the skies for the travelling JadeCircus.
Julian quietly collapses under the burden of looking after his sisters after his father walks out.
Lowly, insignificant under-librarian dreams of becoming great Librarian Knight . . .
There are wild animals out there to be saved and whatever you think of him, Kester Jaynes really is the man for the job...unless you know
Boy and wolf, befriended, escape the murderous English redcoats after the Jacobite Rebellion.
A yeti hunt, but who wants to catch it and who wants to save it?
Charlie has lost her best friend Max. He drowned at the mill pond. Or was he bewitched? And can she really fetch him back?
Darwinists confront Clanker technology on the eve of the outbreak of the First World War. Can traditional enemies form an alliance and work together to try to avoid all-out war?
Oppressed heroine Faith solves fantastical murder mystery in moody Victorian setting.
Visit the fantastic kingdom of Narnia, where the wicked White Witch's icy grip is about to be challenged by the mighty Lion King, Aslan.
'Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?' Lirael's destiny is not what she wanted, or expected.
The little prince and the airman form a special kind of friendship and a special kind of understanding.
It's bad enough, losing your family in a civil war. How can you put all your memories to one side and start a new life, in a different country?
Lizzie Dripping always has her head in the clouds. Short stories.
The bitter-sweet end of family life, seen through the eyes of Jayni.
You can have a go at mind-travelling in this book along with Joseph and his Lost Grandad, who turns up just in time to help Joseph find his imagination. A lot of laughs.
Children capture a German machine-gun, but their dream of defending their fortress against the German invasion turns into a nightmare.
Two young girls caught in the poverty trap both realize that life has handed them a lemon.
Merlin lies under a stone enchanted, waiting for another great hero to rise up and fight the powers of darkness with him. But when he awakes from the enchantment, it isn't Merlin at all, just Merlin's apprentice, and nor is there a great hero to fight the powers of darkness - just Sam, and his friend Charly.
Hope and Danny, locked in a block of flats, with a monster who only has to breathe on you to paralyze you. Destiny awaits . . .
Six bird kids on the run from the science lab/prison/school where they were created as an experiment.
Six bird kids on the run from the science lab/prison/school where they were created as an experiment. Oh yes, and this time they save the world too...
Six bird kids on the run from the science lab/prison/school where they were created as an experiment.
The world needs saving, but humans aren't up to the job...maybe mutant bird kids are?
Measle, thin, hungry and scruffy, takes on Basil, all-powerful wrathmonk.
High Treason at Court. A plot to bespell the King. The Merlin is implicated. Who can Roddy and Grundo turn to for help? A magician from another world, of course.
Kay Harker sets out to discover the long-lost family treasure, with his friends, the Midnight folk to help him - they are Kay's toys which were locked away with the arrival of his new governess.
Martin Lewis, next in line of a long line of Martin Lewis's, who have all perished in the bell tower of the church at Midwinter Lucie. Can our Martin find out why...and prevent his own death?
Laura doesn't believe that Gwendal is her long-lost brother. But what else could he be? He seems to have enemies, but he seems to have powerful friends too . . .
Kids who converse with ghosts on a regular basis need Professional Help, right? But will Milrose Munce survive to tell the tale?
Arthur's come by a key, by mistake. But now he's got it, he might as well have a go with it. It belongs to the House. A very magical place.
Luke, weak and confused by his recent illness, is almost consumed by his own determination to survive and recover.
Rossamund, fresh out of the foundlingery, makes his way in a world where monsters roam.
Rossamund, fresh out of the foundlingery, makes his way in a world where monsters roam.
Minty finds that the sundial in the grounds of the old house holds the key to time travel, but can she do any good deeds while she's hovering about in time and space?
It's a town eat town world. The great traction city of London is prowling round the Great Hunting Ground looking for prey. But, if London hopes to use re-created weapons of mass destruction in its bid for superiority, then London must expect to have enemies - Tom, Third Class Apprentice of the Guild of Historians, and the dreadfully disfigured Hester Shaw, for a start . . .
Why should this tribe of super-rats help ordinary mousewife, Mrs Frisby? And how did the rats become super-rats?
Hiding out with Chinese friends for the duration of the war after Hong Kong surrenders to the Japanese Army, Nicholas Holford becomes useful both to the Chinese Communist guerrillas and the British Army, who are working together against the Japanese.
It's literally a battle against time, where the Resistors fight to keep time ticking, and the terrible Harsh fight to turn the clock back to primal solitude. Owen discovers he has a role to play in the fight, like his father before him...
It's easy to be carried away by a good book! Bastian Balthazar Bux is drawn into the amazing world of Fantastica, and finds it hard to escape.
One problem. Two people trying to solve it. Faery and Ploddy. Course, you'll have to believe in faeries to get on with this one.
Short stories. Small boy. Big adventures. Real life. Happy Smile.
The Old Ones have escaped from their prison and are bringing great evil and destruction to the world. Only the Five can stop them, but the Five are lost and in disarray.
Lyra's friend Roger is abducted by the Gobblers and Lyra sets out on a determined rescue mission across the frozen wastes. But the Gobblers are much more terrifying than anyone could imagine. The first part of His Dark Materials trilogy.
How to make the most of life if you find yourself spending a summer holiday in an animal rescue station.
Noah's Ark - what it was really like on board.
There are the urban communities where life is protected and safe and the barbaric Outside, with a fence down the middle. But does the fence keep you in or them out?
Surrounded by a brilliant family Ordinary Jack would like to feel a little less ordinary, just for once. A scheme is laid for a brilliant practical joke...
Flora, living in Borneo, finds there is more to life than being frightened of spiders and snakes . . . and some things you just needn't fear at all.
After their mother is shot by terrorists, Sade and Femi are hastily sent out of the country in utmost secrecy. They enter England illegally and find themselves refugees, alone in a strange country, while they wait to see if their father can also escape to safety.
The dead are seeking to free themselves and invade Earthsea.
In the beautiful City of Trees, in the divided world of magicos and normals,Otto learns, to his surprise, that he might actually belong to the other side. . .
Exciting battle of good against evil. The hunt for King Arthur's Holy Grail is on. Is Merlin really there, helping them all out?
Miles Wednesday, orphaned, unwashed and living in a barrel - sneaks into the circus, helps a little someone, gets into a big adventure, and ends up very much happier...
Alone in a world at war, Parvana crosses Afghanistan in search of her family.
Can the people from the City of Ember find a place to settle and live at peace with their neighbours?
Two schooners race across the Atlantic in search of buried treasure. Can the children from the Wild Cat beat Black Jake to it?
The otter is many things to many people. To Charlie it is a challenge, to photograph in its natural habitat. To Peter it is wild and free, something whichPeter isn't. And to Peter's father it is vermin, and must be exterminated.
Junior Explorer Stella Starflake Pearl encounters wild, weird and downright dangerous magic in the Icelands.
Gair's father is a hero and a chief, and his brother and sister have astonishing powers, but Gair is just Gair - ordinary. But ordinary Gair finds that he is the one who might just be able to save his people from the warring Dorig, and the Giants.
Compelling sequel to Mortal Engines. Love, jealousy, betrayal, anger, loyalty and bravery. Brilliant!
Brilliant conclusion to a brilliant trilogy. What is to become of John Mandrake? Has he got a conscience after all? All will be revealed...
Life is not easy for Silas the ragboy. But his luck changes when he meets a distressed mermaid on the beach after a storm and decides to protect her.
Working together on a school project, Maddy and Flora discover the truth about a forty-year-old lie, and some truths about each other.
Gorgeous interstellar express trains criss-cross the universe whisking small-time thief Zen Starling off on a little errand. Well, it’s not a big job, but it does have mega consequences.
Matt is the first of The Five to be found. He has to find the other four. He's in a battle against the Old Ones. It's a race against time. And he doesn't even know it yet.
Child intelligence agents operating in an adult world of crime and terrorism. Dangerous work.
A love story and a horror story, beautifully told, about life and death during the Great War.
Well, if a human needs rescuing from the deepest, darkest dungeon in the infamous Black Castle, who else is up to the job, if it isn't The Prisoners' Aid Society of Mice?
Tilja and Tahl set out, with their grandparents and a bad-tempered horse, on a great quest to find the mysterious magician who alone has the power to renew the magic barrier which surrounds their valley and keeps the occupants safe from attack by invading armies.
Is Ryland bound to follow in his father's footsteps, or is there another way?
Sabriel must cross into Death to find her father. She can do it with the protection of Charter Magic and the tools of the necromancer, but it is dangerous . . .
Saffron recovers her inheritance, with a little help from her mad, artistic family and friends.
Sam's life gets rearranged when the Griswalds move in next door.
Sam thinks he's helping the strange young girl, but he's helping himself too.
A scarecrow needs a servant if he's really going to get out and see a bit of the world.
It's not enough that these fostered children are low-caste, abnormal, dysfunctional, living in unapproved temporary dwelling places and scavenge in skips for a living - someone wants their body parts too.
Lockwood & Co prove themselves to be the best psychic investigations agency in London...eventually, maybe.
Sebastian Darke, Prince of Fools. Not a prince. Not much of a fool. Seeks employment. Finds adventure...and a princess.
Lonely and neglected Mary Lennox makes friends, with a little bit of magic and a secret garden.
When the last tiger left the circus his spirit stayed behind. Now, on the last day, when the very canvas of the tent is thin and frayed and starting to tear, who is strong and brave enough to lead the tiger back to the forest?
Archaeology adventure on tropical island with deadly enemy lurking within.
Lady Violet, good at being in the right place at the right time. Edwardian sleuth with modern day attitude.
You need a friend, to tell all your secrets to. And to help you keep a big secret . . .
Grim future for mankind where teenagers’ brains are farmed and harvested for inclusion in war game machines.
Transported three hundred years into the future, Pat can’t get back unless he can break into the high security time cache to steal an ancient gadget.
Two boys. One calls up the sharks intentionally to hunt them, one calls them up unintentionally, and finds himself hunted.
Action adventure with the Chance twins and their secret agent father.
A family bust-up fifty years ago. What was it all about? Did uncle Tom really see aliens at the bottom of the garden?
The silver sword, a little paper-knife, is a symbol of hope to four children as they make their way across the wastes of post-war Europe from Warsaw to Switzerland in search of their parents.
What is this thing in the garage? It's the weirdest angel I've ever come across. But can it work miracles?
Maleeka's life at school is a misery. She's even taunted by the black kids for being black. Here's a story about finding the strength to rise above it, and learning how to make the right friends.
The race is on to salvage the ghost ship Hyperion sailing at a dangerously high altitude...Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries back in action.
The Manth people are overwhelmed by the forces of the Mastery and enslaved. Only Kestrel Hath is left behind, and she vows revenge.
Sol's father goes missing, accused of murder. And in the hunt for his father, Sol learns exactly how rotten is the world that he lives in. Rotten to the core.
A none-too-successful guardian angel does his best to protect Ellie from The Boss.
A Viking mix of magic and superstition, courage and loyalty. A battle between Gudrun the sorceress, and Kari, the son who she disowned. Can Kari's powers possibly match those of his mother? And does he have to follow her evil path?
Two lobsters are stolen, but it takes a girl like Hazel Green and her friend the Yak to discover the truth of this mystery!
The final conflict between the sorceress Gudrun and her son Kari. Can he develop his skills and match her power and still stay off the road to evil?
Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You is a problem for Jared Grace when he finds it in his uncle's study. There are plenty of creatures out there that don't want Jared to read it. But the Guide is also the best help Jared could have in his battle with the creatures...
To be an apprenticespook Thomas Ward has to leave his old life behind him. And he has to sharpen up his wits too. But he's already well-equipped, being the seventh son of a seventh son...
It's magical. Out of this world in fact. And Berry's got it. She can't use it and she can't hide it. So she'll just have to try and give it back...
Luke is in trouble. His father's dead, his mother would like to remarry, and he's in with the wrong sort at school. And that's just what's going on outside his head. Inside, there's a lot to master before his musical genius can really take off. Brilliant book!
It's one thing to live and love on the other side of the time tube, but if a bloody battle develops between the two sides where will Andrea's loyalties lie?
Stig is a caveman and he lives in a den at the bottom of the old quarry. He's Barney's secret friend. But where does Stig really come from?
There's no point settling a township in the middle of the desert if the train won't stop at your station . . .
Swim with the Hofsin as they make the Great Journey from their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic all the way upriver to the Home Pool.
How could the loyalty of a childhood friendship withstand the onslaught of adult hypocrisy and racism?
Reluctant teenage spy, Alex Rider, meets arch-villain, Herod Sayle.
Dr Dolittle adventures to Africa to cure the monkeys of a terrible illness.
Sky joins the Brotherhood of Stravaganti and they must all work together to save the city of Giglia, stronghold of the great di Chimici family.
Lucien travels to sixteenth century Belleza and becomes deeply involved in political intrigue.
Georgia follows Lucien but she finds herself in sixteenth century Remora. There she meets other stravaganti, including Lucien, but her role turns out to be quite different.
Is there a mole in the Young Detective Agency? Are Kate and Nathan on the same side? And can they find the answers?
A knife so powerful it can resolve the battle between good and evil for all time. Everyone wants it, but Will is the bearer. The second part of His Dark Materials trilogy.
'We, Cosmo Hill, are the world's only Supernaturalists.'
Cosmo grinned weakly. 'What? You don't like clothes?'
'That's naturists, Cosmo. And nobody does that any more, not with the ozone layer spread thinner than cling film. We call ourselves Supernaturalists because we hunt supernatural creatures.'
Twins, Jade and Rich Chance, 15, move in with their estranged father, and discover quite quickly that life is never going to be safe and quiet.
Motto looks after Pete. Pete looks after Motto. Except neither of them is very good at the job. And tagging really isn't the answer to anything.
Time traveller has one week to save the world. Unfortunately , he doesn't have his body with him. So he has to use someone else's...
Gemma really likes Mike and wants to be his friend, so why does she bully him?
Cuddly flying bear is kidnapped by the wicked Witch-Queen's men and taken back to her Ice Castle. Temmi follows on behind determined to rescue.
Well, yes, that cuddly flying bear does cause some of the problems, but he helps solve them too . . .
A genie from the days of Aladdin pops out of an old beer can to help Alec with his school bully problem. But Alec ends up having to help the genie out.
Christopher is a real boy and his friends are mechanicals. But if it turns out that Christopher isn’t actually a real boy after all...what difference does that make?
Year 1220, Tom Fletcher, reluctant chief novice at Saint Wilfred's monastery, turns detective and solves horrifying murder mystery.
When the old grandfather clock strikes thirteen Tom knows it is time to go and play with his new friends in the garden.
Antonio and his little bull calf caught up in the dreadful events of the Spanish Civil War.
It's difficult to be a Good Boy if you are under the thumb of your really wicked uncle. Nathan Wheatear prefers not to spend his life as a rat catcher.
Jenna must use all her strength and skill as a trained soldier, and she must put her trust in Perdimmon the magician in order to save Calvyn from the Lords of the Inner Eye.
Classic tale of treasure and treachery as Jim Hawkins sets sail in the Hispaniola. But what use is a treasure map and an honest heart if your adversary is the cunning Long John Silver?
Down, but not out, Peer Ulfsson survives his ghastly uncles, cold, hunger and loneliness, only to face the Troll King. He could save himself, but goes back for his friend...
Peer Ulfsson, fighting to find his own place in the world, learns that everything actually has to come second to loyalty and love for friends and family. Plenty of trolls and strong magic.
I would never have thought that old story of the wooden horse could be so nerve-wracking.
Verna La Vaughn, still sees college as her way out of the poverty trap, but finds it's easy to slip on a banana skin if you keep your eyes too firmly fixed on the horizon.
Sandor Harker crashes round the Winchester family like a loose cannon on a rolling pitching deck.
The Fellowship of the Ring is broken and the nine companions scatter. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas follow the trail of Merry and Pippin, who are carried off by orcs, and they play their part in the battle against the Dark Shadow. Meanwhile Frodo and Sam must find a way into Mordor . . .
Short stories of terror collected within a long story of terror. And quite surprisingly horrid.
The receding water level in the reservoir reveals a submerged village. But long-submerged emotions also reappear . . .
Work as a team with your own worst enemy? Would you? Could you? If your life depended on it?
Stolly lives his life up on cloud nine. Most of the time, it's just funny, but when he goes too far and thoughtlessly injures himself, it is time to stop and think about who is hurting most - Stolly, or his friends and family.
A dystopia of political correctness, surveillance cameras and the European superstate.
Dushma is unregistered, and so she is an outlaw, seeking refuge in the tunnels underneath London.
Stranded in the Australian desert after a plane crash, Mary and Peter go on a reluctant walkabout with an Aboriginal boy.
Jet, the poacher's dog, is taken into the army when her owner is sent to prison. She is trained as an infantry patrol dog and sent to France on active service.
It's a place to go, when you need some space and time to sort yourself out. No questions asked.
England goes primitive after falling under a strange enchantment which turns everyone against technology. Who can find the source of the spell?
Feeling a bit invisible? Acne and loss of confidence? Well you could try doing what Ethel Leatherhead does. But it won't help.
Anna and her family try to make a new life for themselves as refugees in Europe in 1933.
Is Marnie an imaginary friend? Or is she real? Perhaps it doesn't really matter. Anna and Marnie share a wonderful friendship, but when Marnie has to leave, Anna finds she is better able to make new friends . . .
Robert drifts helplessly backwards in time. How can he get himself back to his own time and place?
Not so much why the whales came as what happened when they did come. Old Birdman of Bryher turns out to be not so much a mad old coot, but a stalwart of the community.
Thrilling battle of good against evil set in the weirdest landscape you could imagine.
Arrogant young wizard summons up a spell too powerful to control and a great evil is released into the land. Humbled, he must do what he can to avert the evil.
Epic fairytale set in the grim starving forests of Russia. Feo and her wolves set out to rescue her mother from prison.
Kenelm is sent on a quest for help from the Wood-People and when he meets the terrifying and beautiful Wolf-Sisters he is faced with the choice between obedience to his King and the liberty that he yearns for.
A fast-moving story about how two cousins, Bonnie and Sylvia, have their home stolen away from them by their greedy guardian.
A transformation tale of separation, isolation and despair. Bit more than your average teenage angst.
Every day is a struggle for survival on the tiny island of Bryher in the Scilly Isles, but storms and wrecks can bring bounty as well as hardship.
Surviving the shipwreck but still at the mercy of the wreckers in the village, John Spencer must rescue his father who is being held captive somewhere.
Graham Sinclair, BOY HERO, hits the headlines and needs a support team to help him cope. Unfortunately he's not very good at choosing, perhaps because nobody's ever treated him properly, on account of his deformed hands.
Seventeen year old Micah escapes poverty for a life of freedom and adventure out on the great wyrmeweald. He dreams of returning with a great fortune but life changes people. Will he know his fortune when he finds it? And will he still want it?
Yoss leaves his remote mountain village and goes off in search of adventure in the world outside. But he has a lot to learn about human nature.
John's mind games help him to survive the brutal treatment he receives from the man who is not his father.
Gus, dumped on grandparents he didn't know he had, in a travelling circus that he's never heard of, finds to his surprise, that it's where he belongs.