Age Group: KS3 (Ages 11-14)

Paradise on Fire

Chapter book

Jewell Parker Rhodes writes characters you really care about, and Addy is no exception. While the backdrop is a dramatic forest fire, the heart of the story is about her overcoming her past trauma and finding her confidence.

The story is intense but very hopeful. The main character has a traumatic backstory involving a house fire that killed her parents. The book deals heavily with her PTSD, flashbacks, and anxiety related to fire.

I’d recommend it for readers who like survival stories like Hatchet, with emotional depth.

The Poet X

Elizabeth Acevedo

Chapter book

Raw, honest and extremely powerful. ‘The Poet X’ is a triumph of modern literature. This collection of slam poetry beautifully retells Xiomara’s poignant life story. The way her experiences are told in verse allows the reader to be quickly absorbed into her emotions, exposing some powerful truths about what is is like to grow up in a Harlem neighbourhood and sending the powerful message that we must speak up and refuse to stay silent.

Readers will learn about, and relate to, the struggles she has experienced throughout her childhood, with her race, a religious mother and the misogyny of men while she was growing up. This book, full of energy and powerfully told verse, covers some tough subject matter, but has an important message of survival and staying strong throughout life’s struggles.

A modern classic which pushes boundaries. A must-read for all young adults.

The Fault in Our Stars

John Green

Chapter book

“I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once.”

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Children of Blood and Bone

Tomi Adeyemi

Chapter book

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise . . .

Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy . . .

Brave New World (90th Anniversary Edition)

Aldous Huxley

Chapter book

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a famous, compelling and unsettling work of dystopian fiction.

The story is set in a future society known as the World State, where every aspect of human life is controlled by the state. People are not born naturally; they are engineered in hatcheries, grown in bottles and conditioned from birth to fit into a caste system from the intelligent, upper Alphas to the menial Epsilons. Personal freedom, individuality, family or creativity have been eliminated from society, whereas uniformity, consumerism and constant pleasure are celebrated.

The story follows Bernard Marx, an Alpha who has never quite fit in and Lenina Crowne, who is loyal to the state but intrigued by Bernard’s differences. Together, they visit a Savage Reservation, where people still live traditionally. They meet John, a savage, whose mother was from the World State, and bring him back to London, where his ideas and beliefs contrast with society’s values.

The book was written in the 1930s, yet some of the ideas, such as ‘growing humans’ and mental conditioning, have come to fruition. For teachers, the text provides rich opportunities to explore themes of control, conformity, technology and the nature of happiness. It challenges readers to question the cost of progress and invites meaningful discussion about freedom, ethics and what it means to be fully human.

Boys Don’t Cry

Malorie Blackman

Chapter book

In Boys Don’t Cry, bestselling author Malorie Blackman explores the unchartered territory of teenage fatherhood.

You’re waiting for the postman – he’s bringing your A level results. University, a career as a journalist – a glittering future lies ahead. But when the doorbell rings it’s your old girlfriend; and she’s carrying a baby. Your baby.

You’re happy to look after it, just for an hour or two. But then she doesn’t come back – and your future suddenly looks very different.

Malorie’s dramatic new novel will take you on a journey from tears to laughter and back again.

Black Artists Shaping the World

Sharna Jackson

Non-fiction

As you read this thought-provoking book, you feel safe in the hands of an expert. It’s well-written and carefully put together. Sharna Jackson uses her knowledge of contemporary art to celebrate twenty-six exciting Black artists, working in a wide variety of different media. Some are well-known, others less so. The author makes clear how many candidates had to be (regretfully) left out.

Each artist is represented by one expressive photographic portrait of them in black and white and one carefully chosen piece of their artwork. The accompanying text is written with clarity and intelligence, describing the thinking and themes behind each piece and how it fits into the artist’s wider work. Abstract ideas are demystified in succinct and straightforward language.

As with all ambitious art, the work here is designed to provoke emotional responses and some of the ideas the artists are wrestling with are challenging. It’s not a surprise that this book has won several awards, including three categories in the coveted SLA Information Book Awards. It introduces some inspiring role models for aspiring artists.

It is a useful sourcebook for teachers, covering refreshingly different ground from many standard art books aimed at secondary school children. It is an interesting read for anyone and a feast for the eyes of everyone who chooses to pick it up. The attention to detail in the crisp design makes it a beautiful object. I thoroughly recommend it.

(Un)arranged Marriage

Bali Rai

Chapter book

MANNY WANTS TO BE A FOOTBALLER. OR A POP STAR. OR WRITE A BESTSELLER. HE DOESN’T WANT TO GET MARRIED…

‘Harry and Ranjit were waiting for me – waiting to take me to Derby, to a wedding. My wedding. A wedding that I hadn’t asked for, that I didn’t want. To a girl who I didn’t know… If they had bothered to open their eyes, they would have seen me: seventeen, angry, upset but determined – determined to do my own thing, to choose my own path in life…’

Set partly in the UK and partly in the Punjab region of India, this is a fresh, bitingly perceptive and totally up-to-the-minute look at one young man’s fight to free himself from family expectations and to be himself, free to dance to his own tune.

Ellie Pillai is Brown

Christine Pillainayagam

Chapter book

The first in a set of three novels written around the character Ellie Pillai, Christine Pillainayagam draws on her own experience as a first generation immigrant to Sri Lankan Tamil parents, as well as her love of music, to craft a unique tale of friendship, love and betrayal.

Ellie feels like an outsider, she doesn’t regard herself as pretty, talented, academic or sporty, unlike her two best friends who excel at both but would not give one another the time of day. Even her Mum appears effortlessly stylish, something which Ellie has not inherited. Being 15 means that GCSEs are fast approaching and her parents are keen to see her excel, but Ellie has a secret, a big fat burning lie that she has been hiding for over a year and she knows will devastate them. If only she can improve her grades before they find out.

As if that wasn’t complicated enough, her mind is constantly filled with the soundtracks of her life as she lives, eats, breathes music. Just one more thing she thinks no one else can ever really understand… Can Ellie reinvent herself? Does she really need to?

Wonderfully warm and witty, each character is crafted with love and care, for any teen to realise that even those who appear to have it all together (the “popular” girls, the fun teacher, the hip parent) all still have their own insecurities and internal battles. The crossover between the different cliques – that are recognisable from any school – are tenderly woven and throughout it all the stories are further enriched by a soundtrack that leaves you completely absorbed.

Medusa

Jessie Burton

Chapter book

Jessie Burton’s Medusa is a spellbinding reimagining of the ancient myth, told with tenderness and a new perspective. Rather than focusing on Medusa as the terrifying monster of legend, Burton gives her a voice filled with longing, vulnerability and strength.

The story centres on Medusa as a young woman living in exile, grappling with her identity and the curse that has defined her. When she encounters Perseus, their meeting is charged with tension and the weight of choices that could change everything. Burton’s retelling strips away the layers of fear and villainy that have clung to Medusa for centuries and instead portrays her as a symbol of resilience and female power.

A stunning, must-read for young adults. The story paints Medusa in such a different light from the one in most other stories. Utterly captivating.

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Age Group: KS3 (Ages 11-14)

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