Accelerated Reader – Year 9

With a high-interest premise for today’s teens, Keren David’s fast-paced novel explores a challenge offered to a group of students: give up their phones for six weeks to win a prize of one thousand pounds.

The story follows Esther, who struggles with the challenge as she uses her phone to keep in contact with her father and sister in New York. She soon realises that not everyone is playing the challenge fairly.

This relatable story offers a look at the impact of technology and social media on young people in a fair and balanced way – unapologetically touching on both pros and cons of teenage mobile phone use. Written in a dyslexia-friendly format, it is an ideal and accessible short read exploring themes of friendship, peer pressure and the digital world.

‘It’s the hope that’ll kill you.’This haunting story of hope and heartbreak wrenches the emotions as it explores the meaning of life and death, love and forgiveness.

For Joe, his brother Ed is the person who attended his parents’ evenings, who saved up money so he could have proper Christmas presents, and who protected him from the disorder of a life of poverty with an alcoholic mother. But when Joe was seven, his brother – himself damaged by the disorder – left home. Then Ed is wrongly accused and found guilty of the murder of a cop in Texas, where the penalty for the crime is death. Years of appeals have failed, and now there’s a date for his execution. Joe, still only a teenager, travels alone from New York to Texas to visit his brother. There’s one final hope for reprieve.

Flashbacks fill in the details of the brothers’ relationship and show the poignant contrast between public perceptions and private memories of a convicted murderer on Death Row. Written in verse, the language is spare and simple and cuts directly to the emotional centre of Joe’s young life. I liked the way it is carefully nuanced. There is empathy rather than judgment for all the characters – even the warden responsible for the Death Row prisoners and Aunt Karen, who assumes that Ed is guilty and does her best to keep Joe from his wicked older brother. This beautiful book made me think, and cry – and I’m still worrying about Joe.

‘Elsewhere’ provides its readers with an intriguing, beautiful take on life after death. 15-year-old Elizabeth (Liz) dies as a result of a hit and run accident and finds herself in ‘Elsewhere’ – a place not dissimilar to Earth, yet completely different. Liz finds it hard to adjust and yearns for the life she will no longer get to live. She spends endless hours, days clinging desperately onto her old life refusing to accept that the life she once knew is over – she even makes a desperate forbidden attempt to make contact with Earth rather than accept her fate and start her new life in Elsewhere. But in doing so, Liz is miserable.

As the story unfolds, and with the help of some important characters that she encounters along the way, eventually Liz realises that happiness is a choice and that clinging to her old life is pointless.

This is a heart-warming, comforting story of dealing with the unpredictability of life, second chances, the power of friendship and love, and the importance of living life to its fullest. It is a well-written, absorbing easy read, which will make the reader smile at its charm.

Aimed at a teen market, Echostar is a short pacey novel which could appeal to more reluctant readers or be easily digested in one sitting by more prolific ones.

A useful conversation starter regarding internet safety, use of social media and apps, Melinda Salisbury covers themes of cybercrime, assault, bullying and grooming through the use of characters who seem unlikely to be caught up in such difficulties – widening the accessibility of the story.

An absorbing ready, this is highly relevant to the teen generation who often seem keen to identify shortcut to success. Echostar might serve as a timely reminder that if something appears to be too good to be true, it often is.

A compelling historical novel set in 1945.

Salt to the Sea follows a small group of refugees who are desperately fleeing the Russian army. As they make a dangerous journey across the country, their destination is a German evacuation ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective as the group strives to flee to safety. 

Based on meticulous research into the real-life maritime disaster, Ruta Sepetys weaves a masterfully crafted narrative that is both beautiful and sad. Told as a multiple perspective narrative, this story explores topics of survival and unity during the final months of the Second World War, as well as wider themes of refugee experiences, learning to trust others and the power of finding hope and human connection in difficult times.

Robert Swindells’ Brother in the Land is a much-loved story of survival, first published in 1984, with a post-apocalyptic setting.

 This powerful story plunges the reader into a world shattered by nuclear war, tapping into public fears that are still as prevalent today as they were when it was first published during the Cold War. The story follows Danny Lodge and his younger brother as he navigates the grim aftermath of a nuclear bomb, his hometown now a scene of devastation and emptiness.

Without the comforts and safety of civilised society, Danny contends with a landscape where danger abounds – including the impact of radiation and the inevitability of human selfishness. Meanwhile, his efforts to protect his sibling are admirable as he strives not to give up hope. The narrative is an unflinching look at human responses to the fight for survival.

Brother in the Land is a stark and highly memorable adventure, recommended for Year 9.

The first in Philip Pullman’s thrilling Victorian mystery series for teens and young adults.

Sally Lockhart finds herself embroiled in a perilous adventure after her father’s unexpected death at sea. When Sally moves to London to live with her cousin, an anonymous letter leads her to the city’s dangerous underworld. Determined to uncover the truth about her family’s past, Sally is soon at the centre of a plot involving murder and deceit.

This mystery adventure story, inspired by Victorian melodrama, is full of suspense, excitement and historical insights into the injustices of the era, making it a rich and compelling read.

Lionheart Girl is filled with magic, mystery and intrigue. It is set in West Africa and focuses on Sheba, a girl born into a family of witches, who is just discovering the extents of her powers as well as the many secrets that sit within her extended family. Sheba’s relationship with her mother, Sika, is challenging. Sika’s powers are much more negative and destructive than those of her aunts, as well as her own. The way in which Sheba grapples with her feelings towards Sika is woven throughout the novel and offers much to reflect upon.

The story is written in the first person, which sets the reader right at the heart of the story; Sheba’s teenage voice is so clearly conveyed through Yaba Badoe’s writing and makes her relatable to the reader. Her quest to find her father brings so many challenges, and it is wonderful to see her grow into her powers as well as develop into an empowered young woman.

This gripping and powerful book deals with mature themes and is suitable for KS3 and upwards

The Austen Girls is the imagined tale of Jane Austen’s nieces, Anna and Fanny, and their introduction to society, balls, mature responsibility, and matters of the heart.

Anna and Fanny are cousins who have just reached marriageable age. Close friends with very different personalities, the girls have very different views of the world and their roles and responsibilities within it. The cousins are under pressure to find suitors, one for the money, the other for family. Whilst they navigate the pressures of society during the Georgian era, a darker plot enfolds, involving scams, prison and thief-takers.

The book is written by Lucy Worsley, famous for her history television programmes and the Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces. She was inspired to write this tale whilst researching for a Jane Austen Biography she was writing. It is clearly written by an Austen-lover, and there is a clear respect for the author here, which may inspire readers to start to explore Austen’s works for themselves.

A delightful and composed book for secondary pupils, this is a great read.

Frances Hardinge’s historical fantasy A Skinful of Shadows transports readers to the turbulence of the English Civil War.

The tale follows twelve-year-old Makepeace, who has been raised to ward off the restless spirits of the dead. Her abilities are tested when, in a moment of grief, she is possessed by an unexpected spirit: a bear. With this powerful spirit residing within her, Makepeace is thrust into a terrifying new life with her estranged and sinister family.

This multi-layered narrative blends a paranormal mystery with fast-paced historical drama, creating a highly original story for teens that is as beautiful as it is thought-provoking.

This first book in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings saga, first published in 1954, introduces hobbit Frodo Baggins, who inherits the all-powerful One Ring forged by the dark lord Sauron. To prevent Sauron from dominating Middle-earth, Frodo must embark on a perilous journey to destroy the Ring.

Joining forces with a wizard and various travelling companions, he begins his quest towards Mordor.

This series is considered a foundational work of epic fantasy, earning its place in the literary canon for both adult and teen readers.

This sci-fi comedy classic wasn’t initially written for children, but so many young readers still fall in love with this pop-culture series between the ages of 12 and 17.

Perfectly ordinary Arthur Dent is surprised to learn that his best friend Ford Prefect isn’t from Guildford, but actually from Beletegeuse, and that Earth is about to be destroyed to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. The pair flee the planet and set off on a wild series of bizarre, hilarious adventures that will appeal to sci-lovers and fans of silly humour.

Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker novels are imaginative and very funny. This edition, which is illustrated by former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell, is brought to life with line illustrations that capture the spirit of quirky adventure perfectly.