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Topic: Ones to Watch - Spring 2020

Demelza and the Spectre Detectors

Chapter book

Full of warmth, eccentricity, humour and plenty of action, DEMELZA & THE SPECTRE DETECTORS is the debut novel from the multi-talented Holly Rivers, who played Drusilla Paddock in ITV’s original Worst Witch series!

Demelza loves science – she loves it so much that she stays up late to work on her inventions.

But she soon discovers she’s also inherited a distinctly unscientific skill: Spectre Detecting. Like her grandmother, she can summon the ghosts of the dead.

But when Grandma Maeve is kidnapped, Demelza and her pasty-faced best friend, Percy, must leap into action to solve the deadly mystery …

A warm and eccentric middle-grade mystery story by debut author Holly Rivers.

Where the World Turns Wild

Chapter book

Animals, trees, flowers, our city forbids them all…

Juniper Greene lives in a walled city from which nature has been banished, following the outbreak of a deadly man-made disease many years earlier. While most people seem content to live in such a cage, she and her little brother Bear have always known about their resistance to the disease, and dream of escaping into the wild. To the one place humans have survived outside of cities. To where their mother is.

When scientists discover that the siblings provide the key to fighting the disease, the pair must flee for their lives. As they journey into the unknown, they soon learn that there’s cruelty in nature as well as beauty. Will they ever find the home they’re searching for?

A thrilling and thought-provoking ecological adventure from a fresh new voice in children’s fiction. Perfect for fans of THE EXPLORER, THE LAST WILD and THE ISLAND AT THE END OF EVERYTHING.

Scribble Witch: Notes In Class

Chapter book

Welcome to the new magical series about a girl and her secret scribble witch, guaranteed to make 7-9s laugh out loud.

When Molly’s best friend announces that she’s moving to a new school, a blue Wednesday becomes the Worst Wednesday Ever.

That is until some unexpected magic brightens up Molly’s day. Notes, a tiny paper witch who has been lurking in a pen pot, springs to life – and into action! Some of the things Notes does are absolutely NOT helpful and get Molly into trouble with her grouchbag teacher. But it’s surprising what one tiny witch, armed with nothing more than a pencil, can achieve before the bell for home time rings…

With a vibrant, unique voice, and amazing illustrations to match, Inky Willis conjures up magic for every reader!

Orphans of the Tide

Chapter book

The City was built on a sharp mountain that jutted improbably from the sea, and the sea kept trying to claim it back. That grey morning, once the tide had retreated, a whale was found on a rooftop.

When a mysterious boy washes in with the tide, the citizens believe he’s the Enemy – the god who drowned the world – come again to cause untold chaos.

Only Ellie, a fearless young inventor living in a workshop crammed with curiosities, believes he’s innocent.

But the Enemy can take possession of any human body and the ruthless Inquisition are determined to destroy it forever.

To save the boy, Ellie must prove who he really is – even if that means revealing her own dangerous secret…

The Highland Falcon Thief

Chapter book

Harrison Beck and his Uncle Nat are enjoying the final journey of the Highland Falcon, Britain’s most famous steam train. But when a precious jewel goes missing, Harrison and his new friend Lenny find themselves at the centre of the investigation. Can they solve the mystery and catch the culprit before they reach the end of the line?

Hear whispers in the dining car, find notes in the library and unknown passengers among the luggage, as you help Harrison solve the mystery aboard one of the world’s grandest trains.

The Highland Falcon Thief can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Adventures on Trains series.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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