FOR READERS AGED 9-12
WAVE RIDERS
By Lauren St John, Macmillan, £7.99
Homeless orphans Jess and Jude are taken in by a wealthy family – but why? They must navigate hostile treatment and bewildering rules to unpick a web of lies and uncover the truth of their identity.
A KIND OF SPARK
By Elle Mcnicoll, Knights Of, £6.99
In this Waterstones Children’s Book Prize winner, Addie’s shocked to learn about 16thcentury women killed in witch trials just for being different. As she campaigns for a memorial, can she also change perceptions of autistic people like her?
THE SECRET DETECTIVES
By Ella Risbridger, Nosy Crow, £7.99
It’s 1892 and Isobel is sailing to England when she sees a person thrown overboard, but nobody is missing. Can she solve the mystery of who died – and why – before the ship docks?
ESCAPE THE ROOMS
By Stephen Mangan (illustrated by Anita Mangan), Scholastic, £5.99
Jack is mourning his mother when a bungee jump catapults him into a series of traps and, to escape, he and surly companion Cally must solve bizarre challenges and outwit fantastically peculiar people. It’s poignant, wildly unpredictable and laugh-out-loud funny.
WORST. HOLIDAY. EVER
By Charlie Higson, Puffin, £6.99
Anxious Stan is forced out of his comfort zone when he goes on holiday with fifth best friend Felix. Higson shows the power of confronting your demons in this touching, observant warmhearted and sharp-witted novel.
THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE
By Alex Cotter, Nosy Crow, £6.99
Tense and gripping, this is a fabulous read full of twists and turns.
Faith lives in a house on the edge of a cliff but it’s becoming dangerous with the crack on the edge getting bigger every day. Then her father goes missing, followed by her brother.
Can Faith solve the mystery of their disappearances before her home falls into the sea?
THE SUMMER WE TURNED GREEN
By William Sutcliffe, Bloomsbury, £7.99
Luke’s sister and his dad have gone to live in a commune with people protesting against airport expansion.
His mum is always at work so Luke must learn to be alone.
Will he ever feel part of a family again?
This tale of rebel climate protestors is an engrossing and relatable emotional rollercoaster, full of drama and vividly written.