In this novel about family relations, loss and growing up written entirely in verse, 12-year-old Josh and his twin brother Jordan ‘JB’ live for basketball. That is why they are the star players of their school’s team, the Wildcats. Still, there is a hardship on and off the court for Josh to overcome: being trained […]
A young readers’ novel about family, friendship and gender roles. When Matthew’s cousin Sam comes over from the USA, he is not a likeable character: impolite, smelly and with long hair. So in order to join the local school boys’ gang, he has to accept and complete the challenge they set for him – come […]
The first part of the trilogy tells the story of ‘A’ and his peculiar challenge: Every day he wakes up to discover that he is another person, yet again. In the meantime, A managed to get accustomed to that. But when he one day wakes up being somebody named Justin, he meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon, […]
In this realist novel about poverty, exploitation, human trafficking and ‘modern’ slavery, 13-year-old Lakshmi lives a poor but happy life with her family in rural Nepal. When a monsoon washes away her family’s remaining crops, she is forced to take on a job. When she is tricked into moving to the city, instead of prosperity […]
In this epistolary novel about family, migration and loss, a 12-year-old Jewish girl named Rifka documents her family’s escape from Russia in 1919 and their journey to the USA: how Rifka distracted guards by telling them stories, how she fell sick and needed to be treated in Belgium before they could go on and how […]
A sombre novel about mental health, desperate teens and a hostage situation: When two teenagers take the customers of a coffee shop hostage, 16-year-old Zach is among the hostages. To make things worse, Zach suffers from schizophrenia and is dependent on his medication. Can he get through to his captors in time or is this […]
In this comedy thriller, 12-year-old Joe fears his grandma: She is both physically repulsive and horribly mean, and Joe is afraid she has terrible plans in mind for him. When one day his parents are away and she takes him to a get-together of many other mean grannies, he rightfully fears for his life – […]
A young adult novel about desires, fears and the struggle to keep up. 16-year-old Tessa is fatally ill with leukemia, so she comes up with a bucket list of things to do before she dies, e.g. commiting crimes, having sex and doing drugs. While her family is trying to cope in different ways, Tessa happens […]
An easy read navigating the diffuculties of migration and growing up trapped between two cultures. Manjit is a teenage boy living in Leicester (England), brought up by strict Punbjabi parents. Dissappointed by Manny’s grades and behavior, his parents arrange for him to be married in India: They take him there and then return to England […]
This novel is a kick-off to the dystopian trilogy about a society in which love is perceived as a disease. Consequently, young people undergo an operation known as ‘the Cure’ once they turn 18. But when Lena’s ‘Cure’ is drawing near, she meets Alex – he is one of the so called invalids, outcasts who […]
Told from several perspectives, this novel is an exploration of empathy and acceptance but also fear and refusal. 10-year-old Auggie was born with a birth defect that lead to a face deformation, which is why he has been homeschooled by his parents. When he eventually attends a ‘real’ school, he is confronted with bullying, peer […]
In this novel between fundamentalism and family, between loyalty and disobedience, 12-year-old Martha is brought up by strictly religious parents, their rules shaping Martha’s life: no TV and no pop music among other things. Most importanty though, Martha must not invite somebody else home. Too big is her parents’ fear that Abomination, their shameful secret, […]
This children’s version of the autobiographic novel A Streetcat Named Bob tells a tale of social stratification and deep relationships between pets and humans. James is a homeless busker in London, trying to make ends meet. It is only when he meets the injured stray cat Bob and they stick together that James’ tale takes […]
A shocking story of sexual assult and trauma: Melinda is an outcast at her high school. She busted a party a while ago by calling the cops but now she refuses to publicly give a reason. Shunned by her peers, she almost stops speaking entirely – if nobody listens, what is the point in speaking? […]
An epistolary novel about bullying, violence and school shootings. When Brendan and Gary decide they had enough of humiliation at their high school, especially by the hands of the popular football players, they make plans to take revenge on their peers. Their plan goes awry, however, when they start taking hostages.
This is a story about family, loss, suppression and human trafficking: Rosa is living with her mother in Sheffield. When Rosa’s mother thinks about adopting a child, Rosa only slowly warms to the idea. Meanwhile, in an African village, Abela, an orphan from Tanzania is send by her uncle off to England, after her mother […]
A literary respone to the shootings of black teenagers Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown in the USA. In this fictional account, Tariq is 16 years old when he is shot by a white policeman, creating an uproar in his community. No two stories of the event match and so finding out what really happened that […]
A young adult novel about teenage boy Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to a juvenile corrections facility after being falsely accused of theft. At Camp Green Lake, the plot explores the background stories of different characters, touching on themes such as racism, homelessness and illiteracy. Two companion novels are available, Small Steps and Stanley Yelnat’s […]