Synopsis: "All's fair in love and war and ballet." Fifteen-year-old Erik Shaw loves dancing. He doesn't care that he's the only boy in his ballet class or about the remarks people make. Coping with these is as natural to him as the turned-out fish-feet stance from which he gets his nickname. But now Erik wants to audition for the Royal Ballet School, which ...

Synopsis: Todd is mad about Lucy, so when a bike accident leaves her in a coma he is devastated. This is a story of love, as well as a fight for life.

Review: At only 61 pages and in a large and friendly font this book is most suited to the less confident reader, it also has pictures to accompany the text.

Todd and Lucy are very much in love and spend all their time ...

Synopsis: Hannah is growing up in the new township of New Plymouth in New Zealand. She lives happily between the Maori and white culture until war comes to tear apart her town and her family. And there are disturbing clues that Hannah’s background might not be as respectable as she thinks…

Review: As Hannah grows towards womanhood, she finds it hard to be as de ...

Synopsis: Hope and her Aunt Addie have worked in diners from New York City to Atlanta. Now they're getting ready to transform the tastebuds of Mulhoney, Wisconsin. But can Hope find the antidote to the poison at the heart of their small town? A tall order...

Review: Joan Bauer's gutsy, heartwarming story of provincial America was a Newbery Honor Book 2001, and rich ...

Synopsis: When 12-year-old Midge is sent by her concert-violinist mother to spend the summer at the farm of her sweet but bungling Uncle Brian, her initial resentment gives way to delight in the freedom of exploring the countryside. When she discovers a tiny winged horse lying wounded in an outbuilding, she is awestruck to find out that he comes from a civilisation of five various tribe ...

Synopsis: Ten Days to Zero is a gripping thriller which follows young TV journalist Ben Maddox on his first proper assignment. Ben’s career is at stake, but then he discovers so is a girl’s life and a country’s future. Ben discovers that you must fight for what you believe in and risk not only your reputation but sometimes your life.

Review: Ten Days ...

Synopsis: Chris's Gran is starting to forget things. She's got Alzheimer's and it's hard for everyone. Chris hates going to see her in the old people's home. He wants to make things easier for her...what is the chocolate moon she keeps talking about, and can he help her to see it again?

Review: A book which tackles several issues which are important to ...

Synopsis: Hamish is an intelligent boy, who suffers from asthmaand a lack of friends. When his father is murdered in a senseless act of violence, Hamish’s orderly world turns upside down. A move to France with his mother offers a much-needed new start, but Hamish finds himself friendless in a country intolerant of difference. Then he meets a young boy, a survivor from a boat of No ...

Synopsis: Johnnie is eleven when her two elder bothers are struck down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Soon they are both bedridden, and in need of full time care. The story follows Johnnie’s life as she comes to terms with her brothers’ condition and its effects on her family.

Review: Johnnie is the youngest of four children, a spoilt afterthought. Her world is ...

Synopsis: As the title suggests, this is an autobiography, but it is a true life account with a difference. Thura Al-Windawi’s diary was begun in the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces. Each diary entry describes the effect of war on family and friends, as well as Thura herself. In the same vein as The Diary of Ann Frank, it provides the reader wi ...