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Showing posts from May, 2020

KS5/Adult LRC Book Recommendation - Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

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Yellow Crocus is set in the mid-1800’s American South. It is the story of the long-lasting and loving relationship between a privileged white heiress Elizabeth Wainwright and a black woman named Mattie. Upon Elizabeth's birth, Mattie becomes her wet-nurse and, over time, her mammy and confidante. Publisher: Amazon Publishing ISBN: 9781477824757 Number of Pages: 252

KS4 LRC Book Recommendation - Looking at the Stars by Lewis Hine

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My illness may define the length of my life, but it won't define how I live it.  My disability gave me the ability to understand and help others. And now I finally feel like I am living.  17-year-old Lewis Hine is a global phenomenon. Diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumour and water on the brain at 17 months, he wasn't expected to survive. But Lewis proved everyone wrong; he's not only surviving but thriving.  In one Facebook post on his 16th birthday Lewis invited everyone to see how he faces head on the challenges from his ongoing illness, and he went viral. 30 million views later, Lewis now spearheads a campaign, Friend Finder, to make sure no one ever faces childhood illness alone.  In his memoir, Lewis reaches out to anyone who may feel isolated in their lives. After 13 brain surgeries and continual health problems, life for Lewis is a daily challenge. From the sheer physical challenges - he is at high risk of sudden unexpected death in epi

KS3 LRC Book Recommendation - Swan Boy by Nikki Sheehan

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Life isn't easy for Johnny. He is trying to help his mum, he is looking after his little brother and he is going to a new school. Then Liam Clarke starts to bully him and it all begins to get a lot worse. But when Johnny gets some very surprising help from an unexpected source his life takes a dramatic turn. A magical story about finding your place and having the courage to fly. Publisher:  Oneworld Publications   ISBN:  9781780749242   Number of pages:  240  

KS5/Adult LRC Book Recommendation - Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

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Mary B. Addison killed a baby.  Allegedly. She didn't say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? There wasn't a point to setting the record straight before, but now she's got Ted-and their unborn child-to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary's fate now lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But does anyone know the real Mary? Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers Inc   ISBN:  9780062422651   Number of pages:  416  

KS3 LRC Book Recommendation - Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee

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Love is a wonderful thing, and it doesn't have conditions in this novel about sister and brother Lenny and Davy as they deal with the fact that Davy is very different from everyone else around him.  Davy is growing. And growing and growing. He is diagnosed with a rare form of gigantism. But he and Lenny are also trying to figure out where their father went, if they have a grandmother, what is going to be in the next issue of the encyclopaedia that is heading their way in the post and which letter is their favourite, as each one opens up the world to the siblings just a bit more.  In this exquisite book about love and loss and caring for your family, Karen Foxlee has created a heart-rending and hopeful book that delights and surprises. W is for Wonderful, and that is Lenny's Book of Everything. Unforgettably wonderful. Publisher:  Pushkin Children's Books   ISBN:  9781782692386   Number of pages:  352  

KS4 LRC Book Recommendations - The Sky Weaver by Kristen Ciccarelli

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At the end of one world, there always lies another. Safire, a soldier, knows her role in  this  world is to serve the King of Firgaard-helping to maintain the peace in her oft-troubled nation. Eris, a deadly pirate, has no such conviction. Known as The Death Dancer for her ability to evade even the most determined of pursuers, she possesses a superhuman ability to move between worlds. When one can roam from dimension to dimension, can one ever be home? Can love and loyalty truly exist? Then Safire and Eris-sworn enemies-find themselves on a common mission: to find Asha, the last Namsara. From the port city of Darmoor to the fabled faraway Sky Isles, their search and their stories become threaded ever more tightly together as they discover the uncertain fate they're hurtling towards may just be a shared one. In this world, and the next. Publisher:  Orion Publishing Co   ISBN:  9781473218208   Number of pages:  400  

KS5/Adult LRC Book Recommendation - I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb

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This bestselling novel tells the story of identical twins: a paranoid schizophrenic and his brother whose life is dominated by his resentment of and love for his damaged twin Dominick Birdsey's whole existence is coloured by the knowledge that his twin brother can never be fully responsible for his frightening behaviour, while he himself has beaten the biochemical odds to remain sane. But at what cost? This powerful, heartwrenching drama draws on the deepest human emotions: the need to know oneself, responsibility to family, the influence of hidden history. The result is a highly acclaimed novel of survival, written with great sensitivity. Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers   ISBN:  9780006513230   Number of pages:  912  

KS3 LRC Book Recommendation - Return to Zero by Pittacus Lore

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THE ELECTRIFYING END TO A STORY TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING In this dramatic conclusion, the Legacies, Loric, Earth Garde and even the Mogadorians come together for a final, deadly showdown. After the battle in Switzerland, the Fugitive Six find their loyalties torn, splitting them into two factions. Taylor, Nigel and Kopano join Nine to return to the Academy, but nothing is the same. Fear and resentment of the Human Garde has been growing and the Academy is under siege. The United Nations has decreed that all humans with Legacies must be implanted with inhibitors, a move that will take away their power and their human rights. The team have no choice but to fight back. Fractured and facing capture or annihilation on all sides, they must sacrifice everything in a war that pitches them against the rest of the world. The fate of the Human Garde and the world they knew has never been more uncertain. Publisher:  Penguin Books Ltd   ISBN:  9781405934282   Number of pages: 

KS4 LRC Book Recommendation - These Divided Shores by Sara Raasch

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As a child, she committed unforgivable acts to free Grace Loray from King Elazar of Argrid. Now Elazar's plan to retake the island has surpassed Lu's darkest fears: He's holding her and his son, Ben, captive in an endlessly shifting prison, forcing them to make a weapon that will guarantee Elazar's success. Escape is impossible-unless Lu becomes the ruthless soldier she hoped never to be again. Vex failed to save Lu and Ben-and that torments him as much as his Shaking Sickness. With the disease worsening, Vex throws himself into the rebellion against Argrid. The remaining free armies are allied with the stream raider syndicates-and getting them to cooperate will take a strength Vex thought burned on a pyre six years ago. Imprisoned, betrayed, and heartbroken, Ben is determined to end his father's rampage. Watching Elazar sway the minds of Grace Loray as he did those of Argrid, Ben knows he has to play his father's game of devotion to win this war. Bu

KS5/Adult LRC Book Recommendation - Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin

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Drawing on James Baldwin's own boyhood in a religious community in 1930's Harlem, his first novel tells the story of young Johnny Grimes. Johnny is destined to become a preacher like his father, Gabriel, at the Temple of the Fire Baptized, where the church swells with song and it is as if 'the Holy Ghost were riding on the air'.  But he feels only scalding hatred for Gabriel, whose fear and fanaticism lead him to abuse his family. Johnny vows that, for him, things will be different. This blazing tale is full of passion and guilt, of secret sinners and prayers singing on the wind. Publisher:  Penguin Books Ltd   ISBN:  9780141185910   Number of pages:  272  

The Branford Boase Award Shortlist 2020

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  The Branford Boase Award Shortlist 2020 has just been announced: Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties  by Humza Arshad and Henry White A contemporary set story which sees a band of aunties mysteriously take over a school armed with delicious, sugary snacks. The judges thought this was a hilarious debut with a unique voice in its twelve year old wannabe ninja-rapper protagonist Humza Khan. One judge described this as being “full of heart” and recommended it “left, right and centre”. Read the review The Space We’re In  by Katya Balen A moving story about Frank and his younger brother Max who struggles with anything unexpected, sounds that are too loud or ambient conditions that are too bright. The judges felt this was an important book that handled neurodivergence with extraordinary sensitivity. In particular the “insight into the family relationships is excellent” and Frank’s use of coding in each chapter title is a clever touch. Rea

KS3 LRC Book Recommendation - No Ballet Shoes in Syria by Catherine Bruton

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Aya is eleven years old and has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria.  When Aya stumbles across a local ballet class, the formidable dance teacher spots her exceptional talent and believes that Aya has the potential to earn a prestigious ballet scholarship. But at the same time, Aya and her family must fight to be allowed to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves and to find Aya's father - separated from the rest of the family during the journey from Syria.  Publisher:  Nosy Crow Ltd ISBN:  9781788004503 Number of pages:  272  

KS5/Adult LRC Book Recommendation - The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

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The Romans have long since departed, and Britain is steadily declining into ruin. But at least the wars that once ravaged the country have ceased. The Buried Giant begins as a couple, Axl and Beatrice, set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen for years.  They expect to face many hazards - some strange and other-worldly - but they cannot yet foresee how their journey will reveal to them dark and forgotten corners of their love for one another.  Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel in a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge and war. Publisher:  Faber & Faber   ISBN:  9780571315079   Number of pages:  384  

KS4 LRC Book Recommendation - Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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'Fifteen years on, the remembrance of that day has returned to me. I have seen that boy wandering through the mist of the railway station, and the name of Marina has flared up again like a fresh wound. We all have a secret buried under lock and key in the attic of our soul. This is mine...' In May 1980, 15-year-old Oscar Drai suddenly vanishes from his boarding school in the old quarter of Barcelona. For seven days and nights no one knows his whereabouts... His story begins in the heart of old Barcelona, when he meets Marina and her father German Blau, a portrait painter. Marina takes Oscar to a cemetery to watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the fourth Sunday of each month. At 10 a.m. precisely a coach pulled by black horses appears. From it descends a woman dressed in black, her face shrouded, wearing gloves, holding a single rose. She walks over to a gravestone that bears no name, only the mysterious emblem of a black butterfly with open wings. When Oscar and M