The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

I have been feeling a bit despondent lately, with schools being forced into becoming academies, junior doctors having to strike, and our government voting to abandon thousands of refugee children. It can be hard to find the good. So I did what any sane person does in this situation and I turned to my books...

In the Dark, in the Woods by Eliza Wass – YA

    'Father wants sixteen-year-old Castley and her five siblings to hide from the world. Living in a falling-down house deep in the woods, he wants to bury their secrets where noone will ever find them. Father says they are destined to be together forever. In heaven. Father says the sooner they get there, the better....

Seed by Lisa Heathfield – YA

   'Seed loves you. Seed will never let you go. Fifteen-year-old Pearl has lived her whole life protected within the small community at Seed, where they worship Nature and idolise their leader, Papa S. When some outsiders arrive, everything changes. Pearl experiences feelings that she never knew existed and begins to realise that there is...

The Journey by Francesca Sanna

   I think this book might be perfect.  'What is it like to have to leave everything behind and travel many miles to somewhere unfamiliar and strange? A mother and her two children set out on such a journey; one filled with fear of the unknown, but also great hope. Based on her own interactions...

Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin

    'No parents, no rules...No problem? When 13-year-old Joe is left behind in Peckham while his mum flies to Spain on holiday, he decides to treat it as an adventure, and a welcome break from Dean, her latest boyfriend. Joe begins to explore his neighbourhood, making a tentative friendship with Asha, a fellow fugitive hiding...

One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart

  This book is stunning.  The cover is gorgeous and perfectly depicts the essence of the story- all hail Kristine Brogno. But the writing! The writing is like nothing I've ever read before. Think Sarah Crossan meets Jeanette Winterson. It is the book that I am still holding even though I've finished it. Because I can't...