AB Everyone Reading

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
This is not my typical read but I knew that there would be something special within the pages as it is written by Patrick Ness and I wasn't wrong. With an absolutely bonkers setting in a school full of random animals we follow Zeke and his fellow lizard group who get the opportunity to be hall monitors. Factor in a big bad bully and Zeke's own personal tragedy and you get a heart warming and funny tale addressing mental health and bullying from an entirely different perspective. Throw in some fantastic illustrations and it really does go to show that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

Michelle

Birdie
Birdie is set in 1950's Yorkshire and finds Birdie, a mixed race girl, moving from her beloved children's home to her newly found Aunt and Uncle. Whilst battling prejudice and isolation in her new surroundings Birdie finds Mr Duke - the last remaining pit pony still living in the mine. Can she find solace in rescuing Mr Duke and at the same time herself? This is a great read that tackles prejudices in post-war Britain that felt heart breaking at times but then felt healed by the delightful bond between Birdie and Mr Duke. A truly heart warming read.

Michelle

Wolf Siren
Red lives in a village next to the woods and as all fairytales go woods are dangerous, there’s magic and wolves so the Mayor of her village has ordered that all villagers stay within the walls of the village for their safety, except Red is constantly drawn to the woods but why? Wolf attacks have been a big problem in the past so the males of the village have to be protected so only the females are allowed out the village to collect wood and make deliveries but one day the woodcutter doesn’t come home and then mysterious vines block entry into the woods but strangely they allow Red in. Why is the woods accepting of Red? Is Red connected to the wolves? What will that mean for her place in the village? I love that the MC is written with having a severe sight disability because the author also has one. This is a very clever coming of age story mixed with a fairytale retelling. Red hits puberty and her body starts to change and I love how the author does this to fit a magical theme. 4 ⭐

Mrs Ellis

Not Going To Plan
🚨TW: Teenage pregnancy, Stealthing and Abortion Marnie attends Wynfird College for Girls on a full scholarship, or she did before she was managed moved to the local Comprehensive because her behaviour was so poor and she made some bad decisions. What the school didn’t see was how she was treated by the other students because she was from a single parent working class home who on occasion has to utilise food banks, classism at its finest. At her new school she hasn’t very long before it’s her GCSE’s so the plan is head down, don’t stand out, get to the end of school. This quickly goes wrong when entering her form room a girl from her old primary school, who doesn’t like her, notices Marnie make her way to her seat and so does this girls boyfriend. Zeb just wants to be left alone, who wants to do well in school and excel in Physics so why has the teacher put the new girl next to him. A friendship eventually forms between Marnie and Zeb when he realises she could help him pass Spanish and she knows for certain he could help her with Physics. Zeb is the one who is there for her when she eventually messes up again and gets herself involved in a drunken fumble with the off limits boyfriend and how mistakes are are a great way to learn and taboo subjects are not something to be ashamed of. A great YA book and my first Novel in Verse. It’s so current and relevant. An empowering book for teen girls to read and because it’s written in verse makes it’s so much easier to read and keeps the pace moving, excellent for those who struggle to read or dislike reading. 4 ⭐

Mrs Ellis

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines sees Tilda, who lives on the beautiful wild island of Ayrie, encounter a new arrival from the mainland, Albie, who wants to be anywhere but Ayrie. Through the power of nature, sheer will power and her love of her island Tilda is determined to show Albie he can love Ayrie too. But the lengths they go to could have far reaching consequences. Having read a couple of Katya Balen's previous books I was really interested to read another knowing how powerful her descriptions of nature and the environment are and Ghostlines did not disappoint. There is always an important message of friendship with a hint of magic in Katya's books and Ghostlines is no different. Thoroughly good read.

Michelle

Birdie
This was an excellent book. I found the issues it discussed around mixed-race children post WW2 and conditions in mines, particularly for animals, really interesting but also quite challenging to read at times as I felt strongly the injustice of it all - particularly as Birdie and Mr. Duke were such wonderfully written characters. Their kindness and strength, despite the hardships that they faced, were admirable and it made for an incredibly heartwarming and inspiring story.

Hannah