Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher
Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret – a dark and terrible secret that she can’t confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder. Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can – in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich and begins her tale of love and betrayal.
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living – one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers’ arms to take their turn in the killing and dying. Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon’s secret temple and dreamed of a world that was a like a jewel-box without a jewel – a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness. This was not that world.
Operation Bunny by Sally Gardner
Emily Vole makes headline news in the first weeks of her life, when she is found in an abandoned hatbox in Stansted Airport. Then, only a few years later, her neighbour Mrs String dies leaving Emily a mysterious inheritance: an old shop, a small bunch of golden keys and a cat called Fidget. It’s the beginning of an adventure of a lifetime as the old Fairy Detective Agency comes back to life. It is up to Emily to reopen the shop, and recall the fairies to duty. Together they must embark on their first mystery and do battle with their great fairy-snatching enemy, Harpella.
The Rosie Black Chronicles Book 3: Dark Star by Lara Morgan
To protect Pip and fulfil her deal with Sulawayo, Rosie Black has joined Helios. But trouble is brewing within the ranks of the powerful organisation a rebellion is rising. Who is part of the rebellion? Who is trying to take full control of Helios? How does the mysterious Dark Star fit into these plans? The stakes are high for Rosie. The survival of Pip and the world as she knows it depends on her. Can Rosie find the truth and save those she loves before it is too late?
The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas by David Almond, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Stanley Potts is just an ordinary boy, but when all the jobs in Fish Quay disappear his Uncle Ernie develops an extraordinary fascination with canning fish. Suddenly their home is filled with the sound of clanging machinery and the stench of mackerel, and Uncle Ernie’s obsession reaches such heights that he would even can Stan’s beloved goldfish! Stan, however, has his own destiny, which leads him via a hook-a-duck stall to Pancho Pirelli, the blue-caped madman who swims with piranhas. And as Stan delves into the waters, he finally discovers who he really can be.
The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost
Will has (as instructed by his parents) spent his entire life trying to avoid attention. But when (by sheer accident) he scores off the charts on a nationwide exam, Will is recruited by an exclusive and mysterious prep school – the best school no one’s ever heard of, with technology the likes of which no one’s ever seen. At the same time, coincidentally – or not so – Will realizes he’s being followed by men in dark hats, driving black sedans who pose a terrifying threat to his family. What follows is a series of events and revelations that places Will smack in the middle of a millennia old struggle between titantic forces …
Burning Blue by Paul Griffin
When Nicole Castro, the most popular girl at her high school, has her face splashed with acid, her classmate, loner and brilliant hacker, Jay Nazarro, does more than just gawk at her. He decides to find out who did it.
The deeper he digs, though, the more he falls for Nicole…and the more danger he’s in. Everyone is a suspect—even Nicole herself—and whoever did it seems ready to strike again.
The Cat’s Pyjamas by Catherine Foreman
The Flytrap Snaps by Johanna Knox
The Bridge by Jane Higgins
Digging up the Past: Archaeology For the Young and Curious by David Veart
Philip Webb’s Six Days was one of my favourite books of 2011. Six Days is an original, exciting mix of action, adventure, mystery and science fiction, filled with memorable characters. I always like to find out the story-behind-the-story so I asked Philip a few questions about his characters, inspirations for the story and the best and worst things about being a writer.
I love London and having lived here a long time I know it well. It has an extraordinary atmosphere and a great buzz. I wanted to try and communicate that sense of a great city abandoned and ruined but still recognizable. It was really fun to set important scenes in places like Big Ben and the British Museum – places that the reader can identify with and picture clearly in their heads. Also, setting it in a real city helped to ground the story a bit – it somehow acts as a contrast to all the mad stuff with organic spaceships and whatnot.
Elise never really knew her parents. Her mum died after her birth and her dad got sick and died of cancer a few years later. Her Uncle Hugh and Aunt Bessie promised to look after her and she has lived with them ever since. She’s been best friends with Franklin for years and they’ve always loved playing games like Knights together. When they start middle school Elise starts to get embarrassed by Franklin and doesn’t want to hang around with him anymore. Then there’s her locker buddy, Amanda who nicknames her Scabula and squashes her lunch every morning. Elise starts to hate school and is afraid to go because of Amanda’s bullying. Just when she needs it a special surprise comes along. Her father leaves her a mystery to unlock and with each discovery a new key arrives.
Join the dinosaurs and follow the leader as they stomp, jump and hop their way through the jungle, the swamp and the river. Children will have fun doing the actions and making the sounds as they pretend to be dinosaurs. Those dinosaur-mad children will be able to name the different dinosaurs and can pretend they’re a T-Rex or a Triceratops.
My Best Friends Are Books 