A Hurricane in my Head

A Hurricane in my Head is a great poetry collection from Matt Abbott. Aimed at teenagers, it covers a broad collection of themes and poetry styles and is broken into five sections including School Life, Growing and The Worl. I liked the diverse themes the poet has written about, centred around teenage thoughts and feelings both in and outside of school. A personal highlight for me was 'Outside the Cinema' where someone is counting down the last 20 minutes till their date arrives. It's cleverly constructed and captures the angst of waiting; 'Outside the Cinema' reveals the result of the wait! The 'Snooze Button Blues (before)' is a poem we can all perhaps relate to as we press that snooze button in the morning! Matt's poems are about real situations. I felt the the really strong poems were those dealing with emotions, teen issues and being you - 'Big School' about starting High school, 'Remarkable Lives' talking about the importance of being you, and 'Outside the Cinema' which comments on sharing your life on social media. These and many others would be brilliant for introducing discussions about the issues they discuss because they are very accessible, and are ones I will be looking to use with classes during library visits and sharing with PSE and Guidance teachers. The Get Writing section is a very useful inclusion, especially with the poetry challenge as a way to get children thinking about and writing poetry and would be useful to use with both Primary and High School aged children. Over all this is a top collection of poems with many entertaining and reflective poems that can be enjoyed by children and adults simply for what they are or easily used by teachers as part of discussions about teenage life with classes. 144 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Stephen Leitch, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 11+

I was attracted to this book from the front cover, with the subtitle Poems for When Your Phone Dies and the contents did not disappoint. This book would sit really well in reading for pleasure collections in school but I can see it being used in lesson and form time too. I am keen to read aloud more to classes in library lessons, and will definitely be starting with this book. The poems are split into 5 sections: School Life; Home Life; Growing; The World and The Worlds inside our heads. At the end there is also a section called Get Writing, with practical advice for teens keen to start writing their own poetry. The poems range from short to long, and funny to poignant and thought provoking. The book has quirky line drawn illustrations by Nigel Baines. They really get into the teenage mind, and certainly conjured me back into my own teenage life. Reading some, also brought to mind the troubles I see some of the young people I work with encountering. They deal with all aspects of teenage life, from having to stand at the front of the school in assembly to 'the Spine-Tingling Horror of...' and pretty much everything in between. I found this book a really enjoyable read, and am keen to introduce it to teens at school as an easy route to the joys of reading poetry. 144 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Abbi McInnes

Suggested Reading Age 11+