Schools & Libraries Book Reviews

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  • I Wish You Would: the summer's swooniest YA romance

    I Wish You Would

    Name: Morgan Harkin
    13 July 2024;

    Genre: Romance & Relationships

    A drama-filled love story is only just beginning when seven private confessions are scattered across the beach with secrets threatening to tear everyone apart; best friends, acquaintances.... lovers. For Natalia and Ethan, the senior sunrise - a key moment of the summer representing the...

  • The Houdini Inheritance

    The Houdini Inheritance

    Name: Rachel Bolton
    12 July 2024;

    Genre: Historical Fiction

    I absolutely loved The Houdini Inheritance! What's not to like in a book that has magic, adventure, and trans-Atlantic travel? It's 1926 and Glory and her best friend Dennis are enthralled by the infamous escape artist, Harry Houdini. When his show comes to their hometo...

  • Back of the Net

    Back of the Net

    Name: Ruth Cornish
    12 July 2024;

    Genre: Bullying

    Back of the Net is a joyous book which, ultimately, celebrates the value of true friendship. Eva, the main character, is a skilled football player who is forced to change schools due to her father's job but this has advantages for her too, as it means she can escape the bullie...

  • How to Launch a Tech Start-Up: Robotics, Gaming and Other Tech Jobs

    How to Launch a Tech Start-Up: Robotics, Gaming and Other Tech Jobs

    Name: Jane Rew
    12 July 2024;

    Genre: Non Fiction

    This slim paperback is bursting with interesting facts, presented in easy-to-read clear typeface (some emboldened, allowing readers to skim and scan with ease), pleasing blocks of colour delineating different chunks of text, and cartoon illustrations (some with speech bubbles), which make unfa...

  • Roman Boy

    Roman Boy

    Name: Hayley Summerfield
    11 July 2024;

    Genre: Historical Fiction

    Roman Boy is the brilliant new book by Tony Bradman. This story is full of thrilling historical action and adventure.  Lucius is a 15-year-old Roman boy who wants to feel like he belongs. His mother has recently been widowed and then remarried, and Lucius does not really feel...

  • Wigglesbottom Primary: The Pirate Cat

    Wigglesbottom Primary: The Pirate Cat

    Name: Jane Rew
    11 July 2024;

    Genre: School Stories

    It's no wonder children love these books: they are so funny, so imaginative, so 'just right'. They may well know an Irfan or Sunita, a Joel Jack or Miss Riley... after all, aren't there similar characters in every school... the ones who see the unbelievable and come up with cr...

  • Us in the Before and After

    Us in the Before and After

    Name: Tanja Jennings
    11 July 2024;

    Genre: Bereavement

    From the start of Us in the Before and After, there is a tangible sense that the protagonists of this story have secrets to tell and that the author is playing with the reader through the device of an unreliable narrator. Reminiscent of a famous movie in places, the title of w...

  • Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle

    Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle

    Name: Jemma Jeffrey
    10 July 2024;

    Genre: Adventure

    Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle is the first book in an exciting new series and both myself, and my 8-year-old daughter really enjoyed reading it. We meet Bertha the bear who is an inspiring inventor but has moved far away to live in solitude after a disagreement...

  • A History of my Weird

    A History of my Weird

    Name: Jacqueline Harris
    10 July 2024;

    Genre: Representation & Inclusion

    Mo finds starting at secondary school very difficult. Her friends from primary school no longer want to talk to her and she finds the whole situation at school difficult to navigate. Then she meets Carys, who prefers to be called Onyx and is also a bit different. They strike up a friendship, b...

  • Worry Boots (PB)

    Worry Boots

    Name: Lucy Hopkins
    10 July 2024;

    Genre: Mental Health & Wellbeing

    A lovely book for any child starting school or moving to a new school or class, or who is struggling with a particular worry. Connie is starting school but finds plenty of excuses or reasons why she shouldn't carry on with her journey and should go back home instead!  Worry Boot...