The Best Children's Book Picks MAY 2024 UK Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Alastair Chisholm - I Am Wolf - Published by Nosy Crow (9 May 2024) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1839945311 - Paperback - Age: 9+ 

Coll is Wolf.

He lives with his clan on a Construct, a huge technological "creature" driven by the clan's combined willpower. Together they roam their world, fighting other clans and absorbing them into their own.

But when a new and dangerous Construct attacks them, Coll is thrown clear from Wolf and left behind. Now he must survive life on ground and get back to his clan. He is helped by Rieka, a "Tock" who makes the Constructs work. She promises Coll a way to return, but can she be trusted? And what is she really trying to do...?

When Coll uncovers the truth, it destroys everything he thought he knew about his clan, the world they live in, and even himself. In a world full of danger, and suddenly without meaning, can he find a way back?

Jennifer Bell - Magicalia: Race of Wonders - Published by Walker Books (2 May 2024) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529506143 - Paperback - Age: 7+

From the internationally bestselling author of Wonderscapeand The Uncommoners, comes a spectacular new fantasy series for 9+ set in a world of magical creatures, ancient meteorites and secret organizations, irresistible to fans of Pokémon, Skandar and the Unicorn Thief and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

FEEL THE MAGIC. CONJURE THE IMPOSSIBLE.

When her dad is kidnapped by a woman with a giant hamstoceros, Bitsy and best friend Kosh are swept into a secret world of ancient meteorites and strange beasts called magicores, each conjured using a different emotion. Using a powerful bestiary called Magicalia, the friends must quickly become conjurors themselves, before following a trail of clues that will take them from London to India to Paris, in a race to rescue Bitsy’s dad from a mysterious villain…

Jasbinder Bilan - Nush and the Stolen Emerald - Published by Chicken House (9 May 2024) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915947024 - Paperback - Age: 8+ 

A stunning new historical children's novel from Costa Award-winning author of Asha & the Spirit Bird.

Anushka is furious. As princess of an Indian kingdom, she has watched the British East India Company take land and her family's most divine jewel – an emerald the size of an apple.

So when her father, the Maharaja, decides to visit Queen Victoria at Buckinham Palace, Nush goes too – determined to bring back the gem that can heal her country. 

• A fabulous new historical direction from Costa-winning and Waterstones-shortlisted author, Jasbinder Bilan.
• Themes of colonialism and identity, mixed with an action-packed royal mystery.

Alexandra Page - The Secret Society of Very Important Post - Published by Bloomsbury Children's Books (9 May 2024) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1526644336 - Paperback - Age: 7+ 

It's 1953, just days from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, and Penny Black can't get into the summer holiday spirit. Not when she's about to move to Scotland - and away from everything she knows - for good. 

But when Wishyouwas plops into the fireplace in a cloud of soot and chaos, with a summons from the Royal Postmistress herself, all of Penny's plans suddenly go up in smoke.

The intrepid pair are soon on the trail of a mysterious traitor and a potentially deadly plot to halt the coronation. Their investigation will take them across London's busy streets, high up in the air and deeper into danger than they've ever been before.

Piu DasGupta - Secrets of the Snakestone - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

What do we have here: A mysterious locket? A Missing Father? A Dangerous secret society? Well, you can expect all of these when you pick up the debut book by Piu DasGupta. The Secrets of the Snakestone is due to be published by Nosy Crow on the 14th of March 2024. It's a sinister and captivating debut that whisks readers away on a dramatic adventure through the winding streets and mysterious sewers of Paris. The narrative is so captivating that you'll find yourself eagerly turning each page, much like a sewer rat on the hunt for its next meal! You'll be gobbling up the elements of magic, mystery and danger in a world that is as alluring as it is perilous.

The protagonist, Zélie, is a compelling character who is thrust into a world of intrigue and enchantment when she is given a golden locket that once housed the powerful Snakestone. As she sets out to find the stone and her missing father, she becomes entangled in a perilous race against a treacherous secret society. The narrative is bold and adventurous with twists and turns. It takes readers on a journey filled with riddles to a captivating circus and through a labyrinthine of tunnels that lie beneath the bustling city of Paris.

If this is not already enough to entice you then the connection, through the author's Indian culture and heritage, with the Jungles of Calcutta and a family crime at the center of the mystery will surely compel you to read this bundle of narrative joy. It has all the flavours of curry and a wonderous amount of lively and colourful characters that will leave every reader with a taste for a gothic and dark adventure. 

Piu DasGupta's storytelling is nothing short of brilliant, as it pulls readers into a world where danger and wonder coexist. "Secrets of the Snakestone" is a fantastic and immersive book that will keep you spellbound from the first page to the last. With its blend of mystery, magic and culture, this book is a perfect fit for anyone seeking an enthralling and immersive read. 

The Best Children's Book Picks JAN 2024 US Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Author: Ben Guterson 

Illustrator: Kristina Kister

Book Title: The World-Famous Nine

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books (January 30, 2024)

Age: 9-12 Years

Zander Olinga’s grandmother is the owner of the fabled Number Nine Plaza, the spectacular nineteen-story skyscraper. The Nine, as it’s called, has everything imaginable, including a massive Ferris wheel on its rooftop, monorail tracks suspended from its ceiling, and twenty-five glass elevators. But there’s something evil looming in the shadows, and strange accidents start befalling the guests. When Zander and his friend Natasha come across a series of inscriptions hidden throughout the walls of The Nine, they discover that the clues will lead them to a magical object that protects the store’s very existence. With the future of The Nine on the line, the pair are determined to recover the mysterious object before the luxury plaza and its many guests are destroyed. 

 
Featuring an unforgettable setting and a larger-than-life cast of characters, here’s a spellbinding mystery involving puzzles, art, and high-stakes adventure.

Author: Marcykate Connolly 

Author: Kathryn Holmes

Book Title: The Thirteenth Circle 

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (January 30, 2024)

Age: 9-12 Years

The X-Files meets Scooby-Doo in THE THIRTEENTH CIRCLE, a middle-grade mystery from MarcyKate Connolly and Kathryn Holmes, featuring two unexpected friends, crop circles, science fairs, and Men in Black, perfect for both the highly scientific and cryptid enthusiasts alike.

Cat knows aliens are real, and she’s determined to prove it. By studying the Weston Farm Circles, her town’s legendary crop circle phenomenon, she’ll not only demonstrate the existence of extraterrestrial life, but also win the grand prize in the McMurray Youth Science Competition―a feat she’s sure will impress her distant NASA scientist father.

Author: Cole Poindexter

Book Title: The Griffin's Egg

Publisher: Wild Rose Press (January 15, 2024)

Age: 10-12 Years 

Lost in a wild West Virginia forest, Phoebe Gray's world is upended when she finds an irritable goblin named Gnish-Gnash. She's stumbled into Lerch Hollow, a place of magic and mystery where trolls lurk in shadows and mermaids sway with the tide. The young adventurer soon finds herself caught up in a race against time; the Dark Mistress Lucinda is on the hunt for the last Griffin's egg, for its power will make her unstoppable. It is up to Phoebe to protect the egg while discovering the secrets of her own magical connection to the mysterious wizard Thatcher. With Gnish at her side and her grandfather's old cloak on her back, Phoebe must protect this enchanted world from destruction.

Author: Zack Loran Clark 

Author: Nick Eliopulos

Book Title: The Doomsday Archives: The Wandering Hour: BK 1 

Publisher: Zando Young Readers (January 30, 2024)

Age: 8-12 Years 

What if your favorite scary story was real?

With eerie illustrations and chilling creepypasta interstitials, The Doomsday Archives: The Wandering Hour by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos is the first in a deliciously creepy series, perfect for readers of Jonathan Stroud, Christian McKay Heidicker, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

New Rotterdam is no place for a kid―and that’s what Emrys Houtman likes about it. Emrys obsessively documents his town’s urban legends and cryptid sightings in a Wiki, along with his neighbors and fellow horror fans Hazel and Serena. It’s all in good fun until one day, the trio stumbles upon the Doomsday Archives, a collection of relics with dazzling powers and dangerous consequences.

When a mysterious blood-red hourglass begins appearing around town and children begin to go missing, the trio must band together to stop the horrors plaguing New Rotterdam, or risk losing their home . . . and possibly their lives. Because after all this time hunting monsters, the kids have realized the monsters are now hunting them back.

The Best Children's Book Picks NOVEMBER 2023 - US Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Sharon Cameron - ARTIFICE - Published by Scholastic Press (November 7, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1338813951 - Hardback - Age: 11+ 

A dramatic story of duplicity and resistance, betrayal and loyalty, set against the backdrop of World War II, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light in Hidden Places.

Isa de Smit was raised in the vibrant, glittering world of her parents' small art gallery in Amsterdam, a hub of beauty, creativity, and expression, until the Nazi occupation wiped the color from her city's palette. The "degenerate" art of the Gallery de Smit is confiscated, the artists in hiding or deported, her best friend, Truus, fled to join the shadowy Dutch resistance. And masterpiece by masterpiece, the Nazis are buying and stealing her country’s heritage, feeding the Third Reich's ravenous appetite for culture and art.

So when the unpaid taxes threaten her beloved but empty gallery, Isa decides to make the Nazis pay. She sells them a fake--a Rembrandt copy drawn by her talented father--a sale that sets Isa perilously close to the second most hated class of people in Amsterdam: the collaborators. Isa sells her beautiful forgery to none other than Hitler himself, and on the way to the auction, discovers that Truus is part of a resistance ring to smuggle Jewish babies out of Amsterdam.

But Truus cannot save more children without money. A lot of money. And Isa thinks she knows how to get it. One more forgery, a copy of an exquisite Vermeer, and the Nazis will pay for the rescue of the very children they are trying annihilate. To make the sale, though, Isa will need to learn the art of a master forger, before the children can be deported, and before she can be outed as a collaborator. And she finds an unlikely source to help her do it: the young Nazi soldier, a blackmailer and thief of Dutch art, who now says he wants to desert the German army.

Yet, worth is not always seen from the surface, and a fake can be difficult to spot. Both in art, and in people. Based on the true stories of Han Van Meegeren, a master art forger who sold fakes to Hermann Goering, and Johann van Hulst, credited with saving 600 Jewish children from death in Amsterdam, Sharon Cameron weaves a gorgeously evocative thriller, simmering with twists, that looks for the forgotten color of beauty, even in an ugly world.

Adria Knudson - Wispwood Chronicles - Published by Red Dirt Road Publishing (November 16, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8989458516 - Paperback - Age: 8+ 

An enchanted forest. A long-lost treasure. Mysteries to be solved. Dive into an exciting adventure for children ages 8-12 full of magical creatures and friendship!

In the heart of an ancient forest lies the mystical town of Wispwood, where magic thrives and secrets rustle among the trees. When an injustice shatters their peaceful existence, four unlikely friends unite to restore honor and harmony. Ghosts stand accused, a treasure long lost beckons, and a web of deception unravels.
Together, Lily, Theo, Noah and Ella confront the unknown, forging unbreakable bonds and discovering their true strengths. Will justice prevail, or will fear and revenge forever shadow Wispwood?

Ben Lerwill (Author), Grahame Baker-Smith (Illustrator) - Stone Age Beasts - Published by Candlewick (November 7, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1536231342 - Hardback Picture Book - Age: 6+ 

The spectacle of Stone Age life stampedes off the page in an engaging, eye-popping gift book illustrated by a Kate Greenaway Medal winner.

Are you brave enough to come face-to-face with the biggest and most awe-inspiring prehistoric beasts? In this dramatic introduction to the Stone Age world, the stupendous giants that shared the earth with our human ancestors—from the woolly mammoth and the fearsome saber-toothed cat to the elephant bird and the giant wombat—leap, slither, and swoop to life on eighteen atmospheric and densely packed double-page spreads spotlighting animals from around the globe. Each lively profile is anchored to a stunning illustration by Kate Greenaway Medal winner Grahame Baker-Smith and features jaw-dropping facts about the animal’s anatomy and behavior, with an emphasis on how it interacted with early humans. Sidebars highlight scientific name, weight, territorial range, and extinction dates, while a glossary and end notes offer additional color and context to round out a boldly packaged and richly absorbing journey of discovery.

Olivia O'Bryon - Little Bird & the Graveyard - Published Independently published (November 11, 2023) - Paperback - Age: 7+ 

Ten-year-old Indie has a lot of questions. Not only is she on a mission to find a ghost in the graveyard across the street from her house, but she also wants to know why her mom left her and her brother with their dad a few months earlier. After all, if she figures out why her mom is gone, then maybe she can stop feeling so upset. To find answers, Indie will have to be brave. She needs to befriend the family of caretakers who live at the graveyard, which means coming face-to-face with the old man who hates her dog and dealing with a boy who is a couple of years older and clearly doesn't want her around. Her quest will also push her to snoop through the creepy apartment downstairs and visit the graveyard with her brother at night. While none of these adventures will keep Indie out of trouble, they will lead to some life-changing answers, including the realization that a ghost has something to do with her mother's absence.

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Children's Best Book Picks August 2023

 

Alice Roberts (Author), Keith Robinson (Illustrator) - Wolf Road - Published by Simon & Schuster Children's UK (3 Aug. 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1398521339 - Hardback - Age: 9+

Discover the history of our lifetime through one girl's adventure, in the epic new children's novel from bestselling author and broadcaster, Professor Alice Roberts.

Tuuli is a prehistoric girl, travelling with her tribe through the seasons – making camp, hunting for food and protecting themselves against the many hazards that the climate throws at them. Tuuli knows there’s a bigger world out there, and when she spots a strange boy lurking outside their camp, she realises that he might hold the adventure she is looking for.  

He is from another tribe, sent to find safer ground and as he and Tuuli strike up an unlikely friendship, they set out on a journey that will impact the rest of human history.  

A vast adventure with a very human heart, full of wild animals, huge scenery and heart-stopping danger and inspired by real anthropological discoveries. The stunning debut novel from Digging for Britain presenter, Professor Alice Roberts, for fans of His Dark Materials, Wolf Brother and The Last Bear.

Carrie Hope Fletcher (Author), Davide Ortu (Illustrator) - The Double Trouble Society - Published by Puffin (3 Aug. 2023) - Paperback - Age: 9+

What do you get if you mix together two best friends, a witch's curse and a haunted house? A spell-binding mystery for fans of The Worst Witch and The Danger Gang from acclaimed performer and bestselling author Carrie Hope Fletcher!

Ivy and Maggie have been best friends ever since they were born at exactly the same minute on Friday 13th - twelve years ago. They're always on the lookout for their next adventure, and, when strange and mysterious things start to happen in Crowood Peak, it's up to them to work out what's going on.

All the evidence points to the old house next door with purple smoke coming out of the chimney, and a new owner who looks suspiciously like a witch!

Can Ivy and Maggie solve the mystery of Hokum House, or will this adventure spell more mischief than even the Double Trouble Society can manage?

With gorgeous chapter illustrations from Davide Ortu, this is a witchy mystery you don't want to miss this Halloween!

Tania Unsworth -  Nowhere Island - Published by Zephyr (3 Aug. 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1804540084 - Hardback - Age: 8+ 

Hidden at the intersection of several busy highways behind the trees and scrubby undergrowth is an island, full of secrets...

Pez has lived there for a while now, enjoying the solitude. She has a vegetable patch, a routine, her own way of doing things and a condor, who may be outstaying his welcome.

Runaway brothers, Riley and Grayson call the island home too. They keep their distance from Pez and spend precarious days trying to survive, still relying on the man-made world which speeds around them.

Then Gil arrives, with his hagstone and a dream of happy families, and everything changes. The four of them find a way of living and believe they might stay on the island forever. But all too soon they witness something they should never have seen and they're in deadly danger...

Tania Unsworth constantly raises the stakes to write about trust, friendship, resilience and what really makes a home in this original, tense and action-packed survival adventure.

Jenny McLachlan (Author), Chloe Dominique (Illustrator) - Dead God Detectives: Ghost Rescue - Published by Farshore (3 Aug. 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0755503353 - Paperback - Age: 7+

An epic and exciting adventure for readers 8+ by the author of the bestselling Land of Roarseries. Perfect for fans of BBC’s Ghosts!

Sid Jones has always known she is different,
but after accidentally freeing a 300-year-old
pirate ghost (using a gel pen and a chocolate bar),
Sid realises that she has actual MAGIC!

Sid starts to use her magic to free more ghosts,
who have all been trapped by the sinister innkeeper.
But then a mysterious sickness strikes the people
of Fathom. Can Sid and best friend Zen solve the
mystery, save the town and free the ghosts?

A truly epic conclusion to this dynamite duology from the 

bestselling author of the Land of Roar series. 

The Best Children's Book Picks JULY 2023 - US Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Rob Renzetti - The Horrible Bag of Terrible Things - Published by Penguin Workshop (July 18, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593519523 - Hardback - Age: 7+ 

From the creator of My Life As a Teenage Robot comes a middle-grade horror story about a horrible bag, the spine-chilling world hidden within it, and a terrifying adventure into the world of GrahBhag.

When Zenith finds a strange, unsettling bag at his front door, he's not sure where it came from or who sent it to him. He knows better than to expect his overprotective older sister Apogee to help him figure it out, because ever since she became a teenager, she's been acting more like a parent to him than a sibling. But he certainly did not expect for a horrifying spiderlike creature to emerge from the bag, kidnap Apogee, and drag her inside to the equally horrifying and unsettling world of GrahBhag. 

Zenith sets off into the bag to bring her back but soon finds a bizarre realm where malicious forests, a trio of blood-drinking mouths, and a sentient sawdust-stuffed giant are lurking within the seams. And from every corner of the world come whispers of the Great Wurm, an eldritch horror with a godlike hold over the creatures of GrahBhag, who seems to have a dark, insidious purpose for Apogee. With the help of a greedy, earwax-nibbling gargoyle, Zenith will have to save Apogee from the Great Wurm and help them both escape the horrible bag before it's too late. 

With a combination of dry, absurdist humor and no-holds-barred horror, Rob Renzetti has crafted a delightfully imaginative fantasy world that will hook readers as surely as it will send chills down their spines.

M. R. Fournet - Brick Dust and Bones - Published by Feiwel & Friends (July 18, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250876027 - Hardback - Age: 8+

A twelve-year-old cemetery boy and monster hunter–along with his flesh-eating mermaid friend–has to race against the clock to save the ghost of his dead mother in Brick Dust and Bones, M.R. Fournet's magical middle-grade debut. 

Marius Grey hunts Monsters. He's not supposed to. He's only twelve and his job as a Cemetery Boy is to look after the ghosts in his family's graveyard. He should be tending these ghosts and–of course–going to school to learn how to live between worlds without getting into trouble. 

But, Marius has an expensive goal. He wants to bring his mother back from the dead, and that takes a LOT of mystic coins, which means a LOT of Monster Hunting, and his mother’s window to return is closing.

If he wants her back, Marius is going to have to go after bigger and meaner monsters, decide if a certain flesh-eating mermaid is a friend or foe, and avoid meddling Demons and teachers along the way. Can Marius navigate New Orleans’s gritty monster bounty-hunting market, or will he have to say goodbye to his mother forever?

Jacqueline Davies - The International House of Dereliction - Published by Clarion Books (July 18, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063258075 - Hardback - Age: 7+ 

In this not-so-scary ghost story from Jacqueline Davies, bestselling author of the Lemonade War series, quirky, tool-wielding Alice Cannoli-Potchnik begins to repair the dilapidated mansion next door—only to discover the old house is home to ghosts, and they need mending, too!

Home is where the heart is. But can a house have a heart of its own? 

Ten-year-old Alice is moving for the eleventh time.

She’s lived in so many houses, each more broken than the last, that home to Alice is nothing more than a place you fix and then a place you leave. After all, who needs a permanent home when you’re a whiz at fixing things?

But when Alice arrives at her new home, she can’t take her eyes off the house next door, the stately dark house that hulked in the dimming light. The once-grand mansion, now dilapidated and condemned, beckons Alice; it's the perfect new repair job!

As Alice begins to restore the House to its former splendor, she senses strange presences. Is there a heartbeat coming from the House’s walls? Is someone looking at her? Soon she realizes she’s not alone. Three ghosts have been watching, and they need Alice’s help to solve their unfinished business.

Will Alice be able to unravel the mysteries of the House and find her forever home . . . before it’s too late?

Summer Rachel Short - The Legend of Greyhallow - Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (July 18, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1665918879 - Hardback - Age: 9+ 

Disney’s Enchanted gets a Lord of the Rings twist in this fantastical middle-grade adventure about two siblings who must close the portal to a magical realm that inspired a popular movie franchise before their own world is conquered by emerging foes.

Twelve-year-old Ainsley Galloway and her ten-year-old brother, Tobin, have just moved to the small, picturesque mountain town of Lowry. The town is famously the setting for the blockbuster Legend of Greyhallow trilogy and there are traces of the films wherever they go. Ainsley’s parents even bought the film director’s former home, which they dream of turning into an inn that caters to fans eager to check out the local Greyhallow Movie Festival. 

But when Ainsley and Tobin are fooling around in the attic of their new home, Ainsley unleashes something. Something she doesn’t quite understand. And suddenly, purple mist is flooding the town, she’s receiving cryptic messages from strangers in medieval garb. Oddest of all, the enigmatic director of the Greyhallow movies, who’s been missing for years, has a message for them.

Ainsley and Tobin have opened a passage between the very real magical world of the movies and their own. In a swirl of shifting loyalties, capricious creatures, and movie trivia, Ainsley and Tobin have to figure out what to do—and who to trust—in order to save them all.

Waka T. Brown - The Very Unfortunate Wish of Melony Yoshimura -  Published by Quill Tree Books (July 18, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063230767- Hardback - Age: 8+

In this magical and chilling Coraline-esque retelling of the Japanese folktale “The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku," one girl must save herself—and her loved ones—from a deceitful demon she befriended.

Melony Yoshimura’s parents have always been overprotective. They say it’s because a demonic spirit called the Amanjaku once preyed upon kids back in Japan, but Melony suspects it’s just a cautionary tale to keep her in line. So on her twelfth birthday, Melony takes a chance and wishes for the freedom and adventure her parents seem determined to keep her from.

As if conjured by her wish, the Amanjaku appears. At first, Melony is wary. If this creature is real, are the stories about its destructive ways also real? In no time, however, the Amanjaku woos Melony with its ability to shape-shift, grant wishes, and understand her desire for independence. But what Melony doesn’t realize is that the Amanjaku’s friendship has sinister consequences, and she quickly finds every aspect of her life controlled by the demon’s trickery—including herself.

Melony is determined to set things right, but will she be able to before the Amanjaku turns her life, her family, and her community upside down?

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Children's Book Picks July 2023

 

Chris Wormell - The Lucky Bottle - Published by David Fickling Books (6 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1788451895 - Paperback - Age: 8+

Ten-year-old Jack is stranded on a desert island. He's been very lucky: he's survived a terrible storm and the mysterious island he has found himself on has a kindly if unusual inhabitant, fresh water and plenty of food. But Jack needs to find his way home, and as he uncovers incredible hidden treasures on the little island, he starts to formulate a plan.

A plan that will involve witchcraft, terrifying sea monsters and pirates! But if Jack's going to succeed he will need to be very very lucky.

Jon Klassen - THE SKULL - Published by Walker Books (11 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529509571 - Hardback - Age: 6

In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both? Steeped in shadows and threaded with subtle wit – with rich, monochromatic artwork and an illuminating author’s note – The Skull is as empowering as it is mysterious and foreboding.

Matthew Fox - The Lovely Dark - Published by Hodder Children's Books (6 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1444964745 - Paperback - Age: 8+

Beautifully moving and breathtakingly original, this is a story of bravery and second chances, for readers aged 9+.

When 12-year-old Eleanor Newton dies in an accident, she finds herself journeying down a mysterious river that takes her to The Underworld. She apprehensively embarks on her "afterlife" at Eventide House, a boarding school of sorts for children who have died.

The Underworld is captivating: always sunny and warm but also fractured. Strange things have been happening to Ellie since she arrived: she knows something isn't right, and she doesn't want to be there. She desperately wants to get back to the world of The Living to meet her new baby brother, even if it means being a ghost.

Can Ellie find a way out of the Underworld? And who - or what - will she be if she does? 

The Lovely Dark is another breathtakingly original story from Matthew Fox, author of The Sky Over Rebecca. Set in the modern world, it features themes of life after a pandemic, mental health and grief, all handled with real lightness of touch.

Hiba Noor Khan - Safiyyah's War - Published by Andersen Press (6 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1839133138 - Paperback - Age: 8+

War comes to the streets of Paris and Safiyyah’s life changes forever. 

Her best friend’s family has fled, and the bombing makes her afraid to leave the mosque where she lives. But when her father is arrested by the Nazis for his secret Resistance work, it falls to Safiyyah to run the dangerous errands around the city. 
It’s not long before hundreds of persecuted Jews seek sanctuary at the mosque. Can Safiyyah find the courage to enter the treacherous catacombs under Paris and lead the Jews to safety?

Ann Sei Lin - Rebel Fire (Rebel Skies Trilogy) - Published by  Walker Book (6 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1406399608 - Paperback - Age: 13+ 

The second in a pacy and lyrical fantasy adventure trilogy set in a world of flying ships, sky cities and rebel uprisings. 

Kurara and her shipmates have escaped the grasp of the princess, whose wish to control and command them as her own human shikigami would be a fate worse than death. Travelling through the forests and across the seas of Mikoshima, they finally the Grand Stream, where their old airship – and old enemies – await.

Both parties seek the greatest shikigami of all: Suzaku, a paper phoenix. But will it be saved – or destroyed?