Noughts and Crosses
(Noughts and Crosses: book 1)
Malorie Blackman
(UK: Corgi, 2006; USA: Simon & Schuster, 2005)

Sephy is a Cross – a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Nought – a ‘colourless’ member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But that’s as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equality and a limited number of Noughts are allowed into Cross schools… Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity by Noughts, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum – a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger…

Recommended by:
Liz Fay

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (Noughts & Crosses)
Available in the USA via Amazon (Naughts & Crosses)

The Hunger Games
(Hunger Games: book 1)
Suzanne Collins
(UK: Scholastic, 2011; USA: Scholastic, 2008)

Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Recommended by:
Emma Daley, Emma Daley PR

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (The Hunger Games)
Available in the USA via Amazon (The Hunger Games)

The Secret of the Old Clock
(Nancy Drew Mysteries: book 1)
Carolyn Keene
(UK: G P Putnam’s Sons, 2000; USA: Grosset and Dunlap, 1930)

Nancy Drew solves her first mystery when the accidental rescue of a little girl who lives with her two great-aunts leads on an adventurous search for a missing will.

Recommended by:
Jane Johnson, FEEL Communications

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (The Secret of the Old Clock)
Available in the USA via Amazon (The Secret of the Old Clock)

Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer
(The Gods of Asgard: book 1)
Rick Riordan
(UK: Puffin, 2016; USA: Disney-Hyperion, 2016)

‘My name is Magnus Chase. I’m orphaned and living rough on the streets of Boston. And things are about to get much worse.

‘My day started out normally enough. I was sleeping under a bridge when some guy kicked me awake and said, ‘They’re after you.’ Next thing I know, I’m reunited with my obnoxious uncle, who casually informs me that my long-lost father is a Norse god.

‘Nothing normal about that. And it turns out the gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Apparently, if I can’t find the sword my father lost two thousand years ago, there will be doom. Doomsday, to be precise.’

Recommended by:
Christopher Norris, Jolabokaflod Book Campaign

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer)
Available in the USA via Amazon (Magnus Chase and the The Sword of Summer)