One of the themes of our favourite teen reads this year is justice - whether dispensed by half-crazed, one-eyed ex-politicians from the Florida swamps or by supernatural beings righting wrongs from an earlier life, our pick of favourite teen reads this year is a mixture of styles with one clear link - great writing!
Skink No Surrender - Carl Hiaasen - £10.99When Richard learns his cousin, Malley, has taken off with a guy she met over the internet he's prepared for the police hunt, the huge billboards that announce her missing - he's even prepared that she might simply turn up safe and full of her adventure. What he doesn't expect is to meet Wild Skink -a ragged, one-eyed eco-warrior who thinks her best chance is for him to track Malley down. With Richard riding shotgun, the unlikely pair set off in pursuit, introducing Richard to dangerous swamps, guns and wild life that is even fiercer than the locals. A fantastic road-trip adventure that is both exciting and funny.
Messenger of Fear - Michael Grant - £12.99
"I remembered my name - Mara. But, standing in that ghostly place, faced with the solemn young man in the black coat with silver skulls for buttons, I could recall nothing else about myself. And then the games began...". A suspenseful, twisting tale that touches on many aspects of teenage lives - pressure to fit in, the impacts of bullying, the nature of justice - but in a quirky, twisted fantasy world that grips to the end. Grant's 'Gone' series is brilliant, this marks the beginning of an entirely new direction for the author.
A cleverly interlinked novel written in four parts by award-winning author, Marcus Sedgwick, about survival and discovery, and about the effect of the spiral, a symbol that has no end, on all our lives. The 'Ghosts of Heaven' can tell us a secret as old as time, and with amazing skill as a storyteller, you can read the four 'quarters' of this mesmerising and mysterious new novel in twenty-four different ways. Genuinely original and beautifully conceived.
The Manifesto on How To be Interesting - Holly Bourne - £7.99
Bree is a loser, a wannabe author who hides behind words. But when she's told she needs to start living a life worth writing about, 'The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting' is born. Six steps on how to be interesting. Six steps that will see her infiltrate the popular set, fall in love with someone forbidden and make the biggest mistake of her life...
A group of emotionally fragile, highly intelligent teenagers are mysteriously picked for Special Topics English, tasked with studying Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar' and keeping a journal. Each time the teens write in it they are transported to a miraculous other world called 'Belzhar' - a world where they are no longer haunted by their trauma and grief - and each begins to tell their own story. From NY Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer, and John Green's editor, Belzhar is a surprising story about first love, deep sorrow, and the power of acceptance. It's original and the characters will stay with you long after you close the book.
My True Love Gave To Me - Stephanie Perkins et al - £10.99
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...This beautiful collection of joyful, festive stories features twelve gorgeously romantic stories set during the festive period, by some of our favourite YA authors, including David Levithan, Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins and Holly Black. The stories are filled with the magic of first love and the magic of the holidays. This hardback edition features a ribbon marker and pink sprayed edges, and makes a perfect gift for anyone suffering from 'Fault In Our Stars' withdrawal symptoms...
