Holiday Reading November 2000: Fiction for older readers - Kids

Fiction for older readers

Almond, David. Counting stars and other stories - 18 stories about the author's childhood in a northern town of dark terraced streets.
Almond, David. Heaven eyes - Three children escape by raft from an orphanage, and uncover mysteries in the midst of a group of derelict warehouses beside the river.
Ashley, Bernard. Little soldier - Kaninda survives a brutal attack on his village in East Africa and joins the rebel army before aid workers take him to London where he is drawn into a dangerous local conflict. Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Avi. Midnight magic - In Italy in 1491, Mangus the magician and his apprentice are summoned to the castle of Duke Claudio to determine if his daughter is indeed being haunted by a ghost.
Avi. Ragweed (Sequel to Poppy and Poppy and Rye) - Ragweed, a young country mouse, leaves his family and travels to the big city, where he finds excitement and danger and sees cats for the first time.
Billingsley, Franny. The Folk Keeper - Orphan Corinna disguises herself as a boy to pose as a Folk Keeper, one who keeps the Evil Folk at bay, and discovers her heritage as a seal maiden when she is taken to live with a wealthy family in their manor by the sea.
Blackman, Malorie. Tell me no lies - Genna cuts out pictures for her scrapbooks, pictures of mothers, like the one she will never, ever see again. Mike is a new boy at school, a boy who is desperate not to be noticed, who has a secret so terrible it will haunt him forever. But Genna's sure she's seen Mike's face before. And now she's out to get him.
Burgess, Melvin. The ghost behind the wall
Carmi, Daniella. Samir and Yonatan - Samir, a Palestinian boy, is sent for surgery to an Israeli hospital where he has otherworldly experiences, makes friends with an Israeli boy, Yonatan, and travels with him to Mars where Samir finds peace about his brother's death in the war.
Conly, Jane Leslie. What happened on Planet Kid - To help her deal with her separation from her family, worry about her mother's serious operation, and suspicions about a new friend's abusive father, twelve-year-old Dawn creates an imaginary world while spending the summer of 1958 with her great-aunt and uncle in rural North Carolina.
Cooper, Susan. King of shadows - While in London as part of an all-boy acting company preparing to perform in a replica of the famous Globe Theatre, Nat Field suddenly finds himself transported back to 1599 and performing in the original theatre under the tutelage of Shakespeare himself.
Cormier, Robert. Frenchtown summer - A series of vignettes in free verse in which the narrator reminisces about his life as a twelve-year-old living in a small town during the hot summer of 1938.
Creech, Sharon. The Wanderer - Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a 45 foot sailboat in which they, along with uncles and another cousin, are en route to visit their grandfather in England.
Crew, Gary. Troy Thompson's radical prose folio - Following on from his success in Troy Thompson's excellent poetry book, Troy is now out to prove he is also a great prose writer. Ms Kranke challenges him to write the best piece of investigative journalism to win a press pass and a week off school.
Cushman, Karen. Matilda Bone - Cushman returns to the Middle Ages in this new novel.
Dare to be different: a celebration of freedom in association with Amnesty International. Short stories by well known writers and illustrators.
Dubosarsky, Ursula. The game of the goose - "The game changed everything. It took each of them on an adventure, a terrifying, wonderful adventure of hoping and saving and living and dying."
Ehrlich, Gretel. A blizzard year - For a year, thirteen-year-old Timmy records in her journal the changes she sees in the natural world and her family's activities on their Wyoming ranch as they fight to save it from financial ruin.
Fine, Anne. Bad dreams - Despite her preference for books over friends, Melanie gradually becomes involved with a new classmate and is determined to find the reason for her strange behaviour.
French, Jackie. Hitler's daughter - Winner of the Australian Children's Book Council's Book of the Year Award for younger readers.
Gleitzman, Morris. Nude - The first title in a new series called Deadly! written in collaboration with Paul Jennings.
Gleitzman, Morris. Toad rage
Grove, Vicki. Destiny - Twelve-year-old Destiny tries to find meaning in her art, in a life complicated by three younger siblings, a mother who dreams of winning the lottery and her mother's unscrupulous boyfriend.
Hamilton, Virginia. Bluish - Ten-year-old Dreenie feels both intrigued and frightened when she thinks about the girl nicknamed Bluish, whose leukemia is making her pale and causing her to use a wheelchair.
Henkes, Kevin. The birthday room - When twelve-year-old Ben visits his uncle in Oregon, he feels caught in the strained relationship between his mother and her brother while he also begins to accept himself as an artist.
Hirsch, Odo. Something's fishy, Hazel Green! - Sequel to Hazel Green.
Hirsch, Odo. Bartlett and the City of Flames (Sequel to Bartlett and the ice voyage.) When Bartlett and Jacques le Grand are held captive in the City of Flames, it looks like their adventuring days are over, unless they can fetch the one impossible thing people long for in this mysterious underground kingdom. Bartlett must draw on all his legendary powers of inventiveness, desperation and perseverance to bring them through.
Howarth, Lesley. Aliens for dinner
Howarth, Lesley. Mister Spaceman
Jacques, Brian. Lord Brocktree - "Jacques' talent for creating memorable characters and weaving several plot strands into one cohesive story are at their best in this exciting adventure." (Horn Book)
Jinks, Catherine. What's Hector McKerrow doing these days?
King-Smith, Dick. The Roundhill - Evan, aged 17, meets the Alice who inspired Carroll's classic books.
McCaughrean, Geraldine. Britannia: 100 great stories from British history - Told in McCaughrean's inimitable style.
McCaughrean, Geraldine. The stones are hatching - This intriguing quest-adventure includes a myriad of characters from English folk-lore.
Mayne, William. Candlefasts - Final in the trilogy that also includes Earthfasts which was first published almost twenty-five years ago, in 1966.
Naidoo, Beverly. The other side of truth - Sade and her brother must flee Nigeria when their mother is killed.
Nicholson, William. The wind singer - Well reviewed first volume of a trilogy by the noted screenwriter. Kestrel and her twin brother live in Aramanth where the motto is "vow to strive harder, and reach higher to make tomorrow better than today". Families are regularly tested and rated according to their results. This decides what district they live in and what colour they wear. The children know that there are more important things in the world, like love and kindness, so they start to rebel. An exciting adventure story that touches the heart.
Nimmo, Jenny. The Rinaldi ring - Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Paterson, Katherine. Preacher's boy - In 1899, ten-year-old Robbie, son of a preacher in a small Vermont town, gets himself into all kinds of trouble when decides to give up being Christian in order to make the most of his life before the end of the world.
Paulsen, Gary. Alida's song - A fourteen-year-old boy who has been neglected by irresponsible parents spends a wonderful summer on a farm where his grandmother cooks for two elderly brothers.
Phenomenal future stories - Collected by Tony Bradman. Includes stories by Julie Bertagna, Lesley Howarth and Jan Mark.
Philbrick, Rodman. REM world - Eleven-year-old Arthur Woodbury's attempt to lose weight fast and escape his nickname of Biscuit Butt takes him to an endangered dream world where he faces fantastic adventures and learns the true meaning of courage.
Pierce, Tamora. Magic steps - First in The circle opens series. When drawn into the investigation of murders perpetrated on a powerful family in Summersea, Sandy and her student Pasco undertake the dangerous mission of entrapping the invisible killers.
Pierce, Tamora. Page - Keladry of Mindelan continues her training to become a squire with the aid of a new maid, the support of her friends, interference from some other pages, and some serious, even dangerous opposition. Second volume in the Protector of the small series.
Pullman, Philip. The amber spyglass - The final, long awaited volume in the His dark materials trilogy.
Rowling, J K. Harry Potter and the goblet of fire - A slow beginning is more than made up for by the thrilling ending to this fourth instalment in the Potter saga.
Sedgwick, Marcus. Floodland - In an England covered by water Zoe survives as best she can. Alone and desperate among marauding gangs, she manages to dig a boat out of the mud and gets away to Eels Island. The belief that she will one day find her parents spurs her on to a dramatic escape.
Snicket, Lemony. The bad beginning - After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that the distant relative who is appointed their guardian is determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune. First in the Series of unfortunate events sequence.
Stanley, Diane. A time apart - While her mother undergoes treatment for cancer, thirteen-year-old Ginny is sent to live with her father in England, where she becomes part of an archaeological experiment to investigate life during the Iron Age.
Tan, Shaun. The lost thing - A multi-layered story, the first both written and illustrated by this gifted artist.
Tomorrowland: ten stories about the future - A collection of stories by such authors as Lois Lowry, Katherine Paterson, and Jon Scieszka.
Turner, Megan Whalen. The Queen of Attolia - Sequel to the Newbery Honour Book The thief. One reviewer wrote: "This is one of those books a reader will race through to find out what happens, at the same time never wanting it to end".
Voigt, Cynthia. It's not easy being bad - Third in the Bad girls series.
Vondra, Josef Gert. No-name bird: a story of East Timor - East Timor 1975. Jose Rodrigus was 14 years old when the Indonesians came. This is his moving and extraordinary story.
Waugh, Sylvia. Space race - "A thoughtful examination of friendship, loyalty and love." (School Library Journal)
When I was your age: original stories about growing up - Volume two.
Wilson, Jacqueline. The dare game - Sequel to The story of Tracy Beaker.
Wilson, Jacqueline. Vicky Angel - Jade and Vicky are best friends. When Vicky is killed in a car accident the friendship continues, with Vicky accompanying Jade and telling her what to do.