Cover Story: Relationships

Here are our librarians' picks:

Knowing Me, Knowing You

Helen Bailey

Chantelle Allen’s first chance to be a bridesmaid is not going as she had hoped. She has been made to dress like a raspberry meringue, which is no fun when you’re fifteen. Instead of flowers she has to carry her aunt’s smelly and incontinent dogs. But the real icing on the cake is a casual comment that she overhears which makes her wonder if her whole life is built on a lie. Chantelle sets out to find the truth and gets considerably more than she bargained for. This is a funny and entertaining read.

9781444900859 Hodder Children’s 2011

The Un-Forgotten Coat

Frank Cottrell Boyce

When Chingis and his younger brother Nergui first arrive in Mrs Spendlove’s class from Mongolia, they are shrouded in mystery. They keep their thick woollen coats on all the time, talk very little about the country have come from, and tell their classmates they are being chased by demons. Chingis tells Julie that she must be their ‘Good Guide’ because as nomads they need a guide, so she tries to find out all she can about Mongolia to impress them. However one day they completely disappear. Julie goes off in search of them and finds out the reason for their mysterious disappearance. An intriguing quick read.

9781406333855 Walker 2012

Boys for Beginners

Lil Chase

Gwynnie is a tomboy, happily playing football with the boys at school and slightly sickened by how stupid everyone gets when the opposite sex is around. Then Charlie Notts turns up and Gwynnie discovers that the game has changed. She realises that she needs an extreme makeover and to get ’girlie’ fast to get Charlie to notice her. But does that mean she has to ditch the old Gwynnie? This is a funny and heart-warming story about finding out who you really are.

9780857384829 Quercus 2011

A Brighter Fear

Kerry Drewery

Lina is seventeen and growing up in Baghdad in 2003. Her family has already suffered under Saddam Hussain and now their lives are thrown into chaos by the effects of the American invasion. As she is forced to fend for herself Lina’s dreams seem to be in tatters. But then she falls in love, with the very last person she could have imagined falling for, and Lina has to decide where her loyalties lie. This is an emotional story about the effects of war in ordinary people.

9780007446575 HarperCollins 2012

Signs of Love: Love Match

Melody James

Do you ever believe what you read in your horoscopes? Well, think again! Meet thirteen year old Gemma Stone, aka Jessica Jupiter, Green Park High e-zine’s chief horoscope writer. Sadly, Gemma knows absolutely nothing about astrology and decides to make the most of her situation by playing Cupid with her friends’ love lives. Gemma’s younger brother suffers from cystic fibrosis but the whole family work as a team to stay positive and fight the disease. A breezy, emotional and entertaining read.

9780857073228 Simon and Schuster 2012

White Dolphin

Gill Lewis

This is a powerful and exciting story about a dyslexic girl and her new friend who both live in a Cornish fishing village. On their first encounter, Kara and Felix take an immediate dislike to each other. However, when they discover a baby dolphin stranded on the beach they know they must somehow work together to save it. You will not be able to put this book down, it is an absolute page-turner. The author is a vet so writes with authority and insight about the natural world and wildlife conservation.

9780192756220 Oxford University Press 2012

Chocolate SOS

Sue Limb

Fred and Jess seem to make the perfect couple, even sharing the same zany sense of humour but when he leaves Jess to singlehandedly organise the Valentine dinner dance, Jess decides she’s had enough of his spineless behaviour and dumps him. Why, then, does she spend every waking moment thinking about Fred, remembering good times she had with him and feeling bitterly jealous of his new girlfriend Jodie? Will gorgeous new neighbour Luke be the next man of her dreams? A witty story of love and loss with huge doses of hot chocolate for comfort!

9780747599173 Bloomsbury 2012

Wonder

R J Palacio

Born with a severe facial abnormality, Auggie Pullman just wants to be ordinary. Until now he has been home-schooled and protected from the outside world. Now he is being sent to a normal school and is seriously worried about it. Told from the differing perspectives of Auggie, his friends and family, Wonder offers a real insight into how it feels to be thought of as different. Charming, thought-provoking and ultimately hopeful, Auggie’s tale shows us what the world could be like if people were more tolerant towards each other.

9780370332284 Bodley Head 2012

Whatever Love Is

Rosie Rushton

Ever wondered what it would be like if Jane Austen were to be updated and set in the 21st century? Well, for a start, it’s goodbye to bonnets and country balls, and hello to iPhones and clubbing as Rosie Rushton gives a fresh twist and new life to Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. Our heroine, Frankie, goes to live with her rich cousins in the country. She is head over heels in love with her cousin Ned but he treats her like his younger sister. Then Ned comes under the spell of the beautiful but manipulative Alice and Frankie realises that she has a fight on her hands to get her man.  

9781848121577 Piccadilly 2012

My Big Fat Teen Crisis

Jenny Smith

Sam Well’s life takes a turn for the worse when her best friend Gemma moves to the Outer Hebrides and she suddenly finds herself without any friends and having to face school alone. Forced to experiment with a new look and new friends, thirteen-year-old Sam finds herself in the midst of a huge teen crisis. It’s lucky, then, that she usually sees the funny side of life! Perfect for fans of Cathy Cassidy, join Sam for a hilarious look at the ups and downs of a quirky teen friendship.

9781407115955 Scholastic 2012