gr8 txts: thrillers
Here are our librarians' picks:
Lifegame
Alison Allen-Gray
Fella and Grebe are brought up in an orphanage on a bleak and remote island. As teenagers they manage to escape even though they are taught that the mainland is poisonous and will kill them. The finding of a diary written by Fella’s mum reveals the terrible truth about the orphanage and where they really came from. A twisting, dramatic plot which will keep you guessing.
9780192728432 Oxford University Press, 2009
Pastworld
Ian Beck
Pastworld is the greatest theme park ever invented but one with a big difference – you can journey back in time to Victorian London. Caleb’s visit goes horribly wrong when he is accused of murder. He meets Eve, whose home is in Pastworld and has no idea of the modern world’s existence. They encounter the fearful Fantom who inhabits the past and the present and their fate becomes entwined with his. This is local author Ian Beck’s first book for teenagers.
9780747581734 Bloomsbury, 2009
Running on the Cracks
Julia Donaldson
Orphaned Leo runs away from her abusive relatives. Arriving in Glasgow to seek her roots she meets Finlay, also on the run. They do find more relations and the secrets of Leo’s family but also a dark and sinister side of the city. A moving and, at times, funny thriller
9781405222334 Egmont Children’s, 2009
Golden Goal
Dan Freedman
Jamie Johnson, rising football star of Foxborough Youth Team, is on the verge of achieving his dream to play for the First Team when he is badly injured in an accident. Find out if he ever plays again by reading this action packed novel set in the world of football.
9781407102955 Scholastic, 2009
13 Treasures
Michelle Harrison
Tanya can see fairies. Not gentle, kind fairies that grant wishes but malevolent, evil fairies that cause destruction and mayhem. When her mother can no longer cope with Tanya’s belief in fairies she sends Tanya to stay with her grandmother. However, there she comes upon an unsolved mystery from the past which her abilities may help her unravel. A chilling fantasy.
9781847384492 Simon & Schuster, 2009
The Secret Ministry of Frost
Nick Lake
Light is a half-Inuit girl who lives alone in a huge mansion since her father disappeared on a journey to the Arctic. Most people believe that he must be dead, but when strange things start to happen, including the appearance of a shark-headed man, Light begins to suspect that her father may still be alive. She sets off to find him, taking a terrifying and often violent journey into the land of Frost, King of the cold. This is a fast-moving adventure story set in the present day that effectively mixes in elements of Inuit legend.
9781847383099 Simon & Schuster, 2009
Dead Funny
Tanya Landman
Poppy Fields is excited when she hears that her mother is to do some work in America for ageing Hollywood star Baby Sugarcandy and agrees to go with her. But tragedy strikes and when Miss Sugarcandy is found dead in her home Poppy and her best friend Graham become involved in finding out who has killed her. A thrilling detective story.
9781406314618 Walker, 2009
Kiss of Death
Marcus Sedgwick
Marko goes to Venice in search of his father who is in danger. A sinister gothic tale set in the eighteenth century. In Venice death comes by water, in the darkness. Readers of My Swordhand is Singing will meet Peter again and his old enemy the vampire.
9781842556894 Orion Children’s, 2009