From a courageous suffragette princess to forgotten football legends, spirit-talking sisters and a WW2 spy, the world’s greatest writers to STEM superstars… March marks Women’s History Month and to celebrate our Kid’s Lit Writer in Residence has compiled an all-female booklist of real life heroines in children’s and YA literature. Prepare to be inspired! Princess Sophia Duleep Singh in The Royal Rebel by Bali Rai 📍 ENGLAND & INDIA Rebel. Princess. Suffragette. Forgotten heroine.The Royal Rebel takes you from the streets of Lahore to the frontline of the fight for women’s rights in this extraordinary true story of the life of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of the last Sikh ruler of the Punjab, and goddaughter of Queen Victoria. Age 8+ Illustrated by Rachael Dean. For another thrilling story about Princess Sophia Duleep Singh check out Sufiya Ahmed’s story, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. Mary Anning in Lightning Mary by Anthea Simmons 📍 DORSET, UNITED KINGDOM One stormy night on the windswept Dorset coast, a group of villagers are struck by lightning. The only survivor is a baby – Mary Anning. From that moment on, a spark is lit within her. Mary follows after her father, hunting for fossils uncovered by waves and landslips: ancient creatures, turned to stone. But tragedy and despair is never far away. Mary must depend upon her unique courage and knowledge to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist in a time when girls have no opportunities for such ambitions. Age 9+ The Dick, Kerr Ladies Football Team in Kicking Off! Dick, Kerr Girls by Eve Ainsworth 📍 PRESTON, UNITED KINGDOM It’s 1917, and Britain is at war. Shy teenager Hettie wants to help the war effort, and signs up to work in the local Dick, Kerr & Co. munitions factory. She’s nervous, but she has no idea quite how much her life is about to change … For, inside this factory are young women who are about to make sporting history. Can Hettie find the courage to join them, and in doing so, find her own place in the world? Based on the thrilling true story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies team – football’s forgotten legends. Age 9+ Judith Kerr in When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr 📍 GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, ENGLAND Anna is too busy with her schoolwork and tobogganing to listen to the talk of Hitler. But one day she and her brother Max are forced to flee their home in alarming secrecy, away from everything they know. Their father is wanted by the Nazis and they must leave everything they’ve ever known to find safety. Fleeing Germany, wandering through Switzerland, arriving in Paris before settling in England in an unforgettable, life-enhancing story of hope, courage and survival, inspired by Judith Kerr’s own story of escaping Germany in the days before the Second World War. Age 9+ Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan in Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan by Sufiya Ahmen 📍 PARIS, FRANCE & ENGLAND It’s 1940 and hundreds of families are being forced to flee Nazi-occupied France. Noor refuses to stand by while Nazi forces invade her home, so she travels to England and signs up to join the war efforts. It isn’t long before her talents are noticed and she is chosen by Winston Churchill to sneak back into France as an undercover agent. Can Noor keep her true identity hidden, report her findings back to London and help the Allies win the war? Inspired by the thrilling story of British-Indian World War Two heroine, Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan. Age 9+ Adeline Yen Mah in Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah 📍 CHINA The harrowing true-life story of Adeline Yen Mah’s gruelling upbringing, told against the background of the Nationalist/Communist struggle for control of China. Jung-ling’s family considers her bad luck because her mother died giving birth to her. Things don’t get better when her father remarries to a cruel and vindictive woman. Jung-ling’s only solace is in books and she begins to blossom in a world that continually tries to keep her down. Age 9+ Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein in The Princess and the Foal by Stacy Gregg 📍 ARABIA Princess Haya, daughter of the King of Jordan, loves her family more than anything. So when tragedy strikes at its heart, she is devastated. The Princess becomes ever more withdrawn until, on her birthday, the King gives her a life-changing present. An incredible new friendship grows and the heartbroken princess begins to dream of an extraordinary future. Inspired by the extraordinary real-life story of Olympic equestrienne Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. Age 9+ Jane Austen in The Austen Girls by Lucy Worsley 📍 KENT, UNITED KINGDOM Anna and Fanny Austen have always been told they must marry rich, their futures depends upon it. But how can either girl know what she wants? Is finding love even an option? The only person who seems to have answers is their Aunt Jane. She has never married. In fact, she’s perfectly happy, so surely being single can’t be such a bad thing? The time will come for each of the Austen girls to become the heroines of their own stories. Will they follow in Jane’s footsteps? Enter the world of Jane Austen as you’ve never seen it before! YA Mary Shelley in Monsters by Sharon Dogar 📍 LONDON, SCOTLAND, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND 1814: Mary Godwin, the sixteen-year-old daughter of radical socialist and feminist writers, runs away with a dangerously charming young poet – Percy Bysshe Shelley. From there, the two young lovers travel Europe in the throes of revolutionary change. But Mary and Percy are not alone: they bring Jane, Mary’s young step-sister. And she knows the biggest secrets of them all… A tale of passion, tragedy and forbidden love, this is the incredible story of Mary Shelley and about the creation of the greatest Gothic novel of them all: Frankenstein. YA The Fox Sisters in We Played With Fire by Catherine Barter 📍 NEW YORK STATE, USA When 15-year-old Maggie Fox is incriminated in a terrible event, no one believes her when she claims it was a ghost. When the family flee the scandal to spend the winter in upstate New York in a remote, freezing farmhouse, Maggie and her younger sister Kate turn their angry boredom into supernatural tricks. But when the house starts to make menacing sounds of its own, Maggie, Kate and Leah quickly find themselves in a wild whirlwind of spirits, sightings and séances. Inspired by the true tale of the spirit-talking Fox Sisters. YA Ada Lovelace in I, Ada by Julia Gray 📍 LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM Ada Byron is rich and clever, but she longs to be free. Free to explore all the amazing ideas that come to her imagination, like flying mechanical horses and stories inspired by her travels. Free to find love and passion. And free to learn the full truth about her father, the notorious Lord Byron. Then Ada meets a man whose invention might just change the world – and he needs her visionary brilliance to bring it to life… A poignant portrayal of the young life of Ada Lovelace, the 19th-century mathematician. YA

Written by Jo Clarke Illustrated by Becka Moor A delightfully warm-hearted detective tale, seasoned with mystery, mayhem and a marvellous dose of macarons! Perfectly pitched to 8+ readers, the predictable Parisian puzzle is smoothly guided by the blossoming of new found friendship and the much larger, and more thrilling, mystery connected to the suspicious disappearance of her mum at play. Jo's dreamy Parisian backdrop and her host of charming characters will have readers rooting for Libby and new best friend Connie from the very first page. I'm really looking forward to globetrotting with Libby and seeing where The Travelling School Mysteries takes us next! And whilst we eagerly anticipate new adventures from the popular children's book blogger, I've no doubt this book will fly off school library shelves. A tour de force of a debut. What to read next I'm thrilled to welcome debut author and award-winning blogger, Jo Clarke, to the Bluebird blog to tell us all about her journey to publication. From Blogger to Author By Jo Clarke Growing up I loved reading and writing stories but never saw this as something that I could do seriously. I was encouraged at school to pursue qualifications that would lead to a job. I have always been a head over a heart person, choosing practicality over dreams. It was only when I was made unexpectedly redundant 10 years ago, that I decided perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to try something different. I applied for a job in my local library - having worked in libraries for years before university – and started to work in the children’s library where I fell in love with children’s books and my dream of writing was reignited. Shortly afterwards I began working in my children’s school library and one of my responsibilities was to run the school blog. When I turned 40 I decided that it was now time to pursue my dreams of becoming a writer but I had no idea where to start. I joined Twitter and started my own book blog. I was always being asked for recommendations for books, so this seemed like a natural progression. It felt like a safe place to put my words out into the world and to find my own voice. The response was hugely positive and it introduced me to the world of the children’s book community where I met lots of like-minded people and realised that although becoming an author wasn’t likely, I could at least embrace my love of writing. I admit I was really naïve when I started to write. Despite having read lots of children’s book, my first manuscript was terrible. After having 15 rejections I decided that this story wasn’t good enough and I had to try something new. A chance conversation in the staffroom lead to the idea of The Travelling School Mysteries series and I felt for sure that this mystery had everything I needed to succeed. I thought the concept was commercial and the setting really appealing but and here’s the big but, it wasn’t good enough. I sent out Libby and the Parisian Puzzle and was thrilled when two agents requested to see the full manuscript. Ultimately it was a no from both of them and the feedback was strikingly similar. The mystery wasn’t complex enough, I was aiming it at the wrong age group, it needed to be more sophisticated. I went back to my desk and spent months devouring every mystery story I could get my hands on and analysing theirs structures and figuring out how their plots worked. Confident that I had finally written something publishable, I sent it out to agents but this time I had nothing. No full requests, no words of encouragement or requests to see anything new. I was crushed! Even my very terrible first manuscript had received one full request. I really couldn’t see a way forward, I felt like I should just give up, that writing wasn’t for me. But luckily at that time, I spotted on Twitter that Amy Sparkes was looking to mentor writers and I fell into the category she was focusing on. I sent off my application and quite unexpectedly Amy chose to work with me. I was working on something new but my heart wasn’t quite in it. I told Amy about the project my heart was set on, The Travelling School Mysteries. I had entered, ‘Libby and the Parisian Puzzle,’ into the Write Mentor Novel Award and although I had just missed on being longlisted, the feedback from the child judges was really positive. If children were enjoying my story, surely that was a good sign I was doing something right. So I set to work completing rewriting ‘Libby and the Parisian Puzzle’, with Amy’s help and guidance. Her feedback and advice was invaluable and after working on it for another six months, I decided to enter it into the Darley Anderson Mega Middle-Grade competition. It was amongst 6 manuscripts shortlisted but unfortunately it didn’t make it to the final 3. I was hugely disappointed but I took on board the feedback and made some changes to it and began the process of querying again to agents. I really felt like this was my last chance of querying, maybe I didn’t have what it took to be agented and published. Most of the agents I asked where happy to take another look at this new version and I felt quietly optimistic for a short while but then the rejections started to come in. I was surprised to be approached by Firefly Press who asked to read it and even more surprised when they told me they were interested in acquiring it. Shortly after I received an offer of representation from my agent Alice Williams, who I had queried three times before and it was on this fourth attempt that she really enjoyed my writing. Finally, all the puzzle pieces fell into place. It felt like a very serendipitous but surreal moment. · Jo Clarke is an award-winning book blogger and primary school librarian. Her hugely successful blog, BookloverJo, keeps her actively involved in the children's book community, and she has previously been involved in judging the British Book Awards. She lives in Hampshire with her husband, two daughters, and three cats. You can catch Jo on Twitter @bookloverJo · A big thank you to `Firefly Press for inviting me to be part of the Parisian Puzzle blog tour!

🖊 Alex Falase-Koya 🎨 Paula Bowles 📚 Oxford Children's Books Imagine a superhero that’s powered by kindness and imagination... Introducing the EXTRAordinary Marv and his trusty, super-intelligent, perfect crime-fighting robotic sidekick Pixel, in the all new and spectacular superhero series that fizzes and pops with fun and adventure on every page! ⚡️ THINK - all the comic charm of Sophy Henn's Pizazz meets the heart of Tom Percival's Dream Team! ⚡️ When Marv discovers that he's next in a long line of superheroes, a chaotic cascade of evil robots, riotous dinosaurs and a super-villain mastermind quickly ensue. But with such big superhero shoes to fill, can Marv overcome his fears and tap into his newfound superhero skills? Alex Falase-Koya's short and snappy text, laced throughout with Paula Bowles' lively integrated two-colour illustrations, makes for a super entertaining, energetic and, most importantly, accessible read that will be an immediate hit with anyone who's harbouring a superhero within. Marv is truly the perfect page-turning package that any superhero could wish for. Here's to more MARV-ellous superhero adventures with Marv filling our bookshelves soon! What to read next About the creators Alex Falase-Koya is a London native and author of fantastical, action-packed stories for children and teenagers of all ages. He has been both reading and writing since he was a teenager. He was a winner of Spread the Word's 2019 London Writers Awards for YA/children's. When he's not writing, he's baking apple crumbles or playing video games. Alex now lives in Walthamstow with his girlfriend and hopes to soon welcome another cat into his life. Catch Alex on Twitter @AlexFKoya Paula Bowles grew up in Hertfordshire, and has always loved drawing, reading and using her imagination, so she studied illustration at Falmouth College of Arts and became an illustrator. She now lives in Bristol, and has worked as an illustrator for over 10 years, and has books published with Nosy Crow and Simon & Schuster. Catch Paula on Twitter @Paula_Bowles A big thank you to Oxford Children's Books and Liz Scott PR for inviting me to be a part of this MARV-ellous blog tour!

A salty and spellbinding adventure set on the shores of a magical sanctuary for any disabled person who needs somewhere to belong ... The Secret of Haven Point sings like the sea! Echoing the likes of Abi Elphinstone, Cerrie Burnell and Thomas Taylor, Lisette Auton's debut dazzles with originality and glitters with imagination. And at the heart of Haven Point is a story of acceptance, belonging and self-discovery, sending an inspiring message of positivity and inclusivity to those who feel they are 'different' and don't fit in. There are forty-two Wrecklings (plus a kind-hearted Cap'n with his beard full of kittens, and a clan of fierce, sharp-toothed mermaids) who call Haven Point home. That's forty-two new heroes young readers have to connect and resonate with, which makes The Secret of Haven Point an absolute triumph in my eyes. WHAT TO READ NEXT

One Camel Called Doug by Lu Fraser Illustrated by Sarah Warburton Lu Fraser has done it again! One Camel Called Doug is another standout, sparkling picture book from award-winning storyteller extraordinaire, Lu Fraser. Lu's ability to create such loveable characters is bewitching - I adored delightful Doug and his camel crew in this charming and reassuring tale about finding pleasure and peace in solitude (because we all need a little alone/self care time). With flawless rhyme and a fun counting element too, One Camel Called Doug will lead the herd for best picture books in 2022. One Camel Called Doug publishes February 2022. Pre-order here! If you loved this, try...

It’s an interesting idea to sum up The Haunting of Lindy Pennyworth in five objects – I quite enjoyed it. It might actually be a great technique when planning future stories! 1. Hair Hair provided the initial inspiration for my book, specifically the macabre Victorian art of weaving a dead person’s hair into jewellery or other decorative items as a memento mori. I can’t remember where I first heard about this but when I started researching it, I found examples from the past and also (more bizarrely) from the present. Yes, there are people selling Victorian hair antiques on eBay: brooches with hair woven into a pattern inside, watchstraps made from plaited hair, rings with hair inside, etc. Briefly, I wondered if I should invest in one for research purposes, but thankfully I never indulged that idea. Once I built the story around the idea of a picture frame containing a dead girl’s hair, and how that would act as a conduit for her spirit to contact Lindy, I then thought it would be interesting to have a parallel hair theme in the present day, which is when I came up with the idea of Lindy pulling out her hair as a way of coping with her grief. 2. Headstones It’s hardly surprising that my novel has a lot of headstones in it, especially as it is set in three different graveyards: two in Oxford and the famous Highgate Cemetery in London. When I was researching the novel, I was fascinated to discover that the symbols on headstones have different meanings. For example, an anchor might indicate the deceased was a sailor, but it also represents commitment to the Christian faith, while daffodils on Victorian graves symbolised unrequited love. 3. Glass bottles In order to be able to talk to her father beyond the grave, Lindy must solve a series of riddles and find hidden pieces of a photograph. These pieces have been placed inside glass bottles, which are then buried in the graves where two of the characters were buried. Lindy has to locate these and then dig to try to take out the bottles. Imagine digging into an area where you know someone is buried – without being seen and with the risk of finding more than a bottle! 4. Marker pens When Lindy receives a riddle to solve, it’s usually when she’s asleep. Unfortunately, she writes it down with a Sharpie marker pen … on her bedroom walls. Her mother is furious and terrified. Why is her daughter graffitiing her walls? Is she trying to stop people buying their house? Is she going mad? Lindy never has any recollection of doing this but no one believes that she did it while unconscious, although Tom suggests it is an example of ‘automatic writing’, which is when a spirit uses a living person to write messages (Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle knew a lot about this.) 5. Cats Not everyone likes cats but I do, and I wanted to give Lindy a couple of furry allies in her story. (Plus, animals are very attuned to spiritual vibes and I knew they could react to the atmosphere in a room before the humans were even aware of anything.) Years ago, I read The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien and came across the names ‘Bifur’ and ‘Bofur’ and thought what fantastic names they would make for felines. I never managed to give them to my own cats, as I almost always adopt rescue animals who are already named, so my book gave me the chance to use them. Sam Pope is a writer, editor, teacher and children’s librarian based in Oxford. You can catch Sam on Twitter @childtastic.

Firstly, congratulations Gill on celebrating the 10th anniversary of Sky Hawk! Sky Hawk was your debut children’s book and went on to win the 2012 UKLA Children’s Book of the Year and the Green Earth Book Award. How did you celebrate this special landmark? Thank you I’m so thrilled to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Sky Hawk. Much has happened in the last 10 years since Sky Hawk was published and the success of osprey conservation continues to grow. Ospreys are now a regular feature on many Welsh waterways. And in Poole Harbour, near me, ospreys have recently been reintroduced. So, I celebrated the 10th anniversary with a wonderful trip to Poole Harbour going out with Poole Harbour Birds to see the ospreys fishing. And it was the best celebration of all. Sky Hawk tells the story of Callum and Iona who form unlikely friendship when they pair up to protect a rare osprey in a remote part of Scotland. What was the original inspiration behind your story, and why was writing this book important to you? I remember seeing an empty swallows’ nest in our sheds on a cold New Year’s Day and wondering if children in South Africa were watching the same swallows that my own children had watched in our summer. I thought of all the hazards birds face on their long migrations and how their safety depends upon safe passage; safe resting spaces, food supply and free from trapping and persecution. I chose to write about the osprey because it is a big iconic bird that has been regularly fitted with satellite trackers. It’s also a symbol of conservation success having been brought back from extinction in the UK. Having been driven to extinction during the Victorian era, ospreys have since made a remarkable conservation comeback with nearly 300 breeding pairs now in the UK. What’s your favourite facts about these birds? I find it totally and utterly remarkable that the young ospreys travel alone, both to and from the breeding and feeding grounds. How to they do that? How do they travel thousands of miles along routes they have no experience of? We really don’t know. We can make guesses, but the migration of animals is so poorly understood. It makes me think that there must be so many patterns of behaviour hardwired into all animals, including ourselves. Ospreys are also zygodactyl, which means they have two toes facing forward and two facing backwards. (most birds have three facing forward and one backwards.) Presumably this is to help catch and carry fish. As well as touching on the importance of friendship, bravery and hope, Sky Hawk offers a powerful insight into migration, nature and climate change. What do you hope readers take away from Sky Hawk? I hope that 1) readers are inspired to look around at what they can see from their own front door and engage with nature. 2) In developing an interest and love for the wild world around them, they develop an awareness of some of the threats facing wildlife and wild places. 3) With awareness comes empowerment, the precursor to change. I hope that Sky Hawk gives an insight that borders between countries are a man-made construct and that we are connected to people and wild places across the world, and that our survival is dependent upon making those connections and protecting people and wild places too. Next year in 2022, Sacha Dench, a conservationist and explorer will be flying on her paramotor, following the flight of the osprey to make those connections. Sacha kindly let me interview her and you can listen here. How much of an impact do you think children’s books and storytelling can have on protecting and preserving the environment? I believe storytelling can have a huge impact. Story has the unique means of taking a reader by the hand and pulling them into the world they might not have experienced. Storytelling allows the reader empathy; to feel what the protagonist is feeling, to see what they are seeing. Storytelling makes a powerful emotional connection and that is paramount to make a reader care. Books, both fiction and non-fiction can empower readers to take action of their own. Books are truly radical beasts. From the rugged northern moorlands to the lush Cornish coast, the heart of the African jungle to the bustling city of Laos, your books locations and landscapes are at the heart of all your stories. Why is this important to you? Landscapes define us, and we too have defined landscapes though man’s actions. Often, species of flora and fauna will be found in habitats defined by geography and climate. But humans radically change landscapes too, and not often for the better, degrading the flora and fauna. In Sky Dancer I explore the issue of driven grouse shooting; a debate played out on vast upland landscapes. These landscapes have been shaped through millennia by man to the bare, treeless landscapes they are today. They have been treeless for so long in our collective memory that we think these as normal. More recently, monocultures of heather to produce grouse, cover much of our uplands. Driven grouse-shooting is underpinned by crime and environmental degradation, but is bound up in power, landownership and politics. I want my books to challenge our use of landscape, to create a more sustainable planet. In White Dolphin, I explore the landscape of our seabed, often out of sight, and out of mind but integral to healthy oceans. Researching landscape is very interesting looking at the history, the people and cultures, politics and the natural world. What are your top three favourite children’s book settings that you’ve read? 1) The Essex marshes in The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico 2) The Catskill Mountains in My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George 3) The beautiful haunting landscape of The Dam by David Almond and Levi Pinfold For readers wanting to travel in your literary footsteps, do you have any local and/or international hotspots that have inspired your writing? I am always drawn to the sea, to the west of Cornwall or Wales. But I also love the wild Atlantic rainforests in the UK. But I think that a good story can be told anywhere, from the banks of the Thames, to the banks of the Zambezi. Story, for me, is about finding a character to explore that landscape through story. Your life and work has taken you to some of the furthest corners of the world including the wilds of Africa and the frozen lands of the Arctic. Does travelling have a big impact on your writing? I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel. However, like so many people I am questioning the ethics of flying and the environmental harm to the planet. I think it will become more difficult to travel too with Covid. However, I do not think it is essential to travel to explore writing. I think it is more important to stay curious about the world. Some people have travelled the world but remain in the confines of their own world views. For Moon Bear, I did not visit Laos, but I researched the history, the cultures, the landscapes, the food, and the language. I googled street views. I read literature from a Laos and Hmong perspective. Hopefully my obsession to detail won through as I have often been asked for how many years, I have lived in Laos. I would like to travel again, but I think more slowly; by boat and train and by bike. We have extraordinary places in Britain and Europe that would take a lifetime to explore. But often we miss what is on our own doorstep. During the first lockdown, I discovered many new footpaths where I live and found good blackberry picking spots too. And some of the most interesting stories can be found on our own doorsteps if we only choose to look. On top of celebrating the 10th anniversary of Sky Hawk, you’ve also launched your latest middle grade adventure A Street Dog Named Pup. What’s next for your writing journey? Willow Wildthing and the Magic Spell is the fourth and final book in the Willow Wildthing series – chapter books for young readers about a group of children playing in urban wildspace. The book is reminiscent of my own childhood, playing imaginative games in woodland, where time and distance expand, and where reality and fantasy blur. I have also just finished a book about beavers with Barrington Stoke, a story about one girl trying to fit into a new landscape and beavers being the agents of change of that landscape and also the girl’s life too. You have a wealth of children’s books under your belt, along with a number of prestigious awards, what originally brought you into writing for children? And what do you enjoy most about writing for this audience? I suppose when I started writing, I wanted to tell a story. I had a desire to write. It was a simple as that. When you write for children, you don’t really write for children, you write as the child you once were, but with a greater ability for articulation of emotions and thoughts. You can’t please everyone, so you have to write the story you want to read, and for me this has always been about wild animals and wild places. Over the past ten years it’s been a real privilege to meet so many readers. I hadn’t anticipated that it would be part of a writing career, but it has been, and continues to be great fun. Perhaps the thing I have appreciated most is being able to develop my own voice to speak out about human and environmental justice. And I hope to encourage young people to use their voices too, because collectively, we can all bring about real change. Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring children’s writers? The most important thing is to stay curious about the world. Why? Is a word children often use, and adults seem to lose the capacity to use it. So, keep on asking, ‘why?’. Expand your world view by reading, listening to others and observing the world. And practice writing; experiment, have fun, push your boundaries and learn from your mistakes. Write about what makes you laugh, what makes you cry and what makes you angry – this way you will engage your readers. For me, character is everything in a story. An exciting plot but with dull characters doesn’t engage me. Yet, a story told through character can be powerful whether or not told on a high-octane adventure, or monologue in a bus queue. This question is about your favourite children’s/YA books! What’s a book you loved as a child, a book you love now, and a book you can’t wait to read? A book I loved as a child: Snow Goose by Paul Gallico because it made me a reader. A book I love now: Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan because of the extraordinary marriage of words and images A book I can’t wait to read: I’ve heard a lot about Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and I’m going to dive in and give it a go. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one thing with you, what would you bring and why? My dog. If you own a dog, you probably know the reason why. And if you don’t know why I’d take my dog, please read A Street Dog Named Pup! If you could invite any five people – past and present, real and fictional – to a dinner party, who would you invite and why? Oh this is a hard one. I’d invite Remy, the rat from Ratatouille to come and cook and because he’s kind and funny and a great cook. I’d like to invite Ruth Tingay who is a conservationist and writer of the Raptor Persecution blog, because she has a sharp wit, is very knowledge and takes no nonsense from anyone. I’d invite Roy Dennis the osprey expert and conservationist behind the reintroduction of ospreys and white-tailed eagles because I’d love to know more. I’d invite Etta Lemon, one of the founders of the RSPB because I’d want to ask her why she didn’t support women’s suffrage when she fought so fiercely for the birds. And I’d invite my eight year old self because I think she would be interested in what the other people had to say, although suspect she would probably want to spend her time nattering with a talking rat in the kitchen. Gill Lewis is a multi award-winning children's author and activist for environmental justice and change. Her books explore our human relationship with the natural world. She lives on the edge of the Somerset Levels and writes from a tree house in the company of squirrels. Gill Lewis is a multi award-winning children’s author and activist for environmental justice and change. Her books explore our human relationship with the natural world. She lives on the edge of the Somerset Levels and writes from a tree house in the company of squirrels. gilllewis.com | @gill__lewis Sky Hawk 10th Anniversary Edition is published by Oxford Children’s Books.

I’d love to start off by finding out more about your thrilling Ancient Roman setting! What kind of research did you undergo for this? What’s the most unexpected thing you learnt while writing and researching your book? I have a PhD in Classics and I used to work as a research assistant to authors and TV companies on books and dramas about the ancient world. But I knew next to nothing about chariot-racing when I started writing Race to the Death, although I had been to the site of the Circus Maximus in Rome. So my first port of call was the library – not exactly Indiana Jones, but that’s where the treasured is buried and I’m never happier than when I’m following a trail through the book stacks. I drew on a wide range of sources to create as authentic a portrait as possible, including accounts by Roman writers which give us a taste of what it was like to be in the crowd watching a race and the fanatical behaviour of some of the supporters. One of the latter was the Emperor Caligula, who features as a character in my book and really was an obsessive fan of the Green racing faction, as I describe him. Images from ancient art give us our best idea of how the chariots were designed and what the charioteers wore, while we also have inscriptions which tell us the names and colours of the horses and the career statistics of the best drivers. But my favourite research moment – and the one that surprised me the most – was reading about some chariot games tokens that were found in the grave of a young Roman girl. It’s such a powerful image – the idea that perhaps this girl loved watching the races, and her family buried the tokens with her as a keepsake of a happy day. I really held that in my mind when I was writing Dido’s story. Did you travel to Italy at any point whilst writing your book? One of the perks of my teaching job is that I get to tag along on school trips. In non-Covid years, the school where I work runs a Classics trip to the Mediterranean every Easter, organised by a brilliant retired colleague of mine. So I did get to visit Rome in the early stages of writing Race to the Death – accompanied by twenty children – and I’ve been there quite a few times before. It’s always a wonderful treat, but my favourite place in Italy to visit is actually Florence. I’ve eaten some of the best food of my life there, and it’s the most heartachingly beautiful city. I’m also longing to go to Venice. For readers wanting to travel in your literary footsteps, do you have any local and/or international hotspots or recommendations that inspired Circus Maximus? The chariot-racing stadium still exists in Rome today doesn’t it! You can certainly still visit the site of the Circus Maximus and it’s very well worth it, although there’s not much left of the of the original stadium, just a huge grassy footprint of it, where locals like to have their lunchtime picnics. But it’s enough to give you some sense of the extraordinary scale of the original, which could accommodate as many as 250,000 spectators, five times as many as its more famous counterpart, the Colosseum, and double the capacity of any modern sporting ground. I’d also recommend a visit to the Palatine hill, which overlooks the Circus Maximus and from where the Roman emperors had direct access, from the imperial residence, to a viewing box high above the track, where they could watch the races in privileged comfort. I loved the spotlight you gave to females in sport! Was this important to you? Have you always been passionate about horses? I come from a sporty family and the TV at home was always tuned to cricket or football or similar. Given that I was never going to win control of the remote off my father and older brother, it was a case of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’ So I developed my own addiction to watching sport, everything from tennis to American football. And I realise now how important it was to have female sporting icons, women whose stories I could invest in and whose competitive spirit I could be inspired by. Two of my favourites were Steffi Graf – whose ice-cool composure under pressure just awed me - and Midori Ito, the Japanese figure skater, who was the first woman to land a triple axel jump in competition. I was watching her on TV when she did it and I still remember the euphoria I felt at seeing the joyful look on her face when she landed. And yes, I have always been passionate about horses – I was lucky enough to ride when I was younger – and so the three-day eventer Ginny Leng was another figure I looked up to when I was growing up. Do you have any reading recommendations for sporty children’s books? Most of the sporty children’s books I’ve read involve horses, I confess. The one I love best is National Velvet by Enid Bagnold – about a young girl who dreams of riding her horse to victory in the Grand National - which was a big inspiration for Dido’s story. For other horse-mad children, I’d recommend The One Dollar Horse trilogy by Lauren St. John and anything by the Pullein-Thompson sisters. But I’ve got several non-horsey sporting titles on my reading list, including The Dream Team: Jaz Santos vs. the World by Priscilla Mante, and Princess BMX by Marie Basting. You also touch on the importance of equality, bravery and being true to yourself. What originally drew you to explore these themes and what do you hope readers take away from Dido’s story? I have always loved stories about underdogs, about people who challenge others’ preconceptions about what they will and won’t be able to do. I’m a proud feminist and passionate about the rights of women and girls around the world. If my book has a message, it’s to try to be true to yourself. That’s what Dido has to keep sight of, just like Velvet Brown before her. Dido has all these people telling her she can never be a charioteer and she should do all the traditional things expected of a young Roman girl. But she knows where her passion lies and sticks to her guns in trying to make her dream come true, despite the risks. If you could spend the day with Dido but in the 21st century (!), what would you plan? That is such an awesome question. Thank you. First, I’d cook her pancakes for breakfast – she’s only ever had them Roman style so I’d like to see what she makes of them the way I grew up eating them, with butter and lots of maple syrup. Then – in the fantasy world where time, space and alternate reality makes all of this possible – I’d take her on a sporting odyssey. First, we’d go and watch Laura Trott and Katie Archibald win cycling gold at the Olympic velodrome. (I have a notion that Dido might enjoy cycling, something about the shape of the track). Next, we’d see Serena Williams clinch her 24th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, equalling Margaret Court’s record at last. Then we’d nip back a few months and stand at the finish line to watch Rachael Blackmore win the Grand National. Finally, we’d magically finish up in Bermuda, where I was born, borrow a couple of horses and canter along the beach at sunset before Dido has to return home. You studied Classics at Cambridge University and have worked as a historical researcher and Latin teacher, what brought you into writing for children? And what do you enjoy most about writing for a middle grade audience? I had a couple of books published before Race to the Death – one fiction and one non-fiction - both on the subject of ancient Rome and both aimed at adult readers. But as soon as I started writing Dido’s story, I knew I was finally writing in my true author voice after many years of trying to figure out what that really was. Having said that, I wasn’t really sure what audience it would end up suiting. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t even know the term ‘middle grade’ before I started writing the book. But I think the reason I feel so at home writing for this age bracket is these were the years which were the most formative for me as a reader and when I devoured books most fervently. So it feels really joyous to try to write a story that my younger self might have loved (though it’s very much for the adult version of me too). What’s next for your writing journey? Will we be seeing more of Dido in the near future? You certainly will, I’m happy to say. There is a sequel to Race to the Death coming in February, titled Rivals on the Track, and it follows Dido in the next chapter of her adventures, which will see her trying to stay one step ahead of the Emperor Caligula, who is trying to track down the mysterious female charioteer who absconded from Rome with his favourite horse. At the same time, Dido is learning more about her mother’s family and a closely-kept secret about them which has been hidden from her all her life. Meanwhile, Circus Maximus III is underway….and there will be a fourth book after that as well. So watch this space. Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring children’s writers? For me, the important thing has been learning to have faith in the workings of my own imagination and accept that there might be something in there worth sharing. The second thing I’d recommend is to trust in the intelligence of your young audience – I’d rather overestimate than underestimate it. Otherwise, if you’re finding the going tough, the best advice I can offer is to echo the words of James Baldwin, which I keep on a postcard on my desk for the many times when I need it. On the subject of writing, he says, ‘Every form is difficult, no one is easier than the other. They all kick your ass. None of it comes easy.’ This question is about your favourite children’s/YA books! What’s a book you loved as a child, a book you love now, and a book you can’t wait to read? I’ve already mentioned National Velvet, but another book – or series of books - I was obsessed with as a child was Anne of Green Gables. It’s lovely to see more kids discovering it now as a result of the Netflix series Anne with an ‘E’ although my heart belongs to the 1980s TV version starring Megan Follows. The book I love now is the classic, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I only read this for the first time as an adult, a few years ago, and it immediately leaped to the top of my all-time favourite list. More than any other book I can think of, it absolutely captures the uncertainty, idealism and heartache of growing up. The book I can’t wait to read is The Swallows’ Flight by Hilary McKay. I absolutely loved The Skylarks’ War and have bought copies of it for many of my friends and their children. One of the best books I’ve read in the last few years, children’s title or no. If you could invite any five people – past and present, real and fictional – to a dinner party, who would you invite and why? Nigella Lawson - so that we could talk about food, even though I’d be nervous about cooking for her. James Baldwin - because I can’t imagine there being a more interesting person to listen to. David Sedaris - because I love his writing and I imagine he’d be an excellent and entertaining guest. And Bruce Springsteen and Dolly Parton – because I love their music and maybe I could persuade them to sing a duet. Annelise Gray was born in Bermuda and moved to the UK as a child. She grew up riding horses and dreaming of becoming a writer. After gaining a PhD in Classics from Cambridge, she worked as a researcher for authors and TV companies on topics as varied as Helen of Troy, Russian princesses and the history of labradors. She's previously published a history of the women of the Roman Empire and a crime novel set in the Roman Republic. Annelise's debut children's novel, Circus Maximus: Race to the Death, was published by Zephyr in 2021. Annelise lives with her husband in Dorset where she teaches Latin. annelisegray.co.uk | @AnneliseGray

Illustrations by Louis Ghibault We're here to let you in on a secret... The world is full of MONSTERS! Ogres, hobgoblins, trolls, crusted hairy snot nibblers - they're all out there, causing trouble or trying to eat your aunt. And we need YOUR help to stop them. Are you ready to be a monster hunter? But Monster Hunting isn’t as easy as it looks. And Jack should know. Because an ogre has just appeared in his garden and tried to EAT HIS AUNT. After (sort of accidentally) defeating the ogre, Jack finds himself apprenticed to a grumpy, 200-year-old monster hunter called Stoop and heading off to Cornwall, where more ogres are causing havoc. All he has are his wits, his catapult and a magical – sometimes unreliable – book called Monster Hunting for Beginners. Jack’s a bit worried he might not be the hero everyone’s waiting for. But then again, how many terrifying, bloodthirsty monsters can there really be...? (Answer: ABSOLUTELY LOADS. And a bear called Humbert). Ian Mark is a comical genius - his debut is the best thing since Cressida Cowell's How To Train Your Dragon! Dazzlingly silly and brilliantly fun, Monster Hunting for Beginners is bulging and burping with vivid originality, side-splitting mayhem, and an impressive cast of eccentric creatures that quite frankly give the likes of Monsters Inc and The Addams Family a good run for their money. Not to mention it's irresistibly fast paced - chapters are just a few pages at most! - and is packed with some truly uproarious illustrations by the talented Louis Ghibault. Young readers will gobble up this story in one monstrously mouth-watering bite and be left hungry for more. Fans of The Beast and the Bethany and David Walliams' Mega Monster are going to devour this one! PERFECT FOR FANS OF A big thank you to Farshore Books and Liz Scott for inviting me to be apart of the massive monster blog tour!

The Raven Heir has a gorgeous medieval fantasy setting inspired by the Welsh landscape and the War of the Roses. What’s the most unexpected thing you learnt while writing and researching your book? The most unexpected thing I learnt was just how many of the “rightful heirs to the throne” in the Wars of the Roses were just kids at the time, used as pawns by their powerful families – and thrown into deadly peril. How did you go about planning and building the world of Corvenne? Corvenne was inspired by medieval Wales during the time of the Wars of the Roses – but the fact that magic exists in this fantasy kingdom and its land is infused with power from ancient spirits obviously changed everything in some very big ways! So, I based the society very loosely on our medieval era, but then I plotted out the magical history of the world and felt free to make plenty of social changes because of it. Each triplet has a magical power that beautifully captures each of their personalities. What would your magical power be? I would love to have Cordelia’s power and be able to shapeshift into different animal forms! It would be so much fun. I adored the triplet’s relationship and their special bond with one another. How did your own sibling relationships inspire this and what’s the best piece of life advice you’ve ever received from your siblings? I have two younger brothers whom I love very much, and we’re still very close now as adults even though we live scattered around the world. Even now, living in different countries, they’re always the first ones I reach out to (online or by phone) when I’m upset or scared, and that knowledge that they will always have my back (no matter how much we might bicker from time to time!) inspired the rock-solid foundation of the triplets’ relationships in my novel. As far as life advice, I can’t think of a single line to repeat, but they’ve both always encouraged me to stand up for myself and for what feels right even in difficult situations. You also touch on the importance of power and conflict, bravery and freedom. What originally drew you to explore these themes and what do you hope readers take away from The Raven Heir? In The Raven Heir, my heroine and her siblings are faced with a kingdom that seems irretrievably broken, and many adults tell them that there’s nothing that can be done to fix it, so they ought to just run away and hide. They choose instead to fight to make things better – and I hope readers will take that sense of empowerment with them as they face our own real world challenges. What gravitates you to writing fantasy adventures? And what do you enjoy most about writing for a middle grade audience? I love the sense of wonder in fantasy! It expands my imagination and gives me hope. I love writing for a middle grade audience not only because I enjoy the genre so much (as a reader as well as a writer!) but also because it’s such a glorious opportunity to write some of the first fantasy adventures kids will ever read. That is a gift I truly cherish. Who are your go-to magical, fantasy authors for children? Of the authors working now, my absolute go-tos for really magical fantasy are Amy Wilson, Maria Kuzniar, Zetta Elliott, Tracey Baptiste, Jenn Reese, and Aisha Bushby! As an award-winning author for both adult and children’s books, do you have any advice/tips for aspiring writers? Read voraciously in every genre that interests you, trade critiques with other writers whenever possible, and write books you truly love rather than trying to chase after what “the market” might seem to want at any given moment. What’s next for your writing journey? Will we be seeing more of Cordelia, Giles and Rosalind? Yes! The Raven Throne will continue their journey. This question is about your favourite children’s/YA books! What’s a book you loved as a child, a book you love now, and a book you can’t wait to read? I loved The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper as a child, I love Lamar Giles’s The Last Last-Day-of-Summer now, and I can’t wait to read Maria Kuzniar’s next Ship of Shadows book! If you could invite any five people – past and present, real and fictional – to a dinner party, who would you invite and why? Honestly, after being separated for so long from my birth family (all of whom still live in the U.S.) by the covid-19 pandemic, I’d gather my parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law around the table in a heartbeat, without a second thought! There’s a reason why I focus on families in so many of my novels, and it has everything to do with how much I cherish my own family relationships. The Raven Heir (Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2021) is out now! Shop via bookshop.org here. You can read my review of the book here. Stephanie Burgis grew up in America but now lives in Wales with her husband (fellow writer Patrick Samphire), their two young sons, and their extremely vocal tabby cat. In between those two points, she spent time playing in orchestras, studying music history in Vienna, and editing the website of an opera company in Leeds. She writes fun, funny MG fantasy adventures for kids and wildly romantic historical fantasy novels for adults. You can keep up with her new releases, read exclusive short stories and get sneak peeks at upcoming works by signing up to her website stephanieburgis.com. @stephanieburgis

Cover artwork by Petur Antonsson Lettering by David Dean A set of magical triplets, two warring dynasties, a perilous quest across an enchanted forest, and a broken crown waiting for its rightful owner… The Raven Heir is an irresistible slice of fast-paced fantasy fiction to truly get lost in. I loved every minute I spent in Corvenne and I'm already desperate to return for more. Cordelia and her triplets Rosalind and Giles have lived safely in the castle at the centre of the forest all their lives, protected by the spells their mother has woven. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is when she turns into a dragonfly or a blackbird and can fly beyond the great stone walls. But then one day the outside world comes to them. Two rival dukes and their soldiers have come for the triplets - because whoever is the eldest is the heir to the throne. But their mother knows that since the Raven Crown was broken, no one has been able to rule the kingdom of Corvenne and live, and she will not give up any of her children to that death sentence. When she refuses to reveal which child is the eldest, she is taken prisoner, and Cordelia and her brother and sister find themselves on the run in a dangerous new world. And as they set out across Corvenne to rescue their mother, Cordelia begins to see that there is a deep magic at work, driving her towards a destiny that could tear her family apart, take away her freedom forever or, just maybe, heal a kingdom devastated by a war that has raged for generations. Richly atmospheric and breathtakingly thrilling, The Raven Heir definitely gave me Disney's Brave meets The Wizards of Once vibes but with a gorgeous medieval twist. Inspired by the War of the Roses and the wild British landscapes, Burgis's storytelling pulses with a warm, classical charm whilst still boldly exploring the double-edged sword of power, politics and freedom. I adored Cordelia and her triplets Rosalind and Giles, each beautifully different from the other but connected by a love much deeper than magic and blood. Bring on book two! PERFECT FOR FANS OF

An A-Z of YA. 26 letters. 26 YA books. Read the world one letter at a time with this A-Z of YA booklist! What would your A-Z of YA look like? Anna K. by Jenny Lee 📍 NEW YORK CITY Leo Tolstoy’s timeless love story Anna Karenina is irresistibly reimagined in the scandalous, dazzling age of stilettos and social media. Welcome to New York’s Upper East Side: where privilege, partying and scandal rules. Anna K is the golden girl of New York high society. She’s beautiful, she’s kind, she’s unbelievably rich, and she has the perfect boyfriend. Until she meets Alexi Vronsky. He’s a notorious playboy, totally gorgeous, and he only has eyes for Anna. Perfect for fans of Crazy Rich Asians and Gossip Girl. Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay 📍 THE PHILIPPINES The Philippines, 100 years ago. A boy called Samkad wants to become a man. He is desperate to be given his own shield, spear and axe. His best friend, Luki, wants to be a warrior too – but she is a girl and that is forbidden. Then a new boy arrives in the village and everything changes. He brings news that a people called ‘Americans’ are bringing war right to his home… Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle 📍 JAMAICA Inspired by the true story of Tacky’s War in Jamaica, 1760. The only life fourteen-year-old Moa has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugar cane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa must face his first great task: to kill his overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking, the day of the uprising approaches… Dragonfly Eyes by Cao Wenxuan, translated by Helen Wang 📍 SHANGHAI, CHINA and FRANCE A beautiful, tender family saga spanning fifty years and three generations, which takes the reader from the France of the Golden Age to poverty-stricken post-war 1960s Shanghai via the re-imagined rural China of the Cultural Revolution. Enchantée by Gita Trelease 📍 PARIS, FRANCE Paris, 1789. Seventeen-year-old Camille survives the streets by using the magic she learnt from her mother. But when her brother disappears Camille decides to pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. But Camille’s resentment of the rich is at odds with the allure of their glamour and excess, and she soon discovers that she’s not the only one leading a double life… Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez 📍 ARGENTINA In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father. On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna 📍 WEST AFRICA In this West African-inspired world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice. When sixteen-year-old Deka bleeds gold – the colour of impurity, of a demon – she faces a consequence worse than death. But when a mysterious woman tells Deka of her true nature, she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts, she must have a choice: fight for the Emperor alongside the Alaki, or be destroyed… Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo 📍 SUDAN and USA A powerful novel-in-verse that captures one girl, caught between cultures, on an unexpected journey to face the ephemeral girl she might have been. Woven through with moments of lyrical beauty, this is a tender meditation on family, belonging, and home. Internment by Samira Ahmed 📍 USA Set in a horrifying ‘fifteen minutes in the future’ United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin is forced into an internment camp for Muslim-Americans along with her parents. With the help of newly-made friends also trapped within the camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp’s Director and his guards. Just One Day by Gayle Forman 📍 EUROPE When Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey of Shakespeare, love and learning to break free of the narrow confines of her life. The Khan by Saima Mir 📍 United Kingdom Successful London lawyer Jia Khan is a long way from the grubby Northern streets she knew as a child, where her father, Akbar Khan, led the Pakistani community and ran the local organised crime syndicate. But when her father is murdered, Jia must return to take his place and a bloody power struggle has broken out among warring communities and nobody is safe. Justice needs to be restored, and Jia is about to discover that justice always comes at a cost. Love From A to Z by S. K. Ali 📍 QATAR When Zayneb gets suspended from school she heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break with a resolution to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her. Then her path crosses with Adam’s who’s grappling not only with his Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis but also how to break it to his family. But can a spring break romance last when they have to leave the magic of Doha behind them? Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw 📍 NEW ORLEANS, USA New Orleans Fang Fest, 1995. When 17-year-old Mina arrives in New Orleans to visit her sister, she can’t wait to explore the city’s darkest secrets – vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths. But the perfect summer bliss is broken when someone begins replicating New Orleans’ most brutal supernatural killings and it’s down to Mina to discover the truth. Nothing But the Truth by Dick Lehr 📍 BOSTON, USA Trell was only a baby when her father was imprisoned, but she has always been certain of his innocence. Twelve years after his conviction, she persuades a down-on-his-luck reporter and a determined lawyer to help clear her father’s name. Inspired by the true story. Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen 📍 GERMANY A teenage spy. A Nazi boarding school. The performance of a lifetime. Sarah has played many roles – but now she faces her most challenging of all. Because there’s only one way for a Jewish orphan spy to survive at a school for the Nazi elite. And that’s to become a monster like them.They think she is just a little girl. But she is the weapon they never saw coming… with a mission to destroy them all. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay 📍 THE PHILIPPINES When Jay Reguero hears of his cousin Jun’s death, everything changes. Although years have passed since they were last in contact, the stories about Jun just don’t fit with the boy Jay knew. Hoping to uncover the truth, Jay travels to Jun’s home in the Philippines – but the shocking realities of life there lead to even more questions. Can Jay find the answers he seeks? The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James 📍 LONDON, UK Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking and looking for treasure – until a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire existence. Now Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: they must decide what to sacrifice to save the whole human race… Romanov by Nadine Brandes 📍 RUSSIA Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them, and he’s hunted Romanov before. Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are either to release the spell and deal with the consequences, or to enlist help from Zash, a handsome Bolshevik soldier. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys 📍 GERMANY It’s early 1945 and a group of people trek across Germany, bound together by their desperation to reach the ship that can take them away from the war-ravaged land. Four young people, each haunted by their own dark secret, narrate their unforgettable stories. Based on a true story. Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada 📍 JAPAN When fifteen-year-old Yūki Hara Jones and her beloved grandpa are caught in the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, her life is changed forever. Beyond the immediate disaster lie even greater challenges, and a journey to a zone between this world and the next. Part prose and part manga. Under a Dancing Star by Laura Wood 📍 ITALY Bea longs for love and adventure but growing up in 1930s England she know’s she’ll one day have to marry someone her parents choose – someone rich enough to keep the family estate alive. When she gets the chance to spend the summer in Italy with her bohemian uncle a whole world is opened up to Bea – a world that includes Ben, a cocky young artist who just happens to be infuriatingly handsome too. A long, hot summer of kisses and mischief unfolds but every summer has to end… Inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black by Marcus and Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Alexis Deacon 📍 LONDON, UK When Harry Black learns that his brother Ellis has almost certainly been killed by a V2 rocket falling during a German air raid on London his search for him leads Harry deep into the city’s Underworld. Wolf Light by Yaba Badoe 📍 GHANA, CORNWALL and MONGOLIA Three girls born on the same day in wolf light are bound together to protect the world. They can dazzle or destroy. They have wind-song and fire-fury at their fingertips, but their enemies are everywhere. From the tropical forests of Ghana to the stormy moors of Cornwall, the lands they love are plundered and poisoned. The girls must rally to perfect their skills and prove the strength of sister-magic. Steeped in elemental myth, Wolf Light is a call to us all to hear the ancient power within us and conserve our heritage. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 📍 USA (I’ve cheated slightly with this one!) Xiomara has always kept her words to herself. When it comes to standing her ground in her Harlem neighbourhood, she lets her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But X has secrets – her feelings for a boy in her bio class, and the notebook full of poems that she keeps under her bed. And a slam poetry club that will pull those secrets into the spotlight. Because in spite of a world that might not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to stay silent. You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins 📍 INDIA AND USA Five girls. Three generations. One great American love story. Ranee, worried that her children are losing their Indian culture; Sonia, wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair; Tara, seeking the limelight to hide her true self; Shanti, desperately trying to make peace in the family; Anna, fighting to preserve her Bengali identity. Zara Hossain is Here by Sabina Khan 📍 TEXAS, USA Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Texas, laying low and trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family’s dependent visa status while they await their green card approval. But when Zara becomes the subject of a violent Islamophobia crime she must choose between fighting to stay in the only place she’s ever called home or losing the life she loves and everyone in it. An A-Z of YA. Enjoy your reading!