Category Archives: Book of the Week

The Keeper of Lost Things – Book of the Week

If you’re looking for a light-hearted, feel-good read to get you through December, you can’t do better than The Keeper of Lost Things, by Ruth Hogan.

Anthony Peardew has spent half his life collecting lost objects, trying to atone for a promise broken many years before.

Realising he is running out of time, he leaves his house and all its lost treasures to his assistant Laura, the one person he can trust to reunite the thousands of objects with their rightful owners.

But the final wishes of ‘The Keeper of Lost Things’ have unforeseen repercussions which trigger a most serendipitous series of encounters…

Anna and the Swallow Man, by Gavriel Swift – Book of the Week

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This week’s Book of the Week is the beautifully written allegorical tale of Anna, aged seven and abandoned in wartime Poland.

Kraków, 1939, is no place to grow up. There are a million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. And Anna Lania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father and suddenly, she’s alone.

Then she meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall. And like Anna’s missing father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird. When he summons a bright, beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced.

Over the course of their travels together, Anna and the Swallow Man will dodge bombs, tame soldiers, and even, despite their better judgement, make a friend. But in a world gone mad, everything can prove dangerous . . .

Blame by Simon Mayo – Book of the Week

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Book of the Week this week is for those of you who love a terrifying dystopian story.

Heritage crime [noun]: A previously undetected crime committed by your parents or grandparents for which you are held responsible.

Ant and her brother, Mattie, are locked up in Spike, a new family prison.

Society demands that they do time for the unpunished heritage crimes of their parents.

Tension is simmering inside the jail.

When the tension breaks and a riot begins, Ant realizes they’ve got one chance to break out.

It’s time for Ant to show the world that they’re NOT TO BLAME.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – Book of the Week

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This week’s Book of the Week is a powerful and shocking story about standing up for what you believe is right, despite the consequences.

“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re going to be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

The Adventures of John Blake by Philip Pullman and Fred Fordham – Book of the Week

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Far out at sea, and hidden by the fog of time, sails the Mary Alice and her crew – searching for a way home.

But the mysterious ship is being hunted by a villain who will go to ANY lengths to track her down…

When a storm hits a small family yacht throwing a young girl overboard, John Blake dives in to save her and brings her aboard the so-called ghost ship. But trying to return her to her own time means going back to the one place where they run the greatest risk of being completely annihilated.

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle – Book of the Week

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This week’s Book of the Week is an imaginative, almost dream-like story.

It’s the accident season, the same time every year. Bones beak, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara’s life for as long as she can remember: a month of mysterious injuries and tragedies, which casts a constant shadow over Cara and her family.

This year, the accident season will break more than just bones. Because Cara is starting to ask questions – and all her family’s secrets will rise to the surface.

The Infernal Devices manga – Book of the Week

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This week’s Book of the Week is actually Books of the Week – the three volumes of Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices re-visualised as manga, with art by Hyekyung Baek. I’m told they’re very good! You can find them on the New Books display on the Library Desk.

A Library of Lemons by Jo Cotterill – Book of the Week

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I have chosen one of the new books for this week’s Book of the Week – a wonderful, warm story which I read over the Easter holidays. A Library of Lemons is all about the power of friendship and how important it is to look after one another.

Calypso usually keeps her head buried in a book – but when a new girl joins her class who also loves reading and writing, it sparks a close and special friendship. Mae’s home is busy, lively and noisy, just like her – and Calypso loves spending time there.

Since her mother died Calypso’s dad has grown distant, and keeps to himself. But when she discovers the sad secret hidden in her father’s library, she realises that something is very wrong.

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl – Book of the Week

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This week’s featured book is a fantastic Victorian steampunk adventure, with a fearless heroine and a clockwork fox called Malkin. I absolutely loved it!

Some secrets change the world in a heartbeat.

Lily’s life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her?

With her friends – Robert, the clockmaker’s son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox – Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart…

Murder, mayhem and mystery meet in this gripping Victorian adventure.

If you click on the book cover the link will take you to Peter Bunzl’s official website where there are lots of freebies, including how to write your own Penny Dreadful and how to make a Zoetrope (which is an early form of animation) and free gifs, including this running fox gif, (which I really like and may have to permanently post on the blog sidebar). Have a look!

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan – Book of the Week

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Book of the Week this week is a new collaborative novel by two of the most exciting authors writing for teenagers today, Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan. It tells the story of Jess and Nicu.

Nicu is so not Jess’s type. He’s all big eyes and ill-fitting clothes, eager as a puppy, even when they’re picking up litter in the park for community service. Appearances matter to Jess. She has a lot to hide.

Nicu shouldn’t even be looking at Jess. His parents are planning his marriage to a girl he’s never met back home in Romania. But he wants to work hard, do better, stay here.

As they grow closer, their secrets surface like bruises. And as the world around them grows more hostile, the only safe place Jess and Nicu have is with each other.

We Come Apart is a verse novel, told in alternate voices. It’s an eye-opening read.