Reading and literacy unlocks the curriculum for students and provides a foundation for excellence in all subjects. Indeed, literacy is about people’s ability to function in society as private individuals, active citizens, employees or parents. Additionally it is about people’s self-esteem, their interaction with others, their health and employability. Ultimately whether a society is fit for the future.

Ken Stimpson offers a range of opportunities both inside and outside the classroom designed to enrich students’ reading and writing skills, vocabulary knowledge and oral communication. Our passionate and knowledgeable teachers are able to deliver challenging and engaging lessons, and nurture students towards success. A whole-school approach to reading and literacy is essential to support our students in developing keys skills which aims to increase their progress in all subjects.

The aims of our reading and literacy strategy are as follows:

• To enable students to have skills to be able to achieve good GCSE grades including English and Maths;
• To develop reading and literacy skills to allow all students to access the curriculum;
• To ensure all students have good functional reading and literacy skills to enable them to access documents and literacy in the future;
• To ensure additional support is provided for students with SEN, EAL or Pupil Premium as appropriate;
• To instill a passion for reading, which students carry with them throughout their time with us and into the future;
• For staff from all faculties to take responsibility for raising standards of reading and literacy across the school.

We implement this strategy in a number of ways including:

• Reading tests and re-tests to establish levels and identify needed interventions.
• Year 7 and 8 guided reading during tutor time twice a week.
• Reading clubs for both staff and students.
• Author visits.
• Reading week activities.
• Regular reading competitions.
• Speaking and Listening Activity days.
• Working with Primary schools for early intervention.
• Distributing information via the website and newsletters for staff, students and parents.
• Library access for years 7, 8 and 9 during social and tutor times via a rotation for quiet reading and library access.
• Encouraging reading outside of the curriculum and discussion within lessons.

The Tutor Reading Programme provides Students in years 7-10 with at least four reading sessions of up to 30 minutes each week. This ‘daily diet’ of reading indicates the importance and value of reading. Additionally, it supports our whole school strategy of ensuring our young people receive the best possible deal in their education whilst they are in school. The programme intent is to promote engagement with quality reading and a love of reading. Our students will be equipped language and vocabulary for both their school and future life. Specifically, focus is placed on tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, understanding of unfamiliar words to boost knowledge together with empathy of characters and situations. The texts are thought provoking and leads into oracy skills development through discussion of key aspects and events. In turn, critical thinking and evaluative skills are enhanced.

The reading books have been selected from a canon and feature a variety of authors, eras, settings, contexts, genres, themes. The books have been chosen to broaden horizons and understanding of cultures and situations in life. This provides important student experiences in the safety of literature; we do not shy aware from challenging topics.

The goal is that each student will read at least five books this academic year.

Fiction

Young Bond: SilverFin

SilverFin is the first explosive book in Charlie Higson's bestselling Young Bond series. Before the name became a legend. Before the boy became a man. Meet Bond. James Bond.

Emily Windsnap

Emily Windsnap lives on a boat, but her mother has always been oddly anxious to keep her out of the water. It is only when Emily has her first school swimming lesson that she discovers why: as soon as she gets into the water, she grows a tail!

The White Giraffe

Lauren St John's descriptions of southern Africa provide a sumptuous backdrop.... top-drawer adventure storytelling, with an added helping of fantasy thrown in. It all makes for a genuinely gripping tale that will warm even the coldest of hearts.

Time Riders

Liam O'Connor should have died at sea in 1912.

Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010.
Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2029.
Yet moments before death, someone mysteriously appeared and said, 'Take my hand . . .' But Liam, Maddy and Sal aren't rescued. They are recruited by an agency that no one knows exists, with only one purpose - to fix broken history. Because time travel is here, and there are those who would go back in time and change the past.

That's why the TimeRiders exist: to protect us. To stop time travel from destroying the world . . .

Murder Most Unladylike

When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia's missing tie. Which they don't.).Then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She assumes it was a terrible accident - but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove one happened in the first place.

Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief

I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. Now I spend my time battling monsters and generally trying to stay alive. This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.

The Shapeshifter

Adventure, conspiracy and shapeshifting - X-Men meets Alex Rider.

Dax Jones is an ordinary schoolboy . . . until something extraordinary happens. Whilst frightened for his life, he inexplicably changes into a fox! He is offered a place at a secret government school where he can develop, and learn to control, his powers. But if Dax accepts, on no account can he tell anybody.

Dax jumps at the chance of getting away from his unhappy home. But before long he begins to wonder who exactly is behind the school, and what they want from the pupils there. Suddenly Dax's fox senses are on high alert . . .

Gold of the Gods

The first book in an explosive adventure series from real-life survival expert BEAR GRYLLS

Mission: Survival

Location: The Colombian Jungle

Dangers: Snakes; starvation; howler monkeys

Beck Granger is lost in the jungle with no food, no compass, and no hope of rescue. But Beck is no ordinary teenager - he's the world's youngest survival expert. If anyone can make it out alive, he can.

Cogheart

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.

Non-Fiction

Does Anything Eat Wasps?

How long can I live on beer alone? Why do people have eyebrows? Has nature invented any wheels? Plus ninety-nine other questions answered.

Read Me Out Loud

Read Me Out Loud contains a poem for every day of the year from the very best modern and classic poets.

The following books are recommended home reading opportunities for Year 8

Classics

Fables - Aesop

A glimpse into the everyday lives of the Ancient Greeks and lessons in the consequences of wrongdoing!

Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

It is now 153 years since this magical story was published but it still remains one of our best loved tales. “Curiouser and curiouser........”

What Katy Did - Susan Coolidge

A story of an engaging tomboy who longs to be beautiful and kind and the dreadful accident that gives her the chance to achieve her dreams.

The Silver Sword - Ian Serrallier

The story of 4 children’s struggle to stay alive throughout the years of Nazi occupation and their epic journey from war-torn Poland to Switzerland to find their parents.

Black Beauty - Anna Sewell

The autobiography of a horse, the adventures of Black Beauty will remain with you forever.

The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

A saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls, an exciting epic of magical travel and adventure. Masterful storytelling!

Great Reads

Chains - Laurie Halse Anderson

New York 1776. As the American Revolutionar War rages, a 13 year old girl pursues her own fight...........for freedom.

Noughts and Crosses Trilogy - Malorie Blackman

A gripping, stimulating and totally absorbing series set in a world where black and white are right and wrong.

One, Apple and Rain - Sarah Crossan

A poignant and thought-provoking novel, written in free verse to create a highly emotive and engaging story.

A story about sad endings, happy beginings and a story to make you realise who is special.

The Everest Files - Matt Dickinson

A story of an Everest expedition unlike any other. An expedition that ended with mysterious disappearances …….and death.

A shocking tale of lies, betrayal and obsession all played out on the lethal slopes of the highest mountain in the world.

Bone Talk - Candy Gourlay

The Philippines, 100 years ago. A mesmerising story about coming of age and fear of the different.

Well researched, convincing and written with respect, this is a book that takes the reader on a memorable journey and stays in the mind for a long time.

After the Fire - Will Hill

A book that shows the power of manipulation of people's actions and beliefs through the use fear and faith. A thoughtfully written novel, touching many emotions encountered by a variety of characters.

The Secret Countess, Magic Flutes - Eva Ibbotson

Enchanting and enthralling romances!

Young Sherlock Holmes (series) - Andrew Lane

Think you know him? Think again!

The Land of Neverendings - Kate Saunders

Moving, raw and funny in all the right ways; a rip-roaring adventure that also gives an honest portrayal of grief for young readers, and shows us that whilst sadness does exist in the world, it doesn't have to cancel out happiness, or silliness, even when you lose someone you love.

The Ghosts of Heaven - Marcus Sedgwick

Four short stories so different in style yet each equally strong and with beautifully judged use of language. Each story is interesting, powerful and thought-provoking.

The One Dollar Horse (trilogy) - Lauren St John

A ‘dream- come-true’ story set in inner city London. Any dream is achievable if you are willing to put in the hard work and make the sacrifices.

Fire Colour One - Jenny Valentine

A bold and brilliant novel about love, lies and redemption.

Wolf Hollow, Beyond the Bright Sea - Lauren Wolk

Powerful, poignant and lyrical, Wolf Hollow is an unforgettable story.

Vivid and heartfelt, Beyond the Bright Sea is a gorgeously crafted, gripping tale of buried treasure and belonging.

Non-Fiction

Does Anything Eat Wasps?

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?

Philip Ardagh's Book of Absolutely Useless Lists!

The following books are recommended home reading opportunities for Year 9

Classics

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

An extraordinary tale of friendship and the horrors of war seen through the eyes of two young boys

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay with her hunchback uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it. But when she finds the way into a secret garden and begins to tend it, a change comes over her and her life. She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them.

Charlotte Sometimes - Penelope Farmer

On Charlotte's first night at boarding school, she somehow slips back forty years!

The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling

A collection of stories, The Jungle Book expertly interweaves myth, morals, adventure and powerful story-telling.

Cider with Rosie

A wonderfully vivid memoir of childhood in a remote Cotswold village, a village before electricity or cars, a timeless place on the verge of change.

Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian

This compelling story of an abused child finding comfort, safety, and love through this old man can encourage and give hope to others similar to Wil. This book is not only entertaining but powerful, displaying life events that most people face: starting a new life, making friends, death, and more.

Great Reads

Rebound - Kwame Alexander

This verse novel echoes with the hip hop rhythms and bounce of a basketball game and the free flow of Grandaddy’s favourite jazz to great stylistic effect. The crisp poetry works sparingly to portray a family coming together and to terms with grief sensitively and poignantly, lightened by some great one liners along the way.

Readers will be gripped and ultimately uplifted by this affirming tale; “aim high, reach for the sky, take your piece of this world, and make it into something sweet.”

Looking for JJ and Finding Jennifer Jones - Anne Cassidy

A gripping and emotionally searing novel from a talented author, ‘ Looking for JJ’ explores the circumstances and motives behind the murder of a child - by her friend. Six years later, JJ has now been released, and has a new identity. But is there any way that she can lead a "normal" life?

Finding Jennifer Jones is the powerful sequel to the highly acclaimed, Carnegie Medal nominated Looking for JJ. It is a tense, emotional thriller about guilt, running away and wondering if you can ever truly know yourself.

The Everest Files - Matt Dickinson

A story of an Everest expedition unlike any other. An expedition that ended with mysterious disappearances …….and death.

A shocking tale of lies, betrayal and obsession all played out on the lethal slopes of the highest mountain in the world.

The Bone Sparrow - Zana Fraillon

Perfect for fans of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This is a beautiful, vivid and deeply moving story about a refugee boy who has spent his entire life living in a detention centre. This novel reminds us all of the importance of freedom, hope, and the power of a story to speak for anyone who's ever struggled to find a safe home.

Spilled Water - Sally Grindley

This powerful and compelling novel portrays the life of a young girl in China, a young girl whose life is said to be like 'spilled water'. With a brilliant first-person narrative and a powerful description of time and place, this novel is gripping, heart-wrenching and utterly mesmerising.

The Lie Tree, A Skinful of Shadows - Frances Hardinge

A richly imaginative, darkly gothic Victorian mystery, combining elements of the supernatural, natural science and the role of women in society.

This atmospheric historical novel is steeped in meticulous 17th century detail and has at its heart a resourceful, compassionate central character. Makepeace is aptly named as she must mediate between her own skinful of shadows, the spirits she carries with her, and the real world.

The Fastest Boy in the World - Elizabeth Laird

Solomon loves to run and dreams of being a gold medal winner. When his Grandfather collapses after a long journey Solomon knows he is the only person who can run for help. It’s a twenty mile run form the city to home. Can the barefooted runner with the big heart do it?

Girl, Missing - Sophie McKenzie

Lauren has always known she was adopted but when a little research turns up the possibility that she was snatched from an American family as a baby, suddenly Lauren's life seems like a sham. How can she find her biological parents? And are her adoptive parents really responsible for kidnapping her?

The World of Norm (series) - Jonathan Meres

Norman knew it was going to be one of those days when he woke up and found himself about to pee in his dad's wardrobe.

An award-winning, laugh-out-loud series for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and David Walliams.

The Stars at Oktober Bend - Glenda Millard

Compassionate, deeply moving, complex. Imagery to echo inside you for a very long time. Wisdom and kindness you want to sew deep into your own approach to life. Glorious.

Cool! - Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo’s inspiring new story of Robbie, a boy in a coma – victim of a car accident. Locked inside his own head, able to hear but not move or speak, Robbie tries to keep himself from slipping ever deeper into unconsciousness.

Things a Bright Girl Can Do - Sally Nicholls

The historical detail and contemporary dialogue are exemplary in this richly enjoyable yet hard-hitting and illuminating novel.

The stories and dilemmas of the original women’s movement are brought vividly to life in a jaunty, breezy style that shines a light on unexplored lives in the era of the Great War.

A timely and rewarding account of the inspirational struggle and sacrifice of women a mere century ago to establish their universal rights that will stay with the reader long after the final chapter.

Wonder - R J Palacio

WONDERFUL (pun intended) story of a boy born with a myriad of facial deformities including a cleft palate. His mother decides, after years of home-schooling, that Auggie should go to school. A hugely moving story, full of empathy and kindness. Tissues needed!

Alpha Force (series) - Chris Ryan

Tense, action packed adventure from ex SAS hero Chris Ryan, a man with first-hand experience of real-life operations in the field.

Saint Death - Marcus Sedgwick

A potent, powerful and timely thriller about migrants, drug lords and gang warfare set on the US/Mexican border

Anapra is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the Mexican city of Juarez - twenty metres outside town lies a fence, and beyond it, America - the dangerous goal of many a migrant. Faustino is one such trying to escape from the gang he's been working for. He's dipped into a pile of dollars he was supposed to be hiding and now he's on the run. He and his friend, Arturo, have only 36 hours to replace the missing money, or they're as good as dead.

Watching over them is Saint Death. Saint Death (or Santissima Muerte) - she of pure bone and charcoal-black eye, she of absolute loyalty and neutral morality. A folk saint, a rebel angel, a sinister guardian.

Non-Fiction

Does Anything Eat Wasps?

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?

Philip Ardagh's Book of Absolutely Useless Lists!

All these books are available in libraries and good bookshops.

The following books are recommended home reading opportunities for Year 10

Classics

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

An iconic tale of the lives of four sisters growing up in New England during the American Civil War.

The Body in the Library (or any other Marple/Poirot novel) - Agatha Christie

It’s seven in the morning. The Bantrys’ wake to find the body of a young woman in their library. She is wearing evening dress and heavy make-up, which is now smeared across her cheeks. One of the first full-length Miss Marple novels, set before and during the Second World War, sees the world's most accomplished amateur sleuth unravelling the dark side of human nature to uncover Murder Most Foul!

My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell

My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the Greek island of Corfu, but ended up as a delightful account of the family's experiences that were, according to Durrell himself, "rather like living in one of the more flamboyant and slapstick comic operas".

Animal Farm - George Orwell

“All animals are equal – but some are more equal than others”. George Orwell's chilling fable of Soviet Russia's brutal dictatorship, Animal Farm brings to life in lucid, uncomplicated language the disastrous project of Russian Communism.

Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Abandoned to his fate when his English parents die in the African jungle, a baby boy is rescued and reared by a loving ape foster mother. Conquering the savage laws of the wilderness, Tarzan grows into a mighty warrior and becomes leader of his tribe of apes until he encounters, for the first time, his own kind – humans. An expedition of white treasure hunters has entered his jungle kingdom, accompanied by the beautiful Jane Porter. Tarzan’s primitive heart is struck and he determines to become civilized in order to win her. But will the charms of this charming and cultured young woman overcome when the spirit of his wild nature beckons?

Around the World in Eighty Days/Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules Verne

Classic tales of travel and adventure!

Great Reads

The Poet X - Elizabeth Acevedo

Powerful, vibrant writing gives this verse narrative a sense of authentic voice. Xiomara comes alive on each page in a way which is compelling and full of tenderness. Her shame, defiance, passion and protectiveness are expressed in the only way she knows – through her treasured notebook of poetry. Xio is “brava” in every sense: fierce and tenacious. She launches herself into life battle-ready and the structure of the novel underpins this. Every poem in this stunning novel expertly peels back another layer in the life of a remarkable girl who tries to break the cycle, to find a way beyond using knuckles and anger.

Boys Don't Cry - Malorie Blackman

In Boys Don't Cry, bestselling author Malorie Blackman explores the unchartered territory of teenage fatherhood. You're waiting for the postman - he's bringing your A level results. University, a career as a journalist - a glittering future lies ahead. But when the doorbell rings it's your old girlfriend; and she's carrying a baby. Your baby. You're happy to look after it, just for an hour or two. But then she doesn't come back - and your future suddenly looks very different.

The Bunker Diary - Kevin Brooks

An exceptional, brave book that pulls no punches and offers no comfortable ending.

The Murder Notebooks (series) - Anne Cassidy

Taut and pacy thrillers from an acclaimed writer for teens

Tinder - Sally Gardner

Otto Hundebiss is tired of war, but when he defies Death he walks a dangerous path. A half beast half man gives him shoes and dice which will lead him deep into a web of dark magic and mystery.

Fairy tales are often the cruellest stories of all; in this exquisite novel Sally Gardner writes about great love and great loss.

The Luxe (series) - Anna Godbersen

Mystery, romance, jealousy, betrayal, humour and gorgeous, historically accurate details. Edith Wharton, Jane Austen and Agatha Christie rolled into one . . .

Cuckoo Song - Frances Hardinge

A breathtakingly dark and twisted tale about finding oneself, where magic and the aftermath of World War I walk hand in hand

Buffalo Soldier - Tanya Landman

Winner of the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2015. "What kind of a girl steals the clothes from a dead man's back and runs off to join the army? A desperate one. That's who." At the end of the American Civil War, Charley – a young African-American slave from the Deep South – is ostensibly freed. But then her adopted mother is raped and lynched at the hands of a mob and Charley is left alone. In a terrifyingly lawless land, where the colour of a person's skin can bring violent death, Charley disguises herself as a man and joins the army. Soon she's being sent to the prairies to fight a whole new war against the "savage Indians". Trapped in a world of injustice and inequality, it's only when Charley is posted to Apache territory that she begins to learn what it is to be truly free.

Tomorrow, When the War Began - John Marsden

Their country has been invaded. Everyone they know has been captured. Their world has changed overnight.

They've got no weapons - except courage.

They've got no help - except themselves.

They've got nothing - except friendship.

How strong could you be, if the world was full of people trying to kill you?

Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and Michael Grant - prepare to be hooked by the Tomorrow series.

Release - Patrick Ness

The most personal and tender novel yet from Patrick Ness

It's Saturday, it's summer and, although he doesn't know it yet, everything in Adam Thorn's life is going to fall apart. But maybe, just maybe, he'll find freedom from the release. Time is running out though, because way across town, a ghost has risen from the lake... This uplifting coming-of-age novel will remind you what it's like to fall in love.

This is not Forgiveness - Celia Rees

The brightest flames always leave the deepest scars. A brilliant, controversial and unsettling book.

Long Way Down - Jason Reynolds

This beautifully crafted verse novel powerfully considers the literal and figurative meaning of descent. Told over the course of one lift ride, there is a tangible tension that will leave readers breathless. Rhythm and rhyme are used to great effect, propelling both the reader and Will forwards. Impressive use of visceral imagery is made to brutally convey emotion and the novel’s message, whilst the physical layout of text is used to deepen the sense of Will’s isolation and grief. The open ending is both credible and hopeful, reflecting the theme of free will. This is a raw, painful and very current novel that demands to be read.

Lies We Tell Ourselves - Robin Talley

This is an emotional and compelling read that you will not want to put down. It is beautifully written and the tension just simmers on the pages.

Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein

Two young women become unlikely best friends during WWII, until one is captured by the Gestapo. The story begins in “Verity’s” own words, as she writes her account for her captors. Truth or lies? Honour or betrayal? Everything they've ever believed in is put to the test...

Elsewhere - Gabrielle Zevin

In this delightful novel death is a beginning, a new start. Liz is killed in a hit a run accident and her 'life' takes a very unexpected turn. At nearly sixteen she knows she will never get married, never have children, and perhaps never fall in love. But in Elsewhere all things carry on almost as they did on earth except that the inhabitants get younger, dogs and humans can communicate (at last) new relationships are formed and old ones sadly interrupted on earth are renewed. Full of the most ingenious detail and woven around the most touching and charming relationships this is a novel of hope, of redemption and re-birth. It is a novel that tells of sadness with heart-breaking honesty and of love and happiness with uplifting brilliance.

Non-Fiction

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

All these books are available in libraries and good bookshops.

The following books are recommended home reading opportunities for Year 11

Classics

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, which opens with one of the most famous sentences in English Literature, is an ironic novel of manners. In it the garrulous and empty-headed Mrs Bennet has only one aim - that of finding a good match for each of her five daughters. In this she is mocked by her cynical and indolent husband.

With its wit, its social precision and, above all, its irresistible heroine, Pride and Prejudice has proved one of the most enduringly popular novels in the English language.

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. The book was written at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past as well as new customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees. Carol singing took a new lease on life during this time. Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are, principally, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

Recommended by the English Department as it is a set text at GCSE and pupils will benefit from reading it more than once. This will be English homework over the summer holiday. **

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the Other Woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity.

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

A plane crashes on an uninhabited island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast.

The Woman in Black - Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral Mrs Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose.

The Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition.

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

In 1914 a room full of German schoolboys, fresh-faced and idealistic, are goaded by their schoolmaster to troop off to the 'glorious war'. With the fire and patriotism of youth they sign up. What follows is the moving story of a young 'unknown soldier' experiencing the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.

The Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger

Holden Caulfield is a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Navigating his way through the challenges of growing up, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. Written with the clarity of a boy leaving childhood behind, The Catcher in the Rye explores the world with disarming frankness and a warm, affecting charisma which has made this novel a universally loved classic of twentieth-century literature.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Composed as part of a challenge with Byron and Shelley to conjure up the most terrifying ghost story, Frankenstein narrates the chilling tale of a being created by a bright young scientist and the catastrophic consequences that ensue. Considered by many to be the first science-fiction novel, the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein and the tortured creation he rejects is a classic fable about the pursuit of knowledge, the nature of beauty and the monstrosity inherent to man.

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

George Milton and Lennie Small are two workers in pursuit of the American dream in this classic work of literature

The Time Machine - H G Wells

H. G. Wells' classic science fiction masterpiece The Time Machine explores human nature. The Time Traveller finds himself in 802,701 A.D., where he meets the peaceful Eloi and encounters the violent Morlocks. Wells uses these two descendants of man to explore evil and its causes, drawing conclusion that might surprise you in this riveting tale that has stood the test of time.

Great Reads

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

It’s an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace bypass and his best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. At this moment, they’re hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed with the big, friendly words: DON’T PANIC. The weekend has only just begun…

All the Truth That's In Me - Julie Berry

This powerful book is indeed truthful, an honest and beautifully written portrayal of a trauma victim and a family living in difficult circumstances. Important central themes of male dominance and unheard women’s voices underpin a gripping narrative.

Remembrance - Theresa Breslin

Scotland, 1915. A group of teenagers from two families meet for a picnic, but the war across the Channel is soon to tear them away from such youthful pleasures. All too soon, the horror of what is to become known as The Great War engulfs them, their friends and the whole village. From the horror of the trenches, to the devastating reality seen daily by those nursing the wounded, they struggle to survive - and nothing will ever be the same again.

A powerful and engrossing novel about love and war, from Carnegie Medal-winning author Theresa Breslin.

i Boy - Kevin Brooks

Before the attack, sixteen-year-old Tom Harvey was just an ordinary boy. But now fragments of a shattered iPhone are embedded in his brain and it's having an extraordinary effect...Because now Tom has powers. The ability to know and see more than he could ever imagine. And with incredible power comes knowledge - and a choice. Seek revenge on the violent gangs that rule his estate and assaulted his friend Lucy, or keep quiet? Tom has control when everything else is out of control. But it's a dangerous price to pay. And the consequences are terrifying. . .

Dead Time - Anne Cassidy

Rose and Joshua first met when Joshua and his dad came to live with Rose and her mum. Then their world turns upside down when their mother and father go out for dinner one evening and never return. With police inquiries going nowhere, Rose is dispatched to live with her chilly, unfriendly grandmother and Joshua is sent to live with his uncle. Then Joshua comes to London to study and Rose is witness to not one, but two murders. A taut and pacey thriller that is the start of a stylish new series from an acclaimed writer for teens.

Shelter - Harlan Coben

When tragic events tear him away from his parents, 15-year-old Mickey Bolitar is sent to live with his estranged uncle, Myron. For a while, it seems his train wreck of a life is finally improving - until his girlfriend, Ashley, goes missing without a trace. Unwilling to let another person he cares about walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley's trail into a seedy underworld, revealing a conspiracy so shocking it will leave him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew.

Dear Nobody - Berlie Doherty

The moving and very real story of two teenagers and an unplanned pregnancy. It is told from two viewpoints - that of Helen as she writes her thoughts in a series of letters to the unborn baby, the Dear Nobody of the title, and of Chris as he reads the letters and relives events as Helen is in labour.

Department 19 - Will Hill

In a secret supernatural battle that's been raging for over a century, the stakes have just been raised – and they're not wooden anymore.

DEPARTMENT 6 IS THE ARMY

DEPARTMENT 12 is MI5

DEPARTMENT 19 IS THE REASON YOU’RE ALIVE

The Girl You Left Behind - Jojo Moyes

In The Girl You Left Behind two young women, separated by a century, are united in their determination to fight for what they love most - whatever the cost.

Release - Patrick Ness

The most personal and tender novel yet from Patrick Ness.

It's Saturday, it's summer and, although he doesn't know it yet, everything in Adam Thorn's life is going to fall apart. But maybe, just maybe, he'll find freedom from the release. Time is running out though, because way across town, a ghost has risen from the lake... This uplifting coming-of-age novel will remind you what it's like to fall in love.

Confessions of a Murder Suspect - James Patterson

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, their daughter, Tandy, knows just three things: 1. She was one of the last people to see her parents alive. 2. She and her brothers are the only suspects. 3. She can't trust anyone - maybe not even herself. Having grown up under their parents' intense perfectionist demands, none of the Angel children have come away undamaged.

Returning to the genre that made him the world's bestselling author, James Patterson introduces a teen detective on a mission to bring her parents' killer to justice, even if it means uncovering her family's darkest secrets - and confessing some of her own.

The Help

Enter a vanished and unjust world: Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Where black maids raise white children, but aren't trusted not to steal the silver . . .

There's Aibileen, raising her seventeenth white child and nursing the hurt caused by her own son's tragic death; Minny, whose cooking is nearly as sassy as her tongue; and white Miss Skeeter, home from College, who wants to know why her beloved maid has disappeared.

Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny. No one would believe they'd be friends; fewer still would tolerate it. But as each woman finds the courage to cross boundaries, they come to depend and rely upon one another. Each is in a search of a truth. And together they have an extraordinary story to tell...

Skin - A M Vrettos

Written through the eyes of a brother as he watches his sister fade away from anorexia and his parents’ marriage deteriorate, he is like a shadow in their lives and stays silent about his own problems. Sensitive and alert, he walks us through the pain, the sadness, of this complicated problem.

Non-Fiction

A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson

Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson

Notes from a Big Country - Bill Bryson

Blood, Sweat and Tears - Bear Grylls

Fever Pitch - Nick Hornby

All these books are available in libraries and good bookshops.