What’s New Teen Space
Cuckoo. Keren David
Jake, the star of a long running soap opera, is getting worried that he may longer be needed for the show. He decides to make his real life public by writing it down in a blog, screenplay style, with spaces for comments from his audience. His real life turns out to have its own soap opera qualities. Will Jake ever be allowed to return to the screen and continue living the life of stardom he has grown used to?
Dryland. Sara Jaffe
Julie spends a lot of time in the local bookshop poring over swimming magazines. She is looking for photos of her brother who, after becoming a swimming champion, moved to Germany and hasn’t been seen since. When a new friend invites her to join the swimming team she does so reluctantly. However her life soon changes for the better and she finally feels one step closer to reuniting with her long lost brother.
Flesh and Blood. Simon Cheshire
On his way to his first day at a new school Sam comes upon a group of students looking at a corpse. From then on he notices that the people in his new neighbourhood are not quite normal: their facial expressions don’t change and their house lights are never on at night. Can Sam stay safe and will he ever work out whether there really is something odd going on? This is a great read but not for the faint hearted.
Frost Blood. Elly Blake
Emily has a very special talent: the ability to create fire from the sparks that magically appear on the palms of her hands. Though forbidden to do so, Emily involuntarily uses her gift when she is in the clutches of the King’s soldiers, enabling her escape. Her mother has been killed and she must now survive alone. This is an easily read tale of survival in a dystopian world. Absorbing and exciting.
Shade Me. Jennifer Brown
In the middle of struggling with her chemistry homework Nikki receives a disturbing phone call from an unknown number. When the hospital calls to ask her to identify the caller she becomes embroiled in an unwelcome mystery. Between this, dealing with an unhappy ex-boyfriend and coping with severe synethesia (causing her to see numbers and emotions as colours) Nikki doesn’t have much time for schoolwork.
The Yearbook Committee. Sarah Ayoub
When a group of reluctant students are forced together to work on the school yearbook their differences soon become obvious. Can they manage to become a cohesive team in order to produce a publication to be proud of? The telling of this story is shared by the 5 members of the group interspersed with quirky meeting minutes. An entertaining read.