Library

Holiday reading

Take one of our most popular reads home for the holidays, find a shady spot and get lost in a book.

At the end of everything by Marieke Nijkamp

The Hope Juvenile Treatment Center is ironically named. No one has hope for the teenagers who have been exiled there; the world barely acknowledges that they exist.  Then the guards at Hope start acting strange. And one day...they don't show up. At first, the teens are thrilled. But when they band together to make a break from the facility, they encounter soldiers outside the gates. There's a rapidly spreading infectious disease outside, and no one can leave their houses or travel without a permit. Which means that they're stuck at Hope for good. And this time, no one is watching out for them at all.  As supplies quickly dwindle and the plague passes through their ranks, the group has to decide whom among them they can trust and figure out how they can survive in a world that has never seemed to want them.

Awful auntie by David Walliams

Stella Saxby is the sole heir to Saxby Hall. But awful Aunt Alberta and her giant owl will stop at nothing to get it from her. Luckily Stella has a secret - and slightly spooky - weapon up her sleeve.

Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling

When Harry, along with his best friends Ron and Hermione, go back for their third year at Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school.

Hunger by Michael Grant

For the 'normals' the buck must stop somewhere - with the 'freaks'. More and more kids are developing strange powers and, just as frighteningly, so are the animals in the FAYZ: talking coyotes, swimming bats and deadly worms with razor-sharp teeth are just the beginning. For Sam Temple the strain of leadership is beginning to show and he's got more that just dwindling rations and in-fighting to worry about. Caine is back with the psychotic whiphand, Drake, by his side. And in the background lies the greatest danger of all - and he needs to be fed.

Nyxia unleashed by Scott Reintgen

Emmett Atwater isn't just leaving Detroit; he's leaving Earth. Why Babel recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on his contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family, forever. As he and nine other teenagers wormhole their way through space, Emmett discovers that each recruit must earn the right to travel down to Eden. There, Babel will use them to mine a substance that's quietly become the most valuable in the world. For the chosen ten, every training session is measured, every point matters, and Emmett will do anything to win. But Babel's ship is full of secrets. And as Emmett uncovers the truth, he realizes he's not fighting for wealth or glory. He's fighting for his life.

Shadow wave by Robert Muchamore

The final mission of James Adams. After a tsunami devastates a tropical island, it's governor sends in the bulldozers, replacing villages with luxury hotels. Guarding the corrupt governor's family isn't James Adams' idea of the perfect mission. And then retired colleague Kyle Blueman comes up with an unofficial and dangerous plan of his own.

Split infinity by Thalia Kalkipsakis

A split-second decision, a single time-skip. The world that you know, gone in a blink. Now a sharp and adept time-skipper, Scout jumps years ahead to find the world transformed. Technology has accelerated and the people she knows have grown up, or disappeared. Most pressing, the government that she was trying to escape has used the time to prepare for the return of the time skippers. Caught between finding the mother she left behind and time-skipping ahead with Mason, a series of events lead Scout deeper into the tunnel than ever before. The only way out is by the strength of her love and the power of her mind. The illusion of time has one more surprise, one with the power to change everything.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

This is the first book in the Alex Rider series.  Fourteen-year-old Alex is forcibly recruited into MI6. Armed with secret gadgets, he is sent to investigate Herod Sayle, a man who is offering state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers to every school in the country. But the teenage spy soon finds himself in mortal danger.

The dog runner by Bren MacDibble

'We're gonna starve if we stay here,' Emery said. 'If we're gonna go, best go now.' And he said it like going was something easy. Like all we have to do is walk away. Ella and her brother Emery are alone in a city that's starving to death. If they are going to survive, they must get away, upcountry, to find Emery's mum. But how can two kids travel such big distances across a dry, barren, and dangerous landscape? Well, when you've got five big doggos and a dry-land dogsled, the answer is you go mushing. But when Emery is injured, Ella must find a way to navigate them through rough terrain, and even rougher encounters with desperate people.

The wintrish girl by Melanie La'Brooy

On Talisman Day in the Empire of Arylia, every child receives an object that gives them special powers and reveals their destiny. Every child except for the Wintrish girl, Penn, that is. All Penn has ever wanted is the impossible: to own a Talisman and return to her home in Midwinter to find her true family. But she's trapped - doomed to a miserable, lonely life as a royal servant. But a long-forgotten evil is stirring and destinies are about to change.  When mysterious and sinister events start to occur, the blame falls upon the Wintrish girl. Suddenly Penn finds herself running for her life. Straight into deadly peril. Facing dangerous enemies with formidable powers, what can an ordinary Wintrish girl do? Because without a Talisman, there's no changing your fate ... is there? A wildly fun adventure featuring at least five impossibly daring escapes, important life lessons about friendship and cucumbers, a dragon with a fear of unicorns and some stylish execution wear. And one vicious berry.