Love You To Death and High Stakes.   

Mediator Series #1and 2 by Meg Cabot

Susannah Simon is a mediator which means she can talk and actually touch ghosts. She must help trapped and tortured souls move on to the next world, but if they don't go quietly she is not adverse to 'kicking butt'. In her new home in California she finds her bedroom is haunted by a 150 year old drop dead gorgeous ghost called Jesse but Susannah does not seem to want him to move on, especially when he saves her life. The series is a lot of fun with Susannah always finding the humorous side of the predicaments she finds her self in.    

Reviewed by Joy Fletcher.

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Donna is seventeen now.  When she was seven years old the fey attacked injuring her and killing her father. Her horrific injuries were healed by magic but she must now always wear long gloves to cover the traceries of the iron tattoos that were branded on her lower arms. 

Because of this the other pupils called her freak and as a result of losing her temper, the destruction she wreaked with her new strength meant that she is now home schooled.   She has only one friend and he is Navin Sharma.  When he is kidnapped by vicious wood elves she discovers it is because of her and the fact that she is training as an alchemist.  Now she needs to get him back.

An un-put-down-able story that once started I had to finish.  To be followed by a sequel.

Reviewed by Kay Ledbrooke

The Oracle  by Jackie French

Set in ancient Greece where girls are of little value, Nikko rescues his sister Thetis from certain death on the mountain. When Thetis finally learns to speak she can only tell the truth-very inconvenient at times. A great adventure story full of twists and turns. You'll find it hard to put down. 

Reviewed by Eleanor.

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Kyra is only thirteen when she is told she has been chosen to be the seventh wife of her sixty year uncle. Kyra has discovered the world of books, and knows there is another world beyond the strange and narrow life she and her family live. Will she escape the fate planned for her?

You'll love this powerful story of love and hope.    

Reviewed by Eleanor.

Life, Intrrupted by Tanya Damian Kelleher
This book is heart-breakingly brilliant. Luke and Jesse live with their Mum after their Dad walked out on them years ago. Accident-prone Jesse is football mad and Luke spends most of his time with his mates - super-smart Jake and wacky Freya. Mum (Pat) is a nurse, so when she collapses at work one day it seems she is in the right place. The boys visit her in the hospital but don't know the full extent of her illness until it becomes apparent that she won't be coming home for a while. With a crabby cigarette-smoking old woman to care for them at home and their Mum not seeming to get any better, life couldn't get any worse, or could it?  A cleverly crafted poignant novel about love, loss, letting go and carrying on.

Everthing Beautiful by Simmone Howell
Riley Rose is stuck at Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp, a nightmarish place full of cheerful, mantra-filled, jumpsuit-wearing counsellors. But as Riley discovers the camp isn't all that it seems and after a series of near-escapes she may find a few things out about herself as well.

Riley is not coping with the death of her beloved mother and her 'acting out' is becoming unbearable. Her father and his new partner send her to a Christian camp, hoping the values will rub off on her. Riley rebels by smoking, drinking, and running away. But she meet Tyler, a wheelchair bound ex-counsellor. Will they manage to break each other's armour, or will they destroy each other instead? This is a refreshing and bold read.

Knife by M J Anderson
Knife is a captured fairy who wakes inside some kind of box and has no idea of how she got there, or how long she has been captured. A fantastical adventure set in another world, a world of fairy queens and goblins.

Octavian is no ordinary African slave in America in 1775.  His masters are professors from the College of Lucidity in Boston. From birth, Octavian and his African princess mother, have been the subject of an experiment to prove that even with a classical education, Africans are less clever than Caucasians. A very interesting fictional account of slavery and the conflict between the colonists and the British in the United States of America.

David Almond is a multi award-winning writer for children and young adults.  This book is about a long hot summer full of intrigue and mystery for  Liam, who follows a jackdaw one day and his life changes forever.  David Almond's stories are imaginative, cunning, and suspenseful. A well-written page-turner.