2019 - 2020 Introduction This list is intended to be a guide to some of the best, and the most popular, books available for boys in Years 5 to 8. The aim is to help students and parents choose reading material that is – whether new or old – challenging, rewarding or just plain fun. Those in the higher years may already have read many of the titles, but we hope everyone will find something to interest them. All the books in this list should be suitable for most Middle and Upper School boys. We have not tried to steer the different year groups towards particular books, but we have marked with an asterisk (*) those books that we think are less suitable for those below Year 8. As there are limits on the number of books that can be included in this list, we have often chosen just one title by a particular author. The librarian or your English teacher can always give you advice on other books by an author you have enjoyed. As any book recommendations are subjective, there will be some books in this list you try but don’t enjoy. We hope there will be many you love. If you think we have missed out any great books that should be in the list, please write them down during the year on the form at the back and hand it to Mrs Fletcher in the library. Perhaps you’ll see them on the list next year! All the books on this list are available in the school library, so there’s no excuse not to get reading! Mrs Fletcher Librarian Contents Action and Adventure …………………….……...…...........….. 1 Animals ………………………………….…..…………...…… 3 Books in Translation ………….………………………..……... 5 Comic Books and Manga (a Few of the Best)………………… 7 Diaries & Journals (in Fact & Fiction)…………………………. 8 Different Countries & Cultures……………………………… 9 Dragons and Other Mythical Creatures……………………… 11 Dystopian Worlds ………………………...…….......................... 13 Eco Warriors - and Wastelands……………………………….. 15 Fairy Tales and Magic …………………………………….......... 17 Fantasy and Other Worlds ...………………………................... 19 Historical Fiction …………………………………….…........... 21 Humour ….…………………………………………....……..... 23 Modern Life ……..……………………………..…………........ 25 Mysteries and Detection …………………………...……......... 27 Myths and Legends ………………………………..…...…........ 29 Recent Award Winners …………………………....….….......... 31 Scary Stories…………………………………………………... 33 Science Fiction .………………………………………............... 35 Spies and Special Agents ………………………….…………... 37 Sports Stories …………………………………………...…...... 39 Steampunk ………………..………………………………....... 40 Time Travel………………………………...…….…….............. 41 Verse Stories…………………………...……………………… 42 Wartime Stories ……………………………………....…......... 43 Zombies, Demons, Vampires and other Monsters……………. 45 Index of Authors………………………………………………. 47 Action and Adventure Paul Adam Escape from Shadow Island Followed by Jaws of Death and Attack At Dead Man’s Bay Max Cassidy is an ordinary London schoolboy by day, but at night he performs public shows as an escapologist - nicknamed ‘The Half-Pint Houdini’ by the press. His father, also an escapologist, disappeared two years earlier in Central America. In this exciting thriller, Max embarks on a mission to solve the mystery of his father’s disappearance. Peter Jay Black Urban Outlaws Followed by Blackout, Lockdown, Counterstrike and Shockwave Five super-skilled children living in a bunker deep beneath the city of London plan their missions to steal money from the rich to give to those in need. The combination of children living a life free from rules, with adventures full of the latest gadgets is a marriage made in heaven! Chris Bradford Bodyguard: Hostage Followed by Bodyguard: Ransom, Ambush, Target, Assassin and Fugitive With the intense media focus on celebrity families, children have now become targets for hostage-taking. That's why they need a young bodyguard like 14-year-old Connor Reeves to protect them. This is fast-paced, believable and totally gripping escapism! Virginia Clay Warrior Boy Ben, a London schoolboy, travels with his mother to the wilds of the Masai Mara in Kenya to meet his warrior father's side of the family and, in doing so, comes away a stronger, more self-assured version of himself. This book is full of exciting moments as Ben and his Masai cousin Kip face elephant poachers and death threats, but above all it is the real sense of place that makes this book so special. Eoin Colfer Artemis Fowl 12-year-old villain, Artemis Fowl, is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. His adventures may be in the fairy world – but there’s enough high-speed action to satisfy any reader looking for adventure and seven further books to keep you happy! The eighth and final book is Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian. Matt Dickinson The Everest Files Followed by North Face and Killer Storm Ryan is on a gap year adventure in Nepal when a local girl begs him to investigate why her friend Kami never returned from Everest. What emerges is a shocking story of fatal human errors as seen through the eyes of a young Sherpa. Also try this author’s latest thriller, Lie, Kill, Walk Away, a fast-paced adventure written in short, pithy chapters. Natasha Farrant The Children of Castle Rock When Alice Mistlethwaite is shipped off to boarding school in Scotland it's nothing like she imagines. Run by the mysterious Major, there are no punishments and the students are more likely to be taught about body painting or extreme survival than maths or English! Then Alice's dad goes missing and she wants to run away to find him. Can she persuade her new friends to help? 1 Lindsay Galvin The Secret Deep When Aster wakes alone on a tropical island, she has no idea what has happened, why she is there, or where to find her younger sister, Poppy. Meanwhile Sam, who once met the sisters on a plane, is making links between the mystery of their disappearance and suspicious happenings in his own life. This atmospheric thriller skilfully mixes fantasy and science. Fleur Hitchcock The Boy Who Flew Athan Wilde dreams of flight. When his friend, Mr Chen, is murdered, Athan must rescue the flying machine they were building together and stop it falling into the wrong hands. But keeping the machine safe puts his family in terrible danger. This is a thrilling, murderous tale set among the steep rooftops and slippery characters of an intricately imagined18th century city of Bath. Mark Huckerby & Nick Ostler Defender of the Realm Followed by Dark Age and King’s Army When King Henry IX dies,14-year-old Prince Alfie is thrust into the role of King. Only the heir because he was born 10 seconds before his twin brother Richard, Alfie is widely regarded to be the weaker, less worthy twin...can he prove his doubters wrong? A thoroughly believable mix of real-life and fantasy. M.G.Leonard Beetle Boy Followed by Beetle Queen and Battle of the Beetles When his father mysteriously disappears while studying a rare beetle collection, it’s up to 12-year-old Darkus, to find him. After developing an unexpected friendship with a rhinoceros beetle, Darkus learns that beetles are anything but ordinary and could be the key to rescuing his Dad. Rob Lloyd Jones Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald Snake Followed by Jake Atlas and: The Hunt for the Feathered God and The Quest for the Crystal Mountain Jake and his twin sister, Pan, can't stop fighting – with each other and with their parents, stuffy professors of Ancient History. When the family go to Cairo on holiday however, the twins finally learn the truth about their ‘boring’ mum and dad. Indiana Jones meets Alex Rider in a fast-paced adventure. Simon Mayo Itch Followed by Itch Rocks and Itchcraft Itchingham Lofte - known as Itch - is an element-hunter. He is trying to collect all the elements in the periodic table…which leads to some rather destructive results in his bedroom! It is when he gets hold of a peculiar rock from a shadowy contact that things really start getting out of control. Dan Smith Below Zero When Zak's plane crash-lands on Outpost Zero, a small Antarctic research base in one of the most isolated places on Earth, he discovers a cold, dark nightmare. The power's out and there’s no one there. As he searches for answers, bizarre visions suggest a link to something else - deep beneath the ice - which only he can understand. A creepy, hugely atmospheric adventure! Ali Sparkes Car-Jacked Jack Mattingly is a genius. He has an IQ of 170, he speaks fluent Mandarin and Latin and he can calculate the square root of 1,673,549 in his head. But when Jack's parents' car is hi-jacked, with him inside it, for once he's as clueless as the rest of us. This is a wonderful adventure of the best kind – great writing, fast pace, humour, but above all, characters you really care about. 2 Animals Emma Cox Malkin Moonlight Winner of the first National Literacy Trust New Children’s Author prize this is the story of a kitten who was told by the moon that he was destined for great things. In this uplifting story Malkin, who is full of kindness and with an acute ‘sixth sense’, finds himself drawn to help all creatures in trouble. Erin Hunter Into the Wild The first of six titles set in an exciting fantasy world, where clans of cats fight epic battles for territory and honour. If you like this series, there are four more ‘Warriors’ series, plus series about bears (‘Seekers’) and dogs (‘Survivors’). They’re addictive, so you could spend the whole year just reading this author! Eva Ibbotson One Dog and His Boy Hal has everything a boy could wish for, but no one to really love him. When his parents rent him a dog for his birthday, they think that he'll tire of having to look after it, so won't mind having to give it back.