Reading suggestions for October Half Term

Fancy some suggestions for October half term reading? These are a few of the books I read over the summer that I would thoroughly recommend you getting your head stuck into…..

Everless by Sara Holland. What if you could literally buy time? What if you could sell time from your life through giving your blood? This is the basis of this amazing fantasy novel. In the land of Sempa the rich control everything including time. Jules Ember is eking out a miserable life with her sick father in a little village after they were forced to run from Lord Gerling’s palace, Everless, due to a fateful accident in her father’s forge. Returning to Everless against her father’s wishes to be a servant she discovers a web of deceit and has to rethink all her memories. This is a wonderful book on friendship, corruption, trust and finding your own path with just a pinch of fantasy and magic to make it come alive. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson. Matthew has OCD and has given up going to school. He spends his day recording life out of his window and feeling a failure especially to his parents. Then one day a toddler goes missing next door. Maybe Matthew can help but that means some of his secrets coming out as well. This is a really good description of what OCD feels like and where it can come from. There are also themes of friendship, how not to judge people from their appearance and how to change fear into hope.

Naondel by Maria Turtschaninoff. What an unusual idea! This second book in the Red Abbey series is actually a prequel of the first. It explains how the sisters’ community came to be a haven for persecuted women everywhere and is written from a multi person point of view. Each chapter introduces the voice of the next character and their voices of hardship and abuse by men ring true every time. The myth and fantasy element is beautifully balanced with the harshness of a world where men rule and women are seen as possessions only. It made me want to re-read the first book again and definitely the third.

The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge. A dark Nordic horror story about old Norse Gods and a twisted tree with its roots in the underworld. After her accident Martha discovers she can tell things about people from touching their clothes as if their memories and emotions have been absorbed into the material. She runs away to her grandmother Mormor who lives on a little Nordic island only to discover that Mormor is dead and there is a strange boy living in her cabin. Romance, horror, sadness, loneliness, disfigurement, and regrets mix with ghosts and a monster from the underworld. Can Martha find her way back to living as she is meant to? This is very creepy and very good!

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. Magic, books that can talk, demons, orphans and a world that is not what it seems. This book is brilliant! Elizabeth has been brought up in one of the Great Libraries in this magical world set in 1824. All she wants to be is a Warden of the books and fight against magic. But she has a special affinity with these magic books and when she is unfairly accused of a magical crime , her whole world starts unravelling and she has to decide for herself what is right and wrong and more importantly who to trust. I loved this book.

Carry on by Rainbow Rowell. Inspired by Harry Potter, this novel is a delicious mix up of what ifs. What if Simon the Chosen One couldn’t control his magic? What if he shared a room with Baz whom he is convinced is his sworn enemy and a secret vampire? What if their headmaster Mage wasn’t quite what he seemed? The magic, spells, enemies, friends and ghosts are all there but given a twist. It has a great ending as well.

Toffee by Sarah Crossan. I have already read two of Sarah Crossan’s prose books and loved both of them. Usually I steer well clear of poetry of any kind! This, however, did not disappoint me. Teenager Allison is running away from an abusive parent and wants to forget. Elderly Marla is living on her own and would love to remember but keeps forgetting everything. They meet when Allison mistakes Maria’s home for an abandoned one and sneaks in to stay the night out of the rain. The interaction between these two characters is brilliant as Allison struggles to come to terms with her life and Marla struggles to make sense of hers.

Happy Reading!

Mrs Godden