As recommended by Ms. Julia Nicolas, School Librarian
Junior
Cycle:
●
Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith. Suitable for
anyone who's ever wished to, but had trouble starting, keeping, or finishing a
journal or sketchbook. This book features a collection of suggestions and
mess-making to fill the pages of the book (and destroy them).
●
Be Brave from the Teen Breathe series. A guide
for teenagers to help build self-confidence, inner strength and resilience.
●
A Hurricane in My Head: Poems for when your Phone Dies by Matt Abbott and Nigel Baines. Collection of poems on the themes of
friendship, bullying, technology and the life of a modern teenager.
●
Lily’s Just Fine by Gill Stewart. Two
teenagers discover a growing attraction as they both become involved in the
upcoming gala event in their Scottish town.
●
Happy Girl Lucky by Holly Smale. The youngest
sister of a famous acting family longs for her first romance and finally meets
who she thinks might be the boy of her dreams.
●
Boy Meets Hamster by Birdie Milano.
Fourteen-year-old Dylan Kershaw's idea of a dream holiday includes at least
three things: beaches to bask on, cosmopolitan culture, and a chance for
romance (or at least his first kiss) with another boy. Unluckily for Dylan, his
Mum is treating the family to the least dreamy holiday ever: a break at
Starcross Sands, Cornwall's Crummiest Caravan Park.
●
You only Live Once by Jess Valance. Gracie
mistakenly thinks she is dying, which prompts her to make some big life
changes.
●
Hello, I must be Going by Dyan Sheldon. The
ghost of a teenager watches how her death has affected her three best friends.
●
Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin.
When teenage twins Mae and Rossa go to spend a summer in their great-aunt
Rita’s house, they don’t realise someone else is living there besides Rita, her
teenage ward Bevan and their strangely oversized cat Bobby. A dark presence is
lurking in the walls of this ordinary house on the outer edges of the Dublin
suburbs, a sinister owl called Sweet James, who exerts a dangerous power over
the glamorous Bevan.
●
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. One Summer
morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler boards a flight with his family and 183
other passengers. He will be the only one to come out of it alive. Even if
everybody knows his name from then on, he will have to figure out who he is and
learn how to live without his family.
●
13 minutes by Sarah Pinborough. ‘I was dead
for 13 minutes. I don't remember how I ended up in the icy water but I do know
this - it wasn't an accident and I wasn't suicidal. They say you should keep
your friends close and your enemies closer, but when you're a teenage girl,
it's hard to tell them apart. My friends love me, I'm sure of it. but that
doesn't mean they didn't try to kill me. Does it?
●
The Enemy by Charlie Higson. Everyone over the
age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must
keep themselves alive. When the sickness came, every parent, police officer,
politician - every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed,
confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting
to survive.
Senior
Cycle:
●
Somebody Give this Heart a Pen by Sophia
Takur. A collection of poems by performance poet, Sophia Thakur.
●
Being Various: New Irish Short Stories edited
by Lucy Caldwell. Irish writing is in very good health at the moment, and the
sixth Faber’s series of Irish short story collections is proof of the myriad of
exciting voices that have emerged in recent years. With previously unpublished
stories from Kevin Barry, Melatu Uche Okorie, Sally Rooney and Lisa McInerney
among many others, this is a fantastic sampler of contemporary Irish fiction.
●
Unboxed by Non Pratt. Four friends meet up at
their old school to open the memory box they stowed there years ago - with five
letters inside for four of them, because their friend Millie has died.
●
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. A
rich young American and a Spanish hotel maid meet and fall in love against the
backdrop of Franco-dictated Spain in the 1950s.
●
19 Love Songs by David Levithan. 19 short
stories on the theme of love and relationships.
●
Poemsia by Lang Leav. A girl is thrust into
the world of social media fame when her poetry goes viral online.
●
Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon. A teenage girl
runs away from her family when she is split up from her boyfriend because of
his anger issues.
●
Toffee by Sarah Crossan. When Allison runs
away from home she doesn't expect to be taken in by Marla, an elderly woman
with dementia, who mistakes her for an old friend called Toffee. Allison is
used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her
to be. And so, Toffee is who she becomes. But as her bond with Marla grows,
Allison begins to ask herself -Where is home? What is a family? And most
importantly, who am I, really?
●
Why we Worry: the Science of Anxiety by
Melissa Mayer. An introduction to how anxiety works, and how to overcome
excessive worrying.
●
From Prejudice to Pride: a History of the LGBT Movement by Amy Lame. Follows the history of the LGBTQ+ movement and it's
achievements in campaigning for equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.
●
Perfectly Preventable Deaths by Deirdre
Sullivan. A thrilling, eerie exploration of sisterhood, first love and dark
powers hiding out of sight...lures you in with wit and compassion before
hitting you with horror and twists worthy of Stephen King.
●
The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren
James. Two children discover a secret that could alter human existence in a
world where a virus has caused global infertility.