PAGE TURNERS

1. PAGE TURNERS S3 PUPIL CHOICE AND VOICE

2. Fifteen Days Without a head by dave cousins “A secret is like a bag you have to lug around all the time - each day you add another lie, and it just gets heavier and harder to carry on your own.” Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach just wants a normal life, but it’s not easy when your mum is a depressed alcoholic, and your six-year-old brother thinks he’s a dog. When Mum disappears, Laurence tells nobody, terrified he and his brother will be taken into care if anyone finds out. Instead, he attempts to keep up the pretence that Mum is still around: dressing up in her clothes to trick the neighbours and spinning an increasingly complicated tangle of lies… Themes: mental health, teenage life, family, young carers, coping with loss.

3. Lord of The Flies by William Golding Ever imagined what life would be like with no adults? Find out what happens when a group of boys are trapped on a desert island and have to make all the rules for themselves. An all time classic, Lord of The Flies is a book you will read and never forget. Themes: isolation, bullying , savagery…

4. Turtles all the way down by John Green 'It's quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see.‘ Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred thousand dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett's son, Davis. Aza is trying, but she is struggling, to live within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. The latest novel from John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars. Themes: mental health, love, grief, friendship, teenage life

5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon When teenager Christopher finds his neighbour’s dog, Wellington, murdered in his garden, he decides to investigate. With his unique mind and perspective on life, Christopher takes us on a journey through his diary to see if he can reveal the killer. This is one of the most famous books to have a main character with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The book is very funny, with both sad and shocking moments mixed in. It is now a popular play too. Themes: family, trust, honesty, bravery.

6. To kill a mockingbird by harper lee This American classic is a disturbing account of racism in the American south, and the quiet heroism of a white lawyer, Atticus Finch, defending a black man facing a possible death penalty. Narrated by Finch’s six year old daughter, we see her begin to grow up and realise a lot about her father and about the world around her. Setting: a small town in Alabama in the 1930s Themes: Racism, growing up, honesty and courage.

7. TRASH BY ANDY MULLIGAN ‘You never know what you’ll find…’ Raphael lives on a dumpsite, eking out a living sifting through rubbish. One unlucky-lucky day, he makes an extraordinary and deadly discovery. Now he and his two friends, Gardo and Rat, are wanted by the corrupt forces that run the city and will stop at nothing to get back what they've lost. From the slums to the mansions of the elite, it's going to take all of their quick-thinking and fast-talking to stay ahead. And to stay alive. Themes: Poverty, Homelessness, Government corruption, childhood, friendship. Genre: Dystopian, Mystery, Thriller.

8. Animal Farm by George Orwell Are you tired of our world leaders being lying, boorish, swine? Do you long for a world of fairness, honesty and community? Then don’t read this book. Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organised to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten. And something new and unexpected emerges. . . Themes of: Power, Leadership, Corruption and Religion.

9. LONG WAY DOWN WRITTEN BY JASON REYNOLDS AND ILLUSTRATED BY CHRIS PRIESTLY If someone you love gets killed, find the person who killed them and kill them. No crying. No snitching. Get revenge. When Shawn, the beloved big brother of 15-year-old Will, is shot dead, Will is ready to follow "the rules" and get revenge. After finding his brother’s gun, he gets in the lift from his home on the seventh floor with Shawn’s gun –and so begins a surreal journey of discovery, guided by the ghosts of other dead people in Will’s life. The entire action of the book takes place on that journey down to the ground floor... Written in verse, Long Way Down is breathtakingly gripping and spectacular. You almost read it without breathing; the action is so tense, the language so powerful. Themes: grief, family, social issues, gang violence

10. Scytheby nealshusterman Two teens must learn the "art of killing“. A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life--and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe--a role that neither wants. These teens must master the "art" of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price. Themes: morality, friendship, loyalty, family

11. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ‘The Hate U Give’ is narrated by the character of Starr, after she witnesses a white police officer shoot her childhood friend, Khalil. Although Starr attends an affluent white private school, she lives in a poor black neighbourhood and when her friend is shot this forces her to decide whether she feels that the world around her really is fair. She decides to speak up about the racism and inequality which she and other black people experience. She faces resistance and denial from some of her closest friends and family and ultimately speaks out publically about the problems with the American justice system. Themes: racism, drugs, gang violence, justice, family