Year 8 Reading For Pleasure List by Jill Fenton

Noughts and Crosses

jfe5 — 2023-03-13 12:20:49 UTC

A teen boy and girl from opposing factions in society take on the system and try to change it.
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The Boy Who Didn't Want To Die

jfe5 — 2023-03-13 12:45:31 UTC

The story of an extraordinary journey, made by Peter, a boy of five, through war-torn Europe in 1944 and 1945.
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Hollow (Graphic)

jfe5 — 2023-03-13 16:40:57 UTC

Izzy and her her new friends try to save Vicky and uncover the mystery of the legendary Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.
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When I See Blue

jfe5 — 2023-03-13 16:56:07 UTC

A boy struggling with OCD, starts at a new at school and learns to cope with the help of friendship and understanding. Very well written and researched, gives a clear insight into the inner turmoil of living with OCD.
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Witch

jfe5 — 2023-03-13 17:05:19 UTC

After seeing her mother murdered by witch-hunters, a young girl must keep her little sister safe but yearns to take her revenge.
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Jane Eyre: A retelling (dyslexia-friendly)

jfe5 — 2023-03-13 17:24:25 UTC

A retelling of the classic Gothic romance by Charlotte Bronte. After a miserable childhood, the offer of a job at Thornfield Hall seems to promise Jane Eyre a brighter future. But joyless laughter echoes along its corridors. Strange things happen in the dead of night. Secrets lurk in the attic.
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Squirm

jfe5 — 2023-03-13 17:41:04 UTC

This summer, Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, save a neighbour's cat, save an endangered panther, and then try to save his own father. A well drawn central character is the main piece of this humorous, particularly well-written story.
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No Fixed Address

jfe5 — 2023-03-14 12:24:47 UTC

A boy has to hide from his friends and teachers the fact that he and his mum are living in a van. This is a book to make you laugh and cry.
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Haunted

jfe5 — 2023-03-14 16:27:48 UTC

Eleven haunting ghost stories by top children's authors. Perfect reading for winter nights!
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The Ash House

jfe5 — 2023-03-14 16:49:17 UTC

A young boy with a mysterious illness is sent to an institution where only children are present but which is governed by strict rules and the presence of the absent Headmaster and Doctor.
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Boy 87

jfe5 — 2023-03-14 17:12:30 UTC

A schoolboy has to flee his home when soldiers come to recruit children to join their army, and makes a perilous journey to try and find safety in England.

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We Come Apart

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 07:38:10 UTC

Follows the romance between Romanian refugee Nicu, and Jess, whose home life is overshadowed by violence.
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Refugee

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 07:38:28 UTC

Follows three children from different points in history as they flee their home countries during times of turmoil to find safety abroad. This action-packed novel tackles topics both timely and timeless: courage, survival, and the quest for home.
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Hacking, Heists & Flaming Arrows (Robin Hood #1)

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 07:44:11 UTC

Re-imagines the Robin Hood legend set in a depressing near future where twelve-year-old Robin is forced to hide in Sherwood Forest when his dad is framed for robbery.
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Eve of Man

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 07:51:18 UTC

Set in a future where only one female has been born in 50 years, 16-year-old Eve must choose between her destiny - to be the future of the human race - or the man that she has fallen in love with.
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Mortal Engines

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 07:58:22 UTC

A fantasy adventure in which cities roam the country demolishing smaller towns and looking for relics and technology of the Ancients

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Long Way Down (Graphic)

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 08:27:51 UTC

A boy is visited by ghosts of family and friends he knew as he takes the lift down from his family's flat to exact revenge on the person who shot his brother dead in a gangland attack.
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The Humiliations of Welton Blake

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 08:40:41 UTC

Things get very chaotic very quickly for a young teenager the day when his 'phone breaks one morning before school. An easy and enjoyable read.
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The Battle of Cable Street (Dyslexia Friendly)

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 08:46:18 UTC

Life has always been tough on the streets of Stepney, where Elsie and her brother Mikey are growing up in a vermin-infested slum nicknamed "Paradise". But the rise of anti-semitic fascist Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirts in the 1930s stirs up trouble between families who have lived closely together for years, and Elsie sees friendships torn apart.
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Salt to the Sea

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 08:49:17 UTC

It's early 1945 and a group of people trek across Germany, bound together by their desperation to reach the ship that can take them away from the war-ravaged land. Four young people, each haunted by their own dark secret, narrate their unforgettable stories...
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The Everest Files

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 12:34:08 UTC

An 18-year-old boy journeys up Mount Everest to solve the mystery of of a local 16-year-old boy's disappearance.
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Thirteen

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 14:58:25 UTC

Born at midnight in London, on the stroke of the new millennium, Adam is the target of a cult that believes boys born on this date must die before the end of their thirteenth year.
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Teacher's Dead

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 15:05:17 UTC

Mr Joseph is dead, murdered by two of his students in front of the school. He was a good man. People liked him. So how could this happen? Why?

It doesn't make sense to Jackson, and he is determined to investigate the case until he understands.
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Looking for JJ

jfe5 — 2023-03-15 15:11:26 UTC

Three children walked away from the edge of town one day - but only two of them came back . . . A gripping and emotionally searing novel from a talented author, Looking for JJ explores the circumstances and motives behind the murder of a child - by her friend. Six years later, JJ has now been released, and has a new identity. But is there any way that she can lead a "normal" life?
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Viper (Isles of Storm and Sorrow #1)

jfe5 — 2023-03-20 09:44:19 UTC

Seventeen-year-old Marianne has been training on board The Maiden to be the Viper for her entire life - to serve and protect the King and the citizens of The Twelve Isles - but to become the Viper and protect the islands she loves she must find the strength to defeat her father.
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The House In The Woods

jfe5 — 2023-03-20 10:25:10 UTC

Three teenagers unwittingly unleash a vengeful ghost when they use a ouija board on Hallowe'en. The beginning is very scary but the characters are likeable. Do not read before you go to bed!
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The Lighthouse

jfe5 — 2023-03-20 10:28:41 UTC

From the second they set foot on Bird Rock island to join their dad and his new family, Jess and Rosie feel that something's wrong. Nightmares haunt their dreams and there seems to be someone, or something else with them in the lighthouse - their home for the summer.

Brilliant ending & a very gripping, scary horror. Terrific.
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House of Hollow

jfe5 — 2023-03-20 10:32:43 UTC

A dark fairy tale involving two sisters who gained strange powers after mysteriously disappearing as children.

A gripping page turner from the start, this is a very dark, creepy and horrific story with some great twists.
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Fashion Conscious

jfe5 — 2023-03-20 10:35:53 UTC

A guide to making fashion choices that don't harm the planet. This practical, positive and empowering book will open eyes to the impact our clothing choices have on people and the planet and empower children to demand answers to questions and take action.
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Black Artists Shaping The World

jfe5 — 2023-03-20 10:38:22 UTC

A look at works of 26 Black artists from all around the world.

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Steady For This

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 07:53:03 UTC

A teenage boy who aspires to be a famous rapper finds new motivation to pursue his dreams when his family are in danger of being evicted.

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Promise Boys

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 07:54:31 UTC

Three teen boys of colour must investigate their principal's murder to clear their own names. Engaging murder mystery.

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Global

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 08:37:59 UTC

Follows two young people on different continents whose lives are catastrophically changed by global warming.

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Tyger

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 08:39:03 UTC

In an alternative London in which the British Empire still exists and foreigners are segregated, a young boy and girl work with the mysterious being called Tyger to open a mythical gateway and bring about social change.

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Welcome To Camp Killer

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 12:53:46 UTC

When an American-style residential camp is set up in the grounds of an English stately home, the teenage camp counsellors find that all is not what it seems.

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I Am Wolf

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 13:01:43 UTC

In a future world where giant mechanical animals called Constructs fight and are driven by human crews, a young teenage boy is separated from his Wolf Construct and must survive with a new crew of similarly lost youngsters.

The Boy In The Tower

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 13:03:22 UTC

When strange plant spores begin destroying buildings and killing people, a young boy and others strive to survive in their tower block in south London.

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Like A Girl

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 13:20:25 UTC

A quiet and isolated teenager finds school life becomes unbearable when she wins a school sprint race leading a group of popular girls to target her and make her life a misery.

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The Five Clues

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 13:22:31 UTC

A teenage girl must unravel the clues surrounding her mother's suspicious death, at the same time as dealing with her grief.

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Illegal

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 13:24:42 UTC

A boy makes a dangerous journey from his home in Ghana to Europe where he hopes to find his brother and sister who left months before.

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The Boy Behind The Wall

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 13:29:41 UTC

From opposite sides of the Berlin Wall, thirteen-year-old teenagers Harry and Jakob become friends and devise a dangerous plan to bring Jakob to the West.

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Keedie

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 14:41:47 UTC

Before there was Addie, there was Keedie. Five years before the events of 'A Kind of Spark', Keedie is figuring out how to be her bold, brave self in a town that wants her to be quiet.

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Part Of A Story That Started Before Me

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 14:46:15 UTC

An anthology of poems embracing Black British history from Roman times to the present day.

Heroes: How To Turn Inspiration Into Action

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 14:48:01 UTC

Shining a light on inspiring people throughout the world, this book includes profiles of people who have inspired Marcus, including well-known figures throughout history.

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Where Are You Really From?

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 14:49:05 UTC

A humorous look at the story of the human species, showing that race is a social construct and not written in our DNA.

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In The Shadow of The Wolf Queen

jfe5 — 2025-03-10 15:54:12 UTC

When her sister is captured by Riders of the Wolf Queen, Ysolda begins a quest to find the mysterious Anchorite to save her sister, her woodland home and possibly the world.

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