Discovering Empathy Through Reading by Helen McLean

OCTOBER FICTION The Eternal Return of Clara Hart - Louise Finch

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:21:42 UTC

After witnessing the death of Clara, Spence finds himself caught in an endless time loop where he is forced to relive and re-evaluate the same 24 hours which culminates in Clara's death. Soon he finds himself questioning the behaviour of the people he holds most dear.

OCTOBER NON-FICTION Lads: a guide to respect and consent

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:21:56 UTC

Have you ever been in a situation where there's a loud guy making inappropriate comments, cracking jokes that only he thinks are funny or leering at the girls in the room? You can feel it in the room, right? That guy is causing a lot of tension and giving lads everywhere a bad name. This is a book about how not to be that guy. It's a book about getting comfortable calling out bad behaviour. And it's a book that will help you feel confident navigating the modern minefield of relationships and interacting with girls, while being the guy that makes girls feel safe, heard and respected.

OCTOBER FICTION When our Worlds Collided - Danielle Jawando

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:22:36 UTC

When three teenagers from very different walks of life witness a stabbing, they are unexpectedly brought together... What follows flips their worlds upside down and makes them question the deep-rooted prejudice and racism that exists within the police, the media, and the rest of society.

OCTOBER NON-FICTION This Book is Anti-Racist - Tiffany Jewell

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:22:46 UTC

This book is written for the young person who doesn't know how to speak up to the racist adults in their life. For the 14-year-old who sees injustice at school and isn't able to understand the role racism plays in separating them from their friends. For the kid who spends years trying to fit into the dominant culture and loses themselves for a little while. It's for all of the Black and Brown children who have been harmed (physically and emotionally) because no one stood up for them or they couldn't stand up for themselves; because the colour of their skin, the texture of their hair, their names made white folks feel scared and threatened. It is written so children and young adults will feel empowered to stand up to the adults who continue to close doors in their faces. This book will give them the language and ability to understand racism and a drive to undo it. In short, it is for everyone.

OCTOBER FICTION The Names they Gave us - Emery Lord

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:23:13 UTC

Lucy Hansson was ready for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible camp on the lake and spending quality time with her parents. But when her mom's cancer reappears, Lucy falters--in her faith and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend "pauses" their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp--one for troubled kids--Lucy isn't sure how much more she can handle. Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?

OCTOBER NON-FICTION It's not about the Burqa - Various

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:23:27 UTC

Bringing together the voices of Muslim women from different backgrounds, this anthology of eye-opening essays reflects on what it’s really like to be a female Muslim in the West today.

OCTOBER FICTION Pet - Akwaeke Emezi

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:24:07 UTC

Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question--How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

OCTOBER NON-FICTION Trans Like Me - C N Lester

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:24:20 UTC

Trans Like Me explores the ways that we are all defined by ideas of gender — whether we live as he, she, or they — and how we can strive for authenticity in a world that forces limiting labels.

OCTOBER FICTION Starfish - Akemi Dawn Bowman

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:24:37 UTC

Starfish is about a half-Japanese high school graduate named Kiko Himura who is desperate to get into art school and escape a mother who only ever tears her down. When she's rejected from Prism, her #1 choice, she's at an all time low.

OCTOBER NON-FICTION It's Not Okay to Feel Blue - Various

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:24:52 UTC

It's OK to not want to talk about it. It's OK to find it funny. It's OK to be human. Over 70 people have shared their powerful, funny and moving stories exploring their own mental health, including Sam Smith, Emilia Clarke, Candice Carty-Williams and Adam Kay.

OCTOBER FICTION Read Between the Lies - Malcom Duffy

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:25:08 UTC

Tommy is talented, cool, a young offender, and dyslexic. Ryan is smart, uncool, well-behaved, and dyslexic. The two develop an unlikely friendship. As Ryan helps Tommy to read, a secret is revealed that will change their lives forever.

OCTOBER NON-FICTION Dyslexia is my Superpower - Margaret Rooke

90501171 — 2023-10-09 14:25:21 UTC

The book is about children and teenagers with dyslexia all over the world, told from the point-of-view of the young people themselves. They give an insight into what dyslexia is like for them, the challenges it brings but with a major focus on dyslexia as a “superpower”.

NOVEMBER NON-FICTION Man Up - Jack Urwin

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:06:21 UTC

Intersectionality - Mental Health

Jack Urwin traces modern ideas of masculinity from the inability of older generations to deal with the horrors of war, to the mob mentality of football terraces or Fight Club and the disturbing rise of mental health problems among men especially young men today.

NOVEMBER FICTION I Was Born for This - Alice Oseman

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:06:43 UTC

Intersectionality - LGBT+

Jimmy Kaga-Ricci owes everything to The Ark. He's their frontman - and playing in a band with his mates is all he ever dreamed of doing. But dreams don't always turn out the way you think and when Jimmy and Angel are unexpectedly thrust together, they find out how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be.

NOVEMBER FICTION Dear Martin - Nic Stone

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:06:57 UTC

Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend--but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates.

NOVEMBER NON-FICTION Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:07:12 UTC

When Layla Saad began an Instagram challenge called #MeAndWhiteSupremacy, she never predicted it would spread as widely as it did. She encouraged people to own up and share their racist behaviors, big and small. She was looking for truth, and she got it. Thousands of people participated in the challenge, and over 90,000 people downloaded the Me and White Supremacy Workbook.

NOVEMBER NON-FICTION The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die - Peter Lantos

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:07:20 UTC

The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die describes an extraordinary journey, made by Peter, a boy of five, through war-torn Europe in 1944 and 1945. Peter and his parents set out from a small Hungarian town, travelling through Austria and then Germany together.

NOVEMBER FICTION - The Raptures - Jan Carson

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:07:31 UTC

Hannah Adger anticipates eight long weeks' reprieve from school, but when her classmate Ross succumbs to a violent and mysterious illness, it marks the beginning of a summer like no other. As others fall ill, questions about what - or who - is responsible pitch the village into conflict and fearful disarray.

NOVEMBER FICTION Happy Head - Josh Silver

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:07:43 UTC

An epidemic of unhappiness. Friends, here is the good news: HappyHead has the answer. When Seb is offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to change how people see him and make his parents proud.

NOVEMBER NON-FICTION The Year I Didn’t Eat - Samuel Pollen

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:07:58 UTC

Fourteen-year-old Max Howarth is living with anorexia. With the help of his therapist and his supportive, but flawed, family, he's trying his best to maintain his health. But things spiral out of control, and his eating disorder threatens to isolate him from everyone he loves.

NOVEMBER NON-FICTION Uniquely Human - Dr Barry M. Prizant

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:08:14 UTC

Barry M. Prizant's Uniquely Human tackles new language such as shifting from “person-first language” to “identity-first language,” diversity of identity in the autism sphere, and the future of autistic advocacy by amplifying the voices of autistic and neurodivergent individuals.

NOVEMBER FICTION The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:08:29 UTC

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time tells the story of a gifted boy called Christopher Boone. He investigates the killing of a dog and in doing so has an adventure of self-discovery.

NOVEMBER NON-FICTION Gender Games - Juno Dawson

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:09:09 UTC

Intersectionality - Gender

From exclusionist feminists to 'alt-right' young men. From men who can't cry to the women who think they shouldn't. As her body gets in line with her mind, Juno tells not only her own story, but the story of everyone who is shaped by society's expectations of gender - and what we can do about it.

NOVEMBER FICTION They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera

90501171 — 2023-11-01 15:09:54 UTC

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

JANUARY NON-FICTION - Period - Emma Barnett

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:30:47 UTC

In this frank, funny rallying cry, Emma Barnett shares her story, as well as those of others, to ask why we’ve clammed up about menstruation. She’ll make you laugh, weep, and maybe squirm, about the natural process that nobody talks about, and smash this taboo once and for all.

JANUARY FICTION - Pretending - Holly Bourne

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:31:19 UTC

April is kind, pretty and relatively normal—yet she can’t seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she’s found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry. Until she realizes that men aren’t looking for real women—they’re looking for Gretel.

Gretel is perfect—beautiful but low-maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not too easy. She’s your regular, everyday Manic-Pixie-Dream-Girl-Next-Door with no problems.

When April starts pretending to be Gretel, dating becomes much more fun—especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control. It’s refreshing. Exhilarating, even. But as she and Joshua grow closer, and the pressure of keeping her painful past a secret begins to build, how long will she be able to keep on pretending?

JANUARY FICTION - Ellie Pillai is Brown - Christine Pillainayagam

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:31:28 UTC

Most days, Ellie Pillai is somewhere between invisible, and not very cool - and usually she's okay with that. But suddenly, Ellie feels different. Maybe it's the new boy at school who makes her brain explode into rainbows every time she sees him (and also happens to be going out with her best friend), or maybe it's her new drama teacher, the one who seems to have noticed she exists. Suddenly, her misfit style, her skin colour, her songwriting and all that getting lost in the music in her head seem to be okay too. Because maybe standing out isn't a bad thing after all.

JANUARY NON-FICTION - How to Stay Safe Online - Seyi Akiwowo

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:31:37 UTC

Intersectionality - Gender

Globally, women are 27 times more likely than men to be harassed online. Black women are 84% more likely to face online harassment than white. There has been a 71% rise in online disability abuse and 78% of LGBTQ+ people have experienced hate speech online.

How to Stay Safe Online is an urgent, necessary digital self-care tool from leading activist for online equality Seyi Akiwowo. With a blend of practical advice, Seyi's personal experiences and interviews with Jameela Jamil, Hera Hussain, Laura Bates and Yassmin Abdel-Magied, this book will:

* Provide practical tips on how to confidently navigate online spaces
* Equip you with a range of responses to online abuse and how to effectively report
* Teach you how to set boundaries and use the internet as a force for good
* Empower friends, teachers and parents to help victims
* Help you create your own digital self-care plan

This will be the go-to guide to developing resilience, greater compassion for others and authentic allyship online.

JANUARY NON-FICTION - Anne Frank’s Diary - Graphic Novel

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:31:44 UTC

In the summer of 1942, fleeing the horrors of the Nazi occupation, Anne Frank and her family were forced into hiding in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse.

Aged thirteen when she went into the secret annexe, Anne Frank kept a diary in which she confided her innermost thoughts and feelings, movingly revealing how the eight people living under these extraordinary conditions coped with the daily threat of discovery and death.

Adapted by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky, and authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, this is the first graphic edition of the beloved diary of Anne Frank.

JANUARY FICTION - The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:31:50 UTC

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught, he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.

There have been many books about the Holocaust - and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov's incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners, and he was determined to survive - not just to survive but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also - almost unbelievably - a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale - a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer - it was love at first sight, and he determined not only to survive himself but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story - their story - will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story.

JANUARY FICTION - All the Thing that Could Go Wrong - Stewart Foster

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:32:05 UTC

Dan is angry. Nothing has been the same since his big brother left, and he’s taking it out on the
nearest and weakest target: Alex.

Alex is struggling. His severe OCD makes it hard for him to leave the house, especially when Dan
and his gang are waiting for him at school . . .

Then the boys’ mums arrange for them to meet up and finish building the raft that Dan started with his brother. Two enemies stuck together for the whole of the school holidays – what could possibly go wrong?

JANUARY NON-FICTION - The Awesome Power of Sleep - Nicola Morgan

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:32:15 UTC

Late nights, addictive technology and minds racing with exam stress and friendship worries: it's no wonder the teenage stereotype is tired eyes and sleeping through the weekend. Just like adults, teenagers are sleeping less now than ever before, yet sleep is crucial to our health and well-being. Internationally renowned expert on the teenage brain, Nicola Morgan, tackles this essential subject – asking why teenagers so desperately need a good night's sleep, exploring what a lack of sleep does to their developing brains, and explaining how to have the best sleep possible.

Authoritative, accessible and informed by the latest scientific evidence, Nicola Morgan writes a fascinating and helpful guide for both teenagers and adults alike.

JANUARY FICTION - Anna - Laura Guthrie

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:32:33 UTC

Every cloud has a silver lining. Doesn't it?Anna is thirteen years old, lives in London with her father, and has Asperger's syndrome. When her father dies she travels up to the Scottish Central Belt to live with her estranged, reclusive mother. With little support to help her fit in, she must use everything her father taught her—especially her 'Happy Game'—to integrate into her new community, connect with her mother, discover her past, and cope with the challenges along the way.

JANUARY NON-FICTION - A Different Sort of Normal - Abigail Balfe

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:33:32 UTC

Hi! My name is Abigail, and I'm autistic. But I didn't know I was autistic until I was an adult-sort-of-person*.

This is my true story of growing up in the confusing 'normal' world, all the while missing some Very Important Information about myself.

There'll be scary moments involving toilets and crowded trains, heart-warming tales of cats and pianos, and funny memories including my dad and a mysterious tub of ice cream. Along the way you'll also find some Very Crucial Information about autism.

If you've ever felt different, out of place, like you don't fit in . . . this book is for you.

JANUARY FICTION - Sonny and Me - Ross Sayers

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:33:41 UTC

FOURTH YEAR. TWO PALS. ONE MURDER.WELCOME TO BATTLEFIELD HIGH...‘Whoever said yer school days are the best days ae yer life was at the absolute wind up. I hink maist adults dinnae mind whit it was really like. Wait til yeese hear whit Sonny and me got detention for...’Daughter and Sonny are two best friends just trying to get through fourth year at high school. But when their favourite teacher leaves unexpectedly, and no one will say why, the boys decide to start their own investigation. As they dig deeper into the staff at Battlefield High, they discover a dark secret which one person will kill to protect...Will they uncover the truth without being expelled? Can their friendship survive when personal secrets are revealed? And will they manage to skive off double English?

JANUARY NON-FICTION - Queer, There, and Everywhere - Sarah Prager

90501171 — 2024-01-09 14:33:51 UTC

World history has been made by countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—and you’ve never heard of many of them.

Queer author and activist Sarah Prager delves deep into the lives of 23 people who fought, created, and loved on their own terms. From high-profile figures like Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt to the trailblazing gender-ambiguous Queen of Sweden and a bisexual blues singer who didn’t make it into your history books, these astonishing true stories uncover a rich queer heritage that encompasses every culture, in every era.