Hekate's powers are more than she could have ever imagined. Separated from her mother in early life, Hekate is driven by loss and grief to find out her purpose and discover her powers. This is a re-telling of a Greek myth, so has all the immensity and magnificence in the plot that you'd expect: Gods, wars, the underworld, golden blood -- you name it! What I love about it is that Hekate discovers her powers out of parts of herself that really hurt. I think it's a nice message for when we're feeling powerless. The story is written in verse and it's totally inhalable. I would've read it all in one sitting if real life would have stopped interfering! This is a book for #findingyourself #conflict #loss #innerstrength #selfdiscovery Video review here .

A group of hopeful writers is given the chance of a lifetime, but how far will they go to achieve their dream? I was hooked by the first line of this book - it promises moodiness and atmosphere and twistedness, and that's everything I want at this time of year when it's getting colder and darker. So the story is mainly told from the perspectives of Effy and Arlo (a bit of enemies to lovers going on here), who are both selected, along with a few others, to attend a writing mentorship programme called Jan Term. It's run by the controversial but prestigious Meredith Graffam, who has the mentees do all sorts of dangerous initiation tasks, like jumping into icy waters and standing in oncoming traffic, while shouting out their deepest fears, secrets and desires. It's dark, but the mentees want to push themselves to find their best stories. They trust Meredith Graffam, but should they? This is a great book if you've ever felt like you've betrayed yourself to impress someone else. It's about listening to, and trusting, your gut feelings, even if a person in authority is telling you otherwise. This is a book for #trustingyourgut and #questioningauthority Video review here .

Ruby accidentally kills someone when she's four. Now, as a teenager, she still can't escape her past. Ruby lives with a level of guilt few of us can imagine, and even though it was unintended and she was a child, she doesn't think she'll ever get over it. Her schoolmates don't make it easier. She changes schools because she's horribly bullied, but her history follows her and her new life becomes a lot like her old one, until somehow, things get even worse. Sue Wallman does a great job of making far-fetched things feel realistic: from the descriptions of the school to the incident in the gym, I was hooked. If you want a page-turner that explores feelings of guilt, regret and what it's like to be bullied, this could be the book for you. This is a book for exploring #bullying and feelings of #guilt and #regret . It's also just a good #thriller . Video review here .

13-year-old Robin becomes a fugative after his dad is arrested by corrupt cops. This Robin Hood is a kind of nerdy hacker with some impressive archery skills, living in a modern Britain where the rich rule and the poor are pushed to the margins. This rewrite of the legend has Robin and John as brothers, Guy Gisbourne as the local gangster, and Sheriff Marjorie as the CEO of a huge corporate enterprise. But the story really takes off when Robin and John have to escape Gisbourne's thugs and Robin is taken in by the Maid family. The duo, Robin and Marion, are very relatable characters whose friendship is both heartwarming to readers and, at times, cringingly confusing for them. I loved their banter and (as a massive Robin Hood geek,) the whisper of romance that might develop in the later books in the series. It's fast-paced action with sharp dialogue, rebellious and real. It’s just the kind of story that gets reluctant readers hooked. #injustice #politics #12+ #13+ #14+ #15+ #siblingrelationships #socialissues #poverty #friendship #isolation

High school truth or dare games gets deadly. Set a year after One of Us is Lying , this tense, fast-paced sequel returns to Bayview High — and although Simon is gone, someone else is ready to stir things up. A seemingly fun truth or dare game soon turns ugly. We hear the story from three new perspectives: Maeve (Bronwyn's little sister), Phoebe and Knox as the story digs into friendship, pressure, secrets, and how quickly things can spiral out of control. As the dares grow riskier and the truths cut deeper, the lines between victim and villain blur. Everyone has something to hide. The mystery to solve: who is behind this sick game? And you won’t be able to put it down until you know! #difficultparents #sexualissues #siblingrelationship #isolation #misfit To see the video review, click here .

Eighteen year old Salama finds hope in war-torn Syria. TW: sexual assault, descriptions of war and conflict. Salama is eighteen when, with only one year of training as a pharmacist, she has to work as an emergency doctor in her local hospital in Homs, Syria. The situation is dire, and she has to see things and deal with situations no one should: a never-ending stream of patients, including young children, with horrific injuries. All the time, she fights with the question: Should she stay put and help as many people as she can in Syria, even though she faces almost certain death? Or should she try to escape, leaving the home and people she loves? Amongst all the horror, Salama finds love, and then you get to know the real Salama, under the urgent realities of living in a place of conflict. This is a fast-paced book with surprising twists. The beauty of Syria, and the horrors of war, took shape for me through the vivid descriptions. I was up sobbing at 3am with this one. This is a book for #exploringconflict #war #grief #conflict #refugees #immigration #displacement #lovestory Video review here .

Valerie can't escape her life in a religious cult. She doesn't even know she's in one at first because no one who's a part of it would ever call it that. But she IS extremely frustrated by her controlling parents: they decide who she socialises with (no one outside their religion); the subjects she's allowed to study at homeschool; and the chores she does (which are super sexist and waaayyy more than what her brother has to do -- total double standards). Most disturbingly, at one point Valerie's mum even tells her she must dress modestly so her own brother and father don't get impure thoughts. RED FLAGS EVERYWHERE!!! But then Valerie meets Riley, who opens up a new way of seeing things, and their lives are never the same again. This is a book for #lgbtq #religiouscults #controllingparents #fightinghomophobia #feelingtrapped #takingrisks. Video review here .

Two loner misfit teen boys, with completely different attitudes to life, find each other and become unlikely friends. Ari is depressed. He has a brother in prison and a virtually silent dad who has nightmares about the Vietnam war. Ari can't swim, but he meets Dante at the swimming pool, and he offers to teach him. Dante is light and joyful, but alone, like Ari. The two hit it off immediately but their differences makes their friendship a little complicated. What's really great about this book is how all the angst and darkness of being a teen is captured in Ari's outlook. He is so relatable in his lonesomeness and his unshakeable belief that he has no one in his life to care about or who cares about him. He totures himself by keeping his emotions inside. The contrast between him and Dante is such a treat to read about and although Dante has a much sunnier view of the world, he's equally tormented and unhappy. For you if you're interested in: #difficultfriendships #sexualidentity #socialissues

A school murder mystery where everyone is a suspect, the police are incompetent and money buys silence. This is a book about school pressures and friendships. This book is a little slow to get going but I’m glad I persevered because the ending is like a handbook for how to evaluate your friendships and not get walked all over. Jess is a scholarship student at a prestigious boarding school and she’s never quite secure in her position. She co-authors a fabulous short story where a student is murdered and then this murder actually takes place. The school board and the police are looking for answers and when they can’t find them, they look for a scapegoat instead. Meanwhile a secret society, apparently feared by students and teachers alike, is sending anonymous texts and dares to students. Jess receives a dare and a death threat. A book for you if you’re feeling #schoolstress or are having issues with a #difficultfriendship

Teen boy suffers from anxiety, get's rich and spies on his hot neighbour. Although this book isn't set in a completely modern time, it still deals with some big issues: spontanious erections, sexual desire, and the physical effects of anxiety. Tony was just an ordinary kid before his dad inventend something that made their family rich. His mother becomes obsessed with them having the right possessions and the right friends which include Joel, his neighbour who has a really hot sister. The trouble with Joel is that he makes Tony really anxious, so anxious he gets completely sick to his stomach whenever they spend time together. So sick he has to see a doctor because his anxiety makes him so violently ill. This book is for you if you're a teen boy going through the normal changes of puberty but find change a bit tricky. #change #anxiety #controllingparents #difficultfriendship To view the video review, click here.

Lou doesn’t fit in, her family is broken but she finds an unlikely friendship in a Paris train station. Lou has a dead sister, and a mother who has completely checked out.  She’s so smart she’s been bumped up 2 years but is a complete loner. Worst of all she has to give a presentation to her 16-year-old classmates and hates public speaking. She meets No, an 18-year-old homeless girl at the train station who becomes her friend, her confidant and her escape from loneliness. The friendship thing isn’t easy though, especially not when family becomes involved and No’s drinking problem surfaces. It’s young adult book about homelessness, #loneliness #grief, #depression and a a little about #addiction. It’s for you if you’ve ever thought of running away from home or you’re struggling to understand someone else’s grief. "Sometimes it seems as though something's lacking inside me, like there's a crossed wire, a part that's not working, a manufacturing error. Not, as you might think, something extra, but something missing." Video review here .

A page-turning, almost diary account of a high school girl whose life changes entirely overnight with one horrid event. When something bad happens, it's difficult to know how to talk about it. Sometimes you just can't find the words. Something awful has happened to Melinda. Something that took her friends, her self respect and her words. It's a year long journey before she can finally talk about what happend on that awful night and begin to heal. Depressed and completely apathetic about school because of the traumatic event, the only solace she finds is in her art class. She is almost entirely alone with parents who can't understand her silence and just one superficial, new friend. When the same fate looks likely to befall her friend we wonder if Melinda will step up and speak out or remain silent. This book is an incredible read about #sexualabuse #lonliness #school issues and about not being able to speak up. Video link here