Christmas

Fancy a good Christmas Story to curl up to? Why not try:

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Herclue Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

War Game by Michael Foreman

Carl Hiaasen

A Florida born writer many of his books are set in this area and usually have an environmental twist.

Flush

Noah's dad is sure that the owner of the Coral Queen casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harbor. He can't prove it though, and so he decides that sinking the boat will make an effective statement. Right. The boat is pumped out and back in business within days and Noah's dad is stuck in the clink but Noah is determined to succeed where his dad failed.

Hoot

Roy Eberhardt is the new kid--again. Same old routine: table by himself at lunch, no real friends, and thick-headed bullies like Dana Matherson. But if he had never met Dana, he might never have discovered the burrowing owls living in the lot on the corner of East Oriole Avenue. And if he had never discovered the owls, he probably would have missed out on the adventure of a lifetime.

Skinny Dip

Chaz Perrone doctors water samples so that a ruthless agribusiness tycoon can continue illegally dumping fertilizer into the endangered Everglades. When Chaz suspects that his wife, Joey, has figured out his scam, he pushes her overboard from a cruise liner into the night-dark Atlantic. Unfortunately for Chaz, his wife doesn't die in the fall.

Basket Case

Once a hotshot investigative reporter, Jack Tagger now bangs out obituaries for a South Florida daily. Jimmy Stoma, the infamous front man of Jimmy and the Slut Puppies, dead in a fishy-smelling scuba "accident," might be the stiff of Jack's dreams — if only he can figure out what happened.

For more information check out his website

JYHS Winners

James Young High School has spoken and correctly predicted the winners of the Royal Mail Scottish Book Awards:

Chill by Alex Nye

Samuel is trapped by huge snow drifts in an old, remote house. And that's not the only thing causing a cold shiver to creep down his spine. He feels like the ghostly figure in the locked library has a message - but who is it for?

Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy

Scarlett's not red like a sunset, she's red with rage. She cannot believe her mum is packing her off to Ireland to stay with the dad who left them. Surely he's the reason for everything going wrong, her never being able to stay in a school, rules always getting broken? They won't get round her so easily.

The Outsiders - S.E.Hinton

This exciting and well plotted book also has great characters. Greasers, Rockers, different place, different name; but wherever they are, they're outsiders, the rough, tough, long-haired boys from the 'other side' of town. Their story is told by Ponyboy, a Greaser, and a witness to the savage beating that leads his best friend to manslaughter. It's more than a story of hatred and violence, it is also about teenage loyalty and friendship and the search for personal dignity and a place in the world.

AcrossThe Barricades - Joan Lingard

Kevin and Sadie both know their relationship is dangerous.
In these terrifying times in Belfast, no Catholic boy and Protestant girl go out together without resentment and even violence flaring up around them. So what will happen if they insist on seeing each other?

Set during the times of the Irish Troubles this story shows the reality of being a teenager and growing up in a city where terrorism and regligious hatred are common place.

Rememberance Day

This years display focuses on the people pulled into the war.

S1-3

Private Peaceful - Michael Murpurgo

Cowards - Marcus Sedgewick

War Game - Michael Foreman

S4 - 6

Regeneration - Pat Barker

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

Testament of Youth - Vera Brittain

Haunt Your Library

Fancy a good scare this Hallowe'en? Then try these creepy classics:

Dracula by Bram Stoker
(The original and best it's written as a collection of diary entries, newspaper clippings and transcriptions of converstations so the truth about the mysterious Count only gradually come together).

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
(Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates a Monster but the monster wants a female or will take everything Victor holds dear from him.)

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
(A young attorney travels up North to represent his firm at a funeral but is soon caught up in a real ghost story.)

2007 Royal Mail Scottish Book Awards

The nominated books are:

Younger Readers

The Flight of the Silver Turtle by John Fardell

Chill by Alex Nye

The Highwayman's Footsteps by Nicola Morgan

Older Readers

The Medici Seal by Theresa Breslin

Nemesis: into the shadow by Catherine MacPhail

Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy

Check out the website or post your vote in the library!

Face - Benjamin Zephaniah

After a night in a local rap club, Martin has an accident while joyriding. Destroying his face, Martin finds himself in a world where prejudice, pain and hatered and is forced to see the world from a new angle.

The story hits you hard and you can really relate to Martin but at the same time it makes you question your own predjudices. A brilliant book from the writer of 'Refugee Boy'.

Holes - Louis Sachar

Stanley Yelnat's family has a history of bad luck going back generations, so he is not too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to Camp Green Lake Juvenile Detention Centre. Nor is he very surprised when he is told that his daily labour at the camp is to dig a hole, five foot wide by five foot deep, and report anything that he finds in that hole. The warden claims that it is character building, but this is a lie and Stanley must dig up the truth.

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett

This award winning book is just wonderful. It's funny and fantastical. Maurice is a super intelligent Tomcat with a troop of well trained rats and a dumb kid with a pipe, prepare for the greatest hustle ever commited by a cat!

Pratchett is a brilliant author and this is a fab reworking of the Pied Piper myth which makes you think and leaves you breathless.

The Ratastrophe Catastrophe by David Lee Stone

This story is set in the country of Illmoor, a place riddled with magic and more worryingly for it's residents - rats! However, there is one man who can help but his rates are high.
This is the first book in the Illmoor Chronicles and it is a new take on the classic story of the Pied Piper of Hamlyn. Funny with a cast of wonderful characters it is well worth a read.

The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

The gods of Greek myth are alive in the 21st Century - many fall in love with mortals and have children, but most of these children meet horrible fates at the hands of monsters before the age of twelve. Only a few learn the truth of their identity and make it to Half Blood Hill, a Long Island summer camp dedicated to training young demigods. Such is the revelation that launches young Percy Jackson on a quest to help his real father, Poseidon, avert a war among the gods. This comic adevnture is this first of a brillant series.

Hotter than Potter!

With the last Harry Potter now read here are some books you might want to try:

S1 -3

Lion, the witch and the wardrobe- C.S.Lewis

The Owl Service - Alan Garner

The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett

Redwall - Brian Jacques

Sabriel - Garth Nix

S4-6

Northern Lights - Philip Pullman

Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R.Tolkien

Dragonflight - Anne McCaffery

Pawn of Prophecy - David Eddings

Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb

How I live Now by Meg Rosoff

One word to describe this book is - moving. Daisy doesn't care when her stepmother sends her to live with her aunt and cousins in England. As the world plummets into chaos however, Daisy is stranded in England with her cousins. She finds herself having feelings she shouldn't and is suddenly cut off from them. She finds herself ignoring all common sense to see how she can go for love. I think this book was remarkable. It is set in a world not so unlike our own, full of uncertainty. It is definitely worth reading.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

This book is about - A boy called Fat Charlie who's father has just died. Problem is his Dad wasn't just a Dad he was Anansi the trickster spider-god. The spirt of rebellion, able to overturn social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil. Fat Charlie's life is about to be turned upside down. Not only an award winner but also a brilliant and funny story.

Born Confused - Tanuja Desai Hidier

This book is about Dimple Lala, a teenager growing up in New Jersey who is fascinated by the world around her. While attempting to break away from traditional Indian values, she has the difficult task of making sure she carries her identity wherever she goes. Down-to-earth and funny, Hidier does a good job of explaining how sticking to your roots and being true to yourself are the two most important things to do while growing up.

If you enjoy a classic romance story but want to know more about the characters then this books is well worth a read.