English Recommends... Modern Scottish

Iain Banks - The Crow Road; The Wasp Factory
William Boyd - Restless
Andrew Greig - In Another Light
Des Dillon - Duck; Itchy Coo Blue; Me and My Gal
Luke Sutherland - Jelly Roll
Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting

English Recommends... Science Fiction/ Fantasy

Isaac Asimov - Nemesis
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Iain M. Banks - Feersum Endjinn
Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
John Wyndharn - The Day of the Triffids

English Recommends... Prejudice

Maya Angelou - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Robin Jerkins - The Cone‑Gatherers
Bernard MacLaverty - Cal
Alan Paton - Cry the Beloved Country
Alice Walker - The Color Purple

Holocaust Remembrance

Want to know more about the holocaust? Then pick up some of the moving fiction about it:

Once by Morris Gleitzman
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Want to know more? Then read Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl - it's the real diary of a Jewish girl who tried to hide from the Nazis.

For more information then try the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Encyclopedia

English Recommends... Non-Fiction

Mayou Angelou - I know why the caged bird sings
Andrea Ashworth - Once in a house on fire
Bill Bryson - A Walk in the Woods
Jung Chang - Wild Swans
Frank McCourt - Angela’s Ashes
Alexander Masters - Stuart: a life backwards
Blake Morrison - And when did you last see your father?
Dave Pelzer - A Child called It (Int 1)
Alice Sebold - Lucky (Int 2)
Joe Simpson - Touching the Void

Murder in the Library

If trying to crack the case gets you going why not try some of these books:

S1 - 3
Half-Moon Investigations - Eoin Colfer
Traces: Framed! - Malcolm Rose
The Body in the Library - Agatha Christie
Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz
Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle

S4 - 6
The Crow Road - Iain Banks
Deja Dead - Kathy Reichs
Knots and Crosses - Ian Rankin
Dead Famous - Ben Elton
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime - Mark Haddon

The Lottie Project By Jacqueline Wilson

The Lottie Project is about a teenager called Charlotte BUT no one calls her Charlotte except her teacher Miss Beckworth everyone ells calls her Charlie. Charlie is writing a project about the Victorians. She is writing it like a dairy about a Victorian girl Lottie. Lottie has to levee her home to find work as a servant.

By DD

Clean Break by Jacqueline Wilson

When Em’s mum and dad break up, Em does her best to cheer up her little brother and sister, even though she’s miserable too. She tells them exciting tales because she knows a good story can make life seem better. Meeting the author of her very own favourite books would be a dream come true. But could her other greatest wish be granted?

By Dopey =D

Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori

“Pure Dead Magic” is mysterious book about the Stega-Borgia family. Somehow or another they keep running into trouble and Mr Signor Stega-Borgia has been kidnapped by his evil half brother and his two children, Pandora and Titus, have shrunk their baby sister!

This book tells the story of how this family has to work together to spare their lives. It is the first in the series and is so gripping I couldn’t put it down. I am definitely going to finish the series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a magical story with a hint of laughter.

By Miss Banana

The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill

The book of the great escape was written by Paul Brick hill. It is about six hundred soldiers who went to a German camp in Holland. Or you could call it a P.O.W. camp. To get out of the camp they had to build three tunnels. The tunnels were nicknamed Tom, Dick and Harry. Some of the men escaped. But some of them got caught and were executed by the Gestapo. Fifty men were killed and the book and the film was dedicated to them.

by Jojo

Kylie: Story of a Survivor by Virginia Blackburn

This Kylie book is a book that you or a parent will like to read. It is a book about the life story of Kylie Minogue, it takes you right back until she was born, and when her sister (Danii) was born. If you like auto-biography then you will like this one.

By Hughes

The last godfather (The life and times of Arthur Thompson) by Reg McKay

Glasgow was already no mean city – then Arthur Thompson was born, the underworld got worse, first he started out as a bouncer then a minder and a moneylender, he instantly developed his own technique for dealing with stubborn punters – he nailed them to the floor.


In the LAST GODFATHER, Reg McKay reveals the truth about Thompson’s life and crimes, exposing his involvement in unsolved murders, drug dealing, gun running, corruption, contracts and hit men, politics and unholy alliances. With new and previously unpublished material, it’s the astonishing story of one man’s relentless and ruthless rise to the top of the criminal underworld.

by I con i

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K.Rowling

This book is about a young boy who goes to Hogwarts to do magic it is Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts.
Harry is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursleys’
in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the headmaster was in a fierce head-to-head duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can’t quit believe that professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the Dursleys’ of all places. Why is the professor coming to visit now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks’ time?

So go and read Harry Potter and the half blood prince.

By Tara.

A Boy from Bolton: My Story by Amir Khan

I’m writing about the story of Amir Khan.
Amir Khan is a hard working, twenty-first-century hero: a standard bearer for his Pakistani heritage, his Lancashire upbringing and the future of British boxing.
At just seventeen he won the silver at the 2004 Olympics
In the Athens and when he turned professional in 2005 he won his first fight in 109 seconds. Tickets to his first fights sell out in hours and he is watched by millions on prime time television. But his feet are still firmly on the ground- he lives at home with his parents in Bolton, fasts in the holy month of Ramadan and can sometimes be spotted helping out his uncle and aunties curry house.
By A1 boxer

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mocking Bird is the story of three children called Jem, Scout and Dill. The whole story is told from Jem’s point of view. In the book the three children torment a local horror legend Boo Radley who is told to be a man that will kill people and watch them as they sleep. The children must also deal with racism because the book is set in depression era America and is worse when there Dad Atticus Finch takes the case of a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl.

I thought this book was very interesting read. It deals with how young people deal with issue such as racism and also acceptance in the case of Boo Radley who actually is a very nice man. This book was very interesting read and I would highly recommend it.

By John Cofee

Marley & Me by John Grogan

John & Jenny were young & deeply in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy.Life would never be the same.
A compelling, addicting true story of love hope and eternal friendship, this book is so damn fantastic. I could never put it down. It even made me cry at the end. It made me laugh so much that I pulled a muscle in my solar plexus. Just get it.

By Barry Soap

Jenny and John were just young and were in love, they had a house of there own and they never had a care in the whole world. Then they bought a cute little puppy and took him home, they called him Marley J.
His fur is a golden colour and he looks like a fur ball. When Jenny and John got Marley their life changed.
He loved to chew things like the picture below.
When I read this book I was laughing because it was so funny. J
By Marley (the puppy) J

Slawter by Darren Shan

This book is about a boy called Grubbs Grady, his brother Bill-E and his uncle Dervish. A movie director called David-A offers them a job at her new movie named Slawter. But when Grubbs notices that the demons in the movie are real all hell breaks loose. First know one believes that the demons are real but after people go missing and Grubbs starts to use magic everyone try’s to get out of slawter.

This is an amazing book and I would definitely recommend it.

By bob mcjim

Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy

“Scarlett” is a great book for girls 9-13 who like mysteries, real life, trouble making, romance and annoying step sisters. I really enjoyed this book. It is all about a girl called Scarlett; her mum is fed up with all her trouble so she sends her away to live with her dad and his girlfriend and her daughter. She meets a boy named Kian and his horse Midnight who
Always disappears every time she goes to the wishing tree with someone. Who is Kian? My favourite character has to be Scarlett because I like her attitude and style. I would definitely recommended it to all my friends and will read more of her books.

Chocobiscuit

Just Stupid by Andy Griffiths

‘JUST STUPID’ is a very funny book with lots different stories, some are better than others, my favorite is chubby bubbies. Andy and his friend Danny go to a birthday party and Andy really fancy’s this girl called Lisa. Andy is challenged to see who can fit more marshmallows in their mouths by Danny. They both have over 15 in there mouth when Lisa comes over to thank Andy for his present he gave her and Andy needs to sneeze then he sneezes all over her and she puts a marshmallow in her mouth and says ONE CHUBBY BUBBIE!( she wants to challenge Andy now)

Overall: I though this book is funny and exciting.

By Jim Mcaver

James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

This book is about a boy whose parents have died after died being eaten by a big rhino. Since James’s parents are dead his mum’s evil sister’s have to look after James. When James is doing one of his aunt’s chores he happens to come across a man who has magical things in a bag. The man tells him to look after them then he just disappears. James runs back to the house but falls by a big peach tree. His aunt’s find him and tell him to but before they could speak they see a peach growing on the tree. It grows gigantic. His aunt’s then sell tickets for people to see the peach and of course make James clean up at the end of the day. When James is cleaning he happens to find a big hole in the peach so he decides to crawl into it then he comes across the big stone in the middle but he meets things inside the peach. I would recommend this book to people over the age of eight.

By Jimbob Squarepants