Each year children from our twelve Testing Groups and all over the country read hundreds of books, and the top 50 of these are our Pick of the Year.

After taking out our Top Ten, which become our short list, we are pleased to recommend the following 40 books, which children have chosen as their favourites.

Older Readers

  • Vampirates: Blood Captain
  • Justin Somper
  • Simon & Schuster 9781416901020

The third book in the Vampirates series, this tale does not disappoint. Grace and Connor each face huge challenges. Connor must cope with problems aboard the pirate ship Diablo, including Captain Wrathe’s nephew, Moonshine, while Grace copes with her own difficulties. This fast-paced adventure is a real page-turner.

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  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  • J.K. Rowling
  • Bloomsbury 9780747591054

Through untold twists and turns, the struggle between Harry Potter and Voldemort, between good and evil, continues until the final battle at Hogwarts. The body count is high but the truth prevails! Many say that this seventh and final book in the series is the best of all. Read it and judge for yourself.

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  • Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse
  • Rick Riordan
  • Puffin 9780141382890

It is 1942 and Felix is making the best of life in an orphanage where his Jewish parents have hidden him for safekeeping. He sets off to find them and to make sense of the war-torn environment. Story-telling, real friendship small acts of kindness, and large acts of bravery make this difficult subject accessible for thoughtful readers.

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  • Pride and Penalties
  • Chris Higgins
  • Hodder 9780340917299

Sports-mad Charlotte is more than a little hurt that her dad never notices her sporting achievements and only seems to care about her multi-talented brother. And there are other worries too – her gran is increasingly forgetful and her parents seem to be growing apart. In this novel Chris Higgins handles many of the concerns facing teenagers with sensitivity.

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  • Snakehead
  • Anthony Horowitz
  • Walker 9781406309355

In his most dangerous mission yet, Alex is asked by the Australian Secret Service to infiltrate the dreaded Snakehead network. Desperate to learn more about his parents, he agrees, but life becomes incredibly complicated when he finds himself caught between two secret services, with no one he can trust. Another compelling read for Horowitz fans.

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  • The Declaration
  • Gemma Malley
  • Bloomsbury 9780747587750

Anna, with no second name, is a Surplus – a child who shouldn’t be alive – striving to become a Valuable Asset. Apart from her secret diary, she conforms to life within Grange Hall, until Peter arrives and opens Anna’s mind to life outside. Is this fascinating futuristic tale a prophecy of things to come?

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  • Outcast
  • Michelle Paver
  • Orion 9781842551738

Torak’s dreadful secret is revealed and he is cast out from the clans. In the haunted reedbeds of Lake Axehead, alone, on the run and suffering from ‘soul-sickness’, he is hunted by the clans and taunted by the Hidden People.

Will he be able to overcome the evil? This is a gripping adventure about friendship, survival and the need to belong.

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  • Hurricane Gold
  • Charlie Higson
  • Puffin 9780141383910

The latest instalment in the adventures of the young James Bond has him encountering villains and escaping dangers in Mexico. Bond girl, Precious Stone, is at his side in this action-packed, gold covered novel.

Our readers also enjoyed Double or Die, the previous book in the series.

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  • Fearless
  • Tim Lott
  • Walker 9781406308624

In this modern fable, Little Fearless is held prisoner in an Orwellian penal institution disguised as a school.

Her powers as a story-teller and repeated acts of bravery have remarkable consequences.

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  • Life on the Refrigerator Door
  • Alice Kuipers
  • Macmillan 9780230531222

Busy lives mean Claire and her mum communicate through messages pinned to the fridge door. But lists of shopping are replaced with more important messages as both struggle to cope with an unexpected crisis. A moving story told in an unusual way.

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  • Abela
  • Berlie Doherty
  • Andersen 9781842706893

‘Be strong, my Abela,’ are the last words Abela hears her mother speak before she dies in a Tanzanian hospital. Across the world in Sheffield, Rosa is trying to come to terms with her mother’s wish to adopt. Is it possible that the fate of these two girls might be linked? This powerful and deeply moving story will stir hearts and minds.

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And for our most mature readers...

 

  • Kiss
  • Jacqueline Wilson
  • Doubleday 9780385610100

Sylvie and Carl did everything as a twosome. They went to school together, they spent hours in each other’s homes and they wove magical fantasies in the ‘glass palace’ about their future lives. But what happens when they are drawn down different paths? Jacqueline Wilson treats this unusual coming of age tale with sensitivity and humour.

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  • Ruby Red
  • Linzi Glass
  • Puffin 9780141382807

Set in South Africa at the time of the Soweto riots, this novel deals with Ruby, a privileged South African who, like her parents, does not support the rigid regime of pass books and race laws. Living a ‘normal’ life filled with dances and sporting events at school becomes increasingly difficult for Ruby as she and her family face increasing pressures from the apartheid regime.

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