BOOK OF THE WEEK
22 April 2024
Hello Bookworms!
What did you think of my book choices last week? Here are two more excellent books to read and if you’d like some more inspiration, do check out our Reading List.
Echo Mountain by Laurne Wolk
When Ellie and her family lose everything, they flee to Echo Mountain. Ellie has found a welcome freedom and a love of the natural world, but her father has a terrible accident, so she sets out to find a cure and discovers Cate, the outcast witch, and Larkin, a wild mountain boy.
1933. A new life in Echo Mountain, where Ellie runs wild, exploring the mountain’s mysteries. Then Ellie’s father has a terrible accident and lies in a coma, while Ellie shoulders the blame for what happened. But there’s one thing she cannot solve, who is leaving the gifts for her: tiny, beautiful wooden carvings of animals and flowers, dotted around the mountain for her to find.
When she sets out to find a cure for him, she discovers Cate and Larkin and learns about being a healer, being brave – and about how there can be much more to a person than first meets the eye.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2021’ Harper Lee has a worthy successor
‘Wolk is a big new talent’ -The Times
‘It is a magical thing to step into a world created by Wolk . . . Captivating’ – Booklist starred review
‘Historical fiction at its finest’ – The Horn Book
‘There has never been a better time to read about healing, of both the body and the heart. –The New York Times Book Review
‘This is a book that will soothe readers like a healing balm.’ –The Wall Street Journal
Boy 87 by Ele Fountain
Shif is just an ordinary boy who likes chess, maths and racing his best friend home from school. But one day, soldiers with guns come – and he knows that he is no longer safe.
Fourteen-year-old Shif is just an ordinary boy, but when soldiers come to his door he is forced to leave his mother and little sister, and embark on a dangerous journey; a journey through imprisonment and escape, new lands and strange voices, and a perilous crossing by land and sea. He will encounter cruelty and kindness; he will become separated from the people he loves.
Set in an unnamed country, this is a timely and important book which illuminates the realities of life as a refugee. The first-person narration simply but powerfully conveys Shif’s terror at the violence and cruelty he encounters, as well as his sense of loss. The horrors he is escaping are all too real, but this is ultimately a story about the power of kindness and the strength of the human spirit.
Boy 87 is a gripping, uplifting tale of one boy’s struggle for survival; it echoes the story of young people all over the world today.
SHORTLISTED WATERSTONES BOOK PRIZE
SHORTLISTED NORTHERN IRELAND BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED NORTH EAST BOOK AWARD
WINNER PORTSMOUTH BOOK AWARD
WINNER SOUTHWARK BOOK AWARD
WINNER SEFTON SUPER READS
‘Exceptional… vivid, convincing and empathetic… it grips us with the need to know how the heart-stopping events will turn out… a tale of our time, imparting understanding and sympathy… powerfully told, without sentimentality’ – Sunday Times, Children’s Book of the Week
‘Full of tension, fear, heartbreak and hope, it conveys both the bitterness of having family, home and identity stolen away piecemeal, and a courageous determination to survive’ – Guardian
‘Boy 87 is an original and beautifully written page-turner of a novel about love, survival and the strength that can be found in a hopeful human spirit’ – Sarah Crossan, Carnegie Medal Winner
‘The plight of refugees is made personal by Shif’s powerful first-person narrative, giving voice and heart to the tabloid depiction of the displaced. An assured and thought-provoking debut’ – The Bookseller
‘Boy 87 is an original and beautifully written page-turner of a novel about love, survival and the strength that can be found in a hopeful human spirit’ — Sarah Crossan, Carnegie Medal Winner
‘Shif is an unforgettable character, and his story should be read by everyone who cares about one of the unfolding tragedies of our time’ — Award-winning author Elizabeth Laird