lovereading4kids Latest: Featured Books for 14+ readers

Mice - Gordon Reece

Mice
Gordon Reece

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24 - Saving £1.75 (25%)

Sixteen-year-old Shelley tells this dark and gripping story. Bullied so badly at school that she has to leave and surviving – just - her parents’ bitter divorce, Shelley and her mum hole up in an isolated house, miles from anywhere. When their private peace is shattered by a violent intruder Shelley unleashes all her anger and takes matters into her own hands. But Shelley’s actions create new shocking new problems; how do you dispose of a dead body? And how do you stop anyone else finding out about it? A tense thriller with an unflinching heart. A Piece of Passion from the Publisher of Mice, Maria Rejt:"Mice is not a thriller that conforms particularly to what a bestselling thriller purports to be these days – there are no serial killers, no high-octane car chases, no baroque methods of torture. It begins as a simple tale of domesticity which, within a matter of pages, has evolved into an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller that literally will not let you go. "The set up is simple. A middle-aged woman and her teenage daughter escape to a rural idyll. They are retreating from the miseries of failed relationships and vicious school bullying. Together and alone in the country they are safe. Until a stranger intrudes and a split second decision sends their world into tailspin."Gordon Reece is an author who has such empathy with his characters and such control over his plotting that the reader is held in a vice-grip. Once started, there is no escaping his story which hurtles to a truly chilling and haunting climax. I loved its simplicity and power but it is the ending which stays with you long after the last page has been turned." The Lovereading view... A gripping, unique suspense thriller with a chilling twist . . .

The Other Life - Susanne Winnacker

The Other Life
Susanne Winnacker

Format: Paperback - Released: 01/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24 - Saving £1.75 (25%)

Beautifully formed and gut-wrenchingly gripping, this is essential reading. Here at Lovereading we're glad to see the back of too much paranormal publishing and pleased to see a new theme - dystopian fiction - coming to the fore. The worry will be that it gets to be, like paranormal, an overpublished area in time but for the moment there are some really cracking books. The Other Life is absolutely no exception. Terrific characterisation and a setting so well portrayed that you can almost smell the world that Sherry and Joshua inhabit. With an incredible twist at the end which you absolutely will not know about until you read it this is an incredible debut novel not to be missed.

Someone Else's Life - Katie Dale

Someone Else's Life
Katie Dale

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24 - Saving £1.75 (25%)

A totally gripping roller-coaster of a story about family secrets, relationships and deceit. It's Jodi Picoult for teens and a wonderfully engaging debut from a talented young author who won the 2008 SCBWI Undiscovered Voices competition.

Socks Are Not Enough - Mark Lowery

Socks Are Not Enough
Mark Lowery

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24 - Saving £1.75 (25%)

A piece of Passion from the Publisher: We at Scholastic Children’s Books are very proud to be publishing Socks Are Not Enough by Mark Lowery in February 2012. It genuinely takes a lot to make me laugh – especially out loud. So it may have surprised my colleagues when I spent an entire afternoon at my desk snorting with amusement. “What is SO funny?” they enquired. I proceeded to read them extract after extract of the “really hilarious submission” I was reading. Yes – that submission was the wonderful SOCKS ARE NOT ENOUGH, Mark Lowery’s debut novel. The protagonist, Michael Swarbrick, is the ultimate geek. But every reader of Socks Are Not Enough will very much identify with him. I know I certainly did. Anyone who remembers being 14 will recall the same cringe-worthy embarrassment at their parents’ or best friend’s behaviour as Michael does on coming home to discovering his parents are secret nudists – and ready to go public! Sure, my parents weren’t nudists like Michael’s. But my dad did drop me at school on the back of his vintage motorbike which constantly backfired! Any book that makes the reader recall their formative teenage years with so much laughter is one that mustn’t be missed – you’ll even enjoy it if those years are still to come.

Daylight Saving - Edward Hogan

Daylight Saving
Edward Hogan

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24 - Saving £1.75 (25%)

A chilling ghost story unfolds fast as the mysterious Lexi’s watch moves steadily backwards and Daniel discovers he must solve the mystery of her terrible wounds before Summer Time ends… Daniel knows he is going to hate everything about his trip to the Leisure World Holiday Complex with his dad. He hates sports and has no intention of doing much more than watching TV. But, when Lexi appears mysteriously on his very first day and then unexpectedly on other occasions, Daniel is drawn into helping her to confront the sinister darkness from her past.

David - Mary Hoffman

David
Mary Hoffman

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24 - Saving £1.75 (25%)

Art, politics and romance are brilliantly explored in this enthalling story of how a young man’s face became one of the most famous in the world. Country boy Gabriele arrives in Florence in 1501 with nothing but a connection to a famous sculptor and the hope of work. He is immediately caught up in the intrigues of a city which is itself a hot bed of art, politics and passion. And behind all the action he observes the creation of David, one of the remarkable statutes of all time and one which will take his face and his body into the future for ever…

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

The Fault in Our Stars
John Green

Format: Hardback - Released: 12/01/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £9.74 - Saving £3.25 (25%)

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love. John Green is a bestselling author of young-adult fiction titles. An Abundance of Katherines (2006) was a finalist in the Michael L. Printz Book Award and Paper Towns (Bloomsbury, 2010) won the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

Girl, Stolen - April Henry

Girl, Stolen
April Henry

Format: Paperback - Released: 01/03/2012
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A teenage girl is inadvertently kidnapped, a car is stolen by a gang but when the gang realises who they have in the car they have no intention of letting her go without recompense. But Cheyenne, despite being blind and ill is incredibly resourceful. This is a fast-paced thriller full of nail-biting suspense that will have you on the edge of your seat through to the end.

Fallen in Love - Lauren Kate

Fallen in Love
Lauren Kate

Format: Hardback - Released: 02/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £7.49 - Saving £2.50 (25%)

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story. In this title, in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Click here to visit the Fallen Books website.

Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity
Elizabeth Wein

Format: Paperback - Released: 06/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.99 - Saving £2.00 (25%)

This is one of the most inspiring books for the YA market that we've seen for a while. The quality of the writing is so smooth and the storyline so compelling that you'll find you've got to the end in no time. The relationship between the two main young protagonists in World War Two is brilliantly drawn and the account of one of them following capture by the Gestapo draws the reader in to such a degree that you feel you're right there with her. Don't miss this one. Other titles from teen/YA imprint Electric Monkey include: Bzrk by Michael Grant (author of the Gone series) and Oliver Twisted by J.D. Sharpe.

Blade 1: Enemies - Tim Bowler

Blade 1: Enemies
Tim Bowler

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24 - Saving £1.75 (25%)

Previously published in two parts as Blade: Playing Dead and Blade: Closing In, this is a stunning new package for this groundbreaking series. Narrated by Blade himself, be prepared to enter his world. It's not pretty ...it's urban, real and dangerous. As Blade's story unfolds, readers will become completely hooked by this unforgettable character.

Fever Book Two of the Chemical Garden - Lauren DeStefano

Fever Book Two of the Chemical Garden
Lauren DeStefano

Format: Paperback - Released: 16/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £7.49 - Saving £2.50 (25%)

For 17-year-old Rhine Ellery, a daring escape from a suffocating polygamous marriage is only the beginning! Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago -- surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness. The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine's twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous -- and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can't seem to elude Rhine's father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion!by any means necessary. In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano's harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price -- now that she has more to lose than ever.

Wither Book One of the Chemical Garden - Lauren DeStefano

Wither Book One of the Chemical Garden
Lauren DeStefano

Format: Paperback - Released: 16/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.99 - Saving £2.00 (25%)

What if you knew you exactly when you would die? In our brave new future, DNA engineering has resulted in a terrible genetic flaw. Women die at the age of 20, men at 25. Young girls are being abducted and forced to breed in a desperate attempt to keep humanity ahead of the disease that threatens to eradicate it. 16-year-old Rhine Ellery is kidnapped and sold as a bride to Linden, a rich young man with a dying wife. Even though he is kind to her, Rhine is desperate to escape her gilded cage - and Linden's cruel father. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in what little time she has left.

Oliver Twisted - J. D. Sharpe, Charles Dickens

Oliver Twisted
J. D. Sharpe, Charles Dickens

Format: Paperback - Released: 06/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24 - Saving £1.75 (25%)

Flesh, the woe-begotten moaned at Oliver, baring teeth which were ragged and black. Flesh came another moan, and he turned to see two more behind. They began to shuffle towards him, barefoot. Oliver flees his ghastly orphan life to seek his destiny in the dark streets of old London Town, despite the perils of the woe-begotten zombie-infested journey. There he meets the shadowy Dodger, the evil old soul-stealer Fagin, and the menacing Bill Sikes, who is more beast than man. But will Oliver Twisted be the world's salvation, or its downfall?!

Bzrk - Michael Grant

Bzrk
Michael Grant

Format: Hardback - Released: 28/02/2012
Lovereading4kids Price: £9.74 - Saving £3.25 (25%)

These are no ordinary soldiers. This is no ordinary war. Welcome to the nano, where the only battle is for sanity. Losing is not an option when a world of madness is at stake. Time is running out for the good guys. But what happens when you don't know who the good guys really are? Noah and Sadie: newly initiated to an underground cell so covert that they don't even know each other's names. Here they will learn what it means to fight on a nano level. Soon they will become the deadliest warriors the world has ever seen. Vincent: feels nothing, cares for no one; fighting his own personal battle with Bug Man, the greatest nano warrior alive. The Armstrong Twins: wealthy, privileged, and fanatical. Are they the saviours of mankind or authors of the darkest conspiracy the world has ever seen? The nano is uncharted territory. A terrifying world of discovery. And everything is to play for...