Some Good Reads:
* Indicates suitability for more experienced reader
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (John Boyne) [2006. Theme: Friendship]
Nine year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Holocaust or the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Then one day he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom) [2003. Theme: Self discovery]
On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie, a lonely war veteran, dies in a tragic accident trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his – and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers, yet each of them changed your path forever.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time* (Mark Haddon) [2003. Theme: Individuality]
This novel is a murder mystery like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger’s Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his world upside down.
Refugee Boy (Benjamin Zephaniah) [2001. Theme: Conflict]
Ethiopia and Eritrea are two neighbouring African countries at war. Alem Kelo and his parents are neither welcome in Ethiopia, his father’s country, nor Eritrea, his mother’s country, so his parents make the decision to bring Alem to London to live in safety. After one night in London his father returns to Africa, without telling Alem, leaving him alone to fend for himself in a strange country.
The Cinnamon Tree (Aubrey Flegg) [2000. Theme: Coping with Hardship]
Yola's leg is blown off by a landmine and her life in Africa is changed forever. When Yola travels to Ireland to be fitted with an artificial leg and meets seventeen-year-old Fintan, she little realises that they will soon be involved in an international arms intrigue, and an adventure that will bring them both close to death.
Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli) [2000. Theme: Non-conformity]
An American novel set in an Arizona high school in the recent past, this story appeals on many levels. The Stargirl of the title is a most unusual girl, who when she joins Mica high school sparks off extreme reactions among her fellow students. With her eccentric name and wardrobe, her bizarre practice of serenading complete strangers on their birthdays, the pet rat that lives in her schoolbag and many more quirky little habits, Stargirl excites speculation from her first day.
A Star Called Henry* (Roddy Doyle) [1999. Theme: Survival]
Born in the slums, raised on the streets, caught up in the fight for a free Ireland at the age of fourteen, Henry Smart is, indisputably, a survivor. A Star Called Henry describes the first twenty years of Henry's adventure-filled life in early twentieth-century Ireland. The novel reveals Henry’s heroism, as well as the tumultuous era in which he lived.
A Cuckoo in the Nest (Michelle Magorian) [1994. Theme: Search for Identity]
As an evacuee, Ralph received a good education, but after the war Ralph's working-class father resents his education and his ambition to be an actor, and is furious when Ralph is sacked from the paper mill. The story traces Ralph's struggle to reconcile the disparate strands of his life.
Goodnight Mister Tom (Michelle Magorian) [1981. Theme: Abuse]
Young Willie Beech is evacuated to the country as Britain stands on the brink of World War II. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of old Tom Oakley – but his new-found happiness is shattered by a summons from his mother back in London.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred D. Taylor) [1977. Theme: Prejudice]
Set in Mississippi in 1933, the story covers twelve turbulent months in the life of the Logans, a black land-owning family. The narrator, Cassie Logan, is an independent-minded, nine-year-old girl who questions the social situation that requires her to be obedient to the local white families, even to the point of accepting physical assault by Charlie Simms, for whose daughter Cassie refused to give way on the sidewalk.
Carrie’s War (Nina Bawden) [1973. Theme: Understanding Others]
Bombs are falling on London so Carrie and Nick are evacuated to Wales to live with Mr Evans, a bit of an ogre, and his timid sister. Their friend Albert is luckier, living in Druid’s Bottom with Hepzibah Green and the strange Mister Johnny. Carrie and Nick are happy to meet him there until Carrie does a terrible thing, the worst thing she ever did in her life.
A Kestrel for a Knave (Barry Hines) [1968. Theme: Relationships]
This novel is set in Barnsley, Yorkshire, and tells of Billy Casper, a young working-class boy troubled at home and at school, who only finds solace when he comes across and trains a kestrel who he names 'Kes.'
The Goalkeeper’s Revenge and Other Stories (Bill Naughton) [1967. Theme: Growing up]
This is a collection of thirteen stories of a Lancashire childhood set in the 1930’s. With warmth and fun, it describes the good-humoured exploits of a lively group of boys,of football in the streets, fishing, fighting and school, of growing up and looking for work, and of characters such as Spit Nolan the champion trolley-rider, and Sam Dalt the goalkeeper.
Catch-22* (Joseph Heller) [1961. Theme: The Horrors of War and Power]
Captain John Yossarian is a bomber pilot who is just trying to make it through World War II alive. But the only excuse the Army will accept for refusing to fly a mission is insanity, and if Yossarian refuses to fly he is, by definition, sane. This is the absurd logic that lies at the heart of Catch-22, a comic masterpiece.
To Kill a Mockingbird* (Harper Lee) [1960. Theme: Empathy]
This story takes place in rural Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s. The young narrator, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, sets the stage for the main action by introducing us to life in her small town, hit hard by the Depression. The main plot centres on the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, whom Scout’s father, Atticus, is defending. Despite his upstanding reputation as a lawyer and a gentleman, the Finches’ neighbours are none too pleased with his efforts.
Walkabout (James Vance Marshall) [1959. Theme: The Clash of Cultures]
Mary and her young brother Peter are the only survivors of an air crash in the middle of the Australian desert. They are facing death from exhaustion and starvation when they meet an Aboriginal boy who helps them to survive, and guides them on their long journey. All is well until a tragic misunderstanding causes his death. It is an unusual and haunting book.
Our Man in Havana* (Graham Greene) [1958. Theme: Deception]
Wormwold, a vacuum cleaner salesman, is short of money. His daughter has reached an expensive age, so he accepts Hawthorne’s offer of $300-plus a month and becomes Agent 59200/5, M.I.6’s man in Havana. To keep the job, Wormwold pretends to recruit sub-agents and sends fake stories, which soon start becoming disturbingly true.
The Silver Sword (Ian Serraillier) [1956. Theme: Courage and Loyalty]
This story is about the Balicki family who are torn apart by the Germans from their home in Warsaw, Poland, in 1940, and how they succeed in reuniting themselves in Switzerland at the end of the war. After five years of extraordinary deprivation, fear and grief, the Balickis are not much like the people they were, and must learn all about each other afresh.
The Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank) [1954. Theme: Upbringing]
By July 1942 the Nazis were tightening the noose around the neck of Amsterdam's Jewish population. Anne Frank, a Jewish girl, received a diary for her 13th birthday, three weeks before she went into hiding. This is her moving story.
Lord of the Flies* (William Golding) [1954. Theme: Civilisation and Savagery]
After a plane crash during World War II, a group of British schoolboys find themselves stranded on a desert island. Without the trappings of modern life, the savage within them slowly emerges.
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway) [1952. Theme: Man and Nature]
This is the story of an old Cuban fisherman who is faced with an extreme test of character when he encounters and battles with a relentless giant marlin (a large game fish) far out in the Gulf Stream. Using the simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway explores the themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from loss.
The Catcher in the Rye* (J.D. Salinger) [1951. Theme: Alienation]
This is the tale of Holden Caulfield, an adolescent who runs away from boarding school in Pennsylvania to New York, where he encounters the “phoniness” of the adult world. It is a darkly humorous but disturbing story concerned with the loss of innocence, as Holden slowly spirals downward towards a nervous breakdown, drawing the reader into the bleakness and despair of this young man’s world.
The Pearl (John Steinbeck) [1947. Theme: Wealth and Corruption]
When Kino, a Mexican pearl-diver finds ‘the Pearl of the World’ he believes that his impoverished life will be magically transformed. He will marry Juana in the church and their son, Coyotito, will go to school. Obsessed by his dream, Kino is blind to the greed, fear and even violence the pearl arouses in his neighbours – and in himself.
Nineteen Eighty-Four* (George Orwell) [1949. Theme: Political Oppression]
A masterpiece of rebellion and imprisonment, where war is peace, freedom is slavery, and Big Brother is watching you. This is the story of one man's nightmare living in a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory. Perhaps more relevant today than ever before, this book exposes the worst crimes imaginable – the destruction of truth, freedom, and individuality.
Animal Farm (George Orwell) [1945. Theme: Power and Greed]
The animals on Mr Jones's farm revolt against their human masters. After their victory, they decide to run the farm themselves on fair principles. Inspired by the example of Boxer, the hard-working horse, the animals soon begin to prosper. However, it is not long until the pigs become corrupted by power and a new tyranny is established.
The Great Gatsby* (F. Scott-Fitzgerald) [1925. Theme: Social life and customs]
This famous novel is an excellent summary of the ‘roaring twenties’ which exposes the shallowness of the ‘Jazz Age’. Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader is taken into the glittering world of the mansions which lined Long Island shore in the 1920’s, to encounter Nick’s cousin Daisy, her brash but wealthy husband Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby and the dark mystery which surrounds him.
The Sign of Four* (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) [1890. Theme: Justice]
Following the strange disappearance of her father, Miss Morstan has received each year a mysterious present of a rare and lustrous pearl. Now, on the day of the summons to meet her anonymous benefactor, she arrives at 221B Baker Street to consult the great detective Sherlock Holmes.
Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain) [1876. Theme: Youth]
Tom Sawyer, a shrewd and adventurous boy, is as much at home in the respectable world of his aunt Sally as in the self-reliant and parentless world of his friend Huck Finn. The two enjoy a series of adventures when they accidentally witness a murder.
Gulliver’s Travels* (Jonathan Swift) [1726. Theme: Human Nature]
This book is a political satire that appeals to both young and old readers. It is the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a ship’s surgeon, who has a number of extraordinary adventures, namely in Lilliput (a land of tiny people), Brobdingnag (a land of giants), Laputa (a flying island), and Houyhnhnms (a land of horses).
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (John Boyne) [2006. Theme: Friendship]
Nine year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Holocaust or the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Then one day he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom) [2003. Theme: Self discovery]
On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie, a lonely war veteran, dies in a tragic accident trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his – and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers, yet each of them changed your path forever.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time* (Mark Haddon) [2003. Theme: Individuality]
This novel is a murder mystery like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger’s Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his world upside down.
Refugee Boy (Benjamin Zephaniah) [2001. Theme: Conflict]
Ethiopia and Eritrea are two neighbouring African countries at war. Alem Kelo and his parents are neither welcome in Ethiopia, his father’s country, nor Eritrea, his mother’s country, so his parents make the decision to bring Alem to London to live in safety. After one night in London his father returns to Africa, without telling Alem, leaving him alone to fend for himself in a strange country.
The Cinnamon Tree (Aubrey Flegg) [2000. Theme: Coping with Hardship]
Yola's leg is blown off by a landmine and her life in Africa is changed forever. When Yola travels to Ireland to be fitted with an artificial leg and meets seventeen-year-old Fintan, she little realises that they will soon be involved in an international arms intrigue, and an adventure that will bring them both close to death.
Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli) [2000. Theme: Non-conformity]
An American novel set in an Arizona high school in the recent past, this story appeals on many levels. The Stargirl of the title is a most unusual girl, who when she joins Mica high school sparks off extreme reactions among her fellow students. With her eccentric name and wardrobe, her bizarre practice of serenading complete strangers on their birthdays, the pet rat that lives in her schoolbag and many more quirky little habits, Stargirl excites speculation from her first day.
A Star Called Henry* (Roddy Doyle) [1999. Theme: Survival]
Born in the slums, raised on the streets, caught up in the fight for a free Ireland at the age of fourteen, Henry Smart is, indisputably, a survivor. A Star Called Henry describes the first twenty years of Henry's adventure-filled life in early twentieth-century Ireland. The novel reveals Henry’s heroism, as well as the tumultuous era in which he lived.
A Cuckoo in the Nest (Michelle Magorian) [1994. Theme: Search for Identity]
As an evacuee, Ralph received a good education, but after the war Ralph's working-class father resents his education and his ambition to be an actor, and is furious when Ralph is sacked from the paper mill. The story traces Ralph's struggle to reconcile the disparate strands of his life.
Goodnight Mister Tom (Michelle Magorian) [1981. Theme: Abuse]
Young Willie Beech is evacuated to the country as Britain stands on the brink of World War II. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of old Tom Oakley – but his new-found happiness is shattered by a summons from his mother back in London.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred D. Taylor) [1977. Theme: Prejudice]
Set in Mississippi in 1933, the story covers twelve turbulent months in the life of the Logans, a black land-owning family. The narrator, Cassie Logan, is an independent-minded, nine-year-old girl who questions the social situation that requires her to be obedient to the local white families, even to the point of accepting physical assault by Charlie Simms, for whose daughter Cassie refused to give way on the sidewalk.
Carrie’s War (Nina Bawden) [1973. Theme: Understanding Others]
Bombs are falling on London so Carrie and Nick are evacuated to Wales to live with Mr Evans, a bit of an ogre, and his timid sister. Their friend Albert is luckier, living in Druid’s Bottom with Hepzibah Green and the strange Mister Johnny. Carrie and Nick are happy to meet him there until Carrie does a terrible thing, the worst thing she ever did in her life.
A Kestrel for a Knave (Barry Hines) [1968. Theme: Relationships]
This novel is set in Barnsley, Yorkshire, and tells of Billy Casper, a young working-class boy troubled at home and at school, who only finds solace when he comes across and trains a kestrel who he names 'Kes.'
The Goalkeeper’s Revenge and Other Stories (Bill Naughton) [1967. Theme: Growing up]
This is a collection of thirteen stories of a Lancashire childhood set in the 1930’s. With warmth and fun, it describes the good-humoured exploits of a lively group of boys,of football in the streets, fishing, fighting and school, of growing up and looking for work, and of characters such as Spit Nolan the champion trolley-rider, and Sam Dalt the goalkeeper.
Catch-22* (Joseph Heller) [1961. Theme: The Horrors of War and Power]
Captain John Yossarian is a bomber pilot who is just trying to make it through World War II alive. But the only excuse the Army will accept for refusing to fly a mission is insanity, and if Yossarian refuses to fly he is, by definition, sane. This is the absurd logic that lies at the heart of Catch-22, a comic masterpiece.
To Kill a Mockingbird* (Harper Lee) [1960. Theme: Empathy]
This story takes place in rural Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s. The young narrator, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, sets the stage for the main action by introducing us to life in her small town, hit hard by the Depression. The main plot centres on the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, whom Scout’s father, Atticus, is defending. Despite his upstanding reputation as a lawyer and a gentleman, the Finches’ neighbours are none too pleased with his efforts.
Walkabout (James Vance Marshall) [1959. Theme: The Clash of Cultures]
Mary and her young brother Peter are the only survivors of an air crash in the middle of the Australian desert. They are facing death from exhaustion and starvation when they meet an Aboriginal boy who helps them to survive, and guides them on their long journey. All is well until a tragic misunderstanding causes his death. It is an unusual and haunting book.
Our Man in Havana* (Graham Greene) [1958. Theme: Deception]
Wormwold, a vacuum cleaner salesman, is short of money. His daughter has reached an expensive age, so he accepts Hawthorne’s offer of $300-plus a month and becomes Agent 59200/5, M.I.6’s man in Havana. To keep the job, Wormwold pretends to recruit sub-agents and sends fake stories, which soon start becoming disturbingly true.
The Silver Sword (Ian Serraillier) [1956. Theme: Courage and Loyalty]
This story is about the Balicki family who are torn apart by the Germans from their home in Warsaw, Poland, in 1940, and how they succeed in reuniting themselves in Switzerland at the end of the war. After five years of extraordinary deprivation, fear and grief, the Balickis are not much like the people they were, and must learn all about each other afresh.
The Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank) [1954. Theme: Upbringing]
By July 1942 the Nazis were tightening the noose around the neck of Amsterdam's Jewish population. Anne Frank, a Jewish girl, received a diary for her 13th birthday, three weeks before she went into hiding. This is her moving story.
Lord of the Flies* (William Golding) [1954. Theme: Civilisation and Savagery]
After a plane crash during World War II, a group of British schoolboys find themselves stranded on a desert island. Without the trappings of modern life, the savage within them slowly emerges.
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway) [1952. Theme: Man and Nature]
This is the story of an old Cuban fisherman who is faced with an extreme test of character when he encounters and battles with a relentless giant marlin (a large game fish) far out in the Gulf Stream. Using the simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway explores the themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from loss.
The Catcher in the Rye* (J.D. Salinger) [1951. Theme: Alienation]
This is the tale of Holden Caulfield, an adolescent who runs away from boarding school in Pennsylvania to New York, where he encounters the “phoniness” of the adult world. It is a darkly humorous but disturbing story concerned with the loss of innocence, as Holden slowly spirals downward towards a nervous breakdown, drawing the reader into the bleakness and despair of this young man’s world.
The Pearl (John Steinbeck) [1947. Theme: Wealth and Corruption]
When Kino, a Mexican pearl-diver finds ‘the Pearl of the World’ he believes that his impoverished life will be magically transformed. He will marry Juana in the church and their son, Coyotito, will go to school. Obsessed by his dream, Kino is blind to the greed, fear and even violence the pearl arouses in his neighbours – and in himself.
Nineteen Eighty-Four* (George Orwell) [1949. Theme: Political Oppression]
A masterpiece of rebellion and imprisonment, where war is peace, freedom is slavery, and Big Brother is watching you. This is the story of one man's nightmare living in a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory. Perhaps more relevant today than ever before, this book exposes the worst crimes imaginable – the destruction of truth, freedom, and individuality.
Animal Farm (George Orwell) [1945. Theme: Power and Greed]
The animals on Mr Jones's farm revolt against their human masters. After their victory, they decide to run the farm themselves on fair principles. Inspired by the example of Boxer, the hard-working horse, the animals soon begin to prosper. However, it is not long until the pigs become corrupted by power and a new tyranny is established.
The Great Gatsby* (F. Scott-Fitzgerald) [1925. Theme: Social life and customs]
This famous novel is an excellent summary of the ‘roaring twenties’ which exposes the shallowness of the ‘Jazz Age’. Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader is taken into the glittering world of the mansions which lined Long Island shore in the 1920’s, to encounter Nick’s cousin Daisy, her brash but wealthy husband Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby and the dark mystery which surrounds him.
The Sign of Four* (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) [1890. Theme: Justice]
Following the strange disappearance of her father, Miss Morstan has received each year a mysterious present of a rare and lustrous pearl. Now, on the day of the summons to meet her anonymous benefactor, she arrives at 221B Baker Street to consult the great detective Sherlock Holmes.
Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain) [1876. Theme: Youth]
Tom Sawyer, a shrewd and adventurous boy, is as much at home in the respectable world of his aunt Sally as in the self-reliant and parentless world of his friend Huck Finn. The two enjoy a series of adventures when they accidentally witness a murder.
Gulliver’s Travels* (Jonathan Swift) [1726. Theme: Human Nature]
This book is a political satire that appeals to both young and old readers. It is the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a ship’s surgeon, who has a number of extraordinary adventures, namely in Lilliput (a land of tiny people), Brobdingnag (a land of giants), Laputa (a flying island), and Houyhnhnms (a land of horses).