A Review of Henry Tumour, by Anthony McGowan

Hector has got problems, his mum is a hippy, he gets bullied at school and oh yeah he's got a talking brain tumour. Henry tumour is a really funny book about a boy coping with a brain tumour, school and trying to get a girl friend. The book is totally believable with some funny bits, like a revel eating showdown.

4/5

Just in Case
By Meg Rosoff

What if Fate were out to get you? The day David Case saves his brother's life, his whole world changes. Suddenly, every moment is fizzing with significance, full of what ifs? He must hide, become an entirely new person to escape Fate ...if he can. Will changing his name, befriending an astrophysicist and gaining an imaginary pet be enough? Bewildered and obsessive, he'll try anything to survive.

Saturday 19th May 2007 – 2-3pm

Cool Boffin
By Pete johnson

Richard is a boffin, a swot; he wears the clothes his mum picks for him and has a boring haircut. He seizes the chance to change when, for a brief time, the school think he has been killed. He's taken up by Steve, one of the cool in-crowd and suddenly he's Ricky, cool, sharp and a bit of a lad. Then in a wild party at his house, a fire develops and Richard has to face the consequences. He sees that he's moved from one person's image of him to another's and that neither are really him. He can't be pigeon-holed into being a boffin or Mr Cool as he's actually a bit of both. All ends happily as he learns to be himself - and he gets a girlfriend!

Saturday 21st April 2007 – 2pm–3pm

Boy Kills Man
By Matt Whyman

Sonny, aka Shorty, hasn't been in a classroom in years, and he spends his days doing odd jobs on the dangerous streets of Medellín, Colombia, South America. He and his best friend Alberto have a regular gig running cigarettes for a convenience-store owner, and in this line of work Alberto meets El Fantasma, a soft-spoken crime leader with a reputation for being merciless.

Soon after Alberto starts spending time away from Sonny, he shows up with a gun and fifty American dollars. Sonny knows Alberto is involved with something illegal, but rather than try to stop Alberto, he's intrigued with his friend's new secrecy and possessions. After all, the criminals in Medellín have better lives than everyone else. They have money and power and they know they're in control. Sonny, following Alberto's lead, convinces El Fantasma to take him on as an employee, specifically an assassin. What he doesn't know is that El Fantasma sees him as nothing more than a disposable object.

Saturday 2nd December 2006

Eragon
By Christopher Paolini

When Eragon finds a polished stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders?

Saturday 5th November 2006

Beast
By Ally Kennen

In the depths of a reservoir lives a monstrous creature. Its existence is unknown to anyone except the teenage boy who feeds it. Six years ago it was a vicious little baby. Now it has grown huge, and its rusting cage can't hold it much longer...Stephen is a boy with many secrets, and the Beast is the biggest. His life in foster care, always bad, is getting worse, and he's in trouble with the police. All the odds are against him finding a decent place in the world, but his efforts to free himself of the Beast make him a hero that readers will never forget.

Saturday 6th January 2007

Henry Tumour
By Anthony McGowan

Winner of this years Booktrust Teenage Prize Henry Tumour is a controversial choice for its irreverent style and to many, highly offensive language. Henry Tumour tells the story of Hector Brunty, who struggles to cope with his alter-ego, his abusive but hilariously funny talking brain- tumour Henry. Henry Tumour turns out to be the perfect alter-ego, advising Hector on haircuts, high-fashion, and tactics for snogging the best-looking girl in school, Uma Upshaw. Controlling his speech and brain chemicals is one thing, but soon Henry Tumour is trying to make more decisions about Hector's life than he'd like. Can Hector overpower his tumour in order to get what he really wants ...before they both go under the knife?

Saturday 24th March 2007

The Fire Eaters
By David Almond

A bizarre character called McNulty making a sparse living as a self-mutilating, fire-swallowing street performer shakes young protagonist Bobby Burns to the core as he contemplates the end of the world (the year is 1962 and the US and Soviet Union seem to be heading toward nuclear war), power, pain, class and death, as well as friendship. The menace and sweetness in Bobby's life parallels the worlds, big and small, he inhabits. A loving family, seaside home and good friends form the foundation. But a crack in that wall is spreading: Bobby's father is ill, class differences are separating him from his best friend, and a ruthless schoolmaster is forcing Bobby to understand that everything has a price.

Saturday 24th February 2007