Covers for book recommendations September 2025
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: September 2025

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for September! The days are getting shorter now, and the grey weather gave us the perfect excuse to stay indoors and do some reading (well, except for a jaunt to some bookshops in Norfolk!). Check out below what books we enjoyed over last month.

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Book cover for review: image shows four children - a black girl with blue hair on the front left, a blond-haired boy on the front right, a ginger girl in the back left, and a brown-haired boy back right - running in fear towards the camera through broken branches and vines. Behind them, chasing them, is a giant lizard surrounded by flames. The title 'Sin Bin Island' is at the top in bright blue; the A of Island has clawed feet, and the hole is shaped like a skull.
Book Reviews

Sin Bin Island | Book Review

By Doug Naylor (pub. David Fickling Books, 2025)

‘Read it out loud, then,’ Mr Menton prompted. Digs began.

My dear Digs, it’s very important you don’t read this note out loud.

‘Ah, best not to read it out loud, then,’ Mr Menton chortled.
Digs read the rest of the note to himself.

You’re about to embark on an incredible adventure. An enterprise so petrifyingly terrifying it would make most boys your age quake in terror if they knew what was ahead of them. Thankfully, you don’t, which is a HUGE bonus.

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Covers for book recommendations August 2025
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: August 2025

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for August! We’re making our way into cooler weather now, but we still did a lot of reading over the last summery month. So check out what books we enjoyed during August below!

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Shadow Thieves book cover for review: an adult and a child stand silhouetted on a rooftop, facing away from the viewer, looking over a cramped city saturated blue. The man is holding a lantern with a yellow light. In the distance, St Peter's Cathedral is silhouetted against lightning and a rising sun. The title 'Shadow Thieves' is in gold, the 'o' shaped like a lock, and the 'i' like a key.
Book Reviews

Shadow Thieves | Book Review

By Peter Burns (pub. Farshore, June 2025)

It looked like a scrap of paper, tucked behind one of the roof tiles beside him. He pulled it free. It was a small rectangle of thick cream card, on which was printed in fine copperplate type:

Wanted: the clever, the cunning and the fearless.
Must be willing to risk death daily.
Fortunes available for the most daring and capable.
No one over 18.
Orphans preferred.

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Book cover for review: a door opens onto a dark alleyway. In the bright doorway, three children lean out: a black boy, a white boy, and a white girl. Their shadows on the ground curl to form the shape of a fox. Along the wall of the alleyway, the title 'People Like Stars' is written in orange neon, surrounded by stars.
Book Reviews

People Like Stars | Book Review

By Patrice Lawrence (pub. Scholastic, 2025)

On clear nights, we saw swirls of stars above the trees. I asked Ari how big the sky must be to fit in all those stars. She said that they looked close together to us down on Earth, but really they were far, far apart from each other.

Maybe all these people are like stars. It seems like they’re together, but really they’re alone like me.

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Book cover for review shows a young boy in a shabby black suit standing amongst a crowd of people against a light blue background. The people are silhouetted in blue, green, and white, with no facial details, causing the boy to stand out. Above is the title 'The Boy in the Suit' in large letters.
Book Reviews

The Boy in the Suit | Book Review

By James Fox (Scholastic, 2024)

I pulled again on Morag’s wrist, so hard I felt my veins popping out of my forehead. Why couldn’t they just let her go? I wished Morag and I had the power to turn invisible. I wanted us to run away and forget all about this stupid funeral.

That’s when the camera flashed. Bright white, right in our faces. “Oh dear,” a man’s voice sneered. It was the newspaper photographer from earlier. “What’s going on here, then?”

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May 2021 review round-up book covers
Book Reviews

Libraries 4 Schools 2021 Review Round-Up 2

Welcome to our most recent review round-up, where we take a quick look at just some of the books you might like to add to your school or personal bookshelves. And what a great selection we have for you!

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