by Sarah Masters of Thomas Deacon Academy

1. Advent Calendar
A book suggestion for every day of advent

2. 9
18
2
6
10
11
12
16
19
17
5
3
13
4

3. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Xiomara has always kept her words
to herself. When it comes to standing
her ground in her Harlem
neighbourhood, she lets her fists and
her fierceness do the talking. But X
has secrets - her feelings for a boy in
her bio class, and the notebook full of
poems that she keeps under her bed.
And a slam poetry club that will pull
those secrets into the spotlight.
Because in spite of a world that
might not want to hear her, Xiomara
refuses to stay silent.
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4. Rebound by Kwame Alexander
Charlie Bell is still mourning his
father, and struggling to figure
out how he feels for his best (girl)
friend, CJ. When he gets into
trouble one too many times, he's
packed off like the Fresh Prince to
stay with his grandparents for the
summer. There his cousin Roxie
introduces him to a whole new
world: basketball. A legend on
the courts is born. But can
Charlie resist when trouble comes
knocking once again?
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5. The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie
Anderson
Marinka dreams of a normal life,
where her house stays somewhere
long enough for her to make
friends. But her house has chicken
legs and moves on without
warning. The only people Marinka
meets are dead; they disappear
when her grandmother, Baba Yaga,
guides them through The Gate.
Marinka wants to change her
destiny, but her house has other
ideas.
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6. Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay
Samkad lives deep in the Philippine
jungle, and has never encountered
anyone from outside his own tribe
before. He's about to become a
man, and while he's desperate to
grow up, he's worried that this will
take him away from his best friend,
Little Luki. However, Samkad's
world is about to change utterly. He
discovers the brother he never
knew he had. A brother who tells
him of a people called 'Americans'.
A people who are bringing war and
destruction, right to their home.
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7. Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls
Evelyn is 17, and though she is rich and
clever, she may never be allowed to
follow her older brother to university.
Enraged that she is expected to marry
her childhood sweetheart rather than be
educated, she joins the Suffragettes,
and vows to pay the ultimate price for
women's freedom.
May is 15, and already sworn to the
cause, though she and her fellow
Suffragists refuse violence. When she
meets Nell, a girl who's grown up in
hardship, she sees a kindred spirit.
Together and in love, the two girls start
to dream of a world where all kinds of
women have their place. But the fight
for freedom will challenge Evelyn, May
and Nell more than they ever could
believe. As war looms, just how much
are they willing to sacrifice?
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8. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
After Will's brother is shot in a
gang crime, he knows the next
steps. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get
revenge. So he gets in the lift with
Shawn's gun, determined to follow
The Rules.
Only when the lift door opens,
Buck walks in, Will's friend who
died years ago. And Dani, who was
shot years before that. As more
people from his past arrive, Will
has to ask himself if he really
knows what he's doing.
This haunting, lyrical, powerful
verse novel will blow you away.
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9. Armistice Runner by Tom Palmer
Running is what Lily is good at and
fell-running is what she loves. But
what she doesn’t realise is that this
talent was passed to her from
someone very important – her
great-great-grandfather Ernest, an
unsung hero of WWI.
When Lily’s ailing Grandmother
offers her a glimpse into the past,
Lily discovers Ernest’s diaries, his
shared passion for running and his
unflinching tale of life on the
frontline. As Lily uncovers heartache
and memories, their stories
intertwine into a tale of past,
present and the little known heroes
of November 11th, 1918.
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10. The Secret in Vault 13 by David Solomons
The Doctor has been
summoned. The galaxy is in
terrible danger, and only a
Time Lord can save it. But to do
so, she must break into the
ancient Galactic Seed Vault.
And at its heart lies a secret:
Vault 13. The Vault has
remained unopened for millions
of years and is located on a
remote and frozen world–from
which nobody has ever
returned alive…
Can the Doctor and her friends
Yaz, Ryan, and Graham
uncover the shocking secret in
Vault 13?
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11. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon
live half-wild and carefree among the
scholars of Jordan College, Oxford. Her
destiny will take her to the frozen lands
of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign
and ice-bears fight. And the
extraordinary journey that awaits her
will have immeasurable consequences
far beyond her own world...
When Lyra's friend Roger disappears,
she and her daemon, Pantalaimon,
determine to find him. The ensuing
quest leads them into the bleak
splendour of the North, where
armoured bears rule the ice and witch-
queens fly through the frozen skies.
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12. Football School by Alex Bellos & Ben
Lyttleton
When do footballers poo?
Can you play football on Mars?
What is a magic sponge?
You will find the answers to these
questions and more in chapters on
subjects such as history,
geography, biology and maths.
Football School where all the
lessons are football related.
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13. Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts by
Katie & Kevin Tsang
Sam Wu is scared of many things but
is determined not to let anyone find
out. However, after an unfortunate
incident in a space simulator on a
school trip, he becomes a target for
class bully Ralph, who nicknames him
Scaredy-Cat Sam. He decides the best
way to stop Ralph’s teasing is to
develop a reputation as the bravest
person in school, so Sam acquires a
fearsome sidekick: a snake called
Fang. This may not be the best choice,
as Sam is terrified of snakes, but he’s
hopeful that he’ll overcome this minor
glitch.
This funny, fast-paced chapter book is
the first in a series of Sam Wu
adventures. Full of humour, black-and-
white illustrations and a wacky plot, it
is ideal for any readers who enjoy
shorter, illustrated books.
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14. Girls Can Vlog by Emma Moss
NEWSFLASH . . . VLOGGING IS GO!
It's bad enough having to move house,
school and country all at the same
time, without making a fool of yourself
on the first day of term. But that's just
what Lucy's done - and one of her
classmates has videoed the whole thing
and put it online!
Lucy's so stressed, her stammer's
become worse than ever. So when a
friend encourages her to create her own
videos, she thinks it's a terrible idea -
surely she's embarrassed herself
enough for one lifetime!
But when Lucy finally gives vlogging a
try, she's amazed to find that people
actually want to watch . . .
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15. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
'One of Us is Lying' is the story of
what happens when five strangers
walk into detention and only four
walk out alive.
Everyone is a suspect, and
everyone has something to hide.
Pay close attention and you might
solve this.
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16. Jelly by Jo Cotterill
Jelly is the life and soul of the classroom.
She's popular and great at doing impressions.
She's also overweight. She's learned to deal with
the put-downs by brushing them off and
pretending she finds it all very funny - while
making up poems and writing her private
worries in a notebook.
Then Lennon arrives, Mum's new boyfriend. He's
nice. He treats her mum well, buys her flowers,
doesn't let her down. He's the first person to
have noticed that Jelly is playing a part. He
reads her poems and tells her they're really
good. In fact, he'd like to set one to music.
When a talent show is announced at school,
Lennon persuades Jelly sing her poem in the
contest. But can Jelly find the courage to
perform something so personal - especially
when Lennon might not always be there to cheer
her on?
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