Books to Choose From – Vote for Your TOP 2

The Nowhere Emporium – Ross Mackenzie

When the mysterious Nowhere Emporium

arrives in Glasgow, orphan Daniel Holmes
stumbles upon it quite by accident. Before
long, the 'shop from nowhere' -- and its owner,
Mr Silver -- draw Daniel into a breathtaking
world of magic and enchantment. Recruited
as Mr Silver's apprentice, Daniel learns the
secrets of the Emporium's vast labyrinth of
passageways and rooms -- rooms that contain
wonders beyond anything Daniel has ever
imagined. But when Mr Silver disappears, and
a shadow from the past threatens everything,
the Emporium and all its wonders begin to
crumble. Can Daniel save his home, and his
new friends, before the Nowhere Emporium is
destroyed forever?

The Last Wild – Piers Torday

This is a story about a boy named Kester. He

is extraordinary, but he doesn't know that yet.
All he knows, at this very moment, is this:
1. There is a flock of excited pigeons in his
bedroom.
2. They are talking to him.
3. His life will never be quite the same again...
Kester lives in a land in quarantine. A deadly
virus has killed all the animals except pests
and it's expected to be equally dangerous to
humans. But when Kester realises he can talk
to the pests, he finds they have great hope
invested in him.
If You Find This – Matthew Baker

Nicholas is a math and music genius with

no friends and a huge problem: His father
has lost his job, and they'll have to sell their
house, which holds the only memory
Nicholas has of his younger brother. Just in
time, Nicholas's senile grandfather arrives,
filled with tales of priceless treasure he has
hidden somewhere in town--but where?

With the help of misfit classmates, two

grandfathers, a ghost-house, hidden
messages, séances, and an uncanny mind
for numbers, Nicholas stages a nursing
home breakout, tangles with high schoolers
in smugglers' tunnels, and gets swept up in
a duel with the biggest bullies in the
neighbourhood. Will it be enough to find the
treasure and save his house?

The Highland Falcon Thief – M.G.Leonard & Sam Sedgman

Harrison Beck is reluctantly joining his

travel-writer Uncle Nat for the last journey of
the royal train, The Highland Falcon. But as
the train makes its way to Scotland, a
priceless brooch goes missing, and things
are suddenly a lot more interesting. As
suspicions and accusations run high among
the passengers, Harrison begins to
investigate and uncovers a few surprises
along the way. Can he solve the mystery of
the jewel thief and catch the culprit before
they reach the end of the line?
Hear whispers in the dining car, find notes
in the library, and unknown passengers
among the luggage as you help Harrison to
solve the mystery aboard one of the world's
grandest trains. Fast-paced and packed
with illustrations and clues, Adventures on
Trains is a stop you won't want to miss!
A Pinch of Magic – Michelle Harrison

Three sisters trapped by an ancient curse.

Three magical objects with the power to

change their fate.

Will they be enough to break the curse?

Or will they lead the sisters even deeper

into danger? ...

The Goldfish Boy – Lisa Thompson

Twelve-year-old Matthew is trapped in his

bedroom by crippling OCD, spending most
of his time staring out of his window as the
inhabitants of Chestnut Close go about
their business. Until the day he is the last
person to see his next door neighbour's
toddler, Teddy, before he goes missing.
Matthew must turn detective and unravel
the mystery of Teddy's disappearance -
with the help of a brilliant cast of
supporting characters. Page-turning,
heart-breaking, but ultimately life-affirming,
this story is perfect for fans of The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and
Wonder. It is a book that will make you
laugh and cry.
The Girl Who Stole an Elephant – Nizrana Farook

Chaya, a no-nonsense, outspoken hero,

leads her friends and a gorgeous elephant
on a noisy, fraught, joyous adventure
through the jungle where revolution is
stirring and leeches lurk. Will stealing the
queen's jewels be the beginning or the end
of everything for the intrepid gang?

The Star-spun Web – Sinead O’Hart

With her passion for scientific

experimentation and her pet tarantula
Violet, Tess de Sousa is no ordinary
orphan. When a stranger shows up at
Ackerbee's Home for Lost and Foundlings,
claiming to be a distant relative come to
adopt her, Tess hopes to find some
answers to her mysterious origins. But as
she adjusts to her new life at Roedeer
Lodge, it becomes clear that Norton F.
Cleat knows more about Tess and the
strange device left with her when she was
abandoned as a baby than he's letting on.
And when Tess discovers that the
Starspinner is the gateway between her
world and a parallel world in which war
rages, she realizes she may be the key to
a terrible plan. A plan she must stop at all
costs...
Scarlet & Ivy: The Lost Twin – Sophie Cleverly

This is the story of how I became my sister…

A spine-tingling mystery set in a creepily
atmospheric boarding school. Ivy must
uncover the secrets behind her twin sister
Scarlet’s disappearance before it’s too late.
When troublesome Scarlet mysteriously
disappears from Rookwood School, terrifying
Miss Fox invites her quiet twin sister Ivy to
‘take her place’.
Ivy reluctantly agrees in the hopes of finding
out what happened to her missing sister. For
only at Rookwood will Ivy be able to unlock
the secrets of Scarlet’s disappearance,
through a scattered trail of diary pages
carefully hidden all over the school.
Can Ivy solve the mystery before Miss Fox
suspects? Or before an even greater danger
presents itself?

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Bad Beginning – Lemony Snicket

There is nothing to be found in Lemony

Snicket’s ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’
but misery and despair. You still have time
to choose another international best-selling
series to read. But if you insist on
discovering the unpleasant adventures of
the Baudelaire orphans, then proceed with
caution…
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are
intelligent children. They are charming, and
resourceful, and have pleasant facial
features. Unfortunately, they are
exceptionally unlucky.
In The Bad Beginning, the siblings
encounter a greedy and repulsive villain,
itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to
steal their fortune and cold porridge for
breakfast.