Billie is nearly 14, fussing about clothes and periods but looking forward to summer at Pearl Beach (Pushkin) with best friend Andy. But Andy is distracted by boys – and Billie is dismayed to find they will be sharing the holiday with Great Aunt Edith, a Holocaust survivor. Beth Steiner’s free-verse novel gives a sweet immediacy to Billie’s discovery of Edith’s past and their ability to strengthen and heal each other, across the generations. Age 11 up.
Echoes of 1984 pervade The Ministry of Manners by David Solomons (Piccadilly Press). Perfect politeness is enforced by the government, with large-scale thought control. Books are culled or bowdlerised if the characters show initiative. Children (clever, this) are compelled to carry phones, which spy on them. When Margot is arrested, her brother Alfie is at a loss. But soon he has a surprising – and dangerous - mission of his own. There is humour without silliness in this flawless philosophical dystopia. Age nine up.
Also new from David Solomons is Spyglass: Mastermind of Mayhem (Nosy Crow), illustrated by Miguel Díaz Rivas, a Famous-Five-meets-James-Bond rampage through the increasingly improbable and entertaining adventures of Adam, a boy with a talent for fixing machines. He and his friends must rescue Professor Goodspeed from chiropodist-villain Dr Toe who wants to capture the Quantum of Shoelace, using gloriously over-the-top gadgets such as a rubber duck that becomes scuba kit on contact with water. Age seven to 12.
Sienna’s sister was found dead on the set of a reality show. Now the competitors in the next series, including Sienna, must solve not just the puzzles to progress to the next round, but the clues that identify the real-life murderer. The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss (Hot Key Books) places the reader on Sienna’s team and we are quickly involved in her teammates’ back stories too. The escape room sequences, exciting as they are, are almost an extra in this perceptive and original YA novel. Age 12 up.
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