Children’s Fiction ages 8+:

Utterly Dark & The Face of the Deep by Philip Reeve.
David Fickling books, paperback £7.99
The Master is back! Amidst a slew of recent fantastic middle-grade fantasy fiction, it is reassuring that one of the GIANTS of the genre still has his game on! Philip Reeve is the author of the masterful YA series, ‘Mortal Engines’, and also writes hilarious illustrated chapter books for emergent readers with Sarah McIntyre. ‘Utterly Dark’ is a mesmerising, oceanic fantasy with a feisty and endearing heroine. When Utterly Dark is washed up on the shores of Wildsea as a baby, she is adopted by Andrew Dark, the Watcher of Wildsea, whose job it is to keep the islands safe from the ancient forces that threaten the land, in particular, the terrifying Gorm, a ghastly sea creature who has previously engulfed the island. When her guardian drowns in curious circumstances, Utterly must keep the watch until a new Watcher arrives. She senses a stirring of sea-magic, and witnesses the emergence of the legendary Hidden Isles, but when Uncle Will, the new Watcher arrives, he is sceptical of the old magic and dismisses Utterly’s claims... Until his rash actions reveal the full power of the Gorm with horrifying results. Captivating!

Locked Out Lily by Nick Lake.
Simon & Schuster, hardback £12.99
An outstandingly original blend of fine storytelling with hauntingly beautiful illustrations, by Emily Gravett, ‘Locked Out Lily’ is a deliciously creepy but ultimately happy & hopeful novel for readers of 9+.
Lily is fed-up. She wants to go back; back to before her kidney disease, back to before her mum got pregnant again, back to when life was light and fun. So, when she’s sent to stay with her grandmother while her mum has the baby, Lily decides to Go Home and escapes, making her way back to her family’s old cottage, through the night. She finds the house dark – but mysteriously, occupied… by strange replicas of her parents, with coal-black, glittering eyes, and grating, monotone voices. They are genuinely sinister and chilling! But help is at hand in the form of four unlikely companions: Mouse, Mole, Crow and Snake, who provide welcome humour and help Lily to face her fears and break into her own house, where she must defeat ‘The Replacements’ before the night is out, by means of pluck, determination & ancient folklore! There are obvious comparisons to be drawn with Neil Gaiman’s ‘Coraline’, but ‘Locked Out Lily’ goes deeper, weaving a thoughtful narrative about acceptance of chronic illness into Lily’s quest. The folkloric talking animals provide reassuring humour and magic in what might otherwise be a deeply disturbing story, and, although there are thrills aplenty along the way, there is a joyfully warm resolution!

The False Rose by Jakob Wegelius.
Pushkin Children’s Books £16.99
If the ultimate purpose of fiction is to whisk us away from our humdrum realities on an incredible adventure, then this book is pure perfection! Anyone who read Wegelius’s previous novel ‘The Murderer’s Ape’ will agree that Sally Jones, the afore-mentioned Ape, is fiction’s most unforgettable heroine, and ‘The False Rose’ continues the globe-trotting adventures of Sally Jones and her master, the Chief.There is no need to read ‘The Murderer’s Ape’ before you dive between these pages – ‘The False Rose’ works perfectly well as a standalone story – but I DO recommend reading it anyway, because it’s SO GOOD! The story picks up with Sally Jones (the ship-engineer Gorilla) and the Chief after they are happily reunited in Lisbon, renovating their boat, The Hudson Queen, only to discover a precious pearl necklace has been hidden on board all this time! Ever strong of moral compass, they are eager to discover the true owners of the necklace, and their quest takes them Scotland, where they fall foul of Moira Gray, queen of the Peaky-Blinders-esque criminal underworld of 1920’s Glasgow, who will stop at nothing to get her hands on the mysterious necklace! Sally Jones finds herself held prisoner by Moira’s ruthless gang, and must use all her strength, determination and compassion to escape and unravel the mysterious story of the False Rose - a twisting tale leading all the way from Lisbon to Shetland and the South Seas. Wegelius’s stunning pen & ink illustrations bring the characters to life delightfully, and his precise, neat style make a long book, with a twisty plot, just BREEZE by! A beautifully-crafted story, packaged up in a delightfully designed hardback cover, which can be read by anyone who loves a good yarn, of ANY age – from 8-88!


Adult fiction:

Trio by William Boyd
Penguin paperback £8.99
In the summer of 1968, that very distinctive year internationally, three young hopefuls, a producer, an actress and a novelist, are making a Swinging Sixties movie in Brighton . Inevitably the trio all have their problems and secrets. Who better than this wise and skilful writer to dissect the lives of creative characters under pressure and produce another memorable and immersive read. ‘When you open a book by William Boyd you know you are in safe hands’ Steyning Bookshop Book Group member Suzanne.

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
Weidenfeld and Nicolson £8.99
A story of hardship and resilience set in the lush landscapes of Appalachia. Born in direly poor conditions in 1954 to a white mother and a Cherokee father, Betty inhabits a world of poverty and loss, but her curiosity about the natural world, her love for her sisters and her father’s magical tales kindle a deep love for language, and her own vibrant imagination eventually transports her beyond the horrors past and present of her family’s condition.

The Promise by Damon Galgut
Chatto & Windus £16.99 hbk
This latest novel by Damon Galgut, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, charts the decline of a white family during South Africa’s transition out of apartheid. The Swarts are gathering for Ma’s funeral. The younger generation, Anton and Amor, detest everything the family stand for -- not least the failed promise to the Black woman who has worked for them her whole life. After years of service, Salome was promised her own house, her own land... yet somehow, as each decade passes, that promise remains unfulfilled.
Encompassing the years 1986 – 20128 in the lives of the Swart family, the omniscient narrator abruptly darts from one character’s consciousness to another shifting from the third to second to first person – creating a challenging but always absorbing read.