The Humiliations of Welton Blake by Alex Wheatle

 Welton Blake thinks things are looking up for him - he's plucked up his courage, asked out the best-looking girl in school, Carmella McKenzie, and amazingly she said yes. Welton can't quite believe his luck. 

But life isn't that easy. Welton's phone breaks (so he can't set up their date), he sees Carmella hanging out with another guy, the school bully seems to have him ear-marked for special attention, and his mum decides her new partner and his young son should move in - and Welton will have to share his bedroom. Could life dump more indignities on him?

This is the first book I've read by award-winning author Alex Wheatle - and I can see why he's so highly praised and popular. He looks at teenage life, relationships, and problems in a funny but sympathetic way (sort of like Netflix's Sex Education but for a younger audience) Welton's doubts and insecurities are the sort that all teenagers share, and though you may laugh at them, secretly you've been there, done that.

Published by Barrington Stoke, it has all of their hallmarks - dyslexic-friendly print and page colour, and simple, straightforward language, which moves the story along instead of snaring the reader with unfamiliar words. It's an excellent short book for any teens (though particularly boys) who might think 'they don't write books about folks like me'.

Superpowerless by Chris Priestley

review by Maryom

To an outsider, sixteen year old David looks and behaves much like any other guy his age - prefers his own company and hanging out in his bedroom to almost anything else. Maybe he's a little less social than others, but he's been through a rough time since his dad died in a car accident, so for a while friends and family have been prepared to cut him some slack. Now though, when they feel he ought to be getting his act together and putting the past behind him, David seems to be getting increasingly unsocial, obsessed with his dad's old super-hero comics and getting decidedly secretive. What his friends don't know is that David has superpowers himself. His super-hearing allows him to eavesdrop on conversations, being invisible means no one notices him (particularly girls) and his ability to fly lets him swoop over the town to help prevent accidents - or so he would like to think. He has another secret too, one that he's equally anxious to hide - that he's using a bird-watching scope to spy on his slightly older, attractive, bikini-clad neighbour, Holly. In doing so he stumbles on a very personal secret she'd like to keep hidden too. When he confronts her, the two form an unlikely bond, with Holly offering practical advice on the mysterious subject of girls and sex, while David tries his best to help her, but puts almost every foot wrong.


This is a story of being that awkward age between child and adult, of learning to accept that we can't always change things to be how we would like, and of first experiments with the opposite sex.
To be honest, especially perhaps from an adult's point of view, David isn't instantly likeable. He's too self-absorbed, too quick to lie to his mum and drag his best friend into the deception too, zooming in on his sunbathing female neighbour isn't polite, and as for imagining he has super-powers? isn't that a bit childish? But give him chance and he begins to grow on you. even when his behaviour is definitely cringe-worthy. It's easy of course to read a story and tell the hero he's making a mess of things, pulling all the wrong moves and making himself look foolish, arrogant and seriously un-cool, but that's how life is, particularly teenage life - full of mistakes we wish we'd avoided, and chances we've missed out on. The author could have created a teen hero who was, well, just that, a hero, the perfect guy in every respect, but David with all his flaws is far nearer to a real teenager, someone that readers can empathise with, and maybe it will give female readers an insight into that most mysterious of places, a teenage boy's mind.

It's odd that only last week I saw someone talking about the lack of books looking at teenage relationships from a boy's perspective, and then this week I've come across two excellent ones - first Anthony McGowan's Rook aimed at younger teens, then this with an older target readership. They're very different but I've loved them both.



Maryom's Review - 5 stars 
Publisher - Hot Key Books 
Genre - YA, relationships, 

Rook by Anthony McGowan

review by Maryom

Out walking their dog one day, Kenny and Nicky find a rook, attacked by a hawk and only clinging on to life by the merest thread. Kenny, always naive and too trusting, remembers how they saved a baby badger, and is sure they can do the same again for 'Rooky', but Nicky isn't convinced. In fact he's not really interested. With Kenny's learning disability, and his dad's troubles after their mum left, Nicky always feels he has to be the one to look after the family, but now  his dad's got a new girlfriend and is starting to get his life in order, and Kenny is busy making new friends at his school. Meanwhile  Nicky has problems of his own mounting up - trying to attract the attention of his first love, and avoid the attention of the school bully. Life's about to get complicated for him ...


Nicky has fallen for a girl in his year, Sarah Stanhope, but how can he even start to talk to her?  At school he's either surrounded by his mates who suddenly seem so very childish or on the receiving end of the school bully's attentions. Trying to catch her after school seems like a good idea, apart from the way it turns into stalking. In fact, if you could think of a wrong way to attract a girl's attention, that's probably what Nicky's doing! To make matters worse, that school bully is her brother! If Nicky's to win Sarah over, or even get to talk to her, shouldn't he make a stand against him? But when that plan goes disastrously wrong, Nicky looks like losing everything.

Brothers Kenny and Nicky, familiar from Anthony McGowan's previous stories, Brock and Pike, are back with a third instalment of their story, this time about the thorny problems of teenage relationships.  I can't claim to having seen every book published for teens, but there generally seem to be more stories dealing with teen relationships from the girl's point of view. McGowan takes the reader on a boy's eye view of the world - where you maybe feel a need to stand up physically against bullies, where a good idea so quickly and easily turns into a disastrous one, and girls have suddenly become strange beings that it's impossible to talk to. Sometimes you'll laugh with him, sometimes at him, sometimes just cringe for him, but throughout the reader is firmly on Nicky's side.

Barrington Stoke books are designed to appeal to reluctant and dyslexic readers, with an off-white background and clear font, but above all they're interesting, compelling stories. The reading age for Rook is 8+ but the story is definitely one to appeal to teen readers.
Read the first chapter here 

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Barrington Stoke
Genre - teenage/teenage reluctant readers 

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

review by Maryom

Mica high school has a new student with an unusual name, Stargirl. At first people think she's strange - she brings her pet rat along to school, wears odd clothes, plays her ukulele and sings Happy Birthday to people she doesn't know - but gradually they begin to fall for her charms, her bright outlook on life and her desire to make everyone happy. Stargirl though, instead of starting to fit in, keeps being her same irrepressible but odd self - no other cheerleader would feel happy when either team scores! The things people once liked about Stargirl are becoming the things they now dislike!
So, while the story's narrator, Leo, is falling in love with Stargirl, his fellow students are turning against her. She doesn't appear to notice but Leo gradually realises that she is being shunned by everyone - and so is he when he's with her. Once the crowd have decided you're not one of them there's no way back, and Leo soon finds himself caught between Stargirl and his old friends.

Stargirl is a story about being different, and daring to stand out from the crowd, about the struggle between conforming and being true to oneself. It's told from the perspective of Leo, a student in the year above Stargirl, who falls in love with this crazy girl and all the things that make her 'weird' but then finds himself torn between her and his 'normal' friends - which makes the reader understand that it's harder than you might realise to stand out from the crowd.

Stargirl herself is a little like the 'manic pixie dream girl' trope of films - a quirky individual whose main role is to bring about change in some emotionally-stunted guy, she's colourful, attractive in a slightly off-beat way and full of life. Stargirl certainly fits the bill! She's got the unusual clothes, weird pet, a special place out in the desert where she goes to think, and, like a fairy godmother, her day is spent in creating little moments of happiness for those around her - both the people she knows and complete strangers. But there's more to her than the standard two-dimensional character; she knows she isn't like other students, even when at her most popular, and tries to fit in - it's just that suddenly no one wants to know.

It's a story that will make you think - about how most of us try to fit in, don't want to do anything to make us 'different', and also about how anyone who chooses to not follow the unwritten rules is often marginalised - but above all it's an enjoyable and very readable book. The publishers suggest  9+ as its target readership but I think it will appeal to readers well into their teens (I certainly didn't feel I was being talked down to, and I'm MUCH older)

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Orchard Books
Genre - 9+, teen fiction, 

The Mark by Rosemary Hayes

Review by The Mole

Jack has been sent to find his next "mark" - who they are or why he's been sent is not something he knows. He doesn't even know who his last mark was but he will know them when he finds them. When he finds them it will be a quick "in and out" and he will move on to his next.

When he finds Rachel it turns out that she's his mark but Jack for some reason finds he can't just do his job and get out like he normally does. There is something about her naivety that Jack feels a need to help her. She is in danger and she doesn't know it.

Jack and Rachel go on the run for their lives and a dependence upon each other flourishes into much more - too much more.

A Young Adult book also suitable for teenagers I found this book to be compelling to say the very least. The reader starts in some confusion, which (coincidentally) is also how we find Jack. How can he know his mark on sight? What is he to do when he meets the mark? Who is he and who is he working for? Yet when we reach the end of this story the ending is just so right and so wrong in so many ways. Yes, we start to get an idea how it will end quite a way before the last chapter and that makes it all the more painful. The story has progressed from a thriller to a thriller with a strong love story element and you want it to end well for the couple - but you know it can't so can anything be salvaged for either of them?

The cover of this book gives nothing away about the story "Two teenagers on the run from their past"... doesn't that sum up so many YA or teen books? But I found I was totally blown away by this one.

I don't really care how you get hold of a copy but find one and read it - I am sure it will have a huge impact on you too. And get your teenagers to read it - they will enjoy it immensely if nothing else.

Publisher - Troika Books
Genre - YA/Teen, Thriller

Only We Know by Simon Packham

review by Maryom

Lauren and her sister Tilda are starting a new term at a new school, following their family's hurried house-move. Something dreadful happened at Lauren's previous school but she wants to put the past behind her and start afresh. Imagine her panic then, when among her new classmates she sees a boy, Harry, who she knew a few years ago. Luckily she's changed quite a lot since then so Harry doesn't recognise her - and Lauren just hopes it stays that way! She starts to settle in and make new friends, but then she starts to receive odd 'gifts', items with a twisted meaning relating to her past. Someone has found out her secret ...  how far will they go to expose her? is there anything Lauren can do to stop it happening?

In this excellent teen novel, Simon Packham takes a topical issue and weaves it into a compelling read. The reader knows very early on that there is something in her past that Lauren doesn't want anyone to know about - it seems to involve fast cars and a boy called Luke, but it's only at the end that all is revealed.  There are lots of hints throughout to keep you wondering, though I must admit I'd never have guessed!
Alongside this thread is the mystery of who could be sending Lauren the unpleasant packages - there are a number of red herrings to lead the reader (and Lauren) along the wrong path, but the surest way to find out is to keep reading!


Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Piccadilly Press
Genre - teen/YA, teen relationships, identity

The Memory Hit by Carla Spradbery

review by Maryom

Jess thought that she and Luke were a rock-solid, together forever couple. Sure, he was a little wilder than she was, always pulling crazy stunts, but they were both on course to pass their A levels and head off to the same university to study medicine. then at a New year's Eve party Jess's world starts to fall apart. First she discovers that Luke has been cheating on her with her best friend, Scarlett. Then in Luke's jacket pocket she finds a packet of bright red tablets - the drug Nostalgex - and not just one or two, but a sizeable quantity, the amount dealers carry.
To say she's shocked is understating things - a lot - but before she has chance to confront him about either of these things, a fire breaks out. While the other party-goers escape from the building, Luke and Scarlett are trapped in a bedroom.
Jess's ex, Cooper, is also having problems with drugs. The son of convicted dealers, he's always tried to stay clear of them but now someone is forcing him, through intimidation and blackmail, into selling Nostalgex, and events take a more sinister turn when the petrol-station he works at is set alight.
This unputdownable teen thriller hinges round the puzzle of WHO would be out to kill both Luke and Cooper. Could it be the mysterious mask-wearing drug dealer known only as Whiteface? But if so, why?
Jess feels if she could only remember more details of the New Years Eve party, she might find a clue to why - and this is where the Nostalgex drug comes in. It enhances memory - very handy  for exams - and can take the user back to relive happy memories in great detail. When she tries it though, Jess discovers that often there's a discrepancy between how she remembers events and what actually occurred. Experiencing events without the emotions of the time alters her understanding of them. It helps her focus on the mysterious white-masked person at the party, but it also shows her that her relationship with Luke was not as happy as she'd believed. Revisiting some of her arguments with him, Jess comes to see Luke as domineering, bullying, even abusive - all traits she'd ignored in the past.
 Like any good thriller The Memory Hit keeps you guessing about the identity of the 'bad guy',with plenty of twists and turns along the way, but what makes it stand out is the concept of Nostalgex and how our memories can be altered by time; if a person is generally seen as 'nice' we may overlook the odd outburst, or something very frightening and confusing may be blanked from our conscious memory. In a way, I suppose Nostalgex is doing what regression therapy does, and here it's used to good effect, teasing out memories and shedding new light on events and relationships.


Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Hodder Childrens
Genre - Thriller, teen relationships, YA/teen

This Is Not A Love Story by Keren David

review by Maryom

Theo is feeling bad about breaking up with Kitty - but when he realises Kitty went missing shortly after they argued he starts to feel even worse. As the day passes without any signs of her, Theo has to face the fact that something really bad may have happened to Kitty - and that it would all be his fault.
Both Jewish, both from North London, both newly moved to Amsterdam, they had so many things in common that Kitty and Theo seemed pushed together by fate. But Theo can't forget the 'unsuitable' love he left behind in London - the reason his parents sent him abroad in disgrace - and Kitty is both attracted and repelled by Ethan, the son of her mum's boyfriend, with his mix of charm and moodiness. Told alternately from Theo's and Kitty's perspective, the story traces their relationship from first meeting to big bust up.... In a love story the hero and heroine meet, fall in love, overcome obstacles in their way and live happily ever after - that's the way it happens in fairy stories, films, and romantic novels, but this isn't a love story and the ending may not be all that happy.

In this Amsterdam-set story of teenage relationships, Keren David presents a love triangle with a difference; three teenagers trying to come to terms with their confused emotions and sexuality, and finding life isn't as neatly packaged as a romantic novel.
 This may not be a love story, but love is pretty much the most important thing on Kitty's mind - whether it's her own relationships with Theo and Ethan, or the one between her mum and Ethan's dad. Kitty is a typical teenager - constantly taking selfies, obsessed with the number of 'likes' on her Instagram account, and seeing any new guy she meets as potential boyfriend material.
 Theo, on the other hand, believes he's already found his true love - and if his family would just stop interfering everything would be fine. But if that's so, why does he find himself attracted to Kitty?
  Ethan is unpredictable - if he wants to, he can turn on the charm but most of the time he's pushing boundaries, wanting to shock people and provoke them into reaction. His dad sees him as moody and uncommunicative; as an outsider, I saw him as someone covering up hurt through attention-seeking. He wouldn't at all appreciate being thought of as lonely or in need of love, but that's how he came over to me.

This is a book that manages to be an entertaining enjoyable read, while at the same time bringing up issues of sexual orientation in a sensitive and thoughtful manner. The author captures what it's like to be a teenager trying to sort through the confusion of their own feelings, and the mixed messages being picked up from others. I was hooked early on by Theo's mounting panic over Kitty's disappearance - I wanted to know what their big argument was all about, why Kitty had gone missing and if she'd be found safe and well. It doesn't have the 'thriller' element of the When I Was Joe series, but Keren David knows how to grab the reader and hold them, teasing them along by holding back the major reveal. 

And all the while you're led to think this isn't a happy-ever-after love story, but there's romance blossoming right under everyone's noses between Kitty's mum and Ethan's dad.

Maryom's review;  5 stars
Publisher - Atom Books
Genre - YA, teenage relationships,

Beauty Tips For Girls by Margaret Montgomery

review by Maryom

Katy Clemmy is a lonely teenager, not part of the popular crowd at school, and subjected to abusive texts and e-mails from the boys in her form. Her home life is disruptive with her parents constantly arguing, and her mother Corinne generally hiding away in her room in an alcoholic haze. Having no one else to turn to, Katy seeks advice from the pages of teen-magazine Misty - sending letters to their 'agony aunt', believing all the beauty articles and being persuaded into a questionable course of action by the adverts.

Katy's English teacher, Jane Ellingham, is the only one to notice something wrong in Katy's life. Seeing something of herself in the teen, and feeling Katy's life could end up totally de-railed, Jane steps in to help when Katy disappears, and finds herself totally caught up in the Clemmy family's problems. Jane's life has not turned out the way she planned it either - pushing middle-aged and still single, she's become disillusioned with life and men, but believes the blame lies with her mother and a decision she forced Jane into while a teen.

Beauty Tips For Girls is the story of three very different women - a teen, a mother and a spinster. I'd almost liken this to a coming of age novel, if two of the women weren't already 'of age', but it's certainly a book about finding oneself. It's a novel of loneliness, the expectations forced on us by society, and the pressure of bad advice, even when well-intentioned. The story is told in a mix of straightforward narrative, an Alcoholics Anonymous style confession from Corinne, and various snippets from, and letters to, Misty magazine. 

Who would I recommend it to? Anyone over the age of 14 - it's very readable and has something for all ages to relate to. It has as much to say about teenage relationships as about a mother's grief or a women's disappointment with love.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars

Publisher - Cargo

Genre - adult/teen crossover

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

 review by Maryom

"Flocks of birds are hurling themselves at aeroplanes across America. Thousands of people die. Millions are stranded. Everyone knows the world will never be the same.

On Reese's long drive home, along a stretch of empty highway at night, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won't tell them what happened.

For Reese, though, this is just the start. She can't remember anything from the time between her accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: she's different now. Torn between longtime crush David and new girl Amber, the real question is: who can she trust?"

Adaptation is an unusual story in that it mixes sci-fi and conspiracy theories with teen romance and Reese's struggles to come to terms with her sexual orientation; so you could see it as a bit of something for everyone, or it could be that some readers are going to find bits of it more interesting than others. For me, it was very enjoyable. I liked the mix of teen relationship issues and government cover-ups, as Reese tries to work out her feelings for Amber and David, or goes out with long-term friend and conspiracy theorist Julian to search for evidence to back up his claims.
The pace seems a little uneven at times with the action scenes being fast and dramatic, and the relationship issues less so, but all in all it pulled me in and kept me reading.
My main gripe would be that, as so often, this isn't the whole story. Although the story finishes at a logical point, there's a sequel, Inheritance and also an ebook novella, Natural Selection, which tells Amber's side of the story.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Hodder Childrens
Genre - YA/ teen, sci-fi, conspiracy theory, teen relaionships

Girl 16 Five Star Fiasco by Sue Limb

Dance anyone?
Review by TheMole

Jess and her boyfriend, Fred, have organized a dinner dance in aid of charity. Well, they are supposed to have organized, but so far they have done posters and tickets. The tickets are sold out but nothing has been arranged. Both of them are thinking there is plenty of time but the clock is ticking and it's time to start taking responsibility.

I found this story to be tremendous fun and I really got to know Jess and Fred. Without giving any spoilers I might also say I loved the ending, which is a bit atypical of other teenage chic lit in that the ending is not a lovey-dovey happy ending, but a real message to the reader.

I would certainly recommend it for young readers in search of something easy to read and light. Beautiful.

TheMole's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Bloomsbury
Genre - Teenage chic-lit

Buy Girl, 16: Five-Star Fiasco (Girl, 15) from Amazon