THE NOVI READING LIST
Reading improves your focus, memory, vocabulary and allows you to explore different worlds, times, cultures and mindsets.
THE CHALLENGE • Read 10 books within your Novi Year • Each book up to 10 will receive a commendation • Only 2 books in a series or by the same author count. • Books are ranked 1 - 4 (1 = most accessible). • This list is just a guide to get you started and thinking about different genres. Explore the library for more inspiration. • Search the catalogue remotely & reserve books - link on the Library Firefly pages.
To log your reading please use the Tonbridge App.
This selection of books has been compiled in conjunction with the English department and represents books from all genres reflecting modern classics and works from the present day. You are not limited to the titles on this list, rather this presents a starting point from which to explore the wider collection. If you require help selecting a book please ask one of the librarians for a recommendation, or nominate a book for the Library to purchase by contacting thelibrary@tonbridge-school.org.
Please enter a start and end date and then ask one of the following members of staff to verify it for you - this requires a short discussion of the book: - Your tutor - Your English teacher - One of the Librarians
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ADAMS, Douglas
SCIENCE FICTION
Arthur Dent, mild-mannered, out-to-lunch earth-ling, is plucked from his planet by his friend Ford Prefect just seconds before it is demolished to make way for a hyper-space bypass.
SHELFMARK: F ADA
2
The Door of No Return ALEXANDER, Kwame
YOUNG ADULT
A gripping and vivid coming-of-age story steeped in African history and folklore, The Door of No Return follows an eleven-year-old Kofi as he unexpectedly finds himself on a precarious journey fighting for his life and his freedom. SHELFMARK: F ALE
4
Foundation series ASIMOV, Isaac
SCIENCE FICTION
The ostensible task of Foundation, a group of savants established by Seldon on the remote planet Terminus, is to compile the “Encyclopedia Galactica”, a complete account of human knowledge.
SHELFMARK: F ASI
4
Empire of the Sun BALLARD, J. G.
HISTORICAL
The classic, heartrending story of a British boy's four year ordeal in a Japanese prison camp during the Second World War. A mesmerising, hypnotically compelling novel of war, of starvation and survival, of internment camps and death marches. It blends searing honesty with an almost hallucinatory vision of a world thrown utterly out of joint. SHELFMARK: F BAL 3
3
The Silence of the Girls BARKER, Pat
HISTORICAL
Pat Barker’s electrifying revision of The Iliad reframes the story through the voiceless women of war in a startlingly vivid novel with a powerful message about who tells stories and why it matters.
SHELFMARK: F BAR
2
The Girl who came out of the Woods
DYSTOPIAN
BARR, Emily
Arty has always lived in the Clearing, a commune hidden in the forests of south India. But her happy life, separate from the rest of the world, is shattered after a terrible event.For the first time, Arty must leave her home, and head into the intriguing but frightening outside world. On the streets of India, a chance encounter leads to her becoming an unwilling overnight celebrity. SHELFMARK: F BAR
2
Noughts and Crosses BLACKMAN, Malorie
DYSTOPIAN
Sephy and Callum have been best friends since childhood, and now they are older and they realise they want more from each other. But the harsh realities of lives lived in a segregated society are beginning to take their toll: Callum is a nought--a second-class citizen in a world dominated by the Crosses--and Sephy is a Cross, and the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the country. SHELFMARK: F BLA
1
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas BOYNE, John
HISTORICAL
Bruno is nine years old, and the Nazis’ horrific Final Solution to the ‘Jewish Problem’ means nothing to him. Then he meets a boy called Shmuel who lives a very different life from him -- a life on the opposite side of a wire fence. The friendship between the two boys begins to grow, but for Bruno it is a journey from blissful ignorance to a painful knowledge. SHELFMARK: F BOY 4
2
Fahrenheit 451
DYSTOPIAN
BRADBURY, Ray
Guy Montag is a book-burning fireman undergoing a crisis of faith. His wife spends all day with her television "family", imploring Montag to work harder so that they can afford a fourth TV wall. Their dull, empty life sharply contrasts with that of his next-door neighbour Clarisse, a young girl thrilled by the ideas in books, and more interested in what she can see in the world around her. SHELFMARK: F BRA
2
Medusa
HISTORICAL
BURTON, Jesse
'If I told you that I'd killed a man with a glance, would you wait to hear the rest? The why, the how, what happened next?' Monster. Man-hater. Murderess. Forget everything you've been told about Medusa. Internationally bestselling author Jessie Burton flips the script in this astonishing retelling of Greek myth, illuminating the woman behind the legend at last. SHELFMARK: F BUR
3
Murder on the Orient Express CHRISTIE, Agatha
CRIME
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the nside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer - in case he or she decides to strike again. SHELFMARK: F CHR
3
Ready Player One CLINE, Ernest
SCIENCE FICTION
2044. The real world is in ruins. Out of oil, the climate destroyed, famine, poverty and disease are widespread. Like almost everyone, Wade Watts has an escape - the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like almost everyone, he's on the hunt for the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality. SHELFMARK: F CLI
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2
Bombs that Brought us Together CONAGHAN, Brian
DYSTOPIAN
Fourteen-year-old Charlie Law has lived in Little Town, on the border with Old Country, all his life. He knows the rules: no going out after dark; no drinking; no litter; no fighting. You don't want to get on the wrong side of the people who run Little Town. When he meets Pavel Duda, a refugee from Old Country, the rules start to get broken. SHELFMARK: F CON
2
The Last Kingdom Cornwell, Bernard
HISTORICAL
In a land torn apart by conflict, an orphan boy has come of age. Raised by the Vikings, deadly enemies of his own Saxon people, Uhtred is a fierce and skilled warrior who kneels to no-one. Alfred – Saxon, king, man of god – fights to hold the throne of the only land still resisting the pagan northerners. Uhtred and Alfred’s fates are tangled. Together they will change history. SHELFMARK: F COR
2
The Last Paper Crane DREWERY, Kerry
HISTORICAL
A Japanese teenager, Mizuki, is worried about her grandfather. He says that he has never got over something that happened in his past and gently Mizuki persuades him to tell her what it is. We are taken to 1945, Hiroshima, and Mizuki's grandfather as a teenage boy chatting at home with his friend Hiro. Moments later the horrific nuclear bomb is dropped on Hiroshima. SHELFMARK: F DRE
3
Norse Mythology GAIMAN, Neil
NON-FICTION
Gaiman’s gods are thoroughly alive on the page – irascible, visceral, playful, passionate – and the tales carry us from the beginning of everything to Ragnarök and the twilight of the gods. Galvanised by Gaiman’s prose, Thor, Loki, Odin and Freya are irresistible forces for modern readers and the crackling, brilliant writing demands to be read aloud around an open fire on a freezing, starlit night. SHELFMARK: 293.12 GAI 6
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Lord of the Flies
CLASSICS
GOLDING, William
The story of a group of boys who, after a plane crash, set up a fragile community on a previously uninhabited island. As memories of home recede and the blood from frenzied pig-hunts arouses them, the boys' childish fear turns into something deeper and more primitive.
SHELFMARK: F GOL 2
This Book Kills
THRILLER
GURON, Ravena
When one of the most popular and richest kids in school is found dead, the student body is left reeling and wondering who the murderer could be... Jess, a student under strict instructions to keep her record clean, finds herself at the centre of the investigation when it's revealed that Hugh died in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote. SHELFMARK: F GUR
1
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
YOUNG ADULT
HADDON, Mark
A murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. SHELFMARK: F HAD
3
Pompeii
HISTORICAL
HARRIS, Robert
A sweltering week in late August. Where better to enjoy the last days of summer than on the beautiful Bay of Naples? But even as Rome's richest citizens relax in their villas around Pompeii and Herculaneum, there are ominous warnings that something is going wrong. Wells and springs are failing, a man has disappeared, and now the greatest aqueduct in the world - has suddenly ceased to flow. SHELFMARK: F HAR 7
3
I am not a Number HEATHFIELD, LISA
DYSTOPIAN
The Traditionals have been voted to lead the country. They promised a happier future for everyone. They didn't promise this. When Ruby is swept up with protesters and locked in a prison camp far from home, she's now known by the number 276. With horror escalating in the camp, Ruby knows that she has to get her family out - and let the world know what's happening. SHELFMARK: F HEA
1
Stormbreaker
HOROWITZ, Anthony
THRILLER
Orphan Alex thought he knew his Uncle Ian Rider --until the elusive banker is killed in a tragic car accident. Immediately, Alex's life starts to get stranger by the day as his guardian's friends and colleagues start showing up and contradicting everything Alex thought he knew about the man he'd called Dad for so long. Maybe Ian Rider was not a banker after all? SHELFMARK: F HOR
3
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
HORROR
JACKSON, Shirley
Merricat just wants a quiet life. But ever since her sister Constance was acquitted of murdering the rest of the family, the world isn't leaving the Blackwoods alone. And when Cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect the remaining family. SHELFMARK: F JAC 3
Aurora Rising
SCIENCE FICTION
KAUFMAN, Amie
The year is 2380. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but he gets stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch: a cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm; a sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates; a smart-ass tech-whiz with the galaxy's biggest chip on his shoulder; an alien warrior with anger management issues; and a tomboy pilot who's totally not into him, in case you were wondering. SHELFMARK: F KAU
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2
When the World was Ours KESLER, Liz
HISTORICAL
Vienna, 1936. Elsa, Leo and Max have always been best friends. Then the Nazis come. As a growing darkness descends around them, Leo and Elsa run for their lives, taking two very different paths across Europe. And Max, once their closest friend, now becomes the enemy as he is drawn into the Hitler Youth. Will the friends ever find their way back to each other? Will they want to? SHELFMARK: F KES
3
To Kill a Mockingbird LEE, Harper
CLASSICS
Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. SHELFMARK: F LEE
2
Rebel Skies
FANTASY
LIN, Ann Sei
A beautifully written and pacy teen fantasy adventure, set in a world of flying ships, sky cities and powerful paper spirits. Inspired by Asian cultures and exploring themes of empire, slavery and freedom.
SHELFMARK: F LIN
2
Warcross
SCIENCE FICTION
LU, Marie
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn't just a game - it's a way of life. Struggling to make ends meet, Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. When Emika hacks into the game illegally, she's convinced she'll be arrested, and is shocked when she gets a call from the game's creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. SHELFMARK: F LU 9
3
The Crossing
YOUNG ADULT
MANN, Manjeet
A trailblazing novel about two teenagers from opposite worlds; The Crossing is a profound story of hope, grief, and the very real tragedies of the refugee crisis. Natalie's world is falling apart. Sammy has fled his home and family in Eritrea for the chance of a new life in Europe. A twist of fate brings them together and gives them both hope. But is hope enough to mend a broken world? SHELFMARK: F MAN
2
The Chosen
FANTASY
MATHARU, Taran
Cade Carter is lost. Convicted of a crime he didn't commit, Cade is facing a year in reform school when he finds himself suddenly transported to another realm. Populated by bloodthirsty prehistoric creatures and fierce warriors, Cade's surroundings are full of danger. Along with his fellow students, Cade is forced to become a contender in a deadly game, controlled by invisible overlords. SHELFMARK: F MAT
2
The Supreme Lie
MCAUGHREAN, Geraldine
DYSTOPIAN
Fifteen-year-old Gloria is maid to Afalia's tyrannical Head of State, Madame Suprema. When the country is hit by unprecedented flooding, Madame Suprema runs away, fearing she will be blamed for the crisis. To cover up this cowardly act, Gloria is made to step into Madame Suprema's shoes and is thrust into a world of corrupt and desperate politicians. SHELFMARK: F McG
2
I am Alfonso Jones MEDINA, Tony
YOUNG ADULT
Alfonso can't wait to play the role of Hamlet in his school's hip-hop rendition of the classic play. But as he is buying his first suit, an offduty police officer misatkes a clothes hanger for a gun and shoots Alfoso. When Alfonso wakes up in the afterlife, he's on a ghost train guided by well-known victims of police shootings, who teach him what he needs to know about the spirit world. Meanwhile, Alfonso's family and friends struggle with their grief and seek justice for him. SHELFMARK: 741.59 MED 10
3
Renegades
SCIENCE FICTION
MEYER, Marissa
Secret identities. Extraordinary powers. The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities – who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone . . . except the villains they once overthrew. SHELFMARK: F MEY
3
What if?
NON-FICTION
MUNROE, Randall
In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations and consults nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. SHELFMARK: 530 MUN
3
Last One to Die
THRILLER
MURPHY, Cynthia
Young, brunette women are being attacked in London. 16-year-old, Irish-born Niamh has just arrived for a summer of freedom, and quickly discovers that the girls being attacked look frighteningly similar to her. But Niamh is determined not to let her fear destroy her summer. But can her new friends be trusted? Will she be able to stay ahead of the attacker? Or will she be next? SHELFMARK: F MUR
2
The Rest of Us Just Live Here NESS, Patrick
FANTASY
What if you weren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you were like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. SHELFMARK: F NES 11
1
A Head Full of Everything OATTES, Gavin
NON-FICTION
“It’s the best years of your life!” they tell us. And yet, while it should be, for so many it just doesn’t feel like it. For most it’s an emotional assault course of acceptance, stress, anxiety, heartbreak and peer pressure, all whilst navigating the ‘hashtagony’ of social media. Misunderstood by society and misrepresented by the media, teenagers have it tough. SHELFMARK: 155.5182 OAT
2
The Call
DYSTOPIAN
O'GUILIN, Peadar
Nessa and her friends attend Boyle College to train for the most dangerous time of their lives - THE CALL. Without warning, each one of them will wake in a terrifying land, alone and hunted, with a onein-ten chance of returning alive. No one believes Nessa can make it, but she's determined to prove them all wrong. And she will need every ounce of spirit and courage in order to survive ... SHELFMARK: F O'GU
2
Black and British OLUSOGA, David
NON-FICTION
Revised and rewritten for younger readers, Olusoga’s insightful and invaluable history of the Black experience in the British Isles ranges from forgotten Africans in the Roman legions to the multicultural society of the present day.
SHELFMARK: 305.896041 OLU
3
Best of All Worlds OPPEL, Kenneth
DYSTOPIAN
When Xavier wakes up on the first morning of an enforced family weekend away with his pregnant stepmum and dad, he doesn't recognise where they are - it's as if the house has inexplicably been transported to the set of a video game, inside an impenetrable dome where the family have been 'donated' chickens, goats & wheat to help them survive. There is no trace of their mysterious captors and no way to escape. SHELFMARK: F OPP
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2
Animal Farm
DYSTOPIAN
ORWELL, George
Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon & Wellington leads to the animals taking over the farm. The renamed Animal Farm is organized to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten – the history of a revolution that went wrong. SHELFMARK: F ORW
1
Wonder
YOUNG ADULT
PALACIO, R. J.
Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things - eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go.
SHELFMARK: F PAL
3
Play
THRILLER
PALMER, Luke
Four boys grow up together at school, itching to get out of their small town. They play games, scoring points from each other, anything to pass the time until they're free. Matthew slips into his imagination, Luc pushes his body to the limit, and Johnny ... well who knows what Johnny's up to. But when Mark starts running errands for his older brother's mysterious associate, he thinks he's found the best game of all. SHELFMARK: F PAL 4
Humble Pi
NON-FICTION
Parker, Matt
As Matt Parker shows us, our modern lives are built on maths: computer programmes, finance, engineering. And most of the time this maths works quietly behind the scenes, until ... it doesn't. Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near-misses and mishaps, Matt Parker shows us the bizarre ways maths trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. SHELFMARK: 510 PAR 13
2
Mortal Engines
SCIENCE FICTION
REEVE, Philip
In a dangerous future, huge motorized cities hunt, attack and fight each other for survival. As London pursues a small town, young apprentice Tom is flung out into the wastelands, where a terrifying cyborg begins to hunt him down. SHELFMARK: F REE
3
The King Must Die RENAULT, Mary
HISTORICAL
The King Must Die follows the young Theseus as he discovers that his true father is the King of Athens, and volunteers to join the annual tribute of Athenian girls and youths sacrificed to a bull-worshipping cult on the island of Crete. Trapped in the labyrinthine palace of King Minos, Theseus enlists the help of high priestess Ariadne in a daring plan to free his people. SHELFMARK: F REN
3
I Must Betray You SEPETYS, Ruta
HISTORICAL
Cristian has lived his entire life in the grip of a repressive dictatorship. The country is governed by fear. When the secret police blackmail him, Cristian has an impossible choice. Save the life of his sick grandfather by informing on his family, or risk his life - and all of theirs - by resisting? Closely based on the real events of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, this is a powerful, heart-breaking thriller SHELFMARK: F SEP
3
Scythe
SHUSTERMAN, NEAL
SCIENCE FICTION
In a world where disease, war and crime have been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed ('gleaned') by professional scythes. Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected as scythes' apprentices.They must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do. Only one of them will be chosen...and their first task will be to glean the loser. SHELFMARK: F SHU 14
2
HappyHead
DYSTOPIAN
SILVER, Josh
We are in an epidemic. An epidemic of unhappiness. HappyHead has the answer. When Seb is offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to change how people see him and make his parents proud. The deeper into the programme he gets, the more disturbing the assessments become, until it's clear there may be no escape. SHELFMARK: F SIL
1
The Survival Game SINGER, Nicky
DYSTOPIAN
Mhairi Anne Bain owns only two things: a gun with no bullets and her identity papers. The world is a shell of what it once was. Now, you must prove yourself worthy of existence at every turn, at every border checkpoint. And if you are going to survive, your instincts will become your most valuable weapon. SHELFMARK: F SIN
3
Cold People
THRILLER
SMITH, Tom Rob
The world has fallen. Without warning, a mysterious and omnipotent force has claimed the planet for their own. There are no negotiations, no demands, no reasons given for their actions. All they have is a message: humanity has thirty days to reach the one place on Earth where they will be allowed to exist... Antarctica. SHELFMARK: F SMI
2
Spud
HUMOUR
van de RUIT, Jean
It's 1990. Apartheid is crumbling, Nelson Mandela has just been released from prison and thirteen-year-old Spud Milton is about to start his first year at an elite boys-only boarding school. Cursed with embarrassingly dysfunctional parents, a nutty granny and a dormitory full of strange characters, Spud has his hands full trying to adapt to his new home. SHELFMARK: F VAN 15
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