Book Recommendations

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

Feodora and her mother live in the snowbound woods of Russia, in a house full of food and fireplaces. Ten minutes away, in a ruined chapel, lives a pack of wolves. Feodora's mother is a wolf wilder, and Feo is a wolf wilder in training. A wolf wilder is the opposite of an animal tamer: it is a person who teaches tamed animals to fend for themselves, and to fight and to run, and to be wary of humans. When the murderous hostility of the Russian Army threatens her very existence, Feo is left with no option but to go on the run. What follows is a story of revolution and adventure, about standing up for the things you love and fighting back. And, of course, wolves. 

Horse Boy by Tanya Landman

A prehistoric survival adventure about a boy and a horse who rescue one another. A boy without a clan was nothing. No one. A boy without a clan was easy prey. Oak, son of the Deer clan chief, hopes that this summer he will finally be allowed to join the hunt and make his father proud of him. But this year is not like other years – the rains have failed, his father has fallen out with the Bear chief, and everyone is mistrustful of the new creatures that have been spotted near their encampment: horses. Then Oak becomes separated from his clan with only a young horse for company, and it seems that surely the worst has happened. But perhaps not all animals are prey. Perhaps Horse can be clan too. 

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green

A princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief. Five teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Five nations destined for conflict. In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father, while her true love, Ambrose, faces the executioner's block. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell. As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our five heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize? 

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

A page-turning thriller that will keep readers guessing until the very end about a road trip in a snowstorm that turns into bone-chilling disaster.

Mira needs to get home for the holidays.  But when an incoming blizzard results in a cancelled connecting flight, it looks like she might get stuck at the airport indefinitely.

And then Harper, Mira's glamorous seatmate from her initial flight, offers her a ride. Harper and her three friends can drop Mira off on their way home. But as they set off, Mira realizes fellow travellers are all total strangers.  And every one of them is hiding something.

Soon, roads go from slippery to terrifying. People's belongings are mysteriously disappearing. Someone in the car is clearly lying, and may even be sabotaging the trip - but why? And can Mira make it home alive, or will this nightmare drive turn fatal?