Tess has everything she could possibly need; loving parents, a best friend who can almost read her mind, great teachers, and an amazing ability to ignore all the haters. With this support system she can be anything, do anything, and go anywhere. So when just one brick in her wall is ripped away, Tess finds herself floundering in uncertainty. Suddenly the little voice in the back of her mind telling her she is different becomes a roar and, unable to deal with the fall out, she simply stops talking. Drifting further and further away from everything familiar she finds solace talking to an unusual ally - a bright orange goldfish torch - who has some surprisingly good advice.

This novel is both heart-breaking and hilarious. Tess is a fabulous protagonist, a strong, outgoing girl who tries her hardest to please those around her, yet one who deals with daily bullying on account of her size and unconventional looks. Her journey of self-discovery is incredibly difficult and you cannot help but cheer her on every step of the way. It is exceptionally well written and an absolute joy to read.

Together two teenagers try to find light during their dark roads to recovery in the aftermath of a devasting bombing

Natalia Gomes’s dual-narrative story of survival, survivor’s guilt, friendship and rebuilding one’s life and identity is a potent, authentic feat of YA fiction.

US-born Alice is a dedicated bookworm who believes “there’s nothing like the smell of a library”, and considers running to be a form of “voluntary torture.” In contrast, Jack lives to run - it’s freeing, exhilarating, a means of “creating your own music.” Unsurprisingly then, despite attending the same school, Alice and Jack’s paths have barely crossed, until their chance encounter on Leicester Square at the precise moment a bomb explodes. A bomb that kills 22 people, and leaves them forever changed.

Their initial floods of thought and feelings are powerfully evoked in all their heart-stopping intensity, especially as Jack runs through all the imminent athletic adventures he had planned and realises, “My legs are gone. There’s nothing from my thighs. It’s all gone.” As his “thoughts are heavy and they hurt. My memories hurt. My past hurts”, Alice is gripped by anger and also feels driven to find Jack, while he dreams of her, “the girl with the yellow polka dot umbrella.”

The ebbs and flows of their struggles and friendship are stirringly evoked. As Jack begins to feel hope when he’s fitted with prostheses (“I’m finally starting to feel like the old Jack. Maybe it’s time to start putting my old life back together again”), Alice struggles with PTSD, with survivor’s guilt, and with debilitating panic attacks. Then they switch roles again, with Jack slipping into depression as Alice finds solace in a therapy group. He realises he was being overly optimistic about his road to recovery - it’s a marathon, not a sprint, which hits him hard given that’s he’s already set himself on taking up his London marathon place. But Alice is there for Jack, every step of the way, and he for her, and therein lies the heart of this novel - the power of friendship to heal and keep a person going when all feels lost

Her highly-acclaimed, award-winning debut, My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece was undoubtedly a hard act to follow, yet Annabel Pitcher’s second novel is equally impressive.

In this unusual young adult novel, Pitcher once again creates a vivid and engaging first person narrative - this time, the story is told through a series of letters written in the frank and often funny voice of a 15-year-old girl struggling to come to terms with her crushing guilt because she is, by her own admission a murderer. Seeking redemption for her crime, Zoe begins writing to convicted murderer Stuart Harris, awaiting execution on Death Row, confessing the truth about what happened, and spilling out her feelings about a love triangle that went tragically wrong, as well as the family turmoil she has been experiencing.

An inclusive element lies in the depiction of Zoe's younger sister Dot, who is deaf. Dot is an endearing and fully-rounded character, and whilst the subject of deafness is generally dealt with naturally and casually, the book also makes a powerful comment about one of the possible causes of infant deafness and the impact on her family.

Dealing with some complex and difficult themes and issues, Ketchup Clouds is perhaps best suited to older teenage readers. Blending powerful emotion and darkness with ironic humour, it is a gripping and moving story about secrets, lies and growing up. Sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes wistful, often funny and always compassionate, this is a beautifully-crafted and unexpected coming-of-age story that will win readers’ hearts.