Book picks similar to
The Polka Dot Shop by Laurel Remington
middle-grade
fiction
read-but-from-library
middle-grade-ya-fiction
The Boy Who Hit Play
Chloe Daykin - 2018
'For ... It. Me. You. Us. The bench. The zoo. The question. Why?'The only thing that Elvis Crampton Lucas knows about where he's from is that he was found on the bench at a zoo. And that his now father took him home in a Stetson hat, and named him after the first three vinyl he picked off his shelf. But now, on his twelfth 'discovery day', it's time for Elvis to find out who left him at the zoo, and why?On an epic adventure that takes Elvis to an island off the coast of Norway, he will finally discover the truth about his past...
Splash
Charli Howard - 2018
Having always lived in the shadow of her manipulative friend, Chloe, Molly finally has the chance to compete in a regional swimming contest and define herself on her own terms. But with the pressure of fitting in, and the sudden arrival of her mysterious mum, will she give up on her dreams for a shot at popularity? A hugely exciting debut with a classic underdog story, a wonderfully relatable protagonist, and an important message of friendship, body positivity, and celebrating who you are.
Secrets of a Teenage Heiress
Katy Birchall - 2018
But Flick isn't that interested. She is interested in the newest guest – superstar celebrity Skylar Chase, and Sky's mega-famous group of friends, including dreamy YouTube star, Ethan Duke. But just as Flick gets the chance to join their glittering squad, she gets grounded following an unfortunate incident involving a prince, a wardrobe and a selfie stick (it could have happened to anyone!). With only her Instagram star pet dachshund, Fritz, for company, will Flick find a way to escape The Royale and join the fame game?
Plastic Angel
Nerissa Nields - 2005
She was mom's pride and joy, the celebri-toast of her tiny town. Back then choices, priorities, and rules were made for her. No one thought to ask 'Gellie' what she wanted to do, nor had she asked herself. She was a sweet and obedient cipher, a plastic angel.
Mary's the Name
Ross Sayers - 2017
That must’ve been why the robbers used hammers.”Orphaned Mary lives with her granpa, but after he is mixed up in a robbery at the bookies where he works, they flee to the Isle of Skye. Gradually, Mary realises that her granpa is involved. And the robbers are coming after him–and their money.Mary’s quirky outlook on life, loss, and her love of all things Elvis, will capture your heart. Full of witty Scots banter, Mary’s the Name will have you reaching for the hankies, first with laughter, then with tears.Heart-warming and heart-breaking, this darkly comic debut is from a fresh voice set to become Scotland’s answer to Roddy Doyle.
Murder at Twilight
Fleur Hitchcock - 2018
But when she gets back from school, he’s nowhere to be found and there are police cars everywhere, lights flashing and sirens blaring.Viv is sure Noah’s run away to get attention. But it’s really cold, and getting dark, and the rain just won’t stop falling. So she sets off to look for him, furious at his selfishness, as the floodwaters rise. And then she finds him, and realises that a much more dangerous story is unfolding around them…From the author of Dear Scarlet, Saving Sophia and Murder in Midwinter
A Cornish Summer's Kiss
Jo Bartlett - 2019
Selling the restaurant they ran together in London, Lexie heads to Port Kara on the Cornish Coast to spend the summer working out her next move. In a cottage cut off by the sea at high tide, and with only her beloved Labrador for company, it should be the perfect place to start again. Except life in Port Kara becomes far more complicated when she agrees to help out local man, Elliott Dorton, at his adventure centre, and soon she barely has time to think. Lexie is content to bury herself in work and rediscovers the passion she used to have for creating unique dishes. Working with Elliott to make the adventure centre a success, they have the opportunity to cater for a showbiz superstar who has just set up home in Port Kara. Discovering they have more in common than she could ever have dreamt, despite the secrets she’s keeping about her past, Lexie realises her feelings for Elliott are in danger of taking her somewhere she never wants to go again. Having already lost her husband because of his attraction to high-adrenaline adventure, the last thing she wants to do is to fall for another man with the same addiction. Especially someone who’s a member of the local lifeboat crew, and whose own safety always comes bottom of the list. When Elliott puts his life on the line twice within a matter of weeks, Lexie realises that she has to leave Port Kara in order to protect herself from getting in any deeper. But when she’s caught in a life and death situation of her own, she understands for the first time what drives Elliott to do the things he does. Can she save the little boy whose life depends on her and, even if she does, can Elliott find them both in time for Lexie to have the fresh start she so badly wants? Fabrian Feel-Good Romance Novels are guaranteed to have a happy ending and leave you with a smile on your face.
The Palomino Pony Comes Home
Olivia Tuffin - 2014
The week she spends away from them in Wales is almost unbearable, until she finds a beautiful but mistreated palomino pony on a windswept mountainside. Georgia feels an instant bond with Lily and knows she must help her escape from her cruel owner, whatever the cost…This is a pony book with all the classic ingredients: K M Peyton for a new generation.
Mud
Emily Thomas - 2018
AND SO DO LITERARY HEROINESAn achingly funny, touching story for anyone who has been thrown in at the deep end.‘Smart and funny. It will tug at your heartstrings’ Dawn O’PorterIt's 1979, and thirteen-year-old Lydia has no idea how she'll cope when her dad announces that the family has to sell up and move onto a Thames sailing barge in Essex. With his girlfriend. And her three kids.Between trying to keep her clothes dry in a leaky cabin, disastrous hair-dye attempts, awkward encounters with local boys, and coping with her suddenly enormous and troublesome family, Lydia fears she'll sink rather than swim . . .At turns heartbreaking and uplifting, through Lydia's innocent and perceptive voice we find out that while the mud may stick, the tide can turn - and in unexpected and joyful ways.Perfect for fans of Louise Rennison, Hilary McKay and Rae Earl
Georgia Under Water: Stories
Heather Sellers - 2001
These are miraculous stories of survival, perhaps even forgiveness. To some of us Georgia's life would be unthinkable. Sellers makes us believe it is well worth living. "Heather Sellers writes delicious, dangerous prose. She starts you twenty-three floors up in condo squalor, nips across for dysfunction in Disney country, threatens incest in Hotlanta, and comes to grief on the Gulf. The dead-credible life of Georgia Jackson-ineffably sweet, thoroughly in love with her own luscious body, half in love with her lush of a father-skids at the edge of the surreal. Her story had me laughing through the lump in my throat. An original. A knockout debut."-Janet Burroway
This Is Me From Now On
Barbara Dee - 2010
This is what Evie's new friend Francesca tells her, and soon enough, Evie's life has had something more like an earthquake. Francesca thinks life is dull unless you go after everything you want and say everything on your mind all the time--and sometimes that includes giving other people a little behind the scenes help to give them what she thinks they want. Evie can't always tell if she's horrified or fascinated by everything Francesca convinces her to do, but ultimately, she comes to see friendship--and life--in a whole new light.
The Goose Road
Rowena House - 2018
Angélique Lacroix is haymaking when the postman delivers the news: her father is dead, killed on a distant battlefield. She makes herself a promise: the farm will remain exactly the same until her beloved older brother comes home from the Front. "I think of it like a magical spell. If I can stop time, if nothing ever changes, then maybe he won’t change either." But a storm ruins the harvest, her mother falls ill and then the requisition appears... In a last-ditch attempt to save the farm from bankruptcy, Angélique embarks on a journey across France with her brother's flock of magnificent Toulouse geese.
Inappropriate Magic
Clayton Taylor Wood - 2020
25 years later, destiny is pissed. And this time, it won’t take no for an answer!When destiny knocked on Chauncy's door, someone else answered it...and told destiny to take a hike. So instead of going on a grand adventure to become a great and powerful wizard so he could save the world from certain destruction, Chauncy got a job.Twenty-five years later, destiny came for Chauncy a second time...and when he told it to take a hike, it knocked him out, tied him up, and kidnapped him.Now Chauncy has no choice but to go on the grand adventure he'd been putting off, to become a great and powerful wizard. Except he doesn't believe in magic, and he doesn't particularly believe in destiny either. Problem is, if he doesn't fulfill his destiny, the world as he knows it will end. And even if he does learn to become the wizard he should have been long ago, it might be too late anyway!Experience this (inappropriate) fantasy comedy from the author of the Runic series and the Magic of Havenwood series!DISCLAIMER:This book contains inappropriate depictions of inappropriate people doing inappropriate things. Including, but certainly not limited to, inappropriate language and veiled connotations of the naughty variety. And of course, inappropriate magic.
Violet Ink
Rebecca Westcott - 2014
Quiet, contemplative Izzy has always adored her charismatic, confident older sister, Alex. But when Alex starts going out with a new boyfriend, everything changes. Izzy isn't sure she can still trust her sister - but she will never stop loving her. Letters from Alex, written in her distinctive purple pen, keep their relationship alive...
Lemonade Sky
Jean Ure - 2012
At 12, Ruby is the oldest but with all the stuff she has to worry about right now, sometimes she feels more like the mum of the family.And speaking of mums, the sisters do have one, and she loves her three girls to the moon and back, butshe suffers from something called bipolar disorder which can sometimes make life very difficult…A poignant, moving and uplifting story about family and friendship by the original Queen of Tween, Jean Ure.