Psychological / Coming-of-age  

The Great Godden

By Meg Rosoff

With Ms Atherton

The perfect summer read: A sunsoaked summer at the seaside turns sour when a charismatic boy pulls a group of cousins into a web of desire, jealousy and betrayal, with devastating consequences.

Jane Austen Fan Fiction

The Other Bennet Sister

By Janice Hadlow

With Ms Smith and Ms Cho

‘The Other Bennet Sister’ follows Mary Bennet, the overlooked, plain middle sister in Pride and Prejudice, as she moves beyond her family’s neglect to find self-confidence, identity, and love.

Big Tech / Whistleblower Memoir

Careless People

By Sarah Wynn-Williams

With Mr Rea

Sarah Wynn-Williams joined Facebook believing the company could change things for the better. Instead, what she encountered over seven years was so shocking that Meta obtained a legal order to silence her. ‘Careless People’ follows interconnected characters moving through elite social circles where ambition, privilege, and carelessness collide. As relationships fray and moral boundaries blur, seemingly minor decisions carry serious consequences. The story examines how power and entitlement shape behaviour, exposing the emotional fallout of selfish choices in a world where accountability is often avoided or ignored.

Fun and engaging history

Adventures in Time: The Fall of the Aztecs

By Dominic Sandbrook

With Dr Basra

The Aztec Empire had been blessed by the gods. Its pyramid temples were warmed by the sun, its fields were thick with corn, its bustling marketplaces were full of feathers, pottery and jewellery. But the Emperor Montezuma was troubled by terrifying omens. And when Spanish sailors landed on the shore, seeking their fortunes in a foreign land, nothing would ever be the same...

Ancient Egyptian Fantasy

His Face is the Sun

By Michelle Jabes

With Ms Moore-Bridger

Princess. Priestess. Rebel. Thief. The kingdom of Khetara awaits an uncertain future… As the gilded royal court revels in decadence, turning a blind eye to the civil unrest threatening to overspill the rural southern lands, an inescapable storm of change is brewing. For the pharaoh is dying and fate will come for them all.

Comic Satirical Fantasy

Small Gods

By Terry Pratchett

With Miss Ferreira

‘The trouble with being a god is that you’ve got no one to pray to...’ Religion is a competitive business on the Discworld. Everyone has their own opinion and their own gods, of every shape and size - all fighting for faith, followers, and a place at the top. So when the great god Om accidentally manifests himself as a lowly tortoise, stripped of all divine power, it's clear he's become less important than he realised. In such instances, you need an acolyte, and fast. Enter Brutha, the Chosen One - or at least the only One available. He wants peace, justice and love - but that's hard to achieve in a world where religion means power, and corruption reigns supreme…

YA Dystopian

The Territory

By Sarah Govett

With Mr Wragg

The Year is 2059. Noa Blake is just another 15-year-old with exams looming. Except in the Territory, normal isn’t normal. The richest children have a node on the back of their necks and can download information, bypassing the need to study. In a flooded world of dwindling resources, Noa and the other ‘Norms’ have their work cut out even to compete. And competing is everything – because anyone who fails the exams will be shipped off to the Wetlands, which means a life of misery, if not certain death. But how to focus when your heart is being torn in two directions at once?

Romcom

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard

By Megan Clawson

With Miss Anderson

Love is in the heir in this royally good romcom – perfect for anyone who likes relatable heroines (with great hair), hot and aloof book boyfriends (with great hats), near misses, almost kisses and a corgi or two.  Megan Clawson, the author, used to live in the Tower of London and has woven her real-life experiences of life inside a historic palace - more hilarious than you would expect - to create a brilliant romcom layered with historical knowledge and a few of her own embarrassing mishaps.

YA Dystopian

Gone

By Michael Grant

With Miss Cumiskey

In the blink of an eye all the adults disappear in a small town in southern California, and no one knows why. Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there’s no help on the way. Sam Temple and his friends must do all they can to survive. Chaos rules the streets. Gangs begin to form. Sides are chosen – strong or weak. Cruel or humane. And then there are those who begin to develop powers…

YA Thriller

Stolen

By Lucy Christopher

With Mrs Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype – he's young and attractive. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist – almost.

Refugee Stories

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles

By Fabio Geda

With Mrs Robbins

What would you do if you were ten and left to fend for yourself?  In order to survive, Enaiat must undertake a journey from war-torn Afghanistan to Italy in the hands of smugglers and alone.  A story of hope and survival.

Economics

The Shortest History of Economics

By Andrew Leigh

With Mrs Campion, Mr Whitworth and Miss Huang

Find out more about the ideas that shape our world, from money, markets and trade to inequality, technology and growth. Learn how economics helps explain almost everything: why countries become rich, why crises happen, and how everyday choices connect to global forces. Fast-moving and full of real-world relevance.

Mythology / Historical Fiction

Pandora

By Susan Stokes-Chapman

With Mrs Howe

Blending Georgian historical fiction with Gothic mystery and the myth of Pandora.  When an unusual ancient Greek vase arrives at her uncle’s shop, Dora joins forces with a young scholar to investigate it. Together, they uncover family secrets that have Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life and the world as she knows it.

Fantasy

Six of Crows

By Leigh Bardugo

With Mrs Charlier

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams - but he can't pull it off alone. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction - if they don't kill each other first.

Novella / Chess Enthusiasts

Chess

By Stefan Zweig

With Ms Bergquist

On a cruise ship, a group of passengers challenge a world chess champion to a game. Partway through the match, a mysterious stranger intervenes to help the struggling challengers. Who is this stranger, and how did he become so good at chess? The origin of his talent is surprising and disturbing. A short novel full of suspense and psychological interest (and equally gripping whether you are a chess player or not!).

Intellectual, Non-Fiction, Psychological

The Other Girl

By Annie Ernaux

With Ms Gutulan

A haunting reckoning with absence, guilt and the strange intimacy of a sister never known. In a voice at once clinical (not a single superfluous word) and deeply wounded, Annie Ernaux excavates the silence about an older sister who died before Annie was born, and the complex lifelong burden of being written into someone else’s place. Part confession, part investigation, the book asks unsettling questions about memory, identity and the stories families bury in order to survive.

A Friendship in Books

84 Charing Cross Road

By Helene Hanff

With Dr Lexton

A moving true story unfolded through a series of letters between New York writer and voracious reader Helene Hanff and booksellers Messers Marks & Cross of Charing Cross Road, London. This captivating little book on the joys of friendship is a delight for the soul while the amusing anecdotes and charming personal voice will give you dinner-party material forever!

A Mathematical Adventure

The Number Devil

By Hans Magnus Enzensberger

With Mrs Hassan

The quirky and unusual story of a young boy who hates maths at school, but who discovers a new side to the subject when he meets an unusual mathematician in a dream. This book takes you on an adventure through creative mathematical thinking, with great illustrations along the way.

Society/ Feminism

Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights

By Helen Lewis

With Mrs Tayler

For anyone who feels held back by 'the tyranny of niceness': learn about real women who were willing to break rules, norms and laws to drive change. Divided along different areas of life (work, sex, sport, education, safety, love), this witty and inspirational book allows a dip-in or deep-dive approach.

Memoir / Holocaust Testimony

The Hiding Place

By Corrie ten Boom

With Ms Gómez

True story about the ten Boom family, a Dutch Christian family who lived above their clock/watch repair shop in Haarlem, the Netherlands and how courage, faith, resistance and forgiveness were key in their survival and for the rest of their lives.

Dystopian, Political, Sci-Fi

Fahrenheit 451

By Ray Bradbury

With Mr McElroy

Imagine a world where books are illegal and curiosity is dangerous. In Fahrenheit 451, fireman Guy Montag hunts stories instead of reading them, until one brave question changes everything. Fast-paced, rebellious, and thought-provoking, this novel challenges readers to fight conformity and discover the power of thinking for themselves independently.

Endurance Running and Inner Peace

Mind over Miles: The untold story behind the record-breaking run

By Russ Cook AKA Hardest Geezer

With Mrs Pratt

Hardest Geezer, Russ Cook, is the first person to run the entire length of Africa. From his starting point in Cape Agulhas, South Africa, through sandstorms in the Sahara Desert, rainforests, mountain ranges and long empty roads stretched out for miles in front of him, Russ ran the equivalent of 386 marathons finally crossing the finish line in Tunisia 50 weeks later.


Attempted kidnaps, being held at gunpoint in an armed robbery and the whole challenge left hanging in the balance when he was denied the right to cross Algeria, Russ never once contemplated giving up. When he crossed the finish line in Ras Angela, he did so with the eyes of the world on him. Russ Cook shares how he turned his life around to face these challenges and shares his motivations and tales of incredible determination, sheer grit and endurance.

Sci Fi Adventure

Artemis

By Andy Weir

With Mr Wells

A page turning adventure set on the moon from the author of 'Project Hail Mary'. Jazz Bashara is one of the criminals. She lives in a poor area of Artemis and subsidises her work as a porter with smuggling contraband onto the moon. But it's not enough. So when she's offered the chance to make a lot of money she jumps at it. But though planning a crime in 1/6th gravity may be more fun, it's also a lot more dangerous.

Big Ideas - The Future of Humanity Explored

Homo Deus

By Yuval Noah Harari

With Raghav R

Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century and beyond - from overcoming death to creating artificial life.

It asks the fundamental questions: how can we protect this fragile world from our own destructive power? And what does our future hold?

YA vampire romance

Twilight

By Stephanie Meyer

With Alida M

When Bella Swan moves to the rainy town of Forks, she expects boredom—but not Edward Cullen. Mysterious, beautiful, and hiding a dangerous secret, Edward draws Bella into a world where love and danger collide.
As their connection deepens, Bella must decide: is falling for him worth risking everything?

Espionage and Spy Thriller

The Spy and the Traitor

By Ben Macintyre

With Raph W

The greatest true story of Cold War espionage led by a student passionate about history. Ben Macintyre reveals a tale of espionage, betrayal and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War forever.

Rebuilding Civilisation Guide

The Knowledge: How To Rebuild Our World After An Apocalypse

By Prof Lewis Dartnell

With Joseph B

A nuclear war, viral pandemic or asteroid strike. The world as we know it has ended. You and the other survivors must start again. What knowledge would you need to start rebuilding civilisation from scratch?
How do you grow food, generate power, prepare medicines, or get metal out of rocks? Could you avert another Dark Ages, or take shortcuts to accelerate redevelopment? Living in the modern world, we have become disconnected from the basic processes and key fundamentals of science that sustain our lives.

Historical Fiction

The Scarlet Pimpernel

By Baroness Orczy

With Camilla I

An exciting novel taking place during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The title is the nom de guerre of its hero and protagonist, a chivalrous Englishman who rescues aristocrats before they are sent to the guillotine. Sir Percy Blakeney leads a double life: apparently nothing more than a wealthy fop, but in reality, a formidable swordsman and a quick-thinking master of disguise and escape artist. The band of gentlemen who assist him are the only ones who know of his secret identity. He is known by his symbol, a simple flower, the scarlet pimpernel (Angallis arvensis).

Non-Fiction Science Memoir

Surely you’re joking Mr Feynman: Adventures of a curious character

By Richard P. Feynman

With Polina R

A wise, funny, passionate and totally honest autobiography of one of the world's greatest theoretical physicists. An artist, safecracker, practical joker and storyteller, Feynman's life was a series of combustible combinations made possible by his unique mixture of high intelligence, unquenchable curiosity and eternal scepticism. Based on Feynman's conversations with his friend Ralph Leighton.