Junior Extension Reading Groups
Lent 2026
Students meet each term in small groups with a subject specialist to discuss and analyse a book they have chosen from the list below. The books on offer change each term and include a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction titles.
Click here to view the previous term’s book club reading suggestions for Michaelmas 2025.
Historical Fiction
Year of Wonders
By Geraldine Brooks
With Mr McElroy
A young woman’s struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village.
YA Coming-of-age Fiction
The Hate U Give
By Angie Thomas
With Ms Atherton
This gripping novel follows sixteen-year-old Starr Carter as she navigates life between her poor neighbourhood and a rich prep school. Everything changes when Starr witnesses the police shooting of her best friend Khalil.
Are AI friends in our future? A dystopian novel
Klara and the Sun
By Kazuo Ishiguro
With Miss Cumiskey
Ishiguro imagines a dystopian future in which some children are genetically enhanced for greater academic abilities. To prevent loneliness, parents provide their children with Artificial Friends. Told from the perspective of an AI companion, Klara and the Sun explores what it means to be human, what it means to be a parent, and the implications of artificial intelligence on society.
Myths retold
Home Fire
By Kamila Shamsie
With Ms Oliver and Mrs Howe
A gritty reimagining of Sophocles' Antigone. Sibling rivalry, conflict and disloyalty in modern Britain.
What is the super objective of life? A short philosophical fable
The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho
With Mr Joy
The Alchemist is a story of self-discovery and the pursuit of one's 'personal legend', the true purpose in one's life. A short fable full of adventure and mystery.
Economics
Humankind
By Rutger Bregman
With Mrs Campion, Mr Whitworth, & Miss Huang
Challenges one of our deepest assumptions: that humans are naturally selfish and cruel. Drawing on economics, history and psychology, this inspiring re-examination of human nature asks us to imagine what society could achieve if we truly believed in the goodness of others.
Satire
God Bless You, Mr Rosewater
By Kurt Vonnegut
With Mr Evans
The USA's master satirist turns his attention to those who worship money, and how people who believe it can make you happy are sorely misguided. Eliot Rosewater knows he does not deserve his inheritance and sets off on a tour to find out more about himself and America.
History
Fascinating Footnotes from History
By Giles Milton
With Mr Lewsley
Did you know that Hitler took cocaine? That Stalin robbed a bank? That Charlie Chaplin's corpse was stolen and held to ransom? Giles Milton is the master of narrative history and with impeccable research his book spans twenty centuries and six continents to bring us some of the most infamous stories and flamboyant and colourful characters (and animals) from history.
Classic detective fiction
The Moonstone
By Wilkie Collins
With Ms Bergquist
Considered to be the forerunner of modern day detective novels; this classic 19th Century crime novel tells the story of an enormous diamond known as the Moonstone. Stolen from an Indian shrine, the diamond brings chaos to those who possess it.
Medical miracles- heartfelt non-fiction
The Story of a Heart
By Rachel Clarke
With Ms Wilde
9 year old Max is dying - he needs a new heart. But who will give it to him, and what are the steps it takes to make that possible? The Story of a Heart is both profoundly moving and full of fascinating medical insight. Blending real-life experiences with heartfelt reflection, it explores what it means to live, care, and love in the face of mortality. A beautiful and thought-provoking read for anyone — especially those considering a future in medicine.
Medicine
This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
By Adam Kay
With A.C. Davies-Khan and Izzy Moore
This memoir offers a candid, humorous and often moving account of life as a junior doctor in the NHS. Through diary entries, Adam Kay shares real experiences from hospital wards, highlighting the pressures, emotional challenges and unexpected moments that define medical work. The book gives a realistic insight into the day-to-day realities of a medical career, encouraging reflection on resilience, empathy and the human side of healthcare.
Science
Bad Science
By Ben Goldacre
With Nishka Gavankar and Anna Vlad
This book offers a sharp, accessible and often witty examination of how science is misrepresented in the media, by alternative medicine practitioners and even by some scientists themselves. Ben Goldacre explains how bad data, misleading statistics and sensationalist reporting can distort public understanding of health and science. Through clear explanations and critical analysis, the book equips readers with the tools to question evidence, understand scientific methods and think more critically about the information they encounter in everyday life.
Computer Science
Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine
By Hannah Fry
With Giorgio Pinto and Ethan McDonald
This book offers an accessible and thought-provoking look at how algorithms shape modern life, from healthcare and policing to dating and art. Hannah Fry uses real examples to show both the power and the limitations of data-driven decision-making, revealing where algorithms excel and where human judgement remains essential. The book encourages readers to think critically about technology’s role in society and to consider the ethical challenges of living in an increasingly automated world.
Mathematics
How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method
By George Polya
With Mrs Bampton
This classic guide to mathematical thinking introduces a clear four-step method: understand the problem, devise a plan, carry out the plan, and look back. It encourages structured, creative approaches to unfamiliar problems and helps readers develop flexible reasoning skills rather than relying on memorised methods. It provides an excellent foundation for anyone wanting to think more like a mathematician.
Sci-fi dystopia
The Knife of Never Letting Go
By Patrick Ness
With Miss Ferreira
In this trilogy, New World has been overtaken by the Noise, an alien germ that also is said to have killed all the women. All thoughts of those surviving are heard outloud, requiring strict control. In a novel where thoughts are so public, and subgroups are either protected or persecuted for their differences and desires, you may find lessons for today's world.
Graphic Novel
Noughts & Crosses
By Malorie Blackman, Ian Edginton, John Aggs
With Ms Jaoui
The long-awaited graphic novel adaptation of one of the most influential, critically acclaimed and original novels of all time, from multi-award-winning Malorie Blackman. Callum is a nought - an inferior white citizen in a society controlled by the black Crosses. Sephy is a Cross - and the daughter of one of the most powerful, ruthless men in the country. In their hostile, violent world, noughts and Crosses simply don't mix... or do they? Voted as one of the UK's best-loved books, Noughts & Crosses is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic.
Dragons
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent
By Marie Brennan
With Miss A Gray
Step into the boots of Lady Trent, a fearless Victorian(ish) naturalist with a passion for the most elusive of creatures - dragons! Invited on an expedition to mountainous Vystrana, young Isabella Trent embarks on a journey that will require courage and curiosity, and which will change her life forever...A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan blends the elegance of historical memoir with the thrill of scientific discovery and the danger of mythical beasts.
YA Fiction
Moonrise
By Sarah Crossan
With Mrs Hassan
Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row. But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think ...
Science Fiction/TV tie-in
Murderbot : All systems red
By Martha Wells
With Dr Basra
Funny, fast-paced and heartwarming. This short novel is narrated by a self-aware security robot (part machine, part organic tissue). Think sarcastic AI learns what it means to be a person while reluctantly saving humans and complaining about it the whole time.
Classic literature
Northanger Abbey
By Jane Austen
With Dr Lexton
Follow the experiences of 17-year-old Gothic-novel fan Catherine Morland as she enters the social whirl of eighteenth-century Bath. Catherine is "in training for a heroine" just like the characters in her favourite fictional adventures -- but will she find true love and happiness or will her imagination run away with her? A delightfully satirical and snappy coming of age novel.
Crime/Murder Mystery
The Hunting Party
By Lucy Foley
With Ms Moore-Bridger
A group of old friends from Oxford gather for their annual New Year's celebration at a remote hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands. Cut off by a snowstorm one ends up dead. A classic locked room mystery with a modern twist.
Fantasy
The Rose Field
By Philip Pullman
With Mr Hammond
The conclusion to the epic 'Book of Dust' Trilogy featuring Lyra Belaqua and set in the epic 'Dark Materials' world. The conclusion of a journey that's been thirty years in the making, if you've already read the other books, why not read the final instalment together!
Crime/Murder Mystery
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
By Agatha Christie
With Mrs Charlier
One of Christie's most famous and innovative detective novels, featuring Hercule Poirot. Perfect for Christmas reading. Don't let anyone spoil the ending!
Historical Thriller
Enigma
By Robert Harris
With Mr Wragg
Set at Bletchley Park during World War II, the story centres on mathematician Tom Jericho who works on breaking the German naval Enigma code. The novel weaves together the tense code breaking work with a spy mystery, exploring themes of secrecy, betrayal, and the moral complexities of wartime intelligence. It's a fast-paced blend of historical detail about code-breaking and espionage thriller.
AI and business
Supremacy – AI, ChatGPT and the race that will change the world
By Parmy Olson
With Mrs Robbins
Financial Times and Schroders Business book of the year 2024. This is an astonishing, behind-the-scenes story of the battle between two AI companies, their struggles to use their tech for good, and the possibly dangerous paths that may arise in the future. A great read for anyone interested in AI and the human stories behind it!
YA Historical fiction
Salt to the Sea
By Ruta Sepetys
With Mrs Thomas
A poignant historical novel set during World War II, following four young refugees as they navigate the harrowing journey to escape the impending disaster of the Wilhelm Gustloff sinking.
Action packed spy thriller
Stormbreaker
By Anthony Horowitz
With Ms Atherton
Nothing prepares 14-year-old Alex Rider for the news that the uncle he thought he knew was really a spy for MI6. Forcibly recruited into MI6 himself, and armed with top-secret, state-of-the-art gadgets, Alex is sent to finish his uncle’s final mission – a mission that involves a wealthy sinister businessman and his new tech creation: a super computer called Stormbreaker.
Psychology
Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain
By Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
With Amelie Tyler, Alexandra Wood and Ava Clark
This book explores how the brain changes and develops during adolescence, covering topics such as decision-making, risk-taking, social interaction and identity. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience, it explains how these changes shape behaviour and learning. It encourages readers to think critically about the relationship between biology and psychology, deepens understanding of human development and promotes analytical skills through engagement with real scientific research.