Notes From Walnut Tree Farm by Roger Deakin
Recommended by Lisa Cockcroft
Notes From Walnut Tree Farm is a collection of personal musings gathered from the journals that conservationist Roger Deakin kept for the last six years of his life: thoughts, feelings and impressions from the semi-wild home in which he lived and worked for thirty years. This is a wonderful book. Curious, thoughtful, passionate, full of warmth and compassion for all living things, it is also interesting to read as a companion to The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane, who was a great friend of Deakin's, their two books occasionally overlapping. Deakin's early death in 2006 seems such a great loss to writing and to conservation, and this book must surely be treasured all the more because of it. Just beautiful.
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
Recommended by Lisa Cockcroft
I was 11 in 1982 and the accuracy of detail in this book is remarkable, not simply in culture and language but in its sense of place, its atmosphere, all so perfectly recreated it made my eyes water! But this is so much more than simply another nostalgia-fest for Maggie's generation; the language is luminous, poetic, the set-pieces surreal and dreamlike, and it is written with such joyful abandon that I devoured it in two days and having finished it, was left bereft but ultimately enriched and enlivened by having spent those two days in the company of Mitchell's protagonist, the wonderful and memorable 13 year old Jason Taylor.
Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr
Recommended by Lisa Cockcroft
In the 50 years since its publication this haunting, atmospheric tale has terrified whole generations of children. Marianne is ill; lying bored in bed one day she begins drawing a house. That night in her dreams she is transported into her own picture - only this is not the pretty cottage she envisaged but a sinister, lonely house in the middle of a bleak, desolate landscape ... and Marianne is not alone. This is a great introduction to horror for everyone and Catherine Storr's imagery will linger in the reader's mind long after the story ends. Enid Blyton it isn't!
River Boy by Tim Bowler
Recommended by Lisa Cockcroft
Published in 1997, in my opinion River Boy deserves to be revisited. It is the story of obsessive swimmer, Jess, and the mysterious painting, titled 'River Boy', which her ailing grandfather is struggling to finish before he dies. During a holiday which takes the family back to the old man's youthful haunts, Jess meets and befriends the real River Boy, an enigmatic, ethereal youth who joins her on her wild swims and eventually sets her a challenge she can't resist. Beautifully written, this story is strong on atmosphere and in its depiction of the natural world.
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Recommended by Fiona Duncan
This is a very atmospheric novella, beautifully written. The sense of place evokes the most chilling landscape and the unfolding story is also compelling and haunting.
I was lost in this book.
Being by Kevin Brooks
Recommended by Rose Fewlass (aged 15)
Being is definitely the creepiest book I have ever read (and I've read a lot of very creepy books!) It is a violent, bloody tale of 16-year-old Robert. He goes to hospital for a routine endoscopy and lies anaesthetized on the operating table, but strangely enough he begins to be able to hear the doctors and nurses around him, and what they're saying chills him to the bone. Kevin Brooks spins another gruesome tale: a boy on the run, desperate for answrs, but can he handle the truth?
The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler
Recommended by Harriet Jaggs
I have read The Basic Eight several times now and I still get the same thrills throughout. The originality and wit of Handler's alter-ego Lemony Snicket is present but don't be mistaken - this tale is worlds apart from Snicket's children's titles. The darkest of dark themes make up the twisted backbone of this faux pulp thriller, whose shock ending will leave you reeling. The only book I've ever read that has inspired me to at once turn over the tome and begin reading again, I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Flush by Carl Hiaasen
Recommended by Harriet Jaggs
Carl Hiaasen's second novel aimed at young adults does not disappoint. Retaining the quirky humour of previous novel Hoot, but offerin gmore fully developed characters and a more confident approach to children's writing, Flush features a fully-realised and likeable lead recodnisable enough for an audience to relate to. This is a fast-paced, funny and touching noevl, behind which lies a serious and timely message about the environment and the responsibility we should all take for it.
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Recommended by Harriet Jaggs
Patti Smith's Just Kids reads like an extended love letter to Robert Mapplethorpe, to New York and to youth. In personal and moving prose, pre-punk poet Patti describes her experiences of 'running away' to new York, of falling in love and of rising to become the icon she is today. Her flowing narrative and vividly evoked sense of time and place make this a must-read for fans of Patti Smith, for anyone with an interest in music in general, and for anyone who remembers, or wishes they could remember, the joy of being so young, so goddamn young, and free.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Recommended by Sue Keates
Cloud Atlas is a tour-de-force, an enthralling look at power, individual responsibility, the nature of the soul itself. The interdependance of past, present and future, and the ways in which we record our history and tell our stories, also come under the spotlight. Mitchell plays with a different narrative technique in each of the tales here - tales which are at the same time discrete and linked to the others so that reading the book is something like opening a set of Russian dolls and putting them back together again. Very intriguing, very thought-provoking and not nearly as daunting as it sounds!
Still Life by Louise Penny
Recommended by Sue Keates
Still Life is the first of four (to date) novels featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec. At first glance they appear to be no more than a Canadian version of the traditional English village mystery, but I urge you not to dismiss them on this basis! Penny is very good at tone and place, in this case a very specific area south of Montreal with a distinctive blend of English and French culture, the characters are involving and the mysteries themselves are well-plotted. And while these are by no means comic novels, she writes with a gentle humour that lifts them from the run-of-the-mill.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Recommended by Sue Keates
This is like Buffy meets Harry Potter - if you can imagine such a thing. Clary, a 15 year old who thus far has been living a fairly normal life with her Mum in New York, finds herself thrust into a whole new life one night. And of course it turns out she has gifts she never knew about and a destiny to fulfil which will take her far from home. So far, so ordinary - you've read this plot many times before. But this book is exciting, suspenseful and really well written. There are vampires, demons and astral travel. Clary is believable and likeable and the other characters are well-drawn too.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Recommended by Sue Keates
This is a deeply satisfying book, full of atmosphere and incident. It has the attention to detail that is the secret of Harry Potter's success but is altogether more grown up. Wry and humorous, it explores the value and nature of scholarship - in the guise of magic. A lot of fun for anyone who has ever studied literature or history - or read a footnote. Fantastic!
The Burying Beetle by Ann Kelley
Recommended by Sue Keates
The Burying Beetle and its sequel, The Bower Bird, are lovely books, originally aimed at children but now published as cross-over novels and much enjoyed by me at 45! There isn't much plot to speak of, just fantastic characterization and insight. The sense of place is acute (Cornwall) and Cassie's observations of life and the world around her are touching and entertaining.
The Last Enemy by Grace Brophy
Recommended by Jo Riby
If, like me, you're a fan of Donna Leon and Michael Dibden, then look no further! Grace Brophy has created a commissario in Cenni worthy of joining the dizzying ranks of Brunetti and Zen. Set in Assisi and Perugia, this Umbria-based police procedural will definitely not disappoint.
Bethlehem Murders by Matt Rees
Recommended by Jo Riby
Omar Yusef is a teacher convinced a former pupil has been framed for murder. This is Palestine, however, so he has not only the police to convince but also the local militia, who are very keen, along with one of his oldest friends (a high-ranking local police officer), to see George convicted. This is a great new series; we see so much in the media about Palestine but in fact we know almost nothing about daily life there, which makes this book all the more interesting!
Inside the Whale by Jennie Rooney
Recommended by Jo Riby
This is the story of two ordinary people that meet in extraordinary times - Stevie works in the canteen at a Sunpat factory in London and Michael at his father's dairy. One day they meet and the attraction is instant. This, however, is 1939 and they are soon separated. Michael goes to Africa, promising to return; Stevie waits at home. He doesn't come back. Written with such exquisite tenderness and beauty that it takes your breath away, this book has a light magical quality that will make putting it down almost impossible.
Engleby by Sebastian Faulks
Recommended by Nathalie Touitou
Mike Engleby finds himself at a venerable university, having survived a grueling childhood. A loner, he observes his surroundings with sarcastic detachment; his world revolves around music, drugs and the beautiful and vivacious Jennifer Arkland. The first person narrative of this sinister story intensifies the feeling of disquiet in the reader, and as the story unfolds the facts become hazier. Engleby is a thought-provking book dealing with issues if identity and mental integrity. A page-turner.