Booklist

Annemarie Allan
Hox
Floris (190 pages) 9780863156212
Robbie lives in Scotland and his dad works at an institute of animal research; his mother having died from an infection at the time of his birth. He is drawn by some connection towards a laboratory-bred cat and this in turn leads to a wildly exciting sequence as they escape danger across the winter-harsh mountains. Then Robbie and two wildcats have to elude pursuit from scientists and eventually the mysteries of both the family and the research establishment are resolved. This thrilling tale with ecological implications has a vivid wildcat on the cover.

Blue Balliett
The Wright Three
The Chicken House (330 pages) 9781905294411
In a previous book, Chasing Vermeer, the reader was invited to assist with solving an art mystery; here the dangers, thrills and detection have an architectural focus. In trying to save a house from demolition the young investigators, Petra, Calder and Tommy, discover weird happenings, a moving roof, agonised moaning, and get involved in a search for treasure. Frank Lloyd Wright has a well-keyed-in part to play and with codes and problems to solve it is all a highly intriguing and very cleverly developed tangle that keeps readers hooked and turning the pages avidly.

Siobhan Dowd
The London Eye Mystery
David Fickling Books (325 pages) 9780385612661
This is amazing: a genuinely puzzling mystery that is not so much a who-dunnit as a how on earth did it happen? Within the story are strands and themes which lead to a boy entering one of the wholly transparent pods of the London Eye. After the trip, one revolution, he does not reappear. He has vanished and his friends become embroiled in a what, how, who and what-if thriller that is definitely and refreshingly not a fantasy. This novel, beautifully written with both charm and excitement and with fully rounded characters, will enthral readers of all ages.

Fiona Dunbar
Toonhead
Orchard (210 pages) 9781846162374
Pablo is 12 and though brought up in a household fully devoted to art he demonstrates no pictorial skills at all. But friends show him television and cartoons grab his attention to the extent that he can foretell future happenings through cartooning. Two criminals plan to control and profit from this gift but with his faithful imaginary companion, Richie, a cartoon cockroach, Pablo wins through. This is slightly quirky as the boy's mind explores byways and amusing meanderings but he always swings back into the full suspense of the story. There are many ways in which this cleverly wrought writing will be interesting and involving for readers.

Will Gatti
The Geek, The Greek and the Pimpernel
Orchard (270 pages) 9781846163678
This is a far-fetched school story with an exaggeration of bullying prefects, who are hand in glove with a distinctly strange headmaster, and the very nasty staff. The boy in the story, the Greek, for the sake of self-preservation, tries not to be noticed but finds an unexpected friend in a new geeky-looking girl wearing glasses. Then things start to turn topsy-turvy with the bullies suffering in some hilarious about-turns, and as mysterious messages from 'The Pimpernel' appear the whole awful school system is threatened. The book satirises through an extreme case but also works as a page-turner with an unravelling of revelations as events move towards a climax.

Sally Grindley (writing as D J Lucas)
Relax Max
Orchard (172 pages) 9781846160851
Max exchanges letters with his very favourite author, D.J. Lucas, and the ingenious story emerges through these. In this third book poor Max is beset by problems as his mum has a new boyfriend and his penfriend is bewailing the onset of a period of writer's block. Each communication between these two drives the story along, poses questions and gives answers. At the same time as readers gain a progressive appreciation of the characters and situations, the nature of writing and reading themselves come into play. It is all very gently persuasive and feels deliciously like spying on private thoughts.

Natalie Haynes
The Great Escape
Simon and Schuster (277 pages) 9781416926054
I always think it is a mistake to hijack a well-known title from another medium for something new, and this is not about prisoners of war: it is a good book and surely deserves its own unique title. The fast-moving and visually imaginative story involves a talking cat Max, helped to escape from a laboratory by the computer efficient Millie. She meets like-minded Jake and Ben and together they set out to expose the trickery of one Arthur Shepherd and free the cats which have mostly been imported from Belgium. Twists and turns abound at every page-turn, and running throughout are lessons about animals used for test purposes and animal rights.

Pete Johnson
The Bad Spy's Guide
Corgi Yearling (181 pages) 9780440867630
Pete Johnson writes very fine books for the young and always seems to be in tune with their thoughts, attitudes and concerns. In this book a mild-seeming new boy claims to have been recruited as a spy and persuades James Bond and Sherlock Holmes fan, Tessa, to let him use her house to watch over some neighbours. Parent and child relationships and interaction are lightly handled in the context of the story and the short chapters make it all very reader-friendly. As well as the unfolding mystery, there's the writer's usual observant wit and sparklingly fitting dialogue.

Michael Morpurgo
Born to Run: The Many Lives of One Incredible Dog
HarperCollins (240 pages) 9780007230570
A master of the art of writing for a young audience here brings readers the story of a rejected greyhound puppy. The book is in three parts. At first the dog is named Best Mate by his rescuer, Patrick, who loves him as much as a boy can. But he runs fast - very fast - and is captured to be trained for racing. At the new owner's place is an unhappy girl, Becky, who befriends the dog and calls him Brighteyes. All goes well while Brighteyes is a winner but come the time when he isn't, a cruel fate awaits. Becky runs away taking the dog with her, but when she is injured and Brighteyes saves her life, he is excluded from the hospital and left alone. His next home is as Paddywack with a man living on a barge and more heroics are called for. When quite by chance he meets an older Patrick he's not recognised. A story touching and exciting in turn, very well told and a really grand read.

Linda Newbery
Catcall
Orion (180 pages) 9781842555682
Here is a very intense story about brothers Josh and Jamie and their affinity with animals. The younger brother comes to be obsessed, or maybe possessed, by the mind and will of a wild cat. As a result his behaviour grows increasingly unpredictable, alarming and downright terrifying for his brother. It is up to Josh to find the strength to break the grip holding Jamie and free his brother's mind from torment. Within a beautifully paced and precisely built up, unput-downable story development is a complex and demanding novel, so it is particularly good to see it as a Nestlé award-winner attracting much praise from young readers.

Rodman Philbrick
Freak the Mighty
Usborne (188 pages) 9780746062531
Max is big, very big for his age, but a slow learner and in the care of grandparents as his father is serving time for the murder of his mother. Kevin is a bright lad who suffers from a condition leading to stunted growth and he is reliant on crutches. Lightness of touch, sensitivity and immense warmth emanate from the portrayal of the relationship between these two oddball boys living in the middle of an uncaring community of modern despair and neglect. It is humour that leavens things throughout the story as incident after incident reveals dangers and narrow escapes. To say too much here would be unforgivable but towards the end fate seems inevitable and unavoidable. The first reading of this book is a very special experience indeed.

Tim Walker
Shipley Manor
Faber (280 pages) 9780571232840
A fantasy but one with an opening firmly rooted in the here and now. Tom's Saturday job is at the ship-like Shipley Manor owned by a Captain and staffed by the fishy, in appearance, Polly Seabright and the inventor of odd items, Seymour. Tom studiously refuses to believe there's anything untoward about any of it until there's a plot to gain ownership by Venetia Pike and Barclay Grub. There are sea and sea-craft references aplenty and everything is kept fast flowing for the reader though, like Tom, no one is let into the real secrets of the story until very close to the ending.