Aria By Nazanine Hozar
Spanning two decades from the 1950s in Iran, this epic novel follows the life of Aria: a brave, fierce protagonist who wrestles with a life born into poverty in a country that undergoes such dramatic change across her lifetime. An interesting debut which acted as a useful education for me on the history of Iran and its rule, including the revolution that I knew little about. A timely read given the protests that have been going on there.
Babel By RF Kuang
This novel by the author of the Poppy War trilogy is excellent. It’s mostly about language, focusing on translation and etymology in an alternative post-industrial revolution Oxford, but it’s also about empire, colonisation and the whiteness (and magical silver) at its corrupt heart. It’s got hints of His Dark Materials in the setting and coming of age plot trajectory, but it’s probably more satisfying and disturbing overall.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune By Nghi Vo
If, like me, you enjoy a fairy tale for grown ups, you might like this gradually unfolding and beautifully written novella.
Filthy Animals By Brandon Taylor
Densely wrought and highly crafted short stories that look closely at the lives of a group of friends and acquaintances in an American university town. One of those collections where the stories overlap and interlink, so endlessly throwing up surprises and new angles for the reader.
The Lamplighters By Emma Stonex
I do like to include a ghost story for Christmas, although the ghostly element here is not the main event. This is a slow build, a claustrophobic tale, inspired by a real incident in which three lighthouse keepers disappeared from a lighthouse that was locked from the inside. Worth reading for the descriptions of the sea and the weather alone!
Fight Night By Miriam Toews
I wouldn't normally jump at the idea of a nine year old narrator, but Miriam Toews is a firm favourite so when this came out I gave it a go and wasn't disappointed! A laugh out loud read that also makes you cry in its brilliant handling of life, death and family relationships. Toews follows three generations of women through the eyes of Swiv, who has been suspended from school and left with her bonkers grandma. It's beautifully written and a captivating story.
The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break By Steven Sherrill
I think the closest thing I’ve read to this is Stoner by John Williams. A quirky read. A tale of loneliness, friendship and love entangled in day-to-day hardship of being a human and a bull or somewhere in between. I ended up falling in love with M and wanted to protect him from all the human cruelty.
The Turn of the Key By Ruth Ware
If you like a spooky page turner on a winter's night, this modern take on The Turn of the Screw might keep you awake in time-honoured fashion.
White Debt By Thomas Harding
This a fascinating historical account of the Demerara Uprising, a lesser-known slave rebellion in Guyana, with detailed attention given to the perspectives of the slaves and slave leaders. But it also offers a set of important reflections about what this history and the broader history of slavery means for Harding himself, whose ancestors benefitted from slavery, and for anyone thinking about issues around white guilt and restorative justice.
Sonnets for Albert By Anthony Joseph
I could have picked out several of the Forward Prize shortlisted poetry collections for 2022 – it’s been a fabulous year’s crop – but this collection, about the poet’s father, was so powerful and full of heart, so passionate and painfully honest, that I’ve chosen this. I’d not come across Joseph’s work before. If you also haven’t, I’d recommend it to you.
Send Nudes By Saba Sams
Fresh, provocative and entertaining debut collection that includes the winning entry for the BBC National Short Story Award 2022, ‘Blue 4Eva’. The blurb says it perfectly: ‘In ten dazzling stories, Saba Sams dives into the world of girlhood and immerses us in its contradictions and complexities: growing up too quickly, yet not quickly enough; taking possession of what one can, while being taken possession of; succumbing to societal pressure but also orchestrating that pressure. These young women are feral yet attentive, fierce yet vulnerable, exploited yet exploitative.
Vladimir By Julia May Jones
A sideways glance at the American campus novel set in our post #MeToo era that you’ll race through. Narrated by an unnamed English professor, this is a sharp, compulsive and thought-provoking novel addressing complicated questions of power and consent, complicity and responsibility.
The Member of the Wedding By Carson McCullers
I read this book, by one of my favourite writers, many years ago. Coming back to it, it’s even better than I remembered – a superbly written novel and brilliant representation of adolescence, race and small-town America, with a strong dash of the southern Gothic thrown in. Perfection!
Empire of Pain – the Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty By Patrick Radden Keefe
Gripping and shocking account of the Sackler family’s creation and exploitation of the opioid crisis. It’s brilliantly written – and really frightening.
My Name is Leon By Kit de Waal
I read this one after it popped up on AQA’s revised GCSE English Literature texts. It’s a moving story of a young boy – Leon – struggling to look after his mum and his little brother, which ends up with him separated from both in foster care (not a spoiler). The characters are beautifully written and complex and, despite the devastating subject matter, it manages to be hopeful but never cheesy. You’ll find yourself really attached to Leon.
They By Kay Dick
101 pages long, this 'lost masterpiece' could be read in one go, if you can tolerate the creeping sense of horror it creates. We are never told who 'they' are exactly, but learn about them through their acts of violence, which escalate throughout the book. They had been 'lost' for forty years until a literary agent found a copy in an Oxfam bookshop and launched it in LGBT History Month 2022, and I came across it by accident in the bookshop in which Dick used to work. If you like dystopia, horror, or the thrill of joining in with a bit of cult reading, you'll enjoy this.
Nightcrawling By Leila Mottley
The debut novel of the youngest writer to ever feature on the Man Booker longlist, I listened to this one on audiobook and it made for an intense and memorable listen. We follow Kiara, who turns to sex work as a desperate teenager trying her best to make ends meet. The characters and place are brought to life through a poetic narrative voice to create a gripping story of police corruption and sexual violence; a searing account of what it means to be among some of the most vulnerable and unprotected in America.
Berlin By Bea Setton
File this one under the quirky but readable (troubled) young woman tries to find her way in cool European city genre of books.
Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way By Kieran Setiya
The book we all need in these tricky times! Drawing both on personal experience and on a range of philosophical ideas (exemplified through literature, comedy, religion, anecdotes and personal stories, current affairs), this is a thought-provoking and comforting book, written in a what feels like a very conversational, friendly style.
After Sappho By Selby Wynn Schwartz
This novel builds in lyrically written snapshots. We follow a large cast of famous and not-so-famous women from the 19th and early 20th century including Josephine Baker, Sarah Bernhard, Lina Poletti, and Virginia Woolf. Through intelligence, desperation and sheer force of will they find ways to live beyond the expectations of their time – as sapphists, artists, writers and feminists.
People Person By Candice Carty-Williams
I really enjoyed Queenie so gave this one a listen on audible - would recommend the reading by Danielle Vitalis who brings the characters of this unusual family to life! The novel follows the five children of a 'gallivanting Jamaican patriarch' who find themselves involved in a mysterious crime that I won't spoil the details of... If you like a fun read with great characterisation and some giggles, would recommend!
Disorientation By Elaine Hsieh Chou
An American campus novel exploring (with dark and surreal humour) ideas about cultural appropriation. Thought-provoking, uncomfortable and funny.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall By Anne Bronte
I’d been avoiding this one in my summer reading pile, thinking it would be worthy but a slog. I couldn’t have been more wrong – Anne is my new favourite Bronte. A novel that speaks so strongly to current issues around relationships and, despite its age, is really readable and keeps you turning the pages with its central mystery.
The Exhibitionist By Charlotte Mendelson
More troubled families – this time with their dysfunctionality writ large. The absolute ghastliness of the egotistical artist father allows Mendelson to explore tricky themes in a story which is also horribly funny.
The Night Interns By Austin Duffy
How do people ever survive their time as junior doctors? This short novel brilliantly captures the pressure, the humour, the angst, the boredom and intense excitement of life as a junior doctor.
Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? An Indie Odyssey By Nige Tassell
If you were an indie kid in the 80s, listened to John Peel religiously, thought more than 4 chords was selling out and put out your own badly letrasetted fanzine (I tick all those boxes) the NME’s C86 cassette might have been one of your guiding stars. Here Nige Tassell tracks down what happened to the bands that featured. None really became household names (Primal Scream and The Wedding Present are probably the best known) but all had their own charm, as does this book, as it gently and intelligently traces the many different paths lives take as the indie kids grow up.
Happening (L’événement) By Annie Ernaux
Written in 2002, Annie Ernaux’s account of her illegal abortion in 1963 conveys her sense of helplessness and increasing desperation in spare, unflinching prose.
A Fortunate Woman – A Country Doctor’s Story By Polly Morland
Written as a response to John Berger’s brilliant A Fortunate Man, Polly Morland recounts the life a rural GP in 2020-22. In some ways it seems timeless (the sorts of physical and mental troubles we suffer), or a portrait of a time that no longer exists (a doctor making house calls). In others it seems completely up to date – Covid-19 and an underfunded NHS under pressure.
Am I Normal?: The 200-Year Search for Normal People (and Why They Don't Exist) By Sarah Chaney
A brilliant exploration of what normality (physical, mental, emotional, social) has meant across time – and why we are still so obsessed with what it is to be ‘normal’.
And Finally: Matters of Life and Death By Henry Marsh
Prompted by a diagnosis of terminal cancer (and the tricky process of transitioning from god-like surgeon to patient), the neurosurgeon and author Henry Marsh reflects on his life and career and, more generally, on what it is that makes life matter.
How to Kidnap the Rich By Rahul Raina
Our likeable, but utterly crooked, hero only exploits the worst kinds of people and has you rooting for him from the start as he embarks on his rags-to-riches (to-rags-to-riches) journey through modern Dehli. This is itching to be made into a film: a caper, a romance, a satire of celebrity culture.
Ancestors: a prehistory of Britain in seven burials By Professor Alice Roberts
If, as an English teacher, you can get over the slight irritation that this book needs a good editor, this is an absolutely fascinating account of current thinking about the lives of prehistoric Britains, told through the lens of seven burials. It also traces the development of modern excavation techniques and considers the influence of our own time and culture on the way we interpret the past.
Lucy by the Sea By Elizabeth Strout
In Elizabeth Strout’s latest Lucy Barton story, Lucy and her ex-husband de-camp to Maine to live out the pandemic. For me Strout captures perfectly the surreal anxiety and disbelief of the early weeks of Covid 19 – in her usual lyrical but somehow conversational style.
The Amur River: Between Russia and China By Colin Thubron
Old school travel book (yes, Thubron is yet another Old Etonian) that sees the writer, at the age of 80, travelling the almost 3000 mile length of a river that for large parts of its course marks the border between Russia and China. Thubron packs in the historical and contemporary detail, with plenty of material to work with, given the vastly different cultures either side of the river.
Kill or be Killed By Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
It’s not very festive, beyond the occasional glimpse of snow and the sight of a man in a red ski mask – just like Santa but with a shotgun. This graphic novel is engaging and tensely-plotted, working around a central device that the protagonist has to kill bad people or die himself. It raises difficult moral questions and practical ones too (like ‘How do I get out of this diner’s restroom with two armed cops outside?’) while asking questions about mental illness and family trauma.
The Devil You Know: Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry By Dr Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne
A therapist friend recommended this to me after a discussion about how far someone’s actions can be excused if they themselves were the victim of trauma. The book tells the (composite) stories of people who ended up in Broadmoor, the infamous high security psychiatric hospital Adshead worked in for most of her 30 year career as a forensic psychiatrist. I’m not a fan of voyeuristic true crime but this is very different – exploring trauma, mental illness and violence, but also honesty, compassion and responsibility. I read it in July and still think about it now and then – it’s that kind of book.
Reverse Engineering 1
Reverse Engineering 2
ed. Tom Conaghan
These two rather wonderful short story collections are the brainchild of former English teacher, Tom Conaghan. Each volume showcases seven contemporary classics by leading writers such as Jon McGregor, Ben Okri and Sarah Hall, along with less familiar names such as Marheen Sohail and Irenosen Okojie. Each story is followed by an interview with the writer as they reflect on how they put their work together in a process of ‘reverse engineering’. Great stories and great fun!
Recommendations for your students:
Tyger By SF Said
Wonderful fantasy novel set in an alternative London, one scarred by segregation. The beautiful illustrations by Dave McKean perfectly complement the gripping storyline that features a Blakean Tyger upon which rests the future of the world.
Whiteout By Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D Jackson, Nic Stone and Angie Thomas
Another Black teen romance with a bit of substance, from the team who wrote Blackout. A great Christmassy read.
Stone By Finbar Hawkins
The heart-breaking story of Sam, a boy coming to terms with the death of his father, with magic and myth beautifully woven into the story.
Nothing More to Tell By Karen McManus
The latest from the queen of the page-tuners. Now that One of Us is Lying has been turned into a hit Netflix series, this might hook a competent but reluctant reader.
The Rules By Paul Orton
This is the first in the excellent ‘Ryan Jacobs’ series. A fast-paced thriller that might catch the interest of a KS3 pupil who prefers gaming to reading, or appeal to fans of the Alex Rider or Young Bond series looking for what to read next.
Activist By Louisa Reid
Punchy verse novel with an empowering message about standing up for what you believe and joining together to push for change.
All the Things We Never Said By Yasmin Rahman
A gripping mystery told from three points of view by three girls who become friends and, eventually, save each other. Everything works out in the end, but along the way this is an unflinching look at teenage anxiety and depression. (Warning: deals with suicidal ideation, although the message that suicide is not the answer comes through very strongly and is part of the point of the book).
The King is Dead By Benjamin Dean
When the king dies, the next in line to the throne is Black, gay and 17. This has well-plotted twists and turns, a likeable cast of characters, humour, and a credible depiction of royal life. One to recommend to fans of the Young Royals T.V. show.
The Worlds We Leave Behind By A.F. Harrold
Brilliant example of how an 11+ novel can introduce young readers to narrative possibilities. The same story plays out in three different ways in a clever exploration of consequences and the impossibility of turning back the clock. Stunningly illustrated by Levi Penfold.
Orangeboy By Patrice Lawrence
I enjoyed reading Chapters 1 and 2 with my Year 10s so much that I went to the library to find the rest of the novel to read on holiday. A YA crime novel set in Hackney. Lawrence builds a complex criminal underworld and a sympathetic protagonist, while also exploring relationships within families and between teenagers in a realistic-feeling and sensitive way. Despite dealing with a range of 'issues', such as mental health, racism, knife-crime and drugs, the novel doesn't feel like an 'issues' book; it's just a great story, with gripping twists and great pace.
This Wicked Fate By Kalynn Bayron
Great follow up to This Poison Heart by the writer of the also excellent Cinderella is Dead. Expect twisted fairy tales and empowered protagonists!
The Ghost of Shadow Vale By Jonathan Stroud
Jonathan Stroud, author of the Lockwood & Co books, knows how to tell a spooky tale. An excellent quick read from Barrington Stoke, with a teen interest age and a reading age of 7.
Know My Place By Eve Ainsworth
Eve Ainsworth has the knack of creating believable teen protagonists in true-to-life dramas. Here, Amy is looking for a place she can call home after a bumpy ride in the care system. A quick read from Barrington Stoke, with a teen interest age and a reading age of 8
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
