The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Matt lives with his two sisters and their single mother. She is seriously mentally unstable so their life is one of walking on eggshells. What state will Mum come home in? Will she be nice to them or tease and hurt them.

The novel moves at a fast pace with the reader wondering who will break first – the mother, the children or the various people that Matt hopes will help them survive. Nancy won several awards for this and other books. You can find out all about her at http://www.nancywerlin.com/

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen

A very short but incredibly powerful novel about slavery in the Southern States of America before the Civil War. Nighjohn comes onto the property and teaches Sarny, a twelve-year old girl, how to read. The cruelty of the era is out there for you to read about. It is incredible to believe that such suffering was inflicted on one group of human beings, simply because of the colour of their skin.

Nightjohn knows that the only way that things will change is if the slaves can read and learn. The sequel Sarny is even more interesting.

The Kites are Flying by Michael Morpurgo, ill. By Laura Carlin

Set on the West Bank, a photojournalist from London meets a young Palestinian boy with his herd of sheep. They connect but the boy does not speak. Rather, he spends his time making kites and is fascinated with the journalist’s camera. Alternate chapters are narrated by the boy.  Events lead to the journalist getting more of a film than he expected. A beautifully told novella by the master of story.

http://www.michaelmorpurgo.com/home/ his website – all about the books as well as activities and videos about his writing