Suggested Reading Lists

Here at Okehampton College Library we want to not only read the genre you love, but to try and experience something new. So we have compiled these lists in the hope you might fall in love with something new...
  • BOOKS FOR YEAR 7 & 8
  • ​BOOKS FOR YEAR 9
  • ​BOOKS FOR YEAR 10 & 11
  • ​FOR OLDER TEENS
  • ​MODERN CLASSICS
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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Series of Unfortunate Events – Lemony Snicket
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Ally’s World series by Karen McCombie
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Attika by Garry Kilworth
Biggles Flies West by WW Johns
Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
Billy the Kid – Michael Murpurgo /Michale Forman
Boy by Roald Dahl
Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer
Cherubs by Robert Muchamore
Double Act – Jacqueline Wilson
Dreamweaver – Louise Lawrence
Enter Tom by Jan Oldham
Face by Benjamin Zephaniah
Fire, Bed and Board – Henrietta Branford
Flash Flood by Chris Ryan
Forever X – Geraldine McCaughrean
Girls Trilogy by Jacqueline Wilson
Granny the Pag – Nina Bawden
Gulf – Robert Westall
Hacker by Malorie Blackman
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Holes by Louis Sachar
Innocent by Anne Cassidy
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Johnny and the Dead – Terry Pratchet
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Kensuke’s Kingdom –Michael Mupurgo
Kevin Crossley Holland
King Solomon’s Mines by H Rider Haggard
Kiss the Dust – Elizabeth Laird
Little Soldier – Bernard Ashley
Little White Horse by Elizabeth Grudge
Little Women by Louisa L Alcott
Maphead and Maphead 2 – Lesley Howarth
Massive by Julia Bell
Mr Spaceman – Lesley Howarth
Nightjohn – Gary Paulsen
Not the End of the World by G McCaughrean
Pig Heart Boy – Malorie Blackman
Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori
Red, White and Blue – Robert Leeson
Scribbleboy – Philip Ridley
Shadow of the Minotaur – Alan Gibbons
Silverfin by Charlie Higson
Skellig – David Almond
Small Steps by Louis Sachar
Space Race – Sylvia Waugh
Spring-Heeled Jack – Philip Pullman
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Storm Thief by Chris Wooding
Survival by Chris Ryan
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Conon Doyle
The Bone Dog by Susan Price
The Doomspell – Cliff McNish
The Echoing Green – Mary Rayner
The Ghost Drum by Susan Price
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Illustrated Mum – Jacqueline Wilson
The Kite Rider – Geraldine McCaugrean
The Mennyms – Syliva Waugh
The Midwife’s Apprentice – Karen Cushman
The Mighty Fizz Chilla by Phillip Ridley
The Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
The Seeing Stone & The Crossing Place –
The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral by Robert Westall
The Tulip Touch – Anne Fine
The Wind Singer – William Nicholson
There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom – Louis Sacher
Trucker (and Diggers and Wings) – Terry Pratchett
Two Weeks with the Queen – Morris Gleitzman
Warriors of Alavna by NM Browne
Weirdo’s War – Michael Coleman
Whispers in the Graveyard – Theresa Breslin
Why Weeps the Brogan? – Hugh Scott
Wind on the Fire Trilogy by William Nicholson
Worry Warts – Morris Gleitzman
(Un)arranged Marriage by Bali Rai
A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly
A Sporting Chance by Aidan Chambers
A Thief in the Village and other stories by James Berry
All Fall Down by Sally Nicholls
All my Men by Bernard Ashley
An American Slave by Frederick Douglass
Apache by Tanya Landman
As Good as Dead Downtown by Neil Arksey
Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Boy by Roald Dahl
Bridge to the Stars by Henning Mankell
Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells
Bullet Boys by Ally Kennen
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan
Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin
Cuckoos by Roger Green
Dambusters by Paul Brickhill
Dark Water by Anne Coburn
Dear Nobody by Berlie Doherty
Diary of an Unteenager by Pete Johnson
Doctor Who series by Terrance Dicks
Firebug by Susan Gates
Flambards by K M Peyton
Gatty's Tale by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
I am David by Anne Holme
I'm the King of the Castle by Susan Hill
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Losers Weepers by Jan Needle
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray
Predator’s Gold by Philip Reeve
Red Shift by Alan Garner
Ruby Red by Linzi Glass
Shadow of the Minotaur by Alan Gibbons
Skellig by David Almond
Smith by Leon Garfield
Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl
Teenage Health Freak by A MacFarlane
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
The Foul Footballers by Michael Coleman
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
The Inheritors by William Golding
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
The Knife of Never Letting Go: Book 1 Trilogy by Patrick Ness
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Outsiders by SE Hinton
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
The Savages by Matt Whyman
The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The War of the Worlds by HG Wells
What I Was by Meg Rosof
White Fang by Jack London
Wolf by Gillian Cross
A Gathering Light By Jennifer Donnelly
A Swift Pure Cry By Siobhan Dowd
Abomination By Robert Swindells
Across The Nightingale Floor By Liam Hearn
Al Capone Does My Shirts By Gennifer Choldenko
Before I Die By Jenny Downham
Blood Red Snow White By Marcus Sedgwick
Boys Don't Cry By Malorie Blackman
Breathe: A Ghost Story By Cliff Mcnish
Brick Lane By Monica Ali
Brighton Rock By Graham Greene
Chinese Cinderella Of The Secret Dragon Society By Adeline Yen Mah
Clay By David Almond
Coram Boy By Jamila Gavin
David Copperfield By Charles Dickens
Day Of The Triffids By John Wyndam
Dead Gorgeous By Malorie Blackman
Discworld Series By Terry Pratchett
Dracula By Bram Stoker
Elsewhere By Gabrielle Zevin
Emipire Of The Sun By J G Ballard
Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury
Frankenstein By Mary Shelley
Girl With A Pearl Earring By Tracy Chevalier
Great Expectations By Charles Dickens
Heaven’s Net Is Wide By Lian Hearn
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou
In The Sea There Are Crocodiles By Fabio Geda
Jeeves Series By Pg Wodehouse
Junk By Melvin Burgess
Ketchup Clouds By Annabel Pitcher
Leaving Poppy By Kate Cann
Liar And Spy By Rebecca Stead
Looking For Jj By Anne Cassidy
Lord Of The Flies By William Golding
Martyn Pig By Kevin Brooks
Millions By Frank Cottrell Boyce
Nineteen Eighty-Four By George Orwell
Northern Lights By Phillip Pullman
Noughts And Crosses By Malorie Blackman
One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich By Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
Picture Me Gone By Meg Rosoff
Pride And Prejudice By Jane Austen
Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington
Rebecca By Daphne Du Maurier
Refugee Boy By Benjamin Zephaniah
Scoop By Evelyn Waugh
Secret Scribbled Notebooks By Joanne Horniman
Starseeker By Tim Bowler
Stuff Of Nightmares By Malorie Blackman
Talking In Whispers By James Watson
Teacher’s Dead By Benjamin Zephaniah
That Was Then, This Is Now By Se Hinton
The Chocolate War By Robert Cormier
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime By Mark Haddon
The Earthsea Trilogy By Ursula Le Guin
The Edge By Alan Gibbons
The Fault Of Our Stars By John Green
The Freedom Writers’ Diary by Erin Gruwell (Outreach Programme, some strong language)
The Hit By Melvin Burgess
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy By Douglas Adams
The Invisible Man By H G Wells
The Joy Luck Club By Amy Tan
The Knife That Killed Me By Anthony Mcgowan
The Lord Of The Rings By Jrr Tolkien
The Machine Gunners By Robert Westall
The Medici Seal Theresa Breslin
The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ By Sue Townsend
The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson
The Tulip Touch By Anne Fine
The Woman In Black By Susan Hill
Tight Rope By Gillian Cross
To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee
War Of The Worlds By Hg Wells
Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
Witchchild By Celia Rees
A Song For Ella Grey by  David Almond

Claire is Ella Grey's best friend. She is there when the whirlwind arrives on the scene: catapulted into a North East landscape of gutted shipyards; of high-arched bridges and ancient collapsed mines. She witnesses a love so dramatic it is as if her best friend has been captured and taken from her. But the loss of her friend to the arms of Orpheus is nothing compared to the loss she feels when Ella is taken from the world. This is her story, as she bears witness to a love so complete, so sure, that not even death can prove final.
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “We love David Almond’s writing: his flights of imagination and exceptional prose style are a class above the rest.”
Salvage by Keren David

Before she was adopted by a loving family and raised in a leafy Home Counties town, Cass Montgomery was Cass Jones. Her memories of her birth family disappeared with her name. But when her adopted family starts to break down, a way out comes in the form of a message from her lost brother, Aidan. Having Aidan back in her life is both everything she needs and nothing she expected. Who is this boy who calls himself her brother? And why is he so haunted?
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “We loved Keren David’s contemporary family drama that looks at tough issues, such as adoption. It is one of the most compelling books we’ve read this year.”
Say Her Name by James Dawson

The truth is more terrifying than the legend. When Bobbie and her best friend Naya are dared by their schoolmates to summon the legendary ghost of Bloody Mary, neither really believes that anything will happen. So they complete the ritual, and chant Mary’s name five times in front of a candlelit mirror . . . Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary. . . And something is called forth that night. Something dark, terrifying and out of control. She will be there, just out of sight, in the corner of your eye. She will lurk in your nightmares. She will hide in the shadows of your bedroom. She will be waiting in every mirror that you see. She is everywhere. And she wants revenge.
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “Dawson is brilliant at writing teenage girls and we loved the fact that this book is like Point Horror but with a lot more subtlety and complexity. A really good read.”
Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Sam and Hannah have just the summer before uni to find ‘The One’. Their lobster. But fate works against them, with awkward misunderstandings, the plotting of friends and their own fears of being virgins for ever. In the end, though, it all boils down to love . . .
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “This book struck a very strong chord with us because we could really relate to teenage life as it is depicted here. The use of dual narration works very well and, best of all, it is hilarious!”
Half Bad by Sally Green

Nathan Byrne is Half Bad. He’s half white witch . . . half black witch. His mother was a healer . . . his father is a killer. He’s wanted by no one…but hunted by everyone.
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “This is a compelling and original book, set in a brilliantly fantastical world. It is also a wonderful exploration of family relationships.”
Finding a Voice by Kim Hood

Jo could never have guessed that the friendship she so desperately craves would come in the shape of a severely disabled boy. He can’t even speak. Maybe it is because he can’t speak that she finds herself telling him how difficult it is living with her eccentric, mentally fragile mother. Behind Chris’ lopsided grin and gigantic blue wheelchair is a real person — with a sense of humour, a tremendous stubborn streak and a secret he has kept from everyone. For a while it seems life may actually get better. But as Jo finds out just how terrible life is for Chris, and as her own life spirals out of control, she becomes desperate to change things for both of them. In a dramatic turn of events, Jo makes a decision that could end in tragedy.
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “The writer deals with a difficult subject matter in an honest and heartbreaking way. Hood draws us in to the impact of mental health issues on children and the challenges of disability but mainly just tells a beautiful and worthwhile story”
Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill

Frieda and isabel have been best friends their whole lives. Now, aged sixteen and in their final year at the School, they expect to be selected as companions- wives to wealthy and powerful men. The alternative - life as a concubine - is too horrible to contemplate. But as the intensity of the final year takes hold, the pressure to remain perfect becomes almost unbearable. isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty - her only asset - in peril. And then, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride. frieda must fight for her future- even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love she has ever known . . .
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “We were blown away by this book. The strength of the voice from the first page, the depth of the subject matter and the feminist, dystopian plot kept us gripped all the way through.”
Goose by Dawn O’Porter

Renee and Flo are eighteen and on the brink of their adult lives. But while Flo is determined to get to uni and take Renee with her, Renee can feel her sense of independence soar. In their final year before leaving their home on Guernsey, will Renee and Flo still be each other’s soulmates, or is this the end of their friendship?
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “This book is just perfect when it comes to portraying teenage girls on the cusp of adulthood, and all the problems they face. Brilliant.”
Trouble by Non Pratt

Hannah is smart and funny. She’s also fifteen and pregnant. Aaron is the new boy at school. He doesn’t want to attract attention. So why does Aaron offer to be the pretend dad to Hannah’s unborn baby? Growing up can be trouble but that’s how you find out what really matters.
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “We loved this book. The voices of the characters are spot on and it has a huge heart as well. It is the sort of novel that reads so easily but is devilishly hard to actually write.”
Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick

The spiral has existed as long as time has existed. It is there when a girl walks through the forest, the moist green air clinging to her skin. There centuries later in a pleasant greendale, hiding the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who they call a witch. There on the other side of the world, where a mad poet watches the waves and knows the horrors they hide, and far into the future as Keir Bowman realises his destiny. Each takes their step in life. None will ever go back to the same place. And so their journeys begin . . .
Quote: The Bookseller team said: “This book speaks about the teenage experience in a different but important way. It makes teenagers think about things beyond their
Young Sherlock - Andrew Lane
Journey to River Sea - Eva Ibbotson
The Lie Tree - Frances Harding
The Machine Gunners - Robert Westall
Witch Child - Celia Rees
Geek Girl: Model Misfit - Holly Smale
Looking for Alaska - John Green
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
My Sister Jodie - Jacqueline Wilson
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
Eragon - Christopher Paolini
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Wonder - RJ Palacio
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman
The London Eye Mystery - Siobhan Dowd
The Red Pyramid - Rick Riordan
The Indian in the Cupboard - Lynne Reid Banks
Cirque Du Freak - Darren Shan
Holes - Louis Sachar
There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom - Louis Sachar
Where She Went - Gayle Forman
Just One Day - Gayle Forman
If I Stay - Gayle Forman
A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness
Of Mice & Men - John Steinbeck
The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
Tamar - Mal Peet