In the first book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, fourteen-year-old Alex is forcibly recruited into MI6. Armed with secret gadgets, he is sent to investigate Herod Sayle, a man who is offering state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers to every school in the country. But the teenage spy soon finds himself in mortal danger.

Similar to the author's Anne of Green Gables series in subject matter and setting, Emily of New Moon tells the story of a young orphan girl growing up on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Struggling to adapt to life with the two aunts who are now her guardians, Emily makes friends with several talented children near in age to her while discovering her own talents as a writer.

When Anne Shirley 'erupts' into their lives, the Cuthberts little guess how fond they will become of the skinny, red-haired orphan. Both entertained and exasperated by her constant chatter and imaginings, they soon find it hard to remember what Green Gables was like without its irrepressible adopted daughter.

A single ship waits at the port for those who can escape. How can a boy and his grandfather hope to get on board? And will they find his mother before it leaves? When Papa meets two old friends, he makes a deal that could save them all. But this is only the beginning of the journey for Malik. If he is to escape, he will need all of his courage, his sense of right and wrong and a magic trick that he must practise till it's perfect.

Samantha opened the door, and something hopped and shuffled into the room. Something round and black and furry ... In the cellar of Park House, the old mansion where orphaned Samantha has been sent to stay with her disagreeable Aunt Daisy, there are hundreds of bogwoppits - believed extinct, up till now. Aunt Daisy wants to get rid of them all, but Samantha grows very fond of one and can't bear to part with him. It seems as though Samantha and her...

Staff Picks: An absolute classic in the YA fantasy genre. An incredible fantasy full of world building, politics and complex characters. Picked by Lil

When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him.

Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves her life-a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite...

Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels. Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne...

If you've not yet met Sally Lockhart, prepare to be bowled over. The beautiful, smart 16-year-old can ride like a Cossack and shoot like a demon - and now she's braving terrible danger to hunt down her father's killer! Her journey will take her from the grimy streets of London to a Maharajah's Indian palace and the opium dens of China, unravelling a rich and colourful mystery at whose heart is a priceless jewel soaked in blood... From the glittering...