Feeling Sorry for Celia
by Jacqui Moriaty
Macmillan Children's Books
ISBN: 0330397257

Elizabeth's best friend has run away, her mother communicates by fridge notes, her teacher makes her write to a stranger to encourage "the Joy of the Envelope" and the Association of Teenagers tells her to put her head in a paper bag. But there's hope ahead in the shape of the Boy on the Bus.

Brother, Brother, Sister, Sister
by Helen Dunmore
Scholastic
ISBN: 0439994152

Tanya has gone from being an only child to having four brothers and sisters in one fell swoop. Quads are a nightmare. The house is full of dirty nappies, and her parents are so shattered that her dad falls asleep at work...Which doesn't make his (ex) boss very happy. Tanya's diary seems to be the only thing that's listening to her any more...

You Don't Know Me
by David Klass
Puffin Books
ISBN: 0141314060

Fourteen-year-old John lives with his single mother and her boyfriend, a man who is violent towards him whenever John's mother is not around. John believes that if he tells his mother about the abuse, she will side with "the man who is not my father". There's a lot of pain, humour and horror in this book before John resolves his relationship with his mother and lets her begin to know him.

Spellfall
by Katherine Roberts
(Chicken House)
ISBN: 1903434173

Read Abigail Rose's review of Spellfall on our Book Reviews pages