Cambridge High School Library 2025

 By: Natasha Solomons  Location:  FIC SOL Genre: Mythology “Know her, love her, fear her” If you're like me and don't know your Ptolemies from your pyramids, don't worry! This book is the perfect intro to ancient Egyptian stuff without making you feel stupid. Bottom line: Solomons doesn't just dust off an old story - she brings Cleopatra back to life in all her complicated glory. Five stars, would time-travel to ancient Egypt again! Cleopatra: the beguiling, legendary Pharoah and Queen of Egypt - the arch seducer who used her beauty to grasp for ever more power. But with her character only ever recorded by men who despised her, how can we be sure this was the real story? From the lauded author of Fair Rosaline comes a powerful, unmissable new untelling, unravelling Shakespeare's Roman plays to draw out the woman behind the myth. A captivating story of female power and vulnerability, of love and loss, fierce friendship and terrible betrayal: it's finally time to ...

 By: Helen Scheuerer Location: FIC SCH Genre: Romantasy Series:  The Ashes of Thezmarr  #1 ANOTHER KIWI AUTHOR “There is no rhyme or reason to why people are taken from us. No greater meaning, no justice. I have long ago stopped trying to find those things in death…” “I’ve made no secret of what I want... You. It’s always been you.” Wren Embervale, alchemist-turned-assassin, finds solace in only one thing: seeking vengeance for the death of her friends. The wars of the past may be over, but her thirst for revenge is far from quenched. For years, she has been content with her poisons and potions for company, but when an unknown form of alchemy is used to attack a king of the midrealms, Wren’s time in the shadows comes to an end. She’s offered a place at the ancient alchemy academy of Drevenor to find a cure to the dark magic threatening the kingdoms. To win her spot, she must conquer the Gauntlet, a grueling series of deadly trials that could cost her sanity, or her life. ...

 By: Olivia Isaac- Henry Location: FIC ISA Genre: Horror Chilling and uncanny folk suspense in a novel of twisted sisterhood and dark secrets.  She thought arriving there was bad enough. Then she tried to run away… 1978. When teenager Rina Pine is dumped by her hippy mother in the parochial village of Sorrow Spring, and forced to live with her aged aunt, Agatha Pine, she doesn’t think things can get any worse. There she finds a community beholden to the past, and a village in the grip of a close-knit circle of older women who worship the local spring and its patron saint, all under the leadership of the formidable Agatha. But when a child goes missing and a young mother is killed, Rina is drawn into the dark and sinister truth flowing through the sacred waters that give the place its name. Rina is about to learn what it truly means to be a daughter of Sorrow Spring… Review by Bethnay Sorrow Spring  by Olivia Isaac-Henry is a chilling thriller that excels in creating an ee...

 By: Rachael Craw Location: FIC CRA Genre: Romantasy A Kiwi Author An action-packed, time travel romance perfect for young fans of Outlander and romantasy like  Powerless Ana should be enjoying her last summer before college; instead, she's stuck with her ex on a pre-paid trip in Germany. She's determined to make the best of it, visiting castles outside Hamburg and drinking in the local myths of medieval saints and miracles. On the night of the summer solstice, as a meteor streaks across the sky, Ana and her friends decide to attend a party in the sacred caves of Eadin forest. Suddenly, an earthquake strikes and scatters the partygoers. They stumble outside straight into ... a snowy landscape where a furious battle rages. In the chaos, Ana is separated from the group and comes face-to-face with Leon, a wounded holy warrior—and realizes she's been transported to the 14th century. Ana and Leon must set aside their mistrust to search for safe passage away from the vicious Nort...

 By: Shivaun Plozza  Location: FIC PLO Genre: Fantasy Equal parts tender and edgy, this inventive queer romance imagines what it might feel like to come of age in the afterlife. Tegan Masters is dead. She’s sixteen and she’s dead and she’s standing in the parking lot of the Marybelle Motor Lodge, the single most depressing motel in all of New Jersey and the place where Tegan spent what she remembers as the worst weekend of her life. In the front office, she meets Zelda, a cute and sarcastic girl Tegan’s age who is, in fact, an angel (wings and all). According to Zelda, Tegan is officially in heaven, where every person inhabits an exact replica of their happiest memory. For Tegan, Zelda insists, that place is the Marybelle—creepy minigolf course, revolting breakfast buffet, broken TV, and all. Tegan has a few complaints about this. As Zelda takes Tegan on a whirlwind tour through Tegan’s past to help her understand what mattered most to her in life, the stakes couldn’t be highe...

 By: Barry Jonsberg   Location: FIC JON Genre: Teenage Life What makes a good man? Morgan Pickford isn't sure yet, but he's doing his best to find out, even though it's complicated. A life-affirming YA novel about fractured families, tough talk, masculinity, finding friendship and overturning expectations from an internationally acclaimed, bestselling Australian author. Two things that are true and one that is a I think my mother is dead and alive. I think if I work hard I will be very good at something. I've tried to please my dad but I don't think I ever will. Thirteen-year-old Morgan lives with his dad and his older brother, Mitch. He hasn't heard from his mum since she left when he was two. He works hard on his football skills, striving to meet his father's high expectations and 'be a man'. But what that means isn't always clear-cut. When Morgan makes a friend at school, gets injured in a game, and his long-lost mum turns up, everything chang...

 By: Katie Kirby Location: FIC KIR Genre: Humour Lottie's family is so funnily and sweetly dysfunctional and her friends are awesome. I love that Lottie Brooks books teach young girls to have fun while being the weird awesome themselves and not to conform to the expectations of others.  Louise Rennison for the Dork Diaries generation - hilarious, relatable and full of heart. The first book in the hilarious new series for children by the bestselling creator of Hurrah For Gin. Lottie Brooks is 11 and her life is already officially over - not only is she about to start high school without any friends or glamorous swooshy hair, she's just discovered she's too flat-chested to wear A BRA! She might as well give up now and go into hibernation with her hamsters Sir Barnaby Squeakington and Fuzzball the Third. Lottie navigates the many perils of growing up in this fantastically funny new illustrated series for a 9-12 audience, filled with friendship, embarrassing moments and plenty ...

 By: Lili Wilkinson Location: FIC WIL Genre: Horror DARK ACADEMIA…WITH DEMONS. After a deadly incident at her old school, Page enrols in Agathion College, an exclusive boarding school, only to find that it's built over centuries of secrets - including an ancient society potentially linked to demonic magic. Perfect for fans of Lynette Noni and Leigh Bardugo, from the acclaimed author of A Hunger of Thorns. Page Whittaker has always been an outcast. She's too smart, too quiet, too weird. And after the deadly incident that destroyed her only friendship at her old school, she needs a fresh start. Agathion College is everything Page has ever wanted: a safe haven of wood-panelled halls and dusty books, on a remote Scottish moor. And for the first time in her life, she has a close group of friends. Cyrus, Ren, Gideon, Lacey and Oak help her feel at home at Agathion; the only problem is, they're all keeping secrets from her. Page doesn't know it yet, but her perfect new school ...

 By: Plestia Alaqad Location: NF 920 ALA Genre: MEMOIR   Read it GAZA "It would seem that the eyes and ears of the world aren’t interested in Palestinian life, only in Palestinian death." In early October 2023, Palestinian Plestia Alaqad was a recent graduate with dreams of becoming a successful journalist. By the end of November, her social media posts depicting daily life in Gaza, amid Israel's deadly invasion and bombardment, would profoundly move millions of people. She would be internationally known as the "Eyes of Gaza." Written as a series of diary extracts,  The Eyes of Gaza  relates the horrors of her experiences while showcasing the indomitable spirit of the men, women and children who share her communities. From the epicentre of turmoil, while bombs rain around her and devastation grips her people, she is witness to their emotions, their gentle acts of quiet, necessary heroism, and the moments of unexpected tenderness and vulnerability amid the chaos....

 By: Diana Urban   Location: FIC URB Genre: Adventure- Thriller   Get ready to dive into this heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping, mind-bending YA thriller that unfolds in one of the eerie, haunted real-life locations: the catacombs of Paris! Diana Urban takes you on an underground adventure where danger lurks in the dark, and every second counts! It’s a tense, exciting, thrilling experience, with expertly crafted suspense that will leave you breathless. An epic survival-thriller about four teens who get lost in the Paris catacombs for days—a gripping and propulsive story of love, danger, betrayal, and hope… even when all seems lost. Ruby  is terrified to cave to her feelings for Sean and risk him crushing her heart. Sean  is pumped to spend a week with Ruby in Paris on their senior class trip, and he’ll wait however long until she’s ready to take things further. But when Ruby’s best friend sneaks out the first night to meet a mysterious French boy, Ruby goe...

 By:  Trevor Noah    Location: FIC NOA Genre: Adventure Into the Uncut Grass is a “moving modern fable” about forgiveness, acceptance and solidarity for readers of all ages A story for all ages from the author of the #1 bestselling Born a Crime “But sooner or later your mother will find us,” Walter said, looking back at the house. “She always does.” The boy’s eyes lit up again. He had an idea. “Then this time we need to go where we’ve never gone before,” he said. “Into the uncut grass!” In the tradition of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse comes a gorgeously illustrated fable about a young child’s journey into the world beyond the shadow of home, a magical landscape where he discovers the secrets of sharing, connection, and finding peace with the people we love. Infused with the author’s signature wit and imagination, in collaboration with visionary artist Sabina Hahn, it’s a tale for readers of all ages—to be read aloud or read alone.

 By: Ellen Baker  Location: FIC BAK Genre: Historical Fiction In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she’s found the family she craves. But as the years go by, the cracks in her little world begin to show. And when teenage Cecily meets and falls in love with a young roustabout named Lucky, she finds her life thrown onto an entirely unexpected—and dangerous—course. In 2015, Cecily is now 94 and living a quiet life in Minnesota, with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. But when her family decides to surprise her with an at-home DNA test, the unexpected results not only bring...

 By: C J Box   Location: FIC BOX Genre: Mystery Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett faces two different kinds of rampaging beasts—one animal, one human—in this riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestseller C.J. Box. A rogue grizzly bear has gone on a rampage—killing, among others, the fiancee of Joe’s daughter. At the same time, Dallas Cates, who Joe helped lock up years ago, is released from prison with a list of six names tattooed on his skin. He wants revenge on the people who sent him the people he blames for the deaths of his entire family and the loss of his reputation and property.     Targeted are a judge, the county prosecutor, his lawyer, a prison guard—and both Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett. Using the grizzly attacks as cover, Cates devises a method of violence identical to the bear killings and sets out to methodically check off his list. Overall, this was intriguing, gritty, chilly, suspenseful, and action-packed with compelling chara...