A Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

Murder is never pretty, but sometimes reading a murder mystery is pure delight. A Murder Most Unladylike is everything you love about a mystery complimented with regulatory bun breaks and many nods to the great Sherlock Holmes. Deepdean School for Girls is a setting worthy of any story, but is what really gives this mystery its charm and excitement.

Hazel Wong joins leagues with Daisy Wells to set up a secret detective agency, with Daisy as President and Hazel as Secretary. Naturally, it is Hazel who narrates our story, a similarity shared with Dr. Watson that is often noted by Daisy. But Daisy and Hazel don't exactly see eye to eye on much. Daisy is strong-willed and certain that she knows everything that goes on at Deepdean, so when Hazel discovers their teacher Miss Bell dead in the Gym, Daisy is set that their detective agency must crack the case.

The girls then begin to count their facts and suspects, cleverly using their gossiping school mates and regular interaction with teachers to gather even more information. The trouble is, they not only have numerous people with a motive, the body disappeared within minutes meaning they also have to prove the murder actually took place.

This is a great detective story, with enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes and never sure of who to really suspect. Daisy and Hazel have disagreeing suspicions throughout the case, putting a strain on their detecting as well as their friendship, with Hazel regularly looking back as to how they even became friends in the first place.

Highly recommended for anyone who loves a mystery or perhaps for a middle-grade reader looking to experience their very first detective story. This Wells and Wong mystery will not disappoint, and will hopefully be followed up by many more soon.

A Murder Most Unladylike publishes June 5th by Random House Children's Publishers.

Darcy Burdock: Hi So Much by Laura Dockrill

If you've not been introduced to the world of Darcy Burdock, now is the time to change that. With the second book in the series, Hi So Much., due to be published on February 27th, Darcy Burdock is rapidly becoming the "it" girl in tween fiction. She's funny, she's creative, and she's what some might call overly-dramatic (but isn't that all tween girls?). I can see so much of my ten-year-old self in her, and I'm sure everyone will be able to relate to Darcy in one way or another.

I first saw Laura Dockrill during a talk at the British Library about children's literature, and it was her enthusiasm about books, especially those she read during her childhood, that really made her stand out. (Okay, her neon pink tights may have helped with that as well.) She was such a fascinating speaker that it only made sense to check out her work, which is how I was introduced to Darcy Burdock.

The books are written from Darcy's point of view, in Darcy's manner of speaking and way of thinking. It can take some getting used to, but it's worth it as Dockrill has perfectly captured youth in this character. Darcy is made more interesting by her ability to write creative stories that relate to her life and even provides illustrations. It's a difficult feat for an author to have a character who writes, and also include the character's stories within a book, but with Darcy it only seems natural and necessary.

In the second installment, Hi So Much sees Darcy enter the Big School, where everything is different. It encompasses the difficulties of the tween age: whether or not you can be best friends with a member of the opposite sex, how to cope with life when tragedy strikes, and how there are always people you can depend on, even when you don't expect it. But most importantly, even with all the ups and down dramas of Darcy's life, her reaction is realistic of a ten-year-old. You can only sympathise with all her pains and take pleasure in her joys. The book is, quite simply, a really fun read.

What I truly loved about this book was how many people in Darcy's life would suggest she write, be it to cope with something or simply because they recognise a talent. There was no one ever pushing her too much or telling her not to, which is a wonderful reminder of how much a child can thrive if their interests are supported and they aren't regularly running into negativity. I feel any child reading about Darcy will not only appreciate everything she experiences, but also be inspired to be creative in some way. At least, this is what I can only hope, because I know that if I had read this as a ten-year-old girl, I would have wanted to be best friends with Darcy, and also wanted to write stories of my own.

Darcy Burdock: Hi So Much. publishes on the 27th of February. Buy now direct from Random House here.

Wonder by RJ Palacio

Many times when I see a book heavily publicised I become critical. It's not that I suddenly assume a book will be bad, because I want it to be good. I want all books to be good. I've just had a few bad experiences that have made me skeptical (namely Twilight; I didn't even bother with Fifty Shades). But I couldn't help being intrigued by the cover of Wonder. For what it's worth: I always judge a book by its cover. I work in publishing, and I know how important a cover is to the success of a book. If it's not done properly on the outside, I can only fear how good it can be on the inside. So, I picked up Wonder on a whim. It was heavily publicised in my local Waterstones, but I really liked the cover design and thought it worth a read.

Our protagonist, August (Auggie), has severe facial deformity, and at the age of 10 is about to go to school for the very first time. He is anything but oblivious to his condition - the way people look at him on the street, the way people treat him differently - he knows why, but is still able to sometimes see the funny side of his situation.

Once Auggie starts school, the inevitable happens: bullying. Not just your standard name-calling bullying, but more complex forms that are not outright classified as bullying, but still result in emotional damage.There are the kids who pretend to be helpful just to make themselves look better, and those who are friendly, but give into the peer pressure of making fun of Auggie when he's not around.

The beauty of this book, though, is not just how Auggie is affected by his condition and situation, but how everyone in his life is affected and how they see him. Along with Auggie's point of view, we hear from his sister, his friends, his sister's boyfriend, his sister's friend. Put together they show the complexity that surrounds someone who has a difficult life merely because he looks different to everyone else.

Not making a pun on the title, this book has a real It's a Wonderful Life feel to it, when coming to the end you realise how one person's life can touch so many others. It is also the ideal book dealing with the problem of bullying. There are many people who believe that because Auggie is different that it is okay to make fun of him, or okay to assume he has been given special treatment. But there are so many others who choose to be kind, choose to try to understand what he is going through. And in the end, even some of the bullies have a change to change their ways.

My sister is a children's librarian who believes this book should be taught in every school. I would agree, but I also wouldn't hold back from recommending it to people of any age. I told my mother to read it, who in turn told my grandmother to read it. Wonder is a touching story, funny, well-written and above all with an important message. That is, while it is perfectly okay to judge a book by its cover (because there is control over what a book looks like):

It's a lesson that sadly keeps needing to be taught, but RJ Palacio has done a magnificent job in showing how important it is to be kind.

Wonder is published by Bodley Head Childrens Books, part of Penguin Random House. You can buy the book here.