Book of the Month

The Children's Book of the Month, is chosen by Scottish Book Trust's Children and Young People's team. We bring you our pick of Scotland’s very best children’s literature every month. 

January Book of the Month: Torn by Cat Clarke.

Four girls. One dead body. A whole lot of guilt.

Alice King isn't expecting the holiday of a lifetime when she sets off with her classmates on a trip to the Scottish wilderness, but she's not exactly prepared for an experience beyond her darkest nightmares...

Alice and her best friend Cass are stuck in a cabin with Polly, the social outcast, and Rae, the moody emo-girl. Then there's Tara - queen of mean. Powerful, beautiful and cruel, she likes nothing better than putting people down.

Cass decides it's time to teach Tara a lesson she'll never forget. And so begins a series of events that will change the lives of these girls forever...

A compelling story of guilty secrets, troubled friendship and burgeoning love.

Competition

For your chance to win a copy of Torn just answer the following question...

Q) In Torn Alice joins her classmates on a trip to where?

a) the Scottish wilderness

b) The Lake District

c) Cornwall

Send your answer, along with your name and address, to

teen@scottishbooktrust.com with the subject line "January Book of the Month Competition". Competition closes on Tuesday 31st January 2012. Winners will be notified the week beginning Monday 6th February.

Previous Books of the Month

How to Make a Golem (and Terrify People) by Alette Willis

"You think you're a fairy godmother or something?" I asked.
"Or something," Michael agreed.

Edda is tired of her nickname, 'Mouse', and wants to be braver. But when her house is burgled on her twelfth birthday, Edda is more afraid than ever. That is until new boy Michael Scot starts school. There's something peculiar -- and very annoying -- about know-it-all Michael. He claims to be a great alchemist who can help Edda overcome her fears by teaching her to build a golem. But surely they can't bring a giant mud monster to life? Can they?

Winner of the Kelpies Prize 2011.

May Contain Nuts (The World of Norm) by Jonathan Meres

Why on earth did Norm's family have to move, anyway? In their old house he'd never tried to pee in anything other than a toilet. And when Norm is in bed, he's kept awake by his dad snoring like a constipated rhinoceros! Will life ever get less unfair for Norm?

Jonathan Meres is a former stand-up comedian who has written many books for teenagers including the Yo! Diary! series, Love Dad, Diary of a Trainee Rock God and Fame Thing.

You can watch the trailer for May Contain Nuts on YouTube.

The Crimson Shard by Teresa Flavin

This sequel to The Blackhope Enigma is imbued with alchemy and intrigue. During what seems like an ordinary museum visit, tour guide Throgmorton lures Sunni and Blaise through a painted doorway into eighteenth-century London. When Throgmorton demands secret information from the pair about their Blackhope escapades, they attempt to flee, encountering body snatchers, art thieves and forgers in this gripping time-travel adventure.

Hartslove by K.M. Grant

Young Daisy and her six brothers and sisters love Hartslove, the crumbling castle that has been in their family for hundreds of years. But their kind but feckless father, scarred by his experiences in the Crimean War, and by his wife's desertion, is drinking the family money away. Then he puts Hartslove up for sale: he has spent his remaining money on a young, wild, horse. Daisy, passionate about her home and her family, is determined that the horse is the One; that he will win the Derby and save them all.

But not everyone at Hartslove is on Daisy's side, and rich people are descending on the castle every day with an eye on snapping it up for themselves. With only months to go before the Derby, can Daisy and her wild brother Garth overcome the odds and lead The One to glory?

Murdo's War by Alan Temperley

February 1943. The world is at war. In the remote Highlands of Scotland, 14-year-old Murdo Mackay spends his days with Hector, an old crofter-fisherman. Together they herd the sheep, fish the shores of the wild Atlantic and – as the story opens – ferry illegal crates of whisky to the mainland.

Later that same foggy night, Hector is approached to smuggle ashore a cargo of machine parts from nearby Island Roan. Recklessly he agrees. 

His decision pitches Murdo, the boy he loves like a son, into a deep and dangerous adventure. This is a story of boats and blizzards, cliff climb and car chase, guns and flight across some of Scotland’s harshest terrain.

Can Murdo survive against the fierce Scottish winter and the ruthless enemy that is mobilized against him?

Precious and the Monkeys by Alexander McCall-Smith

Well before Precious Ramotswe founded her Number One Ladies' Detective Agency, as an eight-year-old girl she was already solving mysteries. Here, in this delightful, enchanting tale for children, we find out just who has been stealing her schoolfriends' snacks and how the young Precious became the crafty and intuitive private investigator we all know and love!

Let's Do It! by Cathy Forde

Mel, Alan and Ben love filming their crazy stunts and putting them up on YouTube. But they want to go further and get one of their stunts on a cool TV Show. All they need is a decent camera...Will they be able to pull it off and have their stunt shown on national TV? Crazy comedy particularly suitable for dyslexic, reluctant and struggling teen readers.

Dragon Seeker by Anne Forbes

In his boundless quest for power, Lord Jezail has unearthed the terrible sword, Dragonslayer, from the depths of Edinburgh Castle, where it has lain buried for centuries. But the sword has its own agenda and, ensnared by its magic, Jezail becomes obsessed with the idea of killing Arthur, the MacArthurs' wonderful dragon, and attacking the fabled Valley of the Dragons.

His actions so enrage the Lords of the North that they set off after him, as the World of Magic finds itself on the brink of war. Can friends and foes unite to save the world they know and love? What is Count Vassili's secret? And how did Arthur end up with the MacArthurs in the first place?

Witches, wolf people, MacArthurs and magicians join forces with Neil and Clara MacLean in this final dragon-filled adventure (book six in the Dragonfire series, published 26th May 2011).

The Case of the Glasgow Ghoul - Joan Lennon

There’s been a series of mysterious thefts from the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow ... Despite maximum security measures, the thief is yet to be caught and the stolen objects appear to vanish into thin air, never to be seen again. But Slightly Jones, detective-in-training, isn’t daunted by the lack of clues. She’s more concerned about the stories of ghosts in a nearby graveyard. Could the two be connected?

Belle's Song by K.M. Grant

When Belle meets Luke, son of an alchemist and scribe to the famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer, she is determined to travel with him to Canterbury on a pilgrimage.  She hopes for a miracle: that her father will walk again. She also hopes to atone for her own part in his accident.

It is a time of unrest across the country and young King Richard II is only just hanging on to his throne. A malign character on the pilgrimage suspects Chaucer of treason and slowly winds Belle into a political intrigue.

At the same time, impulsive Belle finds herself drawn both to Luke and to Walter, the wealthy son of a knight. But Walter has a secret it’s hard to share.  As the uprising against the king gathers pace and the web of intrigue around Belle and Chaucer tightens, Belle and her friends take a hideous gamble, risking all to save their country and themselves.

Entangled by Cat Clarke

The same questions whirl round and round in my head: What does he want from me? How could I have let this happen? Am I going to die? 17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got there. As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see? Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

Competition Terms and Conditions

Only one entry per person.
We require the entrant’s name, address and age. Applicants must be resident in the UK.
Every entry will be considered.
The decision on winners is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Competition entries will not be returned.
Competitions are not open to employees of Scottish Book Trust and their immediate family.