Diverse Fiction for KS3

When Life Gives You Mangoes

Nothing much happens in Sycamore, the small village where Clara lives. She loves eating ripe mangoes fallen from trees, running outside in the rainy season and escaping to her secret hideout with her best friend Gaynah. There's only one problem - she can't remember anything that happened last summer.

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Pet

There are no more monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. With doting parents and a best friend named Redemption, Jam has grown up with this lesson all her life. But when she meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colours and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth.

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Dear Justyce

Vernell LaQuan Banks and Justyce McAllister grew up a block apart in the Southwest Atlanta neighbourhood of Wynwood Heights. Years later, Justyce walks the illustrious halls of Yale University, and Quan sits behind bars at the Fulton Regional Youth Detention Center. Through a series of flashbacks and letters to Justyce, Quan's story takes form. Troubles at home and misunderstandings at school give rise to police encounters and tough decisions. But then there's a dead cop and a weapon with Quan's prints on it. What leads a bright kid down a road to a murder charge? Not even Quan is sure.

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The Black Flamingo

A boy comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen - then at university he finds his wings as a drag artist, The Black Flamingo. A bold story about the power of embracing your uniqueness. Sometimes, we need to take charge, to stand up wearing pink feathers - to show ourselves to the world in bold colour. 'I masquerade in makeup and feathers and I am applauded'.

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I Have No Secrets

Fourteen-year-old Jemma has severe cerebral palsy. Unable to communicate or move, she relies on her family and carer for everything. She has a sharp brain and inquisitive nature, and knows all sorts of things about everyone. But when she is confronted with this terrible secret, she is utterly powerless to do anything. Though that might be about to change...

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Mexikid

A poignant, hilarious, and unforgettable graphic memoir about a Mexican-American boy's family and their adventure-filled road trip to bring their abuelito back from Mexico to live with them.

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Run, Rebel

When Amber runs, it's the only time she feels completely free - far away from her claustrophobic home life. Her father wants her to be a dutiful daughter, waiting for an arranged marriage like her sister Ruby. Running is a quiet rebellion. But Amber wants so much more - and she's ready to fight for it. It's time for a revolution.

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No Fixed Address

Felix Knutsson is nearly thirteen, lives with his mother and pet gerbil Horatio, and is brilliant at memorising facts and trivia. So far, pretty normal. But Felix and his mom Astrid have a secret: they are living in a van. Astrid promises it's only for a while until she finds a new job, and begs Felix not to breathe a word about it. So when Felix starts at a new school, he does his very best to hide the fact that most of his clothes are in storage, he only showers weekly at the community centre, and that he doesn't have enough to eat. When his friends Dylan and Winnie ask to visit, Felix always has an excuse. But Felix has a plan to turn his and Astrid's lives around: he's going to go on his favourite game show 'Who, What, Where, When' and win the cash prize. All he needs is a little luck and a lot of brain power.

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Sh!t Bag

When sixteen-year-old Freya collapses and wakes up to discover a surgeon has given her a temporary ileostomy bag, her dreams of the perfect summer go down the toilet. Suddenly, it's goodbye, Marbella and hello, poo camp when her parents send her to a specialist camp in the Scottish Highlands for children with bowel disease. With the help of her campmate Chris, Freya slowly learns to live with her bag, but, back in the real world, she is determined to get her old life back and prove to her classmates that she's more than just 'shit bag' by winning back her ex-boyfriend, Lockie. But as Freya's feelings for Chris grow, sh!t is sure to hit the fan, and Freya could end up with only her bag by her side.

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The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree

Mafalda is a nine-year-old girl who knows one thing: some time in the next six months her sight will fail completely. Can Mafalda find a way through a seemingly dark future and still go to school, play football and look after her beloved cat? With the help of her family, and her friends, Mafalda needs to discover the things that will be important to her when her sight has failed. A moving, empowering tale of courage and determination that will inspire young and old.

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Rosie Loves Jack

Rosie loves Jack. Jack loves Rosie. So when they're separated, Rosie will do anything to find the boy who makes the sun shine in her head. Even run away from home. Even struggle across London and travel to Brighton, though the trains are cancelled and the snow is falling. Even though people might think a girl like Rosie could never survive on her own.

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