With the Christmas holidays upon us, we have swapped our weekly feature 'This Week I Am Reading...' for a compilation of Mrs Vine's recommended titles for each year group. These captivating reads will make a fantastic addition to your Christmas list!

For Years 7 & 8

The Rescue of Ravenwood by Natasha Farrant

On the top of the hill, overlooking the sea, that's where you'll find a magical place . . .

To Bea and Raffy, Ravenwood is home. In its own way, the house rescued them, even if it did have a fallen-down tree taking up most of the kitchen. So the idea that it could be sold. Demolished even. Well, that's unthinkable. Then again, it's not like the children get a choice. But the truth is, we can all make our own choices, especially if we care enough . . .

A beautiful, soulful, exciting story about holding onto what's precious, and guarding the extraordinary nature that surrounds us.

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell 

Christopher is stunned when he discovers a passage to the Archipelago: a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands. There he meets Mal: a girl from the islands, who is in possession of a flying coat and a baby griffin, and who is being pursued by a killer.

Together they embark on an urgent quest to discover why the creatures are suddenly perishing, voyaging across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, in a bid to save both the islands and the world beyond them from a rising evil – before it's too late.

For Years 9, 10 & 11                                                      

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Eighteen-year-old Iris dreams that one day her writing will make a difference. A war between gods is raging, and she’s landed a prestigious job at the Oath Gazette.

But at home, she’s barely holding it together. Her brother is missing on the frontline. Her mother is lost in a haze of addiction. And each night Iris pours her heart out in letters to her brother. Letters that will never be answered. Or so she thinks…

They’ve made their way into the hands of the last person Iris trusts: Roman Kitt. Her cold, unforgiving rival at the paper. Drawn together by fate and magic, they form an unlikely connection. They say love conquers all… but can it triumph in a war between gods?

Thieves Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

Seventeen-year-old Rosalyn Quest was raised by a legendary family of thieves with one rule: trust no one. When her mother is kidnapped, her only chance to save her is to win the Thieves’ Gambit – a deadly competition for the world’s best thieves, where the victor is granted one wish.

To win, she must outwit all of her backstabbing competitors, including her childhood archnemesis. But can she take victory from the handsome, charming boy who makes a play for her heart and might be hiding the most dangerous secret of all?

Hockey Girls Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks 

When Alix punches her mean-girl teammate Lindsay, her future in ice hockey is on the line. Alix needs to learn how to control this anger, and she is sure Ezra, the cool and collected theater kid, is the answer. So she asks for his help. But as they hang out and start getting closer, Alix learns that there is more to Ezra than the calm front he puts on. And that maybe this friendship could become something more . . .

With black and white inside illustrations, Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks is an uplifting YA graphic novel about friends, relationships and anger management.

For Years 12 & 13, Parents & Staff

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver                     

Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.

In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn't an idea, it's as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn't an abstraction, it's neighbours, parents, and friends. 'Family' could mean love, or reluctant foster care. For Demon, born on the wrong side of luck, the affection and safety he craves is as remote as the ocean he dreams of seeing one day. The wonder is in how far he's willing to travel to try and get there.

Suffused with truth, anger and compassion, Demon Copperhead is an epic tale of love, loss and everything in between.

Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang 

Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.

White lies
When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.

Dark humour
But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

Deadly consequences…
What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie's once-lucrative car business is going under - but rather than face the music, he's spending his days in the woods, building an apocalypse-proof bunker with a renegade handyman.

His wife Imelda is selling off her jewellery on eBay while their teenage daughter Cass, formerly top of her class, seems determined to binge-drink her way to her final exams. And twelve-year-old PJ is putting the final touches to his grand plan to run away from home.

Where did it all go wrong? A patch of ice on the tarmac, a casual favour to a charming stranger, a bee caught beneath a bridal veil?

Can a single moment of bad luck change the direction of a life? And if the story has already been written - is there still time to find a happy ending?