READING List
K S 3
CONTENTS Introduction
3
Fantasy
4
Detective & Crime
5
Horror and Ghost Stories
6
Humour
7
Poetry and Drama
8
Historical Fiction
9
Science Fiction and Dystopia
10
Graphic Novels
11
Relationships
12
Adventure
13
Pre-1900
14
Have you read them all?
15
KS3 READING LIST 2
INTRODUCTION Welcome to the King Edward VI Five Ways English Department Reading List for Year 7 and 8. We want you to enjoy literature as much as we do; not only is it key to success in English exams, but reading improves your imagination, memory, verbal skills, empathy and reduces stress. Exploring novels opens your mind to new places, cultures and ways of thinking. You might be searching for a book that will change your life, or some lighter reading for the beach - we are sure you will find something to suit in the following pages. Books are organised by genre or period, so you can get a sense of the variety of literature you are reading.
By the end of Key Stage 3 (Y8), we in the English department think you should have read‌
KS3 READING LIST 3
FANTASY His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Sabriel - Garth Nix
Ly ra i s d ra w n i n t o a
The sun is shining in
fantastic adventure when
Ancelstierre. A few yards away
her friend
Roger
across the border in the Old
disappears under rather
Kingdom, it is snowing. Death
mysterious circumstances. She soon finds out that
has been waiting for this
Mrs Coulter and her evil friends are after her, for
moment for centuries, and
some purpose she must discover for herself. The
only one person stands
trilogy cannot be praised enough. Read and
against them; Sabriel, a 16-year-old girl with a
marvel!
terrible destiny.
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
The New Policeman - Kate Thompson
Bilbo Baggins is a friendly hobbit
There’s a new policeman in
who is content with his quiet life.
Kinvara, but he doesn’t seem to
One day he receives some strange
do his job very well. Growing
visitors: a wizard called Gandalf
numbers of missing socks, a small
and a band of dwarves. Life will
matter of time itself disappearing,
never be the same again.
and rumours flying are just some
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis
of the odd occurrences - but could they be
Carroll
connected? Myth, traditional music and Celtic
Now 150 years old, Alice’s tale
gods contribute to this exciting Irish mystery.
follows a hasty hare
The Wind Singer series - William Nicholson
underground—where she
The Hath family live in Amaranth
comes face-to-face with some
and all of life is controlled by
of the strangest adventures
exams. Even two year olds have
and most fantastic characters in all of literature.
to take part, with results that
Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
determine their families’ futures.
Magic, humour, and adventures
Kestrel Hath dares to rebel and
abound when Artemis Fowl - a
sets off a series of events
12-year-old boy with a girl’s
launching her on an epic journey. A fantasy series
name - is on a quest to find Fairy
you may well love, even if you think you aren’t into
Gold.
fantasy.
KS3 READING LIST 4
DETECTIVE & CRIME Death Cloud - Andrew Lane The year is 1868, and
The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency -
Sherlock Holmes is
Alexander McCall Smith
fourteen. His life is
A humorous first book in a series
that of a perfectly
of novels set in Botswana,
ordinary
army
Precious Ramotswe founds a
officer’s son: boarding school, good manners, a
detective agency and leads us to
classical education – the backbone of the British
discover such things as wayward
Empire. But all that is about to change.
daughters, missing husbands,
Selected Sherlock Holmes stories - Arthur
philandering partners, and
Conan Doyle
curious conmen, all in her rickety white van. Try ‘A Study in Scarlet, ‘The Red-
The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman
Headed League’, or ‘The Hound of
‘Have you ever heard the
the Baskervilles’. There’s a reason
phrase The Seven Blessings?’
Holmes and his long-suffering
That question causes a man to
sidekick have lasted so long!
die of shock, and propels Sally Lockhart into an adventure that will expose the deepest secrets
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-
of the corrupt and murderous opium trade. Sally is sixteen
Time - Mark Haddon The most amazing thing about
when the story begins, orphaned and alone.
a good book is that it can take
A Gathering Light - Jennifer Donnelly
you inside the mind of a
This wonderful book brilliantly
completely different person.
intertwines fiction and reality.
When Christopher, a 14-year-
Set in a small New England
old boy with autism discovers a
resort town in 1906, it tells the
murdered dog on his neighbour's lawn, he
story of Mattie and how her life
decides to solves the mystery using the detective
interacts with that of drowned
methods of his idol, the identity of whom you can
Grace Brown.
probably guess given the previous two suggestions…
P U B L I S H E R
KS3 READING LIST 5
HORROR AND GHOST STORIES The Red Room - H.G. Wells "Eight-and-twenty years," said I, "I have lived, and never a ghost have I seen as yet.” Things are about to change in this gripping short story…
The Company of Ghosts- Berlie Doherty Over the past year many things have changed in Ellie’s life. Fortunately she meets Morag, a friend from orchestra, who says she can stay at her house. When events take a tragic turn, in the confusion Ellie is left alone on the island. But she soon starts to wonder whether she may not be on her own after all…
Darren Shan - Lord Loss Lord Loss is the first title in Darren Shan's The Demonata series. Grubbs Grady thinks he's having a bad day when he's sent home from school. Very soon however, he learns that this is the least of his worries. On opening his bedroom door, Grubbs finds Hell and the dead bodies of his father, mother and younger sister, all murdered by Lord Loss and his demons.
Coraline - Neil Gaiman Coraline lives in a big old house with her mum and dad. One day she opens a door she’s never found before and enters a parallel universe. But stranger and stranger things start to happen.
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale - Holly Black As a child, Kaye took her faerie friends for granted. Dragged back into their world as an independent 16-year-old, she discovers that it is no longer friendly, and is now patrolled by two competing rulers.
City of Bones - Cassandra Clare An evening takes an unexpected turn for Clary when she witnesses what looks like a murder - but the victim's body has vanished into thin air. New York is the city that never sleeps — but evil spirits, angels, warlocks, faeries and shadow-hunters don’t need much rest anyway.
The Signalman - Charles Dickens A story of supernatural powers, and of the men who believe, and struggle not to believe, in them. At first tricky because of the older language, but worth it for the spine tingles and chills!
KS3 READING LIST 6
HUMOUR My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell
Boys Don’t Knit - T S Easton Ben Fletcher must get to grips with his more
Gerald Durrell loved animals, and
'feminine' side following an
in this laugh-out-loud yarn he
unfortunate incident with a
recounts the astonished and
lollipop lady and a stolen bottle of
often-horrified reaction of his
Martini Rosso from Waitrose. All a
mother and siblings, newly
misunderstanding of course. To
settled in Corfu, as he ferries home a selection of
avoid the Young Offenders unit,
furry and creepy creatures…
Ben is ordered to give something back to the
The Chronicles of Narmo - Caitlin Moran
community and develop his sense of social
Morag Narmo doesn't want to go
alignment.
to school: she and her rabble of
The Positively Last Performance - Geraldine
siblings would rather feed their
McCaughrean
heads into a waste disposal unit
Gracie’s parents arrive in a
than 'do the academical'. When
seaside town with a plan to
the children convince their parents
restore its run-down theatre – but
to take them out of school and educate them at
it is there that Gracie meets the
home, a muddle of chaotic events ensue.
ghosts. There’s Miss Melluish, who
All Creatures Great and Small - James
faced a freak wave; Joanie and Jim who met a lion
Herriot
on the beach; and actor Roland and the trauma of Delve into the unforgettable world
the day he died his hair - we are treated to the
of James Herriot, the world's most
entertaining and exuberant life stories of them all.
beloved veterinarian, and his
Geek Girl - Holly Smale
menagerie of heartwarming, funny,
Everyone at school knows Harriet
and tragic animal patients.
Manners is a geek – she’s always spouting random facts, has zero fashion sense and can often be
Dodger - Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett proves himself a
found in a tangled heap on the
master storyteller in this tribute to
floor after falling over. But Harriet
one of Dickens' best-known
just can’t see why this means everyone seems to
characters, the Artful Dodger.
hate her.
KS3 READING LIST 7
POETRY AND DRAMA Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare A street brawl between their rival
What are We Fighting About? - B. Moses and
families is the prelude to Romeo’s
R. Stevens
first encounter with Juliet. Despite
Starting from 1914, this collection of poems
this, they fall in love. But any plans
explores individual as well as
for their future happiness are
universal experiences of life, love,
cruelly destroyed by renewed
death and bereavement at times of
violence between their families.
unrest from the perspective of
Billy Liar - Keith Waterhouse
adults, children, soldiers and
Billy Fisher is a young Yorkshireman living at home with his parents. He
civilians.
The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan
fights the boredom of his
When Kasienka’s father leaves the
humdrum existence by constant
family home in Poland in search of
daydreaming. Much of this fantasy
a new life, her mother resolves to
life is centred on an imaginary
follow him to England. Kasienka
country called Ambrosia, where Billy is the ruler
finds their shabby home in
and military hero.
Coventry damp and depressing.
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley (adapted by
She is constantly made to feel like an outsider in
Philip Pullman)
her new school and finds no solace at home, as
Frankenstein is the famous story
her mother spends all her free time determinedly
of a young man who thinks he
searching the streets of Coventry for her missing
can change the world by making
husband. The only release Kasienka finds from her
better human beings. Instead he
problems is through swimming and an important
creates a living monster with a mind of its own.
friendship she makes. This beautiful book is
The Best Poems Ever - ed. by Edric S.
written in verse.
Mesmer
Unheard Voices - Malorie Blackman
These are some of the most
This collection of writing about
amazing poems ever written,
slavery was published to coincide
touching the heart, challenging the
with the 200 year anniversary of
mind, and conjuring worlds of
the Abolition of the Slave Trade
experience and imagination.
Act 1807.
KS3 READING LIST 8
HISTORICAL FICTION
Coram Boy - Jamila Gavin Captain
Coram
was
a
The Silver Sword - Ian Serraillier
philanthropist who opened a
The classic tale of a journey
hospital for abandoned children
through war-torn Europe. Alone
in the mid-18th century. Here is
and fending for themselves in a
the tale of two young boys that
Poland devastated by World War
came into its care and discovered dark and
Two, Jan and his three friends
horrifying secrets.
cling to the silver sword as a
Chinese Cinderella - Adeline Yen Mah
symbol of hope. As they travel through Europe
This isn’t a fairy story, it’s a true
towards Switzerland, where they believe they will
story, an autobiography. When
be reunited with their parents, they encounter
Adeline was born in China, her
hardships and dangers.
mother died shortly afterwards,
The Executioner’s Daughter - Jane Hardstaff
and she was blamed. Her father
The crowds at the Tower of
thought her unlucky, and she was
London love nothing better than
treated with contempt by the family. Despite the
the grisly spectacle of an
ill-treatment, Adeline’s story is inspiring.
execution. But as the
Troy - Adele Geras
executioner's daughter, Moss
You probably know the story of
has seen more than her fair share
Helen of Troy, whose face
of horror. Every day she longs to escape,
launched a thousand ships. If you
dreaming of the freedom that lies beyond the
don’t it doesn’t matter; Geras tells
Tower's walls, though she knows that she and her
you what you need to know and
father are prisoners.
Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle
more.
Magorian
Witch Child - Celia Rees Witch Child is so vivid that you
London is on the brink of World
forget it’s set in 17th century
War Two. Scrawny Willie Beech --
New England.
A vivid insight
an abused child -- is evacuated to
into witchcraft with a twist in the
the English countryside. At first,
telling, highlighting how
he is terrified of everything, even of Mr. Tom, the
prejudice and bullying have
gruff old man who has taken him in. But gradually
shaped lives for centuries.
Willie forgets the hate and despair of his past.
KS3 READING LIST 9
SCIENCE FICTION AND DYSTOPIA Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve
The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
Mortal Engines follows the
The story begins in a small town
fortunes of city boy Tom and a
where women have been
disfigured outcast girl, Hester. It’s
banished and only men remain.
set in a world where gigantic
Due to a virus, everyone can hear
motorised cities roam the earth; a
each other’s thoughts, which they
future in which our civilisation is
call ‘Noise'.
just a fragment of memory and technological
Exodus - Julie Bertagna
advancement has proved flawed and fleeting.
At the turn of the next century
Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman
global warming has reached
Here, the population is divided
extremes. The polar ice caps
into two: the white Noughts are
have melted and the world is
second-class citizens, and the
drowning. As Mara's island is
black Crosses are revered and
swallowed up by the advancing
perceived as the superior race. 15-
ocean, she becomes one of
year-old Callum is a Nought, and
thousands of refugees seeking sanctuary in the
his best friend, Sephy, as well as being a Cross, is
'cities in the sky' of the New World. The city
the daughter of an influential politician. The story
administrators however, are elitist, cruel and
focuses on their condemned relationship.
discriminatory.
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L’Engle
The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
When Charles goes searching
The night after a shooting star is
through a 'wrinkle in time' for his
seen streaking through the sky
lost father, he finds himself on an
from Mars, a cylinder is
evil planet where all life is
discovered in London. At first,
enslaved by a huge pulsating
locals approach armed just with a
brain known as ‘It'. Finding his
white flag only to be quickly killed
father makes for an exciting mixture of fantasy and
by an all-destroying heat-ray, as
science fiction.
terrifying tentacled invaders emerge. Soon the whole of human civilisation is under threat.
KS3 READING LIST 10
GRAPHIC NOVELS Maus - Art Spiegelman
Jane, the Fox, and Me - Fanny Britt
This is the story of Vladek
Hélène spends her school days trying to hide
Spiegelman and his wife, living
from girls who whisper behind
and surviving in Hitler's Europe.
her back. She seeks consolation
By addressing the horror of the
in the pages of Charlotte
Holocaust through cartoons,
Bronte's Jane Eyre, 'the best
whereby the Nazis are depicted
book I've ever read', identifying
as cats and the Jews as mice, the
with Jane's hardships. When she
author captures the everyday reality of fear and is
has to undertake a class trip and finds herself
able to explore the guilt, relief and extraordinary
relegated to the outcasts' tent, there is even more
sensation of survival. An absolute must-read!
humiliation ahead of her; but Jane, an
When the Wind Blows - Raymond Briggs
unexpected encounter with a fox, and a new girl
James arrives home, his wife
all play their part in helping to point her in a more
g r e e t s h i m . Pe a c e a n d
hopeful direction.
domesticity reigns. But soon this
The Arrival - Shaun Tan
tranquility and this routine are
This classic, wordless graphic
about to be broken. It is 1982,
novel perfectly expresses what it
the height of the Cold War, and
means to leave your country and
the Russians are about the drop The Bomb.
your family and start a new life in a
Britten and Brulightly - Hannah Berry
new country.
'Nowadays I don't get out of bed for less than a murder. Until
King Lear - Manga
today.' Private Researcher Britten
The story of Lear, the old
would view being shot as a
chieftain, who divides his
blessing. The years spent
kingdom among his three
uncovering people's secret
daughters is the most terrifying
dramas and helping to confirm
tragedy ever written.
their darkest suspicions have taken their toll but
Shakespeare’s apocalyptic play is
new revelations re-energise even the cynical
vividly transferred to the colonial frontiers of 18th-
Britten.
century America, where it is the last of the Mohicans who is bound upon a wheel of fire…
KS3 READING LIST 11
RELATIONSHIPS Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson Jess doesn’t have any friends until
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece - Annabel Pitcher
new girl Leslie comes to his
We meet Jamie in the midst of his
school. Like Jess, Leslie is an
family falling apart after the traumatic
outsider. Together they create a
death of his older sister Rose. His
magical kingdom. Life is perfect
mother leaves, his father turns to
until tragedy strikes.
alcohol, and Jamie and his sister
Journey to the River Sea - Eva Ibbotson
Jasmine are left to fend for themselves.
Orphan Maia is thrilled to learn she is to live with relatives in
The Kite Rider - Geraldine McGauchrean
South America. She cannot wait
Haoyou's father is dead - his spirit
to experience the Amazon.
lives among the clouds above
When Maia arrives, however, the
Ancient China. Feeling powerless
family is hostile and they have
when the man responsible for his
blocked out all evidence of the
father's death demands to marry
rainforest from their stuffy home. Maia turns to her
his mother, Haoyou determines to
strict yet kindly governess, and strikes up some
follow in his father's footsteps and joins a
unusual and rewarding friendships.
travelling circus. The Jade Circus offers him the
The Shell House - Linda Newbury
chance to escape his enemies and perform:
Graveney Hall is a beautiful home
strapped to a kite, he takes to the skies.
that burned down during the First
Being Billy - Philip Earle
World War. It links the stories of
He is angry with his ineffectual,
Greg, who is photographing the
a l c o h o l i c m o t h e r, w i t h h i s
hall for his project, and Edmund,
abusive stepfather, with the
the Graveney family’s last heir, who
supervisors at his residential
disappeared in 1917.
home, the teachers and the
The Outsiders - SE Hinton
pupils. And yet, with his younger
An exciting story of gang warfare,
brother and sister he is kind,
written by the author when she
caring, protective and responsible - so when it
was only seventeen years old.
looks as though they may be taken from him, what is left of his world begins to fall apart.
KS3 READING LIST 12
ADVENTURE Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Moonriders - Theresa Tomlinson
Golding tells the story of a group of
Myrina, a young Moon Rider, who
boys stranded without adults on a
were known historically as the
deserted island after a plane crash. A
Amazons, rides to the aid of Troy
promising beginning descends into
when the city is besieged by the
savagery…
Greeks.
Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Call of the Wild - Jack London
Scared that his drunken father
This is a book about appalling
might pursue him for the money
animal cruelty. Buck, half
he has discovered, Huck escapes
sheepdog and half St. Bernard, is
to Jackson’s Island where he
kidnapped from him home and
meets his friend Jim, a runaway
taken to the wild north of Canada.
slave. Considered one of the best
Things get worse and worse until it
sequels ever!
seems that a happy ending is impossible - or is it?
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S
Across the Nightingale Floor - Gillian
Lewis
Rubenstein
When Peter, Susan, Edmund and
An epic fantasy story set in a
Lucy take their first steps into the
feudal Japanese society, this is an
world behind the magic
exciting tale of treason, violence
wardrobe, little do they realise
and death. Tomasu is a young boy
what adventures are about to
from the Hidden clan. This is a taut,
unfold. The epic story of Narnia.
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
compelling love story in the Samurai warrior tradition.
After the sinking of a cargo
Around the World in Eight Days - Jules Verne
carrying his family and their
One ill-fated evening at the
zoo, Pi is shipwrecked. Think
Reform Club, Phileas Fogg
things could not get any
rashly bets his companions that
worse? Add the endless Pacific
he can travel around the entire
Ocean, a hyena, zebra and a
globe in just eighty days - and
450-pound Bengal tiger.
he is determined not to lose.
KS3 READING LIST 13
PRE-1900  Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
The perfect story of exotic
Orphaned Anne Shirley, begins
adventure. Treasure maps,
her adventures at Green
Long
Silver,
Gables, a farm outside Avonlea,
bloodcurdling action and black
Prince Edward Island. When the
treachery.
freckled girl realises that the
John
elderly Cuthberts wanted to adopt a boy instead, she begins
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson
to try to win them and, consequently, the reader,
Burnett
over. Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay
The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
with her hunchback uncle in
The first ever Gothic novel. It
Yorkshire. She hated it. But
tells the story of Manfred, the
when she finds the way into a
prince of Otranto, who is keen
secret garden and begins to
to secure the castle for his
tend it, a change comes over
descendants in the face of a mysterious curse.
her and her life.
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre caused a storm of
King Solomon’s Mines - H. Rider Haggard
p r o t e s t w h e n i t w a s fi r s t
Th re e m e n t re k t o t h e
published. - it was deemed too
remote African interior in
revolutionary, too depressing
search of a lost friend - and
and too controversial. Well, see
reach, at the end of a
for yourself. Having survived a
perilous journey, an
grim and loveless childhood,
unknown land cut off from
Jane ventures into the world on her own, and falls
the world, where terrible
in love with her rich employer who is harbouring a
dangers threaten anyone who ventures near the
dark secret.
spectacular diamond mines of King Solomon.
KS3 READING LIST 14
HAVE YOU READ THEM ALL? FANTASY His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer Sabriel - Garth Nix The New Policeman - Kate Thompson The Wind Singer series - William Nicholson DETECTIVE & CRIME Death Cloud - Andrew Lane Selected Sherlock Holmes stories - Arthur Conan Doyle The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman A Gathering Light - Jennifer Donnelly HORROR AND GHOST STORIES The Red Room - H.G. Wells
The Company of Ghosts - Berlie Doherty
Darren Shan - Lord Loss
Coraline - Neil Gaiman
Tithe : A Modern Faerie Tale - Holly Black
City of Bones - Cassandra Clare
The Signalman - Charles Dickens
HUMOUR My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell
The Chronicles of Narmo - Caitlin Moran
All Creatures Great and Small - James Herriot Dodger - Terry Pratchett
Boys Don’t Knit - T S Easton
The Positively Last Performance - Geraldine McCaughrean
Geek Girl - Holly Smale
POETRY AND DRAMA Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
Billy Liar - Keith Waterhouse
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley (adapted by Philip Pullman)
The Best Poems Ever - ed. by Edric S. Mesmer
What are We Fighting About? - B. Moses and R. Stevens The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan
Unheard Voices - Malorie Blackman
HISTORICAL FICTION Coram Boy - Jamila Gavin
Chinese Cinderella - Adeline Yen Mah
Troy - Adele Geras
Witch Child - Celia Rees
The Silver Sword - Ian Serraillier
The Executioner’s Daughter - Jane Hardstaff
Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian
SCIENCE FICTION AND DYSTOPIA Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve
Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L’Engle
The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
Exodus - Julie Bertagna
The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
GRAPHIC NOVELS Maus - Art Spiegelman
When the Wind Blows - Raymond Briggs
Britten and Brulightly - Hannah Berry
Jane, the Fox, and Me - Fanny Britt
The Arrival - Shaun Tan
King Lear - Manga
RELATIONSHIPS Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
Journey to the River Sea - Eva Ibbotson
The Shell House -Linda Newbury
The Outsiders - SE Hinton
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece - Annabel Pitcher
The Kite Rider - Geraldine McGauchrean
Being Billy - Philip Earle
ADVENTURE Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S Lewis
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
The Moonriders - Theresa Tomlinson
The Call of the Wild - Jack London
Across the Nightingale Floor - Gillian Rubenstein
Around the World in Eight Days - Jules Verne
PRE-1900 Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
KS3 READING LIST 15
Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
King Solomon’s Mines - H. Rider Haggard
KS3 READING LIST 16