Skip to Main Content

Year Ten: Fierce, Fragile Hearts

Year Ten ROAD

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

American Panda by Gloria Chao

Stone Girl by Eleni Hale

A heartbreaking novel of raw survival and hope, and the children society likes to forget. A stunning and unforgettable debut YA novel for mature readers.

An unspeakable event changes everything for Sophie. No more Mum, school or bed of her own. She’s made a ward of the state and grows up in a volatile world where kids make their own rules, adults don’t count and the only constant is change. Until one day she meets Gwen, Matty and Spiral. Spiral is the most furious, beautiful boy Sophie has ever known. And as their bond tightens she finally begins to confront what happened in her past.

Click HERE to continue reading a review of Stone Girl. 

Click HERE to read a Q and A with the author from Readings.

Love is a Revolution by Renee Watson

It’s the summer before senior year for Harlem resident Nala Robertson, a 17-year-old Black girl of Jamaican descent. Nala’s list of things she wants to accomplish over the summer includes hanging out with her best friends, Imani and Sadie, and falling in love. Nala soon discovers that life does not always go according to plan. While some surprises may turn out better than she imagined—like the entrance of her new crush, Tye—some of life’s twists have her questioning her dreams and herself, forcing her to face new and uncomfortable realities.

Click HERE to continue reading the review of Love is a Revolution by Kirkus. Watch the author introduce her book in the video below. 

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Please Don't Hug Me by Kay Kerr

Kay Kerr’s Please Don’t Hug Me depicts life on the cusp of adulthood—and on the autism spectrum—and the complexities of finding out and accepting who you are and what’s important to you. 

Click HERE to visit the author's website. Or watch a video of the author introducing the book below.

Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez

An Argentine girl’s journey to fulfill her ambitions against all odds.

Seventeen-year-old Camila “la Furia” Hassan is a talented soccer player from a traditional working-class family in Rosario, Argentina, who aspires to be a professional futbolera. Her life as a player is a secret she keeps from her parents.

Click HERE to continue reading the review from Kirkus. Watch the author introduce her book in the video below. 

Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart

16-year-old Ava Gardener is heading back to school one year after a house fire left her severely disfigured. She’s used to the names, the stares, the discomfort, but there’s one name she hates most of all: Survivor. What do you call someone who didn’t mean to survive? Who sometimes wishes she hadn’t?

How it feels to Float by Helena Fox

'A profoundly moving story about grief, loss, and love that will take your breath away. Helena Fox is a writer to be reckoned with.' Kathleen Glasgow.

Biz knows how to float. She has her people, posse, her mum and the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, and who shouldn't be here but is. So Biz doesn't tell anyone anything. Not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And she doesn't tell anyone about her dad. Because her dad died when she was seven. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface - normal okay regular fine.

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

When three friends find themselves in a hostage situation, they must share their biggest secrets in order to survive.

Click HERE to read a review of The Girls I've Been.