Age 12+

This book, like its companion The Ultimate Book Guide (for 8- to 12-year olds) assembles reviews by authors, experts and children, and ingeniously directs readers to other books that resemble each chosen title. Introduced by David Almond, it includes essays on such themes as books about race or short, sharp books to get you going, and the results of reader polls: “which character would make the perfect girlfriend/boyfriend”; “with which character do you most identify ” (although the same books tend to appear in the answers: JK Rowling, Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman, Lemony Snicket). With 700 recommendations by 172 readers, it is an eclectic mix of classics and just-published books, adults’ and children’s. It ranges from Eva Ibbotson to Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Alex Rider to Jane Austen, Gerald Durrell to Doing It, Jeffrey Archer to James Joyce. Sometimes the balance is odd (three Helen Fieldings to one PG Wodehouse) but the volume bursts with enthusiasm and aperçus, undoubtedly offering something for everyone – and something for everyone to dislike, too.

(A & C Black £12.99)

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