Who are the best people to recommend books for young readers? Young readers, without a doubt! After all, we write the books for them so why would we care so much what adults think? (OK, we do care, a lot, but we should care more what the intended readers think.)

How do we find out what they really think? Ask them! So I did! Specifically, I asked the S1 pupils of “my” school, Larbert High School in Falkirk, where I’m the Patron Saint of Reading. These pupils are 12 years old and I love the variety of their views. I asked them (via their librarian and Head of English, Mr Doherty –  seen dressed as Where’s Wally during their annual book week) to think about what book they would recommend, from the heart; not to write a formal review but just to say why they liked it. And LOOK how many of them answered!

Here they all are. Please give them lots of support, and the teachers who gathered the responses. Do comment below if you can spare a moment. Thank you!

Chloe Jarvie recommends Lola Rose by Jacqueline Wilson. She loved this book because: “Something interesting happens every sentence; you have to stretch your imagination to pretend you are in the book. My blurb: it’s a mum, dad, brother and big sister, the dad can be loving, caring but with one twist he can become violent and slap the mother. One day he gets so angry he slaps the sister; they have to get away with no money.”

Jacqueline Wilson gets some other nominations, too. Ellie Mclaren loves Candyfloss “because it’s about a friend who is moving and it’s exciting because is the two friends going to stay together or will they split apart!” And Lauren Meiehofer recommends Jacky Daydreams. Lauren says “it is really interesting because it is about a young girl who doesn’t get looked after by her family and her dream is for her mum to get better and on Christmas her mum wakes up all better.”

Skye Adam recommends The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd by Heather Brewer. “I enjoyed this book mainly because it’s my kind of book because the main character is into the same music and basically has the same thoughts as me. Vladimir Todd is a half vampire because his mum was human and his dad was a vampire but sadly his parents died in a house fire and then he has to live with his mum’s best friend who is a doctor so she can give him leftover blood. One of my favourite bits in the book is when Vladimir meets these new gothic teenagers and they ask if he wants to join the group and he’s already an outcast because he’s different, so he goes to a gothic nightclub with them. But my favourite bit is when she makes a gothic girl into his vampire slave.”

Sam likes The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. “I loved this book because it isn’t real it’s imagining and mystical and magical. I also like the characters.”

Amy Garai loves OMG is this actually my life by Rae Earl. She said, “I loved this book because it was really good and I just don’t really know why it was just really good. And I liked the characters and the storyline. It was so sad when I finished it.”

Megan O’Neill loved The Sausage Lion by Michael Morpurgo “because the dad blames the dog for rumbeling in the bins. Only thing is it’s not the dog it’s the lion. The lion was looking for meat to eat. This story is so exciting!” Hooray for exciting stories!

Ndu Hekrem loved Half Moon Ranch by Jenny Oldfield “because it uses good English and you get lost in the book. It has an extremely good start and finish. It was a very scary, funny book and enjoyable to read. The book starts of scary and becomes funny.” And it has horses, of course!

Barrie Mcallister recommends Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff kinney. Barrie said, “I loved this book because it is modern, funny, interesting story because he writes it like a letter and just keeps you very entertained. I loved this book and you should read it.” Maybe I will! Cameron D also chose it “because it came in a series and they are all funny. It’s about a guy called Greg who is a wimp and he writes a diary about his wimpy summer. The movie is really good too.”

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins had two eager fans: Brionny J, who said, “I love this book because I don’t want to put it down and it will keep you reading it. It is as good as the movie and it describes things in so much detail! It is the best book I have ever read, it is great! The book is sort of a cliff-hanger and adventure. You have to read them all before you can say its good! And Frazer liked it “because the chapters are amazing and the connection between the characters is unbreakable. It is a five star book.”

Bianca Wright loved the second in the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire, “because it is filled with action and adventure. It is the second in the series and the best in my opinion. I think that the plot is amazing and it builds up to the third book but not in a too revealing way.”

Jordan liked I Funny by James Patterson, “because the characters have really strong personalities. This disabled boy enters the world funniest hiding competition.” Logan Whelan likes another book by James Patterson: I’m in middle school get me out of here. “I like this book because it was really interesting,” he says.

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl had two recommendations. Jamie Forrester said, “I loved book because it’s a brilliant kids book and a funny classical kids book. James moves from his house to his ugly mean auntie’s house. While he is there he plants a peach tree which turns into a giant peach and there is loads of insects in it and James travels in the peach.”. “I loved book because it’s a brilliant kids book and a funny classical kids book. James moves from his house to his ugly mean auntie’s house. While he is there he plants a peach tree which turns into a giant peach and there is loads of insects in it and James travels in the peach.” And Jack Donaldson said, “I really enjoy the characters. It’s an enjoyable book and it’s funny.”

Roald Dahl has some fans, for sure. Rihanna likes Fantastic Mr. Fox “because it is funny to read because Mr Tod is annoying the farmers and stealing all the chickens and eating them with his family and kids.” Sophie Dow recommends Matilda. She says, “I like this book because it is really interesting book about a young girl who has magical powers with her eyes and she gets adopted by her lovely school teacher Miss Honey. I really enjoyed it.”

Rebakah Fleming loved Black Butter by Yana Toboso “because it has so many genres all mashed into one and millions of cliff hangers.” I like the sound of that!

Lucy Bell recommends Torn by David Massey “because I really liked it because it was exciting and different from anything I have read before. I didn’t think I would like it when I first read the blurb to see that it was about the army, which I didn’t think was my kind of thing, but as I read the book it was really exciting seeing what a soldier’s day to day life is like. I would recommend this to anyone over the age of 12.”

Scott Jackson recommends Skull Duggery by Derek Landy to everyone, “because it is fun and it has magic to sadness.” I love the idea of magic and sadness.

Nicky Hogarth loved The Recruit by Robert Muchamore. “It’s a very good book and I really enjoyed it.I didn’t want to put it down, it was funny at times and from then on I read the full series of books that it was in, called CHERUB.

Claire Dickie recommends Thief by Malorie Blackman. She said, “This book was amazing. There were so many twists and turns. It stretches your imagination to the edge. It’s a funfilled-heart-warming story. Families must save each other and can Lydia change her future? A well-written page-turner. It’s a modern classic!” Sounds brilliant, Claire!

Caitlin Ray recommends Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon. She says, “It has lots of different stories in the one book, it’s good for 8-13 year olds or if you’re an adult that doesn’t want to grow up! It’s full of pranks and gross kiddy things, if you like reading really boring things like maths textbooks please do not read this book!” I once reviewed Horrid Henry for the Guardian – I think it’s great.

Abby Dickson loved City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. “I loved this book because it captivated me and I couldn’t put it down. The book introduced me to the world of vampires, werewolves, warlocks and more. I loved it because there are 6 books in the series and I was so intrigued that I wanted to buy the whole series.” That will keep you busy!

Raymond Maxwell recommends Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling. “I loved this book because it is a different setting with no Quidditch but there is a Quidditch world cup. The best bit was when Lord Voldemort came back in the graveyard.” JK Rowling gets two more recommendations. Cliodhna Reid liked Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. “I liked this book because it goes into a lot of detail about characters, scenes and lots more. When you read the book it is better than it sounds on the blurb. I would recommend this book.” And Jack M went for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. “I liked this book because it was exciting, it was full of action and adventure and an epic final duel between Harry and Voldemort.”

Carrie Hughes recommends a book I keep meaning to read, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. She said, “I loved this book because I feel like I can relate to it and the characters in it. John Green sucks you in with its alternative romance novel.”

Hollie Charleston loved The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephan Chbosky “because it was exciting and had a good twisted ending. It was also very funny and heart touching.” I’ve heard about this book, but hadn’t got round to it but Hollie has made me want to read it.

Jordyn Smith loved two books: Mates, Dates and Chocolate Cheats by Cathy Hopkins “because it was really funny and it got me into it straight away. The girl in the novel is very funny and everyone should read this book because its great!” And Candy Floss by Jacqueline Wilson. “I loved this book because: its just so good to read! I loved it so much! I didn’t want it to end. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to read it. Once you get right into the book you won’t want to stop.” Obviously a keen reader!

Emma McInally loved Alex Rider Storm Breaker by Anthony Horowitz because, “It is action packed and has good sense in it. It’s a really good book and I would recommend it to anyone.”

Blaine Colquhoun recommends The Maze of Bones: 39 clues by Rick Riordan. Blaine said, “I loved this book because it’s filled with mystery and tension. I think it’s clever and brilliant. It’s a page turner and I love it to bits, cannot wait for the rest (also very interesting because all the books are written by different people).” That is interesting!

Benjamin Small loved War Horse by Michael Morpurgo because, “It has good words and punctuation and very good pictures. I would recommend it for you.” I’m going to see War Horse at the theatre in January – can’t wait! Michael Morpurgo gets another recommendation, from Amandalee Davie, who liked Shadow because, “It had some parts which were sad and others were happy. It gave you a really good description of where they were. The book just made you want to read on. An amazing book written by an amazing author.”

Uzair Ahmad loves Shine on Daisy Star by Cathy Cassidy, “because I really liked the characters and how it was written. I couldn’t stop reading when I started because once I read a chapter I had to read the next to see what happens.” Cathy is a friend of mine and I’m thrilled to see her do so well. She’s a very genuine person.

Kenzie Falconer recommends Hell Heroes by Darren Shan. “I loved this book because it was scary and it was interesting as well so you should read it.”

Jack Henderson recommends Ultimate Spiderman learning curve by Brain Michael Bendis. Jack said “It was very hard to put down it also wasn’t too long.” Too good things about a book!

Eilidh Campbell loves Anne Frank’s Diary. “It was amazing as Anne Frank actually wrote it you got to know how she felt. I am really enjoying the book so far.”

Jack Foote loved Holes by Louis Sachar. He said, “I thought it was good and we watched the movie which was fun.” I loved Holes myself – utterly brilliant. It also had an anonymous recommendation: “I like this book because it is a good book and because it’s got lizards in it. He gets let out of camp. He was put in for something he didn’t do and it’s cool.”

Blair Spinks recommends Dinosaurs Cove by Rex Stone. Blair said, “I loved this book because of the storyline and characters. It was fun to read, easy to read and it makes you scared about what is going to happen.”

George Guthrie and Lewis Simpson both recommend Flashpoint by Bernard Ashley. George says, “The detail is really well written showing what the character sees.” And Lewis says, “It was action packed, so exciting, and a brilliant book.”

Jack Dick recommends Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson. He says, “If you were reading over the holiday then I would really recommend Mortal Chaos as it is jam packed with different stories with the idea that all things are connected. The stories range from a pilot that ran over a deer to two boys skipping school to hunt a deer to a mountain climber to a horse rider and so on.” Sounds great, Jack.

Liam McCallum likes Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. “I like this book because it is a good book and the characters are great. This book is a long book. If you like adventures this book is good for you.”

An anonymous reader recommended Room by Emma Donoghue, which, I should say, is a book written for adults. (I believe any reader of any age should read any book they feel ready for, but this is a heart-rending book and all readers of all ages should be aware of that!) “I like this book because it is a really unique storyline about a boy who has lived in one room for all of his life because his mother was kidnapped and raped. The plot twists as they plan to escape. I didn’t want to put it down. It was the best book I’ve read for a long time and it made me really emotional.” I loved it, too.

Thank you to all the pupils for these wonderful and heartfelt recommendations! I hope you get lots more books to enjoy for Christmas. Books are the best presents because they grow our minds and satisfy our souls.

Join me in wishing the whole of LARBERT HIGH SCHOOL and very very happy, relaxing, invigorating, merry, wonderful Christmas holiday!

Because I’m coming to see LHS on Friday and I may not want to leave. It’s their annual booky day and I have these things on my list to remember to take:

• Green body paint that won’t wash off easily (I will be wearing this so I hope I’m not arrested on the way)
• A spare brain
• 300 signed postcards
• A poster that I’ve made using my own very special untalents
• A pile of books I wrote
• A pile of books I didn’t
• £1

What I’m hoping for during the day:

• Sandwiches (I have strong memories of sandwiches last time)
• To be allowed to watch a film
• Cake
• Very enthusiastic young people
• Very enthusiastic not-so-young people
• Coffee
• Lots of shouting (of the excited sort, not the cross sort)
• Being filmed talking about exam stress
• Meeting the class studying Fleshmarket (one of the highlights last year – thank you, Liam)
• Everyone dressed up to the theme of “What I want to be when I grow up”
• A bee (a spelling one, not the actual one that Miss Clancy appeared as last year)
• An atmosphere which celebrates the fun of books

There is only one disappointing thing:

• That Mr Doherty won’t be dressed as Wally – unless Wally is what he wants to be when he grows up, which is highly unlikely. (I mean highly unlikely that he’d want to be Wally.)

I shall report – but not straightaway, as I have a Very Big Two Weeks coming up.

Three cheers for Larbert High School!

As many of you know, good footwear is important to me. I have been told that it is even part of my “brand”. In fact, it is the literal truth that my husband did once encourage me to buy new boots “because it’s part of your brand”. This was while he was studying the marketing module in his MBA, but still. There aren’t many women who can say this.

So, it was with great reluctance, as you can imagine, that I spent a whole day in muddy wellies when I went to visit Larbert High School for their annual Literacy Day – a day which would be much better called the Having Loads of Crazy Fun With Words and Books Day. Not only did I have wellies on my feet but a lawn on my head and corn on the cob sticking out of my pocket. I’d lost my broccoli by the time this picture was taken. I also ran onto the stage wheeling a rather small plastic wheelbarrow and offered to pour water on various heads.

The theme, by way of explanation, was “What do you want to be?” Obviously, I don’t want to be a garden but I do want to garden. Gardening is relaxing and good for the spirits and health. And tomatoes may occur. Also, peas that you can eat straight from the pod.

Anyway, a great deal of noise occurred during the morning, as S2 students competed enthusiastically in a spelling bee, with very impressive words, including onomatopoeia and diarrhoea – both correctly and confidently spelt. It was wonderful to see the cheers for all the best spellers and the excitement over the furiously-fought competition. After a noisy and nail-biting finish, Kieran was just pipped at the post by Annette. Big congratulations to both of them and to all the finalists - but obviously an extra cheer for Annette and her super-coolness under pressure :).

Then I gave a short talk, still dressed as a garden, about Readaxation and the importance of finding books to ENJOY and of finding a bit of time each day to read for pleasure. I gave away a load of books – some by me and some by others – and the massive excitement as so many of them clamoured to receive a book was possibly the best bit of the day.

The S1 year group had a literature quiz, which I read some questions for and then I was whizzed off to be interviewed for a film the school was making about exam stress. I had a very interesting filmed conversation with six S5 pupils about this and soon we got onto the subject of teenage stress in general. This was the first time I’d talked about The Teenage Guide to Stress and it became immediately and quickly obvious how much they wanted this book. I had several private conversations during the day which made me feel quite fluttery inside and I discovered the extent to which medical professionals have been recommending Blame My Brain as a reassuring way to understand adolescence.

And then I got lost on the way home. In my wellies. And with a car full of plastic vegetables.

There was something important I learnt that day, something which I feel I should share with you: when you need to stick a lawn to your head, do not be tempted to do so with double-sided extra-strong carpet tape.

APART from that, huge thanks to the English department of the wonderful Larbert High School. And if you’d like to be entertained by the films the school makes, and play Spot the Author, then take a look at their You-Tube channel.

I’m consistently impressed by the friendly, positive atmosphere at this school and I’m very proud to be associated with them.

Once again I’ve had the task of judging the creative writing competition for senior pupils at Larbert High School. I did this willingly, even though it was VERY difficult last year and I knew it would be again, and the main reason I do it is because it gives me stops me falling into the trap of believing the doom-mongers who rabbit on about poor quality of writing amongst young people. Honestly, those doom-mongers, many of whom doubtless read one of a range of three right-wing newspapers, need to see the passion, the skills and the talent of young writers today – the work that schools do but also just how passionate humans are to express themselves in writing.

And yes, it was incredibly difficult again, even though I was only shown the five finalists’ pieces (chosen from 220 entries, by the way – so, huge congratulations to all five for getting that far.)

The five finalists were: Sharlie Gilchrist, Calum Ross, Georgia Blues, Kirsten Alexander and Kerry Logan. Well done, all of you! I hope you are very proud of yourselves. All five pieces had outstanding things about them and all five writers could be professional writers later if they wanted to be – or, if they don’t choose that route, there’s no doubt they will be able to use their excellent writing skills in their jobs.

But I had to chose one winner…

I found it particularly difficult to choose between Calum’s, Georgia’s and Sharlie’s, because they were each very different and each had aspects that kept drawing me to choose them. In the end, I’ve picked Sharlie as the winner, but with the other two as close runners-up. Having said that, Kirsten and Kerry were so close behind them and deserve their place as finalists very much. (Their writing probably reminds me most of my own at that age!)

But Sharlie had something that kept me guessing and in fact I had to read it several times and enjoyed it each time. It’s very rich writing but manages to keep control and has a nice balance of prosaic and poetic that stops it going over the top. I loved Calum’s voice and the ideas and delivery of Georgia’s discursive piece were excellent. Kerry and Kirsten’s pieces were wonderfully emotional, with well-thought-out characterisation and background.

A massive well done to all of them from me – to be selected out of so many entrants is a massive achievement. And I want them to know that authors always say/know that being shortlisted is the clever bit – the overall winner is down to the personal opinion of the judge and so involves more luck. So they should ALL be very proud of themselves.

In One of Two Halves, Calum Ross cleverly created an old man’s voice, wry and slightly pompous. It’s a great skill to create the voice of someone of a very different age from yourself and it was very well done. Here’s how it begins: “Now before we begin; I would like to clarify a few things. From the title, you may initially have the notion that this is some clichéd love story about soul mates and the tragedy of being torn apart from your “other half.” No! My fairly witty play on words – if I do say so myself – is actually in reference to my unfortunate predicament of being born a twin.”

Bill, Please! by Georgia Blues was a piece of discursive non-fiction about feminism, but criticising those women who insist on the man paying the bill and holding doors, while still demanding equal rights. It was a brave and well-reasoned piece, written with passion and skill. “As I grew up I realised that I was surrounded by these women… but why? Is it simply the idea that the man must be the provider? Have we really not evolved from this caveman ideology? // The progress women have made to gain fair and just treatment over the years is outstanding. We are the first to stand up, proclaiming – ‘EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL WOMEN!’ But yet we find it insulting if we go through an unopened door behind a man or we don’t receive a free plate of carbonara in their company. This stance seems tinged with hypocrisy. Surely the introduction of equal pay would ensure we are able to pay for our own food? The fact there are women body builders creeping into all corners of the world should mean we might be able to open a measly door or pull out our own chair.”

A Far Off Place by Kirsten Alexander was set in old Edinburgh (18th/early 19th century?) during a hanging, told through the eyes of a young woman who remembers, when she was ten, watching her own mother’s execution. She sees a young girl and realises that this is the daughter of the woman being hanged. It’s a highly-charged, emotional piece with a very poignant ending and a great deal of contrast between dark and light. “The neatly tied noose was placed around her mother’s brittle neck. The arena fell still once more. The woman’s face lifeless, blank. She looked to the girl as the block disappeared from beneath her shoeless feet, her body vanished, one more to take the walk up the golden stairs.”

There’s masses of emotion and deft scene-setting in Hello Darling by Kerry Logan, a vignette about a young woman mourning the loss of her baby and trying to come to terms with grief and yet somehow needing that grief. “With this in mind she looked at the ground for a moment, composing her thoughts, telling herself to breathe; in and out, in and out. With a pale shaking hand, she reached out to carefully place a bunch of flowers. She’d spent ages choosing them. They had to be just right. With her other hand tightly gripping the edge of the headstone, her ring-less fingers shook as she leaned down to gently press her lips to the cold granite.”

And the winning piece, Both Sides of White by Sharlie Gilchrist, was told through the eyes of a former champion ice-skater who has lost her sight – permanently or not, is the question that isn’t answered until the end. But the skater has lost more than her sight – she lost her reputation, self-esteem, dignity and popularity, and the horror of that seems in many ways worse than the loss of sight. “I wasn’t always like this, of course. There was once a time where all I lived to see was white. The white snow of winter; the white ice of the local rink; the white glow of my favourite pair of skates. I had won competitions because of white; white used to be my best friend. Now it plagues; it haunts me. Taunts me from the back of my mind where my Technicolor memories are lurking. I try not to dwell on them too much. They’re too bright, too colourful, too…harsh. I find it easier to simply forget.” And yet, she can’t forget. It’s chilling stuff. Icy, even.

And here is Sharlie’s full piece, reproduced with her permission:

Both Sides of White

All I could see was black.

I was gripping the railing so hard that my knuckles were no doubt white. I was staring out onto an expanse of white. At least, I think it’s still white; I haven’t opened my cotton eyes yet to check. I’m too afraid to. I’m afraid that all I’ll see is white. I’m afraid that all I’ll see is, still, black. It’s a confusing mix.

I wasn’t always like this, of course. There was once a time where all I lived to see was white. The white snow of winter; the white ice of the local rink; the white glow of my favourite pair of skates. I had won competitions because of white; white used to be my best friend. Now it plagues; it haunts me. Taunts me from the back of my mind where my Technicolor memories are lurking. I try not to dwell on them too much. They’re too bright, too colourful, too…harsh. I find it easier to simply forget.

One memory, however, refuses to be forgotten; it demands to be relived. Every night, every single night, without fail, it plays on repeat in all its rainbow cruelty. It’s one of the brightest memories I own; it’s one of the darkest memories I own.

Sometimes, when I have too much time for myself and I’m feeling especially malicious, I’ll dig that memory out of the box I had shoved it in. I’ll go through every nanosecond of that memory, analysing every little thing that I did wrong. They say hindsight’s a bitch; no one knows that quite as well as I do.

It had started out well enough. Little bit of a stumble on the landing of my triple Salchow – possibly – but other than that it was fine. Until that damned triple Axel. It had always been the Bane of my Existence. It had been the cause of too many bruises to count, as well as a broken ankle during one training session where I had been stupid enough to attempt a triple Axel despite only just having nailed a double. It had taken months of coaxing from my coach after the cast came off before I even contemplated trying the triple Axel again.

I’m not entirely sure what went wrong that time. Maybe I didn’t take off with enough force to complete those three-and-a-half rotations. Maybe I caught my toe-pick on the landing. Whatever happened, I can be sure of one thing – when I went down, I went down hard. All I could see was white, before all I could see was black.

I woke a few days later to find that black was the only thing I was going to be seeing for awhile. The doctors had said that a blood clot had formed in my brain, putting pressure on one thing or another, which somehow stopped my eyes from working. I don’t really remember the details; I hadn’t really been listening. Being unable to see anything had kind of stolen my attention away from the medical jargon that the doctor had been spouting. The only thing I can really remember from that day was that Mum started screaming and I had slipped back into sleep.

(They told me later that Mum had fainted when she’d heard the news. They told me I was the one that had been screaming; they’d sedated me to calm me down.)

Maybe I would have felt better about falling if I’d only been in training. What was another fall in training? Only I wasn’t in training. Oh no, I was being televised. My life had fallen apart live on several million television screens around the world. I can practically see the headlines now; ‘The Rise and Fall of Lilianna Hopper’ – the journalists probably had a field day. Only I couldn’t actually see the headlines, of course, since, you know, I was blind. It probably should have been a comfort to me, that I was still my old self in the face of my life going supernova. It wasn’t, of course. There was nothing comforting about that situation whatsoever – I had just failed the whole of Britain at the Winter Olympics after all.

There had been an uproar when I had been announced as the one who was to take the single spot allocated to Britain in the women’s category, instead of the one who had been the firm favourite of the British public since she’d first stepped onto the ice at age nine. Me? Well, I had come out of nowhere and knocked her out of the park. People didn’t like when that happened apparently.

I had set out for the Olympics determined to prove every single doubter wrong, only to let them all down. I was their only hope of maintaining Britain’s golden position in the women’s section. Instead, I had traded in gold for black and practically dropped off the face of the Earth as far as anyone could tell. I refused to give interviews and people eventually gave me up as a lost cause. I didn’t blame them; I had done the exact same thing.

I became careless after that, staring too long at fluorescent lights and at the sun. I was already blind; what difference would it make? Apparently, it made all the difference.

When I returned to the doctor some months after the accident, he informed me that the clot had passed, but that I had damaged my retinas. So I had traded one blindness for another. The doctor wrapped my eyes with white bandages – I had had to ask what colour they were. For all I knew, bandages could have become bright pink in my absence from the Ozian world in which I had previously lived. The bandages would come off after several weeks, to see if my sight had returned. If it hadn’t returned by then, then it was a strong possibility that it would never come back. See? I am capable of listening! When I want to.

That’s what had brought me back to my local rink, which I had been avoiding ever since I had been discharged from hospital. The doctor would have preferred if I had gone into the hospital to get the bandages removed, but I had staunchly refused. Long story short, he didn’t win that argument, and now here we are.

“Are you ready?” the doctor asks from where he’s standing on my right. I’m not entirely sure if I am or not but I nod anyway. The doctor’s hands are as gentle and soothingly cold as the first snow of winter as he unwinds the bandages. I squeeze my eyes shut just as they fall away; I’m not ready to know yet. I’ve decided. I want the bandages back on.

“Open your eyes, Lilianna,” the doctor instructs me. I shake my head and keep them closed. “Open your eyes.” This time I do as I’m told, albeit rather slowly.

All I can see is white.

by Sharlie Gilchrist

A lovely thing happened the other day. I heard that I’d been named an Enterprise in Education Champion.

Larbert High School didn’t tell me they had nominated me so it was a huge surprise! Entrepreneurship is incredibly important to me – I don’t remember a time when I didn’t dream up crazy ideas and usually make the mistake of acting on them – and I can’t think of anything I’d rather get an award for. The award recognizes “that you have, through your support, demonstrated an attitude that is enthusiastic and motivating and that you have inspired and encouraged young people to develop an enterprising attitude.”  Blown away!

The EEC is a scheme that operates all around the UK, each one administered by a local council. Falkirk Education Services have been running the award since 2006 and have always placed pupils’ views centre stage when selecting nominations. Two S2 pupils from Larbert High endorsed the nomination and their comments on the citation made me a bit lumpy in the throaty.  They were pupils I’d met in Edinburgh when they came on a gory visit to the Old Town while they were studying Fleshmarket. I blogged about that here. Larbert High School a wonderful school and the commitment of the staff really motivates the pupils.

Coincidentally, I heard about the award on the day I told the school about my brand new enterprise, Brain Sticks™, which I’ve been dreaming about and working on for most of the last year!

I know I’m incredibly lucky that the school chose to nominate me. There are so many other people who give up time and energy to help in schools, who deserve it as much if not more. But luck is a big part of life and when it happens to me I’ll gratefully accept it

The best people to ask are the readers themselves, so I did

I’m the Patron of Reading at Larbert High School (as you must know by know!) and I asked some pupils for their recommendations for you, so you can choose presents at Christmas. One of the best ways of encouraging young people’s reading is to listen to their opinions about books and share their enthusiasm for whatever titles they enjoyed. They’ve included not just teenage YA books but adult ones, too, because anyone should read any book they fancy reading, regardless of age, in my view. Two of the students typed them up to make things easy for me – thank you!

ALSO, please add YOUR recommendations in the comments below. If you do:

• Give the title and author
• Give rough age guide – eg teenage, adult, 8-12
• Please include a “if you like XXXX, you’ll like this” type of comment
• Don’t recommend a book you wrote!

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM LARBERT HIGH SCHOOL

If you liked The Hunger Games, you’ll love The Maze Runner by James Dashner. It’s filled with excitement and adventure; you won’t be able to put it down. (Heather McIntyre, Age 14)

If you like books that keep you on your toes then you’ll love, Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz. The book is about a man whose life is full of life-threatening moments which are exciting for the reader. Brilliant story. (Lynsey, Age 17)

I recommend Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It’s a classic with a twist and will appeal to teenage girls. It’s about a classic fangirl who feels she has lost her way but she soon realises she was on the right path the whole time. If you liked ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ or anything John Green really, or you like romantic comedies with a twist, you will love this. (Annabelle McLaren, Age 15)

If you like watching YouTubers you will love Girl Online by Zoe Sugg, otherwise known as Zoella. She has become one of the UK’s most known YouTubers and has over 6 million subscribers. This book tells the tale of a girl living the life of an up and coming blogger, just like Zoe. (Kristi Cherry, Age 15) [NM: By the way, I greatly admire what Zoella has achieved with her brilliant vlog but it is important for readers to know that her novel, Girl Online, was ghost-written, not written by Zoe herself. I am pleased her publishers have decided to be open about that now. When I heard about Girl Online I assumed it would be a self-help book for her fans, with tips etc, which I think would have been GREAT! Buy the novel if you like the sound of it but not if you think it’s written by Zoella. I think it’s right to be open about ghost-writing, as Katie Price was. I wish Zoe huge good luck and I hope she writes her own novel one day, if she wants to and has the writing talent, which is entirely possible!]

The Night Circus is a fantasy novel set in the 1800s to 1900s. A very enthralling book which is difficult to put down! Written by the talented, Erin Morgenstern. (Amber Smith, Age 17)

If you like books about war and despair, you will like The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. It follows the story of a young girl living in Germany during the war, and the challenges she faces. (Darcie Izatt, Age 15)

If you like books about magic in a fantasy world with drama and much more you will love the Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling (Callum Campbell, Age 14)

If you there’s a footballer or any person you admire or are interested in, Stewart Elder, 15, recommends you read their biography or autobiography. Lots of readers enjoy reading about real people’s experiences, as he says.

I would recommend the Gone series by Michael Grant. This is for people who like adventurous novels or books like The Maze Runner or the X-Men series. The story is about a little village who come to find that all of the adults are disappearing, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. It’s an amazing series probably suited to kids aged around 13-15. (Eva Mason, 15)

If you liked The Famous Five trilogy or you like books with adventure, you will love Anne of Green Gables trilogy by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The three books tell Anne’s adventures and will light up any girl’s imagination. (Sophie Dickson, 14) [Really pleased to see this recommended!]

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a gripping, dramatic book that is as relevant now as it was 50 years ago. Telling the story of a World War 2 bombardier, Catch 22, explores the idea that in war, who is the real enemy? And what is the point? If you want to be entertained and thrilled, you’ll love this book. (Blair Watson, 16)

This is for people who like their books to be intriguing or books about teenage life with a twist. The Fault in our Stars by John Green is an interesting but upsetting novel with loveable characters and a great storyline. (Leia McRobbie, 14)

Thanks, everyone at PHS, and Mr Doherty for collecting the recommendations!

My own recommendations are, as I said in the Sunday Herald:

The Girl Who Couldn’t Read by John Harding (Blue Door, £14.99) is super-Gothic, set in the appalling world of a 19th-century asylum and is the sequel to Harding’s linguistically original and gorgeous Florence And Giles. Reading F&G first isn’t crucial, but it will double your pleasure.

You’ll find Tanya Landman’s Buffalo Soldier (Walker, £7.99) in the teenage section, but there’s no reason why adults wouldn’t understand it equally. Set just after the American Civil War and based on a true story, it’s the gripping and often heart-rending tale of a freed slave-girl disguised as a soldier and sent to fight Native Americans.

My non-fiction recommendation is Richard Wiseman’s Night School (Macmillan, £20), a detailed but sparky and readable state-of-the-science overview of our understanding of sleep, with plenty of practical advice about sleeping better. Mind you, some of the facts about the health consequences of poor sleep might keep you awake…

And I’d add, for teenagers who want a fast thriller, Tim Bowler’s Night Runner and, for adults or teenagers who want an adult read, Michel Faber’s The Book of Strange New Things. Which I haven’t finished yet, but am completely engrossed in.

AND there’s a fab ebook anthology from the Girls Heart Books blog, called Girls Heart Christmas – stories from great writers! If your young reader has an eReader, it’s a perfect gift

Add your recommendations below, please!

(Btw, my own books are available, signed, from my online shop.)

Larbert High School is a big school. In one single year group, there are over 300 pupils. So, if you’re chosen as one of the 21 best writers in a year group, you should be very proud. And one day this week, I had the opportunity of working with the best 21 S1 writers all day.

They were: Lexie James, Sara Campbell, Clare Cunningham, Iona Allford, Jennifer Shaw, James Young, Zed Kennedy, Sara Hendry, Leah Faulks, Heather McArthur, Madeleine Swinney, Aaron Chilton, Mia Findley, Adam Pascoe, Carly Toland, Antonia Bennett, Jennifer Burnett, Matthew Simpson, Anna Dougan, Hannah Gourley and Sam Batchelor.

There was a LOT of talent in there, a MASS of enthusiasm and a huge variety of story ideas. Amongst them were dragons, deaths, abuse, runaway pianos, metaphorical volcanoes and much more. The variety became entertainingly apparent when they read out some of the results of the game of story consequences we played. (That activity went down really well and got them to focus on the key elements of character+problem+stakes+emotion+action.

My goal was to get them thinking about all the things writers have to think about: readers, emotions, drama, making words work, obstacles, stakes, pacing.

To encourage them to be very choosy about their words and to use few words rather than many, I gave them an exercise where they had to reduce a 20-word sentence to the fewest words possible, paying for each word used with sweets (very effective, that!) The winner even beat me and I’m GOOD at reducing words to the smallest number.

The head of English, Mr Doherty, was very excited about the day. Teachers have to spend a lot of effort making sure the less able pupils get enough help that it must make a refreshing change to be able to focus fully on the more able, the ones who often work away without demanding anything, but who could be stretched even further. And these S1 pupils got to have the whole day off time-table, doing something they love, having their talent and hard work recognised. And creating their own story, from their own imaginations and minds.

I know all the English teachers had had great difficulty selecting them and there were lots more pupils they’d have liked to include and who would have deserved a place. Just because they weren’t selected this time does NOT mean they don’t have a great chance of being a successful writer.

Here’s a picture of my S1s before I arrived, with English teacher Mrs Swinney getting them sorted.

Here’s a picture of them all with me at the end (while we were all saying the word simile…)

Here are the pupils uploading their finished stories onto computers:

Here is a picture of Mr Doherty sharing a joke with another English teacher Miss Coupar.) Please ignore whatever’s on that whiteboard – it wasnae us.

Oh, and I got to write on a whiteboard for the first time and was surprised how squishy it was.

And here is something fascinating. Ignore the voices – that’s the adults talking. But what’s the sound in the background? Any guesses?

Last week was my third annual Larbert High School literacy day. My ears have just about stopped ringing from the sheer noise of young people screaming for BOOKS. I admit this was largely my fault but I couldn’t have predicted just how desperately some of those pupils wanted the books I was giving away.

I told them they could clamour for any book they wanted, once I’d read out the blurb on the back, as long as they followed three rules:

1. They had to really want the book.
2. They had to really want the book.
3. They had to really REALLY want the book.

And they did. Obviously they didn’t all want books but most of them did. A lot. (I wish I could have done something for the ones who don’t like books.)

I had to take two codeine afterwards.

I haven’t got a picture of this excitement because I was too caught up with handling the books and the microphone and the noise. (I’m not good with noise but I can deal with it in a good cause.) But I do have a picture of the (brave) teachers’ spelling team:

And Mr Doherty, dressed as a great white shark, in case you were wondering.

Over the day, there was a book giveaway from me, the S2 Spelling Bee competition with very difficult words, lots of dressing up throughout the school, and a literacy quiz for S1. The Scottish Curriculum is based around everything being cross-curricular, so this wasn’t just a quiz about reading books; it covered foreign languages, sciences, sport, humanities and IT.

Here is the winner of the Spelling Bee, Erin Kerr, being presented with her prizes. Congratulations, Erin! And commiserations to the other brave contenders. It takes some bravery to be up there in front of 200 people and having to spell words aloud.

As always, the enthusiasm of the staff was evident everywhere. And it was great seeing lots of senior pupils get involved with helping out.

Good work, Great White Shark and his team!

Sadly, that will be my last LHS LIteracy Day, as my three-year term as Patron of Reading comes to an end at the end of 2015. But I still have more to do. We have plans!

Happy Easter holidays to Larbert High pupils and staff. Make sure you get some rest and relaxation, especially if you have exams coming up.

I had a lovely surprise the other day when I discovered that an S2/3 class at Larbert High School had made a wonderful display to thank me for being their Patron of Reading. Awwww!

They have been reading and writing about Fleshmarket and Mondays are Red, which are the two books of mine most used in schools.

By the way, for schools thinking about using or wanting to use Mondays are Red but not knowing where to get copies, I am happy to tell you that there will soon be a PRINT version again and I should be able to get you a special deal for a class set. Let me know if you’re interested!

Meanwhile, I wish all the staff and pupils of Larbert High School a fabulous summer holiday! Relax and read Remember my mantra: relaxation is not a luxury and readaxation is a brilliant way to wellbeing.

And thank you for reading my books and being nice to me! I’ve only got a short time left as your Patron of Reading but that will include a Fleshmarket event with more amputations. Blood and gore in ancient Edinburgh!

I’ve just spent some time reading the blogposts of the pupils of Larbert High School from their trip to Cape Town to work with and share experiences with Woodlands Primary School. What an amazing experience the LHS pupils are having, being able to see and help pupils from another culture.

The post where they arrive one morning to discover that part of the school has been destroyed gives you a sense of what this trip means to them and the level of empathy they have. I think there’s a load of wisdom revealed in these sentences: “We recently found out that the police […] never showed. Even though they know who has done all this damage but nothing will ever be done. It disgusts and hurts us all that we can’t do anything to help. After all the devastation that we saw in just a short period of time it was hard to take ourselves away from it to teach. We knew that we were here for a reason and that we had to keep our happy faces on!”

Larbert High School is not set in a fantastically wealthy part of the UK. There are pupils from all backgrounds. They are not privileged in the sense we tend to use the word. But they know they are privileged in many ways.

I’m proud to be their Patron of Reading. And I’m privileged that, by chance, I’m going out to South Africa soon, too, and if I’m anywhere near Woodlands Primary I might just wave at the pupils there. (I may need to warn them first.) But I probably won’t mention that I’m a Patron of Reading, in case they ask me a question I’ve already been asked, “Are you a saint?”

Er, no…

They are going to write something for me to put on my blog soon, but meanwhile, let’s hear a round of applause for: Anna, Katie, Heather, Hannah, Abigail, Alanna, Sophie, Claire, Sarah, Stephanie, Ashleigh, Chris, Fraser, Michael, Ewan, Alix, Arron, Ben, Calum, Claire, Jack, Jessica, Lisa, Mhairi, Molly, Rachel, Rebecca, Richenda, Jamie, Fraser and Abbi!