Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Aleema Omotoni is a British-Nigerian author who grew up in London. She writes young adult novels about Black teenagers coming of age, falling in love, and navigating contemporary and fantasy settings. Her debut novel, Everyone’s Thinking It, is a boarding-school story set at Wodebury Hall and follows two Nigerian cousins, Iyanu and Kitan, as they try to uncover who leaked a set of secret photographs. The book was published on 5 September 2023.
Everyone’s Thinking It won the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens. Omotoni’s next young adult novel is Winners & Liars, a mystery about Derin as she enters a dangerous inheritance contest connected to lies and blood. Winners & Liars is scheduled for publication on 12 May 2026.
Mystery stories for children and teens with titles by Julia Donaldson, Richard Osman, Marcus Rashford, Marissa Meyer, David Wiesner, Abiola Bello, Patrice Lawrence, Konnie Huq, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, and Maureen Johnson.
Winners & Liars is a fun and fresh YA mystery with high-stakes games, slow-burn tension, family secrets, sweet romance and thoughtful social commentary on how history remembers, or erases, Black lives.
Season 1, Episode 43 of the School Reading List podcast. New book post, 30 great books for July 2026 and What happens when children spend the book budget?
June 2026’s book club includes titles by Marjoke Henrichs, Philip Ardagh, Ian Eagleton, Hayley Wells, Mary Hoffman, Ros Asquith, Tony Bradman, Bec Manser, Clare Pollard, Patrick Gallagher, Jamie Gregory, Mitch Johnson & Matt Goodfellow.
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