Summer Reading Challenge
Summer reading challenge – A good reading challenge will not only promote reading and encourage reading for pleasure, but it will encourage a reading culture to spread like a virus throughout your school.
Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Brigid Kemmerer is an American author known for her work in young adult fiction. She is the author of the Elemental series, which began with Storm in 2012, published by Kensington Publishing. Kemmerer is also recognised for the Letters to the Lost duology, comprising Letters to the Lost (2017) and More Than We Can Tell (2018), both published by Bloomsbury.
Her most widely known work is the Cursebreaker trilogy, a young adult fantasy series published by Bloomsbury. The trilogy includes A Curse So Dark and Lonely (2019), A Heart So Fierce and Broken (2020), and A Vow So Bold and Deadly (2021). A Curse So Dark and Lonely was a New York Times bestseller and was selected as a Junior Library Guild selection.
Kemmerer has also written the Defy the Night series, beginning with Defy the Night (2021), followed by Defend the Dawn (2022), both published by Bloomsbury. Her standalone novels include Call It What You Want (2019) and Thicker Than Water (2015).
Her books have been translated into multiple languages and have received recognition from the American Library Association and the Junior Library Guild. Letters to the Lost was a 2018 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection. A Curse So Dark and Lonely was nominated for the 2020 Carnegie Medal.
Kemmerer’s most recent publication is Destroy the Day (2024), the third book in the Defy the Night series.
Summer reading challenge – A good reading challenge will not only promote reading and encourage reading for pleasure, but it will encourage a reading culture to spread like a virus throughout your school.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Spring 2025. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Autumn 2022. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Autumn 2021. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
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Our latest reading national curriculum year group recommended reading lists:
Picture books for the under 5s | Books for Reception | Books for Year 1 | Books for Year 2 | Books for Year 3 | Books for Year 4 | Books for Year 5 | Books for Year 6 | Books for Year 7 | Books for Year 8 | Books for Year 9 | Books for Year 10 | Books for Year 11