A new book from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize When Tom meets Spider, he thinks he has found a friend for life. But their friendship doesn't run smoothly; Spider can't help being a naughty puppy, while Tom has to deal with his parents' separation, the pressure of a new school and a bully's unwanted attention. But when Tom and Spider become separated, they learn that they are far braver and more determined than anyone cold have imagined. And in losing each other, they d...

In an unnamed Third World country, in the not-so-distant future, three “dumpsite boys” make a living picking through the mountains of garbage on the outskirts of a large city.One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds something very special and very mysterious. So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return. That decision brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all of their cunning and courage...

How would you feel if you woke up and found another head growing out of your neck? A living, breathing, TALKING head, with a rude, sharp tongue and an evil sense of humour. It knows all your darkest thoughts and it’s not afraid to say what it thinks . . . to ANYBODY.That's what happens to eleven-year-old Richard Westlake, and life becomes very, very complicated.Part thriller, part horror, part comedy – this is one of the most riveting novels about fear and friendship that y...

Tom Hollander stars as a washed-up TV actor brought in to turn around a failing academy by staging a school playNewly rebranded Deer Park Academy is struggling to turn itself around after being placed in special measures. Hoping to inspire the students (and tick the 'creative learning' box for the next Ofsted inspection), the headmaster decides to put on a production of Romeo and Juliet.But inspiration can be dangerous, and when has-been ex-TV star...

In an unnamed Third World country, in the not-so-distant future, three “dumpsite boys” make a living picking through the mountains of garbage on the outskirts of a large city.One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds something very special and very mysterious. So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return. That decision brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all of their cunning and courage ...

A terrorist doesn't let strangers in her flat because they might be undercover police or intelligence agents, but her children bring their mates home and they run all over the place.The terrorist doesn't know that a kid has bugged every room in her house, cloned the hard drive on her PC, and copied all the numbers in her phone book. The kid works for CHERUB.CHERUB agents are aged between ten and seventeen. They live in the real world, slipping under adult radar and getting ...

Eli and his family have lived in the Compound for six years.The world they knew is gone.Eli’s father built the Compound to keep them safe. Now, they can’t get out.He won’t let them.Dad asked me if I wanted to see more of the Compound.I didn’t. We would have to wait fifteen years before it would be safe to go outside. Which left more than enough time to see the rest of the Compound.Our new world.A world I would soon hate....

"A strong . . . trilogy, invoking just a little Harry Potter and Series of Unfortunate Events along the way."—Realms of FantasySiblings Kate, Michael, and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastatin...

When CHERUB kids go undercover, no one suspects that they are trained professionals, working to infiltrate criminal organisations that have eluded MI5 and the police for years.James Adams is on his biggest mission yet, working to nail Europe's most powerful cocaine dealer. He'll need all his specialist training if he's going to bring down the man at the top.The reason for CHERUB's existence is simple: adults never suspect that children are spying on them.CHERUB:...

Mackie is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess.He is a Replacement—left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world.Mackie would give anything to live among us. He just wants to play bass guitar and find out more abou...

An airliner explodes over the Atlantic leaving 345 people dead. Crash investigators suspect terrorism, but they're getting nowhere.A distressed twelve-year-old calls a police hotline and blames his father for the explosion. It could be a breakthrough, but there's no hard evidence and the boy has a history of violence and emotional problems.Only CHERUB agents can unearth the truth. They're trained professionals with one essential advantage: adults never suspect that children...

Leon is a small-time crook who's ridden his luck for three decades. When he starts splashing big money around, the cops are desperate to know where it came from.They call in CHERUB, a secret organisation with one essential advantage: even experienced criminals never suspect that children are spying on them.James' latest mission looks routine, but the plot he begins to unravel isn't what anyone expected. And the only person who might know the truth is a reclusive eighteen-ye...