Here's a rare treat. There is care and quality in all his books, and The Kissing Game is a smart, challenging collection that teenagers may find themselves reluctant to leave

Short stories are the perfect vehicle to capture the intensity of emotion experienced by teenagers on the brink of adulthood and there couldn't be a more rewarding and contemporary volume than this . . . Provocative and beautifully written, this little book packs a hefty punch

Chambers has never lost that adolescent vulnerability and openness [so] that, now in his seventies, he still writes stories in which reflective adolescents will surely discover themselves . . . Five stars

Aidan Chambers offers thought-provoking short stories for older readers in The Kissing Game. Playful or intriguing, each provides food for thought as he explores the nature of betrayal and revenge - wonderful stuff

Classy, thought-provoking, witty and always provocative

Witty dialogue and ordinary situations gone awry abound . . . The selections are perfectly readable by middle schoolers, but more meaningful discussion and deeper understanding will only come from teens with more life experience, and there's real potential for possible use in high school English classes

The variety of experimental formats, including scripts and letters, is refreshing, and teens will want to talk about the recurring themes of betrayal, violence, and shifting identities, and the fleeting moments of connection and mercy that can change a life's course

This collection from Chambers could be widely used in classrooms and on writing courses, particularly to inspire flash fiction

Thoughtful, challenging reading for teens on the cusp of adulthood

A charming novel, sensitively told

Refreshing and inspiring...it is a little gem and I loved it

An incredibly emotional read

A thrilling page-turner

This is a novel that strikes both horror and joy in the reader, the first-person narration deftly articulating Judith's escalating confusion and fear ... A talent to watch

A touching, delicate book, it's hitting the shelves with high hopes...On March 1, head out and buy Grace McCleen's book

A distinctive debut that pulls off the use of a child narrator in delightful style

Touching and funny… a compelling and wholly original debut.

Shimmers with little miracles.

This is a promisingly bold book and McCleen is a talent to watch

A gripping and mesmerizing debut of an unforgettable ten-year-old heroine and her battle with good and evil… A harrowing and powerful story about isolation and belonging

An original new voice... Haunting and absorbing, this is a joy to read

A seemingly slight work that is, in fact, possessed of almost infinite depth. It's an elegant inquiry into what we can know and how we can know it - and it's gripping too

It sets off a moving meditation on ageing, regret and the unreliability of memory

Has rightly been praised for its economy and elegance

Belatedly and deservedly, this was the year of Julian Barnes

Exquisitely written and deeply engaging

Elegant verbal exactness, analytic finesse and a witty portrayal of contemporary and 1960's life complement the intricate plot

A worthy Booker laureate of this or any other year, our most versatile novelist...a perfect present in these last days of the book as a singular object

A worthy winner of this year's Booker prize: short, but certainly not slight, precise and insightful

This novel packed more emotion into its 150 pages than any other I have read this year

Melancholic, suspenseful and thought-provoking

Several plot twists later, what started off as a thoughtful (and fascinating) meditation on memory becomes something close to a full blown thriller

Essential reading for any writer, aspiring or otherwise

A meditation on memory and regret slyly conveyed through the unreliable voice of a complacent man whose past gives him a nasty surprise

A deserving winner

Masterful, gripping and, above all, surprising

Barnes has always has an ear for the bleak comedy of the first person

Novel, fertile and memorable

Julian Barnes’ Man-Booker prize-winning novel has extraordinary power and emotional density

An eloquent meditation on relationships, emotional arrogance and the discomfort of remorse

The key to this slender, tantalizing mystery is on its opening page: what you end up remembering isn’t always the same as what you have witnessed

His art is artful, often openly so, but never showy or obvious

Described in Justin Cartwright’s review as 'a very fine book, skillfully plotted, boldly conceived’

I am eager to read it, though I hear it needs to be read twice to be fully appreciated