My RE teacher relished moral dilemmas. She’d take a Commandment, thou shalt not kill, or thou shalt not bear false witness, say, and then question us to explore their outer limits. Would you murder one person to save the lives of many? Would you lie to hide a painful truth? Faith Sunderly, the teenage heroine … More The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
Some years ago I spent two terms teaching English at a girls’ grammar school and during that time I tried as best I could to encourage my students to read for pleasure. At the start of one lesson with a group of Year 7s (that’s 1st year seniors in old money, so 11 and 12 … More His Dark Materials Trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
I never read this classic as a child and was prompted to rectify the omission by an extract in the Autumn 2011 edition of The Reader magazine. That, and the fact it was Christmas. Looking back, I’m not sure what train of thought led me associate pirates and a desert island treasure hunt with a ‘Christmassy’ read – unless it … More Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
whatcathyread 