There are 12 books in the Westwood Reading Challenge 2024.

Dread Wood

By Jennifer Killick

It's basically the worst school detention ever. When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school on a SATURDAY, they think things can't get much worse. But they're wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary. What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute . . .? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang's only hope is to work together. But it's no coincidence that they're all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge...

The Secret Sunshine Project

By Benjamin Dean

When Bea’s big sister, Riley, plucks up the courage to tell Mum and Dad that she likes girls, Dad has the best idea. He takes them all to London Pride where, amidst a dazzle of rainbows, glitter and confetti, Riley feels she has found her tribe. But that was last year, when Dad was still with them. Things are different now; they can’t afford to stay in their home and have no choice but to move to the countryside and stay with Gran. At least for the summer. While Bea quickly makes new friends, Riley is living under a cloud; she’s missing Dad, and Pride, and can’t feel positive about anything. Until Bea has a radical idea: if Riley can’t go to Pride, Bea will bring Pride to her.

Swan Song

By Gill Lewis

Dylan feels weighed down by the pressure of secondary school and is almost relieved when he is expelled for punching a classmate. He and mum go to stay with Grandad in a small Welsh fishing village, where there is nothing to do and everyone seems to know all about him. When Dylan reluctantly agrees to go out on his grandfather’s boat, he is surprised by how much he enjoys it. Over time, Dylan finds comfort in the beauty and tranquillity of nature and begins to find his way again. He is particularly entranced by the arrival of whooper swans from Iceland for the winter, so is devasted when their feeding ground is threatened, but feels helpless to save the birds he has grown to love.

Rise of the School for Good and Evil

By Soman Chainani

The battle between Good and Evil begins. Go back in time to the beginning of the School for Good and Evil and uncover the never-before-told events leading up to Sophie and Agatha’s dramatic arrival and the beginning of their epic fairy tale. Two brothers. One Good. One Evil. Together, they watch over the Endless Woods. Together, they choose the students for the School for Good and Evil. Together they train them, teach them, prepare them for their fate. Then, something happens. Something that will change everything and everyone. Who will survive? Who will rule the School? The journey starts here. With magic, surprises and daring deeds at every turn, courage and loyalty will be put to the test, only to lead you to the very beginning of the adventures that are The School for Good and Evil.

Kay’s Marvellous Medicine

By Adam Kay

The olden days were pretty fun if you liked wearing chainmail or chopping people's heads off but there was one TINY LITTLE problem back then . . . doctors didn't have the slightest clue about how our bodies worked. It's time to find out why Ancient Egyptians thought the brain was just a useless load of old stuffing that might as well be chucked in the bin, why teachers forced their pupils to smoke cigarettes, why hairdressers would cut off their customers' legs, and why people used to get paid for farting. (Unfortunately that's no longer a thing - sorry.) You'll get answers to questions like: Why did patients gargle with wee? How did a doctor save people's lives using a washing machine, a can of beans and some old sausages? What was the great stink? (No, it's not what doctors call your bum.) If you're sure you're ready, then pop a peg on your nose (there was a lot of stinky pus back then), pull on your wellies (there was a lot of poo there too), wash your hands (because they certainly didn't) and explore this gross and gruesome history of the human body!

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun

By Tola Okogwu

Onyeka has a lot of hair­—the kind that makes strangers stop in the street and her peers whisper behind her back. At least she has Cheyenne, her best friend, who couldn’t care less what other people think. Still, Onyeka has always felt insecure about her vibrant curls…until the day Cheyenne almost drowns and Onyeka’s hair takes on a life of its own, inexplicably pulling Cheyenne from the water. At home, Onyeka’s mother tells her the shocking Onyeka’s psychokinetic powers make her a Solari, one of a secret group of people with superpowers unique to Nigeria. Her mother quickly whisks her off to the Academy of the Sun, a school in Nigeria where Solari are trained. But Onyeka and her new friends at the academy soon have to put their powers to the test as they find themselves embroiled in a momentous battle between truth and lies…

Can You Feel the Noise?

By Stewart Foster

Although Sophie has been experiencing gradual hearing loss for a while, it’s still a big shock when she wakes up one morning to find she is now deaf. Everything feels strange, her days are filled with hospital appointments, and conversations are limited to what she can lip-read. And what will this mean for her musical ambitions – and the upcoming Battle of the Bands competition she was so excited to be part of? Now Sophie must find a way to overcome her instinct to hide away from the world, and instead figure out a new equilibrium, especially amongst her friends and bandmates, some of whom are better at understanding the new challenges she’s facing than others are. When she meets another deaf musician, Sophie learns to experience music in a whole new way. Perhaps there is still a place for her in the band after all?

Our Sister, Again

By Sophie Cameron

On a small island off the Scottish coast, Isla and her family are grieving the loss of her older sister Flora, who died three years ago. Then they're offered the chance to be part of a top-secret trial, which revives loved ones as fully lifelike AI robots using their digital footprint. Isla has her doubts about Second Chances, but they evaporate the moment the 'new' Flora arrives. This girl is not some uncanny close likeness; she is Flora - a perfect replica. But not everyone on their island feels the same. And as the threats to Flora mount, she grows distant and more secretive. Will Isla be able to protect the new Flora and bring the community back together?