Emails, texts, diary entries and blog posts combine to tell the story of Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson (Chronicle Books, £11.99). Gena and Finn are (female) fans of the TV programme Up Below - Gena posts fanfic and Finn illustrates (sadly we do not see her drawings - graphic sections would have added to the bold narrative mix). The pair meet online and, as they become closer, the drama of their own lives overtakes their fiction. The authors are skilful in building up a sense of the fictional TV programme's plot, continuing behind the scenes - although eventually TV intrudes into the characters' "real" life, with devastating effect. Ages 15 to adult (some swearing).
It is early 1945 and the Soviet army is closing in on Germany. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (Penguin, £7.99) is an unusual wartime escape story, in that it focuses on the journey of non-Jewish refugees from eastern Europe who are hoping to reach an oversubscribed ship and sail out of Stalin's grasp. The varied group of travellers ranges from medically trained youngster Joana, a Lithuanian with a guilty secret, to "the shoe poet", an old man with a passionate belief in the link between well-fitting shoes and survival. Sepetys is judicious in her use of historical detail. Age 14 up (distressing episodes).
"It was a square world. You had to be square to be there." Irresistible scene-setting lines from Simon Frank's I am Squarehead (Squareworld, £5.99). But what if you live in this world and you have a round thought? This fable about daring to be different is illustrated by Margit Mulder and published in a small-hands-friendly format, with similar appeal to that of the Mr Men books. Also available is the sequel, Hairy Scary's Bad Day. Age five to nine.
Shabbat is the theme of two brightly illustrated board books from Kar-Ben (£4 each). One Fine Shabbat by Chris Barash is a rhyming tale of a family day out in the countryside; Shh… Shh… Shabbat by Linda Elovitz Marshall contrasts a week of noisy city experiences with the calm of the Sabbath. Under-fives will enjoy Eugenia Golubeva's bright colours, smiley images and the simple but satisfying structure of the stories.
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