Good Reads: London Academy of Excellence Tottenham
This issue’s Good Reads recommendations are provided by students at the London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham.
London Academy of Excellence Tottenham is an academically selective 16-19 free school which opened as part of the redevelopment of White Hart Lane in September 2017. LAET develops confident learners who achieve top A Level grades and access top universities or degree apprenticeships. LAET ranks in the top 2% of state schools for attainment and global top 1/3 university progression. Strong links with Highgate School, Tottenham Hotspur, and other partners provide students with enriched opportunities, including careers support, co-curricular activities, personal development, mental health support, and academic coaching.
Thank you to them, to their teacher, Melanie Socrates, and to Angie Smith of Creativity Unleashed for their help.
Tomi Adeyemi, Macmillan, 978-1509871353, £9.99 pbk
When I picked up Children of Blood and Bone, I was immediately hooked by its rich use of West African mythology, a rarity in fantasy that resonated with me, especially as a Nigerian. From the start, the world-building and vivid language completely drew me in, creating a setting that feels magical yet familiar.
The strong, fierce women at the heart of this story face adversity head-on, and that’s what makes this book shine. Our main character, Zélie, is not only tough but also wounded and immature, adding layers of realism that tug at your emotions in unexpected ways. Her journey is intense, filled with moments that make you cheer for her and moments that break your heart.
And let’s talk about the romance – it’s the perfect subplot to keep you turning pages late into the night! It’s so well-done that you become absolutely obsessed with the characters’ chemistry from the very beginning. I couldn’t put it down.
But don’t be fooled, this book isn’t afraid to make you suffer. It plays with your emotions, lures you into moments of hope, and then shatters them just as quickly. I lost count of how many times I gasped and yelled due to the emotional rollercoaster it took me on. Moreover, the addition of morally grey and complex characters adds a profound depth to this book.
Behind this amazing story, there is a dark truth which is the oppression faced by real people every day. While the book pulls you into a mystical world, it also reminds you of the struggles and injustices that real people endure. It serves as both a wake-up call and an eye-opener to the evils present in humanity making its narrative not only fantastical but relevant.
That said, the pacing isn’t for everyone. If you love fast-paced reads, this one might feel a bit slow at times, but the depth of the story more than makes up for it. Overall, Children of Blood and Bone offers a fresh, exciting twist on the usual Young Adult fantasy trope, whilst blending romance, magic, and mythology in a way that feels both new and captivating. Laura
Ace of Spades
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Usborne, 978-1474967532, £8.99 pbkAce of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is a thrilling blend of mystery, social commentary, and psychological suspense. It follows Devon and Chiamaka, the only Black students at an elite private school, who are targeted by a mysterious bully called “Aces.” As their secrets are exposed, they uncover something much darker and more dangerous. Devon and Chiamaka are compelling protagonists, each facing their own struggles—Devon with his sexuality and financial instability, and Chiamaka with the pressures of being a perfect overachiever. Their voices are distinct, making the reader root for them as they fight against oppressive forces. The book explores how systematic racism can be disguised in seemingly welcoming places, and it left me reflecting on real-world issues of privilege and power. I was hooked by the suspense, but what stayed with me was how real the story felt. It made me reflect on issues of privilege and power in the real world. I recommend Ace of Spades if you enjoy thrilling mysteries that explore racism, privilege, and identity, all while delivering suspense and unexpected twists. Omolayomi
The Power
Naomi Alderman, Penguin, 978-0670919963, £9.99 pbk
The Power by Naomi Alderman is a provocative and thought-provoking exploration of gender, power, and societal structures. Set in a world where women suddenly gain the ability to generate electric shocks, the novel offers a fascinating twist on traditional gender dynamics, flipping the script on patriarchal power. The central feminist theme — examining how power, when wielded by women, changes not just personal relationships but entire social systems — is compelling and timely. Alderman does an excellent job of showing the complexities and potential dangers of power. As women begin to dominate, the world shifts, revealing how deeply entrenched power imbalances are and how quickly systems of oppression can be reversed. The novel succeeds in illustrating that power itself, beyond gender, is ultimately corrupting and dehumanising. The exploration of power as an intrinsic force is both chilling and insightful.
While the feminist angle is undoubtedly strong, The Power sometimes feels a bit heavy-handed in its critique. The characters, though diverse in their experiences and responses to newfound power, can occasionally come across as archetypes rather than fully fleshed-out individuals. That said, Alderman’s world-building is vivid, and the thought-provoking questions the novel raises about gender, society, and power will resonate with readers long after the final page. It’s a bold and original take on feminism, and while it may not fully hit every mark, The Power is an engaging and necessary conversation starter about the future of gender equality and social justice. Jennifer
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong, Vintage, 978-1529110685, £9.99pbk
Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous presents a semi-autobiographical, melancholic account of the narrator’s youth. It contains a powerful message about hope, which persists for the narrator Little Dog despite the despondency arising from the constant discrimination he experiences due to his intersectional identity. It both beautifully shapes Vuong’s experience as an immigrant in America and the queer experience, as felt within the opioid crisis of the 1990s that claimed thousands of lives at the time and was prevalent within the gay, working-class community in Hartford, Connecticut that surrounded Little Dog.
The syntax, specifically the disintegration of verse into poetry during exceptionally difficult parts of the novel, is used skilfully. Written with tenderness about a narrative that is so often spoken over and erased, this novel is a devastatingly beautiful read that lingers and haunts its reader. Described by Vuong as a ‘phantom novel’, it provides insight into multiple worlds: the personal history of his family in Vietnam together with poignant, specific memories of his childhood in America.
Perhaps, though, the most intriguing and heart-breaking element of this novel rests in its narrative structure. Written as an epistolary novel addressed to Little Dog’s illiterate mother, Vuong ultimately creates an anguished echo of the inevitable lack of understanding between the protagonist and his mother Eilidh
Daydream and Drunkenness of a Young Lady
Clarice Lispector, Penguin Classics, 978-0241337608, £3.00
In this novella, Clarice Lispector tells the story of an unnamed woman whose simple life as a wife and mother shifts after an encounter with a blind man in the street. She sinks into a realisation that life is underpinned by emptiness, revealing her deep desire for lost experiences and a sense of satisfaction in life, all in just 49 short pages.
The protagonist’s epiphany that life can create pain and suffering calls her to realise that her own life is dull. She tells her children of the evils of life, calling on the reader to see her destroyed emotional being as something destructive to her and her family (those she is responsible to reward with maternal love as her only role in her life), yet strangely liberating. The protagonist communicates this theme of liberation through her confessed profound, yet seemingly falsified, love for the blind man, with whom she has created an imagined relationship with. Though the character is labelled as a drunk in the title, and while there are a few mentions of her drinking, it does not appear excessive, nor as if it is something she relies upon.
The narrative is structured into three chapters (‘Daydream and drunkenness of a young Lady’, ‘Love’ & ‘Family Ties’) which provide us with different lenses and insights into the narratives of other characters and the way they all impact each other. ‘Daydream and drunkenness of a young lady’ and ‘Love’ surrounds the protagonist and her epiphany, while in ‘Family Ties’, we learn more about the protagonist’s family life and the role her husband plays in relation to her consistent discomfort with her marital role.
I loved reading about the protagonist’s realisation of the futility of her life within her role in each of these separate spheres. It felt to me as though Lispector’s main point was intended to be the protagonist’s awakening to all she has missed out on as a woman in our modern society. I also appreciated her seemingly snobbish middle-class take on the blind man’s suffering being more dramatic than it was, allowing for a communication of her privilege in her class in comparison to her suffering in her gender.
This short book is quickly beautiful and can be enjoyed in one sitting; the vivid descriptions of a woman’s role in life as an entity of disappointment and lost experiences was something I felt an immediate connection with as a woman living in a patriarchal society. I highly recommend this novella for a quick and interesting read – both to girls who are looking for their place in society, but also to boys who might help unravel the patriarchy through more progressive feelings of women’s roles in society. Eva
Letters to My Weird Sisters
Joanne Limburg, Atlantic Books, 978-1838950071, £10.99 pbk
In her memoir, Joanne Limburg tackles the experience of being diagnosed with autism at a later stage in her life. Written as a series of essays presented as letters to four historical women, this book highlights the autistic experience and particularly how it presents itself in women and girls. At the same time that Limburg works through her own journey to understand her diagnosis, she gives readers an exciting opportunity to view historical female figures through a new, sympathetic lens.
I love this book because of how it addresses both autism and feminism, drawing parallels to how women were treated, or rather mistreated, throughout history and continue to be in the modern day. It is a wonderful read if you want to discover more about autistic people beyond the mainstream, often stereotypical and hurtful depiction generated by the media.
Limburg structures the book in the epistolary format, as four distinct letters, each addressing a female historical figure who seems to have demonstrated several autistic traits in the records we have of them. These include: Virginia Woolf, Adelheid Bloch, Frau V, and Katharina Kepler. In the letters, topics such as autistic parenting, social isolation and feminism are discussed. Limburg uses her writing to help process her own experience of being diagnosed with autism so late, considering how this has influenced her own parenting style. All of her addressees experienced a sense of marginalisation or othering because of their differences being misunderstood. As women and girls still struggle to get diagnosed with autism and access the support they need while in the education system, I believe it is a really important text to highlight and encourage everyone to read it.
Even if readers themselves are not girls, or indeed autistic, the book will enable them to understand better, and perhaps have more empathy and support, for those who are. Eva
The Song of Achilles
Madeline Miller, Bloomsbury, 9781408891384, £9.99 pbk
Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles retells the tragic, sincerely beautiful story of one of Greece’s greatest warriors from the perspective of his dearest companion: Patroclus. With a uniquely romantic portrayal of these protagonists, Miller guides the reader through their journey, sacrifices, and near-tangible connection to each other. Theirs is a relationship conceived of a violent past, and further catalysed by the violence they are still required to face.
Achilles and Patroclus, through their respective meeting, banishments, hardships, and eventually the Trojan War, are united by the being that is their love. They are shown to grasp firmly towards the other through tragedy, while simultaneously providing light through each other, toward each other, and for each other.
A profound retelling of the Trojan War, this novel evokes laughter, heartbreak, joy and despair. Madeline Miller presents a stunning narrative of what it means to love, belong, and be truly devoted to another using immaculately-crafted language and a storyline it’s impossible not to become entirely invested in. Kay
