Readers aged around eight to twelve have been fortunate this year with a bumper crop of great new novels this year. Established authors have continued to delight us with stories full of memorable characters, exciting plots and meaningful and relevant themes. Debut writers this year have given us fresh ideas and new ways to express them. All told here is a list covering almost every imaginable situation, humourous, serious and in between. Each title deserves to be on some lucky child’s bookshelf.