TBOOKS - TEENAGE LITERATURE

There he was, below the bridge, half-naked and eyes blazing - with a pair of burning torches. It's Autumn and the winds of change are blowing for Bobby Burns. His new school is a frightening place, World War III might be imminent, and then there's the strange fire eater - a devil called McNulty.

A version of Macbeth, transposed to the football field, MacB, with the help of his friend Banksie, plans to supplant Duncan King as the star striker. A nasty accident puts Duncan out of the game and gives MacB his chance, but Banksie is suspicious.

Catherine is a typical A-grade student from a middle class, high- achieving family, who suddenly, on entering the sixth form, loses her way. She stumbles from one situation to another, unable to work and turning to alcohol to take her mind off her problems. As she searches for answers through the varied and off-beat characters she meets, she learns a great many truths about life. Can she cope with the biggest truth of all - her own personality? Written in the first person, each chapter is addressed to someone different in Catherine's life - her mother, a teacher, a schoolfriend etc, and reflects how Catherine is different to different people. It brilliantly reflects the pressures on young people today in a world where they haven't got the time to grow up at their own pace. Is the face we present to the world our true self, or a carefully maintained construct?

Swept off by her mum to live in Birmingham, Carmen finds her old life disappearing. She wonders what would happen if she were thin but then wonders if that could ever happen after so many failed diets. A sensitive examination of the relationship that some teenagers develop with food.

Matthew Burton's life has been fine until his American cousin crash-lands into it. Sam was only ever a distant rumour, a hippy kid who travelled the States with his wacky mother. Now he's an orphan, dumped suddenly on the Burton's doorstep and becomes a weapon in a school war between boys and girls.

The eagerly awaited first novel from one of the UK's finest poets. Joy has spent her life with her grandmother in Jamaica, steeped in Jamaican culture, sunshine and traditions. Until the day her dream comes true: Joy's mother, who moved to England when Joy was a baby, writes to say that she's ready for her daughter to come and join her. Joy can hardly contain her excitement. Packing, saying goodbye to all she has loved and the journey all add to it. But London in December is a shock. It's cold and dark and unfriendly. Even so, it's nothing to the shock that awaits when she goes to live with her mother...

Midget is fifteen and three foot tall. Trapped in a body he hates, Midget is tortured by his cruel older brother Seb. His father is kind but unaware of Seb's treatment of Midget. But Midget can sail and his dream is to sail his own boat. Everyone says it'll take a miracle, but that's when Midget starts to realise that he has a special power. He can make things happen. But in the process people get hurt - including his brother Seb. Through this crisis, the brothers find a new understanding.

In the year 2200 London is in ruins and in the hands of two warring families. Treachery and terror reigns as the families are decimated but Silvia and a cat, a shape-changer take revenge.

During the summer of his sixteenth birthday, Hal reaches a crossroads of choices in his life. He foolishly takes out a friend's boat for a day's sailing off Southend, gets into difficulties and is rescued by Barry. Their ensuing relationship brings Hal the intense emotions of his first teenage love.

Dex is a rock star of the moment. Jay is the music journalist who falls in love with him. She becomes used to his anger, splits with bands, and his occasional disappearances. And then Dex disappears permanentley. He vanishes into thin air. Jay is devastated, and then just when she's beginning to start a new life for herself, a reliable source tells says Dex has been seen. Jay embarks on a quest to track down the truth and in the process finds out more about Dex than she could ever have imagined.