Some time off work and school means there’s time to escape into a book. What’s On’s Books Club gives you some ideas for where to turn and the members of the Joydens Wood book, cheese and wine club give their suggestions for the perfect holiday read.

FOR YOU

The Fever by Megan Abbott

The Nashes are a close-knit family. Tom, a popular teacher, is father to the handsome, roguish Eli and his younger sister Deenie, serious and sweet. But their seeming stability is thrown into chaos when two of Deenie’s friends become violently ill and rumours of a dangerous outbreak sweep through the whole community. Tightly-held secrets emerge that threaten to unravel the world Tom has built for his kids and destroy friendships, families and the town’s fragile idea of security.

Kelly C says: “I think The Fever is a chilling story about guilt, family secrets and the lethal power of desire.”

Plan B by Emily Barr

A seemingly perfect couple with a young child plan a move from Brighton to rural France, but not all is as it seems with their relationship.

Trudy says: “This book has a great unexpected twist, both funny and sad, with the added bonus of being set in France to make you long for an easier, less complicated life. I really enjoyed it.”

Belle and The Promise, both by Lesley Pearse

Kelly M writes: Fifteen- year-old Belle has lived in a brothel in Seven Dials all her life with no understanding of what happens in the rooms upstairs. But her innocence is shattered when she witnesses the murder of one of the girls and, subsequently snatched from the streets by the killer, she is sold into prostitution in Paris. No longer mistress of her own fate, Belle is blown across the globe to sensuous New Orleans, where she comes of age and learns to enjoy life as a courtesan. Armed only with resourcefulness and spirit, she has a long and dangerous journey ahead of her.

In The Promise, Belle Reilly finally has the life she’s dreamed of thanks to a devoted husband in Jimmy and the hat shop she’s wanted to own since she was a child. But as the storm clouds of the First World War begin to gather, Belle’s already turbulent life is to change in ways she never imagined possible.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Natalie S says: “I’m currently reading this. It’s about a girl who becomes a carer for a quadriplegic, and it’s about her trying to change his perception in life, but it seems he is doing the same for her.”

Kent's literary festivals

FOR YOUNG READERS

Two voices weave together this story of loss and division in Australia in The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon. On one side of a metal fence there’s Rohingyan refugee Subhi, who has spent his entire short life in a camp with his mother and sister; and on the other, Jimmie, who, since her own mother’s death spends her days careering about, hoping her brother will buy her a bike.

With a fence at its centre, it’s no wonder The Bone Sparrow is already drawing comparisons with The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. The language captures the children’s confusion, their hope mixed with worry over their families and dreams of freedom (physical freedom for Subhi and the imaginative freedom to read for Jimmie), with nuance, heightened by their naivete, and the novel doesn’t flounder in abject misery when it easily could. However, there are scenes so upsetting you are less gripped than you are desperate to set it aside for a breather. There’s a particularly nasty incident with a rat that leaves your heart a little more broken than before. Cleverly imagined and very affecting, getting to the end is just a bit of a struggle.

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon is published in hardback by Orion Children’s Books, priced £12.99 (eBook £6.99)

FOR LITTLE ONES

Fond childhood memories of her parent’s country garden in Kent prompted Lucy Sands to put pen to paper for a children’s book.It was while living in Australia for two years that Lucy Sands was inspired by the thought of her childhood in the county and the garden she grew up playing in for her book HECK! Here’s the Heron!

After returning home to Maidstone, and the arrival of a new baby, she created the Grandma’s Garden collection of picture books for young children.

HECK! Here’s the Heron! is the first of three books in the series, and tells the humorous tale of a bird who is feeding on the inhabitants of a pond one by one.

The other animals hatch plans to stop them being eaten – but will they work?
With illustrations by Davina Rayfield, it has rhyming text which is fun to read aloud, some peril and sadness and problem solving.

It also emphasises the importance of teamwork and standing up for your friends.
HECK! Here’s the Heron! is published by Peachy Pie Publishing and costs £6.99 in paperback or £1.99 on ebook.