Just Annoying!
Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton
(Macmillan)

Price: £3.99

Age: 8-11 yrs

It wouldn't be risking much to say that this is not a book to attract literary prizes, but it should go down a storm with selected members of the class. Festooned with puerile cartoons, most of which have only the faintest of connections with the text, these nine accessible stories encapsulate the most irritating aspects of early adolescence - the bits of which grown-ups despair. Andy and his friends have developed being annoying into an art form, but by the end you're strangely fond of the boy. He's not bad, just wayward. And, of course, it's never his fault.

Feeling Sorry for Celia
Jaclyn Moriarty
(Macmillan)

Price: £4.99

Age: 11+

This hectic narrative stir-fry combines letters (imaginary and real) between friends, parents, and the parents of friends; bossy messages stuck to refrigerators; the paranoia of adolescence; moderate hysteria accompanying first love; and the edgy realisation that adults don't always know best. There are several strong plotlines, driven by the larger-than-life personalities who characterise so much Australian fiction for young people. Katherine, plagued by insecurities and a mother who is happiest communicating in capital letters, is at the heart of the action. This book celebrates eccentricity, while gently illuminating its pitfalls.