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This is a very contemporary, humorous novel about the cross-cultural conflicts felt by many young people today. Set partly in the UK and partly in the Punjab region of India, (Un)arranged Marriage is a perceptive look at a young man's fight to free himself from family expectations and an arranged marriage he doesn't want:

(Un)arranged Marriage follows teenager Manny as he struggles to maintain his links to his family and live his own life. On the morning of his marriage, which also happens to be the morning of his 17th birthday, Manny looks back on his rebellious teenage years. From the age of 13 he has found that the values of the Leicester Punjabi community from which he comes have little relevance to him. He has nothing in common with his brothers or parents. Manny's older brothers appear to him to glory in their ignorance while his father is a hypocritical, violent drunk. His mother is a remote figure who appears only to ask what he wants to eat or to cry hysterically at his disobedience. Knowing that he is expected to follow the same path as his brothers into an arranged marriage at the age of seventeen and a blue collar job, Manny makes the decision to try to make himself the most unsuitable suitor possible, the bridegroom that no-one will choose for their daughter. Finally though, it is a family trip to India which sets Manny's mind on the course he had always suspected that he would have to take. The characters inhabit an unsentimental, realistic world, a world where kids often don't try quite hard enough at school and families cannot bridge the huge generation gaps between them. Manny's complete alienation from the Punjabi culture which his family are trying so hard to preserve is skillfully pictured here. The culture that Manny inherited is completely eclipsed as he embraces the Western culture he finds everywhere outside his home and which offers him the choices he desperately wants. Author: Bali Rai (272 pages)
Level: 9. kl.+/C/Linjefag

Fungerer glimrende i klassen! Martha is 12, and very different from other children. Her parents are strict members of a religious group and their rules dominate her life. The tale focuses on the rights of a child and child abuse.” Marthas og Scotts verdener krydser hinanden. Martha har en mystisk og skræmmende fremtoning og Scott er draget af hende. Martha er undertrykt – Scott er beskyttet. Bogen er bygget op over kontrasterne mellem dem. Bogens styrke er en massiv spænding og de vigtige temaer. God som pensumbog til 9. klasse. Author: Robert Swindells, (202 pages)
Level: 9.-10. klasse

En historisk roman med lidt fantasy over den. En historie om riddertiden som efterlader mange gode spørgsmål til overvejelse. Du er med i historien med det samme og bliver drevet frem af handlingen. Delt op i afsnit, som eventuelt kunne læses hver for sig. Pæn og luftig typografi. Author: Michael Morpurgo. (234 pages)
Level: 8. klasse

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If you're 18, love Beckham and can bend a ball like him, the world's your oyster right? Wrong. If you're Jess – 18, Indian and a girl – you can forget it. Her wedding-obsessed parents have quite different ideas for her. But Jess joins a ladies football team and gets spotted by a talent scout." This is a book that will appeal to both girls and boys. It is the entertaining and inspiring story of a girl who is determined to follow her dream. It also deals with serious matters, such as the culture clashes that many young Asians have to live with. Author: Narinder Dhami. (167 pages)
Level: 8.-9. klasse.

• Directed by: Gurinder Chada
• Starring: Parminder K. Nagra and Keira Knightley
• Running time: 113 minutes
• Widescreen
• Extras: featurette etc.

A thriller set in a terrifying future (not very many years from now) where state corruption, mind control and public hangings in Trafalgar Square can cause even the most unlikely person to commit the worst of crimes:

“I am on the run. The police are chasing me because they think I'm a terrorist. The trouble all began when my Dad, who's a bookseller, hid a writer called Omar Shakir in our house.
Omar wrote a book you may have heard of but won't have read. It's called The Exploded. It inspired a terrorist attack on London.
That's why it's a BANNED book. We live in dangerous times. Lots of books are banned now: Harry Potter, Alex Rider, James Bond.
If you're caught reading one, you could go to jail. The state says books and films and computer games have to be nice and happy, so they don't inspire teenagers to commit violent crime or terrorism. I thought they were wrong.
I thought, how much harm can a book do? Then I read one. Now I'm about to commit murder. Now I know better. Books are dangerous.”
Author: Sam Mills. (295 pages)
Level: 9.-10. kl

From Barrington Skoke's series written by well-known authors for reluctant readers. Well suited for giving pupils at 8.kl.+, who can't manage a whole novel, a taste of authentic literature.
“‘Stay away from Toxon!’ That's what they tell Rich. They tell him about the Blade too, and what it can do to you. But Rich is in the wrong place at the wrong time.” By Chris Powling.
Level: 8.-10.kl.

Four short stories about World War II and its effect on the lives of children.” Historier om børn i en ekstraordinær situation, hvor de møder frygt, spænding, og voksne som er ude af stand til at klare deres normale roller. Historierne er korte og overskuelige og har en autentisk spænding i sig. God som fællesbog til novellearbejde – også artikel-skrivning og dagbogsskrivning. (80 pages)
Level: 7.-8. klasse

A heartbreaking story that unflinchingly tackles hard-hitting issues such as bullying, alcoholism and family breakdown:
It all started when Gramma died. And then Jonathan and Julie had only apples for dinner. Apples, an alcoholic mother, and one big bruise on Julie's face. Jonathan had no choice but to pack their schoolbags and run away, far from Ma ... Until the police catch up with them to take Julie away and lock up Jono. And through his questioning, Jonathan must finally confront the real truth. A powerful tale of one boy's mission to protect his younger sister ... no matter what the cost. Author: Siobhan Parkinson (the first ever Irish Children's Laureate). (208 pages)
Level: 9.-10 klasse/HF/C

Sample Chapter

Buddy has a hopeless father who is an aging rocker, interested only in Elvis and bikes, and living on the fringes of the under-world. When Buddy’s mum walks out, the two manage to strike up some kind of relationship – until Buddy realizes that his dad is involved in something more serious than he suspected. A moving, totally convincing account of a boy’s faltering relationship with his father. Author: Nigel Hinton. (194 pages)
Level: 8-9. kl

A story about the powerful fascination of the dangerous and unnatural — and of the obligations of friendship. Darren goes to a banned freak show with his best mate Steve. It's the Cirque du Freak where weird, frightening half human/half animals appear. Darren falls for an enormous tarantula and decides to steal it. But the spider bites Steve and Darren has to sell his soul to an evil vampire to get the antidote for Steve. Something out of the ordinary is set against the realistic background of children's normal lives to chilling effect! Author: Darren Shan. (185 pages)
Level: 8-9. klasse

Georgia Tate never knew her mother, and what she knows of her father from their one holiday together isn't good. Her grandparents have raised her from babyhood, so Georgia is crushed when her beloved grandmother Nana suddenly dies and her grandfather sends her to live with her father in Florida. Georgia's father should never have been allowed to look after chiildren. But this story is about more than just the abuse Georgia experiences; it is a book about the value of family, the mercy of strangers, and the possibility of healing. Author: Gigi Amateu. An easy to read book that is hard to put down and has a serious message for young people. (202 pages)
Level: 9. kl+/Frilæsning

At the start of his school holidays, Danny Delaney is looking forward to a trouble-free summer. But when his mother returns home one afternoon, flanked by two policemen, he knows that something terrible has happened. Mrs Delaney has accidentally hit a small boy with her car. The boy is in a coma at the local hospital and nobody knows if he will ever wake up. Consumed by guilt, Danny's mother closes herself off, while Danny and his father are left to pick up the pieces of their fractured family. A funny, touching and poignant story — told from the point of view of a twelve-year-old boy, The Dare is a compelling book about how one moment can change a family forever. Author: John Boyne (“The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”). (103 pages)
Level: C-D/9.-10.kl (1.g/1.HF)

For the past few years Roddy Doyle has been writing stories for “Metro Eireann”, a newspaper started by, and aimed at, immigrants to Ireland. Each of the stories takes a new slant on the immigrant experience, something of increasing relevance in today's Ireland. The stories range from Guess Who's Coming to the Dinner, where a father who prides himself on his open-mindedness when his daughters talk about sex, is forced to confront his feelings when one of them brings home a black fella, to a terrifying ghost story, The Pram, in which a Polish nanny grows impatient with her charge’s older sisters and decides — in a phrase she has learnt — to ‘scare them shitless’. Most of the stories are very funny — in 57 percent Irish Ray Brady tries to devise a test of Irishness by measuring reactions to Robbie Keane’s goal against Germany in the 2002 World Cup, Riverdance and ‘Danny Boy’ — others are deeply moving. And best of all, in the title story itself, Jimmy Rabbitte, the man who formed The Commitments, decides it's time to find a new band, and this time no White Irish need apply! Multicultural to a fault, The Deportees specialise not in soul music this time, but the songs of Woody Guthrie. Author: Roddy Doyle. (242 pages)
Level: For use from 10.kl./beginning of the gymnasium

Series: Classified (“You can't hide the truth forever”) — investigations of the greatest unsolved mysteries of recent times throuh a combination of fiction and factual information:
On 2 July 1947 something strange crashed in the New Mexican Desert. Was it an alien spaceship? Or a secret military test craft? What exactly were the US army and the FBI trying to cover up? Trainee FBI Agent John Smith is sent to reinvestigate the Roswell case as his final training exercise. But when he talks to the last surviving eyewitness of the Roswell crash, his life begins to take a direction even an experienced officer such as himself has trouble dealing with. (this section: 46 pages)
Factual information files follow the main story, including biographies, witness statements and debriefings — these allow pupils to make up their own mind about the event. (this section: 43 pages)
Level: 9.-10. kl.

Divisions between Protestants and Catholics remain a significant problem in Glasgow today.  This book tells the story of two teenage boys — one Catholic, one Protestant — who become friends when they play on the same football team, even though they support opposing teams themselves:
A young man lies bleeding in the street. It could be any street, in any city. But it's not. It's Glasgow. And it's May — the marching season. The Protestant Orange Walks have begun. Graham doesn't want to get involved. He just wants to play football with his new mate, Joe. But when he witnesses a shocking moment of violence, suddenly he and Joe are involved — with Catholics and Protestants, a young Muslim asylum-seeker and his girlfriend, and all the old rivalries, and fears. This is a gripping tale about two boys, who must find their own answers — and their own way forward — in a world divided by differences. Author: Theresa Breslin. (230 pages)
Level: 9.-10. kl/1.g/Frilæsning

Et modstykke til Bend it Like Beckham. Vi følger Baljit, en Sikh dreng i England og hans daglige problemer — piger, racefordomme og hans forældres kvælende forventninger. Baljit har en stor drøm og et stort talent: fodbold. Drømmen bliver mere og mere alvorlig og Baljit tør ikke dele den med sine forældre. Men nu kan han ikke holde den hemmelig længere. Hvordan vil de reagere? Author: Bali Rai (82 pages)
Level: 8. kl.+

This is a sassy and entertaining illustrated novel. Having celebrity parents isn't as hot as it sounds. There's money to burn, fame and some totally smoking guys. But when your dad's more interested in blazing a trail to the top of the charts than why you got kicked out of school, again (and your step-mother tortures you with “attention and kindness'), it can make you seriously angry ... and even lead to  pyromania — “an excessive enthusiasm for fire”. Ember is sarcastic, flippant, somewhat socially awkward with a biting line in dialogue and a serious attitude problem. She makes a very believable central character and the way she handles her family's fame and fortune is true to life. The illustrations blend with the writing to make this an appealing and totally original tale. (232 pages)
Level: 8.-10. klasse

En glimrende bog! “Martin is popular, handsome and an ace-gymnast, but then his life is completely changed when his face is badly scarred in a joyriding accident. Martin is forced to face up to other people's reactions to his terrible injuries – and reassess his life.” Fint oplæg til diskussion om ydre/indre. Author: Benjamin Sephania. (200 pages)
Level: 9. klasse

There is no hell like a man-made one ... It is an island that doesn't appear on any maps. A secret location where classified experiments have been conducted. Experiments that have gone terribly wrong ... When all contact with this mystery island is inexplicably lost, four crack special-forces units are brought in, their mission being to land on Hell Island and discover what has happened. Nothing can prepare them for what they find there. You could say they've just entered hell. Only that would be too gentle.Author: Matthew Reilly. (115 pages)
Level:  C-D/9.-10.kl

Teaching Activities (PDF)

It's a hot summer afternoon. Tension is in the air. A gang of youths on bikes gathers outside a chip shop. A teenage boy is stabbed and left bleeding on the street. The boy's mother wonders how this could have happened to her son. She is full of questions, but when the answers lie so close to home, are they really what she wants to hear? (Contains some slang.) Author: Bernardine Evaristo. (81 pages)
Level:  C-D/9.-10.kl

Hello Mum Chapter 1 (Audio)
Hello Mum Chapter 1 (PDF)

Tobey is determined he will be famous. He's not big-headed, he just knows he's got something special and he's determined that everyone will know it! He even hangs around with the stars, getting autographs at film premieres. Tobey and his friend Georgia audition for a role in the local play — and to his huge disappointment, Georgia gets a part, but he doesn't. Can he turn this tragedy around and find a way to be famous after all? This book reflects on celebrity, fame and money ... and portrays some of the jealousy and disappointment which accompany it. Author: Pete Johnson. (208 pages)
Level: 8.-9. kl.

• Lots of opportunity for class discussion on the topic of celebrity, linking to TV programmes such as Big Brother or X Factor.

Both Elisha (Ellie) and Jeremiah (Miah) attend Percy Academy, a fancy private school in Manhattan, where neither quite fits in. Ellie is wrestling with family demons, and Miah is one of the few African American students. He feels good inside his skin in his own Brooklyn neighbourhood but is not so sure he fits in at the academy. It’s a surprise when he meets Ellie during the first week of school. In one frozen moment their eyes lock and after that they know they fit together — even though she’s Jewish and he’s black. Their worlds are so different, but to them that’s not what matters. They fall in love and their relationship begins to blossom — but they are hesitant to share their newfound happiness with their friends and families, who will not understand. Finally, life makes the brutal choice for them: Jeremiah is shot and killed for not stopping when the police call him back, and Ellie has to cope with the consequences. Author: Jacqueline Woodson. (181 pages)
Level: C/1st Year of the Gymnasium

En god roman skrevet på et let tilgængeligt sprog om tanker og følelser omkring en hed ungdoms-forelskelse — og ikke mindst om springet til sex — og om tidlig graviditet. En meget relevant bog, selvom ikke alle klasser vil være åbne nok til at diskutere disse ting. Bogen er også velegnet til at indgå som selvlæst. Author: Kate Cann. (228 pages)
Level: 10. kl.

Georgia (en 14-årig britisk pige) har endelig fået fat på Sex God Robbie, som hun har drømt om et helt år. Nu meddeler forældrene, at familien skal flytte til New Zealand! En dagbog – hvor alle kampe og kontroverser mellem mor og datter, og mellem Georgia og veninderne er beskrevet temmelig autentisk men dog meget humoristisk. En bog som vil appellere til teenage piger. Author: Louise Rennison. (204 pages)
Level: 9.-10. kl.

En ungdomsroman om fodbold og især kærlighed. Drengen Terry er Manchester United fan. Han er forelsket i Julie som er Liverpool tilhænger! Humoristisk sprog godt krydret med spekulationer, fiaskoer, succeser og fodbold. Man møder – via sproget – noget af sjælen i britisk ungdom. Author: Alan Gibbons. (352 pages)
Level: 9.-10. klasse

A hard-hitting teen novel on the controversial topic of honour killings in the British Asian community, by award-winning author Bali Rai [“(Un)arranged Marriage”, “Dream On”]:
When Sat's sister, Jas, is married off into the Atwal family she changes, she becomes quiet and distant. But Sat's too busy with his own life; his girlfriend, his friends, football ... Then Jas disappears. According to her new husband, she's run off with another man. Her family disown her; don't seem to care if she's ever found. But Sat doesn't believe it. Something has happened to his sister and he's determined to figure out what. But his investigations take him into dark and dangerous territory ... Author: Bali Rai. (336 pages)
Level:Level: 9.-10 klasse/C/1st year of Gymnasium

Aided by the magician Merlin, Arthur draws the sword from the stone to become King of Britain and Lord of the Knights of the Round Table. The classic tales of Arthur, Lancelot and Galahad are here retold by Marcia Williams in text and entertaining and colourful, detailed cartoons.” (28 pages/large format)
Level: 6.-7. klasse

Looking for JJ explores the circumstances and motives behind the murder of a child — by her friend. Seven years later, JJ has now been released, and has a new identity. But is there any way that she can lead a "normal" life? This is the story of Alice Tully, seventeen years old, outwardly normal but a mess inside. Alice is deeply disturbed and insecure. At the age of ten, when she was Jennifer Jones,she murdered another child and was imprisoned. Newly released, she's trying to forget the incident, start a new life and cast off her old baggage. Somehow she can't get rid of her past trauma. In the book, we follow Alice through a short period of her life: she's working in a coffee shop, living with a carer/social worker and trying to avoid the press. There are chilling vignettes of the emotional and physical negelct of Alice's childhood. and the tension that gradually built up within the child. A fine novel that questions our habit of labelling people. Author: Anne Cassidy. (304 pages)
LeveL: 9.-10. kl./1.g/HF/C/Linjefag

Mother-of-two Rosemary is a woman under pressure. With two difficult teenaged children, a distant husband and a busy job, the stress is mounting. The loss of her internet connection pushes her over the edge. After waiting a month and two failed attempts to fix the problem, a third repair man arrives. When he too says he can't get her back online, his incompetence forces Rosemary to take drastic action. The repair man realises that Rosemary is not as naive as she first appears. She is a woman with a secret and is capable of causing him harm. Loose Connections is a darkly humorous story about how computers can distance people from the real world around them. Author: Rachel Trezise. (81 pages)
Level:   C-D/9.-10.kl

Banksie and MacB have spent all summer working to get into the football team. A fortune teller promises they will both be captain. No one plays better than Duncan King, captain and star striker. But then Duncan has an accident. If it is an accident.” Masser af spænding og mange ligheds-punkter med Macbeth indbygget i hisorien, derfor kunne det være sjovt at arbejde med MacB og en udgave af Macbeth. Author: Neil Arksey. (138 pages)
Level: 8.-9. klasse

A 5,000-word re-telling of one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays by Helen Street in a language which uses many of the Bard’s own words, adding to them in Shakespearean style to create a shorter and more accessible version:

On a dark heath, Macbeth stumbles across three witches who can see into the future. What he hears will change everything. Egged on by his wife, he decides to kill in order to gain the Scottish crown. How many people will have to die in Macbeth’s pursuit of power? With armies, ghosts and magic against him, will Macbeth survive in this tale of greed and betrayal? Getting the crown is one thing – keeping it is quite another.
 Level: 9.-10. klasse / AVU D-C

Sample Pages 1   Sample Pages 2   Sample Pages 3

They want to know why. Why am I here? What happened to you, Chloe Doe? That's what they ask at the Madeline Parker Institute for Girls — girls like Chloe, a seventeen-year-old prostitute. Chloe says she does what she does because she has to pay the rent, because she has to eat — and because she's good at it. The way she sees it, everyone's job has one or two things about it they don't like and her job isn't so different. Chloe has no intention of taking seriously the attempts to reform her; what other kind of future is out there for her and why would she want to look back at her past? But then she meets her counsellor, Dr Dearborn. Even if he does have crazy hair that makes him look like the Joker, Chloe soon realizes he is smart, and not just ‘book smart’ — he is the first person in a long time to find the chink in her armour. The only person who can get her to remember the tragic event she would rather forget and finally persuade her she is someone worth saving. This is the story of a girl on the brink of self-destruction and the events that brought her there. Author: Suzanne Phillips. (198 pages)
Level: 9.-10.kl/C-D

Fatimah is a devout Muslim. Steve is a regular guy who has never given much thought to faith. Fatimah and Steve happen to be walking in the same street when a terrorist bomb explodes. Steve is badly injured and when the emergency services arrive, Fatimah is holding his head in her lap, talking to him, willing him to stay alive. But, the Press is there, too, and next day, their picture appears in every newspaper. ‘Romeo and Juliet’, scream the headlines, ‘Love across the divide’. Then, the threats and anonymous phone calls start. Can the two young people rise above the hatred and learn to understand one another? But, while Steve and Fatimah are trying to break down barriers, the terrorists have another target in mind ... Author: Rosemary Hayes. (184 [fairly short] pages)
Level: 1.g/C-D/9.-10.kl.

From Barrington Skoke's series written by well-known authors for reluctant readers. Well suited for giving pupils at 8.kl.+, who can't manage to read that much, a taste of authentic literature.
“Someone is trying to destroy the data and steal the work in the Clone Unit. But who is it and why are they doing it? Anything could happen if the research gets into the wrong hands.” By Theresa Breslin.
Level: 8.kl+.

Series: Classified (“You can't hide the truth forever”) — investigations of the greatest unsolved mysteries of recent times throuh a combination of fiction and factual information:
Vladimir Valentinovich Alexandrov was a popular and outspoken Russian scientist. On April 1, 1985, Alexandrov disappeared while attending an international scientific conference in Spain. Were this world expert's theories about nuclear winter close enough to a top-secret reality to make MI6, and perhaps even the CIA want to dispose of him? When young KGB officer Ilya Piankoff is charged with investigating the case he learns how desperate and extreme governments can become when the stakes run as high as the possibility of nuclear war. (this section: 47 pages)
Factual information files follow the main story, including biographies, witness statements and debriefings — these allow pupils to make up their own mind about the event. (this section: 42 pages)
Level: 9.-10. kl.

Temaer: terror, flugt, immigration, mobning. "Sade and her brother Femi, the children of an outspoken journalist, flee Nigeria when their mother is killed and their father won't stop criticizing the military rulers. They end up alone in England where Sade is horribly bullied." En meget relevant og nutidig bog - også for danskere i forhold til flygtningeproblematikken. Sproget kan måske virke lidt svært i starten, men det jævner sig ud, når man har fået fat i bogens termer. Vi anbefaler denne bog! Author: Beverley Naidoo. (224 pages)
Level:10./9. kl.

A really good book! Alem is on holiday with his father in London, or so he thinks. He has never been out of Ethiopia before. One morning Alem wakes up to find the unthinkable: his father has left him. Because of the political problems in Ethiopia his parents felt he would be safer in London. Alem is now on his own, in the hands of the social services and the Refugee Council. Alem battles on through racism, fights, friendships, court cases and the deaths of his mother and father, winning in the end the right to stay in Britain. Author: Benjamin Zephaniah. (285 pages)
Level: 9.-10. klasse

A chilling and dramatic tale of belief and freedom:

Yuri grows up in a totalitarian state where no freedom of thought is encouraged — where even one's neighbours are encouraged to report any dissension to the authorities. Yuri is a smart boy, and it's his smart tongue that gets him into trouble. A few careless words lead him to a virtual death-sentence — sent on a nightmare journey up north to a camp amidst the frozen wastes. What, or who, can he possibly believe in now? Can he survive? And is escape possible ...? The conclusion of the story  is frightening. In the final pages Yuri turns into a free but merciless revolutionary and coming leader. Good has been twisted and warped to mirror its opposite. Author: Anne Fine. (243 pages)
Level: 9.-10. kl.

For a wide range of teaching suggestions CLICK HERE (Word)

A 5,000-word re-telling of one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays by Helen Street in a language which uses many of the Bard’s own words, adding to them in Shakespearean style to create a shorter and more accessible version:

What could be worse than falling in love with your enemy? Romeo Montague thinks he’s in love until he meets Juliet, the daughter of the Capulets. With her, he discovers what true love really feels like. But their two families are bitter rivals, and no one must know about their secret passion. When Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin in a duel, their hope of happiness seems ended. Can Friar Laurence reconcile the two families, or will his plans bring even more tragedy?
 Level: 9.-10. klasse / AVU D-C

Sample Pages 1   Sample Pages 2   Sample Pages 3

En god bog med en meget spændende problemstilling om mobning: “One day Katie is cornered by Ivy and her fellow bullies on the town dump ... suddenly a girl called Zan rises from the rubbish to Katies defence. Zan is not willing to talk to Katie. Eventually Katie discovers the truth about Zan and her own fears.” God som pensumbog i 9. klasse. Author: Catherine MacPhail. (176 pages)
Level: 8./9. klasse

Seventh-grader Maleeka Madison is miserable when a new teacher comes to her American inner-city school. Miss Saunders is self-assured in spite of the white birthmark across her black skin, and gets into kids' faces about both their behavior and their academic potential. Although Maleeka is bright, she is swamped by her problems. Maleeka's mother has just emerged from two years of mourning for her dead husband. In that period her daughter had to provide her with physical and moral support with no adult assistance. At school, Maleeka has to put up with mean-spirited teasing about the darkness of her skin and her unstylish clothing. She finds escape in creative writing (encouraged by Miss Saunders) and also in the company and protection of a powerful clique of nasty girls, who exploit her. She understands too well that her brains aren't as valuable as the social standing that she doesn't have. In the end, she is able to respond positively to Miss Saunders and she also becomes socially accepted through the affections of the most popular boy in the school. This message rings true in spite of the fact that Maleeka's salvation isn't exactly politically correct. Students will appreciate Flake's authenticity and perhaps learn from her struggle for security and self-assurance. Author: Sharon Flake. (188 fairly short pages)
Level: 9.-10.kl./D-C/1.g/1.HF

Molly Sullivan said that the new baby was a little star. She was no trouble at all and she was always smiling ... so she became known as Star and no one remembered that her name was Oona. Star Sullivan just wanted everyone to be happy — her father to stop gambling, her mother not to work so hard, her brother to stay out of trouble, her sister to stop worrying about every little thing she ate. Then the Hale family moved in next door, and from the moment Star saw 23-year-old Laddy Hale, everything began to change — until Star was no longer the sweet, thoughtful girl everyone loved and no one worried about ... Author: Maeve Binchy. (106 pages)
Level:  C-D/9.-10.kl (1.g/1.HF)

Listen To An Extract From Star Sullivan
Teaching Activities (PDF)

“What happened when my big sister went crazy” En fantastisk stærk og bevægende bog som ligger i et grænseområde hvad undervisnings-egnethed angår — men vi kan ikke lade være med at tage den med. Bogen er skrevet som poesi og handler om en storsøster der bryder sammen — hvordan det er at se på det udefra, og hvordan det må føles indeni. (145 pages)
Level: 9.-10. klasse

A teacher is dead, murdered by two of his students in front of the school. He was a good man. People liked him. So how could this happen? Why? It just doesn't make sense to 15-year-old Jackson, and he is determined to investigate the case until he understands. Teacher's Dead explores many topical issues, such as violence in schools, especially against teachers. It also talks about family background, personal relationships, vengeance, forgiveness, media intrusion and the criminal justice system. It doesn't excuse bad actions, but it does show situations that are never black and white and it makes a powerful stand against the horrible social tendency to use scapegoating as a means of avoiding community responsibility.  Author: Benjamin Zephaniah. (222 pages)
Level: 9.-10. klasse/C/1.g

A classic collection of Roald Dahl stories:

Contents: The Umbrella Man; Dip in the Pool; The Butler; The Hitchhiker; Mr Botibol; My Lady Love, My Dove; The Way Up to Heaven; Parson's Pleasure; The Sound Machine; The Wish.´

Level: 8.-10. kl / First year of Gymnasium / E-C / Intermediate+ evening classes / Linjefag

Author: Vic Parker. “A collection of traditional tales and legends from North America. En dejlig bog med flotte illustrationer og tekster der er repræsentative og oplagte at arbejde med! (48 pages/large format/hardback)
Level: 8.-9. klasse

Kevin is determined that he'll never join a gang but his path crosses the Tribe's when he saves one of them from a rival gang. Invited to take their initiation test, Kevin plans to break the oath of secrecy and tell everyone. But he falls under the spell of the gang leader, Salom, and becomes a member. Kevin then discovers how hard it is to break away from the Tribe's rules and Salom's power, for when he's challenged Salom always makes you sorry. In this case he fastens on to Kevin's little sister, Glory, and Kevin is forced to take the initiation test again as his sister freezes with horror crossing a beam high above a ruined building. Author: Catherine MacPhail (188 pages)
Level: 9.-10.kl./D-C/1.g/1.HF

En fin bog fyldt med facts og gode historier om chokolade … alle aspekter af chokolade: hvor den bliver dyrket, afhængighed, traditioner, skandaler, kendte britiske mærker, Cadbury brødrenes mønster-by Bourneville bygget til deres arbejdere osv. Fortællestilen er humoristisk men samtidig gør den læseren nysgerrig. Dette er en fed bog! Pluk evt. i den for at lave dit eget forløb! (153 pages)
Level: 8.-9. klasse

No one is born evil
Tema: Mobning – at blive styret af andre. Natalies nye hjem er et gammelt hotel ... hun begynder på den lokale skole, hvor hun knytter bånd til klassens sære pige: Tulip. Natalie og Tulip leger mystiske og farlige lege. De blive begge holdt ude af fællesskabet i klassen. Natalie er totalt under Tulips indflydelse og kan ikke vriste sig løs. Da hun endelig gør det, begynder hun at klare sig godt i skolen. Men nu vil Tulip hævne sig! Author: Anne Fine. (166 pages)
Level: 9.-10. kl.

My name is Sam. I am eleven years old. I collect stories and fantastic facts. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead.
Living through the final stages of leukemia, Sam collects stories, questions, lists, and pictures that create a moving portrait of how a boy lives when he knows his time is almost up. Sam loves facts. He wants to know about UFOs and horror movies and airships and ghosts and scientists, and how it feels to kiss a girl. And because he has leukemia he wants to know the facts about dying. Sam needs answers to the questions nobody will answer. This is a powerful and uplifting novel that will appeal to pupils, through the compelling voice of its narrator. Themes include family, friendship, growing up, death and grief, self-discovery and hope. Accessible to all pupils. Author: Sally Nicholls. (202 pages)
Level: 9-10. kl./C-D/1st year of the Gymnasium (kan læses i uddrag)

The year is 1659, a time of fear and lies. For Mary Newbury, it is a time of desperation. She sees her wise and beloved grandmother accused of witchcraft. While Mary watches, unable to intervene, her grandmother is falsely condemned, tortured, and hanged in the public square. Mary is silently hurried to safety by an unknown woman. The woman gives her paper and ink to record her life. She is taken in a boat to Plymouth and from there sails to the New World where she hopes to make a new life among the pilgrims. But in Salem she finds a Puritan society where differences are feared — and where she, like her grandmother, is the victim of ignorance and stupidity. Mary has to ask herself how long she can hide her true identity. Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared? Though Mary's story takes place 350 years ago, she is also a credible feminist for our times. And readers will have to ask themselves: how much have things really changed? The book includes A Reading Guide with a summary, “About the Author”, points for discussion etc. Author: Celia Rees (novel: 255 pages)
Level: 10.kl/C