Not every book has a happy ending, if you fancy something a little edgy try these books...

BOY2GIRL
By Terence Blacker
Same comes to stay with his cousin Matthew after his mother dies but Matthew's gang is uncertain whether he can be trusted to become a member. In an initiation test which sheds some light on the divisiveness of traditional gender roles, Sam is made to dress up as a girl and spy on a rival girl gang to prove his loyalty.

SUGAR RUSH
By Julie Burchill
Kim, 16, is horrified when her parents' divorce means she has to leave her smart private school to go to a notorious comprehensive, Ravendene. Then she meets the gorgeous Sugar, queen of the "Ravers". Leave her good-girl past, Kim is drawn to Sugars's daring life and falls in love with her in this story of teenage lesbianism.

CHECK MATE
By Malorie Blackman
The third in her trilogy about a ruling class of black people called Crosses and a subservient class of whites called Noughts. Callie Rose, a mixed-race teenager, whose dual heritage dooms her to a lifetime of deep-rooted prejudices, is grommed to become a suicide bomber by her Uncle Jude, the leader of a white terrorist group.

REFUGEE BOY
By Benjamin Zephaniah
Alem, whose father is Ethiopian and mother is Eritrean, is sent to England when his parents' respective countries go to war. He is supported by the Refugee Council and is fostered by a family but struggles to adapt to his new home, not least because he still worries about the deteriorating situation in Africa.

A LITTLE PIECE OF GROUND
By Elizabeth Laird
Set in the occupied territories in Israel, this is the story of Karim, the son of a shopkeeper, and his friends Hopper, who lives in a refugee camp, and Joni, who comes from a wealthy family. They are united in their hatred of the Israel occupation, which offended many jews when it was published.

HOW I LIVE NOW
By Meg Rosoff
New Yorker Daisy, 15, is sent to Enlgand to visit her aunt and cousins. While her aunt is away on business, London is attacked and occupied by an unamed enemy. Daisy and her cousins are forced to fend for themselves in a war which feels like a chillingly credible post-11 September catastrophe.

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
By mark Haddon
Christopher John Francis Boone, a mthematically gifted child, explores the secrets of his own parents' failed marridge and the mystery of the neighbour's dead dog vie the prism of his own autism, revealing the stresses his condition puts on his family.

JUNK
Melvin Burgess
Teenaged Gemma is bored by her life and hates her parents so she decides to run away with her boyfriend, Tar, to Bristol. They befriend two heroin addicts and become addicts themselves. They live in squats, steal and prostitute themselves to survive in a story that provoked some scandel when is won the coveted Carnegie Medal for children's books

HIS DARK MATERIALS TRILOGY
By Philip Pullman
The story of Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will and the rest is a complicated epic about the death of God and the true nature of destiny of man. It offended some Christians who objected to its attack on religion. He creates a world where creatures called Daemons live alongside humans.

THE ILLUSTRATED MUM
By Jacqueline Wilson
Dolphin, 10, and her older sister, lead and unusual life with their mother Morigold, who is covered in tatoos and is willing to do the most crazy things. She suffers from manic depressive spells and as her mental rpoblems worsen, the girls are forced to seek outside help.

To look at the covers of the books decribed click on the link below.
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