‘Six Weeks’ by Matt Goodfellow

Pbk, Hachette Childrens Books £8.99

From CLiPPA Award‑winning writer Matt Goodfellow comes a gripping new novel about Alfie Piper and the summer that reshapes his life.

Alfie has six weeks ahead of him and feels he has nothing left to lose. Since his mum’s death, everything familiar has slipped out of place, and the growing distance between him and his stepdad feels impossible to bridge.

Seeking escape, Alfie jumps on his bike and rides, hoping movement will quiet the noise inside him.

Over the long summer days, he begins to confront his grief, question what family means, and search for a way to mend what has broken.

Goodfellow’s writing is vivid, emotional and compulsively readable, capturing the rawness of loss and the tentative return of hope. Enhanced by Joe Todd‑Stanton’s atmospheric illustrations, this is a moving, memorable story about healing, courage and the power of connection.

’Mr Sidu’s Post Office’ by Amman Brar

Hbk, Juniper, £16.99

A stunning debut novel taking on the Post Office scandal through the eyes of the loveable sub-postmaster Mr Sidu.

For years, Mr Sidhu’s post office has been a place of small rituals and quiet mercies: news exchanged, kindnesses remembered, a haven for all. Mr Sidhu is confidant, caretaker and witness to a community revealing itself in its loyalties and secrets.

But Mr Sidhu is caught between the life he has inherited and the one he has scarcely allowed himself to imagine.

When his ordered world begins to shift, he is drawn towards a new future and an unexpected love, forcing him to navigate family tensions, shifting identities and the question of who stands beside us when everything changes. And soon, the life Mr Sidhu tended so carefully may no longer be enough.

Beautifully observed, an unforgettable novel about love, duty and the communities that shape us – and save us.