Junior Cycle Texts for Second and Third Year 2016-2019

My Antonia took Cather out of the rank of provincial novelists while at the same time celebrating the provinces. It depicts the pioneering period of European settlement in the American prairie, through the stories of Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda, who is the embodiment of the pioneer spirit.

A lyrical, gritty and poignant story of a boy crossing the line between childhood and adulthood.

First love, friendship and quiet courage combine in this spare and beautiful story that will leave you sad, happy and wanting more from this fantastic new voice in childrens fiction

Imagine youre the only boy in a town of men. And you can hear everything they think. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you dont fit in with their plans... Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to force him to run...

Bestselling author John Connolly turns his unique imagination to the ancient tradition of legend and fairytale in this engrossing novel about the loss of innocence and the enduring power of story in our lives.

Rose has a Cross mother and a nought father in a society where the pale-skinned noughts are treated as inferiors and those with dual heritage face a life-long battle against deep-rooted prejudices. And as Rose takes her first steps away from Sephy and into this world, she finds herself drawn inexorably into more and more danger.

Sephy is a Cross - a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a nought - a colourless member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But thats as far as it can go.

Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit em, but remember its a sin to kill a Mockingbird. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, the author explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties.

A pleasant existence as a governess is all she is supposed to hope for - but Jane desperately wants more. And an appointment at the gothic mansion of Thornfield offers her more than she could ever dream of - including a chance at real love.

In the walled city state of Aramanth, rules are everything. When Kestrel Hath dares to rebel, the Chief Examiner humiliates her father and sentences the whole family to the harshest punishment. Desperate to save them, Kestrel learns the secret of the wind singer, and sets out on a terrifying journey to the true source of evil that grips Aramanth.