Teen Books for Christmas: From fantasy to real life

Because of Winn-Dixie (Walker Books, £4.99) is a feel-good American story about a girl and her dog. Written by Kate DiCamillo, it starts low key as India Opal Buloni moves to a new neighbourhood with her preacher father. Everything changes when she adopts Winn-Dixie – a mongrel so cheerful he actually seems to smile. Written sparely with plenty of dialogue, this book is suitable for younger teenage readers. So too is War Games (Egmont, £4.99) a factually based account by Jenny Koralek of a Jewish child taken in by a well-intentioned but emotionally cold British family in 1938. That Hugo survives so well is mostly down to his friendship with Holly, the daughter of the house. A note at the end of this story about just one aspect of the refugee experience describes some of the real people on whom it is based.

The prolific Jean Ure is in good form with Shrinking Violet (Collins, £9.99). This is about Violet, a twin who can't bear her other half Lily, who is more outgoing and popular. When Violet acquires a pen pal, the temptation to fantasise about the sort of girl she'd like to be is irresistible. As an example of pre-adolescent confessional writing, this story is faithfully realistic, right down to those jokes and exclamations often more amusing to utter than to listen to. Wittily illustrated by Karen Donnelly, this is easy teenage reading. For readers looking for something more demanding, Stravaganza: City of Masks (Bloomsbury, £10.99) is an extraordinary novel, set in an imaginary town similar to Venice. Lucien, a contemporary lad fighting a serious illness, finds himself transported back four centuries to this place of opulence and treachery. Making use of his ability to travel in space and time, he learns about a nefarious plot to assassinate the Duchessa – a female Doge who never seems to get any older. The author, Mary Hoffman, writes with imagination and authority; two more stories will complete what seems bound to be an outstanding trilogy.

Catherine Fisher is a brilliant writer yet to enjoy the crossover success enjoyed by some other fantasy authors aiming at young readers. Her latest story, Corbenic (Red Fox, £4.99), is a reworking of the Grail legend, with the action shared between modern Britain and the castle of the Fisher King. The story starts with Cal taking a train journey to get away from his mentally ill mother. He gets off at the wrong station into a wasteland he must escape from in order to make up for this act of betrayal.

Nicola Morgan also writes about dangerous adventures in Mondays are Red (Hodder, £5.99). But these mostly happen inside the head of Luke, recovering from meningitis. He now suffers from synaesthesia – when the senses become confused. More sinister is Dreeg, who takes up residence in Luke's troubled brain and then urges him to hate others. The better side of Luke creates more positive characters, with everything coming to a climax when something evil is about to happen to his detestable sister. This is a novel to brood over, written by a new and original talent.