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April has been a really exciting month for us at Chicken House HQ - not only have we announced the winner of the 2015 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition, but we've also got four brand new books publishing!

SALT & STONE by Victoria Scott (12+)

One hundred and twenty-two began. Only sixty-four remain.
Tella's made it through the first terrains of the Brimstone Bleed - but the contest isn't over yet. If she wants to save her brother, she must face oceans and icy mountains, all for the chance of winning the Cure.
And even if Tella survives these deadly places, the greatest threat will still be her fellow Contenders - even the ones she trusts the most ...

The explosive sequel to FIRE & FLOOD is finally here! A must-read for all YA fans, SALT & STONE is an action-packed journey which will leave you on the edge of your seat all the way to the end. You'll read it in one sitting!

Follow Victoria Scott on Twitter: @victoriascottya

IF YOU WERE ME by Sam Hepburn (12+)

Not long after Aliya's family escapes Afghanistan for Britain, her brother is accused of a bomb attack. Aliya is sure of his innocence, but when plumber's son Dan finds a gun in their bathroom, what's she to think?
Dan has his own reasons for staying silent: he's worried the gun might have something to do with his dad. Thrown together by chance, the two of them set out to uncover a tangled and twisted truth.

From award-winning author Sam Hepburn comes an exciting new teen crime mystery following two teenagers who face the very real issues of contemporary London. You can also get your hands on a beautiful new edition of Sam's first books, CHASING THE DARK, this month too!

Follow Sam Hepburn on Twitter: @sam_osman_books

THE BIG WISH by Brandon Robshaw (9+)

Eleven-year-old Sam has a problem. Well, quite a few problems. So when he sees a shooting star, he naturally wishes on it - for a million wishes. Of course, he doesn't expect the wish to come true, but somehow it does.

Sam has fun experimenting with wishes - he can change anything he wants. But then he discovers that changing stuff has consequences he hadn't anticipated. And what's the point of doing anything, if you can just wish for it and make it happen?

A story that will make you laugh out loud as well as think about the big themes behind it! THE BIG WISH combines comic fantasy and exciting ideas to create a perfect read - what in the world would you wish for?

Follow Brandon Robshaw on Twitter: @brandonrobshaw

THE SOUND OF WHALES by Kerr Thomson (10+)

Three children are spending their summer on a wild Scottish island. Fraser is desperate for adventure and Hayley is fed up she's even there, while Dunny spends his days staring out to sea. He hasn't said a word in years.

But everything changes with the discovery of two bodies on the beach: a whale and a man. Fraser and Hayley see a mystery-adventure to be solved, but Dunny is inconsolable. And in the end, it will take someone who listens to the sea to put it right.

Winner of the 2014 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition, THE SOUND OF WHALES is a classic story that explores the importance of our environment, our relationship with animals and how the truth isn't always straightforward. A magical adventure set on the Scottish coast!

Follow Kerr Thomson on Twitter: @kerr_thomson

Follow Chicken House on Twitter: @chickenhsebooks

Setting aside the possibly unhealthy habit of fancying people in books rather than in real life (how can anyone ever measure up to Will Parry's determination to drift about in atoms until he finds Lyra again?) we are of course spoilt for choice in literary worlds. Here's a mix of suitable boys and very bad boys who only exist in our fevered imaginations - but we love them all.

1. THE FIRST CRUSH: Gilbert Blythe from Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables

Although there's close competition from Laurie in Little Women (how could Jo dump him), the moment Gilbert pulled Anne Shirley's braid and called her 'carrots' is hard to beat. Handsome, persistent (for years), intelligent and romantic ('I don't want your friendship, Anne...'), Gilbert doesn't have ANY faults.

2. THE ALL-AMERICAN CRUSH: Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Those infamous, expensive parties are all for Daisy and the promise of the green light at the end of the dock. Fabulously wealthy, he's just a dreamer at heart and gets it all wrong trying to impress one (undeserving!) girl. The serious 'lifetime achievement' vote in this category should go to Atticus Finch for inspiring moral courage that has endured for more than half a century.

3. THE DISTURBING CRUSH: Edward Cullen from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight

The noughties cannot be mentioned without him, or are we all thinking of R-Pattz? Disturbing because his Byronic looks, the sparkling marble skin, the superhuman abilities, disguise the fact that he's a terrifying predator. But as his fans would say, it's not his fault he's a telepathic vampire ...

4. THE CLASSIC CRUSH: Marius Pontmercy from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables

Tempting though it is to choose swashbuckling d'Artagnan or vengeful Edmond Dantes, the animal Heathcliff or the repressed Mr Darcy ('In vain have I struggled!'), it's the idealistic revolutionary Marius that wins our vote. Susan Fletcher's Eponine might have said she was only 'a little' in love but who was she kidding, really?

5. THE FIGHT-TO-THE-DEATH CRUSH: Luca Falcone from Catherine Doyle's Vendetta

Who would you trust when you're fighting for your life? In The Hunger Games there's Gale and Peta - difficult choice. In Catherine Doyle's Vendetta you get five hot mafia brothers - nightmare decision! But ultimately, are you on Team Nic or Team Luca? And before you ask, no - you can't have more than one ...

Who have we missed? Let us know by tweeting us at @chickenhsebooks!

Kerr Thomson, the 2014 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition winner, shares his experience of being published ... (more…)