Postcards from No Man's Land

Aidan Chambers' Carnegie-medal winning novel is about love, discovery and betrayal. It is one of The Originals from Penguin - iconic, outspoken, first. 
 
Jacob, aged 17, is abroad on his own for the time, visiting his grandfather's grave at the commemoration of the Second World War Battle of Arnhem in Holland. Jacob's life-changing experiences are interwoven with the extraordinary wartime story of passion and treachery that he learns from Geertrui, whose family is linked to Jacob's in a way he never suspected. 
 
The Originals are the pioneers of fiction for young adults. From political awakening, war and unrequited love to addiction, teenage pregnancy and nuclear holocaust, The Originals confront big issues and articulate difficult truths. The collection includes: The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton, I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith, Postcards from No Man's Land - Aidan Chambers, After the First Death - Robert Cormier, Dear Nobody - Berlie Doherty, The Endless Steppe - Esther Hautzig, Buddy - Nigel Hinton, Across the Barricades - Joan Lingard, The Twelfth Day of July - Joan Lingard, No Turning Back - Beverley Naidoo, Z for Zachariah - Richard C. O'Brien, The Wave - Morton Rhue, The Red Pony - John Steinbeck, The Pearl - John Steinbeck, Stone Cold - Robert Swindells.

Sophisticated teenage readers yearning for a wider view of life may find themselves intoxicated by this Carnegie Medal-winning novel.

Aidan Chambers was born in County Durham in 1934. After national service in the Royal Navy he became a teacher and then, for seven years, a monk. His young adult novels have been widely acclaimed, with POSTCARDS FROM NO-MAN'S LAND winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal and the US Michael L Printz Award. With his wife Nancy he ran Signal magazine and he has served as the president of the School Library Association. His devoted services to children's literature were recognised by his receipt of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002.

Jacob arrives in Holland, aged 17, travelling alone for the first time.  He is there for the commemoration of the Second World War Battle of Arnhem, where his grandfather had fought. Jacob's exploration of contemporary Amsterdam and the fascinating people he meets there interweaves with the passionate story about his grandfather he learns from Geertrui, an elderly lady whose family is linked to Jacob's in a way he never suspected.  A beautiful, multi-layered novel about love, discovery and betrayal, which will enrapture young adult readers.

Breaktime & Dance on My Grave

The first and second books in the critically acclaimed Dance Sequence by Carnegie Medal-winning author, Aidan Chambers

In Breaktime, Ditto challenges Morgan to prove that literature is crap and triggers off a chain of events to alter his outlook of life forever. Ditto faces a series of charges from Morgan against literature: that all fiction is Done. Finished. Dead; a sham and a pretence. He undertakes faithfully to record a life in the week of Ditto - with all the chaos of reality thrown in - and his literary creation reveals more about himself than he originally bargained for. 
 
In Dance on My Grave, life in his seaside town is uneventful for Hal Robinson, nothing unusual, exciting or odd ever happens to him - until now that is. Until the summer of his 16th birthday when he reaches a crossroads of choices in life. He foolishly takes a friend's boat for a day's sailing, gets into difficulty and is rescued by Barry Gorman. Their ensuing relationship results in a tumultous summer for Hal as he experiences the intense emotions of his first teenage love. 
 
A major new movie - 'Summer of 85' - based on Dance on My Grave, by groundbreaking French director Francois Ozon, was released in October 2020 to much acclaim. 
 
'Deftly captures the thrill of first love' - NME 
 
'A sweet gay romance that gradually morphs into something more suspenseful and macabre' - Daily Telegraph 
 
'A film that will take you back to your first summer love' - The Gay UK

Clever and imaginative, wide and spacious

An immensely rich piece of work . . . Entertaining, stimulating and thought-provoking

In Breaktime, Ditto challenges Morgan to prove that literature is crap and triggers off a chain of events to alter his outlook of life forever. Ditto faces a series of charges from Morgan against literature: that all fiction is Done. Finished. Dead; a sham and a pretence. He undertakes faithfully to record a life in the week of Ditto - with all the chaos of reality thrown in - and his literary creation reveals more about himself than he originally bargained for. 
 
In Dance on My Grave, life in his seaside town is uneventful for Hal Robinson, nothing unusual, exciting or odd ever happens to him - until now that is. Until the summer of his 16th birthday when he reaches a crossroads of choices in life. He foolishly takes a friend's boat for a day's sailing, gets into difficulty and is rescued by Barry Gorman. Their ensuing relationship results in a tumultous summer for Hal as he experiences the intense emotions of his first teenage love.

The Present Takers

A superb novel for younger readers by Carnegie Medal winner Aidan Chambers.

Lucy's life is being made hell by Melanie Prosser and her bullying sidekicks - the present takers - who threaten her every day at school for presents and money. Too ashamed to tell her parents, and too scared to tell her teacher, Lucy finds an unexpected ally in Angus Burns. But when push comes to shove, there's only one thing to do: take on the present takers at their own game, to silence them once and for all.

Seal Secret

A wonderful tale of childhood secrets and daring rescue perfect for young readers.

William resents going on a 'boring' holiday to Wales, but while there he is let into a big secret by Gwyn, a local boy. Gwyn has found a seal pup and has it hidden in a cave. He makes William promise never to tell anyone about it, and plans to breed it on a farm. William is determined to let it go free, and 'borrows' a leaky dinghy to take it out to sea. The story ends with an exciting rescue.

Dying to Know You

From the master storyteller, Aidan Chambers, comes this new thought-provoking novel for teenagers.

Deliberate in pace and carefully insightful in its investigation of character, Chamber’s latest is a work of art that repays multiple readings

Packed to the brim with challenging ideas, the latest from Chambers is simultaneously an acutely observed and surprising love story. An organic yet intricately crafted story of self-discovery . . . This is a generous gift

This is a teasingly provocative and touching cross-generational story, written with a rare candour about love, sex, thoughts of suicide and growing old

Chambers is so skilled, so calmly truthful in his writing. What emerges is not just a moving, unexpected story of the complexity of teenagers, but also a story of later life, of ageing and loss, and what experience really means

It takes a writer with the superb skill and sensitivity of Chambers to adapt the Cyrano de Bergerac story and turn it into a modern tale of grief, growth and acceptance . . . Great tenderness, authentic dialogue and elegantly crafted plotting. A book to be read and re-read

A wonderful book about friendship, words, and our deepest, most hidden selves. Elegant, precise prose and wonderful dialogue in which space has as much to say as words. This is a book to return to

Dying to Know You is a thoughtful and insightful novel and after turning the last page I was left with the impression that just maybe this writer’s story could be Chambers’ too

A gentle tale stuffed full of drama, elements of coming-of-age, dealing with grief and first love that make it irresistible

This book is interesting, fun, and very insightful. Chambers takes an inventive approach to his writing

This book is like nothing else I have ever read . . . An excellent YA read

Chambers delivers yet another intellectually satisfying novel with equal parts philosophy and repartee

A feelgood and story that quietly challenges a whole range of touchy subjects and social taboo

Karl, aged seventeen, is hopelessly in love. But the object of his affections, Firella, demands proof, and poses him a series of questions regarding his attitude to the many sides of love. But Karl is dyslexic, and convinced that if Firella finds out, she will think he is stupid, and unworthy of her, and leave him. 
So Karl asks a local writer to help him construct his replies - and an unlikely, but extremely touching, friendship develops between the two men. They both come to learn a great deal about about life from a very different perspective, and when an act of violence shatters their calm, they find their respective appraisal of life shifting in profound ways.

The Toll Bridge

The fourth books in the critically acclaimed Dance Sequence by Carnegie Medal-winning author, Aidan Chambers

It is impossible to do justice to this brilliant, complex novel . . . surely one of the most original and rewarding teenage novels of the year

This is Chambers writing at his awe inspiring best

Everyone seems to know best when it comes to Jan's future - but he's still working out for himself who he really is. Jan feels so hemmed in by the pressures of family and friends, he decides to leave home and live alone in the house on the toll bridge. While there, he meets Tess and Adam and their close bond of friendship develops into something which has devastating effects on them all.

The Kissing Game

From the master storyteller, Aidan Chambers, comes a collection of Stories of Defiance - moments in life, realizations, insights and sudden revelations - prepare to be amazed, enchanted and to gasp with shock.

Here's a rare treat. There is care and quality in all his books, and The Kissing Game is a smart, challenging collection that teenagers may find themselves reluctant to leave

Short stories are the perfect vehicle to capture the intensity of emotion experienced by teenagers on the brink of adulthood and there couldn't be a more rewarding and contemporary volume than this . . . Provocative and beautifully written, this little book packs a hefty punch

Chambers has never lost that adolescent vulnerability and openness [so] that, now in his seventies, he still writes stories in which reflective adolescents will surely discover themselves . . . Five stars

Aidan Chambers offers thought-provoking short stories for older readers in The Kissing Game. Playful or intriguing, each provides food for thought as he explores the nature of betrayal and revenge - wonderful stuff

Classy, thought-provoking, witty and always provocative

Witty dialogue and ordinary situations gone awry abound . . . The selections are perfectly readable by middle schoolers, but more meaningful discussion and deeper understanding will only come from teens with more life experience, and there's real potential for possible use in high school English classes

The variety of experimental formats, including scripts and letters, is refreshing, and teens will want to talk about the recurring themes of betrayal, violence, and shifting identities, and the fleeting moments of connection and mercy that can change a life's course

This collection from Chambers could be widely used in classrooms and on writing courses, particularly to inspire flash fiction

Thoughtful, challenging reading for teens on the cusp of adulthood

United under the banner of flash fiction, this is a collection of stories, or little 'cells', complete in themselves but connected by the overarching themes of betrayal and revenge. All featuring teenagers and often with an unexpected twist, these frighteningly realistic stories will take you to the very edge and beyond.

Aidan Chambers' Carnegie-medal winning novel is about love, discovery and betrayal. It is one of The Originals from Penguin - iconic, outspoken, first.

The type of serious teenage fiction that should be cherished

A dramatic and moving novel, destined to become a classic

Clear-eyed self reflection that also characterises The Diary of Anne Frank and the Rembrandt portraits which Jacob so admires

Seriously good and compulsively readable novel that spans fifty years and two interwoven stories of love, betrayal and self-discovery

Jacob, aged 17, is abroad on his own for the time, visiting his grandfather's grave at the commemoration of the Second World War Battle of Arnhem in Holland. Jacob's life-changing experiences are interwoven with the extraordinary wartime story of passion and treachery that he learns from Geertrui, whose family is linked to Jacob's in a way he never suspected. 
 
The Originals are the pioneers of fiction for young adults. From political awakening, war and unrequited love to addiction, teenage pregnancy and nuclear holocaust, The Originals confront big issues and articulate difficult truths. The collection includes: The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton, I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith, Postcards from No Man's Land - Aidan Chambers, After the First Death - Robert Cormier, Dear Nobody - Berlie Doherty, The Endless Steppe - Esther Hautzig, Buddy - Nigel Hinton, Across the Barricades - Joan Lingard, The Twelfth Day of July - Joan Lingard, No Turning Back - Beverley Naidoo, Z for Zachariah - Richard C. O'Brien, The Wave - Morton Rhue, The Red Pony - John Steinbeck, The Pearl - John Steinbeck, Stone Cold - Robert Swindells.

Breaktime

A provocative and unconventional novel of people and ideas.

When Ditto challenges Morgan to prove that literature is crap he triggers off a chain of events to alter his outlook of life forever. Ditto faces a series of charges from Morgan against literature: that all fiction is Done. Finished. Dead; a sham and a pretence. He undertakes faithfully to record a life in the week of Ditto - with all the chaos of reality thrown in - and his literary creation reveals more about himself tha he originally bargained for.

Now I Know

The third and fourth books in the critically acclaimed Dance Sequence by Carnegie Medal-winning author, Aidan Chambers.

The body of a young man, crucified on a metal cross, is found dangling from a crane in a scrapyard and subsequently vanishes. Tom, an ambitious young police officer, think he's had a lucky break when he's put in charge of this bizzare murder investigation. Nik is doing research for a film about a contemporary life of Jesus. Their independent investigations ultimately bring them together in an unexpected climax.

This Is All

Subtitled The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn, this is a self portrait of a passionate girl who needs to write - in this case the story of her teenage years. It is the last novel in the loosely connected sequence of novels which began with Breaktime in 1978.

explores the heart and soul of a teenage girl with a rawness that is both incredible and borderline alarming (alarming because the author is a middle aged man and he writes about being a teenage girl better than people who have actually experienced being one). Think a longer, more structurally unique Catcher In The Rye if Holden was a girl.

A warm, poignant and sometimes funny novel . . . beautifully written and cleverly crafted . . . A very readable book whose ease belies its length and complexity

Serious and self-absorbed, Cordelia is the antidote to the ditzy heroines of a thousand pink covers but it is an addictive read, even at 800 pages. Anyone who questions the validity of specialist "teen" fiction should read it

Captures in story form the confusion, the ordinariness, the excitement and the shape of everyday lives . . . Chambers has delivered another provocative, informed, stimulating and controversial book

As always, Chambers writes with the fierce intelligence and honesty which distinguishes his work. If more novels of adolescence had this quality and seriousness, we wouldn't risk losing those readers who feel patronised by teenage fiction

Subtitled The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn this is the story of Cordelia from the time she is 15 until she is 20. She is pregnant and plans to give this account to her daughter on her 16th birthday so that they can share their youth together. She chooses the old and famous Japanese book, 'The Pillow Book' by Sei Shonagon, as a model in order to include all kinds of things she has already written as well as the episodes and thoughts she has now as she compiles her book. 
 
She tells of her mother (who died when Cordelia was 5) of her father and her aunt Doris (who marry when she is 16), of her love for William Blacklin, the boy with whom she chooses to have her first sex - and with whom she falls deeply in love. She writes about Julie Martin her teacher who helps her spiritually, describes her love affair with an older married man and her terrifying sexual experience with an unbalanced young man who is obsessed with her. The book includes thoughts on being a women, on poetry, music, reading and writing, on being pregnant and finally of her marriage to William. 
 
This Is All is an anthology, written in six 'books' of Cordelia's adolescent life, by turns funny, poignant, sad, exciting, fascinating ironic and truthful about topics that parents often do not tell their children. It is a richly entertaining and challenging read.

Aidan Chambers

Books by Aidan Chambers

Series by Aidan Chambers

The Dance Sequence

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter