Lancashire Book of the Year shortlist 2025
Here are the books that are shortlisted for the 2025 award:
A Sudden Storm by Bali Rai
An innocent night out to celebrate his sixteenth birthday turns to tragedy when Arjan is targeted by a group of racist thugs, who single him out for the colour of his skin and the turban that he wears
Catch your Death by Ravena Guron
When three girls are stranded at the grand Bramble Estate in the middle of a snowstorm, they stumble into a murder plot. Someone has poisoned wealthy Emily Vanforte in the middle of a family dinner - which means Devi, Lizzie and Jayne are trapped in the house with a killer and a mystery to solve.
Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Seventeen-year-old Kiki Siregar is a fabulous gamer girl with confidence to boot. She can't help but be totally herself. except when she's online.Her secret? She plays anonymously as a guy to avoid harassment from other male players. Even her online best friend - a cinnamon roll of a teen boy who plays under the username Sourdawg - doesn't know her true identity.
Borrow a copy of Didn't See That Coming from your local library
Everything We Never Said by Sloan Harlow
It's been months since Ella's best-friend, Hayley, died and everywhere she looks she sees reminders of her - including Sawyer, Hayley's boyfriend. Soon, the two grow closer, finding comfort in each other. Racked with guilt, Ella turns to Hayley's journal, but what she finds leaves her terrified.
Borrow a copy of Everything We Never Said from your local library
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Christopher is visiting his reclusive grandfather when he sees an avalanche of mythical creatures come tearing down the hill. This is how he learns that his grandfather is the guardian of one of the ways between the non-magical world and the Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where the creatures we tell of in myth live and breed and thrive alongside humans.
Borrow a copy of Impossible Creatures from your local library
Last Seen Online by Wren James
When Delilah meets Sawyer Saffitz (son of the Anya Saffitz, aka Hollywood royalty), she becomes hooked on a decade-old scandal. In her quest for the truth, Delilah uncovers blogposts written by the mysterious 'gottiewrites' and is soon caught up in a world of greed, fandom conspiracy theories - and murder. And the deeper Delilah digs, the more dangerous it becomes - because someone is willing to kill to hide the truth
Lie or Die by A.J. Clack
When a casting call is announced for new reality TV show 'Lie or Die', Kass is tricked into auditioning by her best friend. Billed as Big Brother meets Mafia, 'Lie or Die' pits contestants against each other as they try to discover who is a murderous agent and who is an innocent player. But when contestants start to turn up dead (the real kind, not the fake kind), Kass realises that not being eliminated and winning the game is the least of her worries.
Seven Million Sunflowers by Malcolm Duffy
Escaping war is only half the battle as the Kovalenko family swap Ukrainian dangers for life with a British family. 15-year-old Kateryno and her family live in Kharkiv. Their lives are shattered when on February 24th 2022 the Russian army invades. Their apartment block is struck by a missile. After weeks living in their basement, Kateryno, her mother, and brother, decide to leave, joining seven million Ukrainian refugees. They come to England and meet their host family, the Hawkins. But their new beginning brings a whole new set of problems
Borrow a copy of Seven Million Sunflowers from your local library
Signed Sealed Dead by Cynthia Murphy
True-Crime obsessed Paige, and her family, move across the Atlantic to her father's eerie hometown, and it's not long before she uncovers the town's dark history - a string of unsolved murders and disappearances in the 90s. Will Paige solve a quarter-of-a-century mystery, or will she be the next target?
Snowglobe by Soyoung Park
Raised in a climate-ravaged, frozen world, every day is a struggle for survival for Chobahm. Her only solace comes in the form of twenty-four-hour reality television shows, streamed directly from Snowglobe - the climate-controlled domed city at the heart of her world, and the only warm place left on the planet. The citizens of Snowglobe have everything: fame, fortune and, above all, safety from the frigid wasteland outside their walls. In exchange, their lives are broadcast to the less fortunate of their world, who watch eagerly, hoping for the chance to one day become an actor themselves and join their ranks.
The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington
Devon is always being left behind by her genius twin sister, Drew. At this point, it's a fact of life. But Devon has one last plan before Drew leaves for college a whole year early - The Best Summer Ever. After committing to the bit a little too much, the twins and their chaotic circle of friends learn why you don't ever mess with a Ouija board if you want to actually survive the Best Summer Ever, and soon find themselves being hunted down by - a demon?
Borrow a copy of The Blonde Dies First from your local library
The Boy Next Door by Jenny Ireland
Finbar and Molly live next door to each other. When they were children, they spent hours and hours together. They were best friends. Until they weren't. Now 18, Fin and Molly move in very different circles. Molly is popular, pretty, dating the most handsome boy in the whole school. Fin has one friend and he's pretty sure he hates his dad and his little sister. At a party one night, though, they're pulled together in a way neither of them expects and then follows a year that will see them experiencing life-changing challenges, friendships, love and everything in between
Lancashire Book of the Year
- Lancashire Book of the Year winners
- Lancashire Book of the Year shortlist
- How to get involved with Lancashire Book of the Year