It may be Easter, but there are some alternatives to Chick Lit. Here are some cracking good reads from the Blackstone Library:

Below Zero - Dan Smith

When Zak's plane crash-lands on Outpost Zero, a small Antarctic research base in one of the most isolated places on Earth, he discovers a cold, dark nightmare.

The power's out and the people who live there have disappeared.

Worse, as he searches for answers, bizarre visions suggest a link to something else - deep beneath the ice - which only he can understand ...

Chilling, Fast paced, Adventure

928 Miles From Home - Kim Slater

Fourteen year old Calum Brooks has big dreams. One day, he'll escape this boring life and write movies, proper ones, with massive budgets and A-list stars. For now though, he's stuck coping alone while his dad works away, writing scripts in his head and trying to stay 'in' with his gang of mates at school, who don't like new kids, especially foreign ones.

But when his father invites his new Polish girlfriend and her son, Sergei, to move in, Calum's life is turned upside down. He's actually sharing a room with 'the enemy'! How's he going to explain that to his mates? Yet when Calum is knocked down in a hit and run and breaks both legs, everything changes.

Powerful and though-provoking

The 1,000 Year Old Boy - Ross Welford

There are stories about people who want to live forever.

This is not one of those stories.

This is a story about someone who wants to stop…

Alfie Monk is like any other nearly teenage boy – except he’s 1,000 years old and can remember the last Viking invasion of England.

Obviously no one believes him.

So when everything Alfie knows and loves is destroyed in a fire, and the modern world comes crashing in, Alfie embarks on a mission to find friendship, acceptance, and a different way to live…

… which means finding a way to make sure he will eventually die.

A cracking story about family and friendship that spans all ages

Flamingo Boy - Michael Morpurgo

This is a landmark new novel from the nation’s favourite storyteller, set in the unique landscape of the Camargue in the South of France during WW2.

There, a young autistic boy lives on his parents’ farm among the salt flats, and the flamingos that live there. There are lots of things he doesn’t understand: but he does know how to heal animals. He loves routine, and music too: and every week he goes to market with his mother, to ride his special horse on the town carousel.

But then the Germans come, with their guns, and take the town. A soldier shoots a flamingo from the sky, and it falls to earth terribly injured. And even worse is to come: the carousel is damaged, the horses broken. For this vulnerable boy, everything is falling apart.

A stunning new classic from a master storyteller in the vein of PRIVATE PEACEFUL and THE BUTTERFLY LION

The Wizards of Once - Cressida Cowell

This is the story of a young boy Wizard and a young girl Warrior who have been taught since birth to hate each other like poison; and the thrilling tale of what happens when their two worlds collide.

Perfect for boys and girls who love fantasy adventure...

Once there was Magic, and the Magic lived in the dark forests. Until the Warriors came...

Wizards, warriors, sprites and snow cats in a brilliant new fantasy adventure