BBC Bitesize brings you five great summer books - recommended by best-selling author Chris Bradford - to help make sure you love what you pick up and read over the holidays.
Hello, I’m Chris Bradford - the author of the Young Samurai, Bodyguard and Lunar series. I’ve got two decades of experience in encouraging young people to read. I often go into schools to meet pupils and bring my stories to life using sword displays, bodyguard training and even space rocket launches 🚀! The aim is to make reading really exciting - which as an author is what’s most important to me.
With screens fighting for everyone’s attention, we might all be termed ‘reluctant readers’ nowadays. It can be hard sometimes to pick up a book instead of your phone or gaming console, but the good news is there are so many great stories out there to help us all become repeat readers!
Here are my top five recommendations guaranteed to get you absolutely hooked on books:
Reek by Alastair Chisholm
Age: 8+ | Genre: Climate/Sci-Fi | Dyslexia Friendly.
You will be gasping for more with this gripping climate thriller about a world starved of clean air. Chisholm builds a suffocatingly tense world where every breath counts for Sparrow, a young delivery worker who is caught in a high-stakes mystery packed with danger, twists and real heart.
The pace of the story left my son and I breathless, while the futuristic illustrations carried us away into this brilliant adventure. With an urgent eco-message, Reek doesn’t just entertain — it really makes you think.
Escape Room by Christopher Edge
Age: 9+ |Genre: Puzzle/Gaming/AI.
A mind-bending adventure that takes you on a thrilling ride through time, space and imagination. When Ami steps into The Escape, she thinks it’s just a game — but each room she enters tests her courage, intelligence and sense of reality. From sinking ships to crumbling cities and ancient beasts, Ami’s challenges grow more dangerous, and the truth behind the Escape becomes a nail-biting mystery.
With a powerful twist and a thought-provoking message about our planet and future, Escape Room is a must-read puzzle thriller. Will you work it out and escape?
I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery
Age: 9+ | Genre: Animals/Adventure
My favourite book of the year, I Am Rebel is a heart-warming, unforgettable story told through the eyes of a loyal dog determined to save the human he loves. Set in an imagined civil-war version of Britain, Rebel's journey across the country is full of peril, hope and the unbreakable bond between humans and animals.
Reading this with my son was like curling up under a warm blanket during a storm — comforting, moving and emotional. We laughed together, we held our breath, and even wiped away a tear or two. Ross Montgomery has created something close to perfection: a story that is funny, heart-breaking, beautifully written and rich with meaning. Read it. Hug your dog. Then read it again.
AdelAIDE by Melinda Salisbury
Age: 11+ | Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi | Dyslexia Friendly
Adelaide is gripping, unsettling and eerily close to home. Set in a near-future world obsessed with digital perfection, this sharp sci-fi novella follows Freya, a girl who wants to have it all: beauty, popularity and endless likes. But when cracks begin to show in her flawless online life, the truth behind her existence unravels in a chilling twist that will leave readers reeling.
Melinda Salisbury delivers a tightly wound, thought-provoking tale about identity, social media and the price of curated perfection. In just a few pages, Adelaide punches hard with its commentary on how far society will go for approval and control. This is a digital-age thriller that’ll make you think twice before chasing online fame.
Northern Soul by Phil Earle
Age: Teen | Genre: Comedy/Romance | Dyslexia Friendly
This laugh-out-loud story of one teenage boy’s disastrous attempts to win the heart of the cool new girl at school is as agonising as it is funny. Think The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 & 3/4 written by Sue Townsend, featured hapless teenager Adrian's diary entries as he navigated school, family and first love. This and two sequels made it to TV and the stage, as a musical.meets The Inbetweeners is an award winning adolescent comedy broadcast between 2008 - 2010 on E4. Both the TV and then the two films follow the escapades of four teenage lads getting up to all sorts.
Winner of the Peters Children's Book of the Year Teen Fiction 2024, Northern Soul will capture your heart. In fact, I’d recommend it to any reader - you will recognise all the painfully funny moments from your own life growing up. It’s all done with the help and dry wit of a classic Soul artist… pure gold!
I really hope at least one of those books captures your attention...
…but if you’re still struggling to tear yourself away from gaming devices and phones, then you could always try one of my books! Chris.
Chris Bradford is the multi-million copy selling author of the Young Samurai, Bodyguard and Virtual Kombat series. A black belt martial artist, professional songwriter and qualified bodyguard, he’s known for his ‘method writing’ technique and dynamic author events. His life goal is #GettingKidsReading www.chrisbradford.co.uk
This article was published in July 2025
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