These are the books that I wish I had written - the ones I read and go 'wow!' and then want to read them all over again and tell people about them

 

Good Omens

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

 This is an old, old favourite and I have probably read it over 20 times by now (unheard of for me!). It's an amazing romp through Armageddon (the end of the world, folks) but with a lot of laughs along the way. If you've ever wondered why the M25 is always jammed with traffic, or whether one person really can make a difference, then you'll find the answers in here. Hilarious, intelligent and incredibly readable.
 

 Twilight

Stephanie Meyer

Vampires aren't usually my choice of genre (unless it's Buffy on TV, that is) but I LOVED the front cover too, so I finally got round to reading this. It really lives up to the hype - it's an intensely romantic story but also full of tension, shocks, action, sadness - it's got everything, basically. Interestingly, I read NEW MOON (the second in the series) and absolutely hated it, so I don't think I'll risk the rest of the series!
 

 Angel Blood

John Singleton

 I can't tell you how clever this book is. It's such a simple story - four children in a sanatorium of some kind each have something 'wrong' with them (like photosensitive skin or growths on their back) and they try to escape. But because they've grown up in this environment, they are totally unaware of life 'in the real world' and so have developed their own names for things (including each other). It's genuinely scary in some places, but there are funny moments too and by the end of the book I was incredibly moved. Wonderful, wonderful writing.
 

 You Don't Know Me

David Klass

  This was the first Young Adult book I read that made me think 'how original!' The style takes some getting used to, but I love the unreliable narrator angle and Klass does it perfectly. His hero, John, has a difficult home life (to say the least) but his reaction to this is to play games inside his own head. He's a dreamer, and so we get John's imaginary conversations and events before he brushes them away for reality. Just don't ask 'why...?' and let yourself be swept along. It's crazy, clever and totally cool.
 

 Lucas

Kevin Brooks

  I love this book because you really can't put it down. It's the age-old story of someone who is 'different' - Lucas is a gypsy, and so the local community doesn't like him because they don't trust anyone who's not one of them. Cait is the local girl who falls in love with him. So far, so predictable, but there are huge extremes of emotion in this book - from passion to hatred - and it grabs you by the throat and won't let go. Another one that made me cry...!

 

The Dark is Rising

Susan Cooper

  This book is the second in a series of five, and it's simply brilliant. I loved it as a child, especially around the ages of nine and ten. I devoured the whole series! It's a fantasy story which works in Arthurian legends and Cornish and Welsh folklore but you never feel the author is trying to educate you about history. It's genuinely scary in places too - the attack by crows and the Wild Hunt have stuck in my mind. I am devastated to see that they have made it into a film but have not remained faithful to the book - I would have loved to see a really great adaptation but instead I shall have to boycott the film! What a shame!