Their faulty little prehistoric nerve systems could not stand up to the strong regular beat of the music; they whimpered and shivered and began to dissolve like butter melting on a griddle.
The Witch of Clatteringshaws
Joan Aiken
Alex was convinced that his time as a spy was all behind him now. He was wrong.
Nightshade
Anthony Horowitz
James Clifford – now Lord Clifford – had been a politician for more than forty years, but perhaps the most remarkable thing about him was that in all that time he had always been popular.
Nightshade
Anthony Horowitz
He was a man who loved his country, who worked hard, who wanted to make a difference.
Nightshade
Anthony Horowitz
After she had whispered and nodded for a few seconds, she suddenly turned around and, peering over her glasses at us, pointed to the empty chair at the back of the class.
The Boy at the Back of the Class
Onjali Q. Rauf
He had the strangest coloured eyes I’d ever seen – like a bright ocean but on a half-sunny day.
The Boy at the Back of the Class
Onjali Q. Rauf
The next day, and the next day, and the next day after that, I smiled at the new boy and gave him a friendly wink, just as often as I could.
The Boy at the Back of the Class
Onjali Q. Rauf
That night it was jam roly-poly and custard. Well, lumps of custard. ‘The roly-poly’s a bit flat,’ she noted, as she offered it up apologetically. ‘It’s meant to be a nice spiral of dough and jam. You know, rather than a splodge’.
The Boy Who Grew Dragons
Andy Shepherd and Sara Ogilvie
Things you found under rocks. Things you found at the bottom of ponds. Things you found lurking down the plughole. Jemina would scoop up anything nasty and deposit it in a jar.
Slime
David Walliams
I remember the bear who raised me. Nuzzling my face into her warm belly. Huge furry limbs shielding me from the biting now. I remember the deep rumbles of her snores through the silent winter, and clouds of steamy breath smelling of berries and pine nuts.
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
Sophie Anderson
I can only see a few spindly treetops from here, but they feel like thick ropes, tugging at my heart. I’m nearly at the top of the hill that rises from the village before I realise I’ve wandered away from the others.
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
Sophie Anderson
The forest has moods and at this moment it feels restless… I feel on edge, like the forest is trying to tell me something.
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
Sophie Anderson
The noise of the crows circling outside was constant… Sometimes, one would land on the sill. Pecking, watching, unblinking. The caws began to sound less friendly. Accusing, mocking. Marsh witch, the crows seem to croak, in the voices of the villagers.
A Pinch of Magic
Michelle Harrison
Soon the houses became fewer, and then the crossroads were in sight and there were no houses at all. Instead, some distance away across the marshes, rows of tiny prison-cell windows glowed yellow, like watchful eyes in the blackness. Rising even higher, another light flickered from a solitary tower that loomed over the rest of the building.
A Pinch of Magic
Michelle Harrison
The trouble was, she was starting to feel that liking physics so much made her unusual, which wasn’t a feeling she liked much.
The Train to Impossible Places
P.G. Bell
She swung her feet out of bed and into her slippers, then crept to the window, easing the curtain aside to peer out.
The Train to Impossible Places
P.G. Bell
As he continued to run through the controls, desperately searching for a solution, small beads of sweat began to form on his forehead and the muscles in his neck and shoulders became rigid and tight.
Raven’s Wharf
A.B. Martin
She remembered the first time she had held him, the wave of love she had felt then. The feeling she’d had that she would never let anything happen to him.
No Ballet Shoes in Syria
Catherine Bruton
Despite being jogged and jounced, jolted and jarred with every one of his captor’s steps, Bod managed to grasp the screw in his right hand.
The Graveyard Boy
Neil Gaiman
A fuse is laid leading to a firework. A scruffy and dirty girl, Lila, comes onstage. She carefully adds a tiny amount of delicate powder to the firework, thinks about it, adds a tiny but more. She thinks ‘why not’ and pours a load in. She steps back and lights the fuse.
The Firework Maker’s Daughter
Philip Pullman
Great things always happen when you do experiments but Dad said, “Dangerous chemicals are hard to get.” But when he was dropping us at the party, dad also said not to eat too many sweets and crisps and fizzy drinks at the party because, “Sweets and crisps and fizzy drinks are full of dangerous chemicals.”
Act Normal and Don’t Tell Anyone About the Dinosaur in the Garden
Christian Darkin
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up and walks away… It nestles in dark forbidden woods, rattles on windswept icy tundra, and hides in crumbling ruins at the far edge of cities. At this moment it’s perched on a rocky ledge high in some barren mountains.
The House with Chicken Legs
Sophie Anderson
Fortunately, Bradley’s aftershave, although utterly revolting, was harmless, and all they were left with was a fog of cloying perfume and slight headache.
Milton the Megastar
Emma Read
There was a smell in the air, pungent and rank, and to me quite unfamiliar.
The Butterfly Lion
Michael Morpurgo
I’ve heard them call Baba ugly, hideous, a witch, or a monster. I’ve heard them say she eats people. But they’ve never seen her like this. She’s beautiful, dancing among the dead, bringing comfort and joy. I love her wide, crooked-toothed smile, her big warty nose, and her thinning white hair that floats out from under her bowed, stumpy legs.
The House with Chicken Legs
Sophie Anderson
Stars twinkle above us, raining down tiny sparks of light. “Trost!” Baba shouts and she pulls the cork out of the bottle with her teeth. The sweet, spicy smell of the drink fills the air and the fire burns brighter.
The House with Chicken Legs
Sophie Anderson
The boy takes my hand in his. It’s warm and slightly damp with sweat. A smile bursts across my face and my cheeks ache with the force of it. I can’t remember the last time I spoke to a living person, let alone touched one.
The House with Chicken Legs
Sophie Anderson
Tom’s face felt so hot he was sure it was about to explode. The midday sun beat down mercilessly on his back, and the beads of sweat that had long since formed on his forehead began to itch and tickle.
The Secret Lake
Karen Inglis
he swivelled round to meet the piercing stare of the gardener, Charlie Green. ‘Now look ‘ere’, Tom Hawken, I’ve told you before, I’ve enough trouble chasing up these darn molehills without ‘aving you goin’ round diggin’ ‘em up.’
The Secret Lake
Karen Inglis
I woke in my narrow bed, sunrise just starting to brighten the mud walls of my room. The smell of burnt porridge hung on the air. Da must have been up for hours, as it took a long time for the fire to heat the heavy clay pot… My tummy rumbled as I stretched my arms.
The Girl of Ink and Stars
Kiran Millwood
‘Pine honey!’ I unscrewed the lid and the smell filled my nostrils, making my mouth water… The honey was so good I hardly noticed the porridge was burnt.
The Girl of Ink and Stars
Kiran Millwood
Dylan watched the icy flakes as they swirled past the car window. Caught by the wind, it was like the snow had transformed into huge beasts, their mouths opening wide in a silent howl.
Deadwood Hall
Linda Jones
I remembered that, that ache in my belly. How it came back two months later, when Ma died. Only then it was sharper, and there was no one carrying anyone out of that darkness. Three years on the same sweating sickness that took Gabo. Three years after that, the clay mine memory still made my throat feel tight.
The Girl on Ink and Stars
Kiran Millwood
Dylan’s eyes had bulged wide open in horror. Clinging to the outside of her window was a hideous snake-like creature, its huge purplish face squashed tightly against the glass. Jagged teeth bared, it was snapping and biting, trying to tear its way into the car.
Deadwood Hall
Linda Jones
All around them the fairground was doing a roaring trade. Stallholders were shouting, small children were squealing. Music was blasting out from every ride, the thumping bass vibrating through the air.
Kestrel Island
A.B. Martin
Sophie’s heart was in her mouth. Why would anyone take a chance on doing something so dangerous? He was such a long way up. One false move and he would plummet to his death.
Kestrel Island
A.B. Martin
It was a hot July afternoon and the park was scattered with people sunbathing and picnicking on the grass. Keeping a watchful eye out for Frisbees, footballs and the occasional marauding skateboarder, they sauntered around the park basking in the warm sunshine.
Kestrel Island
A.B. Martin
She’d been an avid reader as far back as she could remember, and she loved the sensation of opening a new book for the first time. It was the powdery quality of the pages. It suggested they were unsullied by the sweat of other people’s hands. They felt so deliciously crisp and neat.
Kestrel Island
A.B. Martin
Then he heard the noise, a rustling of leaves close by. A mild thrashing sound followed by a soft thumping, just beneath him down the slope. Archie readied himself to run when he heard a yelp.
Power and Fury: Eden Chronicles
James Erith
At the far end of the attic, Grandad pulled a sheet down from the wall to reveal a big metal door. “After you, Syd.” he said. Syd turned the handle - CLUNK - and gave the heavy door a push. Syd found himself standing on the deck of a very tall ship. There was an ocean of rooftops all around. Grandad pulled a handle. BOOOOOOP! went the handle and the ship lurched forward.
Grandad’s Island
Benji Davies
He looked at his beloved forest one last time and lay down. Fox closed his eyes, took a deep breath and fell asleep forever.
Everything around Fox was still and peaceful. Snow began to fall, gently covering him with a soft blanket.
The Memory Tree
Britta Teckentrup
The sun disappeared behind the pointed silhouettes of the rooftops of Whiffington Town, like a hungry black dog swallowing a ball of flames. A thick, eerie darkness fell like no other night Whiffington had ever known. The moon itself barely had enough courage to peek round the clouds, as though it knew that tonight something strange was going to happen.
The Creakers
Tom Fletcher
Lucy stopped the alarm clock and ran to check the bathroom.
Empty bath.
Empty shower.
Empty loo.
She ran downstairs.
Empty kitchen.
Empty living room.
Empty everywhere.
The Creakers
Tom Fletcher
Place/character names in The Creakers
Ella Noying
Mr Dungston (bin man)
Whiffington Town (based on dad’s job)
Silence. A summer-night silence which lay for a thousand miles, which covered the earth like a white and shadowy sea.
The Whole Town’s Sleeping
Ray Bradbury
Four glass hothouses of varying sizes stood in the centre. Condensation steamed up the large windows, fat leaves pressing against them like they were trying to escape. A man with a stooped back was whistling loudly and out of tune as he pushed a barrow-load of burnt-orange pumpkins and green marrows along a path between the hothouses towards her.
The Garden of Lost Secrets
A.M. Howell
She kneeled and began to scrub at the wooden floorboards… Is this the type of adventure you thought I’d be having? she asked in her head. Why is Mrs Gilbert so mean? She doesn’t seem to like me one small bit.
The Garden of Lost Secrets
A.M. Howells
The therapy room was like an office on one side, with a wooden desk and black leather chairs, but the other side looked like a mini version of this soft-play area called The Fun Zone. There were red and yellow cushions on a big blue soda, different toy boxes all stacked up and black-framed pictures of jumbled up shapes. The only thing I liked was the big white rug on the floow in the shape of a cloud, which was good because I spent a lot of time staring at it.
Being Miss Nobody
Tamsin Winter
Nell glances back towards the house, which is almost hidden by the old apple tree, sagging under the weight of all the unpicked fruit. The entire garden has turned into a jungle this summer.
Can you see me?
Libby Scott
Clara blew out the candle on her window sill with a heavy sigh, rested her chin in her hands and looked out over the gardens.
The Garden of Lost Secrets
A.M Howell
“It hurts.” The words squeeze themselves out through Tally’s gritted teeth. “I want to take it off now.”
“If you help me, we can get this done really quickly.” Mum looks up from her position on the floor. “Then we can treat ourselves to a piece of chocolate. What do you think?”
Can you see me?
Libby Scott
My story doesn't begin with them, or with the mafia; it goes back to that first day in Bombay. Fate put me in the game there. Luck dealt the cards that led me to Karla Saaranen. And I started to play it out, that hand, from the first moment I looked into her green eyes. So it begins, this story, like everything else — with a woman, and a city, and a little bit of luck.
Shantaram
Gregory Roberts
Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge. The bridge was being repaired; she went right through the Danger sign. The car fell a hundred feet into the ravine, smashing through the treetops feathery with new leaves, then burst into flames and rolled down into the shallow creek at the bottom. Chunks of the bridge fell on top of it. Nothing much was left of her but charred smithereens.
The Blind Assassin
Margaret Atwood
When the sniper reached the laneway on the street level, he felt a sudden curiosity as to the identity of the enemy sniper whom he had killed. He decided that he was a good shot, whoever he was. He wondered did he know him. Perhaps he had been in his own company before the split in the army. He decided to risk going over to have a look at him.
[…]
Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face.
The Sniper
Liam O’Flaherty
I’ve become a woman of few words.
Tonight at supper, before I speak my final syllables of the day, Patrick reaches over and taps the silver-toned device around my left wrist. It’s a light touch, as if he were sharing the pain, or perhaps reminding me to stay quiet until the counter resets itself at midnight. This magic will happen while I sleep, and I’ll begin Tuesday with a virgin slate. My daughter, Sonia’s, counter will do the same.
My boys do not wear word counters.
Vox
Christina Dalcher
Later, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months. Now that everything had returned to normal, he was surprised that there had been no obvious beginning, no point beyond which their lives had moved into a clearly more sinister dimension.
High Rise
J.G.Ballard
I instantly feel sick. It’s funny how your brain can be so happy about something that it feels as if it might burst into a billion stars at any moment, but your body can feel like it has flu and is hot and cold and sweaty and giddy. As if there are two different people stuck inside of you having a fight.
The Day We Met the Queen
Onjali Q. Rauf
She ran for it. Down the city streets and through the market she went, zigzagging past mounds of ambarella fruit and cane-basket displays and sacks of cardamom and cumin.
The Girl who Stole an Elephant
Nizrana Farook
Above them, Mr Macey wrestled with the package, his feet stomping dangerously close. Then, the door swung back and hit him in the head and he stumbled forward, face first into the coat rack.
Milton the Mighty
Emma Read
A forward roll over the first web line, then a cartwheel, backflip, pirouette, Fosbury flop and a floor-slide to finish at the front door.
Milton the Mighty
Emma Read
Anna’s face had contorted, her eyes fixed in disbelief.
Orphans of the Tide
Struan Murray
The hand was groping across the roof, as if searching for something else to hold.
Orphans of the Tide ft r
Struan Murray
The drew, deep shuddering breaths at first, then sped up, gulping the air hungrily.
Orphans of the Tide
Struan Murray
With a slow, deliberate motion, Boathook Man skewers the hat on the tip of his spike.
Malamander
Thomas Taylor
The night was black, he tried to heave in breath to shout for help but his throat was too dry and ashy to yell. He jabbed his finger into the back of his tongue to summon up spit. “Is anybody there? Help! Fire!” he shouted.
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
There was a pounding of feed and Con came sprinting out of the bushes, hair flying behind her, catching in the trees. She half dived, half fell into the river and swam, splashing frantically towards the raft.
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
He dodged around massive trees. He skipped over roots and brambles. He bent low to flash under boughs and bushes. He had wings on his feet he ran so fast.
The Minipins
Roald Dahl
I wrap my arms even tighter round the plank as we hurtle towards the side of the ravine. I brace myself just in time, then we slam into rock and thick trailing plants. Twigs scratch my face and my knuckles are bashed, but somehow I cling on as the bridge bounces once, twice, then comes to a stop
The Land of Roar
Jenny McLachlan
‘What… is… that?’ gasped Lucky’s father in the sudden silence.
‘What’s happening?’ gasped President Throntree, horror cracking her painted smile.
Phoenix
SF Said
“I’ve got it!” yelled Anna triumphantly, pushing her way to the sea well, holding the flensing tool over her head.
Orphans of the Tide
Struan Murray
“I’m Ellie,” said the little girl distractedly, rummaging in her pockets.
Orphans of the Tide
Struan Murray
“Ahem,” I say, clearing my throat and putting on the posh voice Mr Mollusc expects me to use with guests. “To whom may you be referring, sir?”
Malamander
Thomas Taylor
There’s a moment of silence. Then Boathoof Man roars - a great wordless bellow of fury.
Malamander
Thomas Taylor
I can hear guests checking in and out at the hotel reception, and the distant sound of breakfast being served.
Malamander
Thomas Taylor
The air filled with their screams, their cries, their total terror at the end of all worlds.
Phoenix
SF Said
A soft hissing sound. Behind him, above him. It set his teeth on edge.
Phoenix
SF Said
… a silence so deep and heavy that it seemed to hang in the atmosphere like mist.
The Nowhere Emporium
Ross MacKenzie
The whale’s massive body rose and fell beneath her hand, as it drew a ragged breath. It was a mournful, melodious rise and fall, reverberating from deep within the creature.
Orphans of the Tide
Struan Murray
Her heart filled with feelings she didn’t have names for.
Phoenix
SF Said
Tears trickled hotly down my cheeks. I snapped the pencil I was holding.
Orphans of the Tide
Sturan Murray
My nerves charge with electricity and my feet twitch. I’m ready to do this, but at the same time I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been before.
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
Sophie Anderson
A great wave of sadness washed up from his stomach.
Varjak Paw
SF Said
His body felt at half-mast: weak and flimsily built.
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
Fred could feel his nerves begin to crackle with terror.
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
Pain richoting around my skull as the van pulled away.
Cross Fire
Malorie Blackman
Her body shook, rached with silent sobs. She didn’t make another sound.
Cross Fire
Malorie Blackman
Clara’s throat tightened, as did her grasp on he secret, as she followed Mrs Gilbert into a dingy hallway.
The Garden of Lost Secrets
A.M Howell
...and now, in the distance, he saw a sight that froze his blood and made icicles in his veins.
The Minipins
Roalld Dahl
His stomach felt filled with moths, darting around a bright point of hope.
The Way Past Winter
Kiran Millwood Hargrave
My heart avalanches into my lungs.
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
Sophie Anderson
The trees were still dripping from their soaking the previous night and the ground underfoot was soft pale mud, with fresh footprints.
The 1000 Year Old Boy
Ross Welford
As we trudge round the corner I see the looming gates of Crater Lake, starkly black against the clear blue sky.
Crater Lake
Jennifer Killick
The world around him was lost to blackness.
The Nowhere Emporium
Ross MacKenzie
A warm fire flickered inside the cabin, bright enough to show old fashioned wooden beams on the ceiling and a bearskin rug on the floor.
Phoenix
SF Said
Perhaps you feel that you know what a dark forest looks like. Well I can tell you, right now that you don’t. These were forests darker than you would believe possible; darker than an inkspot, darker than midnight, darker than space itself… and as twisted and as tangled as a witch’s heart.
The Wizards of Once
Creddica Cowell
Manchester Welcomes Refugees was housed in a community centre in a run-down area of the city, where crumbling red-brick terraces crouched in the shadows of dying and derelict tower blocks. So different from the tree-lined streets and sunlit avenues of Aleppo - before the war, that is.
No Ballet Shoes in Syria
Catherine Bruton
The immense room beyond is shrouded in dusty curtains that cover the windows and tumble across the floor like waves. A conical beam of cold light, swirling with dust motes, descends from the ceiling to a circular table in the middle of the room.
Malamander
Thomas Taylor
She was wearing the same long red scarf that she always wore, and today her blonde hair was blowing around in the wind so much it looked like it was trying to be a scarf.
The Day We Met the Queen
Onjali Q Rauf
In the calm morning, the sun turns the waves golden.
The ocean steams beneath the heat and climbs as a mist into the sky.
The mist cools and gathers into a cloud that floats over a mountain in a country far, far away from Isaac’s pool.
The Rhythm of the Rain
Grahame Baker-Smith
The river wound for miles around bends and swoops, disappearing into the horizon near the foot of the mountain.
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
The air was infused with the jumbled perfume of furniture polish and dust, and something like melted chocolate.
The Nowhere Emporium
Ross MacKenzie
Aromas of caramel and spice filled the air.
He smelled like pages of old books.
The Nowhere Emporium
Ross MacKenzie
He smells like something bad is about to happen.
Malamander
Thomas Taylor
She placed jars full of flowers all over the house. Everything smelt of rose petals and soap.
Rooftoppers
Katherine Rundell
Hot sun spilled through the dusty windows and the room smelled of soup and unwashed clothing. And sadness, Aya thought.
No Ballet Shoes in Syria
Catherine Bruton
The moment I open the front door, the smell of roast lamb hits me in the face. I take a deep, appreciative breath.
Cross Fire
Malorie Blackman
The sharp odours of pine - wood, bark, cones, and needles - silvered through the air like blades, but beneath that, the fox recognised softer clover and wild garlic and ferns, and also a hundred things he had never encountered before but that smelled green and urgent.
Pax
Sara Pennypacker
Underneath, the earth was soft and dusty, it smelt of a thousand warm days, layered one over the other.
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
The banana was a little green, but Fred preferred them that way. He ate as slowly as he could, but it was difficult; bananas were very rare at home. It tasted of comfort.
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
Fred gathered all his courage together. He pulled the tarantula off the stick; it was hot and crispy, but it looked unambiguously spidery. He held his nose and bit a leg off. He was astonished, they tasted a little fishlike, and salty, like the sea. He took another, larger bite. ‘It’s not bad!” he said.
Con stated at him, incredulous. ‘You’re eating spiders, you do realise that?’
Max took a bite of his. ‘It’s very delicious,’ he said. ‘Can I eat yours, if you’re not having it?’
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
I stroke her soft pelt and she rubs my cheek with her nose in return. A rough tongue licks my face.
When the Mountains Roared
Jess Butterworth
So much rainwater falling that rushing rivers of runoff started springing up everywhere.
The Wild Robot
Peter Brown
The eye was the dark blue of a cold sea.
Orphans of the Tide
Struan Murray
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor…
The Highwayman
Alfred Noyes
My own heart is an earthquake inside of me, because we are about to face Smey.
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
Sophie Anderson
One day something caught the old man’s eye and an idea painted itself in his head. The idea grew roots and sprouted.
The Tin Forest
Helen Ward
...watching as the grey light of morning bled slowly through the West London streets, that Alex could try to make sense of what had happened. His uncle - Ian Rider - was dead.
Alex Rider, Stormbreaker
Anthony Horowitz
At the bottom of the garden I step beneath the trees and the gust of wind swirls around my ankles. Its icy fingers rake through my fur and I shudder. Branches snap in the cold wind and shadows crowd me.
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
Sophie Anderson
I’m sitting in the back of the library, staring out of the grimy windows across the staff car park. The grey clouds drip insipid colour into the grey air. Everything about today is grey.
Cross Fire
Malorie Blackman
Sometimes words hang around longer than people, even when you don’t want them to.
The Boy at the Back of the Class
Onjali Q Rauf
The fire seemed to breathe in, then exhaled a cough of flames.
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
Then she saw it in the distance. It was something old. It was something old and dishevelled. It was something very old and very dishevelled and very happy to see her.
The Last Straw
Jane Considine
No way am I sleeping in the same room as my disloyal, evil mocking sister. No way am I ever speaking to her again. No way am I even going to breathe the same air that she breathes.
The Land of Roar
Jenny MacLachlan
The air filled with their screams, their cries, their total terror at the end of all worlds.
Phoenix
SF Said
And he stood and he stood, and the Queen drove away in her golden chariot. And he stood and he stood, till the sea filled up and covered all the dry lanes. And he stood and he stood, and got so blown on by the wind that, year by year, it tore every rag of clothing off his back.
Where the World Ends
Geraldine McCaughrean
She was inflating like a monstrous balloon, her stomach bursting free of her tweed waistband, each of her fingers blowing up like a salami.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
J.K Rowling
But when the train came, everyone flooded into it like a giant wave and took us with them. Tom grabbed hold o etc tf my arm and I grabbed his and we soon found ourselves pressed like a sandwich filling between lots of people.
The Boy at the Back of the Class
Onjali Q Rauf
They were warm, ruby-red like the last moments of a summer sunset.
Phoenix
SF Said
On his head was a crown that glittered like starlight.
Phoenix
SF Said
The feelings burned inside him. There were tears like knives behind his eyes.
Phoenix
SF Said
It was bitterly cold outside, and as still as death in the shadow of the ice mountain.
Phoenix
SF Said
Ellie held out her hands to steady herself, stepping along the rooftop like a tightrope walker.
Orphans of the Tide
Sturan Murray
His eyes drifted impassively over Seth, like a butcher deciding how to carve up a carcass.
Orphans of the Tide
Sturan Murray
She spoke to them. In a voice like the chiming of a hundred tiny silver bells.
The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
The moonbeam was like a silver blade slicing through the room onto her face.
The BFG
Roald Dahl
Within the hour, he had so over-strained his arm muscles that his hands were jumping like frogs; he lay flat along the ledge, feeling them twitch and cramp and scrape against the dried spikes of bird lime, and could not think they were his hands at all.
Where the World Ends
Geraldine McCaughrean
Sometimes it felt like they were pieces of driftwood, forever being moved on the ebb and flow of the tide, with no choice where they are being taken - always at the mercy of others.
No Ballet Shoes in Syria
Catherine Bruton
The notes seemed to fly around - like shrapnel, like rubble falling from bombed buildings, like swirling dust on the streets of her home after the first shells fell.
No Ballet Shoes in Syria
Catherine Bruton
Guns exploded like fireworks all around us.
Double Cross
Malorie Blackman
A huge flat screen TV sat on the wall, like a piece of contemporary artwork.
Double Cross
Malorie Blackman
My stomach twisted like an angry snake.
Double Cross
Malorie Blackman
Antagonism crackles between us like static electricity.
Cross Fire
Malorie Blackman
What was going on? This was definitely where they were supposed to meet. Had Vladim and his gang been caught? Or had the whole thing been to set her and her mother up? A cruel trick to get her to betray Commander Zima and seal her own fate?
Nevertell
Katherine Orton
Uprooted plants lay all around, weak white roots dangling from clods of dark earth. Torn and trampled leaves shrivelled into themselves, as if trying to escape.
Nevertell
Katherine Orton
