Ten children's and teen books to devour during the Christmas holidays

Maelsprout, Baluche, Bourbequeue, Proxidjinn or Crapaflix… These are not new Pokemon, but the names of magicores: magical animals invoked through human emotions with each specific powers. You can meet them in Magicalia, the news fantasy saga by Jennifer Bell. Alongside Bitsy and her best friend Kosh, you will discover this world parallel to ours. The two teenagers helplessly witness the attack of a sort of rhinoceros hamster and the kidnapping of the young girl's father by a mysterious organization. To find it, they will have to learn to control the summons of magicores and travel around the world in search of a lost object as powerful as it is dangerous. A funny first volume full of creatures, each more astonishing than the last.

*Sax, from 10 years old

Coyote, lost and found by Dan Gemeinhart*

How good does it feel to get back on the bus with Coyote and his dad Rodeo. For those who missed the first novel, these two are dented souls. Coyote lost his mother and two sisters in an accident. To combat grief, he and his father arranged a school bus to cross the United States. A journey of several years. At the end of volume 1, it is, peacefully, that they finally settle down. Coyote goes to college and lives in a real house except… ordinary life doesn't really suit them. Coyote finds his mother's ashes. And that will be the trigger. We have to get back on the road research from a book in which the deceased had written the ideal place to rest in peace. With Coyote, we go through all the emotions, we laugh, we cry but above all we love them!

*Youth Pocket, from 10 years old

Brume, the source of the secrets of Jérôme Pélissier and Carine Hinder*

This is the story of a abandoned little girl and found in the fog. His adoptive father will call him Brume. She only dreams of one thing: to become witch like the one who protected the village and who mysteriously disappeared. So to achieve her goals, she dares everything. Funny, a little cheeky and go-getter! Accompanied by her friend Hugo and a hilarious pig assistant, Hubert, she will challenge a dragon, wolves, rabid fairies or the terrible Ankou. Volume 3 was to close its adventures but there are still things to do. Brume is not going to stop there and that is excellent news!

*Glénat – from 9 years old

They say she is cursed, because she is different from the other children with her spot on her face. So she will do everything to prove that she can be the strongest and become a blade. At 17, Liv will manage to become the armed wing that leads the teams sent each year to the montagne to face the Bharal, this monster which for more than a century has terrorized Srapita with its shadows which petrify the inhabitants.

Are you ready to climb this cursed mountain alongside Liv and her team? Will you be able to face the traps of the heights, the biting cold, the betrayals, the attacks of monsters, the mind haunted by the voice of the terrible Bharal? This novel is a mortal ascension and a breathtaking quest to save an entire people.

* La Martinière Fictions, from 12 years old

An anonymous and mysterious text message. “Guess who I am and I’ll be yours.” Alyssa is player and when she receives it, she responds to it. She's tired of being the good, smooth student her mother imagines. What does she risk with a simple exchange of texts to try to find the identity of a boy? If Phone play starts as a challenge, this teen novel is a story of love and manipulation, rivalry and betrayals. There is Alyssa at the heart of a love triangle astonishing. Jamie the math guy and Matt, the swimming champion. We won't tell you more to keep the suspense going. And if you're hooked and want to know more, get started The originsor how it all began, how this game of seduction and manipulation began…

*by Michel Lafon, from 13 years old

Atalanta by Cassandre Lambert*

If you like it greek mythology and heroines who are not afraid, we recommend Atalante. Abandoned in the middle of the forest, the baby was blessed by Artemis the goddess of the hunt, Aphrodite goddess of love and Ares god of war, just that! Raised by a she-bear then taken in by men, she becomes one with nature, at once flexible, fast and a skilled archer. His destiny of heroin will take shape when she defeats two terrible centaurs who are sowing terror in the region and who wanted to kill her. But even with all her qualities, the story of Atalante is that of a woman who wants to marry against her will and who must constantly prove herself to men. Of the gods, of the hero and of the action !

*Didier Jeunesse, from 12 years old

Instinct by Inoxtag, Charles Compain, Basile Monnot*

It's the manga that everyone is talking about, the one d’Inoxtag. No Everest to climb for the YouTuber but a near future where a curious disease spreads to men, noctus. Those who are affected see strange brown spots appear on their bodies and they know that they only have 9 months to live! Haki is a young student apart, he perceives the intentions of others. A life parasitized by jealousy, envy and everything negative that man can have. Good people, he comes across few, so when he catches the noctus and thinks he is doomed, he will find a light of hope in a mysterious encounter will take him into a world where evil is not the rule. First hyperdynamic volume which sets the scene and allows us to glimpse the possibilities of a parallel world elected officials selected for their abilities and their Instincts. We completely understand its success since its release.

* Michel Lafon, from 12 years old

Blue cracks by Jérôme Leroy*

In 2068, the land you know is nothing more than a mirage. The worst has happened: global warming and air pollution have reached such levels that we cannot go out without a mask, we must confine ourselves during acid rain. Many coastal areas no longer exist, other countries have been wiped off the map or quarantined for reasons of epidemics uncontrollable fatalities. The fauna and flora have almost disappeared. What a picture for Tristan and Anna, two children growing up in this inhospitable world. They are the rare children who still read while the others live in the unreal world of screens and hologram bracelets. They will still find a ray of sunshine thanks to the innocence of their love… until the Catastrophe. If extreme end-of-the-world novels with a touch of romance and science-fiction If you're interested, go for it!

*Syros, from 13 years old

Nevermoor de Jessica Townsend*

Remember this name: Morrigane Crow. This is news heroin of a magical trilogy which has already been compared to Harry Potter. The story? Morrigane was born cursed, on her 11th birthday, she must die. It's written. She is one of the children whose destiny is to die on Wonder Day. You suspect that it's not going to happen, but how will she be able to overcome this curse? How will she arrive in the strange world of Nevermoor? A mentor called Jupiter to help him, new friends including a giant cat and a terrible threat the Wundereur, who reminds us a lot of the one whose name we cannot pronounce…. Voldemort!

*Volume 1 – The Challenges of Morrigane Crow – Pocket Jeunesse – from 10 years old

This novel was rewarded at the last Montreuil Children's Book Fair in December by the Nugget Prize for Teen Fiction. This story smells of gunpowder, desert dust, rancid alcohol from saloons and the filth of gold prospectors. It is the American West as you imagine, dirty and dangerous where the law of the strongest reigns supreme. Little and Big escaped the fire on their farm, leaving their adoptive father and their half-brothers and sisters behind. But Grand did not emerge unscathed from the attack, a bullet in the leg which became gangrenous. They have lost everything and don't even know if they will survive crossing the desert but they want explanations and above all, to revenge. A long journey begins for the two young boys. Unexpected encounters, help, sometimes even love, ambushes, blood, violence and whistling bullets.

*Leisure school, Collection M+, from 13 years old