At the British School in the Netherlands (BSN), independent thinking and curiosity drive everything our learners do, and their reading habits are no exception. Over the course of the school year, our learners and staff have dived headfirst into new and trending titles, developing their own critical perspectives with every chapter turned. Whether looking for a captivating adventure, a page-turning mystery, a bestseller on supporting young people’s wellbeing, or a beautifully translated international story, we have you covered.
From Our Senior School Learners
Both of our Senior School locations have busy libraries, frequented daily as part of our curriculum and purely for reading pleasure, as well. At SSV, learners across multiple year groups have shared a few of the stand-out books that kept them hooked this year. They’ve offered their personal recommendations for great summer reading.
At SSL this year, library staff and learners were excited to win the 13+ category of the inaugural World Kid Lit Schools’ International Reading Award. This was a global competition, celebrating international and translated literature for young people. Read more about their project, “Where will you travel by book today?” on our website
The titles they have shared here were among the favourites from SSL’s winning project. Each one took readers somewhere completely new and reminded us why reading across borders and languages matters so much.
From our Professional Development Academy
The BSN highly values Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) for our staff. We approach it with both purpose and flexibility. A voluntary staff book club, called the Leadership Lounge, offers colleagues the opportunity to engage with a wide range of texts, from leadership and educational research to contemporary challenges affecting children and young people.
The discussions among readers that each book stimulates often spread further throughout the school. This year, three books in particular sparked considerable interest and reflection. We can recommend them all for parents to consider (staff will revisit “The Disengaged Teen” again next year for more insights).
SSV Recommends:
Ice Apprentices, Jacob North: “Ice Apprentices is full of adventure and mystery. I recommend it for all ages.” Yasmine, Year 7 SSV
Fake Skating, Lynn Painter: “Fake Skating is an amazing, paging-turning book, especially recommended for romance fans.” Blau, Year 9 SSV
Keeper of The Lost Cities, Shannon Messenger: “Keeper of the Lost Cities” is a captivating adventure that kept me hooked by its adventure, action, and characters and has given me an immersive experience throughout the whole series.” Francois, Year 8 SSV
Powerless, Lauren Roberts: “I liked Powerless for its dark romance and recommend it to people who loved the Hunger Games.” Elsie, Year 8 SSV
Bletchley Riddle, Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin: BSN winner of the Iris Book Award 2026
SSL Recommends:
The Letter for the King, Tonke Dragt (translated from Dutch)
We could not put together a list of world literature without including this one, especially living as we do in the Netherlands. Published here in 1962, it has been the best-loved Dutch children’s novel ever since, and it is easy to see why. Young knight Tiuri breaks his vow of silence on the eve of his knighthood to help a dying stranger and finds himself alone, on horseback, carrying a secret that could change everything. It is a proper adventure story, full of tension and heart, and it feels like a privilege to be reading it in the country where it was born.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated from Japanese)
This book completely took us by surprise. Set in a tiny basement café in Tokyo where, if you sit in the right seat, you can travel back in time, it tells four short stories about love, loss and the things we wish we had said. The rules of time travel are strict and a little melancholy, which somehow makes it all the more affecting. It is tender and devastating in equal measure, and a perfect first step into Japanese fiction.
Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Adichie is one of the most important voices in contemporary literature and this, her debut novel, is a wonderful place to start. Set in Nigeria, it follows fifteen-year-old Kambili as she grows up under her father’s suffocating control and slowly, tentatively, begins to discover who she is. It is tender and fierce at the same time, and Adichie writes with such clarity and warmth that you feel you are right there alongside Kambili every step of the way. A book that lingers long after you finish it.
The Murderer’s Ape, Jakob Wegelius (translated from Swedish)
Honestly, we cannot recommend this book enough. Sally Jones is a gorilla who works as a ship’s engineer, and when her beloved captain is falsely accused of murder, she sets off across the world to save him. The story travels from Portugal to India and back again, and the whole thing is illustrated by the author in gorgeous detail. It sounds unusual and it is, but it is also one of the most moving and beautifully crafted books we have read in years. Once you meet Sally Jones, you will never forget her.
Dragonfly Eyes, Cao Wenxuan (translated from Chinese)
Cao Wenxuan won the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest honour in international children’s literature, and this book shows exactly why. Set across a turbulent stretch of 20th-century Chinese history, it follows two children whose lives become quietly intertwined in ways neither could have predicted. It has the feel of a folktale but the emotional weight of something much larger. Translated beautifully into English by Helen Wang, it is the kind of book that makes you realise just how much extraordinary literature exists beyond the English language, waiting to be discovered.
The BSN Professional Development Academy recommends:
How to Think About AI: Richard Susskind presents a short, non-technical guide that challenges us to think differently about AI.
The Anxious Generation: Jonathan Haidt reflects on what he calls the “Great Rewiring of Childhood” and how it is affecting mental wellbeing.
The Disengaged Teen: Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop identify four modes of learning that most young people go through – resister, passenger, achiever and explorer – and help readers understand how to coach them to become curious, resilient and motivated learners.
