The Boy Next Door

The new novel by Carnegie Medal nominated author Jenny Ireland. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Jennifer Niven. Now she wasn’t Molly Cassidy, St Anne’s pain-in-the-hole princess. She was nine-year-old Molly who was my best friend in the whole world. Nobody had put her in the recovery position. All these people and they’d just left her like that . . . I held her hand until the ambulance came.Finbar and Molly live next door to each other. When they were children, they spent hours and hours together. They were best friends. Until they weren't. 
 
Now 18, Fin and Molly move in very different circles. Molly is popular, pretty, dating the most handsome boy in the whole school. Fin has one friend and he's pretty sure he hates his dad and his little sister. 
 
At a party one night, though, they're pulled together in a way neither of them expects and then follows a year that will see them experiencing life-changing challenges, friendships, love and everything in between.Praise for Jenny Ireland:'Everything a YA contemporary novel should be: full of warmth, growth, and romance . . . beautifully relatable and a powerful reminder of the importance of empathy' - Paper Lanterns'Romance with substance' - Irish Times 
Jenny Ireland, nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024Selected for the UKLA Book Awards Shortlist for 2025

Jenny Ireland is a Young Adult writer who lives outside Belfast with her husband, two children and border collie. She is a Law and French Law graduate and former paralegal. 
 
In 2019 she underwent emergency brain surgery. While this experience was relatively traumatic, the close encounter with death has given her the gift of seeing what truly matters in life. Writing books.

Finbar and Molly were childhood best friends. They live next door to each other and spent hours and hours together. Until they didn't. 
 
Now 18, Fin and Molly move in very different circles. Molly is popular, pretty, dating the most handsome boy in the whole school. Fin has one friend and he's pretty sure he hates his dad and his little sister. 
 
At a party one night, though, they're pulled together in a way neither of them expects and then follows a life-changing year that will see them experiencing friendship and love an everything in between.

The First Move

Juliet believes girls like her - girls with arthritis - don't get their own love stories. She exists at the edges of her friends' social lives, skipping parties to play online chess under a pseudonym with strangers around the world. There, she isn't just 'the girl with crutches'. 
 
Ronan is the new kid: good looking, smart, a bad boy plagued by guilt over what happened to his brother Ciaran. Chesslife is his escape. 
 
Juliet thinks Ronan thinks someone like Ronan could never be interested in someone like her - and she wouldn't want him to be anyway - he always acts like he's cooler than everyone else. 
 
Little do they know they've already discovered each other online, and have more in common than they think . . .

A teenage love story that is both romantic and believable

A thrilling will-they-won’t-they rollercoaster ride of a plot . . . The First Move is that story that’ll move readers while putting great big grins on their faces.

Everything a YA contemporary novel should be: full of warmth, growth, and romance . . . beautifully relatable and a powerful reminder of the importance of empathy.

Juliet believes girls like her - girls with arthritis - don't get their own love stories. She exists at the edges of her friends' social lives, skipping parties to play online chess under a pseudonym with strangers around the world. There, she isn't just 'the girl with crutches'. 
 
Ronan is the new kid: good looking, smart, a bad boy plagued by guilt over what happened to his brother Ciaran. Chesslife is his escape; there, he's not just 'the boy with the brother'. 
 
Juliet thinks Ronan thinks someone like Ronan could never be interested in someone like her - and she wouldn't want him to be anyway - he always acts like he's cooler than everyone else. 
 
Little do they know they've already discovered each other online, and have more in common than they think . . .

Jenny Ireland

The third book from Branford Boase award nominated author, Jenny Ireland. This YA sport romance is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Emily Henry! 
 
When Lexie sees Shane for the first time, she’s blown away. Not only by the way he plays football (although that is great), but by his looks, and how he’s not like the other boys. Best of all, he feels the same way about her. Electricity at first sight. 
 
But there's a problem. 
 
New in town, Shane has taken the position in Westing FC's starting 11 that Lexie’s brother, Niall, had set his sights on. Now, they must be each other's biggest secret. Shane's family situation is complicated, so there isn't much space for a girlfriend... or is there? 
 
At first, the sneaking around is exciting: after practice, meeting on the beach, hiding from Niall. But things are about to get complicated... 
 
Also by Jenny Ireland: 
 
THE FIRST MOVE 
"I LOVED IT!! Amazing disability representation. Incredible character development. Gripping, fast-paced plot. This is YA romance at its finest!!" – Goodreads reader 
 
THE BOY NEXT DOOR 
"This book made me cry, laugh and also look at life slightly differently" – Goodreads reader

Jenny Ireland

Books by Jenny Ireland

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