DEMONELLA

Demonella Volken is not bossy.

She is organised.

There is a difference, although Year 6 seem determined not to understand it.

When Brindle Park Primary launches a major fundraising campaign for its new Future Leaders Learning Suite, Demonella recognises the situation immediately: a rare opportunity for vision, standards and personal legacy.

With the help of four carefully selected classmates, she begins turning ordinary school fundraising into something sharper, smarter and far more impressive. There are posters to refine, roles to assign, totals to track and public appearances to manage.

Unfortunately, people keep bringing feelings into it.

As the campaign grows, Demonella becomes the face of its success. Teachers are impressed. Parents are generous. The money rises. The plan works.

But not everyone enjoys being managed. Vanna questions the fairness of Demonella's decisions. Safa notices the group no longer feels like a group. Elodie sees far too much. And Ottilie, whose creativity helped make the campaign special, begins to disappear inside Demonella's polished version of events.

Told through sharp close-third narration and Demonella's private diary entries, Demonella is a funny, clever and painfully accurate middle-grade novel about ambition, friendship, leadership, and what happens when being right starts to matter more than being kind.