Book picks similar to
Anna by Laura Guthrie
scottish
ya
purchased-tbr
4-star-books
The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance
Catherine Ryan Hyde - 2007
So it doesn't matter that her mom is drunk all the time. Cynnie's got her own life. Cynnie's the one Bill loves more than anyone. Cynnie's the real mother in the house. And if there's one thing she knows for sure, it's that she'll never, ever sink as low as her mother.But when things start to fall apart, Cynnie needs a way to dull the pain.Never say never.This unflinching look at the power of addiction is the story of one girl's fall into darkness—and the strength, trust, and forgiveness it takes to climb back out again.
Saskia's Journey
Theresa Breslin - 2004
It's a chance to rediscover her lifelong love of the sea - and to forget, if only for a few weeks, the boring career her parents have mapped out for her.Swept immediately into the rhythm of life in a fishing community, Saskia slowly begins to realize how little she really knows about her roots. Somehow, she needs to understand the past if she is to find the direction she needs for her future - a future that may or may not include her new friend Ben.Just as the sea gives up its bounty, so too her great-aunt must reveal the secrets of the past - the terrible toll of lives lost, and the very personal tragedy that left Alessandra herself so isolated.Only then can Saskia break free . . .
The Long Walk (The Bridge #2)
Jill Cox - 2018
And when a childhood dream bubbles up through the cracks in her life, Meredith can’t help but wonder if this new path was her true destiny all along.From Ireland to Oregon, from Paris to Shanghai, follow Meredith into a future she never imagined. Because sometimes, the story is more important than the ending.This sequel to THE BRIDGE is a sweet contemporary romance, perfect for fans of Jane Austen’s PERSUASION or L. M. Montgomery’s ANNE OF THE ISLAND.CONTENT WARNING: THE LONG WALK contains multiple scenes addressing death, grief, and mental health issues (depression, PTSD, and accident-related trauma).
Real
Carol Cujec - 2021
I am thirteen years old. Actually, thirteen years plus eighty-seven days. I love sour gummies and pepperoni pizza. That last part no one knows because I have not spoken a sentence since I was born. Each dawning day, I live in terror of my unpredictable body that no one understands.Charity may have mad math skills and a near-perfect memory, but with a mouth that can’t speak and a body that jumps, rocks, and howls unpredictably, most people incorrectly assume she cannot learn. Charity’s brain works differently from most people’s because of her autism, but she’s still funny, determined, and kind. So why do people treat her like a disease or ignore her like she’s invisible?When Charity’s parents enroll her in a public junior high school, she faces her greatest fears. Will kids make fun of her? Will her behavior get her kicked out? Will her million thoughts stay locked in her head forever? With the support of teachers and newfound friends, Charity will have to fight to be treated like a real student.Inspired by a true story, Real speaks to all those who’ve ever felt they didn’t belong and reminds readers that all people are worthy of being included.
Mavis and Dot
Angela Petch - 2018
Introducing two eccentric ladies who form an unlikely friendship.Meet Mavis and Dot - two colourful, retired ladies who live in Worthington-on-Sea, where there are charity shops galore. Apart from bargain hunting, they manage to tangle themselves in escapades involving illegal immigrants, night clubs, nude modelling, errant toupees and more. And then there’s Mal, the lovable dog who nobody else wants. A gently humorous, often side-splitting, heart-warming snapshot of two memorable characters with past secrets and passions. Escape for a couple of hours into this snapshot of a faded, British seaside town. You'll laugh and cry but probably laugh more."This book is quirky and individual, and has great pathos...[it] will resonate with a lot of readers." Gill Kaye - Editor of Ingenu(e). Written with a light touch in memory of a dear friend who passed away from ovarian cancer, Angela Petch’s seaside tale is a departure from her successful Tuscan novels. All profits from the sale of the books will go towards research into the cure for cancer.
The Distance
Zoë Folbigg - 2018
They start chatting and soon realise they might be more than kindred spirits. But there are two big problems: Hector lives 8,909km away in Mexico. And he's about to get married. Can Cecilie, who's anchored to two jobs she loves in the library and a cafe full of colourful characters in the town in which she grew up, overcome the hurdles of having fallen for someone she's never met? Will Hector escape his turbulent past and the temptations of his hectic hedonistic life and make a leap of faith to change the path he's on? Zoë Folbigg's latest novel is a story of two people, living two very different lives, and whether they can cross a gulf, ocean, sea and fjord to give their love a chance.
Looking at the Stars: How incurable illness taught one boy everything
Lewis Hine - 2018
My disability gave me the ability to understand and help others. And now I finally feel like I am living. 17-year-old Lewis Hine is a global phenomenon. Diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumour and water on the brain at 17 months, he wasn't expected to survive. But Lewis proved everyone wrong; he's not only surviving but thriving. In one Facebook post on his 16th birthday Lewis invited everyone to see how he faces head on the challenges from his ongoing illness, and he went viral. 30 million views later, Lewis now spearheads a campaign, Friend Finder, to make sure no one ever faces childhood illness alone. In his memoir, Lewis reaches out to anyone who may feel isolated in their lives. After 13 brain surgeries and continual health problems, life for Lewis is a daily challenge. From the sheer physical challenges - he is at high risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and has a pump in his brain just to keep him alive - to the horrendous bullying he's endured, he shares how he finds the strength to overcome all this and still lead a fun and fulfilling life. With a host of admirers around the world from Elton John to Kid Ink, Lewis is living his dream - even becoming Radio 1's Teen Hero of the Year. His story will make you laugh, cry and above all, feel inspired by life's endless possibilities, looking at the stars.
Taking a Chance on Love
Erin Green - 2020
She's ready for the next step but a proposal seems to be as far away as ever.Polly is devoted to her family. But after her parents' bitter divorce, she's wary of marriage - even after sharing twenty years and one son with Fraser.Single mother Dana longs for companionship, despite her dedication to raising her son Luke. Finding the right person to bring into their lives feels impossible - until a unique way to select a potential Mr Right comes along.With 29th February fast approaching, will they each take the chance this Leap Year to take control of their fates?
To Catch a Falling Star
Julie Wright - 2001
Following her parents' divorce, April was dragged to Boston to live with her mother. Her only glimmer of happiness there has come through her new friend Sara Downey, who is not only smart and popular, but is also a true friend. Sara soon sets April up on a blind date with John, a Mormon from the Rocky Mountains. He returns home, but April dreams of their next meeting. Then Sara is diagnosed with cancer. Sara begins a search for God and the ultimate purpose of life while April finds herself filled with cynicism and doubt. While at a party, she meets Sam, a new friend who designates himself her conscience. Sam is headed to BYU, and when April finds out that his roommate is going to be John, she conspires to get her parents to send her there for college. Reunited with John, April finds herself confronting her past, as well as facing the quest looming in front of her, which urges her down a path she can ultimately never deny-the truth.
Annie's Autumn Escape
Debbie Viggiano - 2021
Sixty! She feels half that age, even if the mirror tells her otherwise. Hubby Keith promises her a birthday to remember, and doesn’t let her down, but packing his suitcase to shack up with a forty-something isn’t quite the memory Annie wants to make. Suddenly she’s single and – as an empty nester – very, very alone. The Bucket List she and Keith had promised to work their way through is but a dream, until besties Bella and Caz rally around Annie and whisk her away for a trip that will be remembered for ever. Dubai. But it’s not all skyscrapers, bling, sand dunes and sheikhs. As the sun sinks over the horizon of Jumeirah Beach… might there also be love?
The Girls at 17 Swann Street
Yara Zgheib - 2019
The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists’ list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound.Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears – imperfection, failure, loneliness – she spirals down anorexia and depression till she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach pink house where pale, fragile women with life-threatening eating disorders live. Women like Emm, the veteran; quiet Valerie; Julia, always hungry. Together, they must fight their diseases and face six meals a day.Yara Zgheib's poetic and poignant debut novel is a haunting, intimate journey of a young woman's struggle to reclaim her life. Every bite causes anxiety. Every flavor induces guilt. And every step Anna takes toward recovery will require strength, endurance, and the support of the girls at 17 Swann Street.
The Death of Bees
Lisa O'Donnell - 2012
Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved.Marnie and her little sister Nelly are on their own now. Only they know what happened to their parents, Izzy and Gene, and they aren’t telling. While life in Glasgow’s Hazlehurst housing estate isn’t grand, they do have each other. Besides, it’s only one year until Marnie will be considered an adult and can legally take care of them both.As the new year comes and goes, Lennie, the old man next door, realizes that his young neighbors are alone and need his help. Or does he need theirs? But he’s not the only one who suspects something isn’t right. Soon, the sisters’ friends, their other neighbors, the authorities, and even Gene’s nosy drug dealer begin to ask questions. As one lie leads to another, dark secrets about the girls’ family surface, creating complications that threaten to tear them apart.Written with fierce sympathy and beautiful precision, told in alternating voices, The Death of Bees is an enchanting, grimly comic tale of three lost souls who, unable to answer for themselves, can answer only for each other.
Split
Muhammad Khan - 2020
Instantly accused of being easy, she is shunned by everyone at school, shamed by her community and worst of all, has disappointed her mum. Enough is enough and Salma decides to fight back against the prejudice and rumours, and audition for the role of her dreams. But on the hottest day of the year, with everything against her, can Salma make it in time and show the world who she really is?A powerful story of standing up and standing out, written exclusively for World Book Day 2020 by the Branford Boase Award-winning Muhammad Khan.
The Panopticon
Jenni Fagan - 2011
She is headed for the Panopticon, a home for chronic young offenders. She can't remember what’s happened, but across town a policewoman lies in a coma and Anais’s school uniform is covered in blood.Raised in foster care from birth and moved through twenty-three placements before she even turned seven, Anais has been let down by just about every adult she has ever met. Now a counter-culture outlaw, she knows that she can only rely on herself. And yet despite the parade of horrors visited upon her early life, she greets the world with the witty, fierce insight of a survivor.Anais finds a sense of belonging among the residents of the Panopticon – they form intense bonds, and she soon becomes part of an ad hoc family. Together, they struggle against the adults that keep them confined. When she looks up at the watchtower that looms over the residents though, Anais knows her fate: she is an anonymous part of an experiment, and she always was. Now it seems that the experiment is closing in.Named one of the best books of the year by the Times Literary Supplement and the Scotsman, The Panopticon is an astonishingly haunting, remarkable debut novel. In language dazzling, energetic and pure, it introduces us to a heartbreaking young heroine and an incredibly assured and outstanding new voice in fiction.