When We Were Warriors


Emma Carroll - 2019
    . .Evacuation to an old house with forbidden rooms and dark secrets . . .An animal rescue service . . .Set in World War Two, Emma Carroll explores the resilience, resourcefulness and inventiveness of children when their lives fall to pieces. Introducing some compelling new characters, as well as revisiting some familiar settings, these adventures are sure to win over new readers, as well as fans of old favourites such as Letters from the Lighthouse and Frost Hollow Hall.'It's impossible to stop reading.' The Times'Carroll is a remarkable writer.' Daily Mail'Compelling storytelling.' BookTrust'Immediate and appealing.' Books for Keeps

The Teenage Workbook, or, The Passing of an April Shower


Adrian Tan - 1989
    People like Mills & Boon, Bikini Nikki and a hunky Dream Guy named Daniel. People like our old friends Chung Kai, Mui Ee, Kok Sean and Sissy.Theirs is a story of loony turns and unexpected twists, as crazy and unpredictable as the April weather. It is a story about wild cars and mad wives, hot foods and piercing screams. It's a story that's shamelessly frank.Read it to believe it.

Surrender


Sonya Hartnett - 2005
    A small, unforgiving town and distant, punitive parents ensure that he is never allowed to forget the horrific mistake he made as a child. He has only two friends - his dog, Surrender, and the unruly wild boy, Finnigan, a shadowy doppelganger with whom the meek Gabriel once made a boyhood pact. But when a series of arson attacks grips the town, Gabriel realizes how unpredictable and dangerous Finnigan is. As events begin to spiral violently out of control, it becomes devastatingly clear that only the most extreme measures will rid Gabriel of Finnigan for good.

Sophie's World


Jostein Gaarder - 1991
    Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

The Human Comedy


William Saroyan - 1943
    The time is World War II. The family is the Macauley's -- a mother, sister, and three brothers whose struggles and dreams reflect those of America's second-generation immigrants.. In particular, fourteen-year-old Homer, determined to become one of the fastest telegraph messengers in the West, finds himself caught between reality and illusion as delivering his messages of wartime death, love, and money brings him face-to-face with human emotion at its most naked and raw. Gentle, poignant and richly autobiographical, this delightful novel shows us the boy becoming the man in a world that even in the midst of war, appears sweeter, safer and more livable than out own.

The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl


Roald Dahl - 1992
    Macabre, unsettling and deliciously enjoyable, these stories make the perfect bedtime read – but be warned, once you've started reading you won't be able to stop . .

Valencia and Valentine


Suzy Krause - 2019
    To confront those fears, Valencia’s therapist suggests that she fly somewhere—anywhere—before her upcoming birthday. And as Valencia begins a telephone romance with a man from New York, she suddenly has a destination in mind. There’s only one problem—he might not actually exist.Mrs. Valentine is an eccentric old woman desperate for company, be it from neighbors, telemarketers, or even the funeral director (when you’re her age, you go to a lot of funerals). So she’s thrilled when the new cleaning girl provides a listening ear for her life’s story—a tale of storybook love and incredible adventures around the world with her husband before his mysterious and sudden disappearance.The stories of Valencia and Mrs. Valentine may at first appear to have nothing in common…but then again, nothing in life is as straightforward as it seems.

Doctor Dolittle: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1


Hugh Lofting - 2019
    Working with original author Hugh Lofting’s son, these books have been fully updated for the modern reader, all while retaining the full charm of the originals. Rediscover the children’s literature classic with three novels from the beloved series!Here are the good Doctor’s three exciting tales of world travel, beginning with his greatest adventure. In The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, winner of the prestigious Newbery Medal, the Doctor and his young assistant, Tommy Stubbins, travel in search of the brilliant naturalist Long Arrow, culminating in a meeting with the most fabled creature of all, the Great Glass Sea Snail! The Story of Doctor Dolittle details how the Doctor came to learn the languages of animals, and how he was called to Africa where he meets the rarest of all beasts, the marvelous two-headed pushmi-pullyu! And in another African adventure, Doctor Dolittle’s Post Office, the Doctor establishes the only postal service in the world where birds deliver the mail!

Wilde Like Me


Louise Pentland - 2017
    She has a wonderful best friend and an auntie who is bonkers, yes, but loves her to the moon and back. But Robin has a secret. Behind the mask she carefully applies every day, things just feel ... grey. And lonely. She struggles to fit in with the school mum crew. Online dating is totally despair-inducing, and she worries every day about raising her little girl with self-confidence, courage and joy.What Robin longs for is someone (over the age of six) to share with - someone who's always on her team. After 4 years (2 months, and 15 days!) of single-mum-dom, it's time for Robin Wilde to Change. Her. Life. Exciting new opportunities are about to come Robin's way ... Perhaps a man, perhaps the chance of a lifetime ...What will Robin do with the possibilities she creates for herself? And what potential will she unlock if she takes the leap?

The Ministry of Special Cases


Nathan Englander - 2005
    Englander’s wondrous and much-heralded collection of stories won the 2000 Pen/Malamud Award and was translated into more than a dozen languages. From its unforgettable opening scene in the darkness of a forgotten cemetery in Buenos Aires, The Ministry of Special Cases casts a powerful spell. In the heart of Argentina’s Dirty War, Kaddish Poznan struggles with a son who won’t accept him; strives for a wife who forever saves him; and spends his nights protecting the good name of a community that denies his existence--and denies a checkered history that only Kaddish holds dear. When the nightmare of the disappeared children brings the Poznan family to its knees, they are thrust into the unyielding corridors of the Ministry of Special Cases, the refuge of last resort. Nathan Englander’s first novel is a timeless story of fathers and sons. In a world turned upside down, where the past and the future, the nature of truth itself, all take shape according to a corrupt government’s whims, one man--one spectacularly hopeless man--fights to overcome his history and his name, and, if for only once in his life, to put things right. Here again are all the marvelous qualities for which Englander’s first book was immediately beloved: his exuberant wit and invention, his cosmic sense of the absurd, his genius for balancing joyfulness and despair. Through the devastation of a single family, Englander captures, indelibly, the grief of a nation. The Ministry of Special Cases, like Englander’s stories before it, is a celebration of our humanity, in all its weakness, and--despite that--hope.

Courage to be Counted


Eleri Grace - 2019
    When she wins a coveted overseas post with the Red Cross, she focuses on her war service. Falling hard for a sexy pilot wasn't part of her plan. Jack Nielsen has a mission. Motivated by patriotic duty and desire to avenge the death of his best friend, Jack commands a ten-man B-17 crew. Keeping himself and his men alive in the fire-filled skies over Europe will require Jack's full focus. Romancing a headstrong Red Cross Girl is a distraction he knows he shouldn't indulge. While Vivian's work takes her across France and into the heart of Nazi Germany, mounting casualties drive Jack to confront his dwindling odds of survival. As Allied forces converge on all fronts, can Vivian and Jack's relationship withstand an excruciating battle between love and duty?Courage to be Counted is the first book in the Clubmobile Girls series of thrilling historical romances. If you like brave military heroes, trailblazing heroines, and romance under fire, then you'll love Eleri Grace's page-turning tale. Buy Courage to be Counted and soar into this historical romance today!

Doreen


Barbara Noble - 1946
    Describes the mind of a child torn between her mother, whom she leaves behind in London, and the couple who take her in.

Never Evers


Tom Ellen - 2016
    Meanwhile, Jack looks forward to danger and girls, but hasn't a clue about either. That's until French teen sensation Roland arrives in the resort - who Jack's a dead ringer for. When Roland persuades Jack to be his stand-in for a day, Jack, in disguise, declares his feelings for Mouse. But what happens when he's no longer a pop star - will it be music and magic on the slopes?

The Mouse and His Child


Russell Hoban - 1967
    "We must wait and see."So begins the story of a tin father and son who dance under a Christmas tree until they break the ancient clock-work rules and are themselves broken. Thrown away, then rescued from a trash can and repaired by a tramp, they set out on a perilous odyssey to follow the child's dream of a family and a place of their own. What happens to the mouse and his child in their search for the magnificent doll house, the plush elephant, and the tin seal they had known in the toyshop is a tale to remember and return to.

Insignificant Moments


Jeremy Asher - 2010
    He's had an incredibly unadventurous career as an assistant librarian and only one serious girlfriend. But on the day he decides to literally climb a mountain and seek something better in life, something better finds him instead. That glorious day, Jaye rescues a beautiful young woman and realizes he's just met the girl of his dreams. In the turmoil surrounding her rescue, though, he doesn't even ask her name. She slips through his fingers--another casualty of his too cautious life. Reeling from disappointment, Jaye writes a simple yet heartfelt e-mail about the key to life and sends it winging into the ether. When that same inspirational e-mail returns to his inbox three years later--after impacting people around the world--Jaye is at another crucial intersection in life. The e-mail reminds him of what he lost, and he embarks on a life-changing journey to find it again, a journey full of adventure, mystery...and maybe even love. In the tradition of Nicholas Sparks, Insignificant Moments speaks to the profound impact a single moment can have on our lives and in our hearts. Revised 12/26/2012