Narrative theme: coming of age

Book Synopsis'A beautiful and evocative novel about grief, about growing up, about losing and winning. The people and places in this book will stay with me for a long time.' – Sally RooneyA 'Book of the Year' in The Economist, The Independent, The Week, The New York Times and The GuardianA deeply moving novel about grief, sisterhood, squash and a teenage girl's struggle to transcend herself.Eleven-year-old Gopi has been playing squash since she was old enough to hold a racket. When her mother dies, her father enlists her in a quietly brutal training regimen, and the game becomes her world. Slowly, she grows apart from her sisters. Her life is reduced to the sport, guided by its rhythms: the serve, the volley, the drive, the shot and its echo.But on the court, she is not alone. She is with her pa. She is with Ged, a thirteen-year-old boy with his own formidable talent. She is with the players who have come before her. She is in awe.An unforgettable coming-of-age story, Chetna Maroo’s first novel is a moving exploration of the closeness of sisterhood, the immigrant experience, and the collective overcoming of grief.'With this gorgeous debut, Maroo blows most of the competition off the court.' – The Times'Stunning . . . Spare, tender, brilliantly achieved . . . A novel that unfolds in silences . . . and dares to leave much unsaid.' – The GuardianTrade Review'Western Lane is a beautiful and evocative novel about grief, about growing up, about losing and winning. The people and places in this book will stay with me for a long time.' -- Sally RooneyA slim, subtle debut novel of grief and growing up that conjures a powerful panoply of emotions * The Economist, 'The Best Books of 2023' *Stunning . . . Spare, tender, brilliantly achieved . . . A novel that unfolds in silences . . . and dares to leave much unsaid. * The Guardian *A deeply evocative debut about a family grappling with grief, conveyed through crystalline language -- The Judges of the Booker PrizeThis gorgeous tale about a family reeling from loss stands out from the debut crowd… This quiet, elegantly compressed coming-of-age novel . . . operates most powerfully in the gaps outside the plot . . . Few novelists write this simply and richly. With this gorgeous debut, Maroo blows most of the competition off the court. * The Times *Maroo’s quiet sentences contain multitudes on cultural tensions and grief, on the wordless love between a father and a daughter. * The Telegraph *Terrific . . . A symphony of emotion . . . A bold book and a quietly brilliant one * The Economist *The beauty of Maroo’s novel lies in [its] unfolding, the narrative shaped as much by what is on the page as by what’s left unsaid . . . In this graceful novel, the game of squash becomes a way into Gopi’s grief and her attempts to process it. * The New York Times *Melancholy is only one of the moods of this short but brimming book. Squash is also a channel for Gopi’s rage; for connections with other players and her longsuffering father; and for a joyous kind of freedom of expression. The novel ends with the tournament, as it must, and Ms. Maroo’s writing achieves its most graceful rhythms and prescient insights. You’ll want to applaud. * The Wall Street Journal *A vivid depiction of grief, love and sisterhood * Independent *Starting off as an intimate tone poem, this story of a squash-obsessed teenager expands into something with the amplitude, depth, and ringing power of a great symphony. In other words--WOW. Western Lane is glorious. You’ll want to read it over and over again. -- Aravind Adiga, author of The White TigerCombining the precision and the efficiency of an athlete with the mysteries of childhood loss and memory, Western Lane is a novel in which we linger on every breathing line and relish every close observation. What an exceptionally talented writer Chetna Maroo is!' -- Yiyun Li, author of A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and Where Reasons End[A] slim, subtle, moving story . . . about grief and growing up in a Gujarati family in Britain . . . A bold book [and] a quietly brilliant one. -- A D Miller, Booker-shortlisted author of SnowdropsChetna Maroo captures with great poignancy and accuracy the bewilderment and groping for meaning that loss brings—but also how small acts of kindness ultimately redeem us from this loss. Truly a gem of a novel, this deceptively simple story told in a sparse, elegant style kept revealing its depths long after I had closed its pages. -- Shyam Selvadurai, author of Funny BoyLean, agile, and quietly deadly, Western Lane is a coming-of-age story of extraordinary artistic maturity. It is a book of young people muscling themselves through unreconciled grief, and it is a book of simmering intensities, reverberating silences, and exquisite literary timing. This is a book to both share and treasure. -- David Chariandy, author of BrotherThere are no villains in this exquisite novel (unless you include Death); everybody wants what is best and behaves with kindness. It could be syrupy-sweet, like Aunt Ranjan’s gulab jamun, but it isn’t. * TLS *A profoundly resonant novel . . . This is a debut in which Chetna Maroo gets every choice right, even the riskier ones. It reminds me of Kazuo Ishiguro’s A Pale View of Hills in that sense, and it has the same quality of being so calm, so confident, so close to the profound and yet rooted in real experience. The writing is beautiful and wise. * The Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisTwo wonderfully evocative short novels from the author of There Was A Time - surely the last novel about the Second World War to have been written by someone who served in it.Innocence is paired here with a complementary story, A Morse Code Set, first published in 1964 and available recently only as an eBook.In A Morse Code Set, set in Manchester in 1939, a boy finds his world turned upside down by the outbreak of war. When his own father is called up by the Army and Freddy accepts an offer from the father of one of his friends to repair his beloved morse code set, the youngster sets in motion a potentially tragic turn of events.In Innocence, young Tony grapples with the consequences of his father leaving his family, and a growing awareness of his own sexuality. The narrative brilliantly conjures a place and time - a Yorkshire village in the 1960s - and is yet quite universal, a story of family, community and heartbreak, of growing up and growing away.Trade ReviewA wonderful read * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThis is raw, semi-autobiographical fiction at its most painfully honest' Observer'Brilliant, lyrical, hilarious, heartbreaking' Cristina GarcíaDavid is only fourteen when he first tries crack cocaine. He is instantly hooked, and spends the next decade fighting his way out of jail and rehab. Though he reaches a tenuous sobriety, it is only when he takes a literature class at the local community college that something within him ignites.Set on Florida's Gulf Coast, All Day Is a Long Time is a spectacular account of what it takes to return from the brink to the world around us. In this unforgettable debut, David Sanchez demonstrates the importance of hope, and the redemptive power of the written word.'A wonder, an important, essential new voice' Justin TorresTrade ReviewThis book has it all . . . the voice is so insightful, so poetic, so absolutely alive to the world, that you won't be able to put it down. David Sanchez is a wonder, an important, essential new voice. -- JUSTIN TORRES, author ofWe The Animals (October 2021)David Sanchez has poured all of himself into this debut, a terrifying, moving and profound exploration of the liminal space between addiction and connection. -- KAREN RUSSELL, author of Swamplandia! (October 2021)With unflinching, razor-sharp precision, David Sanchez guides us through the labyrinthine heart of addiction and recovery. Wild, brutal, and tender, All Day is a Long Time is a novel of devastating truth and beauty. -- PATRICIA ENGEL, author of Infinite Country (October 2021)To call this a novel of addiction would be like calling The Sound and the Fury a novel of regret - yes, each is that, but each is also so much more . . . This beautiful poem of a book. -- NICK FLYNN, author of The Reenactments and Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (October 2021)This journey into the mind of a young addict is like nothing I've ever read - a terrifying, and often ecstatic, struggle for survival. It's an obsessive world of chemical equations and philosophical conundrums, an attempt to reckon with a breathless descent into madness. Sanchez's hero looks the devil in the eye and returns to tell a death-defying tale of redemption. -- CHRIS RUSH, author The Light Years (October 2021)David Sanchez's first novel - brilliant, lyrical, hilarious, heartbreaking- is the definitive handbook to hell and back. I haven't read anything as toughly vulnerable since Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son. A stunning debut. -- CRISTINA GARCIA, author of Dreaming in Cuban (October 2021)David Sanchez has written the rarest kind of novel. His subject matter, spanning so many aspects of contemporary American pain, is incredibly important, but it is his beautifully constructed sentences which make the narrative sing. -- GARRARD CONLEY, author of Boy Erased (October 2021)This exceptional debut is not a cautionary tale about the perils of drugs, but it certainly is the story of so many people right now, and it somehow leaves us with hope. What's more, the rare if dark gems found along its ocean floors, all sharp and brittle and made of base desire, let us glean a part of what's at the heart of addiction itself. -- Tommy Orange * New York Times *A semi-autobiographical novel of trauma and addiction offers hope for narrator, author and reader...This is raw, semi-autobiographical fiction at its most painfully honest... in David's quieter moments, when Sanchez's writing has a fine, almost hallucinatory quality, it's also a thought-provoking portrait of the vulnerability present in family life and how easily that can turn into damage... Literature has saved him. * The Observer *

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Book Synopsis'A magnificent love story, to be savoured like a delicious meal' Le ParisienFor fans of Antoine Laurain, When All is Said and Julie and Julia comes this emotional and heartwarming story of love between a father and son, told through their shared passion for food.For thirty years, Julien has lived with the question as to why his mother, Helene, suddenly walked out on him and his father - and why his father Henri refused to ever speak of her again.Now, as he sits by his father's bedside preparing to say goodbye, Julien remembers his father's long-lost notebook: a gift from Helene in which he jealously kept the recipes that made him the renowned chef of the Relais Fleuri restaurant.Julien is determined to find this last link to the father he so fiercely loves, and the mother he has never forgotten. But can the secrets to his father's cooking finally help him understand the other secrets Henri has kept all these years?Readers love The Little French Recipe Book'Rich, scrumptious, bittersweet, The Little French Recipe Book is a wonderful novel dipped in a mix of nostalgia, love, and secrets' Meggy'Heartwarming and a beautiful trip down memory lane' Jacky'A poignant and heartwarming book that kept me hooked and crave the food described' Anna Maria'My mouth positively watered with the descriptions of the food . . . If you have already discovered the novels of Antoine Laurain you will love this as well' Linda'What a treat for all lovers of French cooking, a vivid story with the bonus of lovely recipes spiced with a twist of mystery' JoanTrade ReviewLike a French meal - elegant, perfectly-paced and satisfying -- Anne YoungsonJacky Durand's debut novel is a love letter to family, memory and the art of French cooking, as authentic and satisfying as the recipes it describes. I devoured this poignant and evocative feast of a book, which explores the complex, bittersweet ingredients of the relationship between a father and son. -- Fiona ValpyI devoured this bittersweet debut novel set in a small town near Dijon ... an affecting tale with terroir recipes thrown in * Saga *A lovely emotional story. * My Weekly Special *A bittersweet book * Woman *

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Book SynopsisSet against the quiet and unassuming city of Huntsville, Texas, Jack "Meadowlark" Johnson, and his teenage son, Cooper embark on a journey of epic proportions. Told over the course a single day, this electrifying graphic novel recounts Cooper's struggle to survive the increasingly catastrophic consequences of his father's mistakes and the dangers they have brought home to his estranged family. As Cooper and his father desperately navigate cascading threats of violence, they must also grapple with their own combative, dysfunctional, but loving relationship.Drawing on inspiration from the authors' childhoods in Texas, their relationships with their own sons and from ancient myths like The Odyssey that resonate throughout the ages, this contemporary crime noir is a propulsive coming-of-age tale of the shattering transition into manhood. While both father and son strive to understand their place in the world and each other's lives, tension and resentment threaten to boil over. As emotionally evocative as it is visually stunning, this captivating graphic novel will appeal to fans of Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men and Terrence Malick's Badlands.

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Book SynopsisA GMA Buzz Pick!A Most Anticipated Book by Essence · The Millions · Atlantic Journal Constitution · Bustle · BookPage · Nashville Scene A Best Book of February by Washington Post · NylonIn this glittering triptych novel, Suzette, Maple and Agnes, three Black women with albinism, call Shreveport, Louisiana home. At the bustling crossroads of the American South and Southwest, these three women find themselves at the crossroads of their own lives. Suzette, a pampered twenty-year-old, has been sheltered from the outside world since a dangerous childhood encounter. Now, a budding romance with a sweet mechanic allows Suzette to seek independence, which unleashes dark reactions in those closest to her. In discovering her autonomy, Suzette is forced to decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to make her own way in the world.Maple is reeling from the unsolved murder of her free-spirited mother. She flees the media circus and her judgmental grandmother by shutting herself off from the world in a spare room of the motel where she works. One night, at a party, Maple connects with Chad, someone who may understand her pain more than she realizes, and she discovers that the key to her mother's death may be within her reach.Agnes is far from home, working yet another mind-numbing job. She attracts the interest of a lonely security guard and army veteran who's looking for a traditional life for himself and his young son. He's convinced that she wields a certain "magic," but Agnes soon unleashes a power within herself that will shock them both and send her on a trip to confront not only her family and her past, but also herself.This novel, told in three parts, is a searing meditation on grief, female strength, and self-discovery set against a backdrop of complicated social and racial histories. Nobody's Magic is a testament to the power of family-the ones you're born in and the ones you choose. And in these three narratives, among the yearning and loss, each of these women may find a seed of hope for the future.

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Book Synopsis"The magic here is not the supernatural kind, but rather an attention to the grace of the ordinary. It is the magic of watching these women come into their power."-New York Times"There's romance and a familial drama and examinations of identity, and though there's nothing quite supernatural, it creates a magic entirely its own." - Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See HereIn this glittering triptych novel, Suzette, Maple and Agnes, three Black women with albinism, call Shreveport, Louisiana home. At the bustling crossroads of the American South and Southwest, these three women find themselves at the crossroads of their own lives. Suzette, a pampered twenty-year-old, has been sheltered from the outside world since a dangerous childhood encounter. Now, a budding romance with a sweet mechanic allows Suzette to seek independence, which unleashes dark reactions in those closest to her. In discovering her autonomy, Suzette is forced to decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to make her own way in the world.Maple is reeling from the unsolved murder of her free-spirited mother. She flees the media circus and her judgmental grandmother by shutting herself off from the world in a spare room of the motel where she works. One night, at a party, Maple connects with Chad, someone who may understand her pain more than she realizes, and she discovers that the key to her mother's death may be within her reach.Agnes is far from home, working yet another mind-numbing job. She attracts the interest of a lonely security guard and army veteran who's looking for a traditional life for himself and his young son. He's convinced that she wields a certain "magic," but Agnes soon unleashes a power within herself that will shock them both and send her on a trip to confront not only her family and her past, but also herself.This novel, told in three parts, is a searing meditation on grief, female strength, and self-discovery set against a backdrop of complicated social and racial histories. Nobody's Magic is a testament to the power of family-the ones you're born in and the ones you choose. And in these three narratives, among the yearning and loss, each of these women may find a seed of hope for the future.

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Book Synopsis"STUNNING." —Susan Power, author of The Grass DancerA moving and deeply engaging debut novel about a young Native American man finding strength in his familial identity, from a stellar new voice in fiction. Oscar Hokeah’s electric debut takes us into the life of Ever Geimausaddle, whose family—part Mexican, part Native American—is determined to hold onto their community despite obstacles everywhere they turn. Ever’s father is injured at the hands of corrupt police on the border when he goes to visit family in Mexico, while his mother struggles both to keep her job and care for her husband. And young Ever is lost and angry at all that he doesn’t understand, at this world that seems to undermine his sense of safety. Ever’s relatives all have ideas about who he is and who he should be. His Cherokee grandmother, knowing the importance of proximity, urges the family to move across Oklahoma to be near her, while his grandfather, watching their traditions slip away, tries to reunite Ever with his heritage through traditional gourd dances. Through it all, every relative wants the same: to remind Ever of the rich and supportive communities that surround him, there to hold him tight, and for Ever to learn to take the strength given to him to save not only himself but also the next generation. How will this young man visualize a place for himself when the world hasn’t made room for him to start with? Honest, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, Calling for a Blanket Dance is the story of how Ever Geimausaddle finds his way home.

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Book SynopsisIn the early 1970s, in Stovall, Texas, seventeen-year-old Earl-a loner, a dreamer, a lover of music and words-meets and is quickly infatuated with Tina, the new girl in town. She convinces Earl to drive her to see her mother in Austin, where, after a hazy night of partying, Earl and Tina are separated. Two days later, Earl is being questioned by the police about Tina's disappearance and the blood in the trunk of his car. But Earl can't remember what happened in Austin, and with little support from his working-class family, he is sentenced for a crime he did not commit.Forty years later, Earl is released into an America so changed he can barely navigate it. Determined to have the life that was taken from him, he settles in a small town on the Oregon coast and works to overcome the emotional toll of incarceration. But just as Earl finds a chance to begin again, his past returns to endanger the new life he's built.Steeped in the music and atmosphere of the 1970s, I Am the Light of This World is a gritty, gripping, and gorgeously written story of the impulsive choices of youth, redemption, mercy, and the power of the imagination.Trade Review“I Am the Light of This World is as true and moving a book, as honest, as gripping, as any I have ever read. I continue to be haunted by this tragic novel--its note-perfect depiction of clueless youth, its bad breaks, bad choices, bewilderments and quirks, and, above all, the small moments of mercy that give hope in the midst of a hopeless situation. How do you piece together a broken life that wasn't much in the way of whole to begin with? With a career's worth of powerhouse fiction already in the books, Michael Parker has delivered his strongest work yet. I Am the Light of This World is a novel of truly singular beauty and wisdom.”—Ben Fountain, author of Beautiful Country Burn Again“I Am the Light of This World is as true and moving a book, as honest, as gripping, as any I have ever read. I continue to be haunted by this tragic novel--its note-perfect depiction of clueless youth, its bad breaks, bad choices, bewilderments and quirks, and, above all, the small moments of mercy that give hope in the midst of a hopeless situation. How do you piece together a broken life that wasn't much in the way of whole to begin with? With a career's worth of powerhouse fiction already in the books, Michael Parker has delivered his strongest work yet. I Am the Light of This World is a novel of truly singular beauty and wisdom.” —Ben Fountain, author of Beautiful Country Burn Again“Earl Boudreaux, the protagonist of Michael Parker's stunning new novel is one of the great inventions in recent fiction. Watching this beautiful dreamer get lost in a netherworld where fate, and drastic human error are disastrously intertwined, I realized that “Earl” is just another word for the hopeful, hopeless, yearning, worn-out soul of America. Parker is just flat out astonishing.” —Marisa Silver, bestselling author of Mary Coin and The Mysteries“I Am the Light of this World is a grimy, gutsy, glorious, novel and one of my favorite books in recent memory. Somehow, Michael Parker channeled the ghosts of Kent Haruf and Harry Crews (the good angel and the bad) to write this literary gem which is as lowdown and gritty as it is graceful and profound. An unforgettable novel that sings out on every page.”—Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Godspeed“I Am the Light of this World is a grimy, gutsy, glorious, novel and one of my favorite books in recent memory. Somehow, Michael Parker channeled the ghosts of Kent Haruf and Harry Crews (the good angel and the bad) to write this literary gem which is as lowdown and gritty as it is graceful and profound. An unforgettable novel that sings out on every page.” —Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Godspeed“A gut punch of a novel — lyrical, mordantly funny, and wrenching.” —Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble“A gut punch of a novel — lyrical, mordantly funny, and wrenching.”—Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble“From the opening sentence on, I was transfixed, locked into the phonic level of Earl’s world and somehow magically both rooted and flying. I don’t know how Michael Parker does it. There is the rhythm of the sentences and the deep attention to sensory details but there is also something even more ineffable going on here. This novel is incredible. Read it! Read it! Read it!”—Mesha Maren, author of Perpetual West“From the opening sentence on, I was transfixed, locked into the phonic level of Earl’s world and somehow magically both rooted and flying. I don’t know how Michael Parker does it. There is the rhythm of the sentences and the deep attention to sensory details but there is also something even more ineffable going on here. This novel is incredible. Read it! Read it! Read it!” —Mesha Maren, author of Perpetual West“Michael Parker’s latest is a haunting story of how easily life can go off the rails. This book made me thank my lucky stars on every riveting page, as it simultaneously had me outraged at the ravening gyre of uneven justice and circumstance. I Am the Light of ThisWorld finds Parker working in profundities both deeply spiritual and relevant.” —Smith Henderson, author of Fourth of July Creek

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Book SynopsisA tender and thought-provoking story exploring the sacrifices we make for family and what it takes to be a good parent.Grace's teenage mother dies shortly after giving birth and the perfect adoptive parents are found for her: David, the curate of an inner-city parish, and his wife Leila, who are unable to have children of their own. What they don't count on is Matt Harrison, Grace's shell-shocked young father who falls in love with his daughter and fights to keep her.The Harrisons are an unconventional family who see in Grace a chance for redemption. To convince the courts of their suitability will require a commitment from Matt's mother to return from Africa to her unhappy marriage. The Harrisons enlist their friend, the feckless, charming Jake Kelly, to retrieve her and he sets off on a quest that will force a confrontation.Ultimately, there are terrible decisions to be made about Grace's fate. Everyone only wants what's best for her - but who can say exactly what that is?Trade ReviewWill appeal to devotees of Joanna Trollope and Jodi Picoult...[Norman] is hot on their heels. * Daily Mail *Easy to read, hard to put down, it'll move you to tears. * Easy Living *

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Book SynopsisA feel-good story of an unconventional friendship between an old retired jazz musician and a young girl who is trying to find her place in the world.What can a bullied teenager learn from an old man spending his days in a retirement home? For a start, she'll learn that it ain't got a thing, if it ain't got that swing...Passing by a retirement home on her way from yet another awful day at school, she hears a familiar song playing through an open window. An old man is playing her musical idol Povel Ramel - a quirky jazz musician from the 1940s - and it sparks a new stage of her life. The man's name is Alvar and just like Steffi, he has a huge interest in music.Before long he starts telling her his story. In his youth, as the Second World War tore across Europe, he travelled to Stockholm. Young, innocent and quite naive, Alvar began his life in the big city, struggling to become a famous jazz musician. Or at least someone who was in a band. Or at the very least someone who could dance the jitterbug and talk to girls.Intrigued and inspired by Alvar's story, Steffi spends more and more time at the retirement home, learning about jazz and forgetting about school. She begins to realize that she doesn't have to be the Steffi other people know; instead, as Alvar did, she can recreate herself through music.Trade ReviewThere is much naive charm to be found in this story of a young girl who finds both a new friend and the hope for a new life through her growing interest in jazz... this is a loving, quietly charming... portrayal of jazz as a music which salves the soul of a misfit, brings her friendship and a sense of camaraderie and connects the future with the past. * Glasgow Sunday Herald *Wonderful Feels Like This is a gifted and moving novel, elegantly translated from the Swedish... Lovestam can make difficult narrative feats look easy (the way she can sketch character so economically, using only a few telling brushstrokes, is especially engaging) and the sharply observed central relationship draws you into its poignancy and quiet heroism. * Sydney Morning Herald *Sensitive and deeply moving: outstanding. * Kirkus Reviews *Empathy, identity, and the transformative power of music bind this tale of an atypical friendship between a teenage outcast and a jazz musician. * Publishers Weekly *Lövestam is a musical writer, with such an eye on language and storytelling that she can do almost anything she wants... She writes with the perfect pitch. -- Malin Persson Giolito * Amelia *A well written, warm and cosy story about how unexpectedly you can find a friend when you most need one. -- Stefan Holm * Värmland Folkblad *I know of no writer who can make me so genuinely happy as Sara Lövestam does... And if I'm ever asked what is the best book I've ever read, I will definitely answer: Wonderful Feels Like This. * Annika Koldenius *

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Book SynopsisOne time a boy kissed me and I almost died...And so begins the story of Jubilee Jenkins, a 28-year-old woman with a unique and debilitating medical condition - she's allergic to other humans. After a humiliating, near-death experience in high school, Jubilee has become reclusive in her adulthood, living the past nine years in the confines of the Victorian house her unaffectionate mother deeded to her when she ran off with a wealthy businessman. But now, her mother is dead, and without her financial support, Jubilee is forced to leave home and face the world - and the people in it - she's been hiding from.One of those people is Eric Keegan, a man who just moved into town for work. With a daughter from his failed marriage no longer speaking to him, and a brilliant, if psychologically troubled, adopted son who believes he has untapped telekinetic powers, Eric's struggling to figure out how his life got so off course, and how to be the dad - and man - he wants so desperately to be. Then, one day, he meets a mysterious woman named Jubilee...Trade ReviewI absolutely devoured this novel, which took me from laughter to tears in the turn of a page. From its brilliant premise to its wonderful ending, it was gripping, romantic and thought-provoking as it showed how two people can fall for each other without ever being able to hold each other's hand. I absolutely loved it. -- Katie Marsh author of A LIFE WITHOUT YOUA touching and often comedic tale of fitting in. * Prima *One of the most thought-provoking love stories of the year * Real Simple *Oakley's sophomore novel is a treat... Fans of Jojo Moyes and rom-coms set within the stacks of libraries will rejoice. * Booklist *It is easy to get lost in this vividly told story with characters and a fictional malady that are utterly believable. Oakley's second novel should build on the author's popularity and continue comparisons to popular authors such as Jojo Moyes. * Library Journal *Oakley masterfully creates a high-stakes story that still feels solidly real. All of her characters are well-rounded and charming, especially Jubilee. Readers will cheer each time she takes a risk and delight in her triumphs. A romantic, sweet story about taking chances and living life fully. * Kirkus Reviews *It's so rare these days to find an utterly original heroine like Jubilee - one who is bravely living an almost unimaginable life. Gripping, raw, and moving, this is one of my favourite novels of the year. -- Sarah Pekkanen, bestselling author of SKIPPING A BEAT and THE OPPOSITE OF MEA witty, inventive, and bittersweet story of a reclusive young woman forced to venture into the world where complex medical issues become tangled with longings of the heart. -- Beth Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT and LOOKING FOR MEA funny, moving and tear-jerking love story. * The Sun on BEFORE I GO *Colleen Oakley's debut deftly balances sorrow with laughs and compassion. * Us Weekly on BEFORE I GO *Before I Go brings humour and authenticity to a heart-wrenching journey. * Sunday Age *Author Oakley has set herself a tricky balancing act here, blending a comic sensibility with the depth and poignancy her subject requires. She pulls it off. * People Magazine on BEFORE I GO *Colleen Oakley takes on the big three - life, death,and love - and delivers a jewel. Before I Go absolutely glows with humour, wit, and compassion. I adore Oakley's fresh voice and could hardly bear for the book to end. * Lynn Cullen, bestselling author of MRS POE *

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Book SynopsisLove, betrayal and a family divided amid the turmoil of the English Civil War.London, 1640. Fifteen-year-old Henrietta Challoner dreams of adventure, of a life lived at the gallop, of the opportunities afforded to her brothers, Ned and Sam. She cannot know how devastatingly real these dreams will become, as the country slides towards vicious civil war...The crisis threatens to tear Henrietta's family apart. As religious and political tensions spill into the streets, they all must decide what comes first - their family, their country or their desires. But while she strives to maintain the peace at home, Henrietta becomes embroiled in a deeper plot: to hand London over to the King.Trade ReviewSenior's fresh, forceful writing breathes new life and relevance into the most destructive, dangerous era in English history. Totally gripping -- Kate Saunders * The Times *This study of a family divided by the Civil War is powerfully engaging. Senior is equally convincing on the fast-moving, 'male' world of politics and war and the more pragmatic (but equally painful) battles fought by the women who must somehow live with the results. Hen is a delightful heroine; I was rooting for her right up to the novel's heartbreaking conclusion. -- Maria McCann, bestselling author of THE WILDINGSenior's prose is as fresh as a country walk in spring, and arrestingly original... This is a compelling book that truly gets under the skin of its characters, and does so with compassion and passion... I predict a glittering future for its hugely talented author -- Angus Donald, bestselling author of THE OUTLAW CHRONICLES

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Book SynopsisLaura loves her daughter more than anything in the world. But nine-year-old Autumn is being bullied. Laura feels helpless. When Autumn fails to return home from school one day, Laura goes looking for her. She finds a crowd of older children taunting her little girl. In the heat of the moment, Laura makes a terrible choice. A choice that will have devastating consequences for her and her daughter...Trade ReviewA powerful and compelling story about the lengths a mother will go to to protect her child. What begins as a worrying situation quickly escalates into a nightmare as the result of a single bad decision. I found myself wondering what I would have done in that situation and the ending had me holding my breath. -- C.L. TaylorOnce I picked it up, I could not stop reading - I literally raced to the end. Laura's fierce love for her daughter Autumn, mixed with her desperation in the face of her powerlessness to prevent her daughter being bullied, made for a riveting and unsettling read. Bone by Bone is a tense, dark novel. Dread seeps from each page as Laura and her daughter descend deeper and deeper into a living nightmare and the story spirals towards an ending that is both unexpected and deeply satisfying. Sanjida is such a wonderful, assured writer. -- Luana LewisA page turner but also a book that explores with chilling realism the insidious nature of bullying and how helpless parents can feel in the face of damage being done to their child; I can imagine this will appeal to many parents. -- Jane ShemiltThis novel about the insidious nature of bullying escalates into a tale of violence, fear and suspense. * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisWhen Margot and Henry meet, they fall deeply in love. And then they lose each other.But Henry can't forget Margot and Margot is haunted by her memories of Henry. They live in each other's minds. Twenty-one years later, they meet, by chance, on a Manhattan street. And that's where their story truly begins...If I Forget You is a beautiful exploration of what it means to find the person you are destined to be with, but then spend a lifetime apart.Trade ReviewThomas Christopher Greene's If I Forget You is the most moving and beautifully-written love story I've read since Cold Mountain. -- Howard Frank Mosher, author of God's KingdomRomantic, full of yearning, and hopeful, this is an unapologetically passionate tale about the kind of enduring love we dream about when we are young. -- Robin Oliveira, New York Times bestselling authorThis love story makes for a perfect beach read. * Real Simple *A powerful, emotionally moving love story. * Library Journal *Hypnotic. -- Eric da Costa, author of Seven DaysBeautifully written... addictive -- Civilian ReaderIncredibly beautiful and compulsively readable, The Headmaster's Wife will keep you mesmerized into the wee hours. A master storyteller, Greene's biggest achievement is proving that the most complex mystery of all is how and why we love. * Kimberly McCreight, bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia on The Headmaster's Wife *Nothing is what it appears in this brilliant story of a life gone awry... The author's true intentions make this tale even more remarkable, for the book is, at its core, a trenchant examination of one family's terrible loss and how the aftermath of tragedy can make or break a person's soul. * Publishers Weekly on The Headmaster's Wife *Greene's haunting tale tracks the unraveling of a marriage. It starts, eerily, with a naked man's arrest... then twists back in time through love, grief, betrayal, and love again. * Good Housekeeping US on The Headmaster's Wife *

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Book SynopsisAfter the devastation of war, a child's love heals everything.Manchester, 1922: Molly Watson has had enough. Engaged for the last three years to a penny-pinching pedant, she finally decides she'd rather be a surplus girl than marry a man she doesn't truly love. Aware of the need to support herself if she is to remain single all her life, she joins a secretarial class to learn new skills, and a whole world opens up to her.When she gets a job at St Anthony's Orphanage, she befriends caretaker Aaron Abrams. But a misunderstanding leaves them at loggerheads, and damages her in the eyes of the children she has come to care so deeply about. Can she recover her reputation, her livelihood, and her budding friendship, before it's too late?The second in a quartet of sagas set during the early 1920s, following three Surplus Girls - those women whose dreams of marriage perished in the Great War, after the deaths of millions of young men, and the new lives they forged for themselves.Trade ReviewA promising start to a new saga set in the years between the wars... An enjoyable read full of good friends and bad characters. * People's Friend on the Surplus Girls *A real page-turner that will tug on your heart strings -- Anna Jacobs on 'The Surplus Girls'Pleasant and engaging * NB Magazine on The Surplus Girls *The best saga I have read. The restricted lives of women in the inter-war period is captured perfectly, with a fresh eye and brilliant story-telling... A pleasure to read. * Frost Magazine *

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Book SynopsisIrreverent, witty and wise, But the Girl is a coming-of-age story about not wanting to leave your family behind'Impressive... Yu remakes the art of writing itself'GUARDIAN'A wonderful new novel for a metamodern world'BRANDON TAYLOR, author of The Late AmericansGirl was born on the very day her parents and grandmother immigrated from Malaysia to Australia. The story goes that her mother held on tight to her pelvic muscles in an effort to gift her the privilege of an Australian passport. But it's hard to be the embodiment of all your family's hopes and dreams, especially in a country that's hostile to your very existence.When Girl receives a scholarship to travel to the UK, she is finally free for the first time. In London and then Scotland she is meant to be working on a PhD on Sylvia Plath and writing a postcolonial novel. But Girl can't stop thinking about her upbringing and the stories of the people who raised her. How can she reconcile their expectations with her reality? Did Sylvia Plath have this problem? What even is a 'postcolonial novel'? And what if the story of becoming yourself is not about carving out a new identity, but learning to understand the people who made you who you are?Trade ReviewImpressive… Yu is the writer Girl wishes to be – remaking, in her own image, the young female protagonist, the Künstlerroman, the postcolonial novel, and the art of writing itself * Guardian *But the Girl is a vivid novel of consciousness with a delightful sense of play. Jessica Zhan Mei Yu writes with striking originality that combines the irreverent and the philosophical about the ambiguities and ambivalences of contemporary life. A wonderful new novel for a metamodern world -- Brandon Taylor, author of The Late AmericansA unique and meaningful novel: refreshingly unsentimental, written with a directness that is both self-effacing and wry. The voice sometimes recalls Lucia Berlin, JD Salinger or Lorrie Moore but it's entirely her own -- Sharlene Teo, author of PontiAmbitious… Embarks on an intellectual journey into the contradiction of seeing and unseeing yourself as a person of colour in a much-loved canonical book * Daily Mail *Sharp, flecked with glints of bone-dry humour... It's compellingly poignant. But the Girl is a debut that heralds a skilled and singular new talent * List *A delicate investigation into intergenerational immigrant subjectivities... Written in a flowing, internal narration that occasionally moves into moments of not-quite-real, observations of the minutiae of everyday microaggressions build up to depict the internal landscapes that minorities must uncomfortably navigate * Skinny *

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Book SynopsisCarmel had been alone all her life. The baby knew this. They looked at each other, and all of time was there. The baby knew how vast her mother's loneliness had been.'A magnificent novel' SALLY ROONEY, author of Normal PeopleNell - funny, brave and so much loved - is a young woman with adventure on her mind. As she sets out into the world, she finds her family history hard to escape. For her mother, Carmel, Nell's leaving home opens a space in her heart, where the turmoil of a lifetime begins to churn. And across the generations falls the long shadow of Carmel's famous father, an Irish poet of beautiful words and brutal actions.This is a meditation on love: spiritual, romantic, darkly sexual or genetic. A multigenerational novel that traces the inheritance not just of trauma but also of wonder, it is a testament to the glorious resilience of women in the face of promises false and true. Above all, it is an exploration of the love between mother and daughter - sometimes fierce, often painful, but always transcendent.***A THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, NEW STATESMAN AND TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023******ONE OF THE BBC’S ’25 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023’***'One of our greatest living novelists' THE TIMES'Might just be her best yet' LOUISE KENNEDY, author of Trespasses'Gem-packed language... A must-read' MARGARET ATWOOD (via Twitter)Trade ReviewThe Wren, The Wren is a magnificent novel. Anne Enright's stylistic brilliance seems to put the reader directly in touch with her characters and the rich territory of their lives -- Sally Rooney, author of NORMAL PEOPLEThe Wren, The Wren may be her best book yet * Guardian, *Books of the Year* *Wonderful… This deceptively modest novel is the kind of book that will work on you long after you have put it down * Sunday Times, *Books of the Year* *These pages practically crackle with intelligence, compassion and wit. Phil McDaragh is so real I almost googled him. The Wren, The Wren might just be Anne Enright's best yet -- Louise Kennedy, author of TrespassesAnne Enright’s The Wren, The Wren is so good they named it twice, so good I read it twice – and read two different novels, because moral positions are incorrigibly plural in Enrightville * Observer, *Books of the Year* *Gritty, sad, sly, riotous... Gem-packed language that fizzes like a sidewalk firecracker. A must-read -- Margaret Atwood, author of THE HANDMAID'S TALE (via Twitter)The Wren, The Wren is Anne Enright at her lyrical, storytelling best -- Nicola Sturgeon * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *This is the golden age of Irish prose fiction. Of our many prodigiously talented novelist, few have the all-encompassing deftness of touch of Anne Enright * Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year* *One of my books of any year. It’s about womanhood, youth and that slow, painful, but joyous estrangement that emerges between mother and daughter as life runs its tumultuous course -- Michael Magee * Observer, *Books of the Year* *A work of astounding ventriloquism and hard-won hope about women’s lives * Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year* *

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Book SynopsisWhen three women set off on a hike through the wilderness they are anticipating the adventure of a lifetime. Over the next five days, as they face up to the challenging terrain, it soon becomes clear they are not alone.Lisa, Samantha and Nicole have known each other since school. Lisa is a fighter, Samantha a peacekeeper and Nicole a rule follower. United they bring out the best in one another.Only once it is too late for them to turn back do they appreciate the danger they are in. Their friendship is tested, and each of them must make a choice that will change their lives forever.Women's Weekly Book Club Great Read''The atmosphere is so charged, I often found myself clenching my jaw and getting goosebumps as I read. The descriptions of the Australian bush are so vibrant and evocative The bush feels alive in this book vast, daunting and full of lurking dangers Heartbreakingly honest and fiercely emotional a remarkable book that is bound to appeal to fans of Jane Harper and Liane Moriarty'' Honey''Piper gloriously demonstrates how to hook your readers and make them desperate to know the ending Piper's novel is an exploration of how the past can come to define ourselves, and a testament to the bonds of complicated friendship and to the relentless, isolating and utterly terrifying nature of the Australian bush'' Books + Publishing Review''There's a little bit of Big Little Lies about this deft and powerful study of female friendships under pressure this lyrical Queensland-based author has a style and tone all of her own which sucks you in and holds you in its seductive embrace, almost unable to breathe a page-turner a book dripping in the raw beauty of the Australian landscape'' Women's Weekly Australia''Piper has achieved that glorious, decisive moment in any great novel where the reader becomes desperate to know the ending. If you loved Jane Harper's Force of Nature, prepare yourself for another page-turning adventure'' Readings Monthly''An ambitious novel'' Weekend Australian

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Book Synopsis‘Think about a tune … the unsayable, the invisible, the longing in music. Here is a book of tunes without musical notes … It wrings the heart’ John Berger'The voice that O'Grady has crafted succeeds so well...running in parallel, Pyke's stark arresting images are laced between the paragraphs and chapters. The interplay between the two mediums is delicately powerful' Hilary White‘A masterpiece’ Robert Macfarlane‘O’Grady does not just respond to Pyke’s stark, beautiful photographs: he gives voice to thousands’ Louise Kennedy‘The experience of Irish emigration uniquely and powerfully illuminated’ Mark Knopfler‘If the words tell the story of the voiceless, the bleak lovely photographs show their faces. Fiction rarely gets as close to the messy, glorious truth as do memories and photographs. This rare novel dares to use both’ Charlotte Mendelson, TLSAn old man lies alone and sleepless in London. Before dawn he is taken by an image from his childhood in the West of Ireland, and begins to remember a migrant’s life. Haunted by the faces and the land he left behind, he calls forth the bars and boxing booths of England, the potato fields and building sites, the music he played and the woman he loved.Timothy O’Grady’s tender, vivid prose and Steve Pyke’s starkly beautiful photographs combine to make a unique work of fiction, an act of remembering suffused with loss, defiance and an unforgettable loveliness. An Irish life with echoes of the lives of unregarded migrant workers everywhere. Since it was first published in 1997, I Could Read the Sky has achieved the status of a classic.Trade Review 'A masterpiece' Robert Macfarlane 'Twenty-odd years on it is somehow even more luminous and richly satisfying than the first time out ... I hope thousands of new readers find themselves keeping a copy under the pillow, unable to let it out of their sight even for the hours of darkness' Annie Proulx ‘I Could Read the Sky (Unbound) has just been reissued. I urge you to behold the alchemy between Timothy O’Grady’s story and Steve Pyke’s photographs; no book on the Irish emigrant experience has moved me more. O'Grady does not just respond to Pyke's stark, beautiful photographs: he gives voice to thousands' Louise Kennedy 'The experience of Irish emigration uniquely and powerfully illuminated' Mark Knopfler 'It reminds us of a great and unforgivable truth – our cities are built on the loneliness of migrant workers, and their great sadness persists down the generations' Kevin Barry 'What Pyke and O'Grady have done is read out imagination' Dermot Healy 'If the words tell the story of the voiceless, the bleak lovely photographs show their faces. Fiction rarely gets as close to the messy, glorious truth as do memories and photographs. This rare novel dares to use both' Charlotte Mendelson, TLS 'A lament for the cruelty of diaspora strained throush such pure, understated language you're surprised the words themselves are not weeping on the page' Bloomsbury Review 'A fine, evocative, engaging act of storytelling that captures the essence of a displaced life for Irish exiles ... a work of literary genius' Gerry Adams 'Supple, unshowy, beautiful writing ... What is really marvellous is O’Grady’s ability to return to the well of familiar images of Irish emigration while being so utterly devoid of cliche ... People have been trying to read the sky for a long time. Rare masterpieces like this help us do it' Irish Times 'Timothy O'Grady captures the collegiality, the acceptance of a common fate, that sustained communities, especially all male communities' Irish Examiner ‘I Could Read the Sky pays tribute to the voiceless and overlooked, and so addresses the exile in all of us' TLS 'Animated by small epiphanies' TLS 'The relics of (these) lives resurface in the murk of memory and find their clearest depiction in Pyke's evocative black-and-white photographs.' TLS

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Book SynopsisCombining psychological suspense with elements of the ghost story, Shadow Girls is a literary exploration of girlhood by the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Jamrach's Menagerie. Manchester, 1960s. Sally, a cynical fifteen-year-old schoolgirl, is much too clever for her own good. When partnered with her best friend, Pamela – a mouthy girl who no-one else much likes – Sally is unable to resist the temptation of rebellion. The pair play truant, explore forbidden areas of the old school and – their favourite – torment posh Sylvia Rose, with her pristine uniform and her beautiful voice that wins every singing prize. One day, Sally ventures (unauthorised, of course) up to the greenhouse on the roof alone. Or at least she thinks she's alone, until she sees Sylvia on the roof too. Sally hurries downstairs, afraid of Sylvia snitching, but Sylvia appears to be there as well. Amidst the resurgence of ghost stories and superstition among the girls, a tragedy is about to occur, one that will send Sally further and further down an uncanny rabbit hole... Praise for Shadow Girls: 'A terrific evocation of a bygone Manchester girlhood, poignant and creepy by turns, by one of the most under-rated writers in England' D.J. Taylor 'Compulsively readable, Shadow Girls is an atmospheric, shape-shifting novel, part coming-of-age, part supernatural thriller. Birch renders the atmosphere of the sixties impeccably, and conveys most brilliantly the taut, complicated relationships between teenage girls with all their neediness, bravado and gullibility' Lesley GlaisterTrade ReviewA terrific evocation of a bygone Manchester girlhood, poignant and creepy by turns, by one of the most under-rated writers in England -- D.J. TaylorCompulsively readable, Shadow Girls is an atmospheric, shape-shifting novel, part coming-of-age, part supernatural thriller -- Lesley GlaisterSlowly and superbly paints everyday life at an all-female school... Utterly gripping * Heat *Probing the effects of buried trauma and the Freudian return of the repressed, Birch's achievement here is to give an authentic, arresting voice to a character who has little insight into the depths of her psyche * Daily Mail *That unhappy girl is what really haunts the delusional and guilt-ridden Sally, through all the "almosts" of this novel. And those bruises are its real "heavy subject", subtly embedded in these clever, unnerving pages * TLS *

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Book Synopsis'Absorbing, intelligent and atmospheric... Genius' Elizabeth Haynes_________________________Fortune favours the fraud...When she was thirteen years old, Ada Howell lost not just her father, but the life she felt she was destined to lead. Now, at eighteen, Ada is given a second chance when her wealthy godmother gifts her with an extravagant art history trip to Italy.In the palazzos of Venice, the cathedrals of Florence and the villas of Rome, she finally finds herself among the kind of people she aspires to be: sophisticated, cultured, privileged. Ada does everything in her power to prove she is one of them. And when a member of the group dies in suspicious circumstances, she seizes the opportunity to permanently bind herself to this gilded set.But everything hidden must eventually surface, and when it does, Ada discovers she's been keeping a far darker secret than she could ever have imagined...'Intelligent, elegant and immersive' Claire Kendal'A compulsive story, written with steely intelligence and wicked prose' Elizabeth BuchanTrade ReviewA treat ... excellent insights ... elegant prose * Daily Mail *With a frisson of uneasiness throughout, this intensely captivating thriller will cast its spell, leaving you on edge with unexpected twists. * Heat Magazine *Intelligent, elegant and immersive. I found myself absorbed by the voice and story, and fascinated by a complex narrator who made me feel both empathy and horror. -- Claire Kendal, bestselling author of 'The Book of You'Absorbing, intelligent and atmospheric, full of cool, incisive observations on class, loyalty and friendship - and oh my goodness, a razor-sharp twist. Genius. -- Elizabeth HaynesAmbition, lust, family secrets and lashings of Italian art - what could go wrong? A compulsive story, written with steely intelligence and wicked prose, that should propel the author into the bestseller lists. -- Elizabeth BuchanA heady tapestry of desires, secrets and entitled cruelties, suffused with the heat and shimmer of Italy... beautifully written, intoxicating... Fab! -- Philippa EastGlamour and art with a very dark underbelly of deceit and jealousy, that kept me guessing (and gasping) to the very end. -- Cressida McLauglinThe Favour is a refreshing, fun and compelling read about deception and consequences that had me hooked from the start. Ada is a wonderful creation who will stay with me for some time. * Lisa Ballantyne *Intense and intelligent, with a deliciously dark and dangerous atmosphere, and a story suffused with secrets and lies. Not to mention the intrigue of Italy, a fascinating central character and a killer twist. I loved it! * Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl *Devious and manipulative, she pulls the reader through this tale of gilded youth misbehaving and paying the price. The tension comes not so much from whether the truth about the crime will emerge as from whether or not Ada will ultimately get what she wants or the punishment she so richly deserves. * Literary Review *Riveting ... an enormously engrossing, satisfying book - darkly funny, sharply ironic, keenly observed and elegantly written * Western Mail *A gripping plot, fascinating characters and a glorious backdrop ... a hugely ambitious debut that delivers handsomely on its promise * Irish Times *

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Book Synopsis'One of the best novels about growing up fast' GUARDIAN 'One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height from the first sentence' OBSERVER'Scandalous and entertaining . . . Both funny and true' EVENING STANDARDThe Dud Avocado gained instant cult status on first publication and remains a timeless portrait of a woman hellbent on living. Sally Jay Gorce is a woman with a mission. It's the 1950s, she's young and she's in Paris. Having dyed her hair pink, she wears evening dresses in the daytime and vows to go native in a way not even the natives can manage. Embarking on an educational programme that includes an affair with a married man (which fizzles out when she realises he's single and wants to marry her); nights in cabarets and jazz clubs in the company of assorted "citizens of the world"; an entanglement with a charming psychopath and a bit part in a film financed by a famous matador. But an education like this doesn't come cheap. Will our heroine be forced back to the States to fulfill her destiny as a librarian, or can she keep up her whirlwind Parisian existence?Trade ReviewReaders turn to it again and again for its jokes, which are very funny and remain so after a dozen readings -- Rachel Cooke * Guardian *A champagne cocktail . . . Rich, invigorating, and deceptively simple to the taste . . . One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height from the first sentence * Observer *As delightful and delicate an examination of how it is to be twenty and in love and in Paris as I've ever read * Sunday Times *I had to tell someone how much I enjoyed The Dud Avocado. It made me laugh, scream, and guffaw (which, incidentally, is a great name for a law firm)For a highly likeable and amusing narrator, who throws herself into Parisian life. A cult classic to reconnect me with France and feed my love of sharp observational humour . . . a hedonistic whirlwind in Paris and the South of France, pulled along by its whip-smart American heroine, Sally Jay Gore (out of the way, Emily In Paris). This is someone I am desperate to drink Pernod with. Where life has felt so constrained, this was such a liberating read -- Emma Reed * Daily Telegraph *Scandalous and entertaining . . . Both funny and true * Evening Standard ***'A champagne cocktail ... Rich, invigorating, and deceptively simple to the taste ... One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height... * OBSERVER *** 'As delightful and delicate an examination of how it is to be twenty and in love and in Paris as I've ever read’ *SUNDAY TIMES ** 'Both funny and true * EVENING STANDARD *

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Book SynopsisFelix walks the same way to work through Southampton every morning, and the same way home again in the evenings. His life up to this point feels like one day repeated over and over; a speck of silt caught in the city's muddied waters. Sometimes it is all he can do to sit and watch while the urban sprawl races indifferently around him. But when the city stares back at him, one evening after work, everything changes.He doesn't see the statue's head move, but he feels its eyes on him, studying him from its lofty perch in East Park. From then on he continues to glimpse it, or something like it, encroaching with every visitation. With it come memories, spilling through the streets, crawling through the dark, haunting his night-time flat, until he isn't quite sure what is real anymore and what is imagined, in this hard, grey place where the gulls watch him sleep...Trade Review“...a unique story and I appreciated that, along with the beautiful writing. Very thought provoking novel.” - Ana Carter, Reviewer, Canada“Featherbones ... is beautifully written, with almost lyrical prose. It’s the kind of book that sets the mood early and it can be a bit overwhelming in its greyness. Stay with it and you will be rewarded by a well plotted story that twists and wanders so many places. If you like Magical Realism with a touch of Psychological Suspense, this book will delight you. I think it would make an interesting book discussion selection.” - Janet Kinsella, Tacoma Public Library, USA"Featherbones is an ethereal love song to a city by the sea. Thomas Brown's beautiful novel depicts a liminal world of statues, drownings and winged creatures. It's also a real page turner. I love this book."- Rebecca Smith, author of The Bluebird Cafe"This is an exquisitely written novel; deft, poised, and with a writer's ear for the rhythms of the world around us.Featherbones does the always-difficult job of making the strange familiar, while asking us to attend again to the things we think we know." - William May, author and lecturer"I loved the use of language, I loved the story and above all I loved the constant sensation that I was walking on the top of the dividing wall between reality and dream and imagination and past and present and future. I want to live on that wall for the rest of my life." Bookrazy blog"What to call this experience? Magical realism doesn't quite fit right. Magical-psychological-philosophical-realism. Maybe. This is a book that will be unlike any other that you have read. "There are some very well crafted passages in this book, and some amazing uses of language. It is really the beautiful language, in my opinion, that makes this a book worth the time to read and share with others. I liked the characters ... the way the story developed and the way the reader is never quite sure if what is happening is actual reality or just the imaginings of a confused mind. "If you enjoy reading books that make you think, and make you wonder at the author's ability to turn every day ordinary into something else, something a bit more extraordinary, then I recommend this book to you." - Ionia Martin, Readful things blog“In Southampton, England, a grey, rain-filled place, the story of Felix, and Michael’s set. Repeating patterns, like grey days, the same walk through the city every morning and evening, and the sight of birds, characterize the book. What if birds were human, or humans became birds? Remember the classic on Icarus and his father Daedalus, the creator of the labyrinth?“It’s exactly this fate and circumstance that Thomas Brown as author throws his readers in while reading Featherbones. There seems no way out of this storyline. Dream and reality converge. It’s difficult to stay concentrated. Is the reference to the Titanic a clue? Will one of the main characters commit suicide, or turn into a bird at full moon? “...I’m impressed by the psychologically laden plot and the way a small world becomes even smaller throughout Featherbones.” - Henk-Jan van der Klis, Reviewer, Netherlands"'Featherbones' is the second of Thomas Brown's novels that I have read and I think that I enjoyed this more than "Lynnwood", which I loved. Having made this statement, however, the book is going to be hard to review without telling readers too much about the plot. "Felix, the main character, is a young graduate, living his rather mundane life in Southampton. The highlight of his week is his Friday night drinking binge with his workmate and long-time friend, Michael. All seems fairly commonplace, until an event acts as a trigger for Felix to fall, swoop, descend into unreality. "The novel looks back to Felix's traumatic childhood - so many events that could lead to an uncertain future for Felix's mental health. Looking into the past, we meet Felix's father, his teacher, his very best friend, Harriet and a man who was supposed to be helping Felix overcome his disturbed childhood. "What I love about this novel is that it works on several levels and is open to different interpretations. For me, it is about guilt, repression, sexuality and the need for each of us to know ourselves. It is about acceptance, love and trust. "Thomas Brown writes such beautiful prose; 'Featherbones' is worth reading for this alone. However there is much more to appreciate - a fine, thought-provoking novel." - Angela Thomas, Reviewer, UK

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Book SynopsisAs a boy growing up in the Black Country—drained grey by Mrs Thatcher’s steely policies—Jamie dreams of escape to a magical metropolis where he can rub shoulders with the mythical creatures who inhabit the pages of his Smash Hits. Though his hometown is not without characters and Jamie’s life not without dramas—courtesy of a cast of West Midlands divas led by his mother, Gloria. Her one-liners are as colourful as the mohair cardies she carries off with the panache of a television landlady. We follow Jamie through secondary school, teenage troubles and away to art school; there he experiences the flush of first love with Billy, and the rush of the big city. But what then? Will he return to the safety of Welston, or risk everything on a new life in London? These flamboyantly funny stories of self-discovery, set against the shifting social scenery of the 80s and 90s, are for everybody who’s ever decided to be the person they are meant to be.

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Book Synopsis'I’d always known that I was Brown. Black was different though; it came announced. Black came with expectations, of rhythm and other things that might trip me up.' Imani is a foundling. Rescued as a baby and raised by nuns on a remote Northumbrian island, she grows up with an ever-increasing feeling of displacement. Full of questions, Imani turns to her shadow, Amarie, and her friend, Harold. When Harold can’t find the answers, she puts it down to what the nuns call her “greater purpose”. At nineteen, Imani answers a phone call that will change her life: she is being called to Accra after the sudden death of her biological mother. Past, present, faith and reality are spun together in this enthralling debut. Following her transition from innocence to understanding, Imani's experience illuminates the stories we all tell to make ourselves whole.Trade Review‘From start to finish, I was spellbound by the characters (especially Imani), the narrative voice, and the vivid imagery. Mensah intricately weaves complex characters, vivid descriptions, universal topics of love, loss, identity, religion, with themes like the search for a place to belong, into a well spun tapestry, a mind-spinning tale, a heart-pounding novel – and I'm hooked. I absolutely love this book.’ * Yvonne Battle-Felton, author of Remembered, longlisted for the Women’s Prize 2019 *Real beauty and clarity in the prose … powerful and unique.' * Chitra Ramaswamy *‘A compelling exploration of memory, race, mothers and the fractured self, Mensah questions the frameworks through which we understand the world and interrogates how to put disparate parts of our identities together to become the most true version of ourselves.' * Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater, winner of the Portico Prize 2020 *'[An] extraordinary debut … changes with every reading, like the sea, deep and light, or the flicker of spidersilk … a book to be cherished and shared.' * Vahni Capildeo *'Lyrical and magical … a powerful and very readable novel.' * Louise Maskill *'Mensah doesn’t shy away from tough subjects … a well-crafted debut … an extraordinary literary talent and … a thoroughly recommended read.' -- Emma Yates-Badley * Northern Soul *'A strong debut.' * The Feminist Nook *'Brilliance and beauty … The writing is exquisite, the plot is thoughtful and complex, and the characters are deeply lovable. This story will be told like folklore, passed on from person to person. And this is me passing it onto you.' * Kate Baguley *'A sensitive ear for language and observational detail … offers a unique blend of magical realism and social commentary – the past and the present intermingle with colonial history, displacement and family ties to form a rich narrative tapestry.' -- Reshma Ruia * Words of Colour *‘Strong storytelling crafted from a fine delicate web of themes … wonderfully vivid.’ * Busy Mama Book Club *'In … Castles from Cobwebs, we gain insight into how identity is not necessarily set in stone, nor is it straightforward or well defined. But rather how it can be complex, ever evolving and and simultaneously painful yet liberating to piece together.' * Blackbooksandnotes *'A stunning debut … immersive and captivating … all the threads come together to form the perfect cobweb.' * Literary Lucie blog *

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Book SynopsisTaking its inspiration from Great Expectations, this novel teases us with the question of what Pip might have been like had he grown up in the American South of the 1960s and 1970s and faced the explosive social issuesracial injustice, a war abroad, women's and gay rights, class strugglethat galvanized the world in those decades.A guilty encounter with an escaped felon, a summer spent working for an eccentric man with a mysterious past, conflicted erotic feelings for his employer's niece and nephewthese events set the stage for a journey of sexual and moral discovery that takes Newt Seward to New England, Rome, and Parisall before returning home to confront his life's many expectations and disappointments.Deftly combining elements of coming-of-age story, novel of erotic discovery, Southern Gothic fiction, and detection-mystery thriller, Furnace Creek leaps the frame of Dickens' masterpiece to provide a contemporary meditation on the perils of desire, ambition, love, loss, and family.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisInspired by true events, this gripping coming-of-age tale of friendship, sacrifice, and the power of unrelenting hope during WWII follows three friends from Mobile, Alabama, as they struggle to survive the Bataan Death March and make it home to their families--and the girl they left behind.

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Book SynopsisMaddie and Grace meet in an adolescent psychiatric unit after each has committed desperate self-injurious acts in response to years of abuse, neglect, and chaos. Together they navigate the surreal world of their fellow patients while staff provide nurturance and guidance to support their healing journeys.Trade ReviewMaddie and Grace are hungry: for love, for hope, and for truth. The stories of their pasts will break your heart, but their bright-eyed hope and resilience will have you rooting for them until the very end."—T. Greenwood, author of Such a Pretty Girl"Hungry Shoes is an emotional journey through the scar tissue of complicated lives. But the real feat pulled off by authors Boggio and Pearl is the impact on the reader, drawing us out of our cynicism, daring us to believe in humans again. A celebration of compassion, hard-earned wisdom, and the joy we can create."—Susan Henderson, author of The Flicker of Old Dreams: A Novel"This gritty, sublimely well-written novel holds a mirror up to our unfair world and gives us back reasons to believe that answers do exist, that justice is possible, and that, with the help of gifted professionals, broken lives can be mended."—Sarah Bird, author of Last Dance on the Starlight Pier

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Book SynopsisSet against the backdrop of Burma's fractured transition to democracy, this coming-of-age story weaves critiques of "voluntourism" and humanitarian intervention into a young woman's quest for connection across cultural boundaries.Trade Review[This is] a rare 'finding yourself' travel story done right, gently relating the grit and discomfort of a truly expanding consciousness. * Foreword Reviews *Have Fun in Burma is an affecting coming-of-age tale, and is perhaps most valuable for its look at Myanmar's complicated political situation. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisAnimals at the End of the World begins with an explosion, which six-year-old Inés mistakes for the end of the world that she has long feared. In the midst of the chaos, she meets the maid’s granddaughter, Mariá, who becomes her best friend and with whom she navigates the adult world in her grandparents’ confined house. Together, they escape the house and confront the “animals” that populate Bogotá in the 1980s. But Inés soon realizes she cannot count on either María or her preoccupied and conflicted parents. Alone, she must learn to decipher her outer and inner worlds, confronting both armies of beasts and episodes of domestic chaos. In the process, she also learns what it means to test boundaries, break rules, and cope with the consequences.The first novel by Colombian author Gloria Susana Esquivel, Animals at the End of the World is a poetic and moving coming-of-age story that lingers long after its fiTrade Review[Esquivel's] words are stripped to the bone, and they glisten—or perhaps I should say Myers’s words, which can be best praised through negation: as a native Spanish speaker, I’ll browse through originals when reading their English translations (even great ones will flounder at times), but I didn’t feel the need to do that once here. Myers has spawned her own mighty beast. * Asymptote *[Esquivel] offers a kids' eye view on a fragmented family, but she also uses her young protagonist to explore the blinders of race and class that exist within her world. [Animals at the End of the World is] a meticulously written book that doesn't feel meticulous at all, adding to its charm. * Words Without Borders *Animals at the End of the World is a poetic and moving coming-of-age story that lingers long after its final page. * Latin American Literature Today *[Animals at the End of the World] is a tour de force that stands out as the voice of a generation, offering shrewd insights into a country, an era, and a cohort marked forever. * Word Literature Today *Table of Contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisA lyrical novel following an idealistic student who explores the power of literature in Franco’s Spain. It’s the summer of 1963 and León Egea, a cocky nineteen-year-old student and aspiring author, has just finished his first year studying literature at the University of Granada and is starting a summer job as an encyclopedia salesman. León, infuriated by the injustices in Spanish society under the Franco dictatorship, comes to find that literature can speak the truth when the reality is clouded. In this coming-of-age novel by renowned Spanish writer Luis García Montero, León discovers that, under the repressive Franco dictatorship, people, places, and events are not always what they seem. But literature, words, and names open paths to discovery, both personal and political. Through lyrical fast-paced narrative, Someone Speaks Your Name explores literature as a foundation for understanding human relationships, national character, discrete differences between right and wrong, and for pursuing the path forward. As León’s professor tells him: “Learning to write is learning to see.” Trade Review"Very ably translated into English by Katie King, Someone Speaks Your Name is coming-of-age novel by renowned Spanish writer Luis Garcia Montero that will have immense appeal to readers with an interest in literary fiction with political and historical themes." * Midwest Book Review *“‘It’s hard to endure evil in the world. But it’s equally hard to endure innocence.’ A would-be writer finds himself spending the hot, dry summer of 1963 in Granada, where he works as an encyclopedia salesman and unexpectedly undergoes a passionate sexual initiation with a woman seventeen years older than he is. Their story plays out under the shadow of Franco’s dictatorship and amid unspoken memories of the Spanish Civil War, as literature and romance lead the young man into an startling new role. García Montero is among Spain’s most beloved and admired writers. This potent, rueful tale of coming of age—beautifully transformed into English in Katie King’s skilled, appreciative, and committed translation —is the first of his many works to appear in English.” -- Esther Allen, translator of Antonio Di Benedetto’s Zama“A furtive individual traverses these pages. . . . We don’t know who he is, but each time we read the book, when we open it randomly or search among its pages for favorite lines, we encounter him, a blurred but undeniable presence. He crosses paths with us, readers and visitors to this book. He is like someone who walks by on the street and is captured in the photos of others, an eternal stranger who ends up becoming familiar. He survives by calibrating each day, as if administering medicine, the right dose of tenderness and sarcasm, and if he conjures up temerity, he calculates, at the same time, its return.” -- Antonio Muñoz Molina, author of Sepharad, translated by Edith Grossman“The calendar in the neighborhood café is frozen at April 19, 1960, but León Egea, a restless college student, is not. Luis García Montero, Spain’s leading poet today, in Someone Speaks Your Name offers us a coming-of-age story in which León grows intellectually, erotically, and politically. At the same time Spain, in the clutches of a repressive dictatorship and still suffering the aftermath of a brutal civil war, is also coming of age in its struggle toward democracy.” -- Anthony Geist, translator of Rafael Alberti’s Roma, peligro para caminantes

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Book SynopsisA novel about guilt, rage, imagination, and boyhood, about being lost in the dark and learning you're not aloneThis is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy.You mustn't do that to yourself Shy. You mustn't hurt yourself like that.He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him.Got your special meds, nutcase?He is escaping Last Chance, a home for very disturbed young men, and walking into the haunted space between his night terrors, his past, and the heavy question of his future.The night is huge and it hurts.In Shy, Max Porter extends the excavation of boyhood that began with Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and continued with Lanny. But here he asks: How does mischievous wonder and anarchic energy curdle into something more disturbing and violent? Shy is a bravura, lyric, music-besotted performance by one of the great writers of his generation.EditBuild

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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