Narrative theme: coming of age
Pan Macmillan The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr
Book SynopsisFunny, heart-warming and ultimately triumphant, The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr by Frances Maynard is a story for anyone who doesn’t quite fit in – and for everyone who chooses not to. Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.'Wonderful' – Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn't Call.Elvira Carr is twenty-seven, neuro-atypical, and has never lived alone. But her father – who she suspects was in the secret service – is dead, and when her mother has a stroke and is taken into care, Elvira suddenly finds herself home alone. In order to cope, Elvira – who knows a lot about biscuits and supermarkets, but not much about life – develops Seven Rules for interacting with others. Not even her rules can help her, however, when she’s faced with solving a mystery she didn’t know existed . . .'Big-hearted and charming' – James Hannah, author of The A to Z of You and Me.Trade ReviewAbsolutely fantastic -- Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn't CallFunny and heart-warming, Elvira is our new hero * The Sun, Fabulous magazine *Big-hearted and charming . . . Elvira manages to conjure up the one thing we could all do with: a cheat sheet for the painful puzzle of everyday life -- James Hannah, author of The A to Z of You and MeCharming . . . Ellie will make readers smile and occasionally want to take her under a protective arm -- Booklist'A heartwarming coming-of-age story. Perfect for book clubs and for readers who enjoyed The Rosie Project' * Library Journal *A novel which will stick in your mind long after reading, stalking your thoughts as you go about everyday life . . . When I finished the book, I couldn’t help but wish there was a sequel . . . Marvellous -- Ronnie Turner, bloggerFunny and heartwarming * My Weekly *Memorable and touching . . . The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr is an important novel and a great read, with elements of mystery, discovering friendship, and working out how to be independent in the world * Siobhan Dunlop, blogger at FiendfullyReading *Sometimes characters come along in books that are so utterly exquisite you feel blessed to have experienced them and indebted to their author for having gifted to them. Such is the case with Elvira Carr . . . A tale that is full of joy, empathy, honesty and warmth -- Jade Craddock, nudge-book.comFans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Rosie Project will love this endearing book . . . Heartwarming with a mystery at its centre . . . Elvira’s character is written with such genuine affection that you can’t help but root for her * bookriot.com *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Talk of Pram Town
Book SynopsisFor fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel, comes a story about mothers, daughters and second chances . . . It’s 1981. Eleven-year-old Sadie adores her beautiful and vibrant mother, Connie, whose dreams of making it big as a singer fill their tiny house in Leeds. It’s always been just the two of them. Until the unthinkable happens. Jean hasn’t seen her good-for-nothing daughter Connie since she ran away from the family home in Harlow – or Pram Town as its inhabitants affectionately call it – aged seventeen and pregnant. But in the wake of the Royal Wedding, Jean gets a life-changing call: could she please come and collect the granddaughter she’s never met? We all know how Charles and Diana turned out, and Jean and Sadie are hardly a match made in heaven – but is there hope of a happy ending for them? Written in Joanna Nadin’s trademark dazzling prose, The Talk of Pram Town tells the story of three generations of Earnshaws and asks whether it always has to be like mother, like daughter . . .Trade ReviewAnother triumph . . . I absolutely loved it -- Kate Eberlen, author of Miss You and Only YouFabulous on mothers and daughters, guilt and ambition and what it means to be alienated from the life you’ve always known * Daily Mail *I adored The Talk Of Pram Town. A brilliantly written, emotional and honest novel set in Essex and Leeds about mothers and daughters, dreams and dark secrets. It pulled at my heartstrings and the characters stayed inside my head long after I had finished reading. Highly recommend this wonderful book. -- Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl and The Hiding PlaceAn enchanting, heartfelt and nostalgic read -- Prima, on The Queen of Bloody Everything
£15.29
Pan Macmillan What You Need From The Night
Book Synopsis'One of the most exquisite debuts I've read' Daily Telegraph'Affecting and haunting' ObserverAfter the death of his wife, a father in a forgotten corner of France raises his two sons alone. But their town is not one of opportunity, and the boys are heading down different paths. Gillou sets his sights on university in Paris while Fus falls in with the local far-right group, searching for meaning and belonging with dangerous friends.How can a father and son find common ground when everything seems set to break them apart? A sudden act of violence will force them to find an answer.Tense, sharp and ultimately heartbreaking, Laurent Petitmangin's first novel, What You Need From The Night, asks what acts can truly be forgiven.'A tragedy of unconditional love' - L'Obs'Heartbreaking . . . haunts you long after you've put it down'- Libération'As sublime as it is painful' - Le ParisienTrade ReviewA triumph of tamped power and unsutured emotion . . . one of the most exquisite debuts I’ve read for some time * Daily Telegraph *Affecting and haunting * Observer *A short blast of a novel: a howl of pain, impotence and rage. The prose, fluently translated by Shaun Whiteside, is precise and unadorned * Spectator *Heartbreaking . . . haunts you long after you've put it down * Libération *A tragedy of unconditional love * L'Obs *As sublime as it is painful * Le Parisien *A poignant, modest, moving book * Télérama *It's impossible not to devour this heartbreaking and beautiful short text in one gulp * Psychologie Mag *An unforgettable first novel, Laurent Petitmangin writes as one lives. And it's dazzling * L'Est Républicain *Petitmangin tells his story of generational shock with a painful quality, a deep voice charged with sadness and a touching efficiency. Memorable * El País *A block of raw emotion * Paris Match *He describes with inifinite accuracy the violence of a father not being able to recognise his son anymore * Femme Actuelle *It shines with the dazzling yet minimalist style that probes hearts and consciences * La Provence *Magnificent! * France Inter *Everytime, Laurent Petitmangin finds the right word * Le Figaro *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan At the Bottom of the River
Book SynopsisAt the Bottom of the River is Jamaica Kincaid’s first published work, a selection of inter-connected prose poems told from the perspective of a young Afro-Caribbean girl.Collecting pieces written for the New Yorker and the Paris Review between 1978 and 1982, including the seminal ‘Girl’, these stunning works announced a fully-formed, generational talent and firmly established the themes that Kincaid would continue to return to in her later work: the loss of childhood, the fractious nature of mother–daughter relationships, the intangible beauty of the natural world, and the striving for independence in a colonial landscape.Powerful and lyrical, this is an unforgettable collection from a unique and necessary literary voice.Part of the Picador Collection, a new series showcasing the best of modern literature.Trade ReviewThis book will burn on your shelf. It is too choked with love to incite envy, too humble for admiration, and still too startling to escape astonishment -- Derek WalcottWhat a writer – elegant, uncompromising, simultaneously direct and layered and complex. -- Ali SmithI’ve read everything by Jamaica Kincaid, and I’ve still never read anyone like her. If you are new to Kincaid, I envy you -- Jackie Kay
£9.49
John Murray Press All Girls
Book Synopsis'A sincere, poignant and moving story of a group of teenage girls coming to terms with the world they've inherited' Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones and the SixAn all-girls boarding school in a hilly corner of Connecticut, Atwater is a haven for progressive thinking and feminist intellectuals. The students are smart, driven and worldly; they are also teenagers, learning to find their way. But when they arrive on campus for the start of the fall term, they're confronted with startling news: an Atwater alumna has made a troubling allegation of sexual misconduct against an unidentified teacher. As the weeks wear on and the administration's efforts to manage the ensuing crisis fall short, these extraordinary young women come to realise that the adults in their lives may not be the protectors they previously believed.All Girls unfolds over the course of one tumultuous academic year and is told from the point of view of a small cast of diverse, interconnected characters as they navigate the social mores of prep school life and the broader, more universal challenges of growing up. The trials of adolescent girlhood are pitched against the backdrop of sexual assault, consent, anxiety and the ways that our culture looks to young women as trendsetters, but otherwise silences their voices and discounts their opinions. The story that emerges is a richly detailed, impeccably layered, and emotionally nuanced depiction of what it means to come of age in a female body today.Trade ReviewThe pages turn fast and the girls are complex, compelling and written with incredible tenderness. Layden excels at rendering the everyday details of boarding school life * Kate Elizabeth Russell, New York Times *An exciting, innovative debut from a fresh and assured new voice * Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones and the Six *A shimmering, intelligent portrait of young women on the cusp of adulthood * Therese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of Z *An engrossing novel from start to finish, with characters who feel as real as your best friends * Carola Lovering, author of Tell Me Lies *All Girls kept me turning pages * Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists *Sexual awakening and institutional reckoning intertwine in Emily Layden's rich, kaleidoscopic debut * Elizabeth Ames, author of The Other’s Gold *Incisive, astute . . . Layden succeeds at bringing the effects of an institutional cover-up into sharp relief * Publishers Weekly *An important take on sexuality and #MeToo from the perspective of the young * Library Journal *Astutely captures the claustrophobic and toxic culture of conformity among teenage girls * Observer *Readers will find themselves thinking about the vividly and compassionately rendered characters long after their chapters end . . . Give it to grown-up fans of Gossip Girl and readers of Curtis Sittenfeld and Emma Straub * Booklist *Call it a 21st-century Prep or a Litchfield County Gossip Girl, but don't miss what's sure to become a touchstone among the beloved niche of boarding-school novels * Town & Country *Diving into the unprocessed underworld of adolescence, Layden creates space for a conversation about feminism and the unsung difficulties of surviving in a male-dominated world. Intelligent, evocative, and empathetic * Kirkus *
£8.54
Workman Publishing Lawn Boy
Book SynopsisRecipient of the 2019 Alex Award??“Mike Muñoz Is a Holden Caulfield for a New Millennium--a '10th-generation peasant with a Mexican last name, raised by a single mom on an Indian reservation' . . . Evison, as in his previous four novels, has a light touch and humorously guides the reader, this time through the minefield that is working-class America.” --The New York Times Book ReviewFor Mike Muñoz, life has been a whole lot of waiting for something to happen. Not too many years out of high school and still doing menial work--and just fired from his latest gig as a lawn boy on a landscaping crew--he’s smart enough to know that he’s got to be the one to shake things up if he’s ever going to change his life. But how? He’s not qualified for much of anything. He has no particular talents, although he is stellar at handling a lawn mower and wielding clipping shears. But now that career seems to be behind him. So what’s next for Mike Muñoz?In this funny, biting, touching, and ultimately inspiring novel, bestselling author Jonathan Evison takes the reader into the heart and mind of a young man determined to achieve the American dream of happiness and prosperity--who just so happens to find himself along the way.
£11.99
Srmg/Tvpc Shaping of an Agent: An UnderShadow Story
Book Synopsis
£9.50
Vintage Publishing The Girls: ‘Take it to the beach and savour every
Book SynopsisVINTAGE CLASSICS' AMERICAN GOTHIC SERIESSpine-tingling, mind-altering and deliciously atmospheric, journey into the dark side of America with nine of its most uncanny classics.A gripping and dark fictionalised account of life inside the Manson family from one of the most exciting young voices in fiction.If you're lost, they'll find you...Evie Boyd is fourteen and desperate to be noticed.It's the summer of 1969 and restless, empty days stretch ahead of her. Until she sees them. The girls. Hair long and uncombed, jewelry catching the sun. And at their centre, Suzanne, black-haired and beautiful.If not for Suzanne, she might not have gone. But, intoxicated by her and the life she promises, Evie follows the girls back to the decaying ranch where they live.Was there a warning? A sign of what was coming? Or did Evie know already that there was no way back?'Taut, beautiful and savage, Cline's novel demands your attention' Guardian
£9.49
Blackstone Audiobooks,U.S. Beyond the Horizon
Book SynopsisShe points the lens of the camera. The artist turns his head slightly. The light catches his brow and his silver-white hair. She snaps. He is lit like a Vermeer.Ireland. County Wexford, 1951. A father and son go swimming in the sea. The waves crash. The wind rises. Only one comes backColin, aged six. His mother, Eileen, runs to seek help, but this is a tragedy that will haunt them forever. Colin won't speak a word. He is mute and struggling to cope. But Eileen can see he has a talent for painting. She shows him his father's artwork and gives him a print of a Paul Henry landscape, and slowly, with her encouragement, he begins to follow his dream.Years later on Inishbofin island off the west coast of Ireland, out walking with his dog on the sand, Colin meets Laura, a young woman on holiday, and a tentative friendship starts to develop. Gradually his past comes to life in a story filled with love and frustration, loss and betrayal, but above all with the passion he has held through his life for the light in the sea and the sky and his search for that distant shore where the sky sweeps down to the water.One man. The sea. One painting.
£12.11
Boldwood Books Ltd Victory Bells For The Harpers Girls: A wartime
Book SynopsisThe brand NEW instalment in the bestselling Harpers Emporium series by Rosie Clarke. Can the Harpers Girls look forward to some happy times as a new dawn rises over London?Sally Harper is busy juggling running London’s Oxford Street Store Harpers and looking after her beautiful new-born daughter, whilst husband Ben is overseas on another dangerous mission, this time to rescue a friend in need.Young Becky Stockbridge finds herself in a difficult situation which could bring shame to her and her family. Will Becky, with the help of her friends find her happy ever after and keep her secret? Marion Jackson is blessed with a son as she eagerly awaits the return of her husband Reggie. But all is not right when Reggie returns. Is Marion strong enough to save her family from yet another crisis?As the war clouds retreat and the victory bells ring, tears and joy mingle with those of sadness as the world counts the true toll of war and celebrates peace.
£17.24
Atlantic Books The Prospector
Book Synopsis***J. M. G. Le Clézio is the Winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Fiction***On the isle of Mauritius at the turn of the century the young Alexis L'Etang enjoys an idyllic existence with his parents and beloved sister - sampling the pleasures of privilege, exploring the onstellations and tropical flora, and dreaming of treasure buried long ago by the Unknown Corsair. But with his father's death, Alexis must leave his childhood paradise and enter the harsh world of privation and shame.Years later, Alexis has become obsessed with the idea of finding the Corsair's treasure; and through it, the lost magic and opulence of his youth. He abandons job and family, setting off on a quest that will take him from the remote tropical islands to the hell of the First World War, and from a love affair with the mysterious Ouma to a momentous confrontation with the search that has consumed his life.By turns harsh and lyrical, pointed and nostalgic, The Prospector is a 'parable of the human condition' (Le Monde) by one of the most significant literary figures in Europe today.Trade ReviewLe Clézio expresses an unusual sensibility towards a dimension wherein human beings can breathe naturally in response to the seasonal rhythms of the planet, and thereby recover some hope of achieving ultimate wholeness and serenity * Times Literary Supplement *With its echoes of other famous quests, Alexis's search takes on mythical proportions and brings him face-to-face with the elemental forces of nature... A novel of intense beauty * Review of Contemporary Fiction *The Prospector offers a wonderful one-volume compendium of all the grand myths rooted in the European colonial experience, combining elements from Paul et Virginie, Robinson Crusoe, and Indiana Jones * Washington Post *
£8.54
Everyman Kim
Book SynopsisKipling's masterpiece is perhaps the most remarkable literary product of British India. The story of a half-caste boy, part Indian part Irish who journeys throughout the subcontinent with an aged lama in search of religious enlightenment, the nominal plot revolves around the Great Game: the struggle between Britian and Russia for control of Afghanistan. But the glory of the book lies less in the amusing picaresque adventures than in the unsurpassed panorama of Indian life they evoke: brilliant, moving and intensely alive.
£10.99
HarperCollins Publishers Falling Hard for the Royal Guard TikTok made me
Book SynopsisDespite living in an actual castle, happily ever after is evading Margaret Maggie' Moore.From her bedroom in the Tower of London, twenty-six-year-old Maggie has always dreamed of her own fairy-tale ending.Yet this is twenty-first century London, so instead of knights on white horses, she has catfish on Tinder. And with her last relationship ending in spectacular fashion, she swears off men for good.And then a chance encounter with Royal Guard Freddie forces Maggie to admit that she isn't ready to give up on love just yet But how do you catch the attention of someone who is trained to ignore all distractions?Can she snare that true love's first kiss or is she royally screwed?Love is in the heir in this royally good rom com perfect for anyone who likes relatable heroines (with great hair), hot and aloof book boyfriends (with great hats), near misses, almost kisses and a corgi or two.Readers are loving Falling Hard for the Royal Guard:As light and airy as meringue' Entertainment WeeklyA Trade ReviewReaders can’t put down FALLING HARD FOR THE ROYAL GUARD! ‘As light and airy as meringue.’ Entertainment Weekly ‘A towering love story.’ Daily Express ‘Readers will be charmed.’ Publishers Weekly ‘A novel that you’ll pick up for the promise of a very British romance story in a very unique setting, but will keep reading for the wonderful characters, sweet slow-burn relationship and Maggie’s heartwarming personal journey.’ Culture Fly ‘A perfect royal rom com.’ Bella ‘It’s fair to say I was captivated with this one… A great storyline, superb setting and a cheeky lead… Royally brilliant. I stand and salute this read.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I really loved this story and how much fun it was… The characters are great and the story was just spot on!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A great cast of characters… I read it in a day. Really enjoyed it!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I believe this author is new – you would never know this by reading the book. This has to be one of the best books I’ve read this year! Maggie was a phenomenal main character… Freddie was swoonworthy… I absolutely loved the facts woven into this story! Five stars!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I highly recommend Falling Hard for the Royal Guard. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and then you’ll swoon! For me, this is one of those books that you feel happy and glad to have discovered.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved the history of this book… Freddie and Maggie’s relationship gave me the warm fuzzies.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A brilliant debut! Completely unique… Great MC and perfect love interest.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This books was SOOO good!!! I loved the setting… the trials and tribulations of tinder dates was relatable and Freddie was just so charming!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Need Me
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Bailey puts a fun, super-sexy spin on the classic ‘hot for teacher’ trope [...] The love scenes in Need Me are practically incendiary, and the author’s sharp sense of humor provides a refreshing change from the usual heavy dose of dark angst that characterizes many other NA romances.” — Booklist “The tenderness, vulnerability and heat I am always guaranteed with a Tessa Bailey book are the reasons she is one of my all-time favorite authors.” — Sally Thorne “One of the genre’s very best.” — Kate Clayborn “Tessa Bailey’s writing stands out in all the right sexy ways.” — Buzzfeed “Bailey writes banter and rom-com scenarios with aplomb, but for those who like their romance on the spicier side, she’s also the Michelangelo of dirty talk. She wields filth like Da Vinci does a paintbrush, and there’s a lot to be said for an author who can fill such exchanges with all the requisite heat, enthusiastic consent, and yes, even humor, of such a scenario without veering into corny territory.” — Entertainment Weekly “Tessa Bailey has fast become one of my favorite authors!” — Monica Murphy, New York Times bestselling author “I loved every character, and I’m dying to see what Tessa Bailey comes up with next!” — Cora Carmack, New York Times bestselling author “a laugh-out-loud raunchy romantic comedy.” — Heroes & Heartbreakers “Louis and Roxy are a terrific match from the start. But Bailey is a master at portraying a heroine with a complex core, and Roxy’s proud character carries the novel— making readers wish she was their roommate, empty bank account be damned.” — Washington Post (April's Best Romance Column) “I can’t remember the last time I read a romance as funny as this one. Roxy is one of the most hardworking heroine’s in contemporary romance and she’s so incredibly dedicated to making ends meet. The book, for me, truly embodies what modern romance is all about. ” — BookRiot (Best Books of March 2015)
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Bilgewater
Book SynopsisMarigold Green calls herself ''hideous, quaint and barmy''. Other people calle her Bilgewater, a corruption of Bill''s daughter. Growing up in a boys'' school where her father is housemaster, she is convinced of her own plainness and peculiarity. Groomed by the wise and loving Paula, upstaged by bad, beautiful Grace and ripe for seduction by entirely the wrong sort of boy, she suffers extravagantly and comically in her pilgrimage through the turbulent, twilight world of alarming adolescenceTrade ReviewShe does fiction as it should be done, with confidence and insight -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie * Observer *Lively....excellent * The TIMES *One of the funniest, most entertaining, most unusual stories about young love * EVENING STANDARD *A striking story * TLS *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Memory of Souls
Book SynopsisGods, demons, and even more dragons . . . Jenn Lyons' powerful epic fantasy continues in The Memory of Souls.The longer he lives, the more dangerous he becomes . . . The city of Atrine lies in ruins. And now Relos Var has revealed his plan to free the monstrous god, Vol Karoth, the end of the world is closer than ever.To buy time for humanity, Kihrin and his friends need to convince a king to perform an ancient ritual. The power released would imprison the god for an age to come. But this may come at too high a price for the King of the Vane, as the ritual would strip his people of their immortality. As a result, some will do anything to prevent this ritual – including assassinating those championing this solution. Worse, Kihrin must come to terms with a horrifying possibility. It seems his connection to Vol Karoth is growing in strength . . . but what does it mean? And how can Kihrin hope to save his world, when he might be the greatest threat of all?The Memory of Souls is the third book in the thrilling series, A Chorus of Dragons, which begins with The Ruin of Kings. Continue the action with The House of Always.'What an extraordinary book . . . everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply deeply satisfying. I loved it' – Lev Grossman on The Ruin of Kings'Delightful and entertaining . . . it’s a fast, pacey read' - Locus Magazine‘Lyons raises stakes to a fever pitch' - Publishers WeeklyTrade ReviewLyons braids multiple points of view, tenses, and time lines into a richly detailed and elaborate story with increasing tension and stakes -- Library Journal starred reviewWhat an extraordinary book. The Ruin of Kings is everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply deeply satisfying. I loved it -- Lev Grossman on The Ruin of KingsA fantastic page-turner with a heady blend of great characters, fast-moving action and a fabulously inventive magic system . . . I loved it -- John Gwynne on The Ruin of KingsIt’s impossible not to be impressed with the ambition of it all, the sheer, effervescent joy Lyons takes in the scope of her project. Sometimes you just want a larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings -- New York Times on The Ruin of KingsThis follow up to Lyon's brilliant debut takes a similar, assured (and sassy) narrative approach as The Ruin of Kings . . . Lyons proves she is worthy of comparison to other masters of epic fantasy, such as Patrick Rothfuss, Stephen R. Donaldson (particularly in GrandGuignol action), and Melanie Rawn -- Booklist starred review on The Name of All ThingsSimply put: This is top-notch adventure fantasy written for a 21st-century audience - highly recommended -- Kirkus starred review on The Name of All ThingsLyons is creating a complex and wonderful series that will immerse and delight -- Library Journal on The Name of All Things
£10.44
Pan Macmillan Pages for You
Book SynopsisPages for You is story of the beginning, blossoming and falling apart of a delirious love affair, by Sylvia Brownrigg.‘A love letter written for a lost lover . . . mesmerizing’ – Helen Dunmore, The TimesWhen Flannery Jansen arrives at university, she is totally unprepared for an encounter that will rock her existence. But when she comes across Anne Arden in a local diner, Flannery falls dramatically and desperately in love.Flannery is quickly embarrassed in the face of the older woman’s poise and sophistication, and under the gaze of those impossible green eyes, but slowly their paths intertwine, and soon Flannery becomes Anne’s eager student in life and love.Trade ReviewA love letter written for a lost lover . . . mesmerizing -- Helen Dunmore * The Times *Candid, fresh and vivid * Sunday Telegraph *Bathed in a joyful, cloistered mood of sensual celebration * New York Times *Exuberant and wistful * TLS *Language is the real object of infatuation here . . . words are as seductive as bodies * Independent on Sunday *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Invitation To The Waltz
Book SynopsisA diary for her innermost thoughts, a china ornament, a ten-shilling note, and a roll of flame-coloured silk for her first evening dress: these are the gifts Olivia Curtis receives for her seventeenth birthday. She anticipates her first dance, the greatest yet most terrifying event of her restricted social life, with tremulous uncertainty and excitement. For her pretty, charming elder sister Kate, the dance is certain to be a triumph, but what will it be for shy, awkward Olivia? Exploring the daydreams and miseries attendant upon even the most innocent of social events, Rosamond Lehmann perfectly captures the emotions of a girl standing poised on the threshold of womanhood.Trade ReviewEvery emotional ripple is beautifully observed: the hideous anticipation, the agony of the empty dance card, the brief flutters of hope as various men take her for a turn around the dance floor, the many small disappointments that follow and the sudden vivid need to escape from the crowd, to flee, to breathe * Guardian *Lehmann legitimised a type of writing that took on deep personal themes -- English PENA novelist in the grand tradition, and, more than this, an innovator, the first writer to filter her stories through a woman's feelings and perceptions -- Anita BrooknerLehmann has always written brilliantly of women in love, of mothers, of daughters, of suffering -- Margaret DrabbleNo English writer has told of the pains of women in love more truly or more movingly than Rosamond Lehmann -- Marghanita LaskiA novelist in the grand tradition, and, more than this, an innovator, the first writer to filter her stories through a woman's feelings and perceptions * Anita Brookner *Lehmann has always written brilliantly of women in love, of mothers, of daughters, of suffering * Margaret Drabble *No English writer has told of the pains of women in love more truly or more movingly than Rosamond Lehmann * Marghanita Laski *
£9.99
Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press The Neon Bible
Book SynopsisThe accomplished and evocative first novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Confederacy of Dunces.John Kennedy Toole wrote The Neon Bible for a literary contest at the age of sixteen. The manuscript was finally published twenty years after Toole's death.The Neon Bible opens with the narrator, a young man named David, on a train, leaving the small Southern town he's grown up in for the first time. What unspools is the tender and tragic coming-of-age story of a lonely child, a story that revolves around David's unorthodox friendship with his great-aunt Mae - a former stage performer who is fiercely at odds with the conservative townspeople - and the everyday toll of living in an environment of religious fanaticism. From the opening lines of The Neon Bible, David is fully alive, naive yet sharply observant, drawing us into his world through the sure artistry of John Kennedy Toole.Trade ReviewHeartfelt emotion, communicated in clean direct prose . . . a remarkable achievement. -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *A powerful novel that belongs on the shelf with the works of Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers and Eudora Welty. * Orlando Sentinel *John Kennedy Toole's tender, nostalgic side is as brilliantly effective as his corrosive satire. If you liked To Kill A Mockingbird you will love The Neon Bible. -- Florence KingShockingly mature. . . . Even at sixteen, Toole knew that the way to write about complex emotions is to express them simply. * Chicago Tribune *
£9.25
Atlantic Books Last Man in Tower
Book SynopsisThe magnificent new novel from the Booker Prize-winning author of The White Tiger: LONGLISTED FOR THE 2013 IMPAC AWARD. 21st Century Mumbai is a city of new money and soaring real estate, and property kingpin Dharmen Shah has grand plans for its future. His offer to buy and tear down a weathered tower block, making way for luxury apartments, will make each of its residents rich - if all agree to sell. But not everyone wants to leave; many of the residents have lived there for a lifetime, many of them are no longer young. As tensions rise among the once civil neighbours, one by one those who oppose the offer give way to the majority, until only one man stands in Shah's way: Masterji, a retired schoolteacher, once the most respected man in the building. Shah is a dangerous man to refuse, but as the demolition deadline looms, Masterji's neighbours - friends who have become enemies, acquaintances turned co-conspirators - may stop at nothing to score their payday...
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Hidden Letters
Book SynopsisAs the storm clouds of war gather, Cordelia seeks refuge in the grounds of her family estate. Handsome landscaper Isaac has recently arrived to tend to the gardens, and the connection between him and Cordelia is as immediate as it is forbidden. Isaac begins to secretly teach her how to cultivate the gardens, so when he and all the young men are called away to war, Cordelia takes over. From the battlefields of Europe, Isaac sends her letters, that give her hope for their future in peacetime. But when these messages abruptly cease, Cordelia must face up to the worst and take her future - and the fate of the garden they both loved - into her own hands...--Trade Review‘A beautiful emotional story of love and strength’ Liz Fenwick, author of The River Between Us ‘With shades of Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth, and her trademark combination of unputdownable plot and beautiful writing, Lorna Cook has had me utterly captivated with her latest. The Hidden Letters has it all – heartbreak and redemption, intense love and desperate loss. It's the type of book that first made me fall in love with reading, I adored every sumptuous, atmospheric page, and can't recommend it highly enough.’ Jenny Ashcroft, author of Under the Golden Sun ‘This book perfectly evokes that spirit of a lost age. What a gorgeous writer Lorna Cook is. A book to lose yourself in. I loved it.’ Mollie Walton, author of The Ironbridge Saga and The Raven Hall Saga. ‘A beautiful, evocative story of love and coping with loss that kept me turning the pages late into the night. A triumph!’ Rachel Burton, author of The Secrets of Summer House ‘Magnificent. Broke my heart and put it back together again’ Amanda Geard, author of The Midnight House ‘Kept me guessing right up to the last poignant page, I found it difficult to put down and impossible to stop thinking about when I did’ Iona Grey, author of The Glittering Hour ‘Lorna Cook’s lyrical novel transports us back to the last golden summer of innocence. Against the backdrop of a garden so beautifully depicted that I could smell the roses, she leads us through loss, heartbreak and heroism – and shows us that love can triumph over even the greatest adversity.’ Judy Summers, author of The Forgotten Sister
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers Tracy Flick Cant Win
Book SynopsisSoon to be a major filmTracy Flick, star of Election and one of the most memorable characters of our time, returns in this dark and insightful comedy about midlife.Ambitious and hardworking Tracy Flick feels underappreciated and stuck. Her job as a high school assistant principal isn't the political career she dreamed of as an over-achieving teen, so when the longtime principal abruptly announces his retirement, offering a rare chance of promotion, Tracy is filled with zeal at the prospect of success.But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be. As she takes her shot at the top job, her male colleagues' determination to honour Vito Falcone, a star quarterback of dubious character, triggers troubling memories of her high school experience, and storm clouds brewing in her present her goals, career and relationships send Tracy spiralling.One of the great writers that we have today. I love this book' Harlan CobenEngrossing and mordanTrade Review‘Engrossing and mordantly funny’ People ‘Told with Perrotta’s piercing wit, wisdom, and exquisite insight into human folly, Tracy’s second act delivers acerbic insight about frustrated ambition’ Esquire ‘One of the great writers that we have today. I love this book’ Harlan Coben ‘This is the rare sequel that lives up to the original’ Publishers Weekly ‘Brilliant, biting satire’ Associated Press ‘Humorous yet humane . . . prescient, darkly comical’San Francisco Chronicle ‘Short chapters from many perspectives keep readers alternately laughing and gasping’ Los Angeles Times ‘Perrotta’s great gift is that he lets his love for his characters, flaws and all, shine through. . . . I was rooting hard for Tracy Flick to, finally, win’ Seattle Times
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Lake Success a novel
Book Synopsis*Over 50 Best of 2018 listings worldwide* ''Gary Shteyngart hears America perfectly; its fatuity, its poignant lament, its boisterous self-loathing. Its heartbeat. Reading him sometimes makes me want to scream - with recognition and with pure hilarity'' - Richard FordA riotously satirical road trip through modern America from the brilliant author of Super Sad True Love Story and AbsurdistanBarry Cohen, master of the universe, has just had a very public meltdown involving a dinner party, an insider trading investigation and a $30,000 bottle of Japanese whisky. So he flees New York City, leaving behind his beautiful young wife and son, but remembering to bring his six favourite designer watches. Zig-zagging south through Trump''s America on a Greyhound Bus pilgrimmage he is singularly unprepared for, Barry heads to Texas - to find his old college girlfriend and, with her, a shot at a second chance...LaTrade ReviewShteyngart, perhaps more than any American writer of his generation, is a natural. The wit and the immigrant's sense of heartbreak just seem to pour from him * The New York Times *Uproariously funny, bitingly satiric, yet also warm and big-hearted * Boston Globe *SPECTACULAR... More than just an artistic tour de force, Lake Success succeeds in saying something big about America today. By turns compassionate and mournful, wickedly satirical and ultimately aspirational. He captures what Philip Roth once called the 'indigenous American berserk' * NPR/Fresh Air *A novel in which comedy and pathos are exquisitely balanced * Washington Post *Gary Shteyngart hears America perfectly; its fatuity, its poignant lament, its boisterous self-loathing. Its heartbeat. Reading him sometimes makes me want to scream - with recognition and with pure hilarity -- Richard FordAn unforgettable road trip through an America that's ominously divided, wildly diverse, and weirdly familiar. Gary Shteyngart writes with brutal honesty, virtuoso wit, and stubborn compassion for his deeply flawed but still somehow lovable characters -- Tom Perrotta, bestselling author of 'The Leftovers'The funniest book you'll read all year. A rollicking and zinger-filled road trip [and] a poignant tale of a man trying to outrace his problems. Epic, melancholy, staggeringly beautiful -- Maria Semple, author of 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette?'A trip through the American wasteland - from the people who have too little, to the people who have too much. Incredibly smart, incredibly funny, incredibly tragic, and therefore incredibly human, this is the perfect novel for these dysfunctional times -- Nathan Hill, author of 'The Nix'A novel reflecting with perfect comedy and horrible tragedy exactly what America feels like right this minute. I barked with laughter, at the same time as wincing in pain. Shteyngart has held up a mirror to American culture that is so accurate and so devastating... Stupendous -- Elizabeth GilbertLake Success is a genial and warm-hearted book...a virtuoso piece of work, full of brilliant noticings...an unhysterical novel about a hysterical country at a hysterical time - the work of a novelist who believes in the power of fiction to illuminate out shared world. * Literary Review *Shteyngart does slapstick as well as ever, but he stakes out new terrain in the expert way he develops his characters' pathos.... A stylish, big-hearted novel. Shteyngart made his name as a sharp satirist, and he'll undoubtedly widen his appeal with this effort * Publisher's Weekly *The satirical layering is masterful. Dark - so dark - yet delicious. * Esquire *Lake Success is undeniably enjoyable, rattling along with good jokes and sharp set pieces, and shot through with Shteyngart's good-natured melancholy. * The Times *Referencing classic novels like The Great Gatsby and On the Road, Shteyngart whips up a novel that's part-satire and part-comedy of manners, humanising the super-rich while casting a critical eye over their world. It's funny, cutting, but above all compassionate * The Herald Magazine *Shteyngart's comic energy is well deployed on the ridiculously rich, especially amid Trump's campaign and his election by, perhaps, many Greyhound riders. * Daily Mail *
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Betrayals Discover the stunning fiction book
Book Synopsis*PRE-ORDER BRIDGET COLLINS'' STUNNING NEW NOVEL, THE SILENCE FACTORY, NOW*LOSE YOURSELF IN THE MOST EPIC BOOK OF THE YEAR.Mesmerising' Erin KellySumptuous' ObserverDizzyingly wonderful' The TimesWINNING WAS EVERYTHINGUNTIL IT DESTROYED THEMTwo young men, Léo and Carfax, close friends and fierce rivals.A family ripped apart by madness and tragedy.One woman, her life built upon a lie, with a mysterious connection to them allINGENIOUS' GUARDIANA STORYTELLER OF RARE IMAGINATION' MAIL ON SUNDAY''BEAUTIFUL'' JOANNA CANNONBRILLIANT' WOMAN & HOMEA RICH DELIGHT' SANDRA NEWMAN''TOTALLY ADDICTIVE'' JOANNA GLENCAPTIVATING' DAILY MIRRORAN IMMERSIVE, IMAGINATIVE SLICE OF STORYTELLING' DAILY EXPRESSMAGICAL' IRISH INDEPENDENTTrade Review‘Dizzyingly wonderful … a perfectly constructed work of fiction, with audacious twists that clumsier hands would fumble, and irresistibly moving emotional beats’ The Times ‘Another sumptuous act of imaginative world-building … If you’re looking for an absorbing, transporting work of fiction – and why would you not be? – The Betrayals is just the thing … settle in, and enjoy getting lost in this captivating book’ Observer ‘Ingenious … Collins’s story holds everything up its sleeve for as long as possible’ Guardian ‘The Betrayals is a beautiful dystopian romance about coming of age as an artist and the love affair artistic collaboration can be, while also being an acute political novel about the fate of spiritual values in a totalitarian system. A rich delight’ Sandra Newman ‘Captivating’ Daily Mirror ‘An immersive, imaginative slice of storytelling’ Daily Express ‘It’s just beautiful – written with such elegance and poise. What I love about Bridget's books is her ability to write the most magical worlds of escapism and yet anchor those worlds very much in today’ Joanna Cannon ‘She’s done it again: this is another triumph from the incomparable imagination of Bridget Collins. The Betrayals sinks its teeth into you and won’t let you go. It’s a mesmerising, intimate and ambitious story about art, love and what it means to be human. If you loved The Binding, you’ll adore The Betrayals’ Erin Kelly ‘More lavish magical escapism from the unit-shifting author of The Binding’ Irish Independent ‘Brilliant … a captivating, imaginative tale’ Woman & Home ‘A storyteller of rare imagination … This intricate symphony of a novel is both a disturbing portrait of fascism and a soaring meditation on artistic expression’ Mail on Sunday
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers A Small Revolution in Germany
Book SynopsisA Small Revolution in Germany is about growing up, or refusing to accept what growing up means; it's about the small dishonest pacts that people make with their own futures; and it's about the rare and joyous refusal to be disillusioned.Everyone remembers what it's like to be seventeen. The conversations you have; the ideas that burst on you; the kiss that transforms you. And then you grow up, and make a deal with adulthood. A Small Revolution in Germany is about that rapturous moment when ideas, and ideals, and passion crash over one boy's head. And what happens in the decades afterwards? When you see the overwhelming truth when you are seventeen, why should you ever abandon that truth?Spike is brought into a small, clever group of friends, bursting with a passion for ideas, and the wish to change the world. They smash up political meetings; they paint slogans on walls; they long for armed revolution; they argue, exuberantly, until dawn. In the years to follow, they all change their mTrade ReviewPraise for A Small Revolution in Germany: ‘In A Small Revolution in Germany – a meditation on youth and constancy and reinvention – Philip Hensher has coalesced all the craft, skill, wit and intelligence of his previous work into something which is dazzling but also deeply thought and deeply felt. I just loved it’ Linda Grant ‘He brilliantly animates the lives of neglected people during big historical events.’ The Times, Thomas Adès ‘Hensher’s quietly brilliant novel opens in the Eighties and spans some 30 years, illuminating an entire social world with skill, humour and tenderness.’ Daily Mail, Max Davidson ‘Moments of sharp observation’ The Times, Alexander Nurnberg ‘On the one hand, he is writing the type of novel whose atmosphere relies for its attack on a certain amount of self-conscious cultural signalling. On the other, he is embarked on the kind of fictional high-wire act that both emphasizes and undermines the seriousness with which the people he writes about need to be taken…Rather like Mary Gaitskill, he specializes in extending sympathy to his creations and then suddenly withdrawing it, giving them enough rope to hang themselves with … some wonderful moments of off-kilter comedy’ TLS, D.J. Taylor ‘A beautiful, regret-soaked story about the marks left on our adult lives by the idealism of our youth’ Alex Preston, Observer ‘The novel moves easily between Thatcherite Britain and the present…. This book is bound to be seen as a satire on the left. But in fact its keynote is a deep anger and disillusionment with politics, a lack of faith in all systems…Positioning his story within the frame of current events is a clever move on Hensher’s part’ Elizabeth Lowry, Guardian ‘Hensher’s novel reads easily and has a controlled, rueful atmosphere - a cautionary tale’ John Maier, The Times
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Land Girls from Coronation Street
Book SynopsisA charming and nostalgic read, perfect for fans of Coronation Street and readers who love stories set in wartime.They are digging for victory on the nation's favourite street.Vera Sharples longs for independence from her interfering mother, Coronation Street's tyrant in a hairnet, Ena Sharples.Vera's friend, Lily Longhurst, has found herself on the wrong side of a doomed romance and decides it's high time she and Vera took their lives into their own hands.The girls sign up for the Land Army and are sent to Kent, where life is very different from the familiar cobbles they know so well. Expected to work from daybreak until sunset, the routine and the constant air raids come as a shock.Even as the girls comes to grips with the country at war, back home Ena can't stop meddling. Will the two plucky Lancashire lasses come home to Coronation Street with their dreams intact, or is Ena about to shatter them forever?Readers love Maggie Sullivan A must read' AmazonA real page-turner' AmazonA wonderful trip down memory lane' GoodreadsTrade Review Praise for Maggie Sullivan: ‘A wonderfully nostalgic tale’ Choice Magazine ‘A perfect festive read’ Woman Magazine ‘A must read’ Amazon ‘A real page-turner’ Amazon ‘A wonderful trip down memory lane’ Goodreads
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Ginger and Me The debut novel from the winner of
Book SynopsisFunny, touching and wise, I loved it' Kit de Waal, bestselling author of My Name Is LeonWendy is lonely, misunderstood but coping. After her mum died, all she wants is to drive the 255 bus around Uddingston with her regulars on board, remember to buy milk when it runs out and just to be okay.But with the encouragement of her social worker, Wendy is ready to step out of her comfort zone and meet new people. Although as her carefully planned routine begins to change, Wendy wonders if things were easier before she met new best friend, Ginger. Because Ginger is hiding something and it's about to get them into a lot of troubleYour favourite authors love Elissa SoaveVivid, funny, sad, thought-provoking, acutely observed and full of compassion' Helen SedgwickA debut novel to treasure, by turns funny, dark and heartbreaking and I didn't want it to end!' Louise MumfordA fascinating and poignant take on friendship and obsession' Caron McKinlayStartling, sly and full of suspense. Not your ordinarTrade Review‘Set to make waves this summer’ Harper’s Bazaar
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Book of Goose The gripping new novel from the
Book Synopsis''A dazzling, subtle, skilful knockout I loved it'' Charlotte MendelsonOne of our finest living authors propulsively entertaining' New York TimesWonderfully strange and alive' Jon McGregorA propulsive, seductive new novel about friendship, exploitation and intimacy from the prize-winning author of Where Reasons EndFabienne is dead. Her childhood best friend, Agnès, receives the news in America, far from the French countryside where the two girls were raised the place that Fabienne helped Agnès escape ten years ago. Now, Agnès is free to tell her story.As children in a backwater town, they'd built a private world, invisible to everyone but themselves until Fabienne hatched the plan that would change everything, launching Agnès on an epic trajectory through fame, fortune, and terrible loss.A dark, ravishing tale winding from the rural provinces to Paris, from an English boarding school, to the quiet Pennsylvania home where Agnès can live without her past. The Book of Goose is a storyTrade Review‘Fans of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan trilogy won’t be disappointed, but the comparison undermines the skill with which Li tells her story, peeling back the layers to reveal the dark truths at the heart of Agnes and Fabienne’s friendship’ Marie Claire ‘[Li] has become … one of our finest living authors: Her elegant metaphysics never elide the blood and maggots … The most propulsively entertaining of Li’s novels… an existential fable that illuminates the tangle of motives behind our writing of stories’ New York Times ‘Beguiling … A shimmering, unsettling tale of exploitation and manipulation’ Daily Mail ‘These two perverse, dangerous, glorious girls are their own creation and their own destiny, captured in the high noon of their lives’ Observer New Review ‘Resonant with echoes of… My Brilliant Friend, as well as authors including Elizabeth Strout and William Trevor … For all its surface lushness, this is a novel of meticulous philosophical inquiry’ Observer ‘Brilliant … A novel of deceptions and cruelty’ Spectator 'Dazzling, subtle, skilful … I loved it' Charlotte Mendelson, author of The Exhibitionist ‘In a story about love and creation, Yiyun Li slips in a satire of the business of marketing authors… deft and delicious’ Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Starling Days ‘Yiyun Li has, again, done something new and gone somewhere wonderfully strange and alive. Beautiful, sad, funny and claustrophobic’ Jon McGregor, author of Lean Fall Stand ‘A haunting novel about loss, friendship and storytelling … Few writers match Yiyun Li’s ability to explore human desire and ambition’ Tash Aw, author of Strangers on a Pier ‘Meet Agnès and Fabienne…Come for the writerly scheming, stay for the exquisitely calibrated examination of how our most tender and important bonds involve the manipulation of power and devotion’ LA Times
£16.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Tap Dancer
Book Synopsis?My favourite novel and one I wish I?d written.? ALAN BENNETTWinner of the McKitterick Prize for best first novel by an author aged over 40, and the Hawthornden Prize for imaginative literature.Everyone craves retirement from the Civil Service, don?t they? That time for an ageing patriarch to enjoy the fruits of a well-earned pension and the respect of his family; maybe even to indulge in a love of music halls and metropolitan life. If only people would listen and do as they were told?His fourth son William, the long-suffering narrator, is the constant butt of his father?s jokes and victim of his brothers? indifference. But as death, divorce and other darker dramas follow, father and son slowly establish a strange harmony.Trade Review‘There’s no other novel quite like it. Andrew Barrow has the most curious, in both senses, comic ear and, as if by magic, can turn everyday speech into the stuff of sublime comedy.’Craig Brown ‘Andrew Barrow’s The Tap Dancer . . . must be my favourite novel and one I wish I’d written.’Alan Bennett ‘Andrew Barrow’s first novel is reminiscent of John Mortimer’s A Voyage Round My Father. Both are portraits of ageing patriarchs whose behaviour is outrageously self-centred but who retain a place in their children’s affections by their sheer eccentricity.’Sunday Telegraph ‘A comic masterpiece . . . Andrew Barrow’s insight into the minutiae of English family life is absolutely brilliant . . . his ear for dialogue is matchless . . . this is a great literary creation.’Spectator ‘Weird but wonderful first novel . . . brilliantly funny . . . horribly true.’Harpers & Queen ‘A magnificent creation . . . Could rank alongside Mr Pooter and Nancy Mitford’s Uncle Matthew.’Independent ‘All the characters, even the minor ones, are perfectly realised, thanks largely to Barrow’s remarkable skill at pinpointing the social and psychological undercurrents of casual conversation.’Times Literary Supplement ‘Father, tap dancing weirdly across the kitchen in moments of glee, has immense vitality . . . A comic masterpiece.’ Financial Times
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc We Can Only Save Ourselves
Book Synopsis
£12.79
Vintage Publishing The Wapshot Chronicle
Book SynopsisMeet the Wapshots of St Botolphs. There is Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea-dog and would-be suicide; his licentious older son, Moses; and Moses''s adoring and errant younger brother, Coverly. Tragic and funny, ribald and splendidly picaresque, and partly based on Cheever''s adolescence in New England, The Wapshot Chronicle is a family narrative in the finest traditions of Trollope, Dickens, and Henry JamesTrade ReviewCheever's debut novel is skittish, mercurial and ringing with life * Guardian *The best introduction to Cheever's work...richly inventive and vividly told * New York Times Magazine *A tapestry woven from the threads of emotion, tragedy, comedy...and the irony so wonderfully evident in the author's short stories...a literary mosaic...Cheever is a pleasure to read * San Francisco Chronicle *A brilliantly written novel, vastly and sometimes sadly, amusing * Time *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Claudine In Paris
Book SynopsisTHE STORIES THAT INSPIRED THE FILM COLETTE, out Jan 2019.The second book in Colette''s enchanting Claudine series.Seventeen-year-old Claudine is in despair having left her beloved village Montigny for a new life in Paris. Comforted by her devoted maid Melie, her slug-obsessed Papa, and the trustworthy cat Fanchette, Claudine's instinctive curiosity gradually leads to an awakened interest in the city. Ruthless and sensual, Claudine records her sharp observations and adventures amongst the intriguing characters that surround her, evoking all the glamour and excitement of Parisian life.Written with striking realism Claudine in Paris is an inspiring portrait of a precocious young girl on the brink of transformation into a woman for her, and our, time.Trade ReviewAccessible and elusive; greedy and austere; courageous and timid; subversive and complacent; scorchingly honest and sublimely mendacious; an inspired consoler and an existential pessimist—these are the qualities of the artist and the woman. It is time to rediscover them. -- Judith Thurman, biographer of ColetteHer sensual prose style made her one of the great writers of twentieth-century France * New York Times Book Review *She has been compared to a 20th-century female Montaigne, and it is true that her books offer a manual on how to live fearlessly and joyfully – greedily alive to every sensation and experience * Guardian *A perfectionist in her every word * Spectator *Her prose is rich, flawless, intricate, audacious and utterly beautiful -- Raymond Mortimer
£9.49
Vintage Publishing 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth
Book SynopsisLife as a film extra in Beijing might seem hard, but Fenfang won't be defeated. Determined to live a modern life, Fenfang works as a cleaner in the Young Pioneer's movie theatre, falls in love with unsuitable men and keeps her kitchen cupboard stocked with UFO instant noodles.Trade ReviewA nihilistic, Generation X-style manifesto... Its impudent, hand-on-hip attitude cannot fail to charm * New Statesman *Funny and melancholy, scintillatingly observed, and has a very big heart * The Times *Both a personal odyssey and an insightful commentary about modern Chinese society and life itself... Xiaolu Guo is an instinctive, humane witness, her atmospheric, unusually physical narratives are alive and attractively insistent, inspired variations on the theme of quest * Irish Times *A pure and bracing blast of universal youth... I loved it. It shines with the utterly blameless, scarily fragile arrogance of youth itself, the absolute certainty that death is better than middle age * Daily Telegraph *A breath of the freshest air imaginable. She cuts through the smog of hype and platitude -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Trust Me
Book SynopsisLose yourself in this powerful historical novel based on a real life tragedy from the internationally bestselling author Lesley PearseFor one girl, betrayal goes hand in hand with trust . . .When their father tragically kills their mother, Dulcie and her sister are sent to an orphanage. Told that a ''better life'' awaits them in another country, they are shipped off to Australia.But the promises made turn out to be lies.And it seems to Dulcie that everyone who ever said ''trust me'' somehow betrayed that trust. So when she finds a kindred spirit in Ross, another orphanage survivor, hope swells in her heart.But can she ever get over the past betrayals and learn to trust again?And can she fight not only for herself, but also for her sister?Praise for Lesley Pearse:''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its very best'' Daily MailTrade ReviewTrust Me is a powerful historical novel based on a real life tragedy. For one girl betrayal goes hand in hand with trust . . . This is just one of many captivating novels from the international NO.1 BESTSELLING author Lesley Pearse. * from the publisher's description *With characters it is impossible not to care about, this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman’s Weekly *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Zazie in the Metro
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Dear Edward
Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SERIES It''s not what you''ve lost . . . it''s what you''ve found.One summer morning, a flight takes off from New York to Los Angeles: there are 192 people aboard. When the plane suddenly crashes, twelve-year-old Edward Adler is the sole survivor.In the aftermath, Edward struggles to make sense of his grief, sudden fame and find his place in a world without his family. But then Edward and his neighbour Shay make a startling discovery; hidden in his uncle''s garage are letters from the relatives of other passengers - all addressed him.Following the passengers'' final hours and Edward''s unique coming-of-age, Dear Edward asks one of life''s most profound questions:What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?---------------------------------''Ann Napolitano''s writing is astonishing. I''m in awe'' Marian Keyes''A very moving and emotional read'' Anne Tyler''Gripping and elegiac, this is a captivating novel about loss, love and growing up'' Rosamund Lupton''That rare book that breaks your heart and stitches it back together . . . Don''t miss this one'' Jodi PicoultTrade ReviewA powerful book about living a meaningful life during the most difficult of times * New York Times *Outstanding, beautifully written, a compulsive read -- John BoyneThat rare book that breaks your heart and stitches it back together . . . Don't miss this one -- Jodi PicoultA very moving and emotional read -- Anne TylerGripping... a captivating novel about loss, love and growing up -- Rosamund LuptonWonderful... a beautifully written coming-of-age story -- Nina StibbeDear Edward made me think, nod in recognition, care about its characters, and cry, and you can't ask more of a novel than that -- Emma DonoghueStunning, life-affirming * Vogue *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Aria
Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER''A sweeping saga about the Iranian revolution as it explodes . . . a Doctor Zhivago of Iran'' Margaret Atwood_____________________________________1950s Tehran. In an alleyway an abandoned baby cries into the night, attracting the attention of the young man who will save her.And so begins the story of Aria, an orphan girl who comes of age on the volatile streets. As Aria grows she is torn between the three women fated to mother her: the harsh wife of the man who rescued her; a wealthy widow, who offers her refuge but cannot offer her love; and the mysterious Mehri, whose secrets will shatter everything Aria thought she knew about herself. And then, just as the political turmoil in the country deepens, Aria falls in love with a boy caught on the wrong side of the revolution . . . _____________________________________''Sweeping, cinematic and oh-so-gripping'' Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewAn affecting portrait of the Iranian revolution . . . leaves you simultaneously heartbroken and full of hope * Sunday Times *Explores the darkness and hope of a city on the brink of revolution . . . Epic. An impressive debut, not easily forgotten * Observer *Warm-hearted, compelling, hugely enjoyable * Times *A sweeping saga about the Iranian revolution as it explodes - told from the ground level and centre of the chaos. A Doctor Zhivago of Iran Aria is a feminist odyssey, about a girl in a time of intolerance as the revolution in Iran is breaking out ... a poised and dramatic historical novel with contemporary relevanceA beautiful book set against the pains and passions of the Iranian Revolution . . . It is a book about a particular time and place yet also, and perhaps more importantly, about the common hopes and intimate longings of lives so forcibly invaded by national events * Hisham Matar, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Return *Set in a vibrantly depicted Tehran and spanning a 30-year period leading up to the 1981 Iranian Revolution, Hozar's serpentine narrative shows how the inequality and corruption of Iranian society under the Shah gives way to something more sinister...it's a spellbinding debut * Mail on Sunday *This rags-to-riches-to revolution tale about an orphan girl's coming of age in Iran is sweeping, cinematic and oh-so gripping. In it we follow Aria as she searches for belonging and falls in love amid the political tumult of her age * Sunday Telegraph *Nazanine Hozar's immaculate first novel follows a group of Iranians in the lead-up to the 1979 revolution and marks the arrival of a major new voice * Alex Preston, Observer *The skilfully told story of a young woman struggling to find her place in intolerant, revolutionary Iran * i *An epic tale of turmoil in Iran. Its skilful blending of personal and political drama, along with its broad scope, richness of setting and vitality of character, gives it something of the quality of [Doctor Zhivago] * Guardian *Epic in scope . . . Hozar is a courageous and talented writer, excellent at capturing emotional complexity and interrogating her themes * The Irish Independent *Nazanine Hozar's stunning debut takes us inside the Iranian revolution - but seen like never before, through the eyes of an orphan girl . . . heart-pounding * Asia House Arts *An impeccable debut of a young girl's odyssey in the Iranian Revolution * Foyles newsletter *An alluring and enlightening read * Irish Times *
£8.54
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman
Book SynopsisThe cult classic novel of growing up in 1950s England from the writer of Withnail and ITrade ReviewThis book hums with particularity and vision ... Thomas Penman is the work of a genuine prose-writer - and a gifted one at that * OBSERVER *This book is in a league-table of revulsion all its own * SUNDAY TIMES *Never before has the painful, knotty journey to maturity been depicted with such gusto, and never has the venerable Bildungsroman received such riotously profane treatment. * NEW YORK TIMES *
£13.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Queen Of The Tearling
Book SynopsisKelsea Glynn is the sole heir to the throne of Tearling but has been raised in secret after her mother – a monarch as vain as she was foolish – was murdered for ruining her kingdom.Trade ReviewI couldn’t put the bloody thing down. It would be fair to say I became obsessed with the role and the book -- EMMA WATSONDid you love The Hunger Games? Partial to an episode of Game of Thrones? Then you’re going to want to dive straight in to this new fantasy . . . brilliantly imagined and captivatingly written * HEAT *An assured and confident debut . . . featuring a strong female lead and a well-realised far-future post-apocalyptic world * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *Like Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games meets Pulp Fiction * DAILY MAIL *Destined to be a fantasy classic. Johansen’s writing is assured, confident and thrilling. I can’t wait for the next book. * AMY McCULLOCH, author of The Oathbreaker’s Shadow *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group My Brilliant Career 264 Virago Modern Classics
Book SynopsisNOW A CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FILM WITH BAFTA WINNING ACTRESS, JUDY DAVIS ''A splendidly vivid display . . . its sharply detailed, entirely convincing voice'' THE TIMES ''An insightful exploration of class, gender and youthful frustration'' ANITA SETHI, GUARDIAN''It combines linguistic surprise and inertness in a way possible only to genius'' NEW YORK TIMES First published in 1901, this Australian classic recounts the live of sixteen-year-old Sybylla Melvyn. Trapped on her parents'' outback farm, she simultaneously loves bush life and hates the physical burdens it imposes. For Sybylla longs for a more refined, aesthetic lifestyle - to read, to think, to sing, but most of all to do great things.Suddenly her life is transformed. Whisked away to live on her grandmother''s gracious property, she falls under the eye of the rich and handsome Harry Beecham. And soon she finds herself choosing betweenTrade ReviewA splendidly vivid display . . . carrying the reader by force of its narrative and its sharply detailed, entirely convincing voice * The Times *Miles Franklin's 1901 debut novel remains an insightful exploration of class, gender and youthful frustration -- Anita Sethi * Guardian *It combines linguistic surprise and inertness in a way possible only to genius * New York Times *My Brilliant Career blends the intimacy of life writing with the broader scope of a story being retold * Conversation *Unashamedly high-spirited and romantic * COMPANY *A splendidly vivid display ... carrying the reader by force of its narrative and its sharply detailed, entirely convincing voice * THE TIMES *
£9.49
Oneworld Publications The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years
Book SynopsisA haunting, a love story, a mystery and an unforgettable tale of a young girl's search for belonging combine in this dazzling South African novelTrade Review'Grand and gorgeous and brave... A novel that is an ambitious delight, with rich characters and some exceptionally lovely writing.' New York Times'In lively, beautiful prose that seems to almost dance across the page, Khan expertly repackages gothic and supernatural tropes into a richly imagined coming of age treat.' Daily Mail'Filled with wonder and colour... I was enthralled and completely swept away.' Yangsze Choo, bestselling author of The Night Tiger'With its shades of The House of Spirits and Rebecca, is one of the best books I've read this year... Gorgeous.' Sarah Addison Allen, NYT-bestselling author of Garden Spells'A dark and heady dream of a book, which reveals itself in layers as a gothic horror, a tragic romance, and a classic coming-of-age tale. Hauntingly gorgeous.' Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January'A cracking novel... Shubnum Khan unfolds a devastating history woven into the present with mastery and poise.' Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, author of The First Woman'An utterly intoxicating novel that hums with life... Full of mirth and full of gore. Its pages will leave you breathless, haunted.' Karina Lickorish Quinn, author of The Dust Never Settles'Lush, sweeping, gloriously eerie... Shubnum Khan is a writer of rare and luminous imagination.' Violet Kupersmith, author of Build Your House Around My Body 'Shubnum's magical storytelling creates a dark and luscious mood, where every character is expertly given life. Rich with family and community, this is a novel full of redemptive love.' Melody Razak, author of Moth'South African novelist Khan blends gothic tropes with Indian mythology in her poignant [UK] debut... Playful and evocative.' Publishers Weekly'Beautiful, just beautiful... Filled with everything that makes for an absorbing read: love, intrigue, conflict, mystique, and so much character.' Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, author of the City of Kings trilogy'The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years is a cinematic spectacular, rife with doomed love and vengeful spirits and a lurking violence always waiting to pounce. Shubnum Khan has written a gorgeous gothic mystery, a fascinating meditation on the nature of forgiveness and time.' Julia Fine, author of Maddalena and the Dark
£15.29
Orion Publishing Co Gods Children Are Little Broken Things
Book Synopsis''Although he writes about queer lives and loves in Nigeria, Arinze Ifeakandu''s voice is sensually alert to the human and universal in every situation. These quietly transgressive stories are the work of a brilliant new talent''DAMON GALGUT, Booker Prize-winning author of The Promise ''Contemporary love stories with moments of real surprise and revelation''BRANDON TAYLOR, author of Real Life''Gorgeous... A hugely impressive collection, full of subtlety, wisdom and heart''SARAH WATERS, author of Fingersmith ''Captures the tenderness and tumult of queer love, familial love, self-love, and the many ways love elates and eludes us.... Masterful. What a glorious collection!''DEESHA PHILYAW, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies''Magic in motion... A staggering, heartshattering show''ELOGHOSA OSUNDE, author of Vagabonds! Trade ReviewA beautiful, significant debut. Although he writes about queer lives and loves in Nigeria, Arinze Ifeakandu's voice is sensually alert to the human and universal in every situation. These quietly transgressive stories are the work of a brilliant new talent. * Damon Galgut, Booker Prize winner for THE PROMISE *Contemporary love stories with moments of real surprise and revelation. * Brandon Taylor, author of REAL LIFE *Magic in motion. My love for this work isn't just about the lush tenderness of the writing-which is abundant here-but also about the book's internal circuitry. This book knows what it's doing, where its electricities need to pass through for maximum impact, knows who it is for and who it certainly doesn't answer to, and is its own self-contained habitat. God's Children Are Little Broken Things remains subtle and measured even through massive emotional transitions, carrying the reader the whole way through. Arinze writes like a composer or an orchestral director, bringing notes together to form a staggering, heartshattering show. * Eloghosa Osunde, author of VAGABONDS! *Arinze Ifeakandu captures the tenderness and tumult of queer love, familial love, self-love, and the many ways love elates and eludes us. Written with compelling intricacy and deep intimacy, these heart-grabbing stories are masterful. What a glorious collection! * Deesha Philyaw, author of THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES *In these gorgeous stories, Ifeakandu takes on big, untidy emotions - love, loneliness, yearning, grief - and writes about them with extraordinary deftness and grace. This is a hugely impressive collection, full of subtlety, wisdom and heart. * Sarah Waters, author of FINGERSMITH *These stories are written with raw, tender grace. They dramatize what love is like in a time when love is under siege. They are brilliant when they explore intimate moments and are superb as they render with complexity and nuance the relations between characters. It is clear from this book that a serious literary talent has emerged. * Colm Tóibín, author of THE MAGICIAN *These stories are wonderful - searching, unsparing, and contemplative. Each carries the freight of love, suffering, memory, and politics. Each is so finely and sensually drawn the reader lives them. Together, they are quite simply a tour de force. * Sarah Hall, author of BURNTCOAT *This collection is the very meaning of exquisite; even the heartbreaking moments come with the great beauty of being alive. Delicate, raw in its honesty and viscerally alive, God's Children Are Little Broken Things, is the kind of collection that steals your breath and fills your heart. * Xochitl Gonzalez, author of OLGA DIES DREAMING *Each story is an exquisite plunge into tenderness. Brutal at times, unforgiving at others but always a moment from which to stand back and reflect. The writing is intimate: with immense skill Arinze Ifeakandu takes you by the hand - and in allowing him to do so you feel your own heart beat that little bit faster. * Melody Razak, author of MOTH *These are brilliant stories: heartbroken but pulsing with life, wise but never cynical, and soaked in an atmosphere so convincing it's like being inside a great album. The prose alone is worth the price of the ticket, as lush as it is exact, but through it comes whole worlds of longing and travail, youth and aging, queer love expressed in so many of its facets. Arinze Ifeakandu is a major talent, and God's Children Are Little Broken Things is a seriously good book. * Adam Haslett, author of IMAGINE ME GONE *These are heartbreaking stories of love and loss, as granular and nourishing as the harmattan, the cold winter wind that blows out of the Sahara. Ifeakandu is a writer of lyricism and profundity at the beginning of a brilliant career. * Edmund White, author of A PREVIOUS LIFE *An exquisite, complex examination of the vulnerabilities of queer love and desire amid family fears, dreams, and the power of expectations, God's Children Are Little Broken Things is a shimmering, beguiling debut. * Asako Serizawa, author of INHERITORS *Reading these stories kept me from my life and responsibilities, the book making demands of me the way only spectacular art can. Arinze Ifeakandu is a genuinely brilliant mind and voice. * Sarah Thankam Mathews, author of ALL OF THIS COULD BE DIFFERENT *Ifeakandu proves himself the kind of writer who can catch you off balance with sudden, lucid slants of feeling ... these angry and compassionate stories are full of such moments, when an oppressive system is brought into dreadful focus through the lends of private suffering * Times Literary Supplement *Passionate, profound and pulsing with life, this is a remarkable debut * Eithne Farry, Daily Mail *
£9.49
DC Comics Nubia
Book SynopsisCan you be a hero...if society doesn''t see you as a person?Nubia has always been a little bit...different. As a baby she showcased Amazonian-like strength by pushing over a tree to rescue her neighbor''s cat. But despite her having similar abilities, the world has no problem telling her that she''s no Wonder Woman. And even if she were, they wouldn''t want her. Every time she comes to the rescue, she''s reminded of how people see her: as a threat. Her moms do their best to keep her safe, but Nubia can''t deny the fire within her, even if she''s a little awkward about it sometimes. Even if it means people assume the worst.When Nubia''s best friend, Quisha, is threatened by a boy who thinks he owns the town, Nubia will risk it all--her safety, her home, and her crush on that cute kid in English class--to become the hero society tells her she isn''t.From the witty and powerful voice behind A Blade So Black, and with endearing and expressive art by Ro
£13.49
Pan Macmillan The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings: This Year's
Book Synopsis'Unflinching, unforgettable . . . a step up for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid' - The Bookseller'Totally absorbing and evocative' - Kate Riordan, bestselling author of Summer FeverWhat happens when truth and lies collide? The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is an intoxicating mystery across past and present from Joanna Nadin.1988, Cornwall. At seventeen, Jason wants much more from life than working in his father's pub. So when twin sisters Daisy and Bea, and their small circle of friends, arrive for a holiday in his village, Jason is determined to become part of their glamorous, intoxicating world.2018, London. When famous actress Daisy Hemmings decides it's time to write her autobiography, she chooses James Tate to help her. James is a ghost-writer and his job is to tell other people's stories for them. He's good at it, and why wouldn't he be? He's spent years pretending to be someone else . . .Trade ReviewUnflinching, unforgettable . . . Nadin should be this year's summer sensation -- a step up for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid. * The Bookseller *The writing fizzes with energy and charm, and the story is bewitching. I didn't want it to end -- Emylia Hall, author of The Book of SummersTotally absorbing and evocative -- Kate Riordan, author of Summer FeverA gloriously shimmering and captivating novel, with a mystery at its heart that keeps you turning its pages -- Emily Koch, author of Keep Him Close and What July KnewA clever novel . . . about truth, lies and what happens when the secrets we keep are exposed * Red *A gem. Atmospheric and thrilling and sexy and so clever -- Laura Pearson, author of Missing Pieces
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Thousand Eyes
Book SynopsisBrilliant, bold and thrilling, The Thousand Eyes by A. K. Larkwood is the epic fantasy sequel to The Unspoken Name.Could you sacrifice your dreams to escape a nightmare?Csorwe, Shuthmili and Tal survey abandoned Echentyr worlds to make a living. The empire’s ruins seem harmless but fascinating. Yet disaster strikes when they stumble upon ancient magic during a routine expedition. This revives a warrior who’d slept for an age, reigniting a conflict thousands of years old. And the soldier binds Csorwe to her cause.Shuthmili is desperate to protect the woman she loves. However, as events escalate, she’s torn. Can she help Csorwe by clinging to her own humanity or by embracing her eldritch powers?Tal heads home, but his peace is shattered when a magical catastrophe hits his city. The wizard Sethennai is missing and Tal can’t face seeking his former lover to ask for help. So, he flees – but there’s no escaping the future. For throughout the Echo Maze’s linked worlds, fragments of an undead goddess are waking. Soon all must choose a side.Praise for The Unspoken Name:‘An outstanding debut . . . unlike anything I’ve read before’ – Nicholas Eames‘Richly detailed, enthralling and extraordinary’ – Jenn Lyons‘Stylish, classy and timeless . . . I cannot recommend it enough’ – Tamsyn Muir‘An adventure I couldn’t put down’ – S. A. ChakrabortyTrade ReviewA fun, fresh new take on the traditional fantasy quest and an adventure I couldn't put down! -- S. A. Chakraborty on The Unspoken NameAn astounding debut, written with skill and stunning assurance . . . From its flawless first page to its bittersweet last, The Unspoken Name is unlike anything I’ve read before -- Nicholas Eames on The Unspoken NameThe Unspoken Name is the best kind of modern fantasy – it feels totally fresh, it's full of satisfyingly weird gods and frightening magic; plus it's stuffed with the sort of characters you'll either want to be friends with or run screaming from. I loved this book! -- Jen Williams on The Unspoken NameWhat a glorious book! Richly detailed, enthralling, and extraordinary, with brilliant nods to such luminaries as Ursula K. Le Guin and Diana Wynne Jones . . . Fabulous, in every meaning of the word -- Jenn Lyons on The Unspoken NameA.K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name is an epic fantasy in the vein of Le Guin’s magnificent Tombs of Atuan – if Arha the Eaten One got to grow up to be a swordswoman mercenary . . . The action is fast-paced and emotionally compelling; the magic is dangerous, beautiful and utterly compromising. I love this book so much -- Arkady Martine on The Unspoken Name
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Rose Garden
Book SynopsisThe Rose Garden is a richly imagined historical novel full of intrigue and secrets, spanning the luxury and poverty of Victorian England. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies and Rachel Hore.Every house has its secrets . . .For twelve-year-old Ottilie Finch, London is an exciting playground to explore. Her family have recently arrived in Hampstead from Durham, under a cloud of scandal that Otty is blissfully unaware of. The only shadow over her days is her mother’s mysterious illness, which keeps her to her room.When young local girl Mabs is offered the chance to become Mrs Finch’s companion, it saves her from a desperate life on the canals. Little does she know that all is not as picture-perfect as it seems. Mabs is about to become tangled in the secrets that chased the Finches from their last home, and trapped in an impossible dilemma . . .‘Tracy Rees is a natural storyteller . . . What a treat it is!’ – Rachel Hore, author of A Gathering Storm.'In this engrossing novel Tracy Rees takes the reader directly into the drama and action . . . the roles and attitudes to women at the end of the Victorian period and the emerging women’s movement were riveting. Totally unputdownable' – Dinah Jefferies, author of The Tea-Planter’s Wife.Trade ReviewIn this engrossing novel Tracy Rees takes the reader directly into the drama and action, her writing bringing every scene to sparkling vivid life. The rich use of language meant I was fully immersed in the Victorian world of the main women protagonists and didn’t want to leave. Written with empathy and revealing differing sides to even more minor characters, the roles and attitudes to women at the end of the Victorian period and the emerging women’s movement were riveting. Totally unputdownable. -- Dinah Jefferies, author of The Sapphire WidowA warm, original and upbeat novel. Tracy Rees is a natural storyteller and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I loved the setting of Victorian Hampstead and its vivid range of characters. What a treat it is! -- Rachel Hore, author of A Place of Secrets, on The Rose GardenTracy Rees has a rare gift for creating characters you are rooting for from the first page. The writing is fresh and engaging, with a gentle humour...the research is meticulous, and the women’s stories are told with immense compassion. This is a novel that immerses you in its world as if by magic, and keeps you enthralled till the very end. -- Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife, on The Rose GardenBeautifully written and vividly imagined, The Rose Garden strikes the perfect balance between period drama to savour and compelling escapism to devour. Tracy Rees has such a talent for writing engaging characters who stay with you. I loved it! -- Hazel Gaynor, author of The Girl Who Came Home, on The Rose GardenA rich, compelling and intricate tapestry of women’s lives . . . their wants, needs and dreams through the characters diverse lives. I couldn’t put it down. -- Liz Fenwick, author of The Cornish House, on The Rose GardenA rich historical drama that is both a subtle study of the treatment of women and an entertaining escape. Pure joy. -- Jo Spain, author of Dirty Little Secrets, on The Rose Gardensuch a treat ... I loved Tracy’s elegant writing and the vivid and relatable characters, and historically-rich story...wonderful and uplifting. -- Nicola Cornick, author of House of Shadows on The Rose GardenIt’s so wonderful, so poignant and oh, the history. I loved delving into these women’s lives, their loves, their individual and very different and difficult plights. It’s eye opening and entertaining and moving all at the same time. Bravo to Tracy. I can’t wait to see this book fly. -- Lorna Cook, author of The Forgotten Village, on The Rose Garden[A] truly captivating tale of female friendship, courage and empowerment, all wrapped up in the wonderful escapism of an exquisite period drama -- Samantha King on The Rose GardenThe Rose Garden is an absolute delight to read and holds you spellbound from cover to cover. Full of wonderful characters woven into a story that tugs at your heartstrings, this is a truly beautiful novel that confirms Tracy Rees is at the height of her game. -- Rebecca Griffiths on The Rose Garden[G]orgeously written, deeply atmospheric, tense and vivid and a total page-turner. -- Jenny Ashcroft on The Rose GardenThe Rose Garden is full of hope and infectious optimism - just the thing for now! -- Kate Griffin on The Rose GardenThe Rose Garden is a joy. Through its cast of memorable female characters, this novel sets the fight for justice against all the colour and optimism which is so characteristic of Tracy Rees' writing. -- Rebecca F John on The Rose GardenTracy’s writing is so fresh, original and authentic -- Bestselling author Rosanna LeyTracy Rees writes from the heart -- Bestselling author Kathryn HughesRees has skilfully interwoven all the joy and pain that comes with families, friends and lovers into a multi-layered story that won't let you go. Bittersweet, compelling and utterly engrossing, I couldn't put it down -- Karen Swan, internationally bestselling authorI absolutely loved it. With its compelling themes of female friendship and empowerment against all odds, The Rose Garden is a fascinating and compassionate story. The settings of well-to-do Hampstead and the poverty of Saffron Hill in Victorian England are both vividly evoked and the main characters of Mabs, Abigail, Ottilie and Olive are warm, authentic and engaging. I was completely immersed in the world of The Rose Garden from beginning to end. -- Rosanna Ley, author of The Orange GroveThe Rose Garden is an absolute joy. I was completely swept up in the lives of Olive, Otty, Mabs and Abigail. Against the backdrop of Victorian London, their story is one of friendship against the odds and of courage that transcends the rules of a flawed society. Written with elegance, charm and wisdom, this book is both unputdownable and unforgettable. -- Hazel PriorI simply loved The Rose Garden. The setting of Victorian London has a Dickensian feel but, unlike Dickens, Tracy Rees peoples her city with a compelling cast of women characters battling poverty, class and gender inequality. The voice of poor but sparky Mabs will remain with me for a long time - she is a terrific creation. -- Liz Trenow, author of The Secrets of the LakeThe Rose Garden is full of heart and a rich, lively cast of characters who transport the reader straight into its Victorian world. Gorgeous. -- Eve Chase, author of The Glass House Tracy is a very skilled storyteller who weaves the vivid strands of her story together against a rich historical background. The Rose Garden has buckets of atmosphere and a cast of beautifully drawn characters. -- Jane Johnson
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Locks
Book Synopsis‘1993 was the year that Stephen Lawrence got murdered by racists, and I became an angry Black lad with a “chip on his shoulder”’Aeon, a mixed-up and mixed-race teenager from a leafy Liverpool suburb, is desperate to understand the Black identity thrust upon him. He grows dreadlocks and immerses himself in ‘gangsta’ rap. But Aeon’s journey of self-discovery is hampered by the fact that the only Black people in his life are his dad and his cousin, Increase.Aeon’s ambition to find his place in the world takes him to Jamaica. Here, Aeon soon finds that smoking loads of weed, growing messy locks and wearing massive red boots don’t necessarily help him to fit in. Within days of his arrival he is mugged, arrested and banged up in a Jamaican detention centre. Seen as the ‘White boy’, he finds that his journey of self-discovery has only just begun – and he’s going to have to fight for the respect and recognition he deserves . . .A coming-of-age comedy of errors, Locks is an electric debut novel about growing up, wising up, and finding your place in a world of opposites._____'Blends humour and introspection, poetry and the poignant' - Derek Owusu, author of the Desmond Elliott Prize-winning That Reminds Me'Irreverent, authentic and utterly enthralling. A wonderful book' - Jimmy McGovern, creator of the drama series Cracker'Twisty, energetic, voice-led . . . Nugent is pure talent' - Raymond Antrobus, author of the Rathbones Folio Prize-winning The Perseverance'Thought provoking and funny' - David Beckler, author of A Long ShadowTrade ReviewA search for meaning and the complicated expression of multiple cultures. Ashleigh is a born storyteller, able to blend humour and introspection, poetry and the poignant. -- Derek Owusu, author of That Reminds MeI loved Locks. It’s a twisty, energetic, voice-led novel, written with humour and skill and drama . . . Like Virginia Woolf but from the ends. Nugent is pure talent, something else. -- Raymond Antrobus, author of The PerseveranceThought-provoking and funny . . . perfectly captures the sense of being between two cultures, whilst never feeling fully part of either . . . full of larger-than-life characters who jump off the page. -- David Beckler, author of A Long ShadowIrreverent, authentic and utterly enthralling. A wonderful book. -- Jimmy McGovern, creator of CrackerIt's just AMAZING! It's totally gripping, hilarious, wise and poignant . . . -- Matt Lloyd Rose, author of Into the NightAn adventure story like no other . . . Nugent has a fine talent for storytelling, but also for capturing truth. Locks is both funny, and psychologically astute, and really captures the nuanced dynamic between boys pushed to their emotional and physical limits through hardship and misunderstanding. -- Lily Dunn, author of Sins of My Father
£15.29
Cornerstone Last Summer on State Street
Book SynopsisState Street Chicago, 1999. One summer that changes everything. An unlikely trio: Felicia 'Fe Fe' Stevens, daughter of fiercely protective mother; Precious Brown, daughter of a prominent church Elder; and Stacia Buchanan, daughter of a Gangster Disciple Queen-Pin.They have a simple friendship, whiling away sunny days with games of Double Dutch. But when Fe Fe invites mysterious Tonya into their fold, life as they know it will never be the same again.Last Summer on State Street is a profound coming-of-age story about the restorative power of community, the claiming of one's own past, and the defining friendships which form the heartbeat of our lives.Trade ReviewLast Summer on State Street is a beautifully observed portrait of family and female friendship. Toya Wolfe is a marvellous writer. * Audrey Niffenegger, New York Times bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Wife *Tragic, hopeful, brimming with love, Wolfe's debut is a remarkable achievement. * New York Times *Toya Wolfe is a storyteller of the highest order-a wise and compassionate chronicler of girlhood, of Chicago, and of the things that make us human. Last Summer on State Street is a stunning debut. * Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Believers *Last Summer on State Street is an ode to Black girls who are often forgotten. Toya Wolfe tells a compelling, warm, and funny story about a group of girls growing up in a Chicago public housing development. * Natalie Y. Moore, author of The Billboard *I can't stop thinking of Toya Wolfe's novel Last Summer on State Street. Wolfe writes with such grace and such restraint, I felt like I was sitting on the front porch listening to a story told by a friend. What a spectacular debut. * Alex Kotlowitz, author of An American Summer *Last Summer on State Street is a love letter to girlhood, the tenuous bonds of friendship, and the places we call home. * Nancy Johnson, author of The Kindest Lie *Wolfe's arresting and atmospheric narrative comes fully realized. This is a gut punch. * Publishers Weekly *First-time novelist Wolfe writes with lacerating precision and authenticity. Wolfe's deeply compelling characters, sharply wrought settings, and tightly choreographed plot create a concentrated, significant, and unforgettable tale of family, home, racism, trauma, compassion, and transcendence. * Booklist *LAST SUMMER ON STATE STREET is an astonishing debut, and Toya Wolfe is a remarkable talent. The novel is a hymn to girlhood, a loving and nuanced portrait of a place and a clear-eyed dissection of brutal social forces that catch Fe Fe, Tonya, Stacia and Precious in their crossfire. Wolfe's prose is rich, elegant and assured - a joy to read. * Jessica Moor *
£15.29
