Narrative theme: coming of age
Graywolf Press The Sky Above the Roof
Book SynopsisA propulsive, kaleidoscopic novel about a fractured family and the persistence of hope.One night, seventeen-year-old Wolf steals his mother?s car and drives six hundred kilometers in search of his sister, who left home ten years ago. Unlicensed and on edge, he veers onto the wrong side of the road and causes an accident. He is arrested and incarcerated, forcing his mother and sister to reconnect and pick up the pieces in order to fight for his release.What follows is a lyrical, precise, and unflinching account of the events that led to this moment, told through the alternating perspectives of Wolf?s mother, sister, and grandfather, as well as the doctor who was present at Wolf?s birth. With each chapter, new versions of the story and views of reality unfold, and they fit together like puzzle pieces: in an uncertain order at first, and then slowly falling neatly into place as the pages turn. As details about the characters? lives and the disconnections in their relationships are revealed, the story becomes even more propulsive, even more compelling.In this raw and poignant novel, Nathacha Appanah considers how trauma shapes generations and the wounds it leaves behind. The Sky above the Roof is both a portrait of a fractured family and a poetic exploration of the ways we break apart and rebuild.
£12.75
Graywolf Press Shy
Book SynopsisA novel about guilt, rage, imagination, and boyhood, about being lost in the dark and learning you're not aloneThis is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy.You mustn't do that to yourself Shy. You mustn't hurt yourself like that.He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him.Got your special meds, nutcase?He is escaping Last Chance, a home for very disturbed young men, and walking into the haunted space between his night terrors, his past, and the heavy question of his future.The night is huge and it hurts.In Shy, Max Porter extends the excavation of boyhood that began with Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and continued with Lanny. But here he asks: How does mischievous wonder and anarchic energy curdle into something more disturbing and violent? Shy is a bravura, lyric, music-besotted performance by one of the great writers of his generation.EditBuild
£22.50
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial La vida mentirosa de los adultos / The Lying Life
Book Synopsis
£16.96
Ediciones B Querido Edward / Dear Edward
Book Synopsis
£16.80
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial (USA) LLC La casa en Mango Street / The House on Mango
Book Synopsis
£12.30
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial (USA) LLC Sooley (Spanish Edition)
Book Synopsis
£15.26
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial (USA) LLC La chica salvaje (Movie Tie-In Edition) / Where
Book Synopsis
£15.26
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Revolución / Revolution
Book Synopsis
£18.36
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial From Nowhere
Book Synopsis
£15.26
Erewhon Books Day Boy
Book SynopsisWinner of the Aurealis Awards for Best Fantasy and Best Horror NovelWith brilliantly evocative, hypnotic prose, Trent Jamieson crafts a coming-of-age, elevated horror story about a headstrong boy—and the monstrous vampire who taught him to be a man. The Masters, dreadful and severe, rule the Red City and the lands far beyond it. By night, they politic and feast, drinking from townsfolk resigned to their fates. By day, the Masters must rely on their human servants, their Day Boys, to fulfill their every need and carry out their will. Mark is a Day Boy, practically raised by his Master, Dain. It’s grueling, often dangerous work, but Mark neither knows nor wants any other life. And, if a Day Boy proves himself worthy, the nightmarish, all-seeing Council of Teeth may choose to offer him a rare gift: the opportunity to forsake his humanity for monstrous power and near-immortality, like the Masters transformed before him. But in the crackling heat of the Red City, widespread discontent among his fellow humans threatens to fracture Mark's allegiances. As manhood draws near, so too does the end of Mark's tenure as a Day Boy, and he cannot stay suspended between the worlds of man and Master for much longer.“Poetic and meditative—at times frightening, visceral and bloody—this is a dark journey worth making.” —AurealisTrade Review“At the fingertips of a gifted writer there will always be new and interesting takes on the vampire tale and happily, Day Boy is one of them. . . . At times touching, at times frightening, and always interesting. The ideas are fresh and new, and by the end of the novel there is still so much left to be said.” —Melbourne Review of Books“Jamieson has kept all of the central facets of vampire mythology while fashioning something new and often riveting. Poetic and meditative—at times frightening, visceral and bloody—this is a dark journey worth making.” —Aurealis“Dry, rolling heat flows from the page in waves of long days and even longer nights. . . . A poetic story of humanity, of monsters living in the Shadow of the Mountain, bitter cold and open to the burning of the clear night sky.” —Fantasy Book Review“A beautifully written and surprisingly tender novel about fathers and sons, and what it may mean to become a man.” —Good Reading
£17.99
Catapult The Inland Sea: A Novel
Book SynopsisIn this "eloquent debut," a young Australian woman unable to find her footing in the world begins to break down when the emergencies she hears working as a 911 operator and the troubles within her own life gradually blur together, forcing her to grapple with how the past has shaped her present (Publishers Weekly).Drifting after her final year in college, a young writer begins working part-time as an emergency dispatch operator in Sydney. Over the course of an eight-hour shift, she is dropped into hundreds of crises, hearing only pieces of each. Callers report car accidents and violent spouses and homes caught up in flame.The work becomes monotonous: answer, transfer, repeat. And yet the stress of listening to far-off disasters seeps into her personal life, and she begins walking home with keys in hand, ready to fight off men disappointed by what they find in neighboring bars. During her free time, she gets black-out drunk, hooks up with strangers, and navigates an affair with an ex-lover whose girlfriend is in their circle of friends.Two centuries earlier, her great-great-great-great-grandfather--the British explorer John Oxley--traversed the wilderness of Australia in search of water. Oxley never found the inland sea, but the myth was taken up by other men, and over the years, search parties walked out into the desert, dying as they tried to find it.Interweaving a woman''s self-destructive unraveling with the gradual worsening of the climate crisis, The Inland Sea is charged with unflinching insight into our age of anxiety. At a time when wildfires have swept an entire continent, this novel asks what refuge and comfort looks like in a constant state of emergency.
£14.41
Catapult Black Sunday: A Novel
Book SynopsisThis fiercely original debut novel follows four Nigerian siblings over the course of two decades as they search for agency, love, and meaning in a society rife with hypocrisy. “. . . lush, sharp, and shot through with hope! —Well-Read Black Girl I like the idea of a god who knows what it’s like to be a twin. To have no memory of ever being alone. Twin sisters Bibike and Ariyike are enjoying a relatively comfortable life in Lagos in 1996. Then their mother loses her job due to political strife, and the family, facing poverty, becomes drawn into the New Church, an institution led by a charismatic pastor who is not shy about worshipping earthly wealth. Soon Bibike and Ariyike’s father wagers the family home on a “sure bet” that evaporates like smoke. As their parents’ marriage collapses in the aftermath of this gamble, the twin sisters and their two younger siblings, Andrew and Peter, are thrust into the reluctant care of their traditional Yoruba grandmother. Inseparable while they had their parents to care for them, the twins’ paths diverge once the household shatters. Each girl is left to locate, guard, and hone her own fragile source of power. Written with astonishing intimacy and wry attention to the fickleness of fate, Tola Rotimi Abraham’s Black Sunday takes us into the chaotic heart of family life, tracing a line from the euphoria of kinship to the devastation of estrangement. In the process, it joyfully tells a tale of grace and connection in the midst of daily oppression and the constant incursions of an unremitting patriarchy. This is a novel about two young women slowly finding, over twenty years, in a place rife with hypocrisy but also endless life and love, their own distinct methods of resistance and paths to independence.
£14.41
Catapult You Exist Too Much: A Novel
Book SynopsisA “provocative and seductive debut” of desire and doubleness that follows the life of a young Palestinian American woman caught between cultural, religious, and sexual identities as she endeavors to lead an authentic life (O, The Oprah Magazine).On a hot day in Bethlehem, a 12–year–old Palestinian–American girl is yelled at by a group of men outside the Church of the Nativity. She has exposed her legs in a biblical city, an act they deem forbidden, and their judgement will echo on through her adolescence. When our narrator finally admits to her mother that she is queer, her mother’s response only intensifies a sense of shame: “You exist too much,” she tells her daughter.Told in vignettes that flash between the U.S. and the Middle East—from New York to Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine—Zaina Arafat’s debut novel traces her protagonist’s progress from blushing teen to sought–after DJ and aspiring writer. In Brooklyn, she moves into an apartment with her first serious girlfriend and tries to content herself with their comfortable relationship. But soon her longings, so closely hidden during her teenage years, explode out into reckless romantic encounters and obsessions with other people. Her desire to thwart her own destructive impulses will eventually lead her to The Ledge, an unconventional treatment center that identifies her affliction as “love addiction.” In this strange, enclosed society she will start to consider the unnerving similarities between her own internal traumas and divisions and those of the places that have formed her.Opening up the fantasies and desires of one young woman caught between cultural, religious, and sexual identities, You Exist Too Much is a captivating story charting two of our most intense longings—for love, and a place to call home.
£14.41
Catapult Rainbow Rainbow: Stories
Book Synopsis
£20.80
Catapult Juno Loves Legs: A Novel
Book Synopsis
£21.60
Catapult Notes on Her Color: A Novel
Book SynopsisWinner of the Vulgar Geniuses AwardFlorida kitsch swirls together with magical realism in this glittering debut novel about a young Black and Indigenous woman who learns to change the color of her skinGabrielle has always had a complicated relationship with her mother Tallulah, one marked by intimacy and resilience in the face of a volatile patriarch. Everything in their home has been bleached a cold white—from the cupboards filled with sheets and crockery to the food and spices Tallulah cooks with. Even Gabrielle, who inherited the ability to change the color of her skin from her mother, is told to pass into white if she doesn’t want to upset her father.But this vital mother-daughter bond implodes when Tallulah is hospitalized for a mental health crisis. Separated from her mother for the first time in her life, Gabrielle must learn to control the temperamental shifts in her color on her own.Meanwhile, Gabrielle is spending a year after high school focusing on her piano lessons, an extracurricular her father is sure will make her a more appealing candidate for pre med programs. Her instructor, a queer, dark-skinned woman named Dominique, seems to encapsulate everything Gabrielle is missing in her life—creativity, confidence, and perhaps most importantly, a nurturing sense of love.Following a young woman looking for a world beyond her family’s carefully -coded existence, Notes on Her Color is a lushly written and haunting tale that shows how love, in its best sense, can be a liberating force from destructive origins.
£21.60
Catapult Bewilderness: A Novel
Book SynopsisSet in rural, poverty-stricken North Carolina, this beautiful, gritty, and piercing novel follows two young women—best friends—as they journey through the highs and lows of friendship, love, and addiction, perfect for readers of Julie Buntin's Marlena (Erika Carter, author of Lucky You).Irene, a lonely nineteen-year-old in rural North Carolina, works long nights at the local pool hall, serving pitchers and dodging drunks. One evening, her hilarious, magnetic coworker Luce invites her on a joy ride through the mountains to take revenge on a particularly creepy customer. Their adventure not only spells the beginning of a dazzling friendship, it seduces both girls into the mysterious world of pills and the endless hustles needed to fund the next high.Together, Irene and Luce run nickel-tossing scams at the county fair and trick dealers into trading legit pharms for birth-control pills. Everything is wild and wonderful until Luce finds a boyfriend who wants to help her get clean. Soon the two of them decide to move away and start a new, sober life in Florida—leaving Irene behind.Told in a riveting dialogue between the girls' addicted past and their hopes for a better future, Bewilderness is not just a brilliant, funny, heartbreaking novel about opioid abuse, it's also a moving look at how intense, intimate friendships can shape every young woman's life.
£14.41
Catapult Brutes: A Novel
Book Synopsis
£21.60
Catapult Rainbow Rainbow: Stories
Book Synopsis
£14.41
Catapult The Berry Pickers: A Novel
Book Synopsis
£21.60
Catapult Brutes: A Novel
Book Synopsis
£14.36
Koehler Books Iceman Awakens
Book Synopsis
£11.66
She Writes Press Finding Napoleon
Book Synopsis
£12.99
She Writes Press Eat and Get Gas: A Novel
Book SynopsisThirteen-year-old Evan Hanson is always the last in her family to know what’s going on—at least, that’s how it feels. Her father, Gene, who’s been meaner since he began serving in Vietnam, isn’t around much, and she likes it better that way. But then her brother, Adam, gets drafted and her anti-war mother, Endura, takes him across the border to Canada, leaving Evan alone with Gene and her younger, special needs brother, Teddy. When he realizes Endura isn’t returning, Gene takes Evan and Teddy to Eat and Get Gas, his mother’s café and gas station in Hoquiam, Washington. There, as well as her no-nonsense but loving grandma, Evan encounters Aunt Vivian, a teasing but caring know-it-all; Uncle Frankie, injured in Vietnam and suffering from PTSD; Paco, the draft dodger Frankie is hiding; Hal and Hubert, the strange but gentle next-door neighbors who play the piano like virtuosos and help out when they’re needed; and Louanne, Frankie’s reserved, sensitive sister. She is drawn in particular to Louanne, who was disfigured by a car accident that killed the rest of her and Frankie’s family. At Eat and Get Gas, Evan finds a new freedom, and she starts to carve out a place for herself by helping in the café and sorting mail for Uncle Frankie, who runs a postal route in addition to running the gas station. She eventually, too, learns some of the family secrets she’s been kept in the dark about—and comes to understand that her mother isn’t coming back any time soon. Then, after reading a letter that wasn’t meant for her, Evan discovers the biggest secret of all.Trade Review“Tender moments of genuine connection mix with hard truths in Eat and Get Gas, a poignant coming-of-age novel in which a teenager from a complicated family forges new, life-giving bonds.”—Foreword Reviews“J.A. Wright’s second novel reprises her brilliance in creating the authentic voice of a young narrator who grips the reader in a story that is often painful but always mesmerizing . . . . The writing is lean and penetrating, with enough depth to allow the reader to feel Evan’s hopes and dreams along with the searing pain of a young girl taking command of her challenging life. Evan’s resilience and emerging grace is a balm amidst the wounded world she comes from, and Eat and Get Gas is a welcome antidote to the unremitting pessimism of our time.” —Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of award-winning author of Even in Darkness and Hard Cider“J.A. Wright’s uncanny ability to place the reader at the very center of 13-year-old Evan’s head captured me, from page one. Evoking 1970’s America and the long reach of the Vietnam War, Evan’s confused, loyal, angry, lonely, and forgiving coming-of-age as she finds her place in the heart of a colorful cast of characters at ‘Eat and Get Gas’ kept me from sleep right up to the perfectly pitched ending.”—Jenni Ogden, award-winning author of A Drop in the Ocean and Call My Name “Storytelling at its best, Eat And Get Gas grabs the reader from page one and doesn’t let go. Daily, life confirms for Evan that people can disappoint us even when they love us. But she has three things going for her: soothing music from the pianists next door, the skating rink, and a honeybee bracelet. The unexpected twist at the end is oh-so-worth the wait!”—Laurie Buchanan, author of the Sean McPherson novels“It’s 1972 and thirteen-year-old Evan has her hands full. Her old brother is a draft dodger; her mother is ill; her baby brother has a learning disability; and her father, a Vietnam vet, has another family overseas. When Evan’s mother and brother head for Canada, Evan’s father takes her to his family home in Hoquiam, Washington. As she waits for her mother’s return, surrounded by a cast of quirky characters and damaged adults, Evan learns a new definition of family, the cost of untold secrets, and the value of her burgeoning self-esteem. A powerful story about a sad chapter in America’s history that is thoroughly modern, relevant, and inspiring.”—Anne Leigh Parrish, author of An Open Door “Eat and Get Gas is a compelling and affecting read that highlights experiences I haven’t often seen in fiction. This masterful study of family acts as a microcosm of Vietnam War–era America and expresses extremely well the way the trauma of this war reverberates deeply and widely. The book hums with a deep sense of love, in complicated and sometimes painful situations, and describes a group of people loving each other in ways that are complicated and poignant.”—Pip Adam, author of Nothing to See, The New Animals, I'm Working on a Building, and the short-story collection Everything We Hoped For“Great cast of characters, a compelling story, and convincingly told.”—Joe Bennett, New Zealand columnist and travel writerPast Praise for the author, for How to Grow An Addict:2016 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS - WINNER IN ADDICTION & RECOVERY2016 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS (NIEA)- WINNER IN ADDICTION & RECOVERY 2016 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER BOOK AWARDS (IPPY)- BRONZE MEDAL — LITERARY FICTION 2015 FOREWARD REVIEWS INDIEFAB BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS HONORABLE MENTION FOR GENERAL FICTION 2015 USA BEST BOOK AWARDS FINALIST FOR GENERAL FICTION“Wright deftly and insightfully describes how a life can spiral toward addiction and rehab. The story is raw and touching and I found myself rooting for Randall as she navigates redemption and sobriety. A gritty and honest read.” —Susie Orman Schnall, award-winning author of On Grace and The Balance Project“Wright dares to stomp where others only lightly tread, and does so with grace, craft, and an unusual ease. This is not a sob story about abuse, damage, and addiction, it’s a story of how bravery, self-recognition, and the desire for happiness slap the former in the face and gleam with hope. A great read and lesson for anyone who’s been there, hopes to get elsewhere, or simply needs to read a story that resonates.” —Maria Kostaki, author of Pieces: A Novel
£12.34
Entangled: Amara A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
Book Synopsis**Includes never-before-seen bonus material, including a steamy and sweet scene of Crew and Wren celebrating Valentine''s Day at Lancaster Prep.**NYT bestselling author Monica Murphy takes you back to the Lancaster Prep world with a deeply romantic story about the most popular girl at school - and the boy who becomes completely obsessed with her.Wren Beaumont is a model student. Kind, clever and beautiful, she is loved by everyone at Lancaster Prep.Everyone but brooding campus bad boy Crew Lancaster.Son of the family who own the school, Crew''s life seems easy - but with an overbearing father and high expectations, it''s anything but.Which is why he has no time for people like Wren.But when their lives unexpectedly collide, Wren discovers there''s more to life than good grades - and Crew finally understands what it''s like to care about someone other than himself . . .Could they - should they - become the school''s most unlikely couple?Each book in the Lancaster Prep series is STANDALONE:* Things I Wanted to Say* A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime* Promises We Meant to Keep* I?ll Always Be With You* You Said I Was Your Favorite
£14.44
Amazon Publishing Last Summer Boys: A Novel
Book SynopsisIn this rapturous coming-of-age debut, a naive-yet-determined Appalachian boy will go to any length to save his family over the course of one life-changing summer. “If you’re famous, you don’t have to go to war.” Summer 1968. When thirteen-year-old Jack Elliot overhears the barbershop men grousing, he devises a secret plan to keep his oldest brother, Pete, from the draft. If famous boys don’t go to war, he’ll make his brother their small town’s biggest celebrity. Jack gets unexpected help when his book-smart cousin Frankie arrives in their rural Pennsylvania town for the summer. Together, they convince Jack’s brothers to lead an expedition to find a fighter jet that crashed many winters ago—the perfect adventure to make Pete a hero. But with a greedy developer determined to flood their valley, a beautiful girl occupying his middle brother’s attentions, a wild motorcycle gang causing trouble in town, and a disturbed neighbor setting fires, Jack realizes it isn’t just Pete who needs saving. Set during a single, tumultuous summer, this beautifully told tale is a heartwarming tribute to innocence, first love, and the unbreakable bond of brotherhood.Trade Review“A wonderfully evocative coming-of-age tale about a young boy’s determination to hold on to all he holds dear during the tumultuous sixties in rural America. The setting and the time period are perfectly captured, but it was the characters in Last Summer Boys that really pulled me in. I found myself rooting for these boys from the first page to the last in this unforgettable debut novel that’s sure to capture your heart, too.” —Lesley Kagen, New York Times bestselling author of Every Now and Then and Whistling in the Dark “Over the course of one life-changing summer, one boy will do whatever it takes to save his oldest brother from the draft. But when other hurdles arise that threaten his family, he’ll summon every ounce of his courage and strength to try to protect them all. Part coming-of-age tale, part adventure narrative, this heartwarming and uplifting debut is perfect for fans of William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land or the beloved film Stand by Me (adapted from Stephen King’s The Body).” —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell and The World Played Chess
£8.99
Amazon Publishing Just a Regular Boy: A Novel
Book SynopsisAn orphaned boy raised by a survivalist wends his way into the real world in an emotional novel about hope, fears, and found family by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde. Out there is chaos, the collapse of society, and so much to be afraid of. All that matters is freedom. That’s what Remy Blake has been taught by his survivalist father. Raised off the grid in the middle of nowhere, his own survival skills not yet honed, Remy is days shy of his eighth birthday when his father unexpectedly dies. As seasons pass, supplies run out, and fending for himself grows more desperate, Remy sets out on foot, unprepared for the great unknown of civilization. He is found—near feral, silent, and terrified—in the small rural town of Blaire. To Anne, a nurturing mother of two adopted teenagers who’s still dealing with her own childhood rejections, Remy is not a lost cause. Just a challenging one. As Remy cautiously adapts to his new foster home, his family wants nothing more than to reassure him that he can trust the world. But to do so, they must first reexamine how much they trust the world themselves, and how much they should. As Remy’s journey into the real world begins, figuring out how to navigate it becomes a path they will have to learn to walk together.Trade Review“Prolific author [Catherine Ryan] Hyde applies her heartwarming style to the dynamic between a foster parent and child, highlighting the power of therapy and the reliability of inner strength.” —Booklist “The story is beautifully conceived and executed and incredibly touching. As with all of Hyde's characters, we really come to empathize with Remy and Anne.” —Bookreporter Previous Praise for Catherine Ryan Hyde “Fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde will adore her new novel…No one in this story is perfect. But despite our flaws, we are all worthy of love and able to share our love, just as Stewie so beautifully demonstrates.” —Bookreporter on Dreaming of Flight “A heartwarming story spanning decades of shared trials and personal growth.” —Booklist on My Name is Anton “There is a little bit of magic in every [Catherine Ryan Hyde] book…Perceptive, heartfelt, and enlightening.” —Novelgossip on Heaven Adjacent “Fans of Homer H. Hickam Jr.’s Rocket Boys, Andrew J. Graff’s Raft of Stars, and Hyde’s substantial backlist will savor this heart-opening and meticulously researched coming-of-age tale.” —Booklist on Boy Underground “A story about good people doing their best to survive, combined with a message that will cause readers to close the book feeling a bit more hopeful about humanity.” —Kirkus Reviews on Take Me with You “Multilayered and heartwarming.” —Booklist on Seven Perfect Things “A deftly crafted novel with an underlying message about the power of simple kindness…a thoroughly engaging read from first page to last.” —Midwest Book Review on Have You Seen Luis Velez? “Hyde is a master at mining the emotional depths of her characters and bringing them out the other side.” —New York Journal of Books on Just After Midnight
£8.99
Amazon Publishing Just a Regular Boy: A Novel
Book SynopsisAn orphaned boy raised by a survivalist wends his way into the real world in an emotional novel about hope, fears, and found family by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde. Out there is chaos, the collapse of society, and so much to be afraid of. All that matters is freedom. That’s what Remy Blake has been taught by his survivalist father. Raised off the grid in the middle of nowhere, his own survival skills not yet honed, Remy is days shy of his eighth birthday when his father unexpectedly dies. As seasons pass, supplies run out, and fending for himself grows more desperate, Remy sets out on foot, unprepared for the great unknown of civilization. He is found—near feral, silent, and terrified—in the small rural town of Blaire. To Anne, a nurturing mother of two adopted teenagers who’s still dealing with her own childhood rejections, Remy is not a lost cause. Just a challenging one. As Remy cautiously adapts to his new foster home, his family wants nothing more than to reassure him that he can trust the world. But to do so, they must first reexamine how much they trust the world themselves, and how much they should. As Remy’s journey into the real world begins, figuring out how to navigate it becomes a path they will have to learn to walk together.Trade Review“Prolific author [Catherine Ryan] Hyde applies her heartwarming style to the dynamic between a foster parent and child, highlighting the power of therapy and the reliability of inner strength.” —Booklist “The story is beautifully conceived and executed and incredibly touching. As with all of Hyde's characters, we really come to empathize with Remy and Anne.” —Bookreporter Previous Praise for Catherine Ryan Hyde “Fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde will adore her new novel…No one in this story is perfect. But despite our flaws, we are all worthy of love and able to share our love, just as Stewie so beautifully demonstrates.” —Bookreporter on Dreaming of Flight “A heartwarming story spanning decades of shared trials and personal growth.” —Booklist on My Name is Anton “There is a little bit of magic in every [Catherine Ryan Hyde] book…Perceptive, heartfelt, and enlightening.” —Novelgossip on Heaven Adjacent “Fans of Homer H. Hickam Jr.’s Rocket Boys, Andrew J. Graff’s Raft of Stars, and Hyde’s substantial backlist will savor this heart-opening and meticulously researched coming-of-age tale.” —Booklist on Boy Underground “A story about good people doing their best to survive, combined with a message that will cause readers to close the book feeling a bit more hopeful about humanity.” —Kirkus Reviews on Take Me with You “Multilayered and heartwarming.” —Booklist on Seven Perfect Things “A deftly crafted novel with an underlying message about the power of simple kindness…a thoroughly engaging read from first page to last.” —Midwest Book Review on Have You Seen Luis Velez? “Hyde is a master at mining the emotional depths of her characters and bringing them out the other side.” —New York Journal of Books on Just After Midnight
£18.99
Amazon Publishing Mockingbird Summer: A Novel
Book SynopsisA powerful and emotional coming-of-age novel set amid the turmoil and profound changes of the 1960s by the bestselling author of West with Giraffes. In segregated High Cotton, Texas, in 1964, the racial divide is as clear as the railroad tracks running through town. It’s also where two girls are going to shake things up. This is the last summer of thirteen-year-old Corky Corcoran’s childhood, and her family hires a Haitian housekeeper who brings her daughter, America, along with her. Corky is quick to befriend America and eager to share her favorite new “grown-up” novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. America’s take on it is different and profoundly personal. As their friendship grows, Corky finds out so much more about America’s life and her hidden skill: she can run as fast as Olympian Wilma Rudolph! When Corky asks America to play with her girls’ softball team for the annual church rivals game, it’s a move that crosses the color line and sets off a firestorm. As tensions escalate, it fast becomes a season of big changes in High Cotton. For Corky, those changes will last a lifetime. Set on the eve of massive cultural shifts, Mockingbird Summer explores the impact of great books, the burden of potential, and the power of friendship with humor, poignancy, and exhilarating hope.Trade ReviewPREVIOUS PRAISE FOR LYNDA RUTLEDGE “A delightful read.” —The New York Times Book Review “[A] larger-than-life story about the power of both animal magnetism and human connection…witty, charming, and heartwarming.” —Booklist “West with Giraffes is truly a fun read…I [can’t] imagine a reading list that would not contain Lynda Rutledge’s astonishing novel.” —Old Naples News “Every year I find at least one book that soars above all the others. This year “West with Giraffes is that book.” —Florida Times Union “A flawless novel.” —Austin American-Statesman “A perfect balance between history and fiction.” —POPSUGAR
£18.99
Amazon Publishing Mockingbird Summer: A Novel
Book SynopsisA powerful and emotional coming-of-age novel set amid the turmoil and profound changes of the 1960s by the bestselling author of West with Giraffes. In segregated High Cotton, Texas, in 1964, the racial divide is as clear as the railroad tracks running through town. It’s also where two girls are going to shake things up. This is the last summer of thirteen-year-old Corky Corcoran’s childhood, and her family hires a Haitian housekeeper who brings her daughter, America, along with her. Corky is quick to befriend America and eager to share her favorite new “grown-up” novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. America’s take on it is different and profoundly personal. As their friendship grows, Corky finds out so much more about America’s life and her hidden skill: she can run as fast as Olympian Wilma Rudolph! When Corky asks America to play with her girls’ softball team for the annual church rivals game, it’s a move that crosses the color line and sets off a firestorm. As tensions escalate, it fast becomes a season of big changes in High Cotton. For Corky, those changes will last a lifetime. Set on the eve of massive cultural shifts, Mockingbird Summer explores the impact of great books, the burden of potential, and the power of friendship with humor, poignancy, and exhilarating hope.Trade ReviewPREVIOUS PRAISE FOR LYNDA RUTLEDGE “A delightful read.” —The New York Times Book Review “[A] larger-than-life story about the power of both animal magnetism and human connection…witty, charming, and heartwarming.” —Booklist “West with Giraffes is truly a fun read…I [can’t] imagine a reading list that would not contain Lynda Rutledge’s astonishing novel.” —Old Naples News “Every year I find at least one book that soars above all the others. This year “West with Giraffes is that book.” —Florida Times Union “A flawless novel.” —Austin American-Statesman “A perfect balance between history and fiction.” —POPSUGAR
£8.99
Amazon Publishing The Fireballer: A Novel
Book SynopsisA poignant story about hopes, dreams, and how far one man’s talent takes him before he realizes it’s about what you do—and how you do it. Frank Ryder is unstoppable on the baseball field—his pitches arrive faster than a batter can swing, giving his opponents no chance. He’s being heralded as a game-changing pitcher. But within the maelstrom of press, adulation, and wild speculation, Frank is a man alone. Haunted by a tragic incident from years past, he yearns to be the best but cannot reconcile the guilt he carries with the man everyone believes him to be. Frank’s path to redemption leads him on a journey back to where his life changed forever, to visit his family, his high school coach, and his brother. Through reconnection and reconciliation with those also deeply affected by the devastating event of Frank’s youth, he finds peace and his place in the world both in and outside the game. The Fireballer is a lyrical, moving story of undeniable talent and the life-changing power of forgiveness and a subtly romantic ode to America’s favorite pastime.Trade Review“Readers looking for sports fiction heavy on the baseball will enjoy this book.” —Library Journal “Like the game of baseball, the great American pastime, there is much to love in The Fireballer by Mark Stevens…a book to enjoy like it was the seventh game of the World Series and your team won.” —New York Journal of Books “Fleet and fun, The Fireballer will appeal to fans of The Natural and Robert Coover’s The Universal Baseball Association. Frank Ryder is a classic American hero—the phenom who has to overcome his own terrible past. Mark Stevens has done the impossible: He actually had me rooting for the Orioles.” —Stewart O’Nan, coauthor of Faithful and author of Ocean State “Seldom do I read a book that knocks my socks off the way The Fireballer did. This is a feel-good baseball story with a hold on the vernacular, the heart, the soul, the big picture, and the subtleties of America’s favorite summer pastime. The characters are beautifully etched, and pitcher Frank Ryder may be the most likeable hero since Gary Cooper gave life to Lou Gehrig on the big screen. I guarantee that you don’t have to be a baseball fan to be swept up by this moving tale. With a full heart, I recommend—no, insist—that you read The Fireballer.” —William Kent Krueger, author of Fox Creek and This Tender Land “Mark Stevens’s The Fireballer is a timeless baseball story told with a love of the game and fast-moving prose that will leave you cheering and crying at the same time. Frank Ryder is the most appealing of heroes, taciturn and loyal, talented and haunted—truly haunted—and with a fastball that will change the game. With its authentic baseball scenes and its rich heart, The Fireballer is a novel that rests comfortably with other classics of the game.” —William Lashner, author of The Barkeep “The Fireballer is not just a great baseball yarn that any fan of the game will enjoy—it is also a richly-layered exploration of character, regret, and redemption.” —Lou Berney, author of November Road and The Long and Faraway Gone “The old game of baseball keeps coming up with new stories about the next twist or turn in the sport. In The Fireballer, Mark Stevens has invented a startling ‘What if?’ that stretches the limits of the game. More than a baseball book, the novel is a journey through the mind and heart of a gifted, but tragic, athlete who finds a road to redemption.” —Stephen Singular, New York Times bestselling author “The Fireballer is a compelling story that I found hard to put down, rich with authentic baseball details and full of heart. Mark Stevens hits it out of the park with this intricate and moving tale of redemption.” —Robert Bailey, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Golfer’s Carol “Mark Stevens has crafted a powerful, heartfelt story—with a memorable baseball backdrop—that carves out a place alongside classics like The Art of Fielding and The Natural. Stevens knows the game—but it’s his deft narrative and characters that help this book truly sing. I couldn’t put it down.” —Alex Segura, bestselling author of Secret Identity “You don’t have to know baseball to love The Fireballer. At the center of this big-hearted book is Frank Ryder, a star pitcher tormented by a mistake in his past. Readers root for Frank not for his fastball, but because his redemption delivers us all.” —Stephanie Kane, award-winning mystery writer and author of True Crime Redux “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie…and heart. Pitcher phenom Frank Ryder’s heart is bigger than the game—as is his grief—and his fastball has the potential to transform or destroy both. As Mark Stevens divulges Ryder’s temptations and talent alongside the complexities of the sport, readers will find themselves captivated by a world-class athlete’s regrets and life choices in The Fireballer.” —Janet Fogg, award-winning author of Soliloquy and coauthor of the best seller Fogg in the Cockpit “The Fireballer goes straight into my pantheon of great baseball writing, alongside The Brothers K (David James Duncan), The Art of Fielding (Chad Harbach), You Gotta Have Wa (Robert Whiting), and the many treasures by Roger Angell. Mark Stevens’s ability to get ‘inside baseball’—while telling a moving human story—is both astounding and worthy of readers of all interests and tastes.” —John Galligan, author of the Bad Axe County series “In The Fireballer, Mark Stevens may have invented a new subgenre: the emotional thriller. As Frank Ryder journeys to the source of both his phenomenal talent and his psychic pain, I couldn’t stop turning pages. And when he earns his redemption? Reader, I cried. Love, loss, and ultimate triumph—this book delivers at 110 miles per hour.” —Keir Graff, author of The Three Mrs. Wrights (writing with Linda Joffe Hull as Linda Keir) “Brimming with humanity, The Fireballer is a richly imagined tale of the modern American pastime with a heart as big as center field. Pure storytelling genius.” — Scott Graham, winner of the National Outdoor Book Award and author of Saguaro Sanction “The Fireballer is about a baseball pitcher, sure. The way The Natural is about a bat and Shoeless Joe is about a corn field. But this many-layered tale deeply considers hope, fear, love, grief, and change, all through the prism of our beautiful national pastime. The writing is heartfelt and gorgeous. The Fireballer struck me out.” —Richard Cass, author of the Elder Darrow Jazz Mysteries and The Last Altruist “This is a great American novel that is about so much more than the great American pastime.” —Wendy J. Fox, author of If the Ice Had Held and What If We Were Somewhere Else “The Fireballer isn’t just about baseball. It’s about life and loss and what love can do. Mark Stevens shows not only a deep understanding of the game but of human frailty and grace as well. This book is a true triumph.” —Claire Booth, award-winning journalist and critically acclaimed author of the Hank Worth mysteries “With baseball as the backdrop, The Fireballer is a rich story that will have you rooting for Frank Ryder as he struggles with imprinted tragedies of his past. Don’t be dissuaded if you’re not a fan of baseball. The enjoyment of this novel comes from the talent of Mark Stevens and his craft of characters with depth and heart. The emotion is palpable and the story moving.” —Wendy Terrien, award-winning author of The Rampart Guards “The Fireballer is more than a story of a freakishly talented baseball pitcher. It’s the story of a good man trapped in an industry that both reveres and despises his abilities, and disregards the emotional toll the game takes. While reading The Fireballer I could see the players scattered in the field, smell the beer and hot dogs at the stadium, and feel the whoosh of Frank Ryder’s fastball zooming past the batter. A truly great sports novel.” —Stephanie Gayle, author of Idyll Threats “In fresh, evocative prose, Stevens spins a tale about a phenom baseball pitcher that transcends the genre of ‘sports fiction.’ Compelling and humane. Highly recommended.” —Karen Odden, USA Today bestselling author of the Inspector Corravan Mysteries
£8.99
Amazon Publishing The Court of Shadows
Book Synopsis“Dixen excels at concocting unexpected detours and jaw-dropping cliffhangers. Anne Rice fans will be especially enthralled.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review) A fiery heroine seeks vengeance against a royal court of deadly vampires in this epic alternate history set in lavish Versailles. Louis XIV transformed from the Sun King into the King of Shadows when he embraced immortality and became the world’s first vampire. For the last three centuries, he has been ruling the kingdom from the decadent Court of Shadows in Versailles, demanding the blood of his subjects to sate his nobles’ thirst and maintain their loyalty. In the heart of rural France, commoner Jeanne Froidelac witnesses the king’s soldiers murder her family and learns of her parents’ role in a brewing rebellion involving the forbidden secrets of alchemy. To seek her revenge, Jeanne disguises herself as an aristocrat and enrolls in a prestigious school for aspiring courtiers. She soon finds herself at the doors of the palace of Versailles. But Jeanne, of course, is no aristocrat. She dreams not of court but of blood. The blood of a king.Trade Review“Dixen excels at concocting unexpected detours and jaw-dropping cliffhangers. Anne Rice fans will be especially enthralled.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Fantasy fans who like their speculative fiction filled with vampyre aristocrats and plenty of twists along the way will enjoy taking a bite out of this series starter.” —Library Journal “The Court of Shadows is highly recommended for those who enjoy reading dark tales filled with suspense, terror, and supernatural vampyres…” —Historical Novels Review “The Court of Shadows has intriguing world-building and a protagonist with true, merciless grit. You’re rooted in the familiar, yet there are enough twists to break your expectations. Jeanne is vicious in her determination, and the king is utterly fascinating. I NEED TO SEE HIM WITHOUT THAT MASK!” —Charlie N. Holmberg, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician “I loved it! The tension, the intrigue, the undercurrents of revolution, and above all else, a warrior girl who still wants to love and be loved. This will be an immediate classic. Bravo!” —Amy Harmon, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times bestselling author “Seductive, thrilling, and deliciously dark, The Court of Shadows brings the glamour and danger of eighteenth-century Versailles to life. This is historical fantasy at its finest!” —Kass Morgan, bestselling author of The 100 “Victor Dixen has crafted a decadent literary feast that makes vampire lore fresh again. The Court of Shadows deserves a place on your bookshelf with all the bloodsucking classics.” —Megan Shepherd, New York Times bestselling author of Grim Lovelies “A brilliant and brave young heroine who is still realistically vulnerable, in a world of vampires who really do want to kill people—and yet retain their creepy fascination. Read this to find out why Victor Dixen’s thrilling series is a huge bestseller in France. I can’t wait to read the next one!” — Ellen Kushner, World Fantasy Award and Locus Award winner, author of Swordspoint “Gory, twisty, heart-stopping fun of the best kind—I couldn’t stop reading!” —Shelley Parker-Chan, #1 bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun “Victor Dixen's The Court of Shadows is an entirely original version of a world ruled by vampires. His protagonist, Jeanne, makes choices that are genuinely unpredictable as she seeks vengeance for the deaths of her family. I could not put this book down.” —Charlaine Harris, author of All the Dead Shall Weep
£17.99
Amazon Publishing I'll Stop the World: A Novel
Book Synopsis“Lauren Thoman’s I’ll Stop the World is a whip-smart mystery with a vibrant cast of characters that gives off great eighties vibes. I was absolutely dazzled by this unputdownable genre-bending novel that’s equal parts coming-of-age suspense and emotional tale of forgiveness and second chances.” —Mindy Kaling The end and the beginning become one in a heart-pounding coming-of-age mystery about the power of friendship, fate, and inexplicable second chances. Is it the right place at the wrong time? Or the wrong place at the right time? Trapped in a dead-end town, Justin Warren has had his life defined by the suspicious deaths of his grandparents. The unsolved crime happened long before Justin was born, but the ripple effects are still felt after thirty-eight years. Justin always knew he wouldn’t have much of a future. He just never imagined that his life might take him backward. In a cosmic twist of fate, Justin’s choices send him crashing into the path of determined optimist Rose Yin. Justin and Rose live in the same town and attend the same school, but have never met—because Rose lives in 1985. Justin won’t be born for another twenty years. And his grandparents are still alive—for now. In a series of events that reverberate through multiple lifetimes, Justin and Rose have a week to get Justin unstuck in time and put each of them in control of their futures—by solving a murder that hasn’t even happened yet.Trade Review“Thoman’s ambitious timeline of events is both expansive and compressed, with the storyline unfolding over the course of both one week and 38 years, and her portrayal of teenagers in varying degrees of crisis is sympathetic. A novel look at strange (and stranger) things.” —Kirkus Reviews “Thoman’s sweeping debut defies categorization. A multigenerational mystery, a compulsively readable love story, an intricately woven sci-fi—whatever it is, I’ll Stop the World is the mind-bendy time-travel eighties romp we all need right now. I’m obsessed with this book.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author “I’ll Stop the World layers mystery upon mystery, from the everyday secrets in the lives of teens coming of age in a small town now to the dark shock waves still radiating out from deaths that took place decades before. Lauren Thoman’s debut novel is a time-bending page-turner packed with twists no one will see coming. This is a story that continues to resonate long after you finish.” —Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds “In this standout debut, Lauren Thoman takes the reader on a wild ride, deftly wrapping a coming-of-age story with a clever mystery, sprinkled with eighties nostalgia that’ll have you reaching for your Bubble Yum. As I tore through the pages, I fell in love with the cast of flawed and funny characters, who felt as real as the friends I grew up with. Best of all, Thoman delivers an impossibly satisfying ending in a way only the very best time-travel storytellers can. This one should go at the top of everyone’s must-read list!” —Brianna Labuskes, Wall Street Journal bestselling author “A brilliant, thought-provoking page-turner that so deeply sucked me into a world of richly drawn characters and fast-paced action that I never wanted to leave.” —Sonali Dev, USA Today bestselling author of The Vibrant Years “A page-turning, time-bending mystery full of heart. I’ll Stop the World gave me a chance to solve a cold crime from a refreshing new perspective. Lauren Thoman is an exciting new talent not to be missed!” —Kara Thomas, bestselling author of That Weekend and Out of the Ashes
£8.99
Amazon Publishing I'll Stop the World: A Novel
Book Synopsis“Lauren Thoman’s I’ll Stop the World is a whip-smart mystery with a vibrant cast of characters that gives off great eighties vibes. I was absolutely dazzled by this unputdownable genre-bending novel that’s equal parts coming-of-age suspense and emotional tale of forgiveness and second chances.” —Mindy Kaling The end and the beginning become one in a heart-pounding coming-of-age mystery about the power of friendship, fate, and inexplicable second chances. Is it the right place at the wrong time? Or the wrong place at the right time? Trapped in a dead-end town, Justin Warren has had his life defined by the suspicious deaths of his grandparents. The unsolved crime happened long before Justin was born, but the ripple effects are still felt after thirty-eight years. Justin always knew he wouldn’t have much of a future. He just never imagined that his life might take him backward. In a cosmic twist of fate, Justin’s choices send him crashing into the path of determined optimist Rose Yin. Justin and Rose live in the same town and attend the same school, but have never met—because Rose lives in 1985. Justin won’t be born for another twenty years. And his grandparents are still alive—for now. In a series of events that reverberate through multiple lifetimes, Justin and Rose have a week to get Justin unstuck in time and put each of them in control of their futures—by solving a murder that hasn’t even happened yet.Trade Review“Thoman’s ambitious timeline of events is both expansive and compressed, with the storyline unfolding over the course of both one week and 38 years, and her portrayal of teenagers in varying degrees of crisis is sympathetic. A novel look at strange (and stranger) things.” —Kirkus Reviews “Thoman’s sweeping debut defies categorization. A multigenerational mystery, a compulsively readable love story, an intricately woven sci-fi—whatever it is, I’ll Stop the World is the mind-bendy time-travel eighties romp we all need right now. I’m obsessed with this book.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author “I’ll Stop the World layers mystery upon mystery, from the everyday secrets in the lives of teens coming of age in a small town now to the dark shock waves still radiating out from deaths that took place decades before. Lauren Thoman’s debut novel is a time-bending page-turner packed with twists no one will see coming. This is a story that continues to resonate long after you finish.” —Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds “In this standout debut, Lauren Thoman takes the reader on a wild ride, deftly wrapping a coming-of-age story with a clever mystery, sprinkled with eighties nostalgia that’ll have you reaching for your Bubble Yum. As I tore through the pages, I fell in love with the cast of flawed and funny characters, who felt as real as the friends I grew up with. Best of all, Thoman delivers an impossibly satisfying ending in a way only the very best time-travel storytellers can. This one should go at the top of everyone’s must-read list!” —Brianna Labuskes, Wall Street Journal bestselling author “A brilliant, thought-provoking page-turner that so deeply sucked me into a world of richly drawn characters and fast-paced action that I never wanted to leave.” —Sonali Dev, USA Today bestselling author of The Vibrant Years “A page-turning, time-bending mystery full of heart. I’ll Stop the World gave me a chance to solve a cold crime from a refreshing new perspective. Lauren Thoman is an exciting new talent not to be missed!” —Kara Thomas, bestselling author of That Weekend and Out of the Ashes
£18.99
Amazon Publishing Woke Up Like This: A Novel
Book Synopsis“Amy Lea’s Woke Up Like This reminded me that the exciting and complicated feelings of our teenage years never truly fade away. The book perfectly captures high school nostalgia . . . It’s a feel-good story for the young and young at heart.” —Mindy Kaling For two high school seniors, it’s seventeen going on thirty—overnight—in a magical romantic comedy about growing up too fast and living in the moment. Planning the perfect prom is one last “to do” on ultra-organized Charlotte Wu’s high school bucket list. So far, so good, if not for a decorating accident that sends Charlotte crash-landing off a ladder, face-first into her obnoxiously ripped archnemesis J. T. Renner. Worse? When Charlotte wakes up, she finds herself in an unfamiliar bed at thirty years old, with her bearded fiancé, Renner, by her side. Either they’ve lost their minds or they’ve been drop-kicked into adulthood, forever trapped in the thirty-year-old bodies of their future selves. With each other as their only constant, Charlotte and Renner discover all that’s changed in the time they’ve missed. Charlotte also learns there’s more to Renner than irritating-jock charm, and that reaching the next milestone isn’t as important as what happens in between. Navigating a series of adventures and a confounding new normal, Charlotte and Renner will do whatever it takes to find a way back to seventeen. But when—and if—they do, what then?Trade Review“Lea creates a story that is part 13 Going on 30, part To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (both referenced in the pop-culture savvy text), and 100% swoony fun… A fun, nostalgic story that’s perfect for anyone who wants to take a trip down Memory Lane.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Lea has a sure hand with the slow-burning enemies-to-lovers relationship between her leads, making their path toward each other both entertaining and endearing. Romance fans will eat this up.” —Publishers Weekly “A fun, easily sharable, widely appealing romance that will have a big audience…” —Booklist “Amy Lea’s Woke Up Like This reminded me that the exciting and complicated feelings of our teenage years never truly fade away. The book perfectly captures high school nostalgia…It’s a feel-good story for the young and young at heart.” —Mindy Kaling “Woke Up Like This is witty, earnest, charming, and intensely seventeen. It perfectly captures the highs and lows of being on the brink of big life changes and the thrill of first love (and first hate).” —Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis “Woke Up Like This charmed me from page one and I never wanted it to end! Perfect for fans of Kasie West and Jenny Han, this book is guaranteed to suck you in and force you to read it in one sitting. Ten out of ten would recommend!” —Lynn Painter, New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies
£17.99
Amazon Publishing The Fireballer: A Novel
Book SynopsisA poignant story about hopes, dreams, and how far one man’s talent takes him before he realizes it’s about what you do—and how you do it. Frank Ryder is unstoppable on the baseball field—his pitches arrive faster than a batter can swing, giving his opponents no chance. He’s being heralded as a game-changing pitcher. But within the maelstrom of press, adulation, and wild speculation, Frank is a man alone. Haunted by a tragic incident from years past, he yearns to be the best but cannot reconcile the guilt he carries with the man everyone believes him to be. Frank’s path to redemption leads him on a journey back to where his life changed forever, to visit his family, his high school coach, and his brother. Through reconnection and reconciliation with those also deeply affected by the devastating event of Frank’s youth, he finds peace and his place in the world both in and outside the game. The Fireballer is a lyrical, moving story of undeniable talent and the life-changing power of forgiveness and a subtly romantic ode to America’s favorite pastime.Trade Review“Readers looking for sports fiction heavy on the baseball will enjoy this book.” —Library Journal “Like the game of baseball, the great American pastime, there is much to love in The Fireballer by Mark Stevens…a book to enjoy like it was the seventh game of the World Series and your team won.” —New York Journal of Books “Fleet and fun, The Fireballer will appeal to fans of The Natural and Robert Coover’s The Universal Baseball Association. Frank Ryder is a classic American hero—the phenom who has to overcome his own terrible past. Mark Stevens has done the impossible: He actually had me rooting for the Orioles.” —Stewart O’Nan, coauthor of Faithful and author of Ocean State “Seldom do I read a book that knocks my socks off the way The Fireballer did. This is a feel-good baseball story with a hold on the vernacular, the heart, the soul, the big picture, and the subtleties of America’s favorite summer pastime. The characters are beautifully etched, and pitcher Frank Ryder may be the most likeable hero since Gary Cooper gave life to Lou Gehrig on the big screen. I guarantee that you don’t have to be a baseball fan to be swept up by this moving tale. With a full heart, I recommend—no, insist—that you read The Fireballer.” —William Kent Krueger, author of Fox Creek and This Tender Land “Mark Stevens’s The Fireballer is a timeless baseball story told with a love of the game and fast-moving prose that will leave you cheering and crying at the same time. Frank Ryder is the most appealing of heroes, taciturn and loyal, talented and haunted—truly haunted—and with a fastball that will change the game. With its authentic baseball scenes and its rich heart, The Fireballer is a novel that rests comfortably with other classics of the game.” —William Lashner, author of The Barkeep “The Fireballer is not just a great baseball yarn that any fan of the game will enjoy—it is also a richly-layered exploration of character, regret, and redemption.” —Lou Berney, author of November Road and The Long and Faraway Gone “The old game of baseball keeps coming up with new stories about the next twist or turn in the sport. In The Fireballer, Mark Stevens has invented a startling ‘What if?’ that stretches the limits of the game. More than a baseball book, the novel is a journey through the mind and heart of a gifted, but tragic, athlete who finds a road to redemption.” —Stephen Singular, New York Times bestselling author “The Fireballer is a compelling story that I found hard to put down, rich with authentic baseball details and full of heart. Mark Stevens hits it out of the park with this intricate and moving tale of redemption.” —Robert Bailey, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Golfer’s Carol “Mark Stevens has crafted a powerful, heartfelt story—with a memorable baseball backdrop—that carves out a place alongside classics like The Art of Fielding and The Natural. Stevens knows the game—but it’s his deft narrative and characters that help this book truly sing. I couldn’t put it down.” —Alex Segura, bestselling author of Secret Identity “You don’t have to know baseball to love The Fireballer. At the center of this big-hearted book is Frank Ryder, a star pitcher tormented by a mistake in his past. Readers root for Frank not for his fastball, but because his redemption delivers us all.” —Stephanie Kane, award-winning mystery writer and author of True Crime Redux “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie…and heart. Pitcher phenom Frank Ryder’s heart is bigger than the game—as is his grief—and his fastball has the potential to transform or destroy both. As Mark Stevens divulges Ryder’s temptations and talent alongside the complexities of the sport, readers will find themselves captivated by a world-class athlete’s regrets and life choices in The Fireballer.” —Janet Fogg, award-winning author of Soliloquy and coauthor of the best seller Fogg in the Cockpit “The Fireballer goes straight into my pantheon of great baseball writing, alongside The Brothers K (David James Duncan), The Art of Fielding (Chad Harbach), You Gotta Have Wa (Robert Whiting), and the many treasures by Roger Angell. Mark Stevens’s ability to get ‘inside baseball’—while telling a moving human story—is both astounding and worthy of readers of all interests and tastes.” —John Galligan, author of the Bad Axe County series “In The Fireballer, Mark Stevens may have invented a new subgenre: the emotional thriller. As Frank Ryder journeys to the source of both his phenomenal talent and his psychic pain, I couldn’t stop turning pages. And when he earns his redemption? Reader, I cried. Love, loss, and ultimate triumph—this book delivers at 110 miles per hour.” —Keir Graff, author of The Three Mrs. Wrights (writing with Linda Joffe Hull as Linda Keir) “Brimming with humanity, The Fireballer is a richly imagined tale of the modern American pastime with a heart as big as center field. Pure storytelling genius.” — Scott Graham, winner of the National Outdoor Book Award and author of Saguaro Sanction “The Fireballer is about a baseball pitcher, sure. The way The Natural is about a bat and Shoeless Joe is about a corn field. But this many-layered tale deeply considers hope, fear, love, grief, and change, all through the prism of our beautiful national pastime. The writing is heartfelt and gorgeous. The Fireballer struck me out.” —Richard Cass, author of the Elder Darrow Jazz Mysteries and The Last Altruist “This is a great American novel that is about so much more than the great American pastime.” —Wendy J. Fox, author of If the Ice Had Held and What If We Were Somewhere Else “The Fireballer isn’t just about baseball. It’s about life and loss and what love can do. Mark Stevens shows not only a deep understanding of the game but of human frailty and grace as well. This book is a true triumph.” —Claire Booth, award-winning journalist and critically acclaimed author of the Hank Worth mysteries “With baseball as the backdrop, The Fireballer is a rich story that will have you rooting for Frank Ryder as he struggles with imprinted tragedies of his past. Don’t be dissuaded if you’re not a fan of baseball. The enjoyment of this novel comes from the talent of Mark Stevens and his craft of characters with depth and heart. The emotion is palpable and the story moving.” —Wendy Terrien, award-winning author of The Rampart Guards “The Fireballer is more than a story of a freakishly talented baseball pitcher. It’s the story of a good man trapped in an industry that both reveres and despises his abilities, and disregards the emotional toll the game takes. While reading The Fireballer I could see the players scattered in the field, smell the beer and hot dogs at the stadium, and feel the whoosh of Frank Ryder’s fastball zooming past the batter. A truly great sports novel.” —Stephanie Gayle, author of Idyll Threats “In fresh, evocative prose, Stevens spins a tale about a phenom baseball pitcher that transcends the genre of ‘sports fiction.’ Compelling and humane. Highly recommended.” —Karen Odden, USA Today bestselling author of the Inspector Corravan Mysteries
£18.99
Amazon Publishing We Ate the Dark: A Novel
Book SynopsisFour women investigating the haunting murder of their friend discover more than they ever imagined in a terrifying novel about good and evil, love and death, and the spaces between. Five years after Sofia Lyon disappeared, her remains are found stuffed into the hollow of a tree bursting through the floorboards of an abandoned house in the woods. The women who loved her flock home to the North Carolina hills to face their grief. Frankie, Sofia’s twin, is in furious mourning. Poppy is heartbroken. Cass has never felt more homesick. And Marya knows something the rest of them don’t. Determined to find Sofia’s murderer, they share more than a need to see justice done for their friend. Each woman is haunted, bound to the next by something both cruel and kind, and now stalked by a shadowy presence they’ve yet to understand. Only to question, and to fear. As Sofia’s secrets unravel, so do those of the woods, and the women soon realize that Sofia might not be who they thought she was at all. And that whoever—or whatever—killed her is coming after them.Trade Review“With stunning prose, Pearson draws readers into the lives of her characters and weaves a horror-esque fantasy tale.” —Library Journal “The two story lines wind and twist and eventually connect in this leisurely paced, lyrically written paean to the power of friendship and chosen family.” —Booklist “We Ate the Dark is a gripping tale of friendship and grief and the real and imagined ghosts from the past that come to haunt us. Deliciously queer and wildly Southern, this book had me turning pages fast, lost in its poetic language, immersed in the lush landscape, holding my breath in anticipation. Mallory Pearson has written a stunning debut filled with sentences that continued to surprise me with their beauty and generosity until the very last page.” —Genevieve Hudson, author of Boys of Alabama and Pretend We Live Here “Written with gorgeous, hypnotic prose, We Ate the Dark is a piece of uncategorizable beauty and a masterclass in suspense: a ghost story inside a mystery inside a story of queer love, friendship, and family. Pearson has added to the queer horror canon with a deeply felt, deeply human masterpiece about grief, magic, connection, and all the things that keep us coming back to one another. Spooky, tender, and heartbreaking, it’ll have you turning the pages like an incantation.” —Marisa Crane, author of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself
£8.99
Amazon Publishing The Real Deal
Book SynopsisIs it harder to keep a secret when the world is watching – or to tell the truth when no-one is listening? Belle Simon was just 12 years old when she was one of six girls plucked from obscurity to star in reality TV sensation The Real Deal. Under the wing of dazzling star Donna Mayfair, she and the other five girls were meant to become world-famous actresses, singers and dancers. But at 26, Belle is trying to live anonymously, away from being loved or loathed. The public eye has never fully shut, however, and when a producer offers Belle a big paycheck to join a reunion special for The Real Deal, she finds it hard to say no. If people are going to talk about that shocking final episode anyway, maybe this is an unexpected opportunity. Everyone watching thinks they know what happened, but only Belle knows what really occurred away from the cameras and outside the editing room. Is she ready to go back and confront her past? And will anyone believe her if she reveals the truth?
£8.99
Astra Publishing House Dogs of Summer: A Novel
Book Synopsis"[A] firecracker of a debut."—The New York Times"Andrea Abreu’s debut novel about two girls in the summer heat of Tenerife is perfect for these dog days."—Shreya Chattopadhyay, The New York Times Book ReviewMy Brilliant Friend meets Blue is the Warmest Color in this lyrical debut novel set in a working-class neighborhood of the Canary Islands—a story about two girls coming of age in the early aughts and a friendship that simmers into erotic desire over the course of one hot summer. High near the volcano of northern Tenerife, an endless ceiling of cloud cover traps the working class in an abject, oppressive heat. Far away from the island’s posh resorts, two girls dream of hitching a ride down to the beach and escaping their horizonless town. It’s summer, 2005, and our ten-year-old narrator is consumed by thoughts of her best friend Isora. Isora is rude and bossy, but she’s also vivacious and brave; grownups prefer her, and boys do, too. That's why sometimes she gets jealous of Isora, who already has hair on her vagina and soft, round breasts. But she's definitely not jealous that Isora’s mother is dead, nor that Isora's fat, foul-mouthed grandmother has her on a diet, so that she is constantly sticking her fingers down her throat. Besides, she would do anything for Isora: gorge herself on cakes when her friend wants to watch, follow her to the bathroom when she takes a shit, log into chat rooms to swap dirty instant messages with strangers. But increasingly, our narrator finds it hard to keep up with Isora, who seems to be growing up at full tilt without her—and as her submissiveness veers into a painful sexual awakening, desire grows indistinguishable from intimate violence.Braiding prose poetry with bachata lyrics and the gritty humor of Canary dialect, Dogs of Summer is a story of exquisite yearning, a brutal picture of girlhood and a love song written for the vital community it portrays.Trade Review"Read this coming-of-age story for its unsparing language and vivid sense of place."—The New York Times“In playful language, Abreu beautifully evokes a land of ‘light stored for so many thousands of years’, and an era of telenovelas and the birth of the internet, in which Pokémon and Bratz dolls give way to sexual discovery.”—John Self, The Guardian“One of the hottest translated novels of late . . . Dogs of Summer does a good job unnerving a reader in any language; it’s about girls navigating the complexities of being on the cusp of puberty as their bodies become increasingly more unrecognizable to them. Abreu captures the unique discomfort of this time through run-on sentences that are experimental and abrasive while also interspersing bachata dance music and chat-room threads.”—Greta Rainbow, Shondaland"Abreu’s novel, in Julia Sanches’s sparkling translation, is a revelation, perfectly capturing a festering summer of meltdowns and shrinking horizons."—Anderson Tepper, The New York Times“Emotionally resonant . . . Abreu’s exhilarating chronicle of a young friendship is not to be missed.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)"This frank exploration of the work of growing up as a girl in a place with limited horizons (don’t forget the clouds!) illuminates while it disturbs. This is not Little Women."—Kirkus“Like the portrayals of girls in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, Abreu offers brave and unvarnished renderings of complicated female friendships, painful sexual awakenings (with an LGBTQ twist), and gritty dialects, but she is in a category by herself. Her prose is bold and direct, and her characterization of two similar but different girls on the cusp of adolescence is as vivid as anything being written today.”—June Sawyers, Booklist"This lyrical novel is set in a working-class neighborhood in Tenerife, far from the Canary Islands’ poshresorts. During one oppressively hot summer, the 10-year-old narrator and her best friend Isoraexperience changes in their bodies and their volatile emotions — from love to jealousy, admiration,obsession and submission. The story, laced with Canary Islands dialect and bachata lyrics, builds to a crescendo when desire and violence fuse."—Bill Morris, The Millions"[Abreu] provides a unique perspective into romantic feelings buried within a friendship. Much like EdnaO’Brien’s The Country Girls, Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, and Lorrie Moore’s Who Will Run theFrog Hospital?, the novel is a portrait of the intensity of love, desire, and frenzied obsession at such a pivotal age."—Christina Obolenskaya, Ploughshares"Dogs of Summer is a memorable debut, poetic and vibrant."—Lydia Weintraub, Cleveland Review of Books"Dogs of Summer is a thoroughly immersive story of youth, with all of the inequities and frustrations thatthat implies. It’s also, in Andrea Abreu’s telling and Julia Sanches’s translation, a fascinating study of itsnarrator’s method of seeing the world. The prose, the rhythms, and the sense of place all combine toward a memorable whole."—Tobias Carroll, Words Without Borders"Dogs of Summer is a perfect summer novel that follows two best friends as they come of age and theirfriendship begins to simmer with desire and violence. The writing is a crave inducing mix of bachatalyrics, Canary dialect, and the language of girlhood — gritty, wild, poetic — an exquisite feat by debut author Andrea Abreu and renowned translator Julia Sanches."—Pierce Alquist, Book Riot"Dogs of Summer resists nostalgia and sentimentality while preserving the freshness and vibrancy of the narrator’s voice . . . Tenerife in 2005 offers a vivid depiction of early aughts girlhood that captures the precarity of puberty and the intrusion of the outside world within an isolated community, most notably through the growing impact technology has on everyday life. Unlike Ferrante, Abreu doesn’t shy away from the grittier aspects of girlhood—rather, she revels in all their glory . . . an intimate portrait of girlhood friendship that treads the often precarious waters of obsession, codependence, and sexual violence."—Eliza Browning, Asymptote“A caustic, claustrophobic story of disturbingly sexualised preadolescent children: bored, traumatised, blistering with a mix of envy, tenderness and viciousness . . . sensual and dirty, absurdist and tragic. Abreu’s talent is thrilling to witness.”—Catherine Taylor, The Irish Times"The way that Abreu just very boldly and blatantly captures the narrative voice of a ten-year-old girlcoming-of-age is genius, and from the very first page I was brought right back to my own adolescence."—Ashley Lynne, GateCrashers"As sultry as the summer weather. In playful language, Abreu beautifully evokes an era of telenovelasand the birth of the internet, in which Pokemon and Bratz dolls give way to sexual discovery."—OX Magazine “Whip-smart. Angular. Dreamy yet lucid, and cathartically brutal.”—Brontez Purnell, author of 100 Boyfriends“Bold, dazzling, hilarious. Andrea Abreu is a lively meteorite in the landscape of Hispanic literature.”—Fernanda Melchor, author of Hurricane Season“This slim novel’s scope and intensity are shockingly, magnificently large, and the sentences blast off the pages with all the sordidness and wonder of early adolescence. Readers will be unable to resist the spell of Dogs of Summer, a hilarious, devastating story that is brilliantly attuned to the erotics of friendship, the intoxicating muddle of identification and desire, and the power of both the sublime and the profane. The unforgettable girls at the center of Andrea Abreu’s moving debut are two of the liveliest fictional creations I’ve come across in quite a long time.”—Jamel Brinkley, author of A Lucky Man“Dogs of Summer will thump through your heart and mind. A novel that consumes and sentences to die for.”—Amina Cain, author of Indelicacy“Andrea Abreu’s characters, like her sentences, are bold and wild. Reminiscent of Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s The Discomfort of Evening, Abreu’s writing twirls and clacks with tactile precision, like winding a cassette tape with a No. 2 pencil. I’ll return to Dogs of Summer whenever I crave a searing, brutal shot of life.”—Gabriella Burnham, author of It is Wood, It is Stone“Dogs of Summer is like the tide. A force of nature. It drags you. It submerges you. And, all of a sudden, itleaves you stranded on a rich and prophetic insular world of women and low, grey, clouds that mergewith the sea. It is pure poetry. A book that carries you and makes you feel a place.”—Pilar Quintana, author of The Bitch“This is important: I felt envy. Envy over the impossibility of writing something like that myself.”—Sabina Urraca, author of Your Spelling Errors Make the God Child Cry
£17.62
Astra Publishing House Happy: A Novel
Book Synopsis"Leaping, chattering, dancing atop this conundrum [of global migration] comes the hero of Celina Baljeet Basra’s debut novel, Happy Singh Soni, his head bursting with ideas, his heart set on gargantuan dreams."—New York Times"Bighearted."—New York Times Book Review, Editor's Choice/Staff Pick★Publishers Weekly ★Bookpage ★BooklistIn a rural village of Punjab, India, a moony young man crouches over his phone in a rapeseed field near his family’s cabbage farm. His name is Happy Singh Soni, and he’s watching YouTube clips of his favorite film, Bande à Part by Jean-Luc Godard. In fact, Happy is often compared to a young Sami Frey by the imaginary journalists that keep him company while he uses the outhouse. Pooing, as he says, “en plein air.” When he’s not sleeping among the cabbages and eating his mother’s sugary rotis, Happy dreams of becoming an actor, one who plays the melancholy roles—sad, pretty boys, rare in Indian cinema. There are macho leads and funny boys en masse, but if you’re looking for depth and vulnerability, you must make your own heroes.Then comes Wonderland, an eccentric facsimile of Disneyland that steadily buys up the local farms, rebranding the community’s traditional way of life. Happy works a dead-end job at the amusement park, biding his time and saving money for a clandestine journey to Europe, where he’ll finally land a breakout role. Little does he know that his immigration is being coordinated by a transnational crime syndicate. After a nightmarish passage to Italy, Happy still manages to find relief in food and fantasy, even as he is forced into ever-worsening work conditions over a debt he allegedly accrued in transit. But his daydreams grow increasingly at odds with his bleak reality, one shared by so many migrant workers disenfranchised by the systems that depend on their labor.At turns funny and poetic, sunny and tragic, Happy is a daring feat of postmodern literature, a polyphonic novel about the urgent, lovely coping mechanisms created by generations of diasporic people. Set against the enmeshed crises of global migration and the politics of labor within the food industry, Celina Baljeet Basra’s luminous debut argues for the things that are essential to human survival: food, water, a place to lay one’s head, but also pleasure, romance, art, and the inalienable right to a vivid inner life.Trade Review"The setup is familiar, but Basra makes it new . . . Basra is making a magnificent attempt to help us understand the mixture of optimism, self-defense, hope and delusion that Happy needs to make the monumental choice of whether or not to leave his home, move to a faraway place and face all the deceptions and misery that might await. By fragmenting the picture, and by playing with voice and structure, Basra invites us to experience Happy’s emotional journey at its most unfiltered, intimate level. She’s thrown away conventional narrative, and the outlandish chaos she creates conveys both the exuberant folly and dream-fueled logic that lead Happy to act."—Kathryn Ma, The New York Times Book Review "Basra has a penchant for surrealism. Happy in many ways resembles the ingenue at the center of Yoko Tawada’s dreamlike novel “The Naked Eye,” a film-obsessed Vietnamese abductee in Paris. Basra’s plot by contrast, calls to mind Nabarun Bhattacharya’s cult classic “Harbart,” a tragicomedy set in Kolkata that begins and ends with the death of its titular character . . . As the work wears Happy down, his optimism grows more complex, transforming into a kind of empathetic, almost critically conscious hope . . . a sobering reminder that stories about individual heroism can divert focus from the exploitative conditions that compel them to act in the first place. Tragedy, on the other hand, does not obscure the power of the hero’s adversaries. Instead, it renders this power unmistakably visible. For Basra, tragedy also highlights the value of the simple needs and pleasures imperiled by criminal labor practices."—Jenny Wu, The Washington Post★ "Happy’s singular voice echoes long after the close to this striking story."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)★ "First-time novelist Basra delivers a damning indictment of capitalism, a system that swallows the global poor whole and spits out wasted humans. At the same time, Basra maintains a light touch; the novel wears its burdens with good humor."—Poornima Apte, Booklist (Starred Review)★ "In a very timely manner, Basra makes a potent point about how undocumented workers are frequently abused both economically and physically . . . The humanity underpinning Happy’s story will speak to anyone with a heart and a dream."—Thane Tierney, Bookpage (Starred Review)"A zany comedy about human trafficking? This novel is genius . . . strange and superb . . . radiant and exhilarating . . . The achievement of Basra’s prose is that this arc neither exploits Happy nor the reader. We might look back to Happy’s own beloved era of cinema for forerunners who dance to the beat of a different drum, outsiders who insist a better world is possible, protagonists who, if fantasists, possess the resourcefulness to survive a brutal and callous world. We can claim that we respect the humanity of the dispossessed, the exploited or the systematically oppressed, but to recognise it in fiction, as Basra has, takes this level of depth and artfulness. Despite the devastating conclusion, this is not so much a tragedy as a weaponised comedy. Politically, it’s an essential novel, with an urgency that avoids the didactic – preaching neither to the converted nor the apostate."—Luke Kenndard, Telegraph (UK)"One of my favorite novels of the year, a book that redefines the coming-of-age story with empathy and grace."—Largehearted Boy"An eye-opening, sophisticated work, [Happy] manages to be both brilliantly funny and intensely heartwrenching as it throws light on the darkest part of our society."—buzz mag (UK) "Playful, funny, and wildly free, Happy inhabits the seam between beauty and tragedy. A miraculous novel." —Megha Majumdar, Whiting Award winner and bestselling author of A Burning"A bonkers story that reads like a fine ten-course meal."—Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends
£19.88
Astra Publishing House Dogs of Summer: A Novel
Book Synopsis"[A] firecracker of a debut."—The New York Times"Andrea Abreu’s debut novel about two girls in the summer heat of Tenerife is perfect for these dog days."—Shreya Chattopadhyay, The New York Times Book ReviewMy Brilliant Friend meets Blue is the Warmest Color in this lyrical debut novel set in a working-class neighborhood of the Canary Islands—a story about two girls coming of age in the early aughts and a friendship that simmers into erotic desire over the course of one hot summer. High near the volcano of northern Tenerife, an endless ceiling of cloud cover traps the working class in an abject, oppressive heat. Far away from the island’s posh resorts, two girls dream of hitching a ride down to the beach and escaping their horizonless town. It’s summer, 2005, and our ten-year-old narrator is consumed by thoughts of her best friend Isora. Isora is rude and bossy, but she’s also vivacious and brave; grownups prefer her, and boys do, too. That's why sometimes she gets jealous of Isora, who already has hair on her vagina and soft, round breasts. But she's definitely not jealous that Isora’s mother is dead, nor that Isora's fat, foul-mouthed grandmother has her on a diet, so that she is constantly sticking her fingers down her throat. Besides, she would do anything for Isora: gorge herself on cakes when her friend wants to watch, follow her to the bathroom when she takes a shit, log into chat rooms to swap dirty instant messages with strangers. But increasingly, our narrator finds it hard to keep up with Isora, who seems to be growing up at full tilt without her—and as her submissiveness veers into a painful sexual awakening, desire grows indistinguishable from intimate violence.Braiding prose poetry with bachata lyrics and the gritty humor of Canary dialect, Dogs of Summer is a story of exquisite yearning, a brutal picture of girlhood and a love song written for the vital community it portrays.Trade Review"Read this coming-of-age story for its unsparing language and vivid sense of place."—The New York Times“In playful language, Abreu beautifully evokes a land of ‘light stored for so many thousands of years’, and an era of telenovelas and the birth of the internet, in which Pokémon and Bratz dolls give way to sexual discovery.”—John Self, The Guardian“One of the hottest translated novels of late . . . Dogs of Summer does a good job unnerving a reader in any language; it’s about girls navigating the complexities of being on the cusp of puberty as their bodies become increasingly more unrecognizable to them. Abreu captures the unique discomfort of this time through run-on sentences that are experimental and abrasive while also interspersing bachata dance music and chat-room threads.”—Greta Rainbow, Shondaland"Abreu’s novel, in Julia Sanches’s sparkling translation, is a revelation, perfectly capturing a festering summer of meltdowns and shrinking horizons."—Anderson Tepper, The New York Times“Emotionally resonant . . . Abreu’s exhilarating chronicle of a young friendship is not to be missed.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)"This frank exploration of the work of growing up as a girl in a place with limited horizons (don’t forget the clouds!) illuminates while it disturbs. This is not Little Women."—Kirkus“Like the portrayals of girls in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, Abreu offers brave and unvarnished renderings of complicated female friendships, painful sexual awakenings (with an LGBTQ twist), and gritty dialects, but she is in a category by herself. Her prose is bold and direct, and her characterization of two similar but different girls on the cusp of adolescence is as vivid as anything being written today.”—June Sawyers, Booklist"This lyrical novel is set in a working-class neighborhood in Tenerife, far from the Canary Islands’ poshresorts. During one oppressively hot summer, the 10-year-old narrator and her best friend Isoraexperience changes in their bodies and their volatile emotions — from love to jealousy, admiration,obsession and submission. The story, laced with Canary Islands dialect and bachata lyrics, builds to a crescendo when desire and violence fuse."—Bill Morris, The Millions"[Abreu] provides a unique perspective into romantic feelings buried within a friendship. Much like EdnaO’Brien’s The Country Girls, Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, and Lorrie Moore’s Who Will Run theFrog Hospital?, the novel is a portrait of the intensity of love, desire, and frenzied obsession at such a pivotal age."—Christina Obolenskaya, Ploughshares"Dogs of Summer is a memorable debut, poetic and vibrant."—Lydia Weintraub, Cleveland Review of Books"Dogs of Summer is a thoroughly immersive story of youth, with all of the inequities and frustrations thatthat implies. It’s also, in Andrea Abreu’s telling and Julia Sanches’s translation, a fascinating study of itsnarrator’s method of seeing the world. The prose, the rhythms, and the sense of place all combine toward a memorable whole."—Tobias Carroll, Words Without Borders"Dogs of Summer is a perfect summer novel that follows two best friends as they come of age and theirfriendship begins to simmer with desire and violence. The writing is a crave inducing mix of bachatalyrics, Canary dialect, and the language of girlhood — gritty, wild, poetic — an exquisite feat by debut author Andrea Abreu and renowned translator Julia Sanches."—Pierce Alquist, Book Riot"Dogs of Summer resists nostalgia and sentimentality while preserving the freshness and vibrancy of the narrator’s voice . . . Tenerife in 2005 offers a vivid depiction of early aughts girlhood that captures the precarity of puberty and the intrusion of the outside world within an isolated community, most notably through the growing impact technology has on everyday life. Unlike Ferrante, Abreu doesn’t shy away from the grittier aspects of girlhood—rather, she revels in all their glory . . . an intimate portrait of girlhood friendship that treads the often precarious waters of obsession, codependence, and sexual violence."—Eliza Browning, Asymptote“A caustic, claustrophobic story of disturbingly sexualised preadolescent children: bored, traumatised, blistering with a mix of envy, tenderness and viciousness . . . sensual and dirty, absurdist and tragic. Abreu’s talent is thrilling to witness.”—Catherine Taylor, The Irish Times"The way that Abreu just very boldly and blatantly captures the narrative voice of a ten-year-old girlcoming-of-age is genius, and from the very first page I was brought right back to my own adolescence."—Ashley Lynne, GateCrashers"As sultry as the summer weather. In playful language, Abreu beautifully evokes an era of telenovelasand the birth of the internet, in which Pokemon and Bratz dolls give way to sexual discovery."—OX Magazine “Whip-smart. Angular. Dreamy yet lucid, and cathartically brutal.”—Brontez Purnell, author of 100 Boyfriends“Bold, dazzling, hilarious. Andrea Abreu is a lively meteorite in the landscape of Hispanic literature.”—Fernanda Melchor, author of Hurricane Season“This slim novel’s scope and intensity are shockingly, magnificently large, and the sentences blast off the pages with all the sordidness and wonder of early adolescence. Readers will be unable to resist the spell of Dogs of Summer, a hilarious, devastating story that is brilliantly attuned to the erotics of friendship, the intoxicating muddle of identification and desire, and the power of both the sublime and the profane. The unforgettable girls at the center of Andrea Abreu’s moving debut are two of the liveliest fictional creations I’ve come across in quite a long time.”—Jamel Brinkley, author of A Lucky Man“Dogs of Summer will thump through your heart and mind. A novel that consumes and sentences to die for.”—Amina Cain, author of Indelicacy“Andrea Abreu’s characters, like her sentences, are bold and wild. Reminiscent of Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s The Discomfort of Evening, Abreu’s writing twirls and clacks with tactile precision, like winding a cassette tape with a No. 2 pencil. I’ll return to Dogs of Summer whenever I crave a searing, brutal shot of life.”—Gabriella Burnham, author of It is Wood, It is Stone“Dogs of Summer is like the tide. A force of nature. It drags you. It submerges you. And, all of a sudden, itleaves you stranded on a rich and prophetic insular world of women and low, grey, clouds that mergewith the sea. It is pure poetry. A book that carries you and makes you feel a place.”—Pilar Quintana, author of The Bitch“This is important: I felt envy. Envy over the impossibility of writing something like that myself.”—Sabina Urraca, author of Your Spelling Errors Make the God Child Cry
£13.60
Algonquin Books Big Girl, Small Town
Book Synopsis
£44.99
Algonquin Books Big Girl, Small Town
Book Synopsis
£29.99
Algonquin Books Small Town Big Girl
Book Synopsis
£29.99
Algonquin Books The Fortunate Ones Lib/E
Book Synopsis
£37.49
Algonquin Books The Fortunate Ones
Book Synopsis
£22.49
Algonquin Books The Fortunate Ones
Book Synopsis
£29.99
Algonquin Books At the Edge of the Haight
Book Synopsis
£37.49
