It's 1917 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The First World War is raging, and despite its distance from the conflict, the Halifax Harbour is bustling with activity. Anti-German prejudice is rampant, and though 12-year-old Livy Schroeder and her 15-year-old brother Will are still mourning the loss of their father, who died in a mysterious boating accident just six months before, his German heritage doesn't merit them much sympathy. The rumours he'd been a German spy are only flamed by his disappearance. On the morning of December 6, while Livy is in Richmond begging forgiveness from the Schroeders' former housekeeper, Will is atop Citadel Hill reporting for the school paper, when he sees two ships collide. A flash of light, then thunder from underground: the Halifax Explosion hits. Instantly, the city is unrecognizable. Lost and separated in the dark, destroyed city, will the siblings find each other again? Where is their mother? And who is to blame for the catastrophe? In A Blinding Light, award-winning author Julie Lawson (No Safe Harbour) tells a riveting story of the Halifax Explosion and its aftermath, exploring the concepts of guilt, blame, and taking ownership, the divide between the rich and poor, locals and immigrants, as well as the human bonds that arise in times of tragedy. Young readers will be spellbound, and teachers and librarians will find plenty of topics for discussion in the book's historical and cultural lessons.
Shortlisted for the RSL Encore Award 2021 ‘Extraordinary’ – Spectator ‘Powerful’ – Guardian ‘Spellbinding’ – The Tablet As the 1950s draw to a close, and the Cold War escalates, the shape of Drummond Moore's life is changed beyond measure when he strikes up an unlikely friendship with James Carter, a rich and well-connected fellow national serviceman. Carter leads him to Doom Town – an army base that seeks to recreate the effects of a nuclear war – where he meets Gwen, a barmaid with whom he shares an instant connection. Set over sixty years of British history, The Blind Light by Stuart Evers is the compelling story of one family as they deal with the personal and political fallout of their times.
The second book in the Lightbringer series, the blockbuster fantasy epic from international bestseller Brent Weeks. Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, Robin Hobb and Joe Abercrombie. Gavin Guile is dying. He'd thought he had five years left - now he's got less than one. With fifty thousand refugees, a bastard son and an ex-fiancée who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin's got problems on every side. As he loses control, the world's magic runs wild, threatening to destroy the Seven Satrapies. The old gods are being reborn and their army of colour wights is unstoppable. The only salvation may be the brother whose freedom and life Gavin stole sixteen years ago. 'Weeks has a style of immediacy and detail that pulls the reader relentlessly into the story. He doesn't allow you to look away' Robin Hobb 'Weeks writes in an inescapably engaging style' Andrea Stewart 'Weeks is a giant of the genre' Nicholas Eames 'Brent Weeks is so good it's beginning to tick me off' Peter V. Brett 'I was mesmerised from start to finish. Unforgettable characters, a plot that kept me guessing, non-stop action and the kind of in-depth storytelling that makes me admire a writers' work' Terry Brooks 'Weeks has truly cemented his place among the great epic fantasy writers of our time' British Fantasy Society Books by Brent Weeks Lightbringer The Black Prism The Blinding Knife The Broken Eye The Blood Mirror The Burning White Night Angel The Way of Shadows Shadow's Edge Beyond the Shadows The Kylar Chronicles Night Angel Nemesis Perfect Shadow: A Night Angel Novella The Way of Shadows: The Graphic Novel
"Forget that I am deaf and blind and think of me as an ordinary woman," wrote Helen Keller--but she was anything but ordinary. When Helen was growing up, there were no facilities to help handicapped students. Still, she learned to speak, read, and write, attended Radcliffe College, wrote five books, and lectured all over the world. It wasn't enough to prove that she could do anything. Helen wanted other handicapped people to know that they could, too. And Helen achieved her purpose: the world saw a real woman behind the handicaps, and an extraordinary human being behind the legend.
An immediate and critically acclaimed bestseller in France, This Blinding Absence of Light is the latest work by internationally renowned author Tahar Ben Jelloun, the first North African winner of the Prix Goncourt and winner of the Prix Mahgreb. Crafting real life events into narrative fiction, Ben Jelloun reveals the horrific story of the desert concentration camps in which King Hassan II of Morocco held his political enemies in underground cells with no light and only enough food and water to keep them lingering on the edge of death. Working closely with one of the survivors, Ben Jelloun narrates the story in the simplest of language and delivers a shocking novel that explores both the limitlessness of inhumanity and the impossible endurance of the human will.
In a world where magic is tightly controlled, the most powerful man in history must choose between his kingdom and his son in the first book in the epic NYT bestselling Lightbringer series. Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart. If you loved the action and adventure of the Night Angel trilogy, you will devour this incredible epic fantasy series by Brent Weeks.
Part visceral dream-memoir, part fictive journey through a hallucinatory Bucharest, Mircea Cărtărescu’s Blinding was one of the most widely heralded literary sensations in contemporary Romania, and a bestseller from the day of its release. Riddled with hidden passageways, mesmerizing tapestries, and whispering butterflies, Blinding takes us on a mystical trip into the protagonist’s childhood, his memories of hospitalization as a teenager, the prehistory of his family, a traveling circus, Secret police, zombie armies, American fighter pilots, the underground jazz scene of New Orleans, and the installation of the communist regime. This kaleidoscopic world is both eerily familiar and profoundly new. Readers of Blinding will emerge from this strange pilgrimage shaken, and entirely transformed. From the Trade Paperback edition.
From a New York Times bestselling author comes the incredible true story of an underage soldier's first love and loss on the battlefields of Bataan and Corregidor—perfect for fans of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz and Unbroken. Joe Johnson Jr. ran away from home at the age of 12, hopping a freight train at the height of the Great Depression. He managed to talk his way into the U.S. Army two years later. Seeking freedom and adventure, he was sent to the Philippines. Adrift in spirit, Joe visited a teenage prostitute, and they became unlikely, smitten allies. Yet when the Japanese attacked on December 8, 1941, their hopes of being together had to wait. Joe and his fellow soldiers fought for four brutal months in Bataan and Corregidor, until they were forced to surrender. The boy endured years of horror as a prisoner of war, only dreaming about seeing again the girl he’d come to love. This lyrically written and deeply encouraging saga will remind you that every life can be lifted, forgiveness is the patron of restoration, and redemption is available to all.