The heartbreaking new novel from the author of An Orphan's Wish. Having recently arrived in England, abandoned by her father and brother, Isabella is left to look after her dying mother in an abandoned house. When the worst happens, she suddenly finds herself alone in a strange country, forced to seek out help from strangers in the nearby town. Sarah doesn't know what to do with the poor little girl she's found, orphaned and afraid, except bring her back to Hilda House where they can stay together. But when she discovers the girl's connection to Wolsingham, Sarah knows she'll do whatever it takes to keep Isabella safe from the tragedy of her family's past. As the lives of the townspeople become increasingly entwined, will they find a way to come together? Or will they fall apart under the past that haunts them all?
Eva's life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. She was made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her "other," if she ever died. Eva spends every day studying that girl from far away, learning what Amarra does, what she eats, what it's like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready. But sixteen years of studying never prepared her for this. Now she must abandon everything and everyone she's ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she's forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive. What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva. From debut novelist Sangu Mandanna comes the dazzling story of a girl who was always told what she had to be—until she found the strength to decide for herself.
She dreamed of finding a new life… Georgetown, Guyana 1970. Seven-year-old Rita has always known she was responsible for the death of her beautiful mother Cassie. Her absent-minded father allows her to run wild in her ramshackle white wooden house by the sea, and surrounded by her army of stray pets, most of the time she can banish her mother’s death to the back of her mind. But then her new stepmother Chandra arrives and the house empties of love and laughter. Rita’s pets are removed, her freedom curtailed, and before long, there’s a new baby sister on the way. There’s no room for Rita anymore. Desperate to fill up the emptiness inside her, Rita begins to talk to the only photo she has of her dead mother, a poor farmer’s daughter from the remote Guyanese rainforest. Determined to find the truth about her mother, Rita travels to find her mother’s family in an unfamiliar land of shimmering creeks and towering vines. She finds comfort in the loving arms of her grandmother among the flowering shrubs and trees groaning with fruit. But when she discovers the terrible bruising secret that her father kept hidden from her, will she ever be able to feel happiness again? A beautiful and inspiring story that will steal your heart and open your eyes. Fans of The Secret Life of Bees, The Vanishing Half and The Other Half of Augusta Hope will be captivated by The Far Away Girl. A beautiful and inspiring story that will steal your heart and open your eyes. Fans of The Secret Life of Bees, The Vanishing Half and The Other Half of Augusta Hope will be captivated by The Far Away Girl. What everyone is saying about The Far Away Girl: ‘Astoundingly beautiful, incredibly powerful, a powerhouse of a book. This author never ceases to amaze – book after book she stuns and beguiles with her beautiful prose and her wonderful stories… one of the most versatile writers I've read… This book is sheer perfection. Please read it. If you don't you're missing out.’ Renita D’Silva, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘An emotional, heart-warming, inspiring and absorbing story… totally unputdownable.’ My Reading Narnia, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I devoured this book in just a couple of days… brilliant storytelling, this book is sure to be a hit and has certainly become a firm favourite of mine.’ Jenny W Reads ‘I have really enjoyed reading this book by Sharon Maas it is a lovely story and draws you in and I can highly recommend it. 5 stars!’ Netgalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Maas’s books are always a delight, a chance to travel to some of the most beautiful parts of the world without ever leaving your home.’ Cayo Costa 72
In war-torn Sudan, a girl must make heart-rending choices as she fights for survival and a chance at a future. “This short, quickly paced narrative will stay with readers for the rest of their lives.” School Library Journali, STARRED REVIEW “Moving and necessary.” Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW For Poni, life in her small village in southern Sudan is simple and complicated at the same time. Stay in school. Beat up any boy who tries to show attention. Watch out for the dangers in the river. But then the war comes. And when soldiers arrive in her village and bombs begin to rain from the sky, there is only one thing for Poni to do. Run. Poni runs for her life, and alongside thousands of refugees, she must then make a long, dusty trek across the east African countryside. Driven by the sheer will to survive, Poni finds her way to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where she hopes to be reunited with her family. And if she is lucky, she will one day be able to convince the authorities that she is worthy to go to the land of opportunity. But the misery in Kakuma is almost overwhelming, and sooner than Poni could have imagined, she is on the run again. With single-minded determination, Poni survives hell and back, but she cannot escape the war’s devastating psychological effects or her survivor’s guilt. In a heartbreaking final twist, Poni finds her mother just as she is about to leave for America—forcing her to make the hardest decision of all. Key Text Features map historical note timeline glossary references Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
Lost Girl - Readers' Favorite Award Finalist in Paranormal Fiction Renowned sculptor Allison Weathers doesn't believe in ghosts. But when a tragic twist of fate leads her to the small mountain town of Dawson Mills, Tennessee, she soon learns that the dead don't always stay silent. Shadows begin to shift in the rambling, old Victorian farmhouse she's purchased. Voices come from nowhere. She can feel the eyes on her. Paul Bradford, a contractor who is bidding the renovation work on the house, believes it's more than just Allison's imagination conjuring up the paranormal activity. Toni Harper, a reporter for the local paper, concurs. She's heard snippets of hand-over-the-mouth gossip from some of the town's deputies who responded to calls in the middle of the night. Ghosts. Or so the former owner claimed in the few months before his death. The secrets they unearth rock Allison right down to the core. Thrust into a haunted world where the paranormal and evil collide, she has one hope of survival: unravel the sinister history buried for decades within the old farmhouse, and find the link to a muddled piece of her past. Lost Girl by Anne Francis Scott is a paranormal mystery/ghost story with chilling scenes at the fringe of horror.
Rachel Friedman has always been the consummate good girl who does well in school and plays it safe, so the college grad surprises no one more than herself when, on a whim (and in an effort to escape impending life decisions), she buys a ticket to Ireland, a place she has never visited. There she forms an unlikely bond with a free-spirited Australian girl, a born adventurer who spurs Rachel on to a yearlong odyssey that takes her to three continents, fills her life with newfound friends, and gives birth to a previously unrealized passion for adventure. As her journey takes her to Australia and South America, Rachel discovers and embraces her love of travel and unlocks more truths about herself than she ever realized she was seeking. Along the way, the erstwhile good girl finally learns to do something she’s never done before: simply live for the moment.
While parked at a gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognises it as a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before. For this is not the only white rabbit Rhonda has known - there was another in her childhood; one she feels she has been chasing all her life. The rabbit of her past holds the key to a mystery that has stained the lives of Rhonda and her friends, and now she must track him down - even if it means following where she doesn't want to go . . . From the author of the acclaimed Promise Not to Tell comes a chilling and mesmerizing tale of shattered innocence, guilt, and ultimate redemption.
"How Lawrence Found His Lost Girl in Cornwall", is the title of the Introduction to this edition of Lawrence's sixth major novel. In it Sandra Jobson shows how Lawrence based part of his character Alvina Houghton on Katherine Mansfield, the New Zealand short-story writer. 'The Lost Girl' was in fact Lawrence's third novel, but was not published until 1920. It is his only novel to have won a literary prize. Originally called 'The Insurrection of Miss Houghton', it tells the story of Alvina Houghton, who fights for independence as a woman, but ends up falling in love with an Italian peasant form a mountain village. Will she fight again for independence? Sandra Jobson (Darroch) is the secretary of the DH Lawrence Society of Australia, and is the author of six books, including the first biography of Lady Ottoline Morrell, 'Ottoline: The Life of Lady Ottoline Morrell' (Chatto Windus 1975). An updated version of 'Ottoline', with a new Introduction by the author, will be published by The Svengali Press in 2017.
Watch the movies, read the books! The Fear Street movies are coming to Netflix this summer! Generations of children and teens have grown up on R.L. Stine's bestselling and hugely popular horror series, Fear Street and Goosebumps. Now, the Fear Street series is back with a chilling new installment, packed with pure nightmare fodder that will scare Stine's avid fan base of teen readers and adults. New student Lizzy Palmer is the talk of Shadyside High. Michael and his girlfriend Pepper befriend her, but the closer they get to her, the stranger she seems... and the more attractive she is to Michael. He invites her to join him on a snowmobile race that ends in a tragic accident. Soon, Michael's friends start being murdered, and Pepper becomes convinced that Lizzy is behind the killings. But to her total shock, she and Michael are drawn into a tragic story of an unthinkable betrayal committed over 60 years ago. Frightening and tense in the way that only this master of horror can deliver, The Lost Girl is another terrifying Fear Street novel by the king of juvenile horror. “A nostalgia trip for the original fans of Fear Street.” - Kirkus Reviews
David Herbert Lawrence is definitely an acquired taste, and one that, until I read this novel, I never thought I'd acquire. However, after seeing a terrific performance of The Daughter-in-law (Oberon Modern Plays) at the Lowry Theatre earlier this year, I was intrigued by the gritty physicality of Lawrence's writing, and decided to give this, one of his lesser-known works, a go - and I was glad I did. The novel is fairly straightforward and develops pretty slowly, as the unquenchable loser James Houghton (pronounced 'Huffton') grasps scheme after harebrained scheme in order to become wealthy and give his only daughter, Alvina, and sickly wife, the life he thinks they were born for. By the time of his death, mid-way through the novel, Alvina has taken centre-stage, and we see her striving to break out of the shadow of her feckless father and find love in a world threatened by war.
