Winner of the Tir na n-Og Award Shortlisted for the Young Quills Historical Fiction Award Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal It is the year 454AD. The Roman Empire has withdrawn from Britain, throwing it into the chaos of the Dark Ages. Mai has been kept safe by her father and her sister, Haf. But when Saxon warriors arrive at their farm, the family is forced to flee to the hills where British warlords lie in wait. Can Mai survive in a dangerous world where speaking her mother tongue might be deadly, and where even the people she loves the most can’t be trusted?
A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN Open Book Award, and winner of the 2020 Giller Prize, this revelatory story collection honors characters struggling to find their bearings far from home, even as they do the necessary "grunt work of the world." A failed boxer painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. A mother teaching her daughter the art of worm harvesting. In her stunning debut story collection, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says, "All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do—brightly, ferociously, unforgettably. Unsentimental yet tender, taut and visceral, How to Pronounce Knife announces Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most striking voices of her generation. “As the daughter of refugees, I’m able to finally see myself in stories.” —Angela So, Electric Literature
Daniel has been crazy about Mac from the moment she transferred to his school. She's smart, funny, loyal and fiercely independent. The only problem is, when life gets too hard for Mac, she runs away. But she always comes back. Except now Mac's grandmother is dead, their house is about to be torn down and she's been humiliated in front of the entire school. When Daniel finds out Mac has been saying goodbye to her friends, he realizes she's planning on leaving for good. Getting more and more desperate as he searches the city, Daniel finds an unexpected and unlikely ally. But can he find Mac before he loses her forever?
A dystopian thriller follows a boy and girl on the run from a town where all thoughts can be heard – and the passage to manhood embodies a horrible secret. Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.
A new stand-alone novel from the acclaimed author of the Engineer Trilogy and The Company. Basso the Magnificent. Basso the Great. Basso the Wise. The First Citizen of the Vesani Republic is an extraordinary man. He is ruthless, cunning, and above all, lucky. He brings wealth, power and prestige to his people. But with power comes unwanted attention, and Basso must defend his nation and himself from threats foreign and domestic. In a lifetime of crucial decisions, he's only ever made one mistake. One mistake, though, can be enough.
After a marijuana-addled brawl with a rival gang, 16-year-old Azael wakes up to find himself surrounded by a familiar set of concrete walls and a locked door. Juvie again, he thinks. But he can't really remember what happened or how he got picked up. He knows his MS13 boys faced off with some punks from Crazy Crew. There were bats, bricks, chains. A knife. But he can't remember anything between that moment and when he woke behind bars. Azael knows prison, and something isn't right about this lockup. No phone call. No lawyer. No news about his brother or his homies. The only thing they make him do is watch some white girl in some cell. Watch her and try to remember. Lexi Allen would love to forget the brawl, would love for it to disappear back into the Xanax fog it came from. And her mother and her lawyer hope she chooses not to remember too much about the brawl?at least when it's time to testify. Lexi knows there's more at stake in her trial than her life alone, though. She's connected to him, and he needs the truth. The knife cut, but somehow it also connected.
"After two helicopters in a sister squadron are shot down, a U.S. Special Forces unit operating in Afghanistan is sent deep into insurgent territory to find and destroy a mysterious new organization called Al Ayeelaa."--
Kirsty Jenkins adores the allotment her grandfather lovingly tends and, just before he dies, he asks Kirsty to look after it for him. But when horrible Mr Thomas from the council insists it must go to the next person on the waiting list, Kirsty is determined to find a way to keep her promise. After pleading with Mr Thomas and demonstrating at the council offices, Kirsty and her half-siblings undertake their most daring plan of all: to 'borrow' the stuffed elephant from the museum that Mr Thomas loves so much, in a last-ditch attempt to gain his attention and understanding. Perhaps this risky ruse might also shake Kirsty's dad from the quiet sadness he has fallen into ever since her grandfather died. A warm, funny and moving novel about family relationships, dealing with bereavement, green beans and marrows.
It's the cruellest story ever told.One day you are 17 years old and told that you have your whole life ahead of you, "Don't rush!" they say, "You've got plenty of time," and in blissful ignorance you believe them, carrying on the illusion of unlimited time.And as the words, 'future', and 'plans' fall loosely from your lips, you become winded by the news that goes against everything you have ever been told.Suddenly, the meaning of life begins to fade and the promise of time shows itself to be nothing but an ugly, merciless lie.This is my story.The story I share with Death.17 year old Darcey Dawson was promised time. Time to grow, time to learn and most importantly, time to live. Even after she is diagnosed with AML, Darcey believed in the future she had spent the majority of her life planning. But that all comes to a crashing halt when Death appears in the form of Noah White with the unwelcome news of her limited time.
A chilling short story of death and retribution featuring Joe Pickett from New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box. On a high mountain lake in Wyoming, game warden Joe Pickett is carefully sliding across the ice to check the licenses of a group of fishermen when he sees a strange yellow glow coming from beneath the surface. At first he thinks it's a tree branch. But it's not. It's a frozen human hand, reaching up through the ice...
