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The wooden horse: the classic World War II story of escape
By Eric Williams. 2014
A thinly fictionalized account of the author's imprisonment in Stalag-Luft III, an infamous World War II German POW camp. He…
describes his efforts to dig a tunnel and his subsequent escape, as well as the long journey back to England. Some violence and some strong language. 194911 birthdays
By Wendy Mass. 2009
Born on the same day, Leo and Amanda have shared nine birthday parties. But on their tenth, Amanda's feelings are…
hurt and she doesn't speak to Leo for a year. When their separate eleventh birthdays keep repeating, Leo and Amanda need to reconcile to get unstuck. For grades 4-7. 2009Wandering warrior
By Da Chen. 2003
Young Luka, destined to become the future emperor of China, is trained in the ways of the kung fu wandering…
warriors by his guardian--the wise monk Atami. But when Atami is captured by their enemies, Luka has to fight for his own survival. For grades 6-9 and older readers. 2003Hard Time
By Julian F. Thompson. 2003
"When we're born, we're sentenced to, like, life. And some of us--I'd be a prime example--are made to do hard…
time." So says Annie Ireland, sentenced to a life of trying to live up to her parents' never-ending expectations. For a long time the only person she can count on for unconditional support is her best friend, Arby, known to the horror and delight of many as "The Roach Boy." And then Pantagruel Primo, Esquire, comes into Annie's life, and just like that, she has another friend, this one ageless and with special powers--and not looking like himself (at all), at first. Suddenly, as a result of a story she writes for English class, Annie and her friends find themselves sentenced to five days in the county jail and then to an indefinite stay at the Back to Basics Center, a wilderness school for "problem" kids. After a series of comic misadventures they manage to escape its bizarre, unpleasant clutches, and Annie comes to realize she's unique and strong and lovable, and that it doesn't matter what some other people think. Delightfully ridiculous (but also timely), part fantasy and part real life, Hard Time is a humorous, sophisticated tale about one girl's struggle to be who she is rather than the person some adults keep wanting her to become.Olga: A Novel
By Prof Bernhard Schlink. 2018
A #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER'Bernhard Schlink speaks straight to the heart' New York Times'Brilliant... A tale of love and loss in…
20th century Germany' Evening Standard'A cleverly-constructed tale of cross-class romance' Mail on Sunday'A poignant portrait of a woman out of step with her time' Observer Olga is an orphan raised by her grandmother in a Prussian village around the turn of the 20th century. Smart and precocious, she fights against the prejudices of the time to find her place in a world that sees her as second-best.When she falls in love with Herbert, a local aristocrat obsessed with the era's dreams of power, glory and greatness, her life is irremediably changed.Theirs is a love against all odds, entwined with the twisting paths of German history, leading us from the late 19th to the early 21st century, from Germany to Africa and the Arctic, from the Baltic Sea to the German south-west.This is the story of that love, of Olga's devotion to a restless man - told in thought, letters and in a fateful moment of great rebellion.Firestorm
By Tamara McKinley. 2013
If you love Lesley Pearse, you're sure to fall for Tamara McKinley. A tale of hardship, hidden identities and our…
shared struggle to survive. Becky Jackson's family has been managing the hospital in far-flung Morgan's Reach for three generations. When Becky's husband is tragically lost at war, she and her young son Danny must leave the city and return to her birthplace to start over. But for all its charm, Morgan's Reach is a divided community, where blood is thicker than water and grudges run deep. So when a mysterious stranger appears outside the town and Danny begins to act strangely, it is not only Becky's newfound stability that's threatened. And what of the fact that there's not been a drop of rain in over three years? The risk of wildfire looms large and the hospital is already pushed to breaking point. A single spark could level the area in minutes - burning away everything for which the town has worked so hard; exposing the secrets they've fought to keep so close.The Natural Way of Things: 'The Handmaid's Tale for our age' (Economist)
By Charlotte Wood. 2015
'Savage: think Atwood in the outback' Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train'An unforgettable reading experience' Liane Moriarty,…
author of Big Little Lies'Ferocious... recalls the early Elena Ferrante' NPR'A masterpiece' Guardian'Devastating' EconomistShe hears her own thick voice deep inside her ears when she says, 'I need to know where I am.'The man stands there, tall and narrow, hand still on the doorknob, surprised.He says, almost in sympathy, 'Oh, sweetie. You need to know what you are.'"Two women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in a brokendownproperty in the middle of a desert.Strangers to each other, they have no idea where they are or how they came to be therewith eight other girls, their heads shaved, guarded by two inept yet vicious jailers.Doing hard labour under a sweltering sun, the prisoners soon learn what links them: ineach girl's past is a sexual scandal with a powerful man.They pray for rescue but as the hours turn into days and the days into weeks and months,it becomes clear only the girls can rescue themselves. Winner, 2016 Stella PrizeWinner, 2016 Indie Book of the Year AwardWinner, Fiction Book of the Year, 2016 Indie Book AwardWinner, 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award for FictionWinner, Reader's Choice, 2016 ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year Shortlisted, 2016 Miles Franklin Literary AwardShortlisted, 2016 ABA Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice AwardLonglisted, 2017 International Dublin Literary AwardFirestorm
By Tamara Mckinley. 2013
If you love Lesley Pearse, you're sure to fall for Tamara McKinley. A tale of hardship, hidden identities and our…
shared struggle to survive. Becky Jackson's family has been managing the hospital in far-flung Morgan's Reach for three generations. When Becky's husband is tragically lost at war, she and her young son Danny must leave the city and return to her birthplace to start over. But for all its charm, Morgan's Reach is a divided community, where blood is thicker than water and grudges run deep. So when a mysterious stranger appears outside the town and Danny begins to act strangely, it is not only Becky's newfound stability that's threatened. And what of the fact that there's not been a drop of rain in over three years? The risk of wildfire looms large and the hospital is already pushed to breaking point. A single spark could level the area in minutes - burning away everything for which the town has worked so hard; exposing the secrets they've fought to keep so close.THE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME.THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN…
ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 300 MILLION COPIES SOLD."Jin Yong's work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" combined" Nick Frisch, New Yorker"Like every fairy tale you're ever loved, imbued with jokes and epic grandeur. Prepare to be swept along." Jamie Buxton, Daily MailChina: 1200 A.D.Guo Jing has confronted Apothecary Huang, his sweetheart Lotus' father, on Peach Blossom Island, and bested the villainous Gallant Ouyang in three trials to win her hand in marriage.But now, along with his sworn brother, Zhou Botong of the Quanzhen Sect, and his shifu, Count Seven Hong, Chief of the Beggar Clan, he has walked into a trap. Tricked by Huang into boarding a unseaworthy barge, they will surely drown unless Lotus - who has overheard her father's plans - can find a way to save them.Yet even if they are to survive the voyage, great dangers lie in wait on the mainland. The Jin Prince Wanyan Honglie has gathered a band of unscrupulous warriors to aid him in his search for the lost writings of the Great Song patriot General Yue Fei. If he is successful, the Jin armies will gain the key to total victory over the Song Empire, condemning Guo Jing's countrymen to centuries of servitude.Translated from the Chinese by Anna Holmwood and Gigi ChangTHE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME.THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN…
ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 300 MILLION COPIES SOLD."Jin Yong's work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" combined" Nick Frisch, New Yorker"Like every fairy tale you're ever loved, imbued with jokes and epic grandeur. Prepare to be swept along." Jamie Buxton, Daily Mail Guo Jing and Lotus have escaped Qiu Qianren's mountain stronghold on the condors' backs, but Lotus carries a wound that will surely kill her. Their only hope lies in the healing powers of Duan, the King of the South. Little do they know that to seek an audience with this mysterious figure will place him in mortal danger himself. Meanwhile, many li away on Peach Blossom Island, a plan has been hatched that could tear the two lovers apart for good. And, with Moon Festival approaching, Guo Jing is honour bound to take part in a long-awaited martial contest at the Tower of Mist and Rain in Jiaxing. Yet the greatest threat to their happiness stems from Guo Jing's past. He is still betrothed to Genghis Khan's daughter. Rejoining the Mongol army could help him to avenge his father - but it may force him to take the field against the soldiers of his true homeland, splitting his heart and soul in two. Translated from the Chinese by Gigi Chang and Shelly BryantThe War Magician: The man who conjured victory in the desert
By David Fisher. 2004
The incredible true story of the greatest illusionist of modern times and the man who altered the course of the…
second world war.Soon to be a major film starring Benedict CumberbatchPerfect for fans of OPERATION MINCEMEATJasper Maskelyne was a world famous magician and illusionist in the 1930s. When war broke out, he volunteered his services to the British Army and was sent to Egypt where the desert war had just begun. Here, he used his unique skills to save the vital port of Alexandria from German bombers and to 'hide' the Suez Canal from them. He invented all sorts of camouflage methods to make trucks look like tanks and vice versa. On Malta he developed 'the world's first portable holes': fake bomb craters used to fool the Germans into thinking they had hit their targets. His war culminated in the brilliant deception plan that won the Battle of El Alamein: the creation of an entire dummy army in the middle of the desert.Hearts of Stone: A gripping historical thriller of World War II and the Greek resistance
By Simon Scarrow. 2015
The fierce courage of the men and women of the Greek Resistance is brought to vivid life in Sunday Times…
bestseller Simon Scarrow's powerful novel of World War II. 'Gripping... [a] moving narrative of friendships broken by war and betrayal' Sunday Times1938. A perfect summer on the Greek island of Lefkas for three young people untroubled by the simmering politics of Europe. Peter, visiting from Germany while his father leads an archaeological dig, has become close friends with locals Andreas and Eleni. As the world slides towards conflict and Peter is forced to leave, they swear to meet again.1943: Andreas and Eleni have joined the partisan forces resisting the German invasion. Peter has returned - now a dangerously well-informed enemy intelligence officer. A friendship formed in peace will turn into a desperate battle between enemies sworn to sacrifice everything for the countries that they love...'Simon Scarrow has done it again: another barnstorming book that speaks not only of the horror of war, but the ultimate heroism and self-sacrifice of those caught up in it. The glory of Simon's books is that they can be read on so many levels: yes, they are thrilling in its truest sense, there are characters we care about deeply and they are under constant threat. But alongside this are the vignettes of a life clearly viewed, the threads of sharp social observation that set his historical thrillers apart from the greater mass.' Manda ScottDas Boot
By Lothar Gunther Buchheim. 1973
Filled with almost unbearable tension and excitement, DAS BOOT is one of the best stories ever written about war, a…
supreme novel of the Second World War and an acclaimed film and TV drama.It is autumn 1941 and a German U-boat commander and his crew set out on yet another hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. Over the coming weeks they must brave the stormy waters of the Atlantic in their mission to seek out and destroy British supply ships. But the tide is beginning to turn against the Germans in the war for the North Atlantic. Their targets now travel in convoys, fiercely guarded by Royal Navy destroyers, and when contact is finally made the hunters rapidly become the hunted. As the U-boat is forced to hide beneath the surface of the sea a cat-and-mouse game begins, where the increasing claustrophobia of the submarine becomes an enemy just as frightening as the depth charges that explode around it. Of the 40,000 men who served on German submarines, 30,000 never returned. Written by a survivor of the U-boat fleet, DAS BOOT is a psychological drama merciless in its intensity, and a classic novel of the Second World War.Hearts of Stone: A gripping historical thriller of World War II and the Greek resistance
By Simon Scarrow. 2015
The fierce courage of the men and women of the Greek Resistance is brought to vivid life in Sunday Times…
bestseller Simon Scarrow's powerful novel of World War II. 'Gripping... [a] moving narrative of friendships broken by war and betrayal' Sunday Times1938. A perfect summer on the Greek island of Lefkas for three young people untroubled by the simmering politics of Europe. Peter, visiting from Germany while his father leads an archaeological dig, has become close friends with locals Andreas and Eleni. As the world slides towards conflict and Peter is forced to leave, they swear to meet again.1943: Andreas and Eleni have joined the partisan forces resisting the German invasion. Peter has returned - now a dangerously well-informed enemy intelligence officer. A friendship formed in peace will turn into a desperate battle between enemies sworn to sacrifice everything for the countries that they love...'Simon Scarrow has done it again: another barnstorming book that speaks not only of the horror of war, but the ultimate heroism and self-sacrifice of those caught up in it. The glory of Simon's books is that they can be read on so many levels: yes, they are thrilling in its truest sense, there are characters we care about deeply and they are under constant threat. But alongside this are the vignettes of a life clearly viewed, the threads of sharp social observation that set his historical thrillers apart from the greater mass.' Manda ScottDas Boot (W&N Military)
By Lothar Gunther Buchheim. 1973
Filled with almost unbearable tension and excitement, DAS BOOT is one of the best stories ever written about war, a…
supreme novel of the Second World War and an acclaimed film and TV drama.It is autumn 1941 and a German U-boat commander and his crew set out on yet another hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. Over the coming weeks they must brave the stormy waters of the Atlantic in their mission to seek out and destroy British supply ships. But the tide is beginning to turn against the Germans in the war for the North Atlantic. Their targets now travel in convoys, fiercely guarded by Royal Navy destroyers, and when contact is finally made the hunters rapidly become the hunted. As the U-boat is forced to hide beneath the surface of the sea a cat-and-mouse game begins, where the increasing claustrophobia of the submarine becomes an enemy just as frightening as the depth charges that explode around it. Of the 40,000 men who served on German submarines, 30,000 never returned. Written by a survivor of the U-boat fleet, DAS BOOT is a psychological drama merciless in its intensity, and a classic novel of the Second World War.Pathfinders: Imperial War Museum Wartime Classics
By Cecil Lewis. 2021
A new edition of Cecil Lewis's 1944 aviation classic.'A highly unusual war novel with several confluent narratives; moving, interesting and…
of great literary value.'LOUIS de BERNIÈRESOver the course of one night in 1942, the crew members of Wellington bomber 'P for Pathfinder' each reflect on the paths of their own lives, as they embark on a fateful mission deep into the heart of Nazi Germany.Cecil Lewis' novel examines the life of every man in turn, rendering a moving account of each as not merely a nameless crew member, but as an individual with a life lived, 'a life precious to some, or one... these men with dreams and hopes and plans of things to come'.This new edition of the 1944 classic includes a new introduction from an Imperial War Museums historian that puts the novel in historical context and shines a light on this vital and sometimes contested aspect of Britain's involvement in World War II.'It's wonderful to see these books given a new lease of life [...] classic novels from the Second World War written by those who were there, experienced the fear, anguish, pain and excitement first-hand and whose writings really do shine an incredibly vivid light onto what it was like to live and fight through that terrible conflict.'JAMES HOLLAND, Historian, author and TV presenter(P)2021 Headline Publishing Group LimitedTrial by Battle: Imperial War Museum Wartime Classics
By David Piper. 2019
October 1941. Twenty-one-year-old Alan Mart is posted to India and taken under the wing of the dogmatic, overbearing Acting-Captain Sam…
Holl. Following the Japanese advance on Singapore, the men are deployed to Malaya. What follows is a quietly shattering and searingly authentic depiction of the claustrophobia of jungle warfare and the indiscriminate nature of conflict.Based on David Piper's own wartime experience in South East Asia, this new edition of a 1959 classic includes a contextual introduction from IWM which sheds new light on the dramatic true events that so influenced its author.(P)2019 Headline Publishing Group LtdTHE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME.THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN…
ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 300 MILLION COPIES SOLD."Jin Yong's work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" combined" Nick Frisch, New Yorker"Like every fairy tale you're ever loved, imbued with jokes and epic grandeur. Prepare to be swept along." Jamie Buxton, Daily MailChina: 1200 A.D.Guo Jing has confronted Apothecary Huang, his sweetheart Lotus' father, on Peach Blossom Island, and bested the villainous Gallant Ouyang in three trials to win her hand in marriage.But now, along with his sworn brother, Zhou Botong of the Quanzhen Sect, and his shifu, Count Seven Hong, Chief of the Beggar Clan, he has walked into a trap. Tricked by Huang into boarding a unseaworthy barge, they will surely drown unless Lotus - who has overheard her father's plans - can find a way to save them.Yet even if they are to survive the voyage, great dangers lie in wait on the mainland. The Jin Prince Wanyan Honglie has gathered a band of unscrupulous warriors to aid him in his search for the lost writings of the Great Song patriot General Yue Fei. If he is successful, the Jin armies will gain the key to total victory over the Song Empire, condemning Guo Jing's countrymen to centuries of servitude.Translated from the Chinese by Anna Holmwood and Gigi Chang(P)2020 Quercus Editions LimitedHearts of Stone: A gripping historical thriller of World War II and the Greek resistance
By Simon Scarrow. 2015
The fierce courage of the men and women of the Greek Resistance is brought to vivid life in Sunday Times…
bestseller Simon Scarrow's powerful novel of World War II. 'Gripping... [a] moving narrative of friendships broken by war and betrayal' Sunday Times1938. A perfect summer on the Greek island of Lefkas for three young people untroubled by the simmering politics of Europe. Peter, visiting from Germany while his father leads an archaeological dig, has become close friends with locals Andreas and Eleni. As the world slides towards conflict and Peter is forced to leave, they swear to meet again.1943: Andreas and Eleni have joined the partisan forces resisting the German invasion. Peter has returned - now a dangerously well-informed enemy intelligence officer. A friendship formed in peace will turn into a desperate battle between enemies sworn to sacrifice everything for the countries that they love...'Simon Scarrow has done it again: another barnstorming book that speaks not only of the horror of war, but the ultimate heroism and self-sacrifice of those caught up in it. The glory of Simon's books is that they can be read on so many levels: yes, they are thrilling in its truest sense, there are characters we care about deeply and they are under constant threat. But alongside this are the vignettes of a life clearly viewed, the threads of sharp social observation that set his historical thrillers apart from the greater mass.' Manda ScottHearts of Stone: A gripping historical thriller of World War II and the Greek resistance
By Simon Scarrow. 2015
A STUNNING SECOND WORLD WAR THRILLER SET IN OCCUPIED GREECE'Gripping . . . [a] moving narrative of friendships broken by…
war and betrayal' Sunday Times* 'Compulsively readable . . . A moving tribute to Greek resistance during the Second World War' Clare Mulley* 'So startlingly good, so utterly readable . . . Simon Scarrow has done it again: another barnstorming book' Manda Scott* '[A] gripping and moving story about war and fractured friendships . . . [Scarrow's] sense of plot and pace is strong' The TimesThe fierce courage of the men and women of the Greek Resistance is brought to vivid life in Sunday Times bestseller Simon Scarrow's powerful novel of World War II. 'Gripping... [a] moving narrative of friendships broken by war and betrayal' Sunday Times1938. A perfect summer on the Greek island of Lefkas for three young people untroubled by the simmering politics of Europe. Peter, visiting from Germany while his father leads an archaeological dig, has become close friends with locals Andreas and Eleni. As the world slides towards conflict and Peter is forced to leave, they swear to meet again.1943. Andreas and Eleni have joined the partisan forces resisting the German invasion. Peter has returned - now a dangerously well-informed enemy intelligence officer. A friendship formed in peace will turn into a desperate battle between enemies sworn to sacrifice everything for the countries that they love . . .What readers are saying about Hearts of Stone:'I felt as though I was right there . . . in the fire fights between the andartes and their Italian and German foes''Fascinating and very enjoyable . . . Highly recommended''I couldn't put this book down''The usual blend of gripping plot with historical accuracy . . . another triumph from Scarrow''[Simon Scarrow] certainly understands the power of an action-packed narrative' Daily MailHAVE YOU READ BLACKOUT YET?THE RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, SIMON SCARROW. AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD NOW!