Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer was one of the most widely and highly praised novels of 2015, the winner not only of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, but also the Center for Fiction Debut Novel Prize, the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, the ALA Carnegie Medal for Fiction, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and the California Book Award for First Fiction. Nguyen's next fiction book, The Refugees, is a collection of perfectly formed stories written over a period of twenty years, exploring questions of immigration, identity, love, and family.With the coruscating gaze that informed The Sympathizer, in The Refugees Viet Thanh Nguyen gives voice to lives led between two worlds, the adopted homeland and the country of birth. From a young Vietnamese refugee who suffers profound culture shock when he comes to live with two gay men in San Francisco, to a woman whose husband is suffering from dementia and starts to confuse her for a...

For Anna, the narrator of Bo Caldwell's richly lyrical and vivid first novel, growing up in the magical world of Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s creates a special bond between her and her father. He is the son of missionaries, a smuggler, and a millionaire who leads a charmed but secretive life. When the family flees to Los Angeles in the face of the Japanese occupation, he chooses to remain, believing his connections and luck will keep him safe.He's wrong. He survives, only to again choose Shanghai over his family during the Second World War. Anna and her father reconnect late in his life, when she finally has a family of her own, but it is only when she discovers his extensive journals that she is able to fully understand him and the reasons for his absences. With the intensity and appeal of When We Were Orphans, also set in Shanghai at the same time, The Distant Land of My Father tells a moving and unforgettable story about a most unusual father-daughter relationship.

A brilliant, deeply-moving saga of one woman's search for love and hope in the shadow of the Great War Lady Helena Girvan was born into privilege: the daughter of a wealthy landowner, she was assured a life of safety and comfort. Until the war descends and ruins everything. Volunteering as an auxiliary nurse in London's gritty East End, Helena quickly loses her naivety, and her illusions. But she has something even more terrifying in store – not only the bloody battlefields of France but deep fears about the safety of the men she loves: her friends, her brothers and her husband. Little does Helena know, however, the war will live on in the form of a man she slowly comes to love with an irresistible sensuality, despite their many differences. This epic and passionate story speaks for a whole generation and continues to speak vividly to us today. Available digitally for the first time, Song of Songs is a heartbreaking modern classic...

From the author of the timeless classic Roses Have Thorns, don't miss this heart-stopping, sweeping saga, perfect for fans of Anna Jacobs, Rita Bradshaw and Diney Costeloe.She's faced danger – but can she survive to win her freedom? As the daughter of a disgraced British army officer and a Hungarian countess, Eve Courtney is born to gentry. Raised in colonial India, since her mother's tragic death Eve has lived with her father in blissful ignorance of the conventions of the Empire. When her father passes, Eve travels to England, under the guardianship of her tyrannical grandfather's lawyers. She flees to Scotland, in search of her long-lost aunt. There she finds only a temporary reprieve, and before long is reliant on her survival instincts. In creating a fresh identity, Eve hopes to gain her independence once and for all. But when her new life brings her dangerously close to someone who could uncover her secret, she must...

Missing is based on a true story. Luc Caron lives in northern France during World War I. One day, he sees three airplanes fighting in the sky. Luc watches in horror as a plane flips over and the pilot falls to his death. Luc is the only witness.The Greenwoods own an apple farm in Canada. Their son, a pilot, has been missing for 11 years. in 1928, they receive a package from England. The package contains a letter and three objects found at the site of a plane crash.How is the mystery of the missing pilot solved, bringing peace to Luc and to the pilot's parents? This book is a quick and easy read for people on the go.

A new Deseronto novel from the internationally bestselling author of Tell and DeafeningAt the end of Frances Itani's Scotiabank Giller Prize—shortlisted Tell, a baby is adopted by a young Deseronto couple who are coming to terms with the end of the Great War. Eighteen years on, the baby, Hanora, now a young woman, is told about her adoption. As a second world war looms, Hanora is determined to uncover the mysteries of her identity. This quest will take her across the ocean with her cousin, Billie, and headlong into the tumult of Europe. Amid the tensions, the great dance halls of the era beckon, and a career as a journalist in the war becomes possible. But Hanora will not let the past lie, even though, decades later, the truth remains beyond her grasp. Billie, whose memory is fading as she slips into dementia, provides some clues, but it isn't until Hanora discovers a set of diaries written by a late local artist and what they reveal about her...

“Remarkable . . . Requiem delicately probes the complex adjustments we make to live with our sorrows. . . . [A] perfectly modulated novel.”—*The Washington Post*An extraordinary researcher and scholar of detail, Frances Itani—author of the best-selling novel Deafening—excels at weaving breathtaking fiction from true-life events. In her new novel, she traces the lives, loves, and secrets in one Japanese-Canadian family during and after their internment in the 1940s.In 1942, in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Canadian government removed Bin Okuma’s family from their home on British Columbia’s west coast and forced them into internment camps. They were allowed to take only the possessions they could carry, and Bin, as a young boy, was forced to watch neighbors raid his family’s home before the transport boats even undocked. One hundred miles from the “Protected Zone,” they had to form new makeshift communities without direct access to electricity, plumbing, or food—for five years.Fifty years later, after his wife’s sudden death, Bin travels across Canada to find the biological father who has been lost to him. Both running from grief and driving straight toward it, Bin must ask himself whether he truly wants to find First Father, the man who made a fateful decision that almost destroyed his family all those years ago. With his wife’s persuasive voice in his head and the echo of their love in his heart, Bin embarks on an unforgettable journey into his past that will throw light on a dark time in history.Review"Remarkable . . . Understated . . . Requiem delicately probes the complex adjustments we make to live with our sorrows. . . . In this perfectly modulated novel, we see the emotional cost of suppression."—The Washington Post"Itani writes with a delicate grasp of both the obvious and the unspoken, using ordinary words charged with extraordinary meaning to produce a serious book that nevertheless invites you to keep reading past midnight."—BookPage"In Requiem, Frances Itani is at the height of her powers. . . . The Japanese-Canadian story has never been told with such passion, insight and telling detail. . . . Itani has told this story in amazing, cinematic detail. . . . [Requiem] is surely Itani’s greatest novel, although calling Requiem a novel does not do it justice. Requiem is a great work of literature from a determined author at the peak of her powers. It is also a sobering history lesson for all those Canadians who belittle other countries for their racism but are too smug and too blind to examine their own nation’s transgressions."—The Ottawa Citizen"With Requiem, Itani has written an important and moving novel . . . told with painful and quiet eloquence."—Washington Independent Book Review“Itani is an accomplished stylist; her prose is lyrical yet clear, her pace unhurried. . . . Itani’s empathy and understanding of human nature enliven her characters. . . . In this finely written, reflective novel, Bin’s physical journey and mindful recollections lead him to a place where he can choose to either hold onto his anger or make peace with his ghosts.”—The Globe and Mail"An undeniably respectful and moving homage to a shameful factual episode."—Kirkus Reviews"Beautifully rendered . . . Both tribute and a wail of grief . . . Lyrical and undulating, Requiem rages too."—Telegraph-Journal"An evocative and cinematic tale . . . Poignantly, the story's determined brush strokes speak of quiet perseverance, underscoring the sense of loss, of talent suspended. . . . With a precise, elegant style Itani avoids the maudlin, and delivers a taut novel."—Maclean's"A beautiful, slow, meandering read that explores the past of Japanese Canadians in a particularly resonant way."—The Globe and Mail (Favorite Book of the Year)About the AuthorFrances Itani is the author of two other novels: the bestselling Deafening, winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book (Canada and Caribbean Region) and the Drummer General’s Award, and shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; and Remembering the Bones, shortlisted for a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. She has also written two collections of short fiction: Leaning, Leaning Over Water and Poached Egg on Toast.

Georgina Danforth Witley shares her birthday— April 21, 1926— with Queen Elizabeth II, a coincidence that has led to an invitation to a special 80th-birthday lunch at Buckingham Palace. While she should be on her way to London, Georgie lies injured in a ravine not far from her own house, the result of a car accident en route to the airport. Desperately hopeful that someone will find her, Georgie relies on her strength, her family memories, her no-nonsense wit and a recitation of the names of the bones in her body— a long-forgotten exercise from childhood that reminds her she is still very much alive.Frances Itani brings us a novel that is charming and deeply felt, by turns fanciful and profound. Insightful and beautifully written, Remembering the Bones considers what a life is worth and reminds us that even the most ordinary of lives is extraordinary.

Frances Itani's lauded and award-winning American debut novel has been sold in sixteen countries, was a Canadian best seller for sixteen weeks, reaching #1, and has been awarded the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best Book Award for the Caribbean and Canadian Region. Set on the eve of the Great War, Deafening is a tale of remarkable virtuosity and power. At the age of five, Grania emerges from a bout of scarlet fever profoundly deaf, and is suddenly sealed off from the world that was just beginning to open for her. Sent to the Ontario School for the Deaf, Grania must learn to live away from her family. When Grania falls in love with Jim Lloyd, a young hearing man, her life seems complete, but WWI soon tears them apart when Jim is sent to the battlefields of Flanders. During this long and brutal war of attrition, Jim and Grania's letters back and forth-both real and imagined-attempt to sustain the intimacy they discovered in Canada. A magnificent tale of love and war, Deafening is also an ode to language-how it can console, imprison, and liberate, and how it alone can bridge vast chasms of geography and experience.Amazon.com ReviewIn Deafening, Canadian writer Frances Itani's American debut novel, she tells two parallel stories: a man's story of war and a woman's story of waiting for him and of what it is to be deaf. Grania O'Neill is left with no hearing after having scarlet fever when she is five. She is taught at home until she is nine and then sent to the Ontario Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, where lifelong friendships are forged, her career as a nurse is chosen, and she meets Jim Lloyd, a hearing man, with whom she falls in love.The novel is filled with sounds and their absence, with an understanding of and insistence on the power of language, and with the necessity of telling and re-telling our stories. When Grania is a little girl at home, she sits with her grandmother, who teaches her: "Grania is intimately aware of Mamo's lips--soft and careful but never slowed. She studies the word as it falls. She says 'C' and shore, over and over again… This is how it sounds." After she and Jim are married and he is sent to war, he writes: "At times the ground shudders beneath our boots. The air vibrates. Sometimes there is a whistling noise before an explosion. And then, all is silent." When Grania's brother-in-law, her childhood friend, Kenan, returns from war seriously injured, he will not utter a sound. Grania approaches him carefully, starting with a word from their childhood--"poom"--and moves through "the drills she thought she'd forgotten… Kenan made sounds. In three weeks he was rhyming nonsense syllables." A deaf woman teaching a hearing man to make sounds again is only one of the wonders in this book. Because Itani's command of her material is complete, the story is saved from being another classic wartime romance--a sad tale of lovers separated. It is a testament to the belief that language is stronger than separation, fear, illness, trauma and even death. Itani convinces us that it is what connects us, what makes us human. --Valerie RyanFrom Publishers WeeklyWar and deafness are the twin themes of this psychologically rich, impeccably crafted debut novel set during WWI. Born in the late 19th century, Grania O'Neill comes from solid middle-class stock, her father a hotel owner in Deseronto, Ontario, her mother a God-fearing daughter of an Irish immigrant. When Grania is five, she loses her hearing to scarlet fever. When she is nine, she is sent to the Ontario Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Belleville and given an education not only in lipreading, signing and speaking but also in emotional self-sufficiency. After graduating, she works as a nurse in the Belleville hospital, where she meets and falls in love with Jim Lloyd. They marry, but Jim is bound for the war as a stretcher bearer. His war is hell on earth: lurid wounds; stinks; sudden, endless slaughter redeemed only by comradeship. Itani's remarkably vivid, unflinching descriptions of his ordeal tend to overshadow Grania's musings on the home front, but Grania's story comes to the fore again when her brother-in-law and childhood friend, Kenan, comes back to Deseronto from the trenches in Europe with a dead arm and a half-smashed face, refusing to speak. Grania, who was educated to configure sounds she couldn't hear into words that "the hearing" could understand, brings Kenan back to life by teaching him sounds again, and then by making portraits of the people in the town whom she, Kenan and her sister Tress know in common. As she talks to Kenan, she reinvigorates him with a sense that his life, having had such a rich past, must have a future, too. This subplot eloquently expresses Itani's evident, pervasive faith in the unexpected power of story to not only represent life but to enact itself within lives. Her wonderfully felt novel is a timely reminder of war's cost, told from an unexpected perspective.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The bestselling author of the award-winning international sensation Deafening returns to the period following the First Great War with a tour de force -- an extraordinary novel of secrets withheld and secrets revealed. In 1919, only months after the end of World War One, the men and women of Deseronto struggle to recover from wounds of the past, both visible and hidden. Kenan, a young soldier who has returned from the war damaged and disfigured, confines himself to his small house on the Bay of Quinte, wandering outside only under the cover of night. His wife, Tress, attempting to adjust to the trauma that overwhelms her husband and which has changed their marriage, seeks advice from her Aunt Maggie. Maggie, along with her husband, Am, who cares for the town clock tower, have their own sorrows, which lie unacknowledged between them. Maggie finds joy in her friendship with a local widow and in the Choral Society started by Lukas, a Music Director who has moved to...

Frances Itani returns to her roots with a collection of over 20 remarkable short stories. Showcasing the range and depth of her work, these include selections from her previous three collections, as well as seven new stories. In the award-winning title story, " Poached Egg on Toast," a small domestic drama balloons into a defining moment in a long-time marriage. " Accident" holds its dream-like spell over the reader as a woman struggles to make sense of what happened to her and her husband in a terrible car wreck. " In the Name of Love" explores a woman's search for normalcy and connection in the midst of devastation during the 1990s Balkan War. A number of these stories showcase Itani's ability to shine a clear light on what it feels like to be an outsider, displaced and disconnected from the world at hand. Others are about family life, the crises we must all face, and how a single, small moment can cause a seismic shift in our emotional landscape. Wickedly funny and...

Liz invites her sister, Roma, and two friends to dinner. The four women have something in common: they are hearing daughters of deaf parents. Each woman brings an old family picture to the table. Each tells a story about her picture. Roma has always felt alone and different. As a child, she had to "listen and tell." Roma became the listener because her mother could not hear. But by the end of the evening, Roma knows she is not alone. She and the other women learn that growing up with deaf parents has given them rare and special gifts. This novella is a quick and easy read for people on the go.

As noted by Quill & Quire, Frances Itani is an award-winning writer. Most recently, she won the Tilden/Saturday Night/CBC Literary Award for two consecutive years; an impressive feat as the stories are submitted to the jurors for evaluation anonymously. Now, Itani expands her control of the short story medium, with her new novel, Leaning, Leaning Over Water, a series of connected short stories.Almost all the narration is by Trude, the middle child of the King family. She has been told that her position in the family makes her the family collector and teller of stories. The stories she recounts crystallize crucial moments during the life of her family, the people around them, and the social climate of pre-Quiet Revolution Quebec.The stories begin after the father has moved his family to a rural area on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, where he has taken a job painting fleur-de-lis on tin trays in a nearby factory. For the children this means they grow up in delightful wilderness surrounded by people and customs which are completely new, but leaves their English speaking, non-swimming mother in isolation. The family is cut off from much of the world, but there is much of the world around them. They learn of their individuality through the cultural differences they find between themselves and their nearest neighbours, the Roman Catholic family down the way. They learn about sex and despair first hand through the few adults around them. And they are constantly exposed to life and death, and miracles through their constant contact with the river itself.The Ottawa River (the "water" referred to in the title) borders the King family abode and wends its way through every story in the novel -- always rushing past, bringing with it joys and sorrows, its power never to be underestimated, nor taken lightly -- underscoring the frailty of life lived on its banks.

Every first Sunday in June, members of the Moses clan gather for an annual reunion at “the old home place,” a sprawling hundred-acre farm in Arkansas. And every year, Samuel Lake, a vibrant and committed young preacher, brings his beloved wife, Willadee Moses, and their three children back for the festivities. The children embrace the reunion as a welcome escape from the prying eyes of their father’s congregation; for Willadee it’s a precious opportunity to spend time with her mother and father, Calla and John. But just as the reunion is getting under way, tragedy strikes, jolting the family to their core: John’s untimely death and, soon after, the loss of Samuel’s parish, which set the stage for a summer of crisis and profound change.In the midst of it all, Samuel and Willadee’s outspoken eleven-year-old daughter, Swan, is a bright light. Her high spirits and fearlessness have alternately seduced and bedeviled three generations of the family. But it is Blade Ballenger, a traumatized eight-year-old neighbor, who soon captures Swan’s undivided attention. Full of righteous anger, and innocent of the peril facing her and those she loves, Swan makes it her mission to keep the boy safe from his terrifying father.With characters who spring to life as vividly as if they were members of one’s own family, and with the clear-eyed wisdom that illuminates the most tragic—and triumphant—aspects of human nature, Jenny Wingfield emerges as one of the most vital, engaging storytellers writing today. In The Homecoming of Samuel Lake she has created a memorable and lasting work of fiction.

Faced with the tragic deaths of both her husband and baby, Jenny is at her wit's end, with nowhere to turn. She soon learns that her husband has left for her, of all things, a sheep-station known as Churinga, in the Australian Outback. Although she thinks his final gift to her a strange one, Jenny thinks she might find solace in a trip out to Churinga. After all, what better way to feel close to her husband now than to visit a place he loved?But, like the grief she has tried to leave behind, the Outback she encounters is barren and the weather, hostile; however, Jenny is not one to turn around. Once there she hears of Churinga's last keeper, Matilda, whose identity becomes less and less clear to Jenny: the neighbors hold a grudging respect for Matilda's way with the land but are reluctant to speak of her to Jenny. And as Jenny spends more and more time on the farm, her predecessor's lingering presence looms ever larger. Then she discovers some old diaries and is bewitched...

An affecting biography of the author of Anne of Green Gables is the first for young readers to include revelations about her last days and to encompass the complexity of a brilliant and sometimes troubled life.Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maud who adored stories. When she was fourteen years old, Maud wrote in her journal, "I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them." Not only did Maud grow up to own lots of books, she wrote twenty-four of them herself as L. M. Montgomery, the world-renowned author of Anne of Green Gables. For many years, not a great deal was known about Maud's personal life. Her childhood was spent with strict, undemonstrative grandparents, and her reflections on writing, her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression, her "year of mad passion," and her difficult married life remained locked away, buried deep within her unpublished personal journals. Through this revealing and deeply moving...

An exquisite tour de force, The Laws of Gravity is a testament to what it means to be a family, what it takes to save a life, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.Two families, bound by blood. One decision holds the key to survival. Nicole, red-haired and beautiful, discovers that her life is in danger. She turns to her cousin and childhood best friend Ari for the cord blood he's been banking for his own children. His decision brings them before the scales of justice. Solomon Richter, a state Supreme Court judge on the brink of mandatory retirement, finds himself embroiled in a legal battle unlike any other. A case that calls into question the very things we live for: family, loyalty, friendship and love. It's Nicole's last chance, Ari's last stand, and the judge's last case. A novel of heartbreaking honesty, humor and depth; an unforgettable story of justice and love: The Laws of Gravity heralds award-winning Liz Rosenberg as a new storytelling sensation.Review"The Laws of Gravity is a heart wrenching and honest exploration of family love and betrayal. A real page turner right up to its beautiful last page." – Ann Hood, author of The Red Thread and The Knitting Club“The Laws of Gravity is an unflinching portrayal of that place where fear and family collide. Part medical drama and part family saga, it reminds a reader of how easily the ties that bind can fray. Heartbreaking." – Chris Bohjalian, bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls"Clear-eyed and compassionate, The Laws of Gravity wrangles with the complexity of choice…What do we owe one another? How can we forgive? How do we live with ourselves? Liz Rosenberg's details are riveting; they pierce. Her ideas about friendship triumph." – National Book Award finalist Beth Kephart, author of Small Damages and Handling the TruthAbout the AuthorLiz Rosenberg was born in Glen Cove, New York. She has written more than thirty books for adults and young readers, including novels, poetry, and nonfiction. For the past fifteen years she has been a book review columnist at The Boston Globe. Liz teaches at the State University of New York at Binghamton where she won the Chancellor’s Award for excellence in teaching. Her first husband was the late novelist John Gardner, author of Grendel. She lives in Binghamton, N.Y., with her husband, David, her daughter, Lily, and two shih tzus. Her son, Eli, lives in New York City as an actor and magician.

When nine-year-old orphan Georgia James is unexpectedly fostered by the kindly Celia and her bank manager husband she can hardly believe her luck. But then - on her fifteenth birthday - she suffers the cruellest betrayal of all at the hands of her foster father and is forced to run away, leaving everything she loves behind her. Penniless, sleeping rough, Georgia is soon introduced to the sleazy Soho world of brassy strippers, sweat shops, camaraderie and hardship. Fired by a fierce ambition, blessed with an extraordinary voice, her long struggle for fame and fortune begins. But even when she reaches the top she finds that the scars of the past can open up to ruin her... Steeped in atmosphere and raw emotion, Georgia is the story of a determination to succeed against all the odds and of a burning first love.

Lesley Pearse, No.1 bestselling author of The Promise and Belle is back with Survivor, the story of Mariette, a born fighter. It is 1938 and Mariette Carrera is a defiant, strong-willed and selfish seventeen-year-old. And sooner or later, if she stays in the small, gossipy town of Russell, New Zealand, she'll get herself into some serious trouble. Her doting parents, Belle and Etienne, fear for her reputation. So, with the world on the brink of war, Mari leaves home on the SS Rimutaka, bound for her aunt and uncle's house in London. Armed with the freedom she's longed for since childhood, Mari quickly falls for Morgan, the handsome cockney steward on board ship. But once she reaches London, there are other temptations. Mari loves her new life - caught up in a whirl of dances and parties in the glittering West End, relishing her freedom as she earns her own money as a typist. Finally, she feels she is mistress of her own future. Until it is all snatched away by the war. As London endures the Blitz, Mari's new life is cruelly blown apart. Forced from her loving new home, she ends up alone in the East End, and it's worlds away from the London she knows. But there, even in the face of so much despair, she finds the chance to make a difference. Amidst the destruction, Mari learns that the only way to survive this war is to fight, with all the strength, selflessness and compassion within her...and only then will she find true happiness. Because Mari is a survivor... From internationally bestselling author, Lesley Pearse, Survivor is a story of bravery and love. 'Utterly riveting, brilliant' Closer 'Characters it is impossible not to care about' Daily Mail 'Full of love, passion and heartbreak' Best Lesley Pearse's novels have sold over five million copies worldwide. Her sixteen most recent books, including Forgive Me, The Promise, and Belle are huge bestsellers and available as Penguin paperbacks. Lesley lives near Bristol and has three daughters and three grandchildren.

Sussex, 2003. When a beautiful blonde girl is found half-drowned on a beach, she has no memory of who she is or what horrors have left her there.But an article about her in a Brighton newspaper rings alarm bells for beautician Dale, who shows the police photographs of Lotte Wainright. The girls met working on a cruise ship and their friendship blossomed as they sailed the seas of South America, until Lotte fell under the sinister influence of an older American couple. To her regret, Dale hasn't seen Lotte since leaving the ship months earlier - but the girl on the beach - although badly bruised - is indeed her much missed friend.Their reunion only marks the beginning of a dangerous tidal wave of secrets, lies and nightmares. Where has Lotte been? Who is the man who seems to want to kill her? And what has become of the baby she's recently given birth to? Dale and Lotte must dig deep and find the strength to hold on against the odds if they are to rebuild their friendship...

Can young Charlie find the strength to save her family?One glorious summer's day, sixteen-year-old Charlie Welsh has her privileged childhood brought to an abrupt and terrifying end when she witnesses her mother being brutally attacked in her own garden by two strangers.With her father mysteriously away Charlie has to face up to sinister forces that seem intent on shattering her family and even her belief in her parents.But she is not alone. Charlie meets kind, funny student Andrew, whose love helps her through the hard times and further unexpected tragedy. Together, can they unravel the mysteries of the past that haunt the Welsh family? And will facing up to those mysteries destroy their love for each other or make it stronger?

SynopsisThe Promise will take you on a breathtaking journey into the battlefields of the First World War. War threatens to take all she has loved and lived for . . . On the outbreak of war, Belle Reilly's husband Jimmy enlists and heads for the deadly trenches of northern France. But Belle knows she cannot stand idly by when so many are sacrificing their lives. Volunteering to help battlefield wounded, Belle is posted to France as a Red Cross ambulance driver. There, a tragic accident brings her face to face with Etienne - a man from her past she's never quite forgotten. Torn between forbidden passion, loyalty and love, Belle is caught in an impossible situation. Will she succumb to the dark forces of this most brutal of wars? Or will fate intervene and finally lead her to lasting happiness? The Promise vividly describes life behind the front line and the tragic choices that war forces people to make.

SynopsisCamellia Norton is orphaned at fifteen when her mother's body is fished from a river in rural Sussex. And when she discovers a cache of letters amongst her mother's effects she realises that the past she has always been so sure of has been built on a tissue of lies. Devastated, she runs away to London, and loses herself in a metropolis that offers opportunity, temptation and danger, especially to a young girl hungry for love and acceptance. But her past won't stay buried forever, and eventually Camellia begins the long journey towards uncovering the truth about her background, and also, ultimately, about herself.

Will Rosie ever escape from her brutal brothers? As a child Rosie Parker spent the war years battling her brutish half-brothers Seth and Norman on the farm under the less-than-watchful eye of her father Cole. But when housekeeper Heather Farley arrives, Rosie finds a mother – and a friend – to look after her. Several years later, Thomas Farley comes to find his sister. Rosie can only tell him that she disappeared in mysterious circumstances, abandoning her small son Alan. Determined to get young Alan and Rosie out of the clutches of Cole and his sons, Thomas helps unearth a terrible truth about the family. A truth that forces Rosie away from the farm and out into a cruel world where she must somehow come to terms with her shocking past. Is it possible that the man who brought ruin on her family might also bring happiness to Rosie?

Ellie is a sweet-natured brunette, generous of heart with a sparkling smile and an accent which reveals her East End background. Bonny is beautiful and spoilt, with cascades of blonde hair, the brightest pair of blue eyes and a mouth like Cupid's bow. The two girls meet in London at the end of the war when, seduced by two American airmen, they pool their wits and resources and set off to make a living on the stage. Set against the hardship and austerity of post-war Britain, and the glamour and ruthlessness of life in variety theatre, their story is one of sacrifice and burning ambition. But most of all of a powerful friendship that lasts against all odds.

The Queen of Storytellers is back - with a triumphant tale of one woman's struggle over adversity.In 1786 a fisherman's daughter from Cornwall called Mary Broad was sentenced to be hung for theft. But her sentence was commuted, and she was transported to Australia, one of the first convicts to arrive there.How Mary escaped the harsh existence of the colony and found true love, and how she was captured and taken back to London in chains, only to be released after a trial where she was defended by no less than James Boswell, is one of the most gripping and moving stories of human endeavour (based on an amazing true story) you will ever read.

When Fifi moves to London with her bricklayer boyfriend Dan, her mother is outraged. Despite initial feelings of horror at her new surroundings, Fifi finds the freedom from her middle-class family background exhilarating.Insatiably inquisitive, Fifi is fascinated by her new neighbours and wants to know what goes on behind all those shabby front doors. Why is Yvette, the French dressmaker, such a hermit? Why doesn't widower Frank join his daughter and grandchildren in Australia? And why doesn't the formidable and well-bred Miss Diamond move somewhere smarter?But most of all she is ghoulishly fascinated by the Muckles who live opposite in terrible squalor. She listens to their violent quarrels, watches their ill-treated and wretchedly unhappy children, and is appalled by all she sees.When Fifi tries to help the Muckles' youngest child, who has been physically abused by her father, Fifi unwittingly unleashes a chain of events which will not only bring heart ache to her...

Set in the 1930's, the new novel from bestselling author Lesley Pearse tells the story of one girl's struggle against cruelty and, her quest for love.Adele Talbot is twelve when her younger sister is killed in a road accident in London's Kings Cross, and her mother Rose – so devastated by the loss – begins to abuse her.Adele is sent to a children's home in Tunbridge Wells, but soon runs away to trace her grandmother- Honour who she has discovered lives in Sussex. But Honour is a bitter, eccentric woman who is not best pleased to see her granddaughter.Eventually the two forge some sort of bond and Honour allows Adele to stay. When Adele meets Michael Bailey on the marshes two years later and real love and friendship enter her life, she feels she can finally put her hurtful past behind her.But then war breaks out and as if that wasn't upheaval enough, Rose decides to rear her ugly head again. And she has a few unpleasant surprises for Adele...

Two young sisters sent far, far from home ... When tragedy deprives little Dulcie Taylor and her sister May of their parents, they are sent first to an orphanage and then shipped off to begin a new life in Australia. But the 'better life' the sisters are promised in this new and exciting country turns out to be a lie. It seems everyone who ever stood up for them, who ever said 'trust me', somehow betrays that trust: their parents, teachers and the sisters at the convent. But then Dulcie meets Ross, another orphanage survivor, and finds a kindred spirit. Can Dulcie ever get over the pain of the past and learn to trust again? And does she have the strength to fight for her own happiness as well as that of her sister?

One young woman in search of a past - and a future ...Sweet-natured but dappy Daisy Buchan drifts from job to job and takes her policeman boyfriend Joel for granted. She's happy, but she doesn't know what she wants from life.But when her adoptive mother dies and leaves her twenty-five-year-old daughter a scrapbook of memories, Daisy finally discovers who she is and where she came from. Her real mother was a teenage farmer's daughter from Cornwall - and Daisy drops everything to go and find her. But in going in search of her past, is Daisy risking the future of her relationship not only with her adored dad but also with Joel? And will she be able to deal with the truth about her real parents and the real Daisy?

SynopsisIn the East End, twelve-year-old Tara witnesses her villain of a father almost kill her mother. She forges a determination then and there to change her life. This is the story of three beautiful and talented women. Mabel, whose great love for a gambling man has brought her close to insanity; gentle Amy, who marries a man brutalised by war and failure; and Tara, who is hungry for success and life on her own terms. To have both, she must battle against the legacy these two women have left her, the deep prejudices and dangers of Whitechapel in the 1960s - with its gang leaders, rogues, market traders and dolly birds - and the passionate love she has had since girlhood for the charming wideboy and villain, Harry Collins.

Susan Wright walked into a doctor's surgery and gunned down two members of staff in cold blood, then waited for the police to arrest her. Later that day a lawyer, Beth Powell, is assigned to defend her. Susan won't talk to anyone, even to Beth – until both women realise that twenty-nine years earlier they had been childhood friends. Talking about their troubled families and those happy summers they spent together as children rekindles Susan and Beth's friendship. And as the evidence against Susan mounts up, both women share their traumatic secrets about what sent them down such different paths in life. Their friendship grows stronger, but for one of them, there can be no happy ending ...

Lesley Pearse, No.1 UK bestselling author of "The Promise and Belle", is back with "Forgive Me", a compelling story of a daughter uncovering her mother's secret past. Cheltenham, 1991 When Eva Patterson returns home from work one day, a devastating scene awaits her. Her mother, Flora, lies dead in the bath. Beside her is a note saying only: 'Forgive Me'. Until then, Eva always believed her family's life would be comfortable and secure - but Flora's suicide changes everything. And when Eva discovers that in her will Flora left her an artist's studio in London, she realises how little she knows about her mother's past. When Eva visits the now derelict studio, she is shocked to find out that her mother was once a successful artist back in the 1960s. A chance encounter leads her to Phil, who agrees to help her restore the studio, as well as offering her the advice and friendship Eva so badly needs. In the studio attic she finds a collection of Flora's paintings and old diaries, which Eva believes were purposely left for her to find. Searching for answers, Eva encounters a psychic who mysteriously warns her to beware of a 'sleeping serpent', which she soon discovers refers to a shocking crime in Flora's past. Will discovering the truth destroy Eva's belief in everything she holds dear? And will Phil stand by Eva even when her journey leads her and those she loves into certain danger? From the author of international bestseller, Stolen, "Forgive Me" is an intense and gripping story of love and forgiveness. "Pearse will pull your heartstrings." ("Sun"). "Characters it is impossible not to care about." ("Daily Mail"). "An addictive tear-jerker with characters you'll adore, laugh with and cry for." ("Bella"). "Full of love, passion and heartbreak." ("Best"). "Glorious, heartwarming." ("Woman and Home"). Lesley Pearse's novels have sold over five million copies worldwide. Her fifteen most recent books, including "The Promise", "Belle", "Stolen", "Gypsy", "Faith", "Hope", "A Lesser Evil", "Secrets", "Remember Me", "Till We Meet Again", "Father Unknown", "Trust Me", "Never Look Back", "Charlie and Rosie", are huge bestsellers and available as Penguin paperbacks. Lesley lives near Bristol and has three daughters and two grandchildren.ReviewAn addictive tear-jerker with characters you'll adore, laugh with and cry for Bella Utterly riveting, brilliant Closer Evocative, compelling, told from the heart Sunday Express About the AuthorLesley Pearse's novels have sold over five million copies worldwide. Her fifeen most recent books, including The Promise and Belle are huge bestsellers and available as Penguin paperbacks. Lesley lives near Bristol and has three daughters and two grandchildren.

A compelling new story from international number one bestselling author Lesley Pearse Spring 1935. Two girls meet by chance on Hampstead Heath. To an outsider, they could not appear more different. Verity is well-mannered and smartly dressed, living with her parents in a beautiful house close to the heath. Ruby is dishevelled and grubby, used to a life of squalor where she is forced to steal to survive. Yet there's an instant affinity between them, and when their fortunes are shockingly reversed, it is the strength of their friendship that keeps them resilient to the challenges and hardships they face. As Britain prepares for war, Ruby finds herself in Devon with the world at her feet and enjoying her first taste of romance. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Verity is forced to leave behind everything she has ever known and a shadow from the past threatens her chances of a new beginning. But through it all, the girls are always there for each other. Until...

Though he thinks of himself as a cowboy, Tommy is really a bully. He's always playing cruel jokes on classmates or stealing from the store. But Tommy has a reason: life at home is tough. His abusive mother isn't well; in fact, she may be mentally ill, and his sister, Mary Lou, is in the hospital badly burned from doing a chore it was really Tommy's turn to do. To make amends, Tommy takes over Mary Lou's paper route. But the paper route also becomes the perfect way for Tommy to investigate his neighbors after stumbling across a copy of The Daily Worker, a communist newspaper.Tommy is shocked to learn that one of his neighbors could be a communist, and soon fear of a communist in this tight-knit community takes hold of everyone when Tommy uses the paper to frame a storeowner, Mr. McKenzie. As Mr. McKenzie's business slowly falls apart and Mary Lou doesn't seem to get any better, Tommy's mother's abuse gets worse causing Tommy's bullying to spiral out of...

Claudia Dalton's father has disappeared. What began as a late night at work has spiraled into a missing persons case—one that's left twelve-year-old Claudia questioning everything she's ever known about her father and their family.But when she finally gets word from her dad, it turns out he isn't missing at all. He's just gone to "think things over" and visit an old friend, whatever that means. Feeling confused and helpless, Claudia starts to assemble a scrapbook, gathering emails, receipts, phone transcripts and more, all in a desperate attempt to figure out what's happening with her dad. Claudia's investigation deepens at her grandfather's house, where she receives an envelope containing a puzzle piece and a cryptic message.It's this curious first clue that sets Claudia on an unexpected treasure hunt that she hopes will bring her dad home and heal whatever's gone wrong with her family. Told through the pages of Claudia's scrapbook, The Jigsaw Jungle is a moving story of a family lost and then found, with a dash of mystery and loads of heart, from award-winning author and middle-grade master Kristin Levine.

As twelve-year-old Marlee starts middle school in 1958 Little Rock, it feels like her whole world is falling apart. Until she meets Liz, the new girl at school. Liz is everything Marlee wishes she could be: she's brave, brash and always knows the right thing to say. But when Liz leaves school without even a good-bye, the rumor is that Liz was caught passing for white. Marlee decides that doesn't matter. She just wants her friend back. And to stay friends, Marlee and Liz are even willing to take on segregation and the dangers their friendship could bring to both their families.

Even though they were born in different countries, Akilah and Victoria are true best friends. But Victoria has been acting strange ever since she returned from her summer in Nigeria, where she had a special coming-of-age ceremony. Why does proud Victoria, named for a queen, slouch at her desk and answer the teacher's questions in a whisper? And why won't she laugh with Akilah anymore?

5 Starred Reviews!"This slim novel strikes a strong chord"—Publishers Weekly (starred review)"This complex tale of family and forgiveness has heart." —School Library Journal (starred review)"Strong characterizations and vivid musical scenes add layers to this warm family story." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"An appealing, realistic story with frequent elegant turns of phrase." —The Horn Book (starred review)"Garcia-Williams skillfully finds melody in words." —Booklist (starred review)From beloved Newbery Honor winner and three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Rita Williams-Garcia comes a powerful and heartfelt novel about loss, family, and love that will appeal to fans of Jason Reynolds and Kwame Alexander. Clayton feels most alive when he's with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band...