Products
Horrid Henry Summer Fun, Francesca Simon ( paperback)
£7.99
Get ready for some super summer mayhem with this totally awesome collection of six favourite Horrid Henry stories. Join Henry for a scorching summer as he does what he does best - causes mischief! Featuring hilarious stories, plus totally awesome puzzles and summer jokes.
Featuring:Horrid Henry and Moody Margaret Fluffy Struts her Stuff Horrid Henry's Wedding Moody Margaret's Sleepover Perfect Peter's Horrid Day Horrid Henry's Bake Off The perfect summer holiday read for Horrid Henry fans everywhere.
Horse, Geraldine Brooks ( paperback June 2023)
£9.99
A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner tells a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South.When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamour of any racetrack. New York City, 1954.
Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a 19th equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance. Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse-one studying the stallion's bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.
Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred, Lexington, who became America's greatest stud sire, Horse is an original ,gripping, multi-layered reckoning with the legacy of enslavement and racism in America.
Hot Stew, Fiona Mozley (paperback Sept 2021)
£8.99
If Elmet announced the arrival of a bright new voice in British literature, Hot Stew confirms Mozley as a writer of extraordinary empathic gifts' Observer
In an age when so many novelists of Mozley's generation take refuge in the dystopian, she has reinvigorated large-scale social realism for our times ' Guardian,
Pungent, steamy, insatiable Soho; the only part of London that truly never sleeps. Tourists dawdling, chancers skulking, addicts shuffling, sex workers strutting, punters prowling, businessmen striding, the homeless and the lost.
Down Wardour Street, ducking onto Dean Street, sweeping into L'Escargot, darting down quiet back alleyways, skirting dumpsters and drunks, emerging on to raucous main roads, fizzing with energy and riotous with life. On a corner, sits a large townhouse, the same as all its neighbours. But this building hosts a teeming throng of rich and poor, full from the basement right up to the roof terrace.
Precious and Tabitha call the top floors their home but it's under threat; its billionaire-owner Agatha wants to kick the women out to build expensive restaurants and luxury flats. Men like Robert, who visit the brothel, will have to go elsewhere. Those like Cheryl, who sleep in the basement, will have to find somewhere else to hide after dark.
But the women won't go quietly. Soho is their turf and they are ready for a fight. 'A complex mosaic of urban life .
Hotel Lux : An Intimate History of Communism's Forgotten Radicals, by Maurice J Casey
£12.99
Shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards 2024: History Book of the Year
'Hotel Lux brings to life not only its protagonists but an entire world, and offering a new glimpse of a vanished past' Sally Rooney'
Hotel Lux follows Irish radical May O'Callaghan and her friends, three revolutionary families brought together by their vision for a communist future and their time spent in the Comintern's Moscow living quarters, the Hotel Lux. Historian Maurice Casey reveals the connections and disconnections of a group of forgotten communist activists whose lives collided in 1920s Moscow: a brilliant Irish translator, a maverick author, the rebel daughters of an East London Jewish family, and a family of determined German anti-fascists. The dramatic and interlocking histories of the O'Flahertys, Cohens and Leonhards offer an intimate insight into the legacies of the Russian Revolution from its earliest idealism through to the brutal Stalinist purges and beyond.
Hotel Lux uncovers a world of forgotten radicals who saw their hopes and dreams crash against reality yet retained their faith in a beautiful future for all. Culminating in a queer love story that saw the daughters of the Cohens and Leonhards create an enduring partnership even as their parents' political visions crumbled, this is a multi-generational rebel odyssey and a history of international communism, one which looks as much to the future as it does to the past.
House of Leaves, Mark Z Danielewski ( paperback edition, 2000)
£32.00
First-ever UK hardback publication* Deluxe edition with foil cover* Complete final FULL-COLOUR text* Special embossed 'maze' case design
Now published in hardback in the UK for the first time, the nightmarish story of a house that is bigger on the inside than the outside - a tale that continues to inspire devotion among its ever-growing army of fans.
"A genuinely scary chiller, a satire on the business of criticism and a meditation on the way we read" Observer newspaper.
A young couple - Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson and his partner Karen Green - move into a small house on Ash Tree Lane. But something is terribly wrong - their new home is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Neither Will nor Karen are prepared to face the consequences of this impossibility until the day their two small children wandered off, and their voices eerily began to tell another story - of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams and create nightmares.
What happened next is loosely recorded on videotapes and interviews, and impelled an eccentric old man to compile - on loose sheets of paper, stained napkins, crammed notebooks - a definitive account of what took place at Ash Tree Lane that seems to unveil a thrilling and terrifying history. Because these scraps prove to be far more than the deranged ramblings of a reclusive old man.
Impossible to forget. House of Leaves is thrilling, terrifying and unlike anything you have read before.
House of Odysseus, Claire North ( paperback March 2024)
£18.99
From the author of the critically acclaimed Ithaca - A Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of the Year - comes an exquisite and gripping new tale that breathes life into ancient myth. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. On the isle of Ithaca, Queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power.Many years ago, her husband, Odysseus, sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace - but this is shattered by the arrival of Orestes, king of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra. Orestes's hands are stained with his mother's blood.
Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra's life on Ithaca's sands. Now, racked with guilt, he is slowly losing his mind. Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the Furies circle him.
His uncle, Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes's throne - and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims. Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope fights to keep war from Ithaca's shores. Her only allies are Elektra and Helen of Troy, Menelaus's enigmatic wife.
And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own. Each woman has a secret. And their secrets will shape the world.
How Do You Like Me Now? Holly Bourne
£8.99
Holly Bourne is a legend in writing on difficult topics for children and teenagers, this is her first ' grown up' novel for the 30 somethings - and it really hits the mark.
Everyone wants to be Tori Bailey. A straight-talking, bestselling author, she's inspired millions of women around the world with her self-help memoir and uplifting posts online.
What's more, her perfect relationship with her long-term boyfriend is the envy of all their friends. But Tori isn't being honest. While everyone around her is getting engaged and having babies, Tori's boyfriend will barely look at her, let alone talk about marriage.
And when her best friend Dee unexpectedly falls in love, suddenly Tori's in danger of being left behind. Tori's built a career out of telling women how to live their best life, but is she brave enough to admit it's not what she wants?*****The debut adult novel by bestselling author Holly Bourne is a blisteringly funny, honest and moving exploration of love, friendship and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of your thirties. Everyone is raving about this book! Brutally honest, appallingly funny and very moving - so accurate on the female interior, and the loneliness life in the public gaze.
How Do You Live ? by Genzaburo Yoshino, ( Paperback July 2023)
£10.99
Publishing in English for the very first time, Japan's beloved coming-of-age classic on what really matters in lifeThe streets of Tokyo swarm below fifteen year-old Copper as he gazes out into the city of his childhood. Struck by the thought of the infinite people whose lives play out alongside his own, he begins to wonder, how do you live?
Considering life's biggest questions for the first time, Copper turns to his dear uncle for heart-warming wisdom. As the old man guides the boy on a journey of philosophical discovery, a timeless tale unfolds, offering a poignant reflection on what it means to be human.
The favourite childhood book of anime master Hayao Miyazaki, How Do You Live? is the basis for a highly anticipated film from Studio Ghibli.
How Far We’ve Come, Joyce Efia Harmer (PAPERBACK 2024)
£8.99
From debut author, Joyce Efia Harmer, comes a ground-breaking YA story of friendship and freedom that crosses continents and centuries, in a timeslip novel exploring the legacy of slavery.
Sometime, me love to dream that me is a human, a proper one, like them white folks is. Enslaved on a plantation in Barbados, Obah dreams of freedom.
As talk of rebellion bubbles up around her in the Big House, she imagines escape. Meeting a strange boy who's not quite of this world, she decides to put her trust in him. But Jacob is from the twenty-first century.
Desperate to give Obah a better life, he takes her back with him. At first it seems like dreams really do come true - until the cracks begin to show and Obah sees that freedom comes at an unimaginable cost . .
. Both hopeful and devastating, this powerful novel about equality, how far we've come, and how far we still have to go introduces an extraordinary new literary voice.
How I lost My Heart & Other Breakables, Alex Barclay ( paperback Jan 2023)
£7.99
My Heart & Other Breakables: How I lost my mum, found my dad, and made friends with catastrophe.
The hilarious and deeply moving diary novel from bestselling author Alex Barclay - this might just be the funniest book ever to make you cry your eyes out. This is the diary of me, Ellery Brown, aged fifteen and a half. I'm supposed to be recording my feelings about my mum, since she died, so why do I keep thinking about who my dad might be instead? Until now, I've had literally NO IDEA who my dad is.
My best friend Meg and I have narrowed it down to three authors my mum knew. (She was an author too.) But as they're all on different CONTINENTS, we're going to need fake IDs, passports, plane tickets and to get away from my self-obsessed grandmother . .
. One thing's for sure: this year is going to be INTERESTING!
For 12 +
How Not to Age : The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older by Michael Greger
£12.99
The Sunday Times bestseller and as featured on the trending Netflix show You Are What You Eat. Live better for longer with this ultimate guide to longevity from the bestselling author of How Not to Die. We all want to stay healthy as we age but, with so many different claims out there, it can be hard to know the best advice to follow.
In How Not to Age, Dr Michael Greger digs into the top peer-reviewed anti-ageing research to deliver a complete and optimal guide with simple steps to extend your lifespan and slow the adverse effects of ageing. Inspired by the dietary and lifestyle patterns of the world’s centenarians and residents of ‘blue zone’ regions where people live the longest, Dr Greger presents easy, evidence-based ways to preserve the body functions that keep us feeling youthful, both physically and mentally. Can an apple a day really keep the doctor away? What’s better for your longevity, jogging for four hours or eating two handfuls of nuts twice a week?Brimming with expertise, How Not to Age lays out practical strategies for living your longest, healthiest life – and for enjoying every moment of it.
How Not to Age : The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older by Michael Greger
£12.99
I have never recommended a book as good as this, ever.' - Chris EvansThe Sunday Times bestseller and as featured on the trending Netflix show You Are What You Eat. Live better for longer with this ultimate guide to longevity from the bestselling author of How Not to Die. We all want to stay healthy as we age but, with so many different claims out there, it can be hard to know the best advice to follow.
In How Not to Age, Dr Michael Greger digs into the top peer-reviewed anti-ageing research to deliver a complete and optimal guide with simple steps to extend your lifespan and slow the adverse effects of ageing. Inspired by the dietary and lifestyle patterns of the world’s centenarians and residents of ‘blue zone’ regions where people live the longest, Dr Greger presents easy, evidence-based ways to preserve the body functions that keep us feeling youthful, both physically and mentally. Can an apple a day really keep the doctor away? What’s better for your longevity, jogging for four hours or eating two handfuls of nuts twice a week?Brimming with expertise, How Not to Age lays out practical strategies for living your longest, healthiest life – and for enjoying every moment of it.
How Not to Age : The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older by Michael Gregerv( paperback Jan 2025)
£12.99
The Sunday Times bestseller and as featured on the trending Netflix show You Are What You Eat. Live better for longer with this ultimate guide to longevity from the bestselling author of How Not to Die. We all want to stay healthy as we age but, with so many different claims out there, it can be hard to know the best advice to follow.
In How Not to Age, Dr Michael Greger digs into the top peer-reviewed anti-ageing research to deliver a complete and optimal guide with simple steps to extend your lifespan and slow the adverse effects of ageing. Inspired by the dietary and lifestyle patterns of the world’s centenarians and residents of ‘blue zone’ regions where people live the longest, Dr Greger presents easy, evidence-based ways to preserve the body functions that keep us feeling youthful, both physically and mentally. Can an apple a day really keep the doctor away? What’s better for your longevity, jogging for four hours or eating two handfuls of nuts twice a week?Brimming with expertise, How Not to Age lays out practical strategies for living your longest, healthiest life – and for enjoying every moment of it
How to Build a Boat, Elaine Feeney ( paperback April 2024)
£16.99
A gorgeous gift of a novel, hopeful and full of humanity'- Douglas Stuart, Booker-Prize winning author of SHUGGIE BAIN
Jamie O'Neill loves the colour red. He also loves tall trees, patterns, rain that comes with wind, the curvature of many objects, books with dust jackets, cats, rivers and Edgar Allan Poe. At age 13 there are two things he especially wants in life: to build a Perpetual Motion Machine, and to connect with his mother Noelle, who died when he was born.
In his mind these things are intimately linked. And at his new school, where all else is disorientating and overwhelming, he finds two people who might just be able to help him. How to Build a Boat is the story of how one boy and his mission transforms the lives of his teachers, Tess and Tadhg, and brings together a community.
Written with tenderness and verve, it's about love, family and connection, the power of imagination, and how our greatest adventures never happen alone
How to Catch a Rainbow ( paperback August 2022)
£7.99
Freya loves rainbows. She loves their bright colours and their curvy shape. More than anything, she wishes she has one of her very own.One that she can keep forever. So she decides to become a Rainbow Hunter! She searches high and low, but no rainbows are to be found, so she decides to make her own, collecting items in every colour of the rainbow from the garden. But when things don't go quite to plan, Freya has to use her imagination and creativity to come up with a way to make her wish come true.
A vibrant story from the author of the bestselling The Perfect Fit with technicolour illustrations by Ana Gomez.
How to Draw The Gruffalo and Friends, Axel Scheffler ( paperback May 2023)
£9.99
Celebrate 30 years of stories with Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler as you learn how to draw ten of your favourite characters from their bestselling picture books - from The Gruffalo to The Snail and the Whale and much more!Have fun learning to draw the Gruffalo, the Witch or even George the Smartest Giant in the step-by-step guides. Then put the finishing touches on your art as you follow the tips for drawing expressions, creating movement and even using colour in your illustrations. With never-before-seen character sketches and step-by-step guides, plus top tips from Axel Scheffler on everything from character development to cover design, How to Draw the Gruffalo and Friends is the perfect gift for budding artists of all ages.
How to Fix Northern Ireland, Malachi O'Doherty ( large paperback April 2023)
£16.99
A highly topical and original investigation into the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland, published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement.
Yet, in this controversial and provocative new book, Malachi O'Doherty argues that it completely ignored the real reason behind the conflict and instead left a wound at the core of society.
Part memoir, part history and part polemic, How to Fix Northern Ireland shows how the country's deep division is simply not about whether it should be governed as part of Ireland or as part of Britain - as presumed by the agreement - but rather is fundamentally sectarian, an inter-ethnic stress comparable to racism. O'Doherty reveals how the split between catholics and protestants continues to invade everyday life - from education and segregated housing, from street protests, bonfires and parades to the high politics of power sharing and Brexit - and asks what can be done to solve a centuries-old social rift and heal the relationship at the heart of the problem.
How to Fly : (in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons), Barbara Kingsolver ( pb, Aug 2021)
£10.99
This edition gathers together Barbara Kingsolver's vibrant and various poems, revealing an intimate side to her creative practice as yet unseen. Almost resembling a Collected or Selected Poems, the book is divided into thematically linked sections: a series of 'How to' poems that smartly balance tongue-in-cheek guides with revelatory wisdom; a complicated family pilgrimage to Italy; cherished childhood memories; the perils and pleasures of being a [female] writer; elegies to lost loved ones; and elegies to the planet. Sharing the natural fluidity and compassionate humanity of her prose, How to Fly will both delight Kingsolver's devoted readership and welcome a host of new readers to her luminous poetry.
How to Gut A Fish, Sheila Armstrong ( paperback Feb 2023)
£9.99
Unsettling, unpredictable, and brilliant' Roddy Doyle
In sumptuous and evocative prose, Sheila Armstrong writes stories that are unnerving and unsettling. Stories which make you go, wait, wait, what was that? ' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled GroundOn a boat offshore, a fisherman guts a mackerel as he anxiously awaits a midnight rendezvous. Villagers, one by one, disappear into a sinkhole beneath a yew tree.
A nameless girl is taped, bound and put on display in a countryside market. A man returning home following the death of his mother finds something disturbing among her personal effects. A dazzling and disquieting collection of stories, how to gut a fish places the bizarre beside the everyday and then elegantly and expertly blurs the lines.
An exciting new Irish writer whose sharp and lyrical prose unsettles and astounds in equal measure, Sheila Armstrong's exquisitely provocative stories carve their way into your mind and take hold. 'Dark, devilishly well written and full of atmosphere, How to Gut a Fish is one of the most original and affecting short story collections I've read in years' Jan Carson, author of The Fire Starters.
£9.99 paperback available from mid February 2023.
How To Live When a Loved One Dies, Thich Nhat Hanh ( paperback July 2021)
£8.99
A comforting book that will offer relief to anyone moving through intense grief and loss, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh shares accessible, healing words of wisdom to transform our suffering. In the immediate aftermath of a loss, sometimes it is all we can do to keep breathing. With his signature clarity and compassion, Thich Nhat Hanh will guide you through the storm of emotions surrounding the death of a loved one.How To Live When A Loved One Dies offers powerful practices such as mindful breathing that will help you reconcile with death and loss, feel connected to your loved one long after they have gone and transform your grief into healing.
How To Spaghettify Your Dog : and other science secrets of the universe by Hiba Noor Khan (Author)
£8.99
A wonderfully illustrated, jam-packed, must-have science book for all aspiring young physicists!' The Royal Institution Have you ever wondered how to slow down time? Or what would happen if the Earth stopped spinning? Or whether you'd be OK if you fell into a black hole? Well, wonder no more. This book, by former physics teacher and UKLA longlisted author Hiba Noor Khan, is bursting with fascinating physics facts that will explain everything you want to know, and more, about the curiosities of our cosmos. Become acquainted with the phenomenal laws of physics - from the tiniest building blocks of our body to the enormous stars that burn in our skies, light years away.The book breaks down complex science topics into fun, digestible chunks. Featuring easy-to-follow experiments, eye-catching illustrations by Waterstones Book Prize winner Harry Woodgate and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, this hands-on book will demystify physics and bring science to life.
How To Survive A Crisis, David Omand (paperback June 2024)
£10.99
We never know when a crisis might explode. Some 'sudden impact' events, such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters, blow up out of a clear blue sky.Other 'slow burn' crises smoulder away for years, often with warning signs ignored along the way until, as if from nowhere, the troops storm the palace. In How to Survive a Crisis, Professor Sir David Omand draws on his experience in defence, security and intelligence, including as Director of GCHQ and UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, to show how you can detect a looming crisis and extinguish it (or at least survive it with minimum loss). Using gripping real-world examples from Omand's storied career, and drawing lessons from historic catastrophes such as Chernobyl, 9/11, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the WannaCry ransomware cyberattack, this empowering book is filled with practical advice on how to survive the multiplying crises of the future.
Not every crisis need tip into disaster - if we have invested in personal, business and national resilience. This is an essential toolkit for our turbulent twenty-first century, as well as an exhilarating read for anyone interested in the state of our world - and how we might improve it. 'Piercingly insightful, brilliantly lucid and illuminating, frightening and wise .
. . From nuclear meltdown to apocalyptic cyber-attacks, from pandemics to the drums of war, here is a remarkable record of how the threads of society can be held firm in the darkest days' Sinclair McKay, author of Berlin'An amazing book.
Timely, essential and important. The brilliantly insightful David Omand draws on his unmatched experience to explore the complexities of crisis.
I Am A Baby, Bob Shea ( paperback July 2023)
£7.99
A hilariously deadpan look at new parenthood - from a baby's point of view. I am not sleepy. I am not sleepy because I am a baby.Mummy is sleepy. Mummy is sleepy because I am a baby. With humour and sympathy, Bob Shea looks at the chaos of life with a baby as amiably narrated by the new arrival.
Repeating the mantra (and blithe explanation) "because I am a baby," the tiny narrator leads us through scenes of exhaustion, grumpiness, squishy nappies, spilled milk, cowering kittens and chubby overfed pups (oopsie!). Playing against the simple, matter-of-fact text are freewheeling illustrations of mess and mayhem, in which the grown-ups' exaggerated body language is sure to send older children into fits of giggles. With its endearing, unabashedly self-pleased star, I Am a Baby will find a place at showers, in nurseries, on parents' shelves and in the hands of appreciative big siblings, as it celebrates the changes a little one brings, at once challenging and full of love.
I Am A Sensible Gibbon - Will Mabbitt ( paperback June 2021)
£7.99
A very sensible story with ABSOLUTELY NO SILLINESS! That is to say, a perfect story for your 2.5 years + kids who are a bit silly....
From the author of I Can Only Draw Worms! Gibbon would like to make it very clear that this is a sensible book for sensible people. Anything that looks like it might be FUN or SILLY is absolutely forbidden. A hilarious, rhyming animal party, with colourful illustrations by Claudia Boldt.
I Am I Am I Am, by Maggie O’Farrell ( paperback, 2018)
£9.99
I AM, I AM, I AM is a memoir with a difference - the unputdownable story of an extraordinary woman's life in near-death experiences. Insightful, inspirational, gorgeously written, it is a book to be read at a sitting, a story you finish newly conscious of life's fragility, determined to make every heartbeat count.A childhood illness she was not expected to survive. A teenage yearning to escape that nearly ended in disaster. A terrifying encounter on a remote path.
A mismanaged labour in an understaffed hospital. Shocking, electric, unforgettable, this is the extraordinary memoir from Costa Novel-Award winner and Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie O'Farrell ( The Hand that First Held Mine, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox)
I am Not your Perfect Mexican Daughter ( YA) Erika Sanchez, PB Feb 2022
£8.99
SOON TO BE A NETFLIX FILM, currently in production in 2025!
This gripping debut about a Mexican-American misfit is alive and crackling.' New York Times'
A perfect book about imperfection.' Juan Felipe Herrera
A poignant but laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself.
When her sister Olga dies in a tragic accident, Julia is left to pick up the pieces of her family. She is also expected to fill the shoes of her sister. But Julia has never been the perfect Mexican daughter.
As Julia struggles to find her place in the world, she discovers Olga was not as perfect as everyone thought. Who was her sister really? And how can Julia even attempt to live up to an impossible ideal?
I am Oliver the Otter, by Pam Ayres ( paperback March 2024)
£7.99
Aheart-warming, rhyming story about a little otter called Oliver, written by bestselling poet Pam Ayres, author of The Last Hedgehog. Come on down to the riverbank, and discover a wild and wonderful world . .
. Oliver the otter is happy enough living alone, swimming or scampering along the twisty-rooted waterways. Until one day, among the green rushes, he meets an otter called Ottilie – and his life changes forever.
Written in rhyme and beautifully illustrated by the award-winning Nicola O'Byrne, Pam Ayres's charming tale brings the natural world to life. With nature facts interwoven throughout, and an information page at the end, including tips on how to spot and look after otters. I am Oliver the Otter will make the perfect gift for nature lovers of all ages and is followed up by the second book in the series, I am Hattie the Hare.
You may not like Pam Ayres adult poetry but she has a lovely ear for rhythm which works really nicely in these children's books.
I Capture The Castle, by Dodie Smith
£7.99
An absolute classic YA novel from the same Dodie Smith of ‘101 Dalmatians’ fame. The diary of Cassandra Mortmain, her extraordinary family and her crumbling castle home. Loved by teenagers and adults everywhere.
I Couldn’t Love You More, Esther Freud ( paperback May 2022)
£8.99
Rosaleen is still a teenager, in the early Sixties, when she meets the famous sculptor Felix Lichtman. Felix is dangerous, bohemian, everything she dreamed of in the cold nights at her Catholic boarding school. And at first their life together is glitteringly romantic - drinking in Soho, journeying to Marseilles.But it's not long before Rosaleen finds herself fearfully, unexpectedly alone. Desperate, she seeks help from the only source she knows, the local priest, and is directed across the sea to Ireland on a journey that will seal her fate. Kate lives in Nineties London, stumbling through her unhappy marriage.
But something has begun to stir in her. Close to breaking point, she sets off on a journey of her own, not knowing what she hopes to find. Aoife sits at her husband's bedside as he lies dying, and tells him the story of their marriage.
But there is a crucial part of the story missing and time is running out. Aoife needs to know: what became of Rosaleen? Spanning three generations of women, I Couldn't Love You More is an unforgettable novel about love, motherhood, secrets and betrayal - and how only the truth can set us free.
I Got This, Cara Mailey ( paperback April 2022)
£6.99
A funny, big-hearted novel about loving yourself for being exactly who you are! When a mega-famous pop group announces a competition for fans to be part of their next music video, Erin decides to go for it. She wants to show her younger brother that in life, there are no limits - even if you don't look like most other kids.
But making an audition video is proving more difficult than Erin expected; it's almost like her best friend is trying to ruin it! And when an opportunity comes up that might increase her chances, Erin begins to wonder: can she stay true to herself and pursue her dreams?
Erin's character is inspired by NI co-author Cara Mailey, who has achondroplasia (the most common form of dwarfism) and was featured on CBBC's documentary "My Life: Made to Measure" and BBC One's "Keeping Up with the Maileys"Co-author Chrissie Sains is also the author of AN ALIEN IN THE JAM FACTORY Perfect for fans of THE AMAZING EDIE ECKHART by Rosie Jones, A KIND OF SPARK and CAN YOU SEE ME?
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou ( pb)
£9.99
In this first volume of her six books of autobiography, Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood with her grandmother in the American south of the 1930s. She learns the power of the white folks at the other end of town and suffers the terrible trauma of rape by her mother's lover.'I write about being a Black American woman, however, I am always talking about what it's like to be a human being. This is how we are, what makes us laugh, and this is how we fall and how we somehow, amazingly, stand up again' Maya Angelou
I Must Betray You, Ruth Septys ( paperback Aug 2022)
£7.99
A super book for boys and girls aged 14+
Winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers**' Choice Medal for Writing 2023
Trapped by an evil dictatorship, will Cristian be forced to betray his family or will he risk everything he loves to resist? A powerful, heart-breaking thriller based on real events. Cristian has lived his entire life in the grip of a repressive dictatorship. The country is governed by fear.
When the secret police blackmail him, Cristian has an impossible choice. Save the life of his sick grandfather by informing on his family, or risk his life - and all of theirs - by resisting? At 17, Cristian dreams of being free but doesn't know where to turn. In this climate of constant suspicion, can he trust his best friend, his girlfriend or even his family? Closely based on the real events of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, this is a powerful, heart-breaking thriller from the author of Salt to the Sea, winner of the Carnegie Medal.
** real readers not literary judges!
I, Spy : a Bletchley Park mystery, Rhian Tracey ( paperback April 2023)
£7.99
A thrilling mystery adventure set in Bletchley Park at the start of World War II, based on true events. Perfect for fans of Phil Earle and Hilary McKay. "A highly original, gripping World War II story" - Emma CarrollTwelve-year-old Robyn has grown up in Bletchley Park, where her father works as a driver.When she's not at school, there's nothing she likes more than helping her dad in the garages. Then the war begins and everything at Bletchley changes. Robyn is assigned to help with the carrier pigeons that take messages to the Allies.
But first, she must sign the Official Secrets Act and is ordered not to leave the grounds of the park. While Bletchley is buzzing with people recruited for the war effort and all eyes are on the skies, Robyn becomes convinced that there's something sinister going on within Bletchley Park itself. Together with her friends Mary and Ned, Robyn resolves to uncover the enemy in their midst .
. . 'I loved this spy mystery about Robyn and her friends as they try to uncover the enemy in their midst.
Rhian's wonderful descriptions of Bletchley Park made me feel I was there in one of the most famous settings in WWII Britain. Readers will be hooked till the end.' Sufiya Ahmed, author of Rosie Raja: Churchill's Spy
If I Have to be Haunted, Miranda Sun ( paperback July 2024)
£14.99
Your first love will always haunt you... The most haunting, heartwarming debut of 2023. Perfect for fans of strong female leads and supernatural stakes in Buffy, with all the sweetness and romance of To All the Boys I've Loved Before.Cara's just trying to stay on top of all her classes, excel at her extracurriculars, and prepare for college - which means not speaking to the dead, an ability she inherited from her grandmother. Ghosts are trouble, and Cara doesn't need to add their problems to her own. But then she stumbles upon the body of Zach - the super popular but very newly dead high school golden boy - in the woods, and guess what? He wants her to resurrect him.
Cue trouble. Miranda Sun's debut touches on the power and conflicts in a mother-daughter love, first romance - and finding your place in the world while honouring your culture. Full of heart, humour and thrills, If I Have to be Haunted will put a spell on you.
If We Were Villains, M L Rio ( paperback 2017)
£9.99
A vivid and immersive story of obsession perfect for fans of dark academia and Donna Tartt's The Secret HistoryOliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends - a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago.
As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off - villain, hero, tyrant, temptress - though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else's story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life. When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead.
The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
Illuminations, Alan Moore ( paperback Sept 23)
£9.99
In his first-ever short story collection, which spans forty years of work and features many never-before-published pieces, international bestselling author and legendary creator of From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and other modern classics, Alan Moore, presents nine stories full of wonder and strangeness, each taking us deeper into the fantastical underside of reality. In A Hypothetical Lizard, two concubines in a brothel for fantastical specialists fall in love, with tragic ramifications.In Not Even Legend, a paranormal study group is infiltrated by one of the otherworldly beings they seek to investigate. In Illuminations, a nostalgic older man decides to visit a seaside resort from his youth and finds the past all too close at hand. And in the monumental novella What We Can Know About Thunderman, which charts the surreal and Kafkaesque history of the comics industry over the last seventy-five years through several sometimes-naive and sometimes-maniacal people rising and falling on its career ladders, Moore reveals the dark, beating heart of the superhero business.
From ghosts and otherworldly creatures to theoretical Boltzmann brains fashioning the universe at the big bang, Illuminations is exactly that - a series of bright, startling tales from a contemporary legend that reveal the full power of imagination and magic
Immortality: A Love Story, by Dana Schwartz ( paperback October 2023)
£9.99
Hazel Sinnett is alone and half-convinced the events of the year before - the immortality, Beecham's vial - were a figment of her imagination. She doesn't even know if Jack is alive or dead.
All she can really do now is treat patients and maintain Hawthornden Castle as it starts to decay around her. When saving a life leads to her arrest, Hazel seems doomed to rot in prison until a message intervenes: Hazel has been specifically requested to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte, the sickly granddaughter of King George III. Soon Hazel is dragged into the glamour and romance of a court where everyone has something to hide, especially the enigmatic, brilliant members of a social club known as the Companions to the Death.
As Hazel's work entangles her more and more with the British court, she realizes that her own future as a surgeon isn't the only thing at stake for her. Malicious forces are at work in the monarchy, and Hazel may be the only one capable of setting things right. Praise for Anatomy: A Love Story:'Irreverent, intelligent, and smart.
Dana Schwartz is one of the brightest of the next generation of young writers' Neil Gaiman'
Book 2 continues the story from Book 1; Anatomy, A Love Story
Imogen, Obviously , by Becky Albertalli ( paperback May 2023)
£8.99
The sensational new novel from Becky Albertalli, best-selling author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Imogen may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she's got the World's Greatest Ally title locked down. And when she visits her best friend, Lili, at college who is newly-out, newly-graduated, and newly thriving, with a cool new squad of queer college friends, no one knows that Imogen's a raging hetero - not even Lili's best friend, Tessa.Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with... With an irresistible cast of characters, hugely funny and empathetic writing, and all of Becky Albertalli's trademark warmth and wit, Imogen, Obviously beautifully explores the nuances of sexuality, identity, and friendship - perfect for fans of Alice Oseman and Adam Silvera.
Impossible Creatures- Katharine Rundell (paperback August 24)
£14.99
A boy called Christopher is visiting his reclusive grandfather when he witnesses an avalanche of mythical creatures come tearing down the hill. This is how Christopher learns that his grandfather is the guardian of one of the ways between the non-magical world and a place called the Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures we tell of in myth live and breed and thrive alongside humans. They have been protected from being discovered for thousands of years; now, terrifyingly, the protection has worn thin, and creatures are breaking through.
Then a girl, Mal, appears in Christopher's world. She is in possession of a flying coat, is being pursued by a killer and is herself in pursuit of a baby griffin. Mal, Christopher and the griffin embark on an urgent quest across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, to find the truth - with unimaginable consequences for both their worlds.
Together the two must face the problem of power, and of knowledge, and of what love demands of us. 'A marvellous, imaginative fantasy told with great style and sparkle - a book to race through in a day and keep for a lifetime' - Jacqueline Wilson
Paperback available from end August 2024, pre-order for collection!
