A psychological drama of cat and mouse, A Ladder to the Sky shows how easy it is to achieve the world if you are prepared to sacrifice your soul.
If you look hard enough, you can find stories pretty much anywhere. They don’t even have to be your own. Or so would-be writer Maurice Swift decides very early on in his career.
A chance encounter in a Berlin hotel with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann gives him an opportunity to ingratiate himself with someone more powerful than him. For Erich is lonely, and he has a story to tell. Whether or not he should do so is another matter entirely.
Once Maurice has made his name, he sets off in pursuit of other people’s stories. He doesn’t care where he finds them – or to whom they belong – as long as they help him rise to the top.
Stories will make him famous but they will also make him beg, borrow and steal. They may even make him do worse. Views: 34
Nikki Maxwell's favorite fairy tales get dork-tastic twists in the eighth book of the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series!After a bump on the head in gym class on April Fool's Day, Nikki has a wild dream in which she, her BFFs Chloe and Zoey, her crush Brandon, and mean girl Mackenzie all end up playing the roles of some familiar classic fairy tale characters. Of course, the stories don't go quite as expected—because they each have a very special Dork Diaries spin! The Dork Diaries series has more than 13 million copies in print worldwide! Views: 34
Goosebumps meets The Last Kids on Earth in the second action-packed adventure in a hilariously scary series about a secret society of monster-bashing babysitters."This shining gem in the campy monster drama genre is a step up from R.L. Stine's Goosebumps." —School Library JournalKelly's been a celebrity ever since she defeated the Boogeyman and his army of nightmares on Halloween. But now all the other monsters want revenge.And if Kelly's going to survive Babysitter Bootcamp, she'll have to face the Spider Queen, whose wicked web turns her parents, BFF, and middle-school teachers into mindless minions. All in a night's work! Views: 34
In this novel about dissidence and exile, a man is confronted with the decision to either desert his family or let his homeland be ravagedWhen Wu I-wan starts taking an interest in revolution, trouble follows: Winding up in prison, he becomes friends with fellow dissident En-lan. Later, his name is put on a death list and he's shipped off to Japan. Thankfully, his father, a wealthy Shanghai banker, has made arrangements for his exile, putting him in touch with a business associate named Mr. Muraki. Absorbed in his new life, I-wan falls in love with Mr. Muraki's daughter, and must prove he is worthy of her hand. As news spreads of what the Japanese army is doing back in China, I-wan realizes he must go back and fight for the country that banished him. The Patriot is an engrossing story of revolution, love, and reluctantly divided loyalties. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author's estate. Views: 34
Hold on to your fedoras, Gecko fans: Chet and Natalie have at last met their sleuthing match. That's right—a new detective has arrived at Emerson Hicky Elementary. His name's Bland. James Bland.Bland immediately cracks a case that has baffled Chet and Natalie. Do our favorite PIs get jealous? You'd better believe it! And if this wasn't bad enough, when Bland suddenly goes missing, the blame falls squarely on Chet. The only way for our hero to clear his name is to rescue his tubby rival. It's either that or face a stint behind bars—and we're not talking the jungle gym.This twelfth installment in Bruce Hale's Chet Gecko series is full of the hilarious characters, witty one-liners, and fast-paced mystery that have made Chet a favorite with middle grade readers. Views: 34
Fatty's disguises are better than ever. No one recognises him as a balloon seller, or as the old man in the village. Burglaries are going on and the police are baffled. It's a new mystery for the Five Find-Outers and Dog! Views: 34
Claire and Luna may be witches, but there's no easy spell to stop a wedding!Though identical on the outside, ten-year-old twins Claire and Luna Bundkin are as different on the inside as peaches and peanut butter. Claire is mischievous and Luna is a dreamer, but they do share a favorite hobby: witchcraft. Whether it's making breakfast or washing dishes, there's nothing a five-star witch can't accomplish with a wave of her pinkie finger. But there are two strict rules: Don't tell Mom, and don't try any spells without Grandytheir magical grandmotherwatching. When Claire and Luna's father announces that he's getting remarried to a loudmouthed Texas woman named Fluffy, the twins know they need to do something to stop the wedding. Fluffy wouldn't be a bad stepmother, but Claire and Luna know that she would lure their father to far-away Houston. A spell might be the only way to save their Dad, and they'll try anything. Even if magic usually lands them in a pot of trouble. This ebook... Views: 34
On February 14, 1989, Valentine’s Day, Salman Rushdie was telephoned by a BBC journalist and told that he had been “sentenced to death” by the Ayatollah Khomeini. For the first time he heard the word fatwa. His crime? To have written a novel called The Satanic Verses, which was accused of being “against Islam, the Prophet and the Quran.” So begins the extraordinary story of how a writer was forced underground, moving from house to house, with the constant presence of an armed police protection team. He was asked to choose an alias that the police could call him by. He thought of writers he loved and combinations of their names; then it came to him: Conrad and Chekhov—Joseph Anton. How do a writer and his family live with the threat of murder for more than nine years? How does he go on working? How does he fall in and out of love? How does despair shape his thoughts and actions, how and why does he stumble, how does he learn to fight back? In this remarkable memoir Rushdie tells that story for the first time; the story of one of the crucial battles, in our time, for freedom of speech. He talks about the sometimes grim, sometimes comic realities of living with armed policemen, and of the close bonds he formed with his protectors; of his struggle for support and understanding from governments, intelligence chiefs, publishers, journalists, and fellow writers; and of how he regained his freedom. It is a book of exceptional frankness and honesty, compelling, provocative, moving, and of vital importance. Because what happened to Salman Rushdie was the first act of a drama that is still unfolding somewhere in the world every day.Praise for Salman Rushdie “In Salman Rushdie . . . India has produced a glittering novelist—one with startling imaginative and intellectual resources, a master of perpetual storytelling.”—The New Yorker “Salman Rushdie has earned the right to be called one of our great storytellers.”—The Observer “Our most exhilaratingly inventive prose stylist, a writer of breathtaking originality.”—Financial Times Views: 34
Cassie's family is going on vacation with people she doesn't know and she's feeling a little shy. But when a West Highland terrier magically appears in her house, her nerves are instantly calmed. Views: 34
It was the day when everything stopped... At quarter past two on a hot summer afternoon, Anna's beautiful, headstrong older sister Rose disappears. And Anna was the last person to see her. Their parents, Rose's friends, the police – no-one can find where Rose has gone or who might have taken her.Twenty years later, Rose is still missing. Anna is the only one who still believes she might be alive, and unable to take control of her own life while her sister's disappearance remains unsolved, she begins to hunt for the truth herself. But the search for Rose will uncover secrets she is not prepared for... The compelling novel from the Costa Award-winning author.Originally published in hardback as Quarter Past Two on a Wednesday Afternoon Views: 34
