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The Things We've Seen
by Agustín Fernández MalloThe Things We've Seen, a novel in three parts, is Agustin Fernandez Mallo's most ambitious and accomplished novel to date. A writer travels to the small, uninhabited island of San Simon, used as a Franquist concentration camp during the Spanish Civil War. There, he witnesses events which impel him on a journey across several continents, chasing the phantoms of nameless people devastated by violence. In the second part we meet Kurt Montana, the fourth astronaut who secretly accompanied Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on their mythical first voyage to the moon. Now living in Miami, an ageing Kurt revisits the important chapters of his life, from serving in the Vietnam War to his memory of seeing earth from space. In the final section, a woman embarks on a walking tour of the Normandy coast with the goal of re-enacting, step by step, the memory of another trip taken years before. On her journey along the rugged coastline, she comes across thousands of refugees newly arrived on Europe's shores. Described as the novel David Lynch and W. G. Sebald might have written had they joined forces to explore the B-side of reality, The Things We've Seen is a remarkable novel for our disjointed times.
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (A Bronte Mettlestone Adventure #1)
by Jaclyn Moriarty'Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket' – a Book of the Year in the i News'A whirligig of adventure' – The Telegraph_______________Bronte Mettlestone is ten years old when her parents are killed by pirates.This does not bother her much: her parents ran away to have adventures when she was a baby. She has been raised by her Aunt Isabelle, with assistance from the Butler, and has spent a pleasant childhood of afternoon teas and riding lessons. Now, however, her parents have left detailed instructions for Bronte in their will. (Instructions that, annoyingly, have been reinforced with faery cross-stitch, which means that if she doesn't complete them, terrible things could happen) She must travel the kingdoms alone, delivering gifts to ten other aunts: a farmer aunt who owns an orange orchard, a veterinarian aunt who specializes in dragon care, a pair of aunts who captain a cruise ship, and a former rock star aunt who is now the reigning monarch of a small kingdom.But as she travels from aunt to aunt, Bronte suspects there might be more to this journey than the simple delivery of treasure; though little does she suspect that she will have to play such a big part in the extraordinary events that follow.Fans will also love book II in the series:9781913101107 The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars
The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars (A Bronte Mettlestone Adventure #2)
by Jaclyn MoriartyThe fantastic followup to The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone.The town of Spindrift is frequented by pirates, Shadow Mages and charlatans. It's also home to the Orphanage School, where Finlay lives with Glim, Taya and Eli. Just outside town is the painfully posh Brathelthwaite Boarding School, home to Honey Bee, Hamish and Victor, Duke of Ainsley. When the two schools compete at the Spindrift Tournament, stakes are high, tensions are higher, and some people are out to win at any cost. Before long, the orphans and the boarding school are in an all-out war.Then Whispering Wars break out, and Spindrift is thrust onto the front lines. Children are being stolen, Witches, Sirens and a deadly magical flu invade the town, and all attempts to fight back are met with defeat.Finlay, Honey Bee and their friends must join forces to outwit the encroaching forces of darkness, rescue the stolen children, and turn the tide of the war. But how can one bickering troupe outwit the insidious power of the Whisperers? And who are the two mysterious figures watching them from the shadows?From the award-winning Jaclyn Moriarty comes a spellbinding tale of unlikely friendship, unexpected magic and competitive athletics.
Knight Sir Louis and the Dreadful Damsel (Knight Sir Louis #1)
by The Brothers McLeodKnight Sir Louis is the champion knight at Castle Sideways, and the bravest of all knights in all lands. Braver than Knight Sir Colin in the bogs of Wattasmel. Braver than Knight Sir Barbara in the mountains of Itso-Hy. Even braver than Knight Sir Gary from the soggy lands of Tippinitdown.But Louis is modest. He says he’s not brave, but just good at staying calm when everyone else is going completely bonkers.Along with his trusty mechanical steed, Clunkalot, and mystical sword, Knight Sir Louis and his friends are sent to do battle with the Damsel of Distresse who is terrorising the land, stealing coins of gold, silver and chocolate. But soon he finds himself dealing with strong enchantments, powerful magic, and evil potatoes… all in a normal day for this brave knight. (Just don’t mention wasps.)_________________'Knight Sir Louis is an epic non-epic saga' – Stewart Lee, comedian'A really funny book ... will appeal to anyone who likes adventures and laughing' – Philip Reeve
Maggie Blue and the Dark World: Shortlisted for the 2021 COSTA Children's Book Award (Maggie Blue #1)
by Anna GoodallSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 COSTA CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARDSUNDAY TIMES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK 'A sophisticated magical tale, awash in sinister villains and perplexing plights ... bursting with invention' – Financial Times 'Dreamy and odd, yet razor sharp and terrifying all rolled into one ... The Neverending Story and Spirited Away and Coraline all rolled into one amazing story. If you have fans of manga, fans of headstrong, flawed characters, witty and brave sidekicks and truly gut-wrenching monsters then this is the one for you. I can't recommend it enough.' – Lucas Maxwell, School Librarian of the Year'The story is every bit as bizarre, brilliant, fantastical and exciting as I'd hoped. Definitely one to watch out for' – Kiran Millwood Hargrave__________________________A thrilling tale of friendship and courage - Maggie Blue, strongwilled and isolated, sees her enemy from school taken through a window to a parallel world by one of their teachers and determines to follow, whatever the cost. With the help of irascible cat, Hoagy, they discover a world where happiness is being stolen - and they must do everything they can not to be caught up in its web of destruction.Maggie Blue is an outsider, both at home and at school. She lives with her eccentric aunt Esme, and has no friends other than the irascible Hoagy, a stray cat who can talk to her. When Magge sees Ida, her foe from school, being taken through a window to another world by one of their teachers who has transformed into a wolf, she is determined to save her, whatever the cost. But the dark world is full of danger, a place where happiness is valued above all else, and Maggie discovers that her role is far more important than anyone could have guessed. A thrilling and gripping tale of friendship, courage and the power of being yourself.
Ghost Scouts: Hullabaloo at Camp Croak! (Ghost Scouts #2)
by Taylor Dolan'In a booky world where many publishers are playing it solid and safe, Taylor Dolan is a breath of fresh air. I would give this series five stars out of five and say to you, go and crack open your kid's head (in a good way) and give the contents a stir. Y'all will thank me for it.' – SNORT! Blog______________It's Visitor's Weekend at Camp Croak and Lexie Wilde and her band of Ghost Scout friends are looking forward to seeing their families. But when Grams doesn't appear, and instead someone claiming to be Lexie's mother arrives, Lexie doesn't know what to think. And when a Wish Wind suddenly flies through camp, causing chaos and mayhem, the scouts must use their best skills and badges to unravel the chaos that ensues. It most certainly is a hullabaloo at Camp Croak! GHOST SCOUTS UNITE! Raise your paws and show some claws!
Will Jakeman's Marvellous Mechanimals (Will Jakeman's Marvellous Mechanimals #1)
by Nick WardWill Jakeman is an extraordinary inventor, perhaps the best there has ever been! People come from far and wide to buy his 'Mechanimals' - incredible machines that come to life and perform all sorts of amazing tasks. For example, Steel-Skull the gorilla, perfect for dealing with bullies, and The Armoured Armadillo, a magnificent machine that can barge through most obstacles and is even armed with a gunge gun ... Learn all about Will Jakeman's childhood, the terrible fate of his parents, and discover whether the evil Ida Gripp ever gets her hands on his marvellous mechanimals ...
The Stolen Prince Of Cloudburst (A\bronte Mettlestone Adventure Ser.)
by Jaclyn MoriartyEsther Mettlestone-Staranise (cousin to Bronte) is looking forward to another year at Katherine Valley Boarding School. But she arrives to find a number of strange and unsettling changes. Her new teacher is rumoured to be an Ogre. The mountains surrounding the school - usually a delight of glaciers, teashops, lakes and Faeries - are now crowded with wicked Shadow Mages. Meanwhile, on the other side of the kingdom, the little Prince of Cloudburst who was stolen from the seashore by a Water Sprite, has found his way home. The King and Queen are planning the biggest party in their Kingdom's history to welcome him.As secrets and dangers escalate, Esther - who is not talented like her sisters, nor an adventurer like her cousin - must find answers to several puzzles. Why is her teacher behaving so oddly? Which of Esther's classmates is the Spellbinder? And could the Stolen Prince of Cloudburst be connected in some way…?Perhaps Esther is more talented than she thinks as she must battle to save her school, her family, and possibly her whole world… Esther Mettlestone-Staranise (cousin to Bronte) is looking forward to another year at Katherine Valley Boarding School. But she arrives to find a number of strange and unsettling changes. Her new teacher is rumoured to be an Ogre. The mountains surrounding the school - usually a delight of glaciers, teashops, lakes and Faeries - are now crowded with wicked Shadow Mages.
Ghost Scouts: Chaos at Camp Croak! (Ghost Scouts #3)
by Taylor DolanLexie and her friends (who include an English zombie called Mary, a very quiet ghost called Boo and a fierce skeleton called Bebe) are super excited about Halloween this year - after all, where better to spend it than at Camp Croak, spookiest holiday camp EVER? And the arrival of two new Ghost Scouts is the icing on the cake - until Lexie accepts a dare from one of them, and a rogue spell is cast ... does this mean the end of Halloween? And could it be the evil Euphemia Vile behind the chaos that ensues? With a lot of runny noses, the Ghost Scouts show that they can again band together and enjoy the party!
The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere (A\bronte Mettlestone Adventure Ser.)
by Jaclyn MoriartyOscar is just skipping school and hanging out at the local skatepark when he suddenly finds himself transported into a world very different to his. And this is his own account of his adventures from Monday to Friday last week. In the company of Bronte Mettlestone, Esther, Imogen and Alejandro, ordinary Oscar finds himself on a quest to locate nine separate pieces of a key, held by nine separate people, in order to unlock a complicated spell that had trapped the Elven city of Dun-sorey-lo-vay-lo-hey. If they don't succeed in their quest, on Friday at noon the spell becomes permanent, the Elves will be crushed to death and Oscar will be trapped in this magical world forever. (The account, it should be noted, has been written at the request of Oscar's school's Deputy Head Teacher. She wants to know exactly what Oscar considered more important than coming to school last week.)
Jakeman's Marvellous Mechanimals and the Space Pirates (Will Jakeman's Marvellous Mechanimals Ser.)
by Nick WardWill Jakeman is the inventor of the world-famous Marvellous Mechanimals – brilliant mechanical animals that defend people from all the dangerous creatures that inhabited their home. At the ripe old age of 99 and three quarters, Will decides he must try to discover the whereabouts of Ureker, the lost planet of his birth invaded by Reptoids, a gang of merciless Space Pirates, when he was still a little baby. Will builds a giant telescope that can see far out into the cosmos - but what he doesn't realise is that his fiddling with the fabric of the cosmos causes a massive space-quake, and a ten-year-old boy called Charlie Small is catapulted through the hole and lands near Will’s factory of inventions. The two embark on a series of adventures trying to get Charlie home - will they succeed or will they be left dangling in space forever?
Maggie Blue and the White Crow (Maggie Blue Ser.)
by Anna GoodallMaggie Blue is adjusting to a quieter life, back living with her aunt Esme and hanging out with friends Ida and Will as well as her beloved Hoagy the cat. She tries to forget about the events of the previous year - but she's being watched, and one day a small white bird appears. Where has the white crow come from, and why won't it leave Maggie alone? Little does she know that the Dark World is waiting for her to return... and when Cynthia her mum is kidnapped and taken there, Maggie only has no choice but to go back. With the help of Hoagy and some new friends by her side, Maggie must go back to the place that she never wished to see again, if she's ever to see her mum - or gain control of her own life - again.
100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Café
by Julian SedgwickAbducted by spirits from his village, lost boy Akira must make the long journey in north Japan to find his family and save his young sister, before time runs out. Voyaging deeper and deeper into a Japan ‘between the worlds’, Akira and his companions encounter a host of yokai monsters and famous ghosts, discovering a sometimes comical and sometimes terrifying world of interlinked and ghostly short stories along the way.
Ghost Scouts: Mayhem at Camp Croak! (Ghost Scouts Ser.)
by Taylor DolanThe fourth in this hilarious, ghoulish story of Lexie Wilde and her ghost scout pals. Lexie Wild is having a rollicking time at Camp Croak with her ghoulish pals. That is until the smarmy scouts from Happy Hollow issue a deadly ancient challenge. If the Ghost Scouts lose, their beloved camp will be destroyed... Lexie must summon all her courage if the Ghost Scouts are to defeat the wicked Euphemia Vile and her crew. But watch out! The malicious whispering snakes are loose! Maybe working together is the answer...
Crater Lake
by Jennifer KillickThe Times Children's Book of the WeekIt could be the mysterious bloodstained man who tries to stop their coach, or the fact no one seems to be around at the brand-new activity centre when Lance and the rest of his class arrive for the Year 6 school trip, but something is definitely not right at Crater Lake! What follows is a fight for survival that sees five pupils band together to save their classmates from an alien fate far worse than death. But whatever happens, they must Never, Ever fall asleep!
The Ten Riddles of Eartha Quicksmith
by Loris OwenWhen puzzle-loving Kip Bramley receives a cryptic invitation, delivered by a beetle-shaped drone that appears to be breathing, he has no idea that his world is about to change forever.Very soon he finds himself at Quicksmiths College of Strange Energy, hunting for riddles set 400 years earlier by a mysterious genius. But this isn't any ordinary treasure hunt: as the clock counts down, Kip will need all the help he can get from his loyal new friends and his faithful pet flying squirrel, Pinky. With danger mounting, it seems much more is at stake for Kip and his family than he could ever have imagined.Welcome to the dazzling new world of Quicksmiths, where you will encounter Strange Energy, the Mowl, Wormholes, Dark Forces and the tantalising riddle of the Ark of Ideas.A thrilling debut, full of danger, magic and friendship. First in the Quicksmiths series.
Monster Max and the Bobble Hat of Forgetting: and the Bobble Hat of Forgetting
by Robin BennettThis is Max. Everything normal here. Nothing weird about Max ... until he burps.When Max burps he becomes a huge monster, with teeth like swords, who can jump over buildings, roar and eat whole dustbins. It’s great being a monster and saving people, his aim ‘to protect and do good stuff’, unless he sneezes when he didn’t mean to, changes back, and finds himself far from home in just his pants.But something starts causing a lot of damage in their quiet suburb, and it isn’t Max. His nemesis, Peregrine, a boy his age, is relentlessly on the trail of this monster, and has invented his POOP (Portable Operating Omni Prison) machine to trap it. Max has to catch the real culprit, before Peregrine can catch him...An irresistible mix of slapstick comedy and action adventure, packed full of chases, inventions, battles and bum jokes. First in a series for 7-9s.‘Bonkers from start to finish. And I mean that in a GOOD way’ - Philip Ardagh
The Midnight Swan (The Clockwork Crow)
by Catherine FisherWith an invisible girl, a parliament of owls and a pen that writes by itself, the journey to the Garden of the Midnight Swan might be Seren's most dangerous adventure yet. In this third book of the award-winning The Clockwork Crow series, Seren and Tomos must try to help the Crow find the way back to his human form. But why is Captain Jones enquiring about Seren's past? How have the sinister Fair Family gate-crashed the Midsummer Ball, and what is the one desire of the mysterious Midnight Swan?
The Monster Spotter's Handbook: Volume 1: Monster Soup (The Monster Spotter's Handbook #1)
by Matt CherryWhen the mysterious Monster Spotter’s Handbook is passed down to eleven-year-old Edwin Spook, a brain-boggling world of monsters is opened before him.
The Song That Sings Us
by Nicola DaviesWhen animals talk, it’s time humans listened: Harlon has been raised to protect her younger siblings, twins Ash and Xeno, and their outlawed power of communicating with animals. But when the sinister Automators attack their mountain home they must flee for their lives. A stunning environmental epic with cover and chapter illustrations by award-winning illustrator Jackie Morris.
Grace-Ella: Pixie Pandemonium (Grace-Ella #3)
by Sharon Marie JonesWhen Buddy the pixie smuggles himself into her backpack after Witch Camp, Grace-Ella lets him stay, even though Mr Whiskins tells her pixies are trouble. She takes him to school – but he soon escapes and causes all kinds of mischief. It’s all fun, until searching for Buddy, Grace-Ella sees someone stealing the school’s charity fund. Will anyone believe her? With her best friends, a naughty pixie and of course Mr Whiskins by her side, can Grace-Ella save the School Fair?
The Wanderer
by Josie WilliamsNothing can stand in the way of love, not even death. Fifteen-year-old Maggie is in foster care following the death of her mother and her grandmother's slip into dementia. When Ryder saves her life, she can't help but fall in love with him. The only problem is that he has been dead for five years... Unsentimental, passionate and immensely moving, The Wanderer takes a fresh look at first love and growing up.
The Red Gloves and Other Stories
by Catherine FisherGripping stories of myth, folklore and magic:Two step-brothers share one nightmare; red gloves that reach for your throat; a changing room where a stranger asks to swap lives with you; and a ghost in the rain... An expert storyteller weaves nine spells. Fear mixed with wit, heart and magic.
Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost
by Robin BennettMax is an ordinary boy, except that he can turn into a monster when he burps...Max and Peregrine are volunteering at an old people’s home, when strange things start to happen. One resident is walking on the ceiling, one is riding their wheelchair through walls, and Reggie says his marmalade is haunted (no one listens).Can Max and his friends work out what’s happening to protect his family and the local community? Things aren’t looking good: the Marmalade Ghost is turning into a sticky Godzilla, Max falls out with his (joint) best friend, and then just when it can’t get any worse, someone kidnaps Max’s cat, Frankenstein...Time to ‘Protect and Do Good Stuff!’
The Myriad Mysteries of Eartha Quicksmith (Quicksmiths #2)
by Loris OwenIt's Kip's second term at Quicksmith's College of Strange Energy and he and the rest of Team Glowflyer seem to be no nearer to unlocking the secrets of The Ark of Ideas set by Renaissance genius Eartha Quicksmith.But when an accident separates the four friends, and plunges Kip and Timmi on a rollercoaster journey through time and space, they must defeat a dangerous enemy and unravel the mysteries of the Myriads if they are ever to get home again.