Left under his older brother’s care when his mother dies in childbirth, Midget, a physically challenged boy, is viciously abused by his brother throughout his first fifteen years, and Midget’s only friend is an elderly boat builder.
England (UK)
Storm Catchers
The kidnap shocks the whole family. Ella has been snatched away from the house in the middle of a storm. Her brother Fin will never forgive himself for leaving her on her own. And now Sam, their little brother, has gone wandering on the cliff to “catch the storm” as it blows out to sea. As the kidnapper’s plans unfold, all the members of the family are forced to confront their deepest, darkest secrets. Fin comes to realize that Ella is not the only victim and that the real villain may be closer to home than anyone thought. A new storm is breaking on the horizon. And it’s going to change everything….
The Snog Log
Robbie and his friends have come up with a contest. It’s kind of likea read-a-thon . . . or a telathon . . . except, it’s a snogathon. In otherwords, a kissing contest. And it’s top secret. None of the girls in school know–which is especially tricky, since they’re all in it. What’s also tricky are the rules and points and charts involved. Robbie wants to win by snogging Mel, the class ice maiden, who is high up on the points scale. But Mel has other ideas. This is going to be a weirder and wilder challenge than anyone expected!
Stopping for a Spell
In three magical stories, Chair Person finds being a chair easier than being a person, Angus Flint is a visitor who refuses to leave, and four grannies come to care for Emily and Erg.
Dog Friday
Meeting the four Robinson children next door, 10-year-old Robin Brogan joins in the merry mayhem that always accompanies the Robinsons and rescues an abandoned dog that he hopes he will be able to adopt.
The Carbon Diaries, 2015
It’s the year 2015, a time when global warming has begun to ravage the environment. In response, the United Kingdom becomes the first country to mandate carbon rationing–a well-intentioned plan that goes tragically awry. This story of one girl’s attempt to stay grounded in a world where disaster has become the norm is told in short diary entries.
Galax-Arena
Kidnapped from a train station and taken to the distant planet of Galax-Arena, Joella, Peter, and Liane are forced to perform dangerous tasks as slaves to the alien Vexa, until Joella deduces that they are still on Earth.
The Knife Of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One (Chaos Walking)
A dystopian thriller follows a boy and girl on the run from a town where all thoughts can be heard — and the passage to manhood embodies a horrible secret.Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.
The Kin
It is two hundred thousand years ago. A small group of children are cut off from their Kin, the Moonhawks, when they are driven from their Good Place by violent strangers. While searching for a new Good Place, they face the parched desert, an active volcano, a canyon flood, man-eating lions, and other Kins they’ve never seen before. These young Moonhawks are brave, clever, and warmhearted, and all three traits are crucial to their survival. Told from four points-of-view, with tales of the Kins’ creation interspersed throughout, this epic novel humanizes early man and illuminates the beginning of language, the development of skills, and the organization of society. Winner of a Printz Honor for The Ropemaker, Peter Dickinson has won most of the major British writing awards (some of them twice). With The Kin, he more than lives up to his honored reputation.
Dancing through the Shadows
Into the pattern of Ellen’s days, filled with dance practice and vacation plans, comes an unwelcome surprise: her mother has breast cancer. Suddenly her family’s life hinges on endless rounds of hospital visits and support groups, cancer nurses and chemotherapy. Ellen learns to cope with her mother’s illness as she helps uncover an ancient secret that holds special meaning for her. As they work and learn together, her friends and teachers guide her through her own healing process shaped by life-giving water and life-affirming dance. In Dancing Through the Shadows, Theresa Tomlinson describes a family faced with a devastating crisis.