Azari’s life is split in two, but what links them? Running. Sometimes she runs because she wants to, but sometimes she runs because she has no other choice. When Azari and her mother flee to Ireland as refugees, they find themselves in a center for asylum seekers, Direct Provision. Here they must room with a stranger, eat unfamiliar food they don’t the names of, and are forced to answer intrusive questions from the authorities. Azari has secrets, but will she ever be able to stop running?
Ireland
Materials from Ireland
Savage Her Reply
A dark, feminist retelling of the Irish fairytale, “The Children of Lir”, told through the voice of Aife. When Aife marries King Lir, he already has four children from his previous wife. Out of jealousy of a father’s love for his children, Aife turns King Lir’s children into swans for 900 years. What will become of them?
All Shining In The Spring
This child-centred book focuses on SIDS and helps children and families cope with the loss of a baby. Written by Ireland’s first Children’s Laureate.
The Last Rabbit
Off the coast of Ireland, on the island of Hybrasil, lives a Magician and four enchanted rabbit sisters. One by one, the rabbits have been leaving the island, accompanied by a Boy and his boat. When the rabbits leave, they can turn back into girls. The last rabbit, Albie, remains. She doesn’t want to leave, but the island is sinking. Before deciding where she wants to go, Albie visits each of her sisters. Caragh has joined a circus. Isolde is the captain of a pirate ship. And Rory wants to go home to the family’s house in Cork. Through many furry twists and hoppity turns, we learn how one mistake can lead to many consequences, and that forgiveness and family are always within reach.
What We’ll Build
A father and his young daughter gather their tools and begin building a future where love can be set aside until it is needed, enemies become friends, and exploration is key.
Across a Dark and Wild Sea
Columcille was born in a remote corner of Ireland in the year 521. Legend has it that as a child, he was fed a cake filled with the letters of the alphabet, and so learned to love writing. He grew up to become a monk and a scribe a thousand years before the invention of printing, when books had to be copied by hand. There was one book, a beautiful volume of psalms from distant Rome, that Columcille especially loved, and even though its owner refused him permission, Columcille secretly copied it. The copy was discovered, and a dispute arose over who it belonged to: Columcille, who made it, or the owner of the original. So better was the argument that a battle was fought between the two men’s powerful friends; although Columcille’s side won, the victory felt hollow to him. To punish himself, he set out in a tiny boat, vowing to leave Ireland forever.
The Fate Of Fausto
A selfish man sets out to prove that he is the boss of everything he surveys.
A Slip of a Girl
For Anna, the family farm has always been home… But now, things are changing. Anna’s mother has died, and her older siblings have emigrated, leaving Anna and her father to care for a young sister with special needs. And though their family has worked this land for years, they’re in danger of losing it as poor crop yields leave them without money to pay their rent. When a violent encounter with the Lord’s rent collector results in Anna and her father’s arrest, all seems lost. But Anna sees her chance and bolts from the jailhouse. On the run, Anna must rely on her own inner strength to protect her sister–and try to find a way to save her family. Written in verse, A Slip of a Girl is a poignant story of adversity, resilience, and self-determination by a master of historical fiction, painting a haunting history of the tensions in the Irish countryside of the early 1890s, and the aftermath of the Great Famine.
The Storm Keeper’s Island
Fionn Boyle, terrified of the sea, must spend the summer with this older sister, Tara, and their grandfather on Arranmore, an island that has been known to make people disappear, and seems to be restless again.
No Filter
Anyone who follows Emerald on her social media accounts only sees a perfect life-her loving, wealthy family, tight-knit circle of friends, and devoted internet following. But the truth hides behind the scenes of her perfectly framed, filtered photos. Emerald’s family is far from happy, and when she finds her mom unconscious on the bathroom floor, she can no longer keep it a secret.