Millie’s is a small family — just a mother, a father, a small brother, Hamish, and her. Both her parents had been orphaned (and were introduced in Watts’ novel Flower), but the family they created was tight-knit and loving. When Millie’s mother announces that she is pregnant, it seems life is perfect. They have each other, and, although the Great Depression has brought hard times to their small town, Millie’s father’s services as a blacksmith are still in demand. But when her mother dies, suddenly everything changes. Her father retreats into depression and Millie, only thirteen, finds herself responsible for a newborn baby. When a stranger appears and threatens the remnants of the family even further, Millie musters courage she never dreamed she had to rebuild the home that means so much to her.Irene N. Watts’ memorable story is as complex and as comforting as family life itself.
Family
Knife Edge
Persephone Hadley is six months pregnant with a mixed-race baby.In their society this fact alone will threaten the child’s life every day. To make matters worse, the baby’s father, Callum, is dead. He was hanged for terrorism months ago, but his presence still torments Sephy. And she’s not alone. Callum’s brother, Jude, blames Sephy for the death, and thirsts for revenge in the form of her life. Obviously, Sephy is not fond of Jude, but when his actions take him to the brink of disaster, his life poised on a knife edge.
Younguncle Comes to Town
In a small town in northern India, three siblings await their father’s youngest brother, Younguncle, who is said to be somewhat eccentric.
Something Invisible
With a new baby sister and a stepfather, the life of eleven-year-old Jake is full of change, but nothing prepares him for his relationship with an enigmatic girl, her large family, and the tragedy that strikes them all.
Millie and the Right Heron
Millie begins high school in a new town. For the first time she can remember, her mother has a proper job teaching art. Millie has a crush on a boy called Rowan, an enemy called Tayla and three good friends-Sarah, Helen and Rachel. Weird but lovable Millie discovers her passion for the environment, photography and friendships. Millie and the Night Heron explores the changing concept of family in contemporary life through the eyes of Millie, a sharply observant chronicler.
In the Name Of God
Determined to follow the laws set down in the Qur’an, 17-year-old Nadia becomes involved in a violent revolutionary movement aimed at supporting Muslim rule in Syria and opposing the Western politics and materialism that increasingly affect her family.
Broken Moon
When her little brother is kidnapped and taken from Pakistan to race camels in the desert, eighteen-year-old Nadira overcomes her own past abuse and, dressed as a boy and armed with knowledge of the powerful storytelling of the legendary Scheherazade, is determined to find and rescue him.
Breakfast At Sadie’s
When 13-year-old Sadie finds her mother’s note saying she has to “get away for awhile,” Sadie is left to manage a bed and breakfast in the Welsh countryside by herself, while at the same time trying to cover her mother’s absence.
Frozen Billy
Left in the care of an n’er-do-well uncle, siblings Clarrie and Will devise an elaborate plan involving ventriloquist’s dolls, costumes, and forged boarding passes to reunite their separated family.
Harriet Bean And The League Of Cheats
Harriet helps her detective aunts, Thessalonika and Japonica, investigate cheating at the racetrack by disguising herself as a jockey.