Showing results by narrator "Harrie Dobby" in All Categories

Nine-year-old Frankie Appleton likes to count gates. One day she hopes to design the perfect gate - a gate to keep the bad things out. Little does she know that the bad things have already got in. Now her mother is dead, and the only other person with a house key has disappeared. Frankie thinks she knows who it is. But first she has to prove it. A delicately brutal exploration of what lies behind closed doors and of the secrets and lies that form the fabric of every family, The Weight of Small Things is as charming as it is chilling.

Periods, sex and online shaming. An extraordinary verse novel from a bold new voice in YA fiction. During astronomy-lover Frankie's first sexual experience with the quiet and lovely Benjamin, she gets her period. It's only blood, they agree. But soon a graphic meme goes viral, turning their fun, intimate afternoon into something disgusting, mortifying and damaging. As the online shaming takes on a horrifying life of its own, Frankie begins to wonder: is her real life over?

Gary Budden's debut collection blends the traditions of weird fiction and landscape writing in an interlinked set of stories from the emotional geographies of London, Kent, Finland and a place known as the Hollow Shore. The Hollow Shore is both fictional and real. It is a place where flowers undermine railway tracks, relationships decay and monsters lurk. It is the shoreline of a receding, retreating England. This is where things fall apart, waste away and fade from memory.

Greta Thunberg, author of No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, has directed the attention of adults and her peers alike to issues crucial to the future of the planet, and the heads of even the youngest children have been filled with questions. Global warming, the greenhouse effect, fossil fuels - what do they all mean? What are biodiversity and sustainable development? Who is studying the changes that are taking place here on Earth? Which sources are reliable? What action can I take?

Sara Robinson – gambling addict, liar, thief – lived a hand-to-mouth existence in a dingy flat in London. Now she's running for her life after the chance to make some easy money went horribly wrong. She has three things which might save her - a passport in someone else’s name, a ticket to Australia and a suitcase full of cash....

Tilly dreams of having a pony of her own. One that only she can ride to stardom. Will her wishes come true when she joins Silver Shoe Farm Stables? Tilly is on holiday in Cornwall and living the dream riding on the beach. But not everyone is as horse-mad as she is. It takes not only Tilly's skills, but a brave and gentle horse called Neptune to save the day.

Alice and Sonny's family yacht is in Egypt, ready to pick up famous actress Estelle Fortune, and take her to London to film her next blockbuster movie. But just before the boat leaves, Alice discovers that Estelle has vanished! In her room is a note, threatening that unless a large amount of money is paid in Malta in a few days' time, Estelle will be thrown overboard. As the Lady Rose sets sail, Alice, Sonny and their new friend Winnie must work out who is threatening Estelle, but can they save her?

Alice and Sonny are excited for their summer trip, sailing on the luxurious yacht the Lady Rose. They're even more excited when they find out the King of England is going to be onboard too! There's also a precious jewel on the boat—a rare opal, kept in a tank protected by a poisonous octopus. Until one morning, Alice discovers that the opal and octopus are both missing. The search is on to retrieve the priceless gem, before the ship reaches its destination, and everyone on board finds themselves in serious trouble.

Scarlett and Theo have one bestselling novel to their names: the psychological thriller they wrote together years ago. None of the books they've written separately have sold anywhere near as well... Now at risk of being dropped by their respective publishers, their agent tells them that working together is the only way to save their careers and sends them off on a writers' retreat in the south of France. It wouldn't be the worst way to spend a summer--except that they've accidentally been booked on a couples retreat instead.

Marie has big dreams. Of course, a rocky road lies ahead. Lion Tamer Memoir: How It All Turned Out precisely captures the reality of human hope, depth, and folly as Marie learns the truth about neurotic attachments and herself.

Catapulted forward four years, Casey and her teammates have landed on a very different Earth from the one they left only a few days before. The Red Eye aliens have taken over, leaving carnage in their wake as they ruthlessly search for the key to intergalactic domination. And they seem to have all the adults – and Casey's younger brother Pete – in their thrall. Determined to free their families and stop the Red Eyes from discovering the final piece in the puzzle, the gamers team up with a rag-tag bunch of teenagers who call themselves the Resistance.

Twelve-year-old Bea lives with her mother Ula and her owl Pip in a cottage on the wild moors. Since the day the dreams disappeared, and an affliction of nightmares began sweeping across the lands, everyone is leaving and their settlement is being abandoned. But when Ula grows sick with the affliction, she won’t leave – and she’s keeping a secret from Bea. Just as Bea begins to despair, the mysterious Night Train steams across the moors, bringing a stranger who offers her the chance to save her mother.

July, 1936. As the Queen Mary sets sail across the Atlantic, Alice can't wait for the summer of adventure that lies ahead. She's excited to explore the huge ship, with its shops, animals and even celebrities on board. But while Alice's sailor father focuses on winning a prestigious race, she witnesses a shocking attack. Alice and her new friend Sonny start to uncover a dark sabotage plot, and as they investigate gold bars, anonymous notes and lost silk gloves, secrets in their own lives come to the surface.

Join princess-knight Grace on her latest epic adventure! Questival is here! It's only the COOLEST and most FANTASTICALLY FUN event in all Wondermere! Grace can't wait to go camping, eat marshmallows and make LOADS of new pixie friends. The only problem is she's stuck looking after Mondo. The GINORMOUS young giant is PANICKING THE PIXIES! Can Grace prove that friendship comes in ALL shapes and sizes?

Nineteen-year-old Ellen is thrilled to have Jack Bryant as a best friend and roommate. She would be even happier to have him as a boyfriend. Ellen doesn't just love Jack, she loves his entire family—so perfect, so wealthy, so envied by the neighbors. Then, one terrible Saturday morning, Ellen and Jack visit his family home—and find six hanging bodies. Little by little, Ellen learns that beneath the family's glossy facade was a seething cauldron of abuse, dysfunction, and toxicity that she couldn't have imagined.

One Girl Began entwines the stories of three women, separated by history but connected by the same building. For Ellen in 1909, it is a box factory where she finds work and a transformative circle of friendship when her family fall on hard times. For Frances in 1984, it is a derelict ruin, where she joins a group of squatters and is drawn into a coercive relationship. And for Amanda in 2020, it is a gentrified conversion, where she finds herself trapped in a tiny flat and grappling with new motherhood as the pandemic looms into view.