Simon Vance
41) The ash house
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"When eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster. The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name....
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"Florence, Italy, 1944: The city is under heavy Nazi occupation, but for thirteen-year-old Paolo, war is a long and boring wait. Too young to fight for the resistance, yet desperate for action and adventure, he sneaks out each night to ride his bicycle along the darkened city streets. For Paolo, the risk is thrilling. But when he is accosted by Partisans--covert members of the anti-Nazi movement--thrilling quickly becomes dangerous as Paolo and his...
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An internationally bestselling comic novel in which a man—with the help of a bunny—suddenly realizes what’s important in life
“Escapism at its best . . . Just pure fun.” —NPR.org
“Which of us has not had that wonderfully seditious idea: to play hooky for a while from life as we know it?” With these words from his foreword, Pico Iyer puts his finger on the exhilaratingly anarchic...
“Escapism at its best . . . Just pure fun.” —NPR.org
“Which of us has not had that wonderfully seditious idea: to play hooky for a while from life as we know it?” With these words from his foreword, Pico Iyer puts his finger on the exhilaratingly anarchic...
44) Madame Bovary
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The publication in 1857 of Madame Bovary, with its vivid depictions of sex and adultery, incited a backlash of immorality charges. The novel tells the story of Emma Bovary, a doctor's wife bored and unfulfilled by marriage and motherhood. She embarks upon a series of affairs in search of passion and excitement, but is unable to achieve the splendid life for which she yearns. Instead, she finds herself trapped in a downward spiral that inexorably leads...
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Detective Patrik Hedstrom is no stranger to tragedy. A murder case concerning Fjällbacka's dead financial director, Mats Sverin, is a grim but useful distraction from his recent family misfortunes. It seems Sverin was a man who everybody liked yet nobody really knew--a man with something to hide...His high school sweetheart, Nathalie, has just returned to Fjallbacka with her five-year-old son--perhaps can she shed some light on who Sverin really...
46) The hidden child
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After finding a Nazi medal among her late mother's belongings, crime writer Erica Falck meets with an old friend of her mother's, who is suddenly and violently murdered two days later, and Erica and her husband Detective Patrik Hedström must turn to family wartime diaries for clues.
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Andrew's day-to-day is a little grim, searching for next of kin for those who die alone. Thankfully, he has a loving family waiting for him when he gets home, to help wash the day's cares away. At least, that's what his coworkers believe. Andrew didn't mean for the misunderstanding to happen, yet he's become trapped in his own white lie. The fantasy of his wife and two kids has become a pleasant escape from his lonely one bedroom with only his Ella...
50) Dead man's chest
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Calling all young pirates! Jack Sparrow and his friends are back and ready for another adventure. But this time, it looks like they might be in over their heads. In Dead Man's Chest, aspiring pirates will get a chance to re-live the action of the movie.
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"He's been cursed, left for dead, and deposited at the world's end. Now the infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow sets sail on stranger tides for his most dangerous voyage yet -- to the fabled Fountain of Youth. On this doomed quest, Jack will meet a lost lov -- the gorgeous but mysterious pirate Angelica -- and be held prisoner on the horrifying Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship captained by the evil and dreaded Blackbeard! Now, Jack must avoid terrifying...
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"Pirate afficionados of all ages alike will dive into this entertaining retelling of the continuing, bone-chilling adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann. The battle for control of the seas heats up in the third Pirates of the Caribbean film."--
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"Young Philip Pirrip, nicknamed Pip, is meant to become an apprentice for his brother-in-law, a poor blacksmith. But his destiny changes upon meeting three unusual people: an escaped convict, a tragic woman, and a captivating young girl. Pip's life is altered in an instant when a secret benefactor gives him a large sum of money. Pip has "great expectations" for his new life as successful and wealthy life as a young gentleman. Has his life actually...
55) A spy by nature
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"Tautly written, cleverly plotted...it reminded me strongly of the early books of John le Carré" — Robert Harris, author of The Ghost and Fatherland.
"Charles Cumming is a man put on earth to perpetuate the spy thriller." —The Daily Telegraph
Alec Milius, a recent graduate of the London School of Economics, is young, smart, and a bit of a slacker, stuck in a shady job and suffering from a lack of
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"Every sidekick has a story. When a book-loving goblin breaks the rules, he inadvertently becomes the sidekick to a heroic young prince. As they set out to save their kingdom from an evil sorcerer and his minions, no one can be trusted, neither human nor goblin, and the world as they know it will never be the same. The Prince and the Goblin is a chapter book in which a goblin who loves to read just may save the world."--
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This swashbuckling epic chronicles the adventures of d'Artagnan, a brash young man from the countryside who journeys to Paris in 1625 hoping to become a musketeer and guard to King Louis XIII. Before long he finds treachery and court intrigue -- and also three boon companions: the daring swordsmen Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Together they strive heroically to defend the honor of their queen against the powerful Cardinal Richelieu and the seductive...
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND LOS ANGELES TIMES
“A rich, layered epic that probes the meaning of identity and homeland— a literary territory that is as resonant now, in our globalized culture, as it was when the sun never set on the British Empire.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
Set in Burma during the...
“A rich, layered epic that probes the meaning of identity and homeland— a literary territory that is as resonant now, in our globalized culture, as it was when the sun never set on the British Empire.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
Set in Burma during the...