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Showing posts from July, 2018

Misfits

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By: Charli Howard Location: FIC HOW Genre: Bio, Mental health, feminism "Standing out is so much better than fitting in". This topic sits close to home for me, I have watched a loved niece be devoured by this mental health disease, it truely was a heart breaking journey. I am ever thankful for her courage, the courage of her parents and brother and those who stood by and cheered them all on with unconditional love and patience. Next year she marries a good man, last year she graduated as a nurse- she is a survivor, a woman of great courage, one whom I respect. This story is not hers, but it is like hers.... So, how did a slightly bonkers misfit with anorexia, bulimia and anxiety decide to solve their problems? I became a model. As you do. Charli Howard had always wanted to be normal - but for some reason, she couldn't quite find out how to do it. As a teenager, she felt like the only one who struggled with anxiety and self-esteem issues when everyone around her

The Book of Swords

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By: Edited by Gardner Dozois Location: FIC DOZ Genre: Fantasy Short Stories The best sword fight ever- has to be The Princess Bride. INIGO You are wonderful! MAN IN BLACK Thank you -- I've worked hard to become so. INIGO I admit it -- you are better than I am. MAN IN BLACK Then why are you smiling? INIGO Because I know something you don't know. MAN IN BLACK And what is that? INIGO I am not left-handed.   An epic collection of fantasy tales in the grand tradition, including a never-before-published A Song of Ice and Fire story by George R.R. Martin and an introduction by Gardner Dozois. Fantasy fiction has produced some of the most unforgettable heroes ever co

Unmasked

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By: Turia Pitt Location: NF 920 PIT Genre: Biography- triumph over adversity   A young adult edition of Turia Pitt's bestselling book Unmasked that is unflinchingly honest and completely inspirational.    “ As difficult as the circumstances that Turia has faced, her advice for young readers is powerful and important, and because of her experience will echo through the emptiness of a self-centred culture. ” Carolyn Hull, ReadPlus   Telling the story of Turia's life before and after the fire, this young readers' this book unmasks the real Turia: funny, fierce, intelligent, flawed. With a new foreword from Turia, additional content and a new Q&A section, this edition covers topics such as confidence, goal-setting, family and friends and happiness that will resonate strongly with tweens and teens. Whether via the numerous media reports, 60 Minutes specials, Women's Weekly cover stories or her  book, , we know

Girl in Pieces

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By: Kathleen Glasgow Location: FIC GLA Genre: Young adult- Mental health Some books you just know are not going to make you smile, they are designed to make you feel, to have empathy, to open the brokenness of others into you soul. Like this one.. The themes are pretty heavey it includes depression, suicide, self-harm, alcoholism, sexual abuse, and addiction. Charlie was living on the streets, nearly sold into a sex house, before she attempted suicide by cutting. It's her journey. It's equal parts about recovery and decline. It's not a pretty story. “Everyone has that moment I think, the moment when something so momentous happens that it rips your very being into small pieces. And then you have to stop. For a long time, you gather your pieces. And it takes such a very long time, not to fit them back together, but to assemble them in a new way, not necessarily a better way. More, a way you can live with until you know for certain that this piece should go t

After On

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By: Rob Reid Location:FIC REI Genre: Cyber Thriller After On achieves the literary singularity--fusing speculative satire and astonishing reality into a sharp-witted, ferociously believable, IMAX-wide view of our digital age . "An epic cyberthriller peppered with pop-culture references, metadata, and Silicon Valley in-jokes." --Kirkus Reviews "It's rare to find a book that combines laugh-out-loud humor and cutting-edge science with profound philosophical speculation. This is that book."-- Analog Meet Phluttr--a diabolically addictive new social network and a villainess, heroine, enemy, and/or bestie to millions. Phluttr has ingested every fact and message ever sent to, from, and about her innumerable users. Her capabilities astound her makers--and they don't even know the tenth of it. But what's the purpose of this stunning creation? Is it a front for something even darker and more powerful than the NSA? A bid to create a trillion

Little and Lion

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By: Brandy Colbert Location: FIC COL Genre: Young Adult, LGBGT, mental health     " Little and Lion is beautifully insightful, honest, and compassionate. Brandy's ability to find larger meaning in small moments is nothing short of dazzling."-Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything A stunning novel on love, identity, loss, and redemption. “I hate that I feel like nothing good is ever going to happen to me again. And that sometimes I don’t really feel like anything at all.” When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she's isn't sure if she'll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (as well as her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support. But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new...the same girl her brother is in love with. Whe

A Land of Permenent Goodbyes

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By: Atia Abawi Location: FIC aba Genre: Historical Fiction- Syria "This is a harrowing and vitally important novel about an ongoing crisis. Tareq's story will linger with readers long after they've turned the final page."-- Bookish  " A Land of Permanent Goodbyes is an engrossing, heartbreaking story of survival, giving readers an authentic glimpse of the suffering and destruction in Syria."-- Voice of Youth Advocates Trigger warnings : death of a parent, death of a sibling, bombing, war, executions, death of a child, manipulation, people smuggling, child trafficking, drowning, mentions of rape.  - so I guess this book is a real reflection of the real story Narrated by Destiny, this heartbreaking — and timely — story of refugees escaping from war-torn Syria is masterfully told by a foreign news correspondent who experienced the crisis firsthand. In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family . . . until

White Rabbit

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By: Tom Pollock Location: FIC POL Genre: Thriller, mental health, youth 'Breathless, smart, twisty and heartfelt! Like a YA Le Carré.' Kim Curran, author of Shift Peter Blankman is afraid of everything and must confront unimaginable terror when his mother is attacked. Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a maths prodigy. He also suffers from severe panic attacks. Afraid of everything, he finds solace in the orderly and logical world of mathematics and in the love of his family: his scientist mum and his tough twin sister Bel, as well as Ingrid, his only friend. However, when his mother is found stabbed before an award ceremony and his sister is nowhere to be found, Pete is dragged into a world of espionage and violence where state and family secrets intertwine. Armed only with his extraordinary analytical skills, Peter may just discover that his biggest weakness is his greatest strength. 'A dazzling, dizzying rollercoaster of a novel, about memory and fam

The Art of Taxidermy

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By: Sharon Kernot Location: FIC KER Genre: Verse Novel- Fiction ‘This book is beautifully written…while the novel is about grief, it is also about the importance of remembering and keeping the memory of loved ones alive.’ Magpies Magazine The Art of Taxidermy is a heartbreaking verse novel exploring love and death, grief and beauty, and the ways we try to make sense of it all. Lottie collects dead creatures and lovingly cares for them, hoping to preserve them, to save them from disintegration. Her father understands—Lottie has a scientific mind, he thinks. Her aunt wants it to stop, and she goes to cruel lengths to make sure it does. And her mother? Lottie’s mother died long ago. And Lottie is searching for a way to be close to her.   Eleven-year-old Charlotte has just developed a fascination with dead creatures. She can see their beauty, and wants to keep her collection in her room. Her father, Wolfgang is understanding, but Aunt Hilda is disgusted: she thinks L

The Wolf- The Winter Road

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By:Leo Carew Location: FIC CAR Genre: Fantasy Series: Under the Northern Sky The Next George RR Martin - Mail on Sunday  The Wolf is a thrilling, savagely visceral, politically nuanced, and unexpectedly wry exploration of power - and how far one will go to defend it. Violence and death have come to the land under the Northern Sky. The Anakim dwell in the desolate forests and mountains beyond the black river, the land under the Northern Sky. Their ancient ways are forged in Unthank silver and carved in the grey stone of their heartland, their lives measured out in the turning of centuries, not years. By contrast, the Sutherners live in the moment, their vitality much more immediate and ephemeral than their Anakim neighbors. Fragile is the peace that has existed between these very different races - and that peace is shattered when the Suthern armies flood the lands to the north. These two races revive their age-old hatred and fear of each other. Within the maelstrom of

Capture or Kill

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By: Tom Marcus Location: FIC MAR Genre: Series: Matt Logan #1 From the bestselling author of Soldier Spy , former MI5 officer Tom Marcus, comes the first in a thrilling new fiction series. Matt Logan is an MI5 agent for the British government. Working on the frontline of counter-terrorism in the UK he’s trained to protect its citizens against all threats. When two brothers known operationally as ‘Iron Sword’ and ‘Stone Fist’ are suspected of plotting a major terrorist event, Logan and his team work undercover to track them down. If they fail, an attack will be unleashed that will rock the country to its very core. Frustrated by always needing to obey the rules, Logan yearns for a way to break through the red tape that hinders their progress. His wishes seem to come true when he is offered the chance to join a new, deniable outfit known as ‘Blindeye’. Then devastating news reaches Logan, throwing his world into turmoil. But one thing remains certain, he will join

A Song Only I Can Hear

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By: Barry Jonsberg Location: FIC JONS Genre: Hunour/ Young Adult/Family "I really loved this book. It was poignant and moving whilst still keeping it light hearted. A real gem for those struggling to find themselves in the world."-Kate Beautifully moving and full of heart and humour, A Song Only I Can Hear is a delightful novel about dreaming big, being brave and marching to the beat of your own drum. Rob has a huge crush on the new girl at school. But Rob is painfully shy and suffers severe panic attacks. How is her heart to be won? Another wonderful and heart-warming comedy drama from the award-winning author of My Life as an Alphabet. Good evening, Rob. Your first challenge follows. These challenges have nothing to do with impressing Destry Camberwick. They are all to do with Rob Fitzgerald impressing Rob Fitzgerald. Bear that in mind at all times. Challenge 1. You will enter the Milltown's Got Talent competition. This gives you over a fortnight

The Wolves of Winter

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By: Tyrell Johnson Location: FIC JOH Genre: Sci Fi/ Dystopia The Wolves of Winter is enveloping, propulsive, and poignant.   This debut novel is written in a post-apocalyptic tradition that spans The Hunger Games and Station Eleven but blazes its own distinctive path. “Grief never goes away. It just changes. At first it's like molten-hot lava dripping from your heart and hollowing you from the inside. Over time, it settles into your bones, your skin, so that you live with it, walk with it every day. Grief isn't the footprints in the snow. It's the empty spaces between.”   A captivating tale of humanity pushed beyond its breaking point, of family and bonds of love forged when everything is lost, and of a heroic young woman who crosses a frozen landscape to find her destiny. Forget the old days. Forget summer. Forget warmth. Forget anything that doesn’t help you survive in the endless white wilderness beyond the edges of a fallen world. Lynn McBride