Burton Rembrandt has the sort of perspective on life that is impossible for most adults to comprehend: the perspective of an eight-year-old boy. & to Burt his parents & teachers seem to be speaking a language he cannot underst&. When Burt meets Jessica he finds solace from the problems of growing up of dealing with parents & teachers & adults in general. But when he expresses the ardent love he feels for Jessica he is placed in an institution with autistic mentally retarded sociopathic & generally disturbed children. This is Burts story as written in pencil on the walls of the Quiet Room in The Childrens Trust Residence Center. It begins: When I was five I killed myself..." This strange funny & darkly touching tale explores the chasm between childhood & adulthood in the starkly honest words of a misunderstood little boy. " When I Was Five I Killed Myself" is considered a modern classic in France where it has sold over a million copies. Butens writing is compared with Hemingway & J.D. Salingers " The Catcher in the Rye"." ...

When Ty witnesses a stabbing his own life is in danger from the criminals hes named & he & his mum have to go into police protection. Ty has a new name a new look & a cool new image
- life as Joe is good especially when he gets talent spotted as a potential athletics star special training from an attractive local celebrity & a lot of female attention. But his mum cant cope with her new life & the gangsters will stop at nothing to flush them from hiding. Joes cracking under extreme pressure & then he meets a girl with dark secrets of her own. This wonderfully gripping & intelligent novel depicts Ty/ Joes confused sense of identity in a moving & funny story that teenage boys & girls will identify with
- a remarkable debut from a great new writing talent.

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When Ty witnesses a stabbing his own life is in danger from the criminals he's named & he & his mum have to go into police protection. Ty has a new name a new look & a cool new image
- life as Joe is good especially when he gets talent spotted as a potential athletics star special training from an attractive local celebrity & a lot of female attention. But his mum can't cope with her new life & the gangsters will stop at nothing to flush them from hiding. Joe's cracking under extreme pressure & then he meets a girl with dark secrets of her own. This wonderfully gripping & intelligent novel depicts Ty/ Joe's confused sense of identity in a moving & funny story that teenage boys & girls will identify with
- a remarkable debut from a great new writing talent.

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* The sleeper hit of Christmas 2009
- more than 4 000 copies sold through Bookscan. * A book to send shivers down the spine of
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When I Were A Meerkat is an extension of the 100 000 selling Portico title When I Were A Lad. Already it has generated spin-offs: When I Were A School Lad & When I Were A Nipper. In Meerkat instead of raggedtrousered children scrabbling around the streets getting put in perilous positions
- the stock in trade of the previous books
- the north of England is populated with a small number of meerkats. They do their best to escape the grinding poverty & poor schooling to make a better life for themselves. Meerkats get put to work down the mines go to Blackpool for their holidays & mess about on trams. The meerkat world & the human world easily intermingle in a reworking of many of the photos first used in When I Were A Lad.

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When In Rome is a riotous hilarious gift book that highlights the varying differences between foreign etiquettes when you travel abroad. The book illustrates various nations cultural social etiquettes & customs & how funny confusing & downright ridiculous they are when compared to each other. The book is a rip-roaring guide to 50+ nations opposing gestures manners & ways of expressing themselves physically when their is a communication breakdown in the language barrier. For example never put your hands on your hips next to a Mexican (youre asking for a fight) & never give & Iranian a thumbs up (its rude). Trouble will ensue if you do! So your government urges you: take this amazing travel guide with you with you when abroad read it learn from it & if you happen to meet a foreign traveller (which will be inevitable) remember what youve learnt & please please please be on your best behaviour. Word count: 20 000 ...

Rome in the 1950s theres nowhere quite like it. The narrow stone streets the fountains & piazzas full of life in the heat of the day the cafes & bars full of music & desire by night... This is where Serafina calls home. Having grown-up with her sisters in a tiny apartment tucked in the top of a tumbledown building she has watched her mother get by on next to nothing & turn herself beautiful with a sweep of eyeliner & a h&-sewn dress. When her mother goes out Serafina & her sisters go singing in the nearest piazza busking for spare change & cinema tickets. The girls long to meet their matinee idols & Serafina daydreams of Mario Lanza & his spellbinding voice. But the sisters will grow up quickly & for Serafina a choice opens between the world she knows & the life she dreams of. A captivating tale of love & music food & passion let Nicky Pellegrino take you on a journey to a city of beauty & heartbreak at one of the most glamorous points in its magical history. ...

Rome in the 1950s there's nowhere quite like it. The narrow stone streets the fountains & piazzas full of life in the heat of the day the cafes & bars full of music & desire by night... This is where Serafina calls home. Having grown-up with her sisters in a tiny apartment tucked in the top of a tumbledown building she has watched her mother get by on next to nothing & turn herself beautiful with a sweep of eyeliner & a h&-sewn dress. When her mother goes out Serafina & her sisters go singing in the nearest piazza busking for spare change & cinema tickets. The girls long to meet their matinee idols & Serafina daydreams of Mario Lanza & his spellbinding voice. But the sisters will grow up quickly & for Serafina a choice opens between the world she knows & the life she dreams of. A captivating tale of love & music food & passion let Nicky Pellegrino take you on a journey to a city of beauty & heartbreak at one of the most glamorous points in its magical history. ...

Tales of love loss & betrayal are at the heart of When It Happens to You the debut novel in stories from actress & author Molly Ringwald. A Hollywood icon Ringwald defined the teenage experience in the eighties in such classic films as Pretty in Pink The Breakfast Club & Sixteen Candles. Ringwald brings the compelling candour she displayed in her film roles to the unforgettable characters she has created in this series of intertwined & linked stories about the particular challenges joys & disappointments of adult relationships. Her characters grapple with infertility & infidelity fame & familial discord in a magnificent debut that will resonate broadly particularly with fans of Melissa Banks Meg Wolitzer & Lorrie Moore. ...

When everything grinds to a halt because of the snow one small boy & his teddy bear refuse to allow the weather to spoil their fun. They embark on an amazing journey in which they ride a polar bear & meet huge snowmen an ice queen fairies elves a giant reindeer & Father Christmas. & at the very end of the story in a wonderfully cosy & festive fireside scene theres a clever twist
- he has simply become immersed in the magical scenes of his favourite book.
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