The Emporium opens with the first frost of winter. While the Great War wages across Europe, there is a place of hope and enchantment in the heart of London. The Emporium sells toys that capture the imagination of children and adults alike: patchwork dogs that seem alive, toy boxes that are bigger on the inside, soldiers that can fight battles on their own. Into this family business comes young Cathy Wray, running away from a shameful past. But Cathy is about to discover that the Emporium has secrets of its own... "Engaging and enchanting, a fairytale for adults, with all the wonder - and terror - that that entails... ... |
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Oxford Bookworms Library Factfiles are non-fiction graded readers from the "Oxford Bookworms Library" available for Levels 1 to 4 (CEFR A1 - B2). Students learn about different countries and cultures, science and nature, history and historical figures all while practising and improving their English. Twenty-five million people come to England every year, and some never go out of London. But England is full of interesting places to visit and things to do. There are big noisy cities with great shops and theatres, and quiet little villages. You can visit old castles and beautiful churches - or go to festivals with ... |
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"Oxford Bookworms Library Factfiles" are non-fiction graded readers from the "Oxford Bookworms Library" available for Levels 1 to 4 (CEFR A1 - B2). Students learn about different countries and cultures, science and nature, history and historical figures all while practising and improving their English. From out of the sky, from under the earth, from far out at sea - disaster comes. We build and invent new things - and sometimes bring disaster on ourselves. Today television and the Internet mean that we can watch disasters as they happen, and see their terrible results. From Pompeii to the Asian ... |
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Fire is like a rumour. You might think you've extinguished it but one creeping, red tendril, one single wisp of smoke is enough to let it leap back into life again. Especially if someone is watching, waiting to fan the flames... New school. Tick. New town. Tick. New surname. Tick. Social media profiles? Erased. There's nothing to trace Anna back to her old life. Nothing to link her to the "incident". At least that's what she thinks... until the whispers start up again. As time begins to run out on her secrets, Anna finds herself irresistibly drawn to the tale of Maggie, a local girl accused of ... |
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Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger. The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister’s life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance. Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia faces ... |
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In Blightsend everyone knows their place. Music belongs to the Masters - and girls with singing throats are swallowed by the sea. Delphernia Undersea is a turnaway girl. She has spent her whole life in the cloister, hidden from sea and sky, expected to silently turn music into gold. Making shimmer, Mother Nine calls it. But Delphernia can't make shimmer and she would rather sing than stay silent. So when she has the chance to leave the cloister, she takes it. But the outside world is not how Delphernia imagined - and she soon discovers it will take courage to truly change her fate. "A starlingly ambitious and ... |
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Bestselling author of "The Bear and the Nightingale". ... For a young woman in medieval Russia, the choices are stark: marriage or life in a convent. Vasya will choose a third way: magic. The court of the Grand Prince of Moscow is plagued by power struggles and rumours of unrest. Meanwhile bandits roam the countryside, burning the villages and kidnapping its daughters. Setting out to defeat the raiders, the Prince and his trusted companion come across a young man riding a magnificent horse. Only Sasha, a priest with a warrior's training, recognises this 'boy' as his younger sister, thought to be ... |
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A matter of life, death... and fish. ... "What's it like, Dad - being a fish?" Grief takes many forms, and manifests itself in strange ways. Sometimes very strange indeed. When, on an ordinary morning, Dak's father suddenly dies of a heart attack, Dak's mother falls apart. Desperate to escape the atmosphere at home, Dak finds himself going to his dad's favourite place - the local aquarium. And there, to his amazement, is Dad, who it seems is alive and well as a clownfish! With his mum so ill, Dak decides that, for now, this will have to be his secret, and his alone. But he visits the clownfish ... |
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New York Times bestselling author Tahereh Mafi. ... When you're hiding from a world that hates you, who would make you risk everything to be seen again? It's the year after 9/11, and Shirin has just started at yet another new high school. It's a difficult time, but especially so for a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who wears hijab. Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She hides away, drowning her frustrations in music and spending her afternoons break-dancing with her brother. But then Shirin meets Ocean James. He's the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know ... |
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Feminist fairytales for young and old. Await no princes to save you through their lips touching yours whilst you are in unwilling slumber. Wake each other up instead. Step into this world of empowering re-imagined fairytales where the stereotypes of obliging lovers, violent men and girls that need rescuing are transformed into brave princesses, blurred lines between heroes and villains, and a courageous Gretel who can bring down monsters on her own. ... |
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Destiny has a dark side. In Gitabria, land of wondrous contraption, the invention of an exquisite mechanical bird has brought spies from all over the continent who will kill to get their hands on it. But the bird holds a dark secret - one that will set off a war unless Kellen and his thieving squirrel cat can uncover it first."Exotic, original and gripping." Jonathan Stroud ... |
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Long ago, Andrew made a childhood wish, and kept it in a silver box. When it finally comes true, he wishes he hadn't. Long ago, Ben made a promise and had a dream: to travel to Africa to volunteer at a lion reserve. When he finally makes it, it isn't for reason he imagined... Ben and Andrew keep meeting in unexpected places, and the intense relationship that develops seems to be guided by fate. Or is it? What if the very thing that drwas them together is tainted by past secrets that threaten everything? A dark, consuming drama that shifts from Zimbabwe to England, and then back into the past, "The Lion ... |
