The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes

Author: Ruth Hogan
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
ISBN: 1643852108
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
Ruth Hogan, the international bestselling author behind the The Keeper of Lost Things returns with an irresistible novel of unexpected friendships, second chances—and dark secrets... They say friends make life worth living... Once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak, Masha's life was forever changed by a tragic event twelve years ago. Unable to let go of her grief, she finds comfort in her faithful canine companion Haizum, and peace in the quiet lanes of her town's swimming pool. Almost without her realizing it, her life has shuddered to a halt. It’s only when Masha begins an unlikely friendship with the mysterious Sally Red Shoes, a bag lady with a prodigious voice and a penchant for saying just what she means, that a new world of possibilities opens up: new friendships, new opportunities, and even a chance for new love. For the first time in years, Masha has the chance to start living again. But just as Masha dares to imagine the future, her past comes roaring back... Like her beloved debut, The Keeper of Lost Things, Ruth Hogan's second novel introduces a cast of wonderful characters, both ordinary and charmingly eccentric, who lead us through a moving exploration of the simple human connections that unite us all.

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel

Author: Ruth Hogan
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062935720
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Book Description
From the wildly popular bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things comes a surprising and uplifting story about the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, and the magic of chosen family. Tilly was a bright, outgoing little girl who loved fizzy drinks, naughty words, and liked playing with ghosts and matches. When her beloved father suddenly disappeared, she and her fragile, difficult mother moved into Queenie Malone’s magnificent Paradise Hotel in Brighton, with its endearing and loving family of misfits—including the exuberant and compassionate Queenie herself. But then Tilly was dealt another shattering blow when her mother sent her off to boarding school with little explanation and no warning, and she lost her beloved chosen family. Now an adult, Tilda has grown into an independent woman still damaged by her mother’s unaccountable cruelty. Wary of people, her only true friend is her dog, Eli. When her estranged mother dies, Tilda returns to Brighton and the home she loved best. With the help of the still-dazzling Queenie, she sets about unraveling the mystery of her exile from The Paradise Hotel, only to discover that her mother was not the woman she thought she knew at all…and that it’s never too late to write your own happy ending. With Ruth Hogan’s trademark quirky, clever, and life-affirming characters, Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel will dazzle readers and mesmerize them until they reach the surprising twist at the end.

The Keeper of Lost Things

Author: Ruth Hogan
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
ISBN: 9780062473554
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
A charming, clever, and quietly moving debut novel of of endless possibilities and joyful discoveries that explores the promises we make and break, losing and finding ourselves, the objects that hold magic and meaning for our lives, and the surprising connections that bind us. Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair bobbles—Found, on the playing field, Derrywood Park, 2nd September. Bone china cup and saucer—Found, on a bench in Riveria Public Gardens, 31st October. Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidently left behind—and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost. Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners. Long ago, Eunice found a trinket on the London pavement and kept it through the years. Now, with her own end drawing near, she has lost something precious—a tragic twist of fate that forces her to break a promise she once made. As the Keeper of Lost Objects, Laura holds the key to Anthony and Eunice’s redemption. But can she unlock the past and make the connections that will lay their spirits to rest? Full of character, wit, and wisdom, The Keeper of Lost Things is heartwarming tale that will enchant fans of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Garden Spells, Mrs Queen Takes the Train, and The Silver Linings Playbook.

The Moon, the Stars, and Madame Burova

Author: Ruth Hogan
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 006307544X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Book Description
From the wildly popular bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things—an uplifting, slightly magical story about how it’s never too late to find out who you really are. "Ruth Hogan is the queen of uplifting fiction and Madame Burova reminds us why. The writing crackles with humor and warmth. I can't imagine a better book in which to lose yourself at the moment. Stunning, immersive and absolutely wonderful." --Annie Lyons, author of The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett Madame Burova—beloved Tarot reader, palmist, and clairvoyant—is retiring and leaving her booth on the Brighton seafront. After inheriting her mother’s fortune-telling business as a young woman, Imelda Burova has spent her life on the Brighton pier practicing her trade. She and her trusty pack of Tarot cards have seen the lovers and the liars, the angels and the devils, the dreamers and the fools. Now, after a lifetime of keeping other people’s secrets, Madam Burova is ready to have a little piece of life for herself. But she still has one last thing to do—to fulfill a promise made in the 1970s, when she and her girlfriends were carefree, with their whole lives still before them. In London, it is time for another woman to make a fresh start. Billie has lost her university job, her marriage, and her place in the world when a sudden and unlikely discovery leaves her very identity in question. Determined to find answers, she must follow a trail…which leads to Brighton, the pier, and directly to Madame Burova’s door. In a story spanning over fifty years, Ruth Hogan has conjured a magical world of 1970s holiday camps and seaside entertainers, eccentrics, heroes and villains, the lost and the found. Young people will make careless choices which echo down the years….but it’s never too late to put things right.

The Great Unexpected

Author: Dan Mooney
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1488045348
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Book Description
A curmudgeon and his eccentric new roommate join together to plan an epic escape in this charming, poignant tale. Joel lives in a nursing home, and he’s not one bit happy about it. He hates being told when to eat, when to sleep, when to take his pills. He’s fed up with life and begins to plan a way out when his new roommate, a retired soap opera actor named Frank, moves in and turns the nursing-home community upside down. Though the two men couldn’t be more opposite, a fast friendship is formed when Frank is the only one who listens to and stands up for Joel. When he tells Frank about his burgeoning plan, they embark together on a mission to find the perfect escape, and along the way will discover that it’s never too late for new beginnings. Filled with colorful characters, sparkling humor and deep emotion, The Great Unexpected is the story of friendship, finding oneself later in life and experiencing newfound joy in the most unexpected places.

The Closer I Get

Author: Paul Burston
Publisher: Orenda Books
ISBN: 1495655016
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 366

Book Description
A compulsive, disturbingly relevant, twisty and powerful psychological, social-media thriller ... NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER 'Brilliantly twisty. I loved it' Lisa Jewell 'Another dark banger from the Orenda Books stable... A brilliant, twisty cat-and-mouse book about fandom and obsession' Erin Kelly 'Effortlessly readable, intensely chilling. That ending floored me' Chris Whitaker ***LONGLISTED for the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize*** ___________________ Tom is a successful author, but he's struggling to finish his novel. His main distraction is an online admirer, Evie, who simply won't leave him alone. Evie is smart, well read and unstable; she lives with her father and her social-media friendships are not only her escape, but everything she has. When she's hit with a restraining order, her world is turned upside down, and Tom is free to live his life again, to concentrate on writing. But things aren't really adding up. For Tom is distracted but also addicted to his online relationships, and when they take a darker, more menacing turn, he feels powerless to change things. Because maybe he needs Evie more than he's letting on. A compulsive, disturbingly relevant, twisty and powerful psychological thriller, The Closer I Get is also a searing commentary on the fragility and insincerity of online relationships, and the danger that can lurk just one like' away... ___________________ 'This book will make you rethink your social media obsession. Dangerous from page one, lit by bursts of black humour, ultimately honest about the frailty of ego and the masks we all wear. Terrifically readable' Sarah Hilary So good. Such brilliant characters. Great premise and a thrilling read' Nina Pottell, Prima 'A sucker-punch of a twist that took my breath away! Absurdly gripping, and enough to unnerve anyone who has ever spent any time online' Angela Clarke 'As perfect a thriller as you'll read all year' Caz Frear 'A gripping ride through the heartlands of need and hurt. Even at his most thrilling, Paul Burston never loses his sense of real pain and suffering' Philip Hensher 'Chillingly recognisable. A delicious tour de force' Alex Marwood 'Compelling, creepy and completely believable' Mel McGrath 'Dark, devious and with a growing sense of dread' Neil Broadfoot 'Brilliantly written, tense and compelling' Amanda Jennings 'Dark twisty fiction at its very best' SJI Holliday 'One of the best books you'll read this year' Ed James 'Unsettling. Taut. Menacing. Burston puts the killer into killer twist' Jonathan Harvey 'Witty and insightful' Susie Boyt 'Brilliant, chilling, totally awesome writing' Miranda Dickinson 'An absolute stunner... with a deliciously twisted ending' Lisa Hall 'The book is a masterpiece in sustained suspense and smart literate contemporary horror. Bravo Mr Burston' Derek Farrell 'Very easy to read, certainly keeps you hooked in with plenty of twists. I suspect it will be a big read this summer' Fiona Sharp 'It's about a gay novelist who becomes the target of an online stalker and is dark, thought-provoking, and totally riveting. As comebacks go, it's on a par with Madonna bursting out of a giant disco ball in a pink leotard!’ Matt Cain ‘Gripped and terrified by Paul Burston’s new novel, bloody hell!!!’ Rowan Coleman

The Hundredth Name

Author: Shulamith Levey Oppenheim
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
ISBN: 1635924499
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 34

Book Description
This picture book for young readers, rich in the details of Middle Eastern village life, tells the warm story of a bond between a father, a son, and the son's favorite camel, as well as their devotion to the Muslim faith, and the power of prayer in their daily life. Salah and his camel, Qadiim, are constant companions. They work together, eat together, and sleep together. Salah is distressed, however, because his camel always seems so sad and downcast, hanging his head low. But in middle of one night, Salah remembers what his father has told him -- that while mankind knows only ninety-nine names for Allah, there are actually one hundred names. What if Qadiim, the camel, could learn the hundredth name? Under the stars Salah prays "to Allah with all his strength." The next day-- a seeming miracle! -- the camel Quadiim carries his head high with a most knowing look. Does Quadiim know the one hundredth name? Beautifully written and complemented by illustrations that portray the lush, verdant landscape of the Middle East, from the banks of the Nile to its luminous starlit nights, here is a spiritual and touching story of an Islamic family.

The Girl in the Red Coat

Author: Kate Hamer
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612195008
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
• An Amazon Best Book of the Year for 2016 • Costa Book Award for First Novel finalist • Dagger Award finalist Newly single mom Beth has one constant, gnawing worry: that her dreamy eight-year-old daughter, Carmel, who has a tendency to wander off, will one day go missing. And then one day, it happens: On a Saturday morning thick with fog, Beth takes Carmel to a local outdoor festival, they get separated in the crowd, and Carmel is gone. Shattered, Beth sets herself on the grim and lonely mission to find her daughter, keeping on relentlessly even as the authorities tell her that Carmel may be gone for good. Carmel, meanwhile, is on a strange and harrowing journey of her own—to a totally unexpected place that requires her to live by her wits, while trying desperately to keep in her head, at all times, a vision of her mother … Alternating between Beth’s story and Carmel’s, and written in gripping prose that won’t let go, The Girl in the Red Coat—like Emma Donoghue’s Room and M. L. Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans—is an utterly immersive story that’s impossible to put down . . . and impossible to forget. "Kate Hamer’s gripping debut novel immediately recalls the explosion of similarly titled books and movies, from Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, to The Girl on the Train to Gone Girl … "—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “Keeps the reader turning pages at a frantic clip... What’s most powerful here is not whodunnit, or even why, but how this mother and daughter bear their separation, and the stories they tell themselves to help endure it.” —Celeste Ng (Everything I Never Told You) “Compulsively readable...Beautifully written and unpredictable, I had to stop myself racing to the end to find out what happened.” —Rosamund Lupton (Sister) “Both gripping and sensitive — beautifully written, it is a compulsive, aching story full of loss and redemption.” —Lisa Ballantyne (The Guilty One) "Hamer’s dark tale of the lost and found is nearly impossible to put down.” —Booklist

The House on Mango Street

Author: Sandra Cisneros
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0345807197
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 130

Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A coming-of-age classic about a young girl growing up in Chicago • Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world—from the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. “Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage...and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” —The New York Times Book Review The House on Mango Street is one of the most cherished novels of the last fifty years. Readers from all walks of life have fallen for the voice of Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago and inventing for herself who and what she will become. “In English my name means hope,” she says. “In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting." Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—Cisneros’s masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery and one of the greatest neighborhood novels of all time. Like Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street or Toni Morrison’s Sula, it makes a world through people and their voices, and it does so in language that is poetic and direct. This gorgeous coming-of-age novel is a celebration of the power of telling one’s story and of being proud of where you're from.

All About Love

Author: bell hooks
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062862170
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
A New York Times bestseller and enduring classic, All About Love is the acclaimed first volume in feminist icon bell hooks' "Love Song to the Nation" trilogy. All About Love reveals what causes a polarized society, and how to heal the divisions that cause suffering. Here is the truth about love, and inspiration to help us instill caring, compassion, and strength in our homes, schools, and workplaces. “The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provocative and intensely personal, renowned scholar, cultural critic and feminist bell hooks offers a proactive new ethic for a society bereft with lovelessness--not the lack of romance, but the lack of care, compassion, and unity. People are divided, she declares, by society’s failure to provide a model for learning to love. As bell hooks uses her incisive mind to explore the question “What is love?” her answers strike at both the mind and heart. Razing the cultural paradigm that the ideal love is infused with sex and desire, she provides a new path to love that is sacred, redemptive, and healing for individuals and for a nation. The Utne Reader declared bell hooks one of the “100 Visionaries Who Can Change Your Life.” All About Love is a powerful, timely affirmation of just how profoundly her revelations can change hearts and minds for the better.