A quietly subversive quest novel set in eighth-century China, full of magic and poetic allusions.

What would you do if you could switch genders for a night? What powers would you gain? What would you lose? And who would you be if you could change how you are perceived? Winner of Sweden's most prestigious literary prize for young readers, Girls Lost is a YA-crossover thriller exploring these questions, following three teenage girlfriends: Kim, Bella, and Momo, whose developing bodies have become objects of abuse, both verbal and physical, by their male classmates. Scared and uncomfortable, the girls often hide away in Bella’s greenhouse. One day, the three friends plant a strange seed in the greenhouse, and in a few days, a shimmering, magical flower blossoms. Intrigued, they drink the nectar from the flower, and suddenly find themselves transformed from girls to boys. The girls return night after night to drink from the flower, and as they fall deeper into the boy’s world, they discover a new reality, one of power and violence, of gangs and drugs. In this tale, the body is a battlefield, and masculinity as a drug Brilliantly poetic and deeply poignant, this magical story was adapted into an internationally-renowned feature film exploring how we shape our identity, and how we cope with our own transformations.

A New York Times Notable Book An NPR Best Book of the Year For readers of Behind the Beautiful Forevers and Nothing to Envy, this is a breathtaking real-life story of four street children in contemporary Zambia whose lives are drawn together and forever altered by the mysterious murder of a fellow street child. Based on years of investigative reporting and unprecedented fieldwork, Walking the Bowl immerses readers in the daily lives of four unforgettable characters: Lusabilo, a determined waste picker; Kapula, a burned-out brothel worker; Moonga, a former rock crusher turned beggar; and Timo, an ambitious gang leader. These children navigate the violent and poverty-stricken underworld of Lusaka, one of Africa’s fastest growing cities. When the dead body of a ten-year-old boy is discovered under a heap of garbage in Lusaka’s largest landfill, a murder investigation quickly heats up due to the influence of the victim’s mother and her far-reaching political connections. The children’s lives become more closely intertwined as each child engages in a desperate bid for survival against forces they could never have imagined. Gripping and fast-paced, the book exposes the perilous aspects of street life through the eyes of the children who survive, endure and dream there, and what emerges is an ultimately hopeful story about human kindness and how one small good deed, passed on to others, can make a difference in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

In 7th-century China, life is rife with magic, fox spirits, and demons. Xie, the demon lover of the empress Wu Zhao, believes he must possess the oracle bone, which will bestow immortal powers on him. In his way is Qilan, an eccentric Daoist nun, who is training the orphan girl Ling to avenge her parents’ murder.

What Is the What is the story of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee in war-ravaged southern Sudan who flees from his village in the mid-1980s and becomes one of the so-called Lost Boys. Valentino’s travels bring him in contact with enemy soldiers, with liberation rebels, with hyenas and lions, with disease and starvation, and with deadly murahaleen (militias on horseback)–the same sort who currently terrorize Darfur. Eventually Deng is resettled in the United States with almost 4000 other young Sudanese men, and a very different struggle begins. Based closely on true experiences, What Is the What is heartbreaking and arresting, filled with adventure, suspense, tragedy, and, finally, triumph.

Alex doesn't mean to cause trouble. He didn't mean to cover his dad with pink yoghurt, or drop the goldfish in the bath. He just couldn't help it. Alex's mum and dad ask him to keep out of trouble for just one day - so the sideways skateboard isn't such a bad idea, is it?

A young boy finds a way to help his sister go to school. Victor and his twin sister, Linesi, are close. Only, now that they are eight years old, she is no longer able to go to school with him. Linesi, like the other older girls in their community, must walk to the river to get water five times a day to help their mother farm. But Victor is learning about equality in school. He’s beginning to realize how boys and girls are not treated equally. And that’s not fair to his sister. So Victor comes up with a plan to help. Can one boy make a difference in an unequal world? It turns out, he can!

A “beautifully crafted” novel of two sisters’ lives, spanning from 1950s Ireland to modern-day America (Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin). Greta Cahill never believed she would leave her village in west Ireland. Yet one day she found herself on a ship bound for New York, along with her sister, Johanna, and a boy named Michael Ward, a son of itinerant tinkers. Back home, her family hadn’t expressed much confidence in her abilities, but Greta discovers that in America she can fall in love, earn a living, and build a life. She longs to return and show her family what she has made of herself—but that could mean revealing a secret about her past to her children. So she carefully keeps her life in New York separate from the life she once loved in Ireland, torn from the people she is closest to. Decades later, she discovers that her children, with the best of intentions, have conspired to unite the worlds she has so painstakingly kept apart. And though the Ireland of her memory may bear little resemblance to that of present day, she fears it is still possible to lose all . . . “A compelling drama of transatlantic Irish life.” —Billy Collins “Marries a deliciously old-fashioned style of storytelling with a fresh take on the immigrant experience . . . A warm, involving family drama.” —Booklist

Winner at the 2014 International Latino Book Awards. A stunning picture book about the life of a mute Comanche young boy who brought unity and togetherness among all of the Native American tribes through his magical silent tales. The boy with the feather headdress told stories without saying a word. The boy whose legs formed the shape of a heart communicated with that special language that comes from within. With his hands, his face, his smile and his eyes, he could communicate everything his listeners needed to hear. Walking Eagle’s tales awoke deep emotions, conveyed a sense of solidarity, and created bonds between hands and hearts of different tribes that lasted forever. A magical tale about nature and harmony between the different peoples of the world, reminding us of the power of stories to bring out our very best from within the deepest part of the human soul.

After 17 years of bitter strife, Northern and Southern Sudanese military and political leaders agreed an uneasy truce, lasting for 10 years. However, on 16th May, 1983, Southern Soldiers rebelled once again to restart the war. It was not long before the survivors, renegades, students, farmers, cattlemen, fishermen, and the ordinary folks all over the Sudan gathered to stake their lives in the new civil war. The North unleashed its army, and allied militias on civilians leaving death, famine, and destruction in their wake. Families were uprooted, broken up and scattered in the region and around the world. As the war escalated, atrocities committed quickly brought it to new levels hitherto unseen in the region. For the last time, the new war would break or make the Sudan. No longer would it be a Southern Problem, rather a Sudan Problem. Only an independent South Sudan would emerge from the chaos.