Oaks Park LRC

  Seeing geography as a decisive factor in the course of human history can be construed as a bleak view of the world, which is why it is disliked in some intellectual circles. It suggests that nature is more powerful than man, and that we can only go so far in determining our own fate. Splitting the globe into ten distinct regions, former  Sky News  Diplomatic Editor Tim Marshall redresses our techno-centric view of the world and suggests that our key political driver continues to be our physical geography. Beginning with Russia (and its bewildering eleven time-zones), we are treated to an illuminating, border-by-border disassembly of what makes the world what it is; why, for instance, China and India will never fall into conflict (the Himalayas), or why the Ukraine is such a tactical jewel in the crown. With its panoptic view over our circumstance,  Prisoners of Geography  makes a compelling case around how the physical framework of the world itself has defined our history. It’s one o

  Nominated for the CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019. A novel set in Zimbabwe about hope - and its power to heal a family, a friendship or even a nation. For fifteen-year-old Shamiso, struggling with grief and bewilderment following her father's death, hope is nothing but a leap into darkness. For Tanyaradzwa, whose life has been turned upside down by a cancer diagnosis, hope is the only reason to keep fighting. As the two of them form an unlikely friendship, Shamiso begins to confront her terrible fear of loss. In getting close to another person, particularly someone who's ill, isn't she just opening herself up to more pain? And underpinning it all - what did happen to her father, the night of that strange and implausible car crash? Rutendo Tavengerwei's extraordinary debut takes an honest look at hope, and the grit and courage it can take to hang on to it. Publisher:  Hot Key Books   ISBN:  9781471406867   Number of pages:  256  

  When Art's mother is accused of witchcraft, she is determined to get her back - at any cost. A lyrical adventure with folklore at its heart, for fans of THE HOUSE WITH CHICKEN LEGS. Twelve-year-old Art lives in a small village in Scotland. Her mother has always made potions that cure the sick, but now the townspeople say she is a witch. One cloudless night, Art's mother is accused of Witchcraft, arrested, and taken from Scotland to England. Art mounts her horse, taking a sword, a tightrope, and a herbal recipe book, and begins a journey through wild forests to find her mother before summer solstice, using nature's signs and symbols to guide her.  On her journey, Art will discover what sacrifices she will need to make to be reunited with her mother - and to alter the fate of women everywhere.  But will she reach her, before it's too late? Publisher:  Hachette Children's Group   ISBN:  9781510108356   Number of pages:  288  

  Lola Nox is the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker - she thinks nothing can scare her. But when her father is brutally attacked in their New York apartment, she's swiftly packed off to live with a grandmother she's never met in Harrow Lake, the eerie town where her father's most iconic horror movie was shot. The locals are weirdly obsessed with the film that put their town on the map - and there are strange disappearances, which the police seem determined to explain away. And there's someone - or some thing  - stalking Lola's every move. The more she discovers about the town, the more terrifying it becomes. Because Lola's got secrets of her own. And if she can't find a way out of Harrow Lake, they might just be the death of her... Publisher:  Penguin Random House Children's UK   ISBN:  9780241397046   Number of pages:  320  

  Love, life and wartime.  An adventure of the heart and mind.  Another great book from Sally Nicholls.  If you enjoy historical fiction, you will enjoy this book! Publisher:  Andersen Press Ltd   ISBN:  9781783449903   Number of pages:  240  

  The Find-Outers  is a brilliant mystery series from bestselling author Enid Blyton, perfect for fans of  The Secret Seven .  Someone has set fire to Mr Hick's cottage, but who could it be? Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip, Bets and Buster the dog have their very first case to solve. But it's not easy being detectives with policeman Mr Goon telling them to "clear orf". The Find-Outers are determined - they have to solve the mystery before Mr Goon does! First published in 1943, this edition is unillustrated. Publisher:  Hachette Children's Group   ISBN:  9781444930771   Number of pages:  224  

  Courage, rebellion and revolution run rampant in this boldly accomplished debut set in brutally exploitative Bearmouth mine Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2020 | March 2020 Debut of the Month |Winner of the Older Readers' category of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2020 Told in narrator Newt’s distinctive phonetic English, this dark debut dazzles with originality and delivers a potent case for combatting inequality. Bearmouth is home to a grim mining business, where men and children labour under inhumane conditions to make their Master wealthy. They work under the earth, under the omniscient Mayker who - so workers are told - “sen us down into the dark Earf/To atone for the sins o our forefarvers an muvvers”. Naïve Newt hasn’t seen daylight in years, but takes pride in being taught to read and write by fatherly Thomas, blithely accepting this lot until the arrival of new boy Devlin. Devlin’s talk of “revolushun” makes Newt feel that things are “unravellin slowly slo

  By the pricking of my thumbs ... Lincoln, 1380. A raven-haired widow is newly arrived in John of Gaunt's city, with her two unnaturally beautiful children in tow. The widow Catlin seems kind, helping wool merchant Robert of Bassingham care for his ill wife. Surely it makes sense for Catlin and her family to move into Robert's home? But when first Robert's wife - and then others - start dying unnatural deaths, the whispers turn to witchcraft. The reign of Richard II brings bloody revolution, but does it also give shelter to the black arts? And which is more deadly for the innocents of Lincoln? What readers are saying about  The Vanishing Witch : ' Engrossing, enchanting and mysterious  - this book kept my mind busy from start to finish' ' Compulsive  reading. Thoroughly researched, highly informative and just a  downright good story !' ' Magical and mysterious . Against this  fascinating historical background , Maitland weaves  a sinister tale of witchc

  Bryony Gordon’s  Mad Girl  was a wonderfully candid and refreshing exploration of mental health, and now the Telegraph columnist has penned a self-help guide for teenagers about a lot of the issues that she has faced. Written with the verve and punch that you expect from Gordon,  You Got This  is always illuminating and never condescending. A must read for all teenage girls. I wanted to be a unicorn. I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to be an astronaut. But the thing I really wanted to be more than anything else, was a little less like me. It was only recently that I realised not wanting to be me was at the heart of every dumb decision I ever made. And so now I am writing this book containing all the life lessons I wish someone had taught me. A book for the teenage girl in me. And for every teenage girl out there. Because the most powerful thing you can be when you grow up is yourself. Frank and fearless,  You Got This  openly explores topics like self-respect, body image, masturbati

  When your school's motto is ' Life is dangerous ', you know that anything can happen - and everything does! There's no school that's quite like  Ribblestrop , complete with roofless dormitories, distracted teachers, and a perilous underground labyrinth. And then there are the  students ! You'll meet  Sanchez , a Colombian gangster's son hiding from kidnappers;  Millie , an excluded arsonist and self-confessed wild child;  Caspar , the landlady's spoiled grandson; the helpful but hapless  Sam  and his best friend  Ruskin , plus a handful of orphans from overseas who are just happy to have beds - even if they are located in a roofless part of the building... 'Masterful knockabout humour....the book bulges with irreverent fun and incident.'  The Irish Times  'Ribblestrop has the "crazy school" appeal of  Hogwarts  and the grim humour of  Lemony Snicket , and looks like a winner.'  The Independent 'Ribblestrop is disgracefully

  Sometimes at the darkest hour, hope shines the brightest...  When Col's childhood imaginary friends come to life, he discovers a world where myths and legends are real. Accompanied by his guardians - a six-foot tiger, a badger in a waistcoat and a miniature knight - Col must race to Blitz-bombed London to save his sister.  But there are darker forces at work, even than the Nazi bombings. Soon Col is pursued by the terrifying Midwinter King, who is determined to bring an eternal darkness down over everything. Publisher:  Walker Books Ltd   ISBN:  9781406391183   Number of pages:  400  

  From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. Perfect for fans of the Noughts & Crosses series and The Hate U Give. One fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighbourhood escalates into tragedy. 'Boys just being boys' turns out to be true only when those boys are white.  Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal Shahid's bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?  With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both. Publi

Nobody free till everybody free. Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugar cane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa and his friend Keverton must face their first great task: to kill their overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking, and the day of the uprising approaches . . . Irresistible, gripping and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky's War in Jamaica, 1760. Publisher:  Andersen Press Ltd   ISBN:  9781783449873   Number of pages:  192