MY favourite story books.....

A walk to remember – Nicholas Sparks

“There was a time when the world was sweater...when the woman in Beaufort, North Carolina, wore dresses and the men donned hats...”
Every April when the wind smells of both the sea and the lilacs, Landon Carter remember 1958, his last year at Beaufort High. Landon had dated a girl or two, and even once sworn that he’d been in love. Certainly the last person he thought he’d fall for was Jamie, the shy, almost ethereal daughter of the town Baptist minister... Jamie, who was destined to show him the depths of the human heart- the joy and pain of living.

Holes – Louis Sachar

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with hi no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day, digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.

It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment- redemption.

The Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis: The Magician’s Nephew

NARNIA... where the woods are thick and cool, where Talking Beasts are called to life... a new world where the adventure begins.
Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Digory’s Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magicaian, sends them hurtling to... somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion’s song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis before they finally return home.

Enter this enchanted world countless times in The Chronicles of Narnia. There are seven books in all:
The Magician’s nephew
The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the DaWn Treader
The silver chair
The last battle

Stay Alive, My Son--- Pin Yathay

On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge guerrillas filed into Phnom Penh, signaling the start of a reign of terror which would devastate an ancient culture and cause the deaths of over two million Cambodians in just three years. Moving from camp to camp, Pin Yathay and his family became the ‘New People’ – displaced city dwellers forced to live and work as peasants.
Astonishingly, Pin Yathay, a successful, highly educated professional, survived that terrible time. But he and his wife were faced with a decision that no couple should ever have to make: whether to abandon their six-year-old child. In the era, Pin Yathay escaped the ‘killing fields’, but in his heart is etched the memory of the seventeen members of his family who lost their lives

When Broken Glass Floats--- ChanRithy Him

In a mesmerizing story, Chanrithy Him vividly recounts her trek through the hell of the “killing fields.” She gives us a child’s-eye view of a Cambodia where rudimentary labor camps for both adults and children are the norm and modern technology no longer exists. death becomes a companion in the camps, along with illness. Yet through the terror, the members of Chanrithy’s family remain loyal to one another, and she and her siblings who survive will find the redeemed lives in America.

Falling leaves, Adeline Yen Mah

Adeline Yen Mah’s childhood in China during the civil war was a time of fear, isolation and humiliation. the cause of this was nor political upheaval but systematic emotional and physical abuse by her step mother and siblings, and rejection by her father. Falling Leaves is the story of a ‘fifth Younger Daughter’ and her determination to survive the pain of a lonely Childhood.

Cry Freedom(Simplified Edition by Oxford Bookworms Library)by John Brilry

They said Steve Biko was a man of violence; then why did he talk of peace? They said he wanted revolution; so why did he talk of friendship? They said he died of hunger; why was his body broken and bruised?
This is the story of a man’s fight with the government of South Africa.It is the story of all people who prefer truth to lies. It is the story of all people who cry ‘Freedom’ and who are not afraid to die.

Diadem, book of sign---by John Peel

Score, Renald, and Pixel are drawing closer to the heart of Diadem. And as they do, the danger heigtens. The evil is stronger. The magic deceives.
The chosen Three must track down a magician who can change both shape and form. They do not know whether she will help them – or kill them. But they must move forward. The fate of the Diadem hangs in the balance.

Diadem, book of Thunder --- John Peel

Score, Helaine, and Pixel thought they had triumphed over evil. But evil reappear in different forms. Danger wears many disguise.
Thunder, the leader of the unicorns, is in trouble. An intruder has broken in to his kingdom. Now the chosen three must summon their ultimate powers to prevent Thunder’s fall. For the stranger has dark magic on his side. And he will stop at nothing to destroy the land of the unicorns.

Diadem, book of Nightmares --- John Peel

Welcome to the planet Zarathan, where nothing is ever what it seems. Nightmares come to life. Ghosts can kill. Terror waits around every corner.
Pixel is a prisoner in the horrific world. Score and Helaine must race to save him. They cannot, under any circumstances, stop to rest. For if they fall asleep, they will stay asleep...forever.

Yang the Second and Her Secret Admirers --- Lensey Namioka

Yinglan Yang couldn’t careless that her brother and sister have adopted all sorts of American customs. She misses China and doesn’t want to fit in here. Her siblings decided that Yinglan needs help to make friends in America. They join forces and play matchmaker between Yinglan and Paul Eng, a Chinese American baseball player. They’re certain Yinglan will never find out. Or will she?

I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade --- Diane Lee Wilson

Born on the Mongolian steppes during the reign of Kublai Khan, Oyuna’s fate is sealed when, as an infant, her foot is crushed by a horse. Her clan believes she has been cursed by bad luck, and she is confined to her family’s tent to cook and sew. But Oyuna believes in the words of her shamaness grandmother, and dreams of riding a swift horse and winning a great race – thereby bringing honor and good luck to her family.
Disguised as a boy, with only her beloved old mare and heroic cat for company, Oyuna sets off in search of her swift horse. Together they trek across the vast Gobi desert and desolate mountains, all the way to the court of the great Khan himself. And Oyuna finds herself on the journey of a life-time – a journey that will change her luck forever.

......more to be continued