Poverty Fiction

On a night of wild storms, two troubled figures escape from captivity. One is a 15-year-old boy, Samuel Miles, a.k.a. "Smiler", wrongly convicted of theft and sent to a young offenders institution. The other is a cheetah, Yarra, a restless resident of Longleat Wildlife Park. Both are in danger from the outside world—and each other—but somehow their lives become inextricably bound up as they fight for survival on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

Danny gets a terrible start in life and runs away from his drunken father when he thrashes him to within an inch of his life. But life on the streets is no better, and he falls into the clutches of evil men, finding that being big and strong for his age is no protection from the people who want to do him harm. Help comes in the form of Constable Jones, who is determined to help out the children who need it, and new friends Ron and Cassie, who are also runaways. Can Danny’s dream of a loving home ever be a reality?

Jonny has had a bad start in life and has been taken in by a neighbour after the death of his mother. Small for his age, he is prey to a band of local thugs, so he joins the boxing club and learns to defend himself. When a violent altercation ends in tragedy, Jonny runs away and meets a homeless young girl called Cassie, who has been living in an abandoned house - touched by her predicament, Jonny vows to look after her, whatever that takes. Cassie desperately needs love and a safe place to call home, and there are kind hearts who want to help.

Nikki Black finds herself homeless and wandering the streets of Los Angeles, when she begins to uncover a sinister cover-up that endangers herself and others.

Some battles cannot be won. The time has come to fight. There are no allies left. There is nothing but flames ahead. The end has arrived. Prepare for the final installment in the Ena of Ilbrea series.

Ancient magic lurks in the shadows. The Black Bloods’ home is more magnificent than Ena imagined, and more perilous than the life she fled. The time has come for the Black Bloods to unite against the Guilds, but loyalties born in blood will be tested by fire. And not everyone she loves will survive the flames. As murder and malice surround her, Ena must prove her innocence or risk a fate worse than death. Facing her enemies will test every friendship she has and risk the heart she has won.

Fern’s lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern’s mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving. Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern thinks only about how to get home again. She has a plan, but it will take time.

Emily, Simon und Marcus erkunden eine alte Burg im tiefsten Winter. Obwohl Emily und Simon wenig über den enigmatischen Marcus wissen, steckt seine Begeisterung für die Festung sie an.

On the verge of her thirteenth birthday, Tess's life is falling apart. Her mother is dead. Her father is like a zombie. And now her beloved cat, Alice, has started running into the street when cars go by, trying to get run over. The only thing Tess can think of that might help? Running away. As she ventures from home, Tess stumbles upon a crew of manga-loving goth kids hiding out in the local haunted house performing seances.

Twelve-year-old Olivia Hales has a foolproof plan for winning a million dollars so that she and her little sister, Berkeley, can leave behind Sunny Pines Trailer Park. But first she has to: Fix the swamp cooler and make dinner and put Berkeley to bed because her mom is too busy to do all that. Write another letter to her dad even though he hasn't written back yet. Teach Berk the important stuff, like how to make chalk drawings, because they can't afford day care and Olivia has to stay home from school to watch her.

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.

A small prison cell in India holds an 18-year-old penniless waiter from a Mumbai slum. But Ram Mohammad Thomas isn't a criminal. He is under arrest for correctly answering 12 tricky trivia questions on the show Who Will Win a Billion? Reluctant to part with the jackpot of one billion rupees, the show directors bribe the police to arrest Ram, accusing him of cheating.

Ireland, 1948. The potato famine has left the Cavanagh family destitute. Kitty and Peter manage to secure tickets for America - seeking hope in an unknown land. But still fortune will not favour them. On a terrifying crossing of the Irish Sea, Peter vanishes, and with him their tickets. Now, Kitty and her young family are stranded in Liverpool - with not a penny to their name. Facing prejudice and distrust, they move to Blackburn, where the welcome is no warmer, but Kitty at least can gather rags and scraps to exchange for a coin or two.

Otello is South America’s star soccer player and has just signed a deal to play for a team in the southern part of his country, a region with a history of racism toward black northerners like Otello. Desmerelda is a white pop star and the daughter of a right-wing politician. Their sudden and controversial marriage propels them to center stage, where they burn under the media spotlight. But celebrity attracts enemies -  some very close to home. When a young girl is found murdered, Paul Faustino, veteran soccer reporter for La Nación, witnesses the power of the media in making - and breaking -  lives.

Everything Aoife thought she knew about the world was a lie. There is no Necrovirus. And Aoife isn't going to succomb to madness because of a latent strain - she will lose her faculties because she is allergic to iron. Aoife isn't human. She is a changeling - half human and half from the land of Thorn. And time is running out for her. When Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft engine she released the monsters from the Thorn Lands into the Iron Lands and now she must find a way to seal the gates and reverse the destruction she's ravaged on the world that's about to poison her.

Lorrie Hollander used to be a rich girl, but now she's lost everything because of the secrets and lies of the people around her. It's been 12 years since Lorrie's mother skipped town and left Lorrie in the care of her unstable aunt Gigi. Together they live in a neglected, decrepit mansion called Edgewater, the eyesore in a town of extraordinary wealth and privilege. When Charlie, the son of an esteemed senator, takes an interest in Lorrie, her shame for her family and lifestyle runs deep.

Blink, man, what were you thinking? Sneaking into the hotel for a hot breakfast  -  hot scraps of someone else’s breakfast, really. Couldn’t you just feel  that it was a wrong place/wrong time scenario? Even before you heard the banging and saw those dudes in suits jet it out of room 1616? Now you’re not only witness to a crime; you’re linked to it, thanks to the smartphone you were stupid enough to jack from the room. And then there’s Caution. As in “Caution: Contents Under Pressure.” She’s also on the run, from a skeezy drug-dealer boyfriend and from a nightmare in her past that won’t let her go.

Changes are the worst. Especially when your parents decide to move you across town in the middle of high school. And with it now being my senior year, I hoped I was done with big life changes until graduation. But then I met Aidan. While my family has gone from middle class to filthy rich, his homeless state remains the same. Not that it matters to either of us. We're just happy to be together. But my mom and her agenda to clean up the city might just change all that. I only hope I can help him before it's too late.

Lucy Lavender loves exploring. After Dad dies, Mom pieces jobs together and struggles to provide for Lucy. When Mom is offered a job in Sea Rock Cove, the coastal town where Dad grew up, Lucy hopes this is her chance to pursue her dream of becoming a marine biologist. On Lucy's first day at her new school, she is excited to go to Sea Rock and see Dad’s beloved sea stars. When Lucy learns the sea stars are dying, she becomes determined to save them. But as Lucy gets involved with the people of Sea Rock Cove, she learns there is a lot more beneath the surface of the town.

Will has the wrong shoes – he's always known it but doesn't know how to change it. Navigating the difficulties of home and school when you feel you stick out is tough, but finding confidence with the help and empathy of friends can be all you need to see the way.