Showing results by author "Catherine Bruton" in All Categories

Aya is 11 years old and has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria. When Aya stumbles across a local ballet class, the formidable dance teacher spots her exceptional talent and believes that Aya has the potential to earn a prestigious ballet scholarship. But at the same time, Aya and her family must fight to be allowed to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves and to find Aya's father - separated from the rest of the family during the journey from Syria.

Maggie Walton’s father has dedicated his life to a single pursuit: hunting down the monster created by Victor Frankenstein. It has cost Maggie and her family everything - and now her father is staking everything on one last voyage to the Arctic, with Maggie secretly in tow, where he hopes to find the monster at last. But there they make a shocking discovery: Frankenstein’s monster has a son.

You have heard, no doubt, the tale of Master Oliver Twist - that rags-to-riches boy; the parish orphan who became heir to the Brownlow fortune. But what few know is that there was a second Twist - a girl, brought into this world moments ahead of her brother. This is the story of Twill Twist - and her journey through the gambling dens and workhouses of London, as she attempts to make a life for herself, rescue her friends and uncover the mystery of her past - while meeting some familiar faces along the way....

The first round of auditions was a bit mad. All these wannabe pop stars sitting around trying to look wacky/soulful/tragic (delete as appropriate) to catch the attention of the TV cameras. At least we had a cracking back story. It's the story of me, Agnes, Jimmy, and baby Alfie, too: the tears, the tragedy, the broken homes, and feuding families, the star-crossed lovers. And only some of it was made up. If I say so myself, it was genius: a surefire golden ticket to stratospheric stardom. Or at least that was the plan....

My dad was killed in the 9/11 attacks in New York. But the stuff in this book isn't about that. It's about the summer my mum went away. The summer that me and Jed and Priti tried to catch a suicide bomber and prevent an honour killing. There's stuff about how we built a tree house and joined the bomb squad; how I found my dad and Jed lost his; and how we both lost our mums then found them again. So it's not really about 9/11 but, then again, none of those things would have happened if it hadn't been for that day. So I guess it's all back to front, sort of….