As a young girl, I had an amazing man in my life – my great grandfather who taught me survival is your victory in life. Growing up in rural New Zealand, he survived the Boer War, the harsh realities of living during World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the natural disasters of rural life as a farmer. He taught me that surviving whatever I was confronted with, came down to luck, recognising when luck came your way, making your own luck, being prepared to adapt quickly, considering your family and friends when choosing your path. He was the least educated, but the wisest person I ever knew.
Christy has written a contemporary story of survival, hope, love, and courage. She tells the story of Nuri, a beekeeper from Aleppo, and his wife as they flee the war still raging in their country (Syria) and their journey to a new life in Britain.
Christy spent time working in a refugee camp in Greece and saw firsthand the tragedy of those seeking a better, safe life. She provides you with the depth of this suffering beyond the six-second soundbites you watch on your nightly news.
Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year - The British Book Awards 2020
A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB CHOICE 2019
Narrated by Art Malik, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a moving, powerful, compassionate and beautifully written testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Told with deceptive simplicity, it is the kind of book that reminds us of the power of storytelling.
In the midst of war, he found love In the midst of darkness, he found courage In the midst of tragedy, he found hope
Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life,…
I have read this novel many times and will read it again. I admit to bias being set in my homeland. Derek weaves a story of three disillusioned, struggling survivors on a desolate island off the coast of the North Island. They are an hour away from New Zealand’s largest city, yet far away from the lives that brought them here.
Rosie, a doctor fleeing lost opportunities, rejection; Red, a former World War II POW who when asked to write down his objectives to aid recovery from PTSD, writes one word ‘Survive’; Angus, a cantankerous retired police inspector Scotsman.
I was held captive reading this story of friendship, adventure, and love as these three unlikely neighbours learn to work together, survive together.
Have you ever wanted to escape to a distant island? When Rosie Trethewey, a disillusioned doctor turned market researcher, unexpectedly inherits a shack on the remote northern tip of Great Barrier Island, she decides it's time to begin a new life. Arriving at her new home, Rosie finds she has two neighbors sharing the wilderness: Red O'Hara, a refugee from horrific wartime experiences on the Burma Railway, and Angus McLeod, a retired policeman who's abandoned a society he sees as soft and contemptible. Rosie's appearance panics Red and Angus, both fearing she'll disrupt their ordered lives...and they're right.
Nevil Shute’s novels were written several decades ago, in a simple, highly readable style. They stand the test of time with his common themes of the dignity of work, spanning all classes. Written in a simple highly readable style, he bridges the social barriers of class, race, and religion.
On the Beach is set after World War III most of the world’s population has been obliterated. A small town of residents in southern Australia awaits with dreaded anticipation as a radiation cloud drifts their way. A faint Morse code message comes from the United States and a Navy officer sets off to find the source of the message. When survival is not the ending you want or get.
Pearson English Readers bring language learning to life through the joy of reading.
Well-written stories entertain us, make us think, and keep our interest page after page. Pearson English Readers offer teenage and adult learners a huge range of titles, all featuring carefully graded language to make them accessible to learners of all abilities.
Through the imagination of some of the world's greatest authors, the English language comes to life in pages of our Readers. Students have the pleasure and satisfaction of reading these stories in English, and at the same time develop a broader vocabulary, greater comprehension and reading…
Who doesn’t love a Stephen King novel? What better time to be reacquainted with The Stand than during the current global pandemic? No author straddles the diversity of genres; horror, crime, supernatural fiction, fantasy, suspense, and more, like S.K.
Good versus evil. As only Stephen King can tell. The story of the lives of several survivors who survived a worldwide plague that wiped out 99% of the Earth’s population. They survived for a reason; chosen by the forces of good and evil for one final showdown. I read this many years ago, will go back and read it very soon.
Stephen King's apocalyptic vision of a world blasted by virus and tangled in an elemental struggle between good and evil remains as riveting and eerily plausible as when it was first published.
Soon to be a television series.
'THE STAND is a masterpiece' (Guardian). Set in a virus-decimated US, King's thrilling American fantasy epic, is a Classic.
First come the days of the virus. Then come the dreams.
Dark dreams that warn of the coming of the dark man. The apostate of death, his worn-down boot heels tramping the night roads. The warlord of the charnel house and Prince of…
Personal reveal – I love weather. I am in my happy place with a good thunderstorm overhead, shaking my house, lighting up my backyard in the dead of night. And so, I was drawn to read Braving the Storm.
The entire eastern seaboard of the United States is struck by Superstorm Nicole. The power grids fail, millions of residences and businesses are unprotected, in the dark. Anarchy erupts as gangs rule the streets forcing residents to make a choice; leave their homes or stay and fight. Four families flee the city, and join together, to live in a cabin in the middle of the forest and try to wait it out, survive.
This is a scenario not beyond the realm of possibility. Braving the Storm can also be read as a survival guide.
When Superstorm Nicole hits the entire U.S. eastern seaboard at once, the Eastern Power Grid fails and plunges half of the country into a complete blackout--no power, no phones, and no cellphones. Hospitals, banks, and grocery stores stop running, and chaos rules. Cities are controlled by gangs, and citizens have two choices: leave their homes or fight for what supplies are left. Luckily some people are ready. Four families from Pittsburgh flee the city and join together to live in a cabin in the middle of the forest and try to wait it out. But when IS the power coming…
Three Sisters, Heather Morris’s third novel that is based on true events, tells the story of three Slovakian sisters and the unbreakable bond that carried them through the horrors of the Holocaust and into their lives beyond it. The novel is a testament to the power of storytelling to change the course of people’s lives and the importance of keeping family history alive for future generations.
Three Sisters follows Livia, Cibi, and Magda through their time in Auschwitz that ends when the allies start closing in and the Nazis begin the death marches for the remaining prisoners. Due to a last-minute stroke of luck, the sisters are able to escape formation and hide in the woods for days before being rescued. They return to Slovakia, only to find their home inhabited by strangers. They decide to travel to Israel to make a new home, but the battle for freedom takes on new forms. Livia, Magda, and Cibi must face the ghosts of their past—and some secrets that they have kept from each other—to find true peace and happiness.
This book (and its sequels) are about overcoming the odds; about learning to improve the skills and abilities you have, rather than dwelling on what you can't do. Conflict, plague, and scheming politicians are all featured along the way–but none of the characters are human!
When a plague kills half the Drax population, and leaves the hatchlings of the survivors with a terrible deformity – no wings – suspicion and prejudice follow. Continuously harassed by raids from their traditional enemies, the Koth, the Drax are looking for someone, or something, to blame.
Zarda, an apprentice Fate-seer, is new to her role and unsure of her own abilities; but the death of her teacher sees her summoned by the Drax Prime, Kalis, when his heir, Dru, emerges from his shell without wings.
A vision that Dru will one day defeat the Koth is enough to keep…
