*One of NPR's "Books We Love 2021"* "'I came to see the mountains as an outpouring of our modern lives,' Roy writes, 'of the endless chase for our desires to fill us.' Readers of Behind the Beautiful Forevers will be drawn to this harrowing portrait." —Publishers Weekly "Castaway Mountain deserves every accolade. A stunning achievement." —Kiran Desai, Booker Prize Winner, author of Inheritance of Loss. All of Mumbai’s possessions and memories come to die at the Deonar garbage mountains. Towering at the outskirts of the city, the mountains are covered in a faint smog from trash fires. Over time, as wealth brought Bollywood knock offs, fast food and plastics to Mumbaikars, a small, forgotten community of migrants and rag-pickers came to live at the mountains’ edge, making a living by re-using, recycling and re-selling. Among them is Farzana Ali Shaikh, a tall, adventurous girl who soon becomes one of the best pickers in her community. Over time, her family starts to fret about Farzana’s obsessive relationship to the garbage. Like so many in her community, Farzana, made increasingly sick by the trash mountains, is caught up in the thrill of discovery—because among the broken glass, crushed cans, or even the occasional dead baby, there’s a lingering chance that she will find a treasure to lift her family’s fortunes. As Farzana enters adulthood, her way of life becomes more precarious. Mumbai is pitched as a modern city, emblematic of the future of India, forcing officials to reckon with closing the dumping grounds, which would leave the waste pickers more vulnerable than ever. In a narrative instilled with superstition and magical realism, Saumya Roy crafts a modern parable exploring the consequences of urban overconsumption. A moving testament to the impact of fickle desires, Castaway Mountain reveals that when you own nothing, you know where true value lies: in family, community and love. Interior map illustration copyright (c) Jake Coolidge

In the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel Minecraft: The Island, a stranded hero stumbles upon another castaway—and discovers that teamwork might just be the secret to survival. Wandering a vast, icy tundra, the explorer has never felt more alone. Is there anything out here? Did I do the right thing by leaving the safety of my island? Should I give up and go back? So many questions, and no time to ponder—not when dark is falling and dangerous mobs are on the horizon. Gurgling zombies and snarling wolves lurk in the night, and they’re closing in. With nowhere to hide, the lone traveler flees up a mountain, trapped and out of options . . . until a mysterious figure arrives, fighting off the horde singlehandedly. The unexpected savior is Summer, a fellow castaway and master of survival in these frozen wastes. Excited to find another person in this strange, blocky world, the explorer teams up with Summer, whose impressive mountain fortress as a safe haven . . . for now. But teamwork is a new skill for two people used to working alone. If they want to make it home, they will have to learn to work together—or risk losing everything.

THE SHOCKING STORY OF A DESERT ISLAND DREAM THAT WENT SOUR 'Writer seeks "wife" for a year on tropical island.' The opportunity to escape from it all was irresistible. Lucy Irvine answered the advertisement - and found herself alone on a remote desert island with a 'husband' she hardly knew. Lucy Irvine fell in love with the seductive, if cruel, beauty of that untouched Eden, whose power to enslave and enchant her never slackened throughout the whole of her amazing adventure. Uncompromisingly candid and sometimes shocking, Castaway is her compulsively readable account of a desert island dream which threatened to turn into a nightmare of illness, thirst and personal antipathy. Now a film by Nicholas Roeg starring Amanda Donohoe and Oliver Reed,

Henry and his dog, Laird Angus McAngus, were fearless explorers. One morning they set out to find an ocean. They took along Henry's explorer's kit and a special new flag from an old shirt. "It may be a long and dangerous trip," he told his mother as they left. "I hope it won't take all day," she said. "Who knows?" replied Henry. "It could take a year!" And it might have. For like many explorers of oceans, Henry and Angus were cast up on island with no escape. But good explorers are prepared for everything. And these two proved more than equal to the dangers they met, though there were some very tough moments.

“Newbery Honor winner Preus . . . delivers a riveting story about teenage freedom fighters in WWII Norway” (Publishers Weekly). After Nazi Germany invades and occupies Norway, fourteen-year-old Espen and his friends are swept up in the Norwegian resistance movement. Espen gets his start by delivering illegal newspapers, then graduates to the role of courier and finally becomes a spy, dodging the Gestapo along the way. During five years under the Nazi regime, Espen, his sister, and their parents live in fear of nighttime raids and arrests, and they begin to question the loyalties of the people around them. Espen gains—and loses—friends, falls in love, and makes one small mistake that threatens to catch up with him as he sets out to escape on skis over the mountains to Sweden . . . Award-winning author Margi Preus crafts a thrilling adventure based on the real-life experiences of Erling Storrusten, a Norwegian spy during World War II. Praise for Shadow on the Mountain “Engrossing. . . . This is at once a spy thriller, a coming-of-age story, and a chronicle of escalating bravery. Multidimensional characters fill this gripping tale that keeps readers riveted to the end.” —School Library Journal, starred review “A morally satisfying page turner.” —Kirkus Reviews

A sci-fi classic returns to print in its true, best, and original form! With renewed interest in Alexander Key's extraordinary 1968 novel, fans can dive into Escape to Witch Mountain as it was meant to be read. The powerful, thrilling story of Tony and Tia—twins joined by their paranormal gifts, on the run from evil forces that seek to suppress their forgotten pasts—is more gripping and relevant than ever. Praise for Escape to Witch Mountain: "Action, mood, and characterization never falter in this superior science fiction novel..."—Library Journal "Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, adventure—the story is all of these, with enough suspense and thrills to keep young readers glued to its pages from first to last."—Book World "Fascinating science fiction."—Elementary School Library Collection, Bro-Dart Foundation