The Montmaray Journals 2 The Fitzosbornes In Exile

The evocative and exciting sequel to the NSW Premier’s Award-winning and critically acclaimed A Brief History of Montmaray. Forced to leave their island kingdom, Sophie FitzOsborne and her eccentric family take shelter in England. Sophie's dreams of making her debut in shimmering ballgowns are finally coming true, but how can she enjoy her new life when they have all lost so much? Aunt Charlotte is ruthless in her quest to see Sophie and Veronica married off by the end of the Season, Toby is as charming and lazy as ever, Henry is driving her governess to the brink of madness, and the battle of wills between Simon and Veronica continues. Can Sophie keep her family together, when everything seems to be falling apart? An enticing glimpse into high society, the cut and thrust of politics as nations scramble to avert world war, and the hidden depths of a family in exile, struggling to find their place in the world.

Michelle Cooper combines the drama of pre-War Europe with the romance of debutante balls and gives us another compelling historical page turner. Sophia FitzOsborne and the royal family of Montmaray escaped their remote island home when the Germans attacked, and now find themselves in the lap of luxury. Sophie's journal fills us in on the social whirl of London's 1937 season, but even a princess in lovely new gowns finds it hard to fit in. Is there no other debutante who reads?! And while the balls and house parties go on, newspaper headlines scream of war in Spain and threats from Germany. No one wants a second world war. Especially not the Montmaravians—with all Europe under attack, who will care about the fate of their tiny island kingdom? Will the FitzOsbornes ever be able to go home again? Could Montmaray be lost forever?

Michelle Cooper combines the drama of pre-War Europe with the romance of debutante balls and gives us another compelling historical page turner. Sophia FitzOsborne and the royal family of Montmaray escaped their remote island home when the Germans attacked, and now find themselves in the lap of luxury. Sophie's journal fills us in on the social whirl of London's 1937 season, but even a princess in lovely new gowns finds it hard to fit in. Is there no other debutante who reads?! And while the balls and house parties go on, newspaper headlines scream of war in Spain and threats from Germany. No one wants a second world war. Especially not the Montmaravians—with all Europe under attack, who will care about the fate of their tiny island kingdom? Will the FitzOsbornes ever be able to go home again? Could Montmaray be lost forever?

“There’s a fine line between gossip and history, when one is talking about kings.” Sophie Fitzosborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray with her eccentric and impoverished royal family. When she receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday, Sophie decides to chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. The politics of Europe seem far away from their remote island—until two German officers land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics become very personal indeed. A Brief History of Montmaray is a heart-stopping tale of loyalty, love, and loss, and of fighting to hold on to home when the world is exploding all around you. “Once in a while, a special book will cross our paths and make us grateful for life and the ability to read. I’m talking about A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper. I’m calling her Australia’s next stroke of literary brilliance.”—Viewpoint

War came early to the FitzOsbornes when the Nazis bombed their island home - but now it comes to the world. How will they survive? The final book in the trilogy that is destined to become a much-loved classic. Sophie FitzOsborne and the royal family of Montmaray escaped their remote island home when the Nazis attacked. But now that war has come to England and the rest of the world as well, nowhere is safe. Sophie fills her journal with tales of a life in wartime. Stories of blackouts and the Blitz. Dancing in nightclubs with soldiers on leave. And desperately waiting for news of her brother Toby, last seen flying over enemy territory. But even as bombs rain down on London, hope springs up in surprising places, and love blooms. And when the Allies begin to drive their way across Europe, the FitzOsbornes take heart. Maybe, just maybe, there will be a way to liberate Montmaray - to go home again at last. Sometimes heart-stopping, sometimes heart-breaking, Sophie's story will, as always, capture readers' hearts.

A hilarious story about girls, growing up, gossip and . . . God? I'd grown up being told that if I found myself tempted to behave in an unkind way, I just had to ask myself, 'What would Jesus do?' And then do that. Something hard pinged off the back of my seat and bounced down the aisle. So the question was, what would Jesus do if the Jameson sisters started chucking Jaffas at his head? It is 1984 and fifteen-year-old Hester Jones is not having a good year. Her best friend has moved away and, even though Natalie and Lynda are allowing her to hang out with them, Hester's struggling to keep up with her cool new friends. Plus, she has the most embarrassing dad in the world, who's never, ever going to let her go to the birthday bash Natalie's planning. Worst of all, her Science teacher's making her work on a project about evolution with that weird Joshua Mason . . . When everything goes wrong and the world stops making sense, Hester has to decide: is it better to be a sheep, or a goat?

“A smart, suspenseful, and unpredictable thriller that will keep readers turning pages until every last lie is revealed.”—Karen M. McManus, New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying For fans of The Darkest Corners and Pretty Little Liars, Amanda Searcy’s debut novel will have readers both disturbed and entranced by one girl’s present-day horrors and another’s haunting past. Flight. All Kayla Asher wants to do is run. Run from the government housing complex she calls home. Run from her unstable mother. Run from a desperate job at No Limits Food. Run to a better, cleaner, safer life. Every day is one day closer to leaving. Fight. All Betsy Hopewell wants to do is survive. Survive the burner phone hidden under her bed. Survive her new rules. Survive a new school with new classmates. Survive being watched. Every minute grants her another moment of life. When fate brings Kayla and Betsy together, only one girl will survive.

A doting mother and her two beloved sons, one of whom she thinks is probably gay, go about their daily lives in this hilarious and heartwarming LGBTQIA+-friendly family comedy!The warm and loving Aoyama house continues to run like clockwork. Mama Tomoko keeps her sons happy and healthy while her husband's away, and eldest son Hiroki, for his part, jokes and dissembles his way around the not-so-little "secret" of his sexuality while figuring things out for himself. But even though Hiroki's got his mom and kid brother in his corner for his personal journey, his dad is another story. There's no doubt that Akiyoshi Aoyama loves his son, but he's oblivious to the high schooler's struggles and hasn't grasped how hurtful his casually wielded assumptions and stereotypes can be. Will love be enough to see father and son through? Or will Tomoko have to step in and do what she does best? Be her son's greatest ally, that is!