The Other Side Of Beautiful

What happens when fate says 'go'? Lost & Found meets The Rosie Project in a stunning break-out novel where a vulnerable misfit is forced to re-engage with the world, despite her best efforts. Meet Mercy Blain, whose house has just burnt down. Unfortunately for Mercy, this goes beyond the disaster it would be for most people: she hasn't been outside that house for two years. Flung out into the world she's been studiously ignoring, Mercy goes to the only place she can: her not-quite-ex-husband Eugene's house. But it turns out she can't stay there either. And so begins Mercy's unwilling journey. After the chance purchase of a cult classic campervan (read tiny, old and smelly), with the company of her sausage dog, Wasabi, and a mysterious box of cremated remains, Mercy heads north from Adelaide to Darwin. On the road, through badly timed breakdowns, gregarious troupes of grey nomads, and run-ins with a rogue adversary, Mercy's carefully constructed walls start crumbling. But what was Mercy hiding from in her house? And why is Eugene desperate to have her back in the city? They say you can't run forever... Exquisite, tender and wry, this is a break-out novel about facing anxiety and embracing life from an extraordinary new talent. PRAISE: 'Tender, funny and quietly profound, The Other Side of Beautiful is a breath of fresh air.' - The Sunday Times 'A colourful, engaging story of escape and road-trip adventure ... also compellingly cinematic and features an endearing narrator-heroine with plenty of meaty real-world troubles.' - Sydney Morning Herald 'An engaging story about second chances and a life changing road trip ... a heart-warming story.' - Canberra Weekly magazine 'Mercy Blain is a character you find yourself cheering on. Kim Lock mixes the transformative journey of Alice Hart with the quirkiness of Eleanor Oliphant in this story about embracing life, even when it threatens to overwhelm you' - Tricia Stringer, bestselling author of The Family Inheritance 'Mercy Blain is an unforgettable character who will capture your heart from the first pages and hold it through until the end. Her madcap journey towards forgiveness - of herself and others - is moving and funny and all other good things that will make you want to keep reading and make you sad when your time with Mercy comes to an end.' - Sophie Green, bestselling author of The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle

From the author of the beloved #1 national bestseller Crow Lake comes an exceptional new novel of jealously, rivalry and the dangerous power of obsession. Two brothers, Arthur and Jake Dunn, are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful and set to inherit the farm and his father’s character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know – the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman comes into the community, the fragile balance of sibling rivalry tips over the edge. Then there is Ian, the family’s next generation, and far too sure he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the fifties, and the world has changed—a little, but not enough. These two generations in the small town of Struan, Ontario, are tragically interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its young men—its unimaginable horror reaching right into the heart of this remote corner of an empire. With her astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension slowly and delicately, Lawson builds their story to a shocking climax. Taut with apprehension, surprising us with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible emotional undertow.

If you walked in on your high school sweetheart and husband of ten years in a compromising position with your best friend, what would you do? Would you kick him out, serve him divorce papers, and leave the small town in North Carolina where you grew up, taking his dog with you just to spite him? Because that's what I did. I have no idea why I chose Santa Monica as the place of my rebirth, but here I am, in the land of earthquakes, mudslides, and wildfires, starting over when most women my age are just starting out. When I come across the bucket list my mother scratched out before she died, I decide this may just be the kick in the pants I need to figure out who I am and where I'm meant to be. Stepping outside my comfort zone, I set out to accomplish everything she always wanted to do but never got the chance. But falling in love was never on that list. Topics: second chance romance, hollywood romance, love triangle, second chance, bucket list, contemporary romance, modern romance, Hollywood, Los Angeles, skydiving, North Carolina, dogs, romance, California romance, beach romance, beach read, light, sweet romance, funny romance, smart romance, humorous romance, romantic comedy, city romance, lighthearted romance, hot romance, proposal, proposal romance, engagement, engagement romance, sexy, heartwarming, heart-warming, love, love books, kissing books, emotional journey, contemporary, contemporary romance, romance series, romance series, USA Today bestseller, USA Today bestselling romance author, T.K. Leigh, T.K. Leigh books, wealthy hero, billionaire hero, sassy heroine, strong heroine, funny heroine, quirky heroine, mysterious hero, gripping romance, captivating romance, hot romance, steamy romance,

For fans of Sarah Dessen and Mary H.K. Choi, this lyrical and emotionally driven novel follows Alina, a young aspiring dancer who suffers a devastating injury and must face a world without ballet—as well as the darker side of her former dream. Alina Keeler was destined to dance, but then a terrifying fall shatters her leg—and her dreams of a professional ballet career along with it. After a summer healing (translation: eating vast amounts of Cool Ranch Doritos and binging ballet videos on YouTube), she is forced to trade her pre-professional dance classes for normal high school, where she reluctantly joins the school musical. However, rehearsals offer more than she expected—namely Jude, her annoyingly attractive castmate she just might be falling for. But to move forward, Alina must make peace with her past and face the racism she experienced in the dance industry. She wonders what it means to yearn for ballet—something so beautiful, yet so broken. And as broken as she feels, can she ever open her heart to someone else? Touching, romantic, and peppered with humor, this debut novel explores the tenuousness of perfectionism, the possibilities of change, and the importance of raising your voice.

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child. Not a speck, not a stain on her gray school skirt and blue blouse to show what terrible thing had happened . . . If only by putting on something fresh and new, they could begin the day again. When twelve-year-old Sade's mother is killed, she and her little brother Femi are forced to flee from their home in Nigeria to Britain. They're not allowed to tell anyone - not even their best friends - as their whole journey is secret, dangerous - and illegal. Their dad promises to follow when he can, but once the children arrive in London, things go from bad to worse when they're abandoned by the people they had been told would protect them. Sade faces challenge after challenge - but her dad has always taught her to stand up for what is right, and to tell the truth no matter what. And with that strength of spirit in her heart, Sade will find the courage to fight for the new, happy life she, Femi and her dad deserve. A powerful novel which explores what it means to be classified as 'illegal' and the difficulties which come with being a refugee - winner of the Carnegie Medal 2000. 'A marvellous read ... that refuels the desire for justice and freedom' - Jon Snow 'Beverley Naidoo breaks the rules, producing books for young people which recognize that they want to know about the real world' Guardian 'This novel wholly deserves its classic status . . . still relevant and poignant.' Booktrust

The Other Side of Midnight is Sidney Sheldon at his best. This page-turner is full of tortured romantic entanglements, reverses of fortune, thrilling suspense, and ultimate justice. In Paris, Washington, and a fabulous villa in Greece, an innocent American becomes a bewildered, horror-stricken pawn in a game of vengeance and betrayal. She is Catherine Douglas, a woman caught in a web of four lives intertwined by passion as her handsome husband pursues an incredibly beautiful film star . . . and as Constantin Demeris, a legendary Greek tycoon, tightens the strands that control them all.

Girl Online meets Wild in this emotionally charged story of girl who takes to the wilderness to rediscover herself and escape the superficial persona she created on social media. Mari Turner’s life is perfect. That is, at least, to her thousands of followers who have helped her become an internet starlet. But when she breaks down and posts a video confessing she’s been living a lie—that she isn’t the happy, in love, inspirational online personality she’s been trying so hard to portray—it goes viral and she receives a major backlash. To get away from it all, she makes an impulsive decision: to hike the entire John Muir Trail. Mari and her late cousin Bri were supposed to do it together, to celebrate their shared eighteenth birthday. But that was before Mari got so wrapped up in her online world that she shut anyone out who questioned its worth—like Bri. With Bri’s boots and trail diary, a heart full of regret, and a group of strangers that she meets along the way, Mari tries to navigate the difficult terrain of the hike. But the true challenge lies within, as she searches for the way back from to the girl she fears may be too lost to find: herself.

This is an expanded and updated version of Nan Goldin's seminal book The Other Side, originally published in 1993. There will be a revised introduction by Goldin, and for the first time the voices of those whose stories are represented. Now being released at a time when the discourse around gender and sexual orientation is evolving, The Other Side traces some of the history that informs this new visibility. The first photographs in the book are from the 1970s, when Goldin lived in Boston with a group of drag queens and documented their glamour and vulnerability. In the early eighties, Goldin chronicled the lives of transgender friends in New York when AIDS began to decimate her community. In the nineties, she recorded the explosion of drag as a social phenomenon in New York, Berlin and Bangkok, photographing their public personas while showing their real lives backstage. Goldin's newest photographs are intimate portraits, imbued with tenderness, of some of her most beloved friends. The Other Side is her homage to the queens she's loved, many of whom she's lost, over the last four decades. The pictures in this book are not of people suffering gender dysphoria but rather expressing gender euphoria... - Nan Goldin