The Stolen Island

‘What had happened to the stolen islanders? Had any survived slavery?’ One day in 1863 a strange ship stopped at ‘Ata, a tiny island in the wild seas between Tonga and New Zealand, and sailed away with one hundred and forty-four men, women and children. The ‘Atans were never heard from again, and in Tonga their fate became the subject of legends and superstitions. Uncovering the tragedy of ‘Ata takes Scott Hamilton on a journey to the kava circles and caves of Tonga and back to the streets of Auckland. The Stolen Island is a twenty-first century true sea story revealing slavers, mutinies, castaways, pirates and a cruel streak in Pacific history that is often overlooked but not forgotten.

The Island of Lost Maps tells the story of a curious crime spree: the theft of scores of valuable centuries-old maps from some of the most prominent research libraries in the United States and Canada. The perpetrator was Gilbert Joseph Bland, Jr., an enigmatic antiques dealer from South Florida, whose cross-country slash-and-dash operation had gone virtually undetected until he was caught in 1995–and was unmasked as the most prolific American map thief in history. As Miles Harvey unravels the mystery of Bland’s life, he maps out the world of cartography and cartographic crime, weaving together a fascinating story of exploration, craftsmanship, villainy, and the lure of the unknown.

The task of living in modern New Zealand – and especially in modern Auckland – is not just to understand how to live with different peoples, but how to adapt to the future that has already happened. New Zealand is a nation that exists on Pacific Islands, but does not, will not, perhaps cannot, see itself as a Pacific Island nation. Yet turning to the Pacific, argues Damon Salesa, enables us to grasp a fuller understanding of what life is really like on these shores. After all, Salesa argues, in many ways New Zealand’s Pacific future has already happened. Setting a course through the ‘islands’ of Pacific life in New Zealand – Ōtara, Tokoroa, Porirua, Ōamaru and beyond – he charts a country becoming ‘even more Pacific by the hour’. What would it mean, this far-sighted book asks, for New Zealand to recognise its Pacific talent and finally act like a Pacific nation?

Enjoy this bad boy romance at a terrific discount. My plan was to rob the billionaire’s treasure Not the cute princess I found on his Jacht. Crying women get to me. The despair in her voice reminded me of my mother. It made my chest tighten. I could see dark splotches all over her arms Bruises were developing. I agreed to help her in exchange for her engagement ring. As we evade her husband, we fall for each other. But with danger around every corner. We must choose between love and self-preservation when her abusive husband catches up to us. Keywords: Guaranteed HEA, no cliffhangers, happily ever after. billionaire, bad boy, office romance, steamy romance, contemporary romance, love books, love stories, new adult, alpha male, romance, action, adventure, steamy romance, small-town secrets, hot, alpha hero. free book, free novels, romantic novels, and sexually romantic books.

Eddy is an ambitious teenager. He attends one of the most prestigious boy’s colleges on the island and has big dreams. The only problem is that he lives on the Beetham, and to be from the Beetham in Trinidad society means that you would always be considered the lowest of the low, no matter what you do. The stigma of crime, drugs, violence and poverty would always be associated with people from that area. Being the best friend of the son of one of the richest and most influential men in the business world certainly does not help. The two are like brothers until Brian almost loses his life and the hand of money hungry kidnappers. Brian’s mother Sally tries desperately to salvage a marriage that is already beyond repair. Her husband’s infidelity is not as frightening to her as the thought of her becoming a divorcee. Matt defines who she is in the world and without her identity as his wife, life could become unbearable. However she slowly discovers that infidelity has its own vicious consequences. Jesse Guevara is the eldest of five and the daughter of simple Santa Cruz Valley farmers. She is smart and beautiful and her teachers at St. Joseph’s Convent believe that she will be able to get a scholarship. Lisa is her best friend and although faced with the challenge of living with an alcoholic replacement for her father, never loses her joie de vivre. Jesse, Brian, Eddy and Lisa are all from different backgrounds and different socioeconomic status. However, when the lives of these four young people and their families collide through circumstance, their vulnerability is revealed and their secrets exposed. Each of them discovers that there is something they hold dear to their hearts. Something that once stolen can never be replaced.

Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur's The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep readers guessing until the last page. 1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani's family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest near a gruesome crime scene. Years later, Detective Min—Hwani's father—learns that thirteen girls have recently disappeared from the same forest that nearly stole his daughters. He travels to their hometown on the island of Jeju to investigate... only to vanish as well. Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village—and collides with her now estranged sister, Maewol—Hwani comes to realize that the answer could lie within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago. Praise for The Forest of Stolen Girls: A Junior Library Guild Selection A 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection A 2022 White Pine Award Nominee A 2022 ALA Rise Selection A 2022 CCBC Choices Selection "The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting, breathtaking tale that will have readers on the edge of their seats. ... Hur is an absolute master of mystery, and I will be reading her gorgeous books for years to come." —Adalyn Grace, New York Times-bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth "Rich, exquisite, and deeply atmospheric, The Forest of Stolen Girls draws the reader in from the very first page and doesn't let go. A dark and utterly engrossing mystery, beautifully drawn from start to finish." —Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times-bestselling author of Girl in Pieces "Haunting and lyrical. Beware, this tale will draw you deeper into the forest than you want to go." —Stacey Lee, award-winning author of The Downstairs Girl "A brilliant historical fiction mystery that is suspenseful, gorgeous and absolutely riveting! Hur brings Jeju Island during the early Joseon period completely to life in a rich, evocative manner that reminds me of watching my favorite historical Kdrama.” —Ellen Oh, author of the Prophecy series

Readings by South Pacific islanders This book offers readings of the Bible by native biblical critics from the South Pacific (Pasifika). An essay from editor Jione Havea introduces the volume by locating these essays within islander criticism and by explaining the flow of the book. Essays are presented in three sections. “Island Twists” offers readings that twist, like a whirlpool, biblical texts around insights of Pasifika novelists, composers, poets, and sages. “Island Turns” contains contextual readings that turn biblical texts toward Pasifika. “Across the Sea” contains responses by biblical critics from across the sea. Features Contributions to islander criticism A showcase of texts by native writers, poets, and composers Crosscultural and postcolonial readings