When I Ran Away

Longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s 2021 First Novel Prize • A rich, bighearted debut that takes us from working-class Staten Island in the wake of the September 11th attacks to moneyed London a decade later, revealing a story of loss, motherhood, and love. As the Twin Towers collapse, Gigi Stanislawski flees her office building and escapes lower Manhattan on the Staten Island Ferry. Among the crying, ash-covered, and shoeless passengers, Gigi, unbelievably, finds someone she recognizes--Harry Harrison, a British man and a regular at her favorite coffee shop. Gigi brings Harry to her parents' house, where they watch the television replay the planes crashing for hours, and she waits for the phone call that will never come: the call from Frankie, her younger brother. Ten years later, Gigi, now a single mother consumed with bills and unfulfilled ambitions, meets Harry, again by chance, and they fall deeply, headlong in love. But their move to London and their new baby--which Gigi hoped would finally release her from the past--leave her feeling isolated, raw, and alone with her grief. As Gigi comes face-to-face with the anguish of her brother's death and her rage at the unspoken pain of motherhood, she must somehow find the light amid all the darkness. Startlingly honest and shot through with unexpected humor, When I Ran Away is an unforgettable first novel about love--for our partners, our children, our mothers, and ourselves--pushed to its outer limits.

*LOSE YOURSELF THIS SUMMER IN THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER* 'One of my favourite authors' MARIAN KEYES Deira isn't the kind of woman to steal a car. Or drive to France alone with no plan. But then, Deira didn't expect to be single. Or to suddenly realise that the only way she can get the one thing she wants most is to start breaking every rule she lives by. Grace has been sent on a journey by her late husband, Ken. She doesn't really want to be on it but she's following his instructions, as always. She can only hope that the trip will help her to forgive him. And then - finally - she'll be able to let him go. Brought together by unexpected circumstances, Grace and Deira find that it's easier to share secrets with a stranger, especially in the shimmering sunny countryside of Spain and France. But they soon find that there's no escaping the truth, whether you're running away from it or racing towards it . . . *LOSE YOURSELF THIS SUMMER IN THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER* Praise for Sheila O'Flanagan's irresistible novels: 'Brilliantly written and with plot twists popping out like Prosecco corks' Woman and Home 'An exciting love story with a deliciously romantic denouement' Sunday Express 'A feel-good story told by a funny and down-to-earth heroine' Woman's Weekly 'If you're seeking an escape of your own, this sunny, evocative story is the perfect place to hide away' S Magazine A NO. 1 IRISH BESTSELLER (JULY 2020) A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER (MARCH 2021)

In a funny, moving, and lyrical story, three boys learn a thing or two about the way a person relates to his fellow man, and along the way they grow up, just a little, despite their best efforts not to.

Back when they were students Simon and his friend Ray had dreams to become rock stars. Fifteen years later, their mid-thirties are bearing down fast and they're having to accept a less glamorous life. Ray takes refuge from his responsibilities by living a virtual existence in online games. People say he needs to grow up, but everybody finds their own way of coping. But for Simon it's serial murder, mass slaughter and professional assassination.

"While Dad tucks her in, a little girl calmly recounts her day with Mom, in which she had a tantrum, was sent to her room, and ran away--to a tent in the yard"--

In the newest offering in the best-selling Pet Rescue Adventures series by Holly Webb, Isabella moves in with her new stepfamily and an adorable puppy named Honey. But when Honey runs away under Isabella’s care, can Isabella find her before anything happens to the puppy? Holly Webb’s bestselling Pet Rescue Adventures series continued with The Puppy Who Ran Away, which follows the story of a young girl named Isabella, who is nervous about moving in with her mom’s new husband and her new stepbrother. But she soon learns that she now has a puppy named Honey in her family, and she’s thrilled! But when her stepbrother leaves to visit his mother, Honey misses him and goes missing—and Isabella was supposed to be taking care of Honey! Can Isabella find Honey before anything happens to the puppy?

Can she ever truly escape the ties that bind? Kate Forrest is invisible ... Ned, the husband she adores, doesn’t seem to know she’s alive, and her two charming children have grown into stroppy adolescents. Her boss is suddenly shunting her towards career Siberia, and her demanding mother is never off the phone. With her fortieth birthday fast approaching, all Kate wants to do is run away from the lot of them. And so she does. On impulse, Kate walks out of her job, her family and her life, and gets on a plane to Italy. With no ties and no responsibilities, she soon finds herself deliriously caught up in La Dolce Vita – and the arms of a man barely half her age. But when the unthinkable threatens her family, Kate is brutally forced to choose between her past and the future.