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Book 1: A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly (featured on 9th June 2004)
A Gathering Light is set atmospherically in the Adirondack Mountains, close to the Canadian border, at the turn of the last century. It tells the bitter-sweet coming-of-age story of memorable 16-year-old Mattie Gokey, who, despite coming from an impoverished farming family, is passionate about words and books. We follow her story since the death of her mother, as Mattie is torn between family responsibilities, her dream of going to college and being a writer and the potent excitement of her first romance, which is fast leading her down the alternate path of becoming a farmer’s wife.
Woven intriguingly into Mattie’s story, and lending it tremendous authenticity, is the true story of a murder that took place in the Adirondacks at the time; a story that rocked America, and that is so captivating itself, that it has already inspired one other novel and the film A Place in the Sun, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.
Jennifer Donnelly is an Irish American. She lives in New York but grew up in the Adirondack Mountains where A Gathering Light is set. This is her second novel.
(ISBN: 0747570639) Published by Bloomsbury
>>Buy A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly here
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Book 3: PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern (featured on 23rd June 2004)
Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not Holly and Gerry. Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other’s sentences and even when they fought, they laughed. No one could imagine Holly and Gerry without each other. Until the unthinkable happens. Gerry’s death devastates Holly. But as her 30th birthday looms, Gerry comes back to her. He’s left her a bundle of notes, one for each of the months after his death, gently guiding Holly into her new life without him, each note signed ‘PS, I Love You’.
As the notes are gradually opened, and as the year unfolds, Holly is both cheered up and challenged. The man who knows her better than anyone sets out to teach her that life goes on. With some help from her friends, and her noisy and loving family, Holly finds herself laughing, crying, singing, dancing – and being braver than ever before. Life is for living, she realises – but it always helps if there’s an angel watching over you.
Before embarking on her writing career, Cecelia completed a degree in journalism and media studies. PS, I Love You is Cecelia’s first novel and rights to it have already been sold worldwide. Cecelia lives in County Dublin.
(ISBN: 0007165005) Published by HarperCollins
>>Buy PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern here
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Book 5: The Mermaid And The Drunks by Ben Richards (featured on 7th July 2004)
Fresia, the daughter of Chilean exiles leaves London following the suicide of her father to embark on a journey of self-discovery in her mother country. She meets Joe, a Scottish academic on a research trip and Roberto, a wealthy local. The shadow of Pinochet and his legacy provide the backdrop to this novel which examines nationality, belonging and roots, friendship and loyalty, and of course, love. The Mermaid and the Drunks takes its title from a poem by Pablo Neruda.
Ben Richards has been fascinated with Chile since childhood, when he became completely and almost unhealthily obsessed with the idea of Salvador Allende and his death during the coup. He first went to Chile at the beginning of 1988 before the plebiscite, which eventually ousted Pinochet. Working with Chilean students opposed to the regime Ben was arrested during a protest (although released pretty swiftly after the intervention of the British vice-consul). Ben has written previous four novels, all set in London – Throwing the House Out of the Window, Don’t Step on the Lines, The Silver Road and A Sweetheart Deal. He also writes for television, where his credits include the BBC hit drama Spooks and Channel Four’s No Angels.
(ISBN: 0753817756) Published by Phoenix
>>Buy The Mermaid & The Drunks by Ben Richards here
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Book 6: Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen (featured on 14th July 2004)
A witty, sophisticated romantic comedy which explores the universal themes of love, loyalty and family. American Maggie Monroe is a journalist for New York's hard-hitting current affairs show Newsline. Independent and fearless, the more cutting-edge the story, the happier she is. But when her next assignment turns out to be an in-depth documentary on the decline of England's ruling classes, she's furious at being sent to cover a bloody tea party. Meet the Earl and Countess of Bevan, eccentric, maddening and with family secrets to hide. Meet Daniel Bevan - their eldest son. Funny, attractive and hopelessly alcoholic. Meet Daniel's responsible brother Rory - angry, self-mocking and strictly teetotal. When Maggie discovers Rory to be an uninvited chaperone on the first stop of her journey the two look set to clash. Maggie finds herself torn between her journalist ideals and coming to terms with a greater understanding. This unlikely romantic comedy paints an endearing portrait of a family, which like so many others, holds itself together despite its evident frailties.
Bella Pollen is a writer and journalist who contributes to a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, including the Sunday Telegraph, American Vogue, Harpers and Queen and the Observer. She is the author of two previous novels – All About Men and B Movies, Blue Love.
(ISBN: 0330411578) Published by Pan Macmillan
>>Buy Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen here
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