‘I learned to look up to heaven, and to fear none but God.’
Robinson Crusoe is a young Englishman who embarks on a fateful journey to a deserted island in the Caribbean. After a shipwreck and some misadventures, Crusoe finds himself stranded on the uninhabited island, without any human being in sight.
The only tools he had were his determination, and presence of mind; armed with those he begins to adapt to his new environment, building shelter, growing crops, and taming animals. Soon he realised, that ultimate peace is in connecting with the environment around you and striving hard to build the life you deserve, irrespective of the circumstances.
Is will power and strong mindset enough to conquer the most challenging circumstances? This gripping tale of Robinson Crusoe is a testament to the human knack for survival, resilience, and the importance of self-discovery.
From the author of THERE WAS A PERANAKAN WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A SHOE comes a story of an orphan girl who rises above discrimination to find love. Fans of Grace Lin and Avi will surely be delighted by this tale that takes inspiration from both eastern and western storytelling traditions.
Twelve-year-old Elven has eleven fingers, no parents, and a skin tone that hints at murky origins. One day, she receives a wooden Puzzle Box belonging to her late mother, and an intriguing letter promising her love—if she solves it.
Thus begins Elven’s long journey, in which she runs away to the town of Armora to find the Puzzle Box maker. There, she encounters its quirky residents and makes a new friend—the mysterious Madam Green who may not be what she seems. Ignoring signs of danger, Elven moves into Madam Green’s cottage on Mount Armora where she helps rehabilitate the town’s abandoned pets. Soon, their idyllic life is shattered with the arrival of miners intent on extracting gold from the mountain at all costs. Elven teams up with Madam Green to stop them, drawing both of them into a sinister scheme with tentacles deeper than anyone can imagine.
When the townsfolk accuse Madam Green of being a witch, it will take all of Elven’s ingenuity to not just to unravel the shocking truth, but ultimately reveal the secret of the Puzzle Box.
“It is because I think so much of warm and sensitive hearts, that I would spare them from being wounded.”
A cruel act of fate is disappointing a young heart which has the softest hopes from life. Born impoverished and orphaned at birth, Oliver Twist begins his life in a workhouse an apprentice. He flees to London fed up with the constant beatings by his mentor.
He arrives in London with high hopes for a better life but is met with a series of rude shocks. What happens when he meets Jack Dawkins, goes to work with him only to be taken to the police when mistaken for a thief?
Oliver Twist is a sarcastic, intelligent, witty novel with incredible twists and turns.
The story the strives to overcome the miserable conditions for the lower class, searches for an identity, and a sense of belonging.
Clare is alone in her school’s tunnel walkway when a famous teenage stage actor strides into sight – and promptly disappears! Caught in an avalanche of supernatural incidents, she soon discovers that the actor, Gavin Lai, has become invisible – and she is the only one who is able to see him.
Despite her reluctance and distaste for the handsome but self-absorbed actor, Clare teams up with him to get to the bottom of this strange predicament.
In Gavin’s absence, his rival has taken over his breakout role on stage. Does he have anything to do with Gavin’s disappearance? Or is there something supernatural about this former missionary school, with its hauntingly old colonial structures and its sinisterly omniscient clock tower?
The investigation now takes centre stage as Clare slowly breaks out of her shell, while Gavin’s past catches up with him. Has he been cursed into this nightmare because of what he has done?
In the midst of discovering the truth, they also discover themselves and each other. But is that enough to mend the rift in space and time?
Cousins Nathan and Junie Kwan, and their friend, Sachin Sundara, are students in the prestigious and fiercely competitive Noble Hall School – dismissed as bookish nerds by the popular students who rule at school and subjected to micro-aggressions. Their friendship kept them afloat… until the bright new girl at school, Aida Anargul, befriended them.
Fashionista Aida brought a touch of glamour into their lives, and seemed to make the impossible seem possible. But their new found popularity is short-lived as Nathan’s world came crashing down when his precious Siamese cat disappears one night. The friends embark on a frantic search for Lapsang Souchong and discovered that their quaint little neighbourhood is hiding a dark secret.
The narrative merges the charm of old-school mystery, adventure and folklore; with complex Millennial characters, including (sometimes) unlikeable, annoying know-it-all protagonists and bold, formidable antagonists who are (sometimes) admirable.
Forced to work for her aunt like a modern-day Cinderella, twelve-year-old Zarra Nuraman thinks her life is awful until one day her fairy ‘godmother’ turns up and kidnaps Zarra’s baby cousin. Zarra follows her cousin and ends up in Kayangan – a parallel universe filled with the characters of the Malaysian folktales she grew up with. In this land where magic fairy coats and were-crocodiles exist, and where even saying the wrong thing can kill you, Zarra is being hunted by the evil Queen Zamrud. With the help of the Border Guardians, Khai and Amir, and a magic Bidari coat which can transport her anywhere she wants, Zarra has three days to rescue her cousin, and in the process discovers a secret which changes her life.
Julian Kee and his friends have already saved the Underworld twice from destruction and chaos. Can they do it a third time?
In his misguided attempts to harness the power of technology, the children’s erstwhile mentor Wuchiwark has unleashed a blight across the Underworld, causing the plants and animals to mutate into fearsome beasts. Only the legendary Twin Blades of Doom can undo the curse, so off the children are sent on yet another thrilling adventure! However, firmly believing that being a hero should be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and not a permanent job, Julian hatches a daring plot which, if successful, will resolve the Underworld’s problems once and for all.
This third book in the Prophecy of the Underworld series continues to serve up much fun and laughter about adventures, heroes and the crazy world of publishing!
Seven-year-old Ying Xiong looks forward to a better life in post-war Singapore after the Japanese troops’ surrender in September 1945.
However, a new war erupts at home when Xiong’s father decides to return to his homeland in China. This tears the family apart when he takes Xiong’s two elder brothers back with him, whilst Xiong and his mother remain in Singapore.
Xiong navigates his childhood years alone in a poor neighbourhood as his mother ekes out a livelihood for them. He makes a friend in Kampung Silat, follows a fearsome teenage gangster in Silat Road and gets to know a brave police inspector who becomes his neighbour. Through all this, Xiong comes to realise what it takes to be a hero, which is also the meaning of his name Ying Xiong.
Little Hero is a touching work of fiction inspired by real-life events from the childhood years of the author’s father in post-war 1940s Singapore and beyond.
The Library of No Return brings back Julian Kee, Mia Pendrago and Ryan Chowdhury in yet another hilarious and adventure-filled jaunt to the Underworld. Once again, their help is required to deal with a crisis: Tago the Ef-frock has announced that he is tired of his powers being constantly exploited. He has now gone rogue, and is threatening to unleash his magic to destroy all who oppose him if he is not given world dominance.
The wise old man, Wuchiwark, believes that the Underworlders’ only hope is an ancient parchment rumoured to contain a formula which will help them find a balance to the Effrock’s hitherto unchallenged powers. This parchment is stored in the Library of No Return, a mysterious place from which no one who entered has ever emerged. The children agree to undertake this quest in secret, as their old nemesis the CATTSS (the ruling council of the Underworld) has forbidden anyone to enter the library, and will go all out to stop the children from obtaining this sacred relic. As the children embark on their new adventure, they soon realise that all is not as it seems, and they begin to wonder if there is more to the parchment than Wuchiwark has revealed to them, and, more crucially, if their enemy this time is not the CATTSS, but really Wuchiwark himself.
This instalment continues the series’ witty banter on fantasy and adventure tropes while being a delightful spoof on bookish habits and all things writerly!
The end of the world changes things. But most of all, it changes people too.
Six weeks after the world began counting its days in fading sunsets, Ava finds herself at a complete loss. Cassie is away, Roy is gone, and the last time she saw Brad, he was bleeding from three stab wounds to his chest with his right leg chopped off. With Connor by her side, all she knows now is that she has to survive – because real life is no game.
When rumours on the whereabouts of the Lightbringer – the elusive leader of the Pure – begin to surface among the myths, Ava and her friends decide to buff up their chances of survival with a welcome addition to their party. But the search for the alien leader is filled with uncomfortable truths, and, with the Ferals and the Hostiles taking over the Earth, Ava once again feels she’s way underleveled for the big battle ahead.
In the company of a cheery half-spider woman, a loyal dragon-horse, horned battle elves, and a host of stiff hopping corpses, Ava will have to unlock her own strength to fight the horrors of what’s to come.
An Extra Life token would really come in handy right now.
