California. The summer of 1969. In the dying days of a floundering counter-culture a young girl is unwittingly caught up in unthinkable violence, & a decision made at this moment, on the cusp of adulthood, will shape her life...” This book will break your heart & blow your mind.” (Lena Dunham) Evie Boyd is desperate to be noticed. In the summer of 1969, empty days stretch out under the California sun. The smell of honeysuckle thickens the air & the sidewalks radiate heat. Until she sees them. The snatch of cold laughter. Hair, long & uncombed. Dirty dresses skimming the tops of thighs. Cheap rings like a second set of knuckles. The girls. & at the centre, Russell. Russell & the ranch, down a long dirt track & deep in the hills. Incense & clumsily strummed chords. Rumours of sex, frenzied gatherings, teen runaways. Was there a warning, a sign of things to come? Or is Evie already too enthralled by the girls to see that her life is about to be changed forever? ...

This is longlisted for the 2014 Dylan Thomas Prize. It is a fiercely beautiful novel about friendship & the ties that bind us. Mia & Lorrie Ann are lifelong friends: hard-hearted Mia & untouchably beautiful, kind Lorrie Ann. While Mia struggles with a mother who drinks, a pregnancy at fifteen, & younger brothers she loves but can`t quite be good to, Lorrie Ann is luminous, surrounded by her close-knit family, immune to the mistakes that mar her best friend`s life. Until a sudden loss catapults Lorrie Ann into tragedy: things fall apart, & then fall apart further
- & there is nothing Mia can do to help. & as good, kind, brave Lorrie Ann stops being so good, Mia begins to question just who this woman is & what that question means about them both. A staggeringly arresting, honest novel of love, motherhood, loyalty, & the myth of the perfect friendship that moves us to ask ourselves just how well we know those we love, what we owe our children, & who we are without our friends.
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This is beautifully packaged reissue of one of Muriel Spark`s best loved novels, ” The Girls of Slender Means”. ` Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions`. In the May of Teck Club
- a London hostel `three times window shattered since 1940 but never directly hit`
- the young lady residents do their best to act as if the war never happened. They practice elocution, & jostle one another over suitors & a single Schiaparelli gown. But behind the girls` giddy literary & amorous peregrinations they hide some tragically painful secrets & wounds. ` You girls are my vocation...I am dedicated to you in my prime`. ” Reading the novel as a young woman was a random gift; rereading it today is to encounter the rarest of fiction & to appreciate the early & enduring genius of Muriel Spark”. (Carol Shields, ” Guardian”). ” One of Spark`s most evocative novels”. (Anne Taylor). Muriel Spark was born & educated in Edinburgh. She was active in the field of creative writing since 1950, when she won a short-story writing competition in the ” Observer”, & her many subsequent novels include ” Memento Mori” (1959), ” The Ballad of Peckham Rye” (1960), ” The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1961), ” The Girls of Slender Means” (1963) & ” Aiding & Abetting” (2000). She also wrote plays, poems, children`s books & biographies. She became Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1993, & died in 2006.

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London, 1945. The girls of slender means are the residents of the May of Teck Club, a genteel yet rather shabby boarding house established for the `social protection of ladies of slender means below the age of thirty years`. The novel concerns their everyday affairs over a period of a few weeks before a shocking event transforms their lives. This is one of the 22 novels written by Muriel Spark in her lifetime. All are being published by Polygon in hardback Centenary Editions between November 2017 & September 2018. ...

With The Girls` Back to School Book, girls can say goodbye to those end-of-holiday blues, & discover that school is cool. Packed with brain-boosting puzzles, quizzes, games & things to do, this book is sure to send girls to the top of the class. Girls can find out their school-work style, carry out cool science experiments, create artistic masterpieces, crack fiendish number puzzles, learn new playground games & much more. ...

July 2016. Bright, sparky & raring to go, Margot Goodwin arrives as the new curate at St Mark`s, Highbury. She`s one part exhilarated, ten parts terrified. This is the most important twelve months of her life. Success would mean becoming a fully-fledged priest a year from now, something she feels profoundly called to do. Failure would not only prove her father right, but also delight all the antis who consider woman priests an abomination. Can she convince everyone herself included
- that she`s more than a five foot eight blonde with a Ph D & a penchant for Max Factor`s Mulberry Lipfinity & a good glass of wine? Louise Rowland is a natural writer, funny & wry, this is a female Rev.
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After following the advice from a manual called ” How to Meet & Marry Mr Right”, Jane learns that in love there is neither pattern nor promise. The Girls` Guide To Hunting & Fishing is a deeply funny collection of connected stories & a portrait of Jane, a woman manoeuvring her way through love, sex & relationships. Penguin by Hand is a collection comprising five of Penguin`s most popular women`s fiction titles of recent years, all with new & beautiful craft-inspired jackets. ...

Guaranteed to fill every holiday with fun, this activity book is bursting with great things for girls to do this summer, including doodles to complete, things to make, puzzles to solve & games to play. It is the perfect size to fit into a child`s backpack whenever they head off for a trip away, but just as good for fun at home. ...

This is the essential guide to growing your own salads, herbs, veg & fruit while maintaining an attractive outdoor space to have fun in. Aimed at beginners, it has sound practical & seasonal advice, lots of hints & tips for successful growing, delicious recipes & fun Weekend Projects to help you make the most of your outdoor area, however small. This completely new sort of gardening book will appeal to 20- & 30-something women who have busy working lives but still want to grow their own produce without spending all weekend digging. ...

Welcome to the Velorution! Women`s cycling is having a moment. From Olympic heroines like Victoria Pendleton, through fashion designers, models & celebrities, to the super-cool girls on the street, everybody who is anybody is travelling on two wheels. This book will inspire you to join them. Cycling is a fun, healthy & inherently stylish hobby & form of transport with a long & rich history of empowering women. It has never been more fashionable & more accessible to just about everybody. Full of fun & inspiration, with gorgeous photography & quirky illustrations throughout, The Girl`s Guide to Life on Two Wheels is a practical & stylish guide to help you find the confidence & motivation to embrace cycling as part of your daily life. From choosing a bike & staying safe on the roads to looking great on two wheels & embracing the unique style cycling offers, Cathy will arm you with everything you need to get on your bike. Whether you used to cycle as a kid or have never been on a bike in your life, no matter what age you are, where you live or how fit & active you are
- if you`ve ever thought you`d love to cycle but `can`t`, this book will show you that you can, & you can do it in style.
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