New Releases by Allan Stratton

◎《愛在蔓延中》教你看見的不是恐懼，而是衷心愛人時所產生的堅毅力量，以及真實活著的美好！ ★2011年改編成電影《生命的重量》(Life, Above All) 入選坎城影展一種注目單元，並入圍奧斯卡最佳外語片！ ★全球12個國家發行。榮獲國際27項大獎。全球重要書評一致推薦！ 當『愛滋』蔓延，『愛』，也在蔓延…… 一部帶著些許懸疑、感人熱淚的小說，描述一個非洲女孩倩妲，在愛滋病陰影籠罩於身邊的至親好友時，她如何為了拯救自己所愛的人們而奮鬥。在面對死亡與恐懼的同時，倩妲展現無比的勇氣，並且依然擁抱夢想，但更重要的，她讓人們學會面對真相…… 一次礦坑意外帶走了倩妲的爸爸和哥哥們，倩妲的媽媽迫於生計，再嫁給艾賽．肥頭。發現艾賽騷擾倩妲之後，倩妲的媽媽帶著倩妲和小女兒艾莉絲離開，再嫁給杜布先生。好景不常，倩妲的弟弟出生後不久，杜布先生中風而死，倩妲的媽媽再交了男友喬納，生下莎拉。 倩妲努力唸書，希望以後能成為教師或醫生，但是環境困頓之外，意外與悲劇更接踵而至，使得夢想離她越來越遠。小妹莎拉夭折；喬納先是酗酒、偷錢、跟別的女人鬼混，接著愛滋病發，不知所蹤；倩妲最好的朋友愛絲特因為父母死於愛滋病而和弟妹分離，為了存錢接回弟妹而從事性交易的她卻被嫖客惡意傳染愛滋病；一向堅強的媽媽病倒了，鄰居介紹的名醫只是草藥銷售員，在巫醫建議下回到娘家提若村之後便音訊全無…… 【本書關鍵字】 愛滋、生死教育、勇氣、人權教育、說謊、親情、SDGs 【本書資料】 無注音 適讀年齡：11歲以上 【本書特色】 1.透過優質文學作品，帶領讀者省思「人權」、「生命教育」等多元課題。 作者遠赴南非、辛巴威與東非的波札那等國，認識一些愛滋病患、照護中心的工作者及衛生教育單位，並參與愛滋病末期病患的照顧工作，真切描寫他對社會正義的堅持、對人權平等、包容及個體責任的追求，富含國際觀與文學性且深具震撼力的小說，發人深省。 得獎紀錄 ★國際閱讀協會傑出書籍 ★美國圖書館協會「普林玆」文學獎銀牌獎 ★美國圖書館協會最佳青少年讀物 ★美國圖書館協會最受歡迎平裝青少年讀物 ★美國圖書館協會「十大青少年非洲歷史讀物」書單 ★美國獨立出版書業獎最佳青少年小說 ★美國兒童文學期刊推薦書 ★《評論書刊》編輯選書 ★美國童書獎最受注目書籍 ★《前言》雜誌（Foreword Magazines）年度選書 ★美國非洲研究協會非洲文化童書獎最佳青少年讀物 ★紐約公共圖書館青少年讀物重點推薦 ★華盛頓州常青青少年讀物獎提名 ★英國「萊斯特」年度青少年小說獎入圍 ★加拿大圖書館協會青少年讀物獎 ★加拿大童書中心重點推薦書籍 ★加拿大英屬哥倫比亞省恆星青少年選書獎 ★Resource Links加拿大兒少文學評論期刊年度最佳讀物 ★德國Jubu-Crew Göttingen月讀俱樂部2006年2月選書 ★德國天主教兒童及青少年書籍獎入選作品 ★「好書大家讀」年度好書 ★國立編譯館獎勵人權教育出版品獎 ★教育部性別平等教育優良讀物 國內外推薦書評 這個世界畢竟要由愛來主導，因為愛，不再有恐慌，不再有羞辱。《愛在蔓延中》讓青少年認識什麼叫「苦難」，什麼是「愛」。 ——李家同 (清華大學榮譽教授) 《愛在蔓延中》以非洲輕快的節奏，傳達青春期掙扎的迫切。當愛滋病不再只是一個遙遠的名詞，而是邪惡且無形的毒藥，威脅要奪走你的家人，躡入你的惡夢，傷透你的心並毀了你的前程，這時你要如何學習在愛與勇氣中成長？這就是倩妲的祕密之一。 這個震撼的故事因為呈現了殘酷的事實、痛楚以及辛苦掙來的希望而造成轟動。這群身處於愛滋病肆虐的環境裡，卻仍努力找出人生意義的年輕人，令人動容。 ——史蒂芬．路易斯 (聯合國駐非洲愛滋大使) 從非洲南部數以百萬計感染愛滋病的統計數字中，我們在這個緊扣人心的故事中找到了一張人的臉孔……第一人稱的倩妲以現在式貼近述說的故事，既不多愁善感，也不刻意描繪悽慘的景象，然而我們卻可以湊近看到她如何在痛苦、失落、羞辱與內疚中掙扎…… 史特拉頓創造出一個真實可信的社區感覺，其中包括貧窮、人滿為患的醫院、掙扎中的學校以及擠到不行的墓園。 ——美國《評論書刊》 傑作……史特拉頓的書寫充滿對非洲地域的了解，以簡約、清晰的口吻，由十六歲的敘事者堅定說出，有如小號清亮之聲，飄洋過海呼喚和她同齡的友伴。 ——英國《衛報》 格外令人心絞的閱讀經驗……史特拉頓為弱勢無語族群慷慨發聲。 ——加拿大Quill and Quire書評雜誌 很少有書評家願意承認因為讀完一本書而掉淚，但這本書令我淚流滿面。這個故事述說平凡人的英勇和妥協——在非洲幾乎無法立足的社會與經濟困境中，倩妲在她居住的小鎮尋覓出生存之途。極力推薦！ ——澳洲《閱讀時代》 加拿大作家艾倫．史特拉頓待在非洲時，見識到愛滋病肆虐所造成的悲劇影響。藉由本書，他向那些打破沉默的無名英雄致敬……這是一本撼動人心的小說。 ——美國《美聯社》 聰明且心意堅決的倩妲儘管身處於幾乎無可救藥的情境當中，但她是個讓讀者越來越喜歡、越來越相信的角色。撒哈拉沙漠以南的各種非洲生活細節十分真實可信，而且把這個述說貧窮與勇氣的動人故事，寫得既細緻又流暢。 ——美國《學校圖書館學刊》 十六歲的倩妲到貝特曼永光葬儀社，為她夭折的繼妹挑一個便宜的棺材，艾倫．史特拉頓令人難忘的《愛在蔓延中》由此揭開序幕…… 《愛在蔓延中》並不擺虛偽的高姿態，當史特拉頓的女主角發現沒有任何外來的科技奇蹟可以拯救她的母親時，她坦然以對的勇氣，不會令讀者感到失真。書末，我們看到她的夢想，是更多的愛滋病友誼中心，和更豁達的心胸。「死亡已經夠糟糕了，」她說，「但更糟的是在恐懼和羞恥中，帶著謊言孤獨死去。」 ——英國《每日電訊報》 令人屏息……主角倩妲是個精力充沛的少女，夢想著新事業和更好的未來，必須保守許多祕密的她，在許多方面都和一般少年、少女沒什麼不同。為了拯救朋友、守護信仰，她挺身而出，毫不畏懼，這樣戲劇化的描繪所傳達的忠心、失落、希望和勇氣，將跨越年齡的界限，打動任何讀者的心。 ——英國《倫敦自由報》 魄力十足……莊重有力的筆觸無疑使這個重要且牽連廣泛的故事充滿人性。 ——《柯克斯書評》 一部激起希望，力道強勁的小說。 ——澳洲《世紀報》 史特拉頓將愛滋病帶給人類的絕望、貧窮及衝擊描寫得栩栩如生，卻也同時刻劃出人性面對逆境時的堅毅不屈。讀者可以看見、感覺到這可怕疾病對於人類影響之鉅，而進一步去探視統計數字背後的真實。讀者會受到人類精神勝利的鼓舞。這本精采的小說涵括了勇氣、誠實和責任感等特質。 ——加拿大《兒童及青少年讀物書評期刊》 赤裸裸的人性極具衝擊性……你無法不被倩妲的恐懼、勇氣和決心，還有這個比事實還真切千百倍的故事所感動。 ——澳洲《伊拉瓦拉信報》 《愛在蔓延中》利用簡潔直接的語言抓住讀者的注意力……書中呈現了愛滋病患的痛苦和個人強大的生命力。必讀！ ——德國《柏林日報》 沉痛和魄力並駕齊驅——恰到好處。極特出的文學成就。 ——英國兒童文學桂冠作家，麥克．莫波格 描繪精細，筆調優美。 ——《環球郵報》 在這個動人的故事中，倩妲必須先承認一個問題的存在，接著運用她僅有的資源去處理它，在祕密的循環中造成小小的突破。 ——《號角雙月刊》 本書主題關係重大，深印人心……無論是此處的悲劇或希望，史特拉頓既不過份誇飾，也不含蓄帶過，小說中也沒有催淚的時刻，只有疫病蔓延中個人的哀痛和包容。 ——《美國童書中心書評期刊》 具高度可讀性……悲痛在本書中有了形象清晰的代言人，不僅激發同理心，也許更能喚起行動力。 ——加拿大《多倫多明星日報》 在這本真誠的小說中，作者艾倫．史特拉頓描摩了愛滋病在非洲撒哈拉沙漠以南對人類生理及心理造成的創傷。史特拉頓以意志力堅強的倩妲為故事重心，倩妲的勇氣讓她得以面對一連串難以想像的慘痛經歷。這本小說讀起來並不輕鬆，但卻能讓讀者明白愛滋病在非洲肆虐對人類造成的影響。 ——德國《匹茲堡公報》 和政治議題相關的訊息無法避免，但著重描寫個人和他們的命運所造成的影響卻更為深遠，尤其當他們在倩妲的故事中因堅強和毅力而發光發熱時，那影響更為深切。小說中所傳達的睿智和活力不僅感人肺腑，更激勵人心。 ——德國《南德日報》 這本小說試著在處理棘手議題的同時提供日常生活中的有趣細節，不落俗套：倩妲和弟妹小索及艾莉絲在家中的鬥嘴，是家庭慘劇中僅存的居家常態，和社區裡的暴力威脅形成細緻的對比。 ——德國《法蘭克福全德日報》 倩妲的故事滿溢苦痛和堅毅，卻是真實可信的，它告訴我們，病毒，和它四周的禁忌一樣危險。 ——德國《萊因信使報》

She promised her mama she'd keep them safe. It's been six months since Mama died, and Chanda is struggling to raise her little brother and sister. Determined to end a family feud, she takes them to her relatives' remote rural village. But across the nearby border, a brutal civil war is spreading. Rebels led by the ruthless General Mandiki attack at night, stealing children. All that separates Chanda from the horror is a stretch of rugged bush and a national park alive with predators. Soon, not even that. Before she knows it, Chanda must face the unthinkable, with a troubled young tracker as her unlikely ally. Chanda's Wars is the unforgettable story of a teenager who risks everything to save her brother and sister. Epic in its sweep, intimate in its humanity, here is a gripping tale of family intrigue, love and courage, forgiveness and hope.

Zoe Bird is going nowhere fast. She’s angry and lonely, and her only true friend is her granny, whose Alzheimer’s is worsening. When her parents put Granny in a home, Zoe decides now is the time to break free. She smuggles Granny out and together they hit the tracks on a cross-country trip to find Zoe’s long-lost uncle. But there will be some home truths along the way. . . An emotional story about family, surviving school and being true to yourself for fans of The Art of Being Normal and Unbecoming.

Depuis cinq ans, Cameron et sa mère déménagent constamment, fuyant le père abusif de Cameron qui les pourchasse de ville en ville. Du moins, c'est ce qu'affirme la mère de Cameron. Pour l'instant, ils sont établis dans une maison de ferme. Cameron y est témoin de manifestations étranges, mais comme il est seul à voir de curieux fantômes, sa mère s'inquiète. Cameron en est rendu à douter de lui-même. Cette sinistre maison serait-elle vraiment hantée? Et quel est le lien entre les événements passés, la rumeur qui court à propos de chiens et le père de Cameron?

Cameron and his mom have been on the run for five years. His father is hunting them. At least, that’s what Cameron’s been told. When they settle in an isolated farmhouse, Cameron starts to see and hear things that aren’t possible. Soon he’s questioning everything he thought he knew and even his sanity. ‘It’s about ghosts and terrifying danger and going mad all at once. I didn’t know what was real and what was imagined until the very last page. I loved it!’ Melvin Burgess ‘Brilliant, page-turning and eerie. Had me guessing to the very end’ Joseph Delaney

Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award 2015 — Nominated Faith healers, movie moguls, and social-climbing fraudsters collide in Depression-era Los Angeles It’s the Great Depression and Mary Mabel McTavish is suicidal. A drudge at the Bentwhistle Academy for Young Ladies (aka Wealthy Juvenile Delinquents), she is at London General Hospital when little Timmy Beeford is carried into emergency and pronounced dead. He was electrocuted at an evangelical road show when the metal cross on top of the revival tent was struck by lightning. Believing she’s guided by her late mother, Mary Mabel lays on hands. Timmy promptly returns to life. William Randolph Hearst gets wind of the story and soon the Miracle Maid is rocketing from the Canadian backwoods to ’30s Hollywood. Jack Warner, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Rockettes round out a cast of Ponzi promoters, Bolshevik hoboes, and double-dealing social climbers in a fast-paced tale that satirizes the religious right, media manipulation, celebrity, and greed.

An exhilarating fairytale adventure from the author of the Governor General's Award nominated The Grave Robber's Apprentice. The Dream Witch haunts the forest beyond the kingdom of Bellumen, waiting to collect on a horrible debt owed by the king and queen -- the heart of their only daughter, Princess Olivia. Until she has it, none of the kingdom's children are safe. As Olivia's thirteenth birthday approaches and the witch's deadline draws near, her desperate mother seeks help from Prince Leo of neighbouring Pretonia. But the treacherous prince seizes their castle instead, determined to marry Olivia and take over the kingdom. So Olivia makes a daring escape from the castle, two friends by her side: the peasant boy Milo and a curious talking mouse with a surprising past. Together, the friends face certain danger and fantastical adversaries to save their families and rescue a kingdom.

Hans doesn’t know who he is or where he came from. When he was a baby, he washed ashore in a wooden box and was adopted by the conniving grave robber Knobbe the Bent. Now fate has thrown him together with Angela von Schwanenberg, a young countess fleeing for her life from the evil Archduke Arnulf and his dreaded Necromancer. Together, these friends go on a daring quest to discover Hans’s true identity and save Angela’s parents from the archduke. Join Hans and Angela on their grand adventure as they ride through the depths of the great forest, sled down a mountain in a coffin and sneak along the secret passageways of the archduke’s palace. The Grave Robber’s Apprentice is a world of highwaymen, hermits and dancing bears—and of a boy separated from his family by the sea. In this world anything is possible with luck and imagination—even for a grave robber’s apprentice.

The truth is closing in. Life's not easy for Sami Sabiri since his dad stuck him at a private school where he's the only Muslim kid. But it's about to get a lot worse. When Sami catches his father in a lie, he gets suspicious. . . . He's not the only one. In a whirlwind, the FBI descends on his home, and Sami's family becomes the center of an international terrorist investigation. Now Sami must fight to keep his world from unraveling. An explosive thriller ripped from today's headlines, borderline is the story of a funny, gutsy Muslim-American teen determined to save his father, his family, and his life.

Leslie can’t seem to avoid trouble, whether it’s at school or at home. Just as life seems at its lowest, Jason McCready, the exceedingly cool new guy at school, enters her life. Now Leslie is the envy of all the girls. But Jason’s appearance is deceiving –he is determined to control every aspect of Leslie’s life and he begins terrorizing her in unimaginable ways. When a substitute teacher reads the private English-class journal in which Leslie reveals Jason’s abuse, Leslie is suddenly forced into hard choices and terrifying action to take back her life.

Chanda’s mother is not herself, her younger sister is acting out, and her best friend needs help. A powerful story set amid the African HIV/AIDS pandemic. In this sensitive, swiftly paced story, readers will find echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird as Chanda, a 16-year-old, astonishingly perceptive girl living in the small city of Bonang in Africa, must confront the undercurrents of shame and stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Through his artful style and dramatic storytelling, Allan Stratton captures the enduring strength of loyalty, the profound impact of loss, and a fearlessness that is powered by the heart. Above all, it is a story about living with truth. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support organizations working to better the lives of Africans living with HIV/AIDS.

Edgar Beamish dies, leaving his corporate empire to his estranged son, Junior, who launches a charitable foundation with company assets. Disaster ensues; bankruptcy appears certain. But Junior has a fundraising inspiration, The Phoenix Lottery. It offers its winner instant fame and fortune: the chance to torch a prized van Gogh at a live event, and to sell the story to TV, tabloids and Hollywood. Junior has an ally in performance artist Lydia Spark. But powerful enemies include the slippery Vatican envoy Cardinal Wichita, the ghost of Junior's father - and the spirit of van Gogh himself. An exploration of art, commerce, and untidy family relationships, The Phoenix Lottery is a grand comedy told with outrageous wit, and a keen eye for the masks with which society maintains the fiction of a moral world. Book jacket.