Best Selling Books by John Boyne

A Dickensian ghost story from the bestselling author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky “A wonderfully creepy novel…magnificently eerie.” —The Observer This House Is Haunted is a striking homage to the classic nineteenth-century ghost story. Set in Norfolk in 1867, Eliza Caine responds to an ad for a governess position at Gaudlin Hall. When she arrives at the hall, shaken by an unsettling disturbance that occurred during her travels, she is greeted by the two children now in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There is no adult present to represent her mysterious employer, and the children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, another terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong. From the moment Eliza rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence that lives within Gaudlin’s walls. Eliza realizes that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall’s long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past. Clever, captivating, and witty, This House Is Haunted is pure entertainment with a catch.

Boyne nos hace reflexionar, a través de los ojos de un niño, sobre la fragilidad de la juventud, la atracción del poder, y la culpa. De padre alemán y madre francesa, Pierrot ha tenido una infancia no muy distinta de la de cualquier niño de su época. Sin embargo, nos hallamos en París, corre el año 1935 y la guerra que se avecina trastocará el destino de millones de personas. Tras la muerte prematura de sus padres, Pierrot deberá separarse de su íntimo amigo Anshel y abandonar Francia para vivir con su tía Beatrix, que trabaja de ama de llaves en una mansión imponente erigida en lo alto de una montaña. Pero no es una casa cualquiera; se trata nada menos que del Berghof, la enorme residencia que Adolf Hitler posee en los Alpes de Baviera. Así, a sus siete años, alojado de manera involuntaria en el entorno íntimo del todopoderoso Führer, Pierrot se verá inmerso en un mundo tan extrañamente seductor como peligroso. En él no hay lugar para la inocencia, y cuando al final de la guerra es capturado por los aliados, Pieter #como ahora se llama# llevará un peso insoportable en su conciencia. A su regreso a París, abrumado por la culpa, un aspecto clave de la historia surgirá como una tabla de salvación, y el inesperado desenlace será una muestra más de la insondable dimensión del perdón y la amistad. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION The Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyne, the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, is another extraordinary historical fiction about World War II and innocence in the face of evil. When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his aunt Beatrix, a servant in a wealthy Austrian household. But this is no ordinary time, for it is 1935 and the Second World War is fast approaching; and this is no ordinary house, for this is the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler. Pierrot is quickly taken under Hitler''s wing and thrown into an increasingly dangerous new world: a world of terror, secrets, and betrayal from which he may never be able to escape. "With skill and emotional detachment, Boyne tells Pieter’s story through descriptions and dialogue that are concise, spare, and vivid . . . . Pieter’s traumatic childhood, infatuation and interactions with Hitler, adolescent angst, and destructive choices will captivate teens and prompt thought-provoking discussion." ―School Library Journal, starred review

''A deliciously dark tale of ambition'' Observer ''Gripping ... chilling and darkly comic tale of unrelenting ambition'' Daily Express You''ve heard the old proverb about ambition, that it''s like setting a ladder to the sky. It can lead to a long and painful fall. If you look hard enough, you will find stories pretty much anywhere. They don''t even have to be your own. Or so would-be-novelist Maurice Swift decides early on in his career. A chance encounter in a Berlin hotel with celebrated author Erich Ackerman gives Maurice an opportunity. For Erich is lonely, and he has a story to tell; whether or not he should is another matter. Once Maurice has made his name, he finds himself in need of a fresh idea. He doesn''t care where he finds it, as long as it helps him rise to the top. Stories will make him famous, but they will also make him beg, borrow and steal. They may even make him do worse. This is a novel about ambition. What readers are saying: ***** ''A breath-taking story of dangerous infatuation and sociopathic ambition'' ***** ''A beautifully written, genre defying novel that I couldn''t help gobbling up in a couple of days.'' ***** ''Dark comic humour ... fascinating and gripping storytelling.''

Alison Clarke returns home to her father''s house in rural Wexford with her movie star boyfriend, Nick. It is the first time she has been home in years. Her father does not approve of her boyfriend or her pregnancy, and Alison''s mother is struggling to keep them from fighting. There is a lot of tension in the house. Will father and daughter ever make up?

From million-copy-bestselling author John Boyne, an inescapably gritty story about one young man whose direction in life takes a vastly different turn than what he expected. It''s the tabloid sensation of the year: two well-known footballers standing in the dock, charged with sexual assault, a series of vile text messages pointing towards their guilt. As the trial unfolds, Evan Keogh reflects on the events that have led him to this moment. Since leaving his island home, his life has been a lie on many levels. He''s a talented footballer who wanted to be an artist. A gay man in a sport that rejects diversity. A defendant whose knowledge of what took place on that fateful night threatens more than just his freedom or career. The jury will deliver a verdict but, before they do, Evan must judge for himself whether the man he has become is the man he wanted to be. ___________ Praise for John Boyne ''A master storyteller'' Daily Express ''One of the best novelists of Ireland'' Sunday Express ''Boyne offers writing of insight and beauty'' Observer ''One of the greatest craftsmen in contemporary literature'' Colum McCann

In de indrukwekkende roman Water, een boek in de Elementen-cyclus, onderzoekt John Boyne thema''s als medeplichtigheid, moed, veerkracht en de vraag wat we elkaar verschuldigd zijn Het eerste wat Vanessa Carvin doet wanneer ze op het eiland aankomt, is haar naam veranderen. Hier is ze Willow Hale, een teruggetrokken bewoner van een klein huis op een afgelegen Iers eilandje – niet de vrouw uit Dublin die op de vlucht is voor haar verleden. Maar grote schandalen blijven aan je kleven. En er zijn vragen die ze voor zichzelf moet zien te beantwoorden. Als haar ex-man echt zo''n monster is als iedereen beweert, hoe medeplichtig was zij dan? Ontsnappen aan haar oude leven lijkt misschien een goed idee, maar de keuzes die ze heeft gemaakt hebben gevolgen. Uiteindelijk moet Willow onder ogen zien wat ze heeft gedaan – of heeft nagelaten. Alleen zo kan ze erachter komen of ze het überhaupt verdient om een nieuw leven op te bouwen. Over eerder werk van John Boyne ''Hartverscheurend. Toen de wereld brak is een prachtig verhaal over de nasleep van de oorlog en de effecten van een leven lang lijden aan een schuldgevoel.'' JAN Magazine ''Boyne weet perfect hoe hij in een meeslepend verhaal spanning en ontroering moet verbinden.'' Het Nieuwsblad ''Confronterend. De jongen in de gestreepte pyjama krijgt een indringend vervolg met het verhaal van diens zus, Gretel.'' Nouveau

El 28 de julio de 1914 Alfie Summerfield cumplía cinco años. Ese mismo día estallaba la Primera Guerra Mundial. Han pasado cuatro años, y Alfie conoce todos los sinsabores de esta guerra interminable: vecinos que desaparecen, la tristeza y el cansancio reflejados en el rostro de su madre, los periódicos dando cuenta diaria de los fallecidos en la contienda y, sobre todo, la angustia, la terrible angustia por no tener noticias de su padre. Al principio, llegaban animadas cartas desde el frente; con el tiempo, fueron volviéndose sombrías y torturadas. Desde hace un año y medio, ni una sola línea. Por eso el día que Alfie descubra de una forma absolutamente casual dónde está su padre, decidirá ir a buscarlo, cueste lo que cueste

El clàssic de John Boyne sobre l''amistat i la pèrdua de la innocència de Bruno i Shmuel, en un dels pitjors moments de la Història. Berlín 1942. La guerra no afecta gaire la vida de Bruno, un noi de nou anys que viu en un barri residencial. Però un bon dia arriba a casa i es troba totes les coses empaquetades: el seu pare, membre de l''elit militar, ha rebut un nou destí i es veu obligat a marxar i instal·lar-se amb tota la família en una àrea rural mig deserta i molt depriment. Bruno s''avorreix i passa els dies obsessionat amb una tanca que s''alça davant la finestra de la seva habitació. Fins que no coneix Schmuel, el noi del pijama de ratlles, que viu a l''altra banda del filferro espinós, Bruno ni tan sol no comprèn que ja no és a Alemanya sinó a Polònia. Tampoc no és conscient del que passa a la vida de Schmuel fins que és massa tard per escapar els horrors que es viuen a l''altre costat de la tanca. L''honestedat narrativa, la congruència dels personatges i la progressió magistral de la trama, doten aquesta novel·la d''una qualitat literària molt humana i d''una força narrativa captivadora.

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Save both time and money with the downloadable version of Prestwick House Teaching Units! For the new teacher, Prestwick House''s extensive line of title-specific Teaching Units may serve as a starting point. For the experienced teacher, the Unit may serve as a point of departure. Our aim is to save you time and energy while alleviating the frustration.

An engrossing and utterly absorbing read, The Thief of Time introduces a storyteller of rare distinction. It is 1758 and Matthieu Zela is fleeing Paris for Dover, having witnessed the murder of his mother by his stepfather and his subsequent execution for that crime. With Matthieu is his five year old brother Tomas and his companion and ¿one true love¿, Dominique Sauvet. What follows is the story of Matthieu¿s life. Beginning in murder and ending in redemption, Matthieu¿s life is characterised by one extraordinary fact: before the eighteenth century ends, he discovers that his body has stopped ageing. At the end of the twentieth century, he is able to look back on a life lived to the full. He has been an engineer, a rogue, a movie mogul, a soldier, a financier, a lover to many, a cable TV executive and more. The tale of his life involves murder, love, treachery, despair, passion, glamour, and, ultimately hope. Spanning two and a half centuries, The Thief of Time is a prodigious and entertaining achievement that takes in Hollywood in the 1920s, the Great Exhibition of 1851, the French Revolution, the Wall Street Crash, the formation of the modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, and much more. All is interwoven in a dazzling narrative that ingeniously juxtaposes history and personal experience and presents us with a stunning portrait of a life lived selflessly.

Després de l''èxit aclaparador d''El noi del pijama de ratlles, convertit ja en un llibre imprescindible, arriba Motí al Bounty, una esplèndida novel·la d''aventures emmarcada en la tradició més noble i entranyable del gènere. Trepidant, vital, commovedora i emocionant, Motí al Bounty narra les aventures i desventures de John Jacob Turnstile, un jove orfe de 14 anys que sobreviu a base d''esgarrapar les butxaques dels altres i buscar-se seriosos problemes amb la llei. Quan és a punt d''entrar a la presó, però, una oferta temptadora i arriscada el desvia: el criat del capità d''un vaixell que és a punt de salpar en una missió molt important no podrà viatjar. Així serà com Turnstile, un encantador i desvergonyit antiheroi amb el cor d''or i la paraula àgil, s''embarcarà al Bounty cap a unes terres llunyanes i un futur incert.

Eight-year-old Noah''s problems seem easier to deal with if he doesn''t think about them. So he runs away, taking an untrodden path through the forest. Before long he come across a shop. But this is no ordinary shop. It is a toyshop, full of the most amazing toys, and brimming with the most wonderful magic.

At the start of his school holidays, Danny Delaney is looking forward to a trouble-free summer. But he knows that something terrible has happened when his mother returns home one afternoon with two policemen. There has been an accident. Mrs Delaney has hit a small boy with her car. The boy is in a coma at the local hospital and nobody knows if he will every wake up. Danny''s mother closes herself off, full of guilt. Danny and his father are left to pick up the pieces of their broken family.