New Releases by Melvin Burgess

A travesty. A violation. An ecstasy. A disappointment. An instant. A lie. A theft. A rite of passage. Whatever you call it, there''s only one first time. A.S. King, Melvin Burgess, Keith Gray, Patrick Ness, Anne Fine, Sophie McKenzie, Bali Rai, Jenny Valentine, Mary Hooper, and Andrew Smith. Some of today''s leading international YA authors contributed to this hard-hitting collection of original short stories: some funny, some moving, some haunting, but all revolving around the same subject—virginity.

Billie é uma adolescente que não tem pai nem mãe, mas é boa de briga e enfrenta o mundo na base da porrada; Rob é um garoto boa-praça, fã de heavy metal, atormentado pelo padrasto em casa e pelo bullying na escola; e Chris é um aluno rebelde, em pé de guerra com os estudos. Os três estão perdidos em meio a conflitos sem saída: pais controladores ou violentos, mães ausentes ou alcoólatras. Melvin Burgess conduz com maestria esta história pungente, emocionante e verdadeira. Mostra como jovens que recebem do mundo toda a maldade que ele é capaz de proporcionar – de abandono e desprezo à violência sexual – insistem em sobreviver, amar e ser generosos. Graças à música e à arte, esses personagens, parecidos com tantos outros adolescentes da vida real, mantêm uma porta luminosa aberta para a esperança. Publicado anteriormente como "Kill All Enemies".

Brandon is a boaster – he says he is brilliant at lots of things. Then he is challenged to count up to ten million. So Brandon starts: one, two, three . . . and before long he is up to one thousand. Everyone around him is bewildered and annoyed: his friend Waris, his teachers and Miss Hexx, the head. But Brandon can’t stop counting. And the higher he counts, the more everyone takes an interest, when Brandon reaches 30,000 he goes viral, by the time he gets to one million, he has a manager and a stadium full of fans counting with him. And then strange, impossible things start happening. The numbers are taking over everything . . . A fun and contemporary story about rise and fall of celebrity, and ultimately staying true to yourself.

Sandra Francy tiene 17 años y muchos problemas. Un día decide rebelarse: abandona la escuela, se pelea con su familia y amigos, deja el novio por ser "demasiado fiel" y consigue un nuevo grupo de "amigos", con los que probará drogas y una vida sexual sin recatos. Un día Sandra choca sin querer contra un vagabundo alcohólico, al que le tira una cerveza. Éste, enfurecido, la acorrala en un callejón. Ahí sucede algo increíble: la convierte en una perra... Visita nuestro blog "http://www.elladooscurooceanotravesia.blogspot.com

Traquée, Béa ne sait plus à qui faire confiance, ni où elle est en sécurité. Elle a des visions étranges, entend des voix... et se découvre un pouvoir très rare, celui d''invoquer les esprits. Lars, le mystérieux, le séduisant skateur avec qui elle s''est entraînée pendant l''été, connaît son secret et la prend au piège d''une relation toxique. Manipulée, elle se met à douter de tout -sauf des conséquences de ses actes.

Bea has started to hear and see things that no one else can – creatures, voices, visions. Then strangers visit Bea and tell her she is different: she has the rare powers of a witch. They warn her she is being hunted. Her parents think she is hallucinating and needs help. All Bea wants to do is get on with her life, and to get closer to Lars, the mysterious young man she has met at the skate park. But her life is in danger, and she must break free. The question is – who can she trust? Carnegie Medal-winner Melvin Burgess returns with a powerful, thrilling fantasy for young adults about magic, myth and following your instincts.

A girl in a coma. A desperate mother. Marianne has been absent from her own life for so long that even her mother''s unwavering faith is starting to tremble. But Marianne, floating in her own world, is starting to remember who she is - and the sad woman that visits every day. Can they both persist long enough to find a way back to one another?

It was a love story. Me, Gemma and junk. I thought it was going to last forever. Tar loves Gemma, but Gemma doesn''t want to be tied down. She wants to fly. But no one can fly forever. One day, finally, you have to come down. Melvin Burgess’ most ambitious and complex novel is a vivid depiction of a group of teenagers in the grip of addiction. Told from multiple viewpoints, Junk is a powerful, unflinching novel about heroin. Once you take a hit, you will never be the same again. ''Everyone should read Junk'' The Times

Un tenso thriller psicológico, pulido y afilado como un bisturí. Jonathon Heat es la estrella de rock más grande del planeta. Como parte de su espectáculo, altera su rostro mediante intervenciones quirúrgicas con resultados impresionantes: lobo, demonio, ángel... Pero tantas operaciones no vienen sin su precio, y corre el de que Jonathon necesita un trasplante de rostro. Y sólo quiere el de Sara... En un mundo de fama, de riqueza y corrupción, donde la juventud y la belleza son sagradas, ¿qué precio tiene la cara de una hermosa joven? ¿Cuánto está dispuesto a pagar una estrella de rock, que ha destruido su propia cara, por el rostro de Sara?

Issy è una ragazzina adottata che non sa nulla delle proprie origini. C''è però un incubo ricorrente che terrorizza le sue notti: si trova tra le fiamme di un rogo, e accanto a lei c''è un volto che non ha il coraggio di guardare. Lottando contro crudeli pregiudizi, cacciatori di streghe, intrighi e superstizioni, Issy deve scoprire la verità prima che sia troppo tardi.

A new drug is out. Everyone is talking about it. The Hit. Take it, and you have one week to live. It''s the ultimate high. At the ultimate price .

When Beth wakes up one morning covered in dirt, she puts it down to an extreme case of sleep-walking. But when reports of a desecrated grave, strange sightings and sudden disappearances start to circulate, her night-time wanderings take on a sinister air. Beth knows that something is changing within her. Something with an urgent, desperate hunger that demands to be satisfied - at any cost...

Non è mai facile avere quattordici anni. Le difficoltà della vita sembrano insormontabili, il futuro così lontano e incerto... A volte per lasciarsi alle spalle una realtà dolorosa e insostenibile la fuga sembra l''unica soluzione. È il caso di Tar, che con Gemma decide di scappare da una casa di genitori violenti e alcolizzati, e di adattarsi a vivere per strada e in case occupate. Ma c''è anche un altro tipo di fuga, che promette ancor più di allontanare problemi e sofferenze, sollevare corpi troppo pesanti per giovani anime che aspirano alla leggerezza: l''eroina. E Tar e Gemma, insieme, scopriranno l''altra faccia di una droga che, impietosa, annulla e cancella personalità, dignità ed emozioni. Un romanzo di formazione crudo, vero e profondo, ma anche una storia di rinascita e riscatto, di scelte coraggiose per liberarsi della dipendenza e di un nuovo, seppur difficile, inizio. Un diario a più mani intenso e commovente, un grido di amore e di forza lanciato a lacerare il silenzio che circonda il mondo dell''adolescenza interrotta.

Dino, Jonathan, and Ben have got some problems, mostly with Jackie, Deborah, and Alison. Dino''s finally convinced Jackie, the most beautiful girl in school, to go out with him. She drives him mad with lust, but she won''t go all the way and relieve Dino of his desperately unwanted virginity. Jonathan likes Deborah. She''s smart and funny and she makes him feel very sexy, but she''s kind of plump and his mates won''t let him hear the end of it. Also, a certain swelling has him convinced that he may have cancer of the penis. Ben''s problem is in a different category altogether-- he''s been seduced by Alison, the pretty young drama teacher at school. And what seems like a dream come true is actually making him miserable. Award-winning author Melvin Burgess has written a daringly honest and often hilarious account of contemporary teenage life, and the ups and downs that surround DOING IT.

PART II Fifteen-year-old Sigurd, son of King Sigmund, is the last surviving member of the Volson clan. His father''s kingdom -- the former city of London -- is gone. And his father''s knife, a gift from Odin himself, has been shattered to dust. Now, Odin''s eye is upon him. Armed with a powerful sword forged from the remnants of his father''s knife, Sigurd will face death, fire, and torment. He must travel through Hel and back...to unite his country once again.

Everyone says fourteen-year-old BILLIE is nothing but trouble. A fighter. A danger to her family and friends. But her care worker sees someone different. Her classmate ROB is big, strong; he can take care of himself and his brother. But his violent stepdad sees someone to humiliate. And CHRIS is struggling at school; he just doesn''t want to be there. But his dad sees a useless no-hoper. Billie, Rob and Chris each have a story to tell. But there are two sides to every story, and the question is . . . who do you believe?

Faire l''amour la première fois. Huit histoires pour en parler sur tous les tons Graves ou légères, drôles, poignantes ou tendres, des situations très différentes évoquent tout ce que vous voulez savoir sur la perte de la virginité et dont vous n''avez pas envie de parler avec vos parents. Par les plus grands auteurs de la littérature pour adolescents d''aujourd''hui : un indispensable!

When fourteen-year-old Nicholas Dane''s mother dies, social services sends him to a home for boys where intimidation and violence keep order. After a number of fights and brutal punishments, Nick thinks that life can''t possibly get any worse . . . until he realizes that the home''s respected deputy head, who has been grooming him with sweets and solace, has something more frightening in mind. Acclaimed writer and truth-teller Melvin Burgess brings us, with Dickensian scope and compelling narrative drive, his most ambitious book yet.

Winner of the 1996 Carnegie Medal in Literature and the Guardian Prize for fiction, two of England''s most prestigious awards, Smack tells a penetrating story about heroin use, a topic that is becoming familiar in the news and one of importance to teens everywhere. The story begins with Tar, a fourteen-year-old, who runs away from home. He convinces his girlfriend, Gemma, to come with him, and it is not long before they are engulfed in a loose community of people living in abandoned buildings. Everything seems to be turning out so well: they have a roof over their heads, food to eat, and a brand-new group of friends. And when Tar and Gemma try their first hit of smack, they think life will keep on getting better. But before long, they find they''ve lost control. The search for the next hit becomes all-consuming--until a disaster forces Gemma to take matters into her own hands. Insightful, haunting, and real, Smack is the Go Ask Alice of the ''90s. It''s a book that every teenager should read--then pass along to a friend.

Fame, beauty, and face transplants Sara wants to be famous, and when legendary rock star Jonathon Heat offers to take her under his wing and pay for her cosmetic surgery, it''s like a dream come true. But beauty comes with a hidden price tag. Is Sara willing to pay?

Award-winning author Melvin Burgess''s thrilling new ghost story for younger readers. David screamed and the ghostly boy opened his mouth and screamed back. But his scream wasn''t the scream of a child—it was the scream of an old, old man. "Come back, come back," screamed the ghost in his cracked old voice. "Don''t leave me. Don''t go!" Twelve-year-old David lives with his dad in a big old apartment building called Mahogany Villas. When he discovers he can climb through the vent pipes in the building and get into other apartments and play tricks on people, he simply can''t resist. His main victim is Robert Alveston, a forgetful man in his nineties who is afraid that he is losing his mind. But David''s nasty pranks soon disturb more than his elderly neighbor. One day he comes face-to-face with a ghost, at first friendly but more and more terrifying as it becomes clear that he has a particular grudge against Mr Alveston. Soon both the old man and David are in great danger. "An ultimately poignant adventure that will captivate British author Burgess'' fans." - Booklist

The new hope of the Volson clan, Sigurd, battles a highly advanced, gold-hoarding dragon, resulting in his fall into the underworld. But hope remains as Sigurd encounters his true love, Bryony, and accepts his destiny to reunite England.