A Cool Head (9 page)

Authors: Ian Rankin

BOOK: A Cool Head

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Quick Reads are bite-sized books by bestselling writers and well-known personalities for people who want a short, fast-paced read. They are designed to be read and enjoyed by avid readers and by people who never had or who have lost the reading habit.

Quick Reads are published alongside and in partnership with BBC RaW.

We would like to thank all our partners in the Quick Reads project for their help and support:

Arts Council England
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
NIACE
unionlearn
National Book Tokens
The Vital Link
The Reading Agency
National Literacy Trust
Welsh Books Council
Basic Skills Cymru, Welsh Assembly Government
Wales Accent Press
The Big Plus Scotland
DELNI
NALA

Quick Reads would also like to thank the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills; Arts Council England and World Book Day for their sponsorship and NIACE for their outreach work.

Quick Reads is a World Book Day initiative.
www.quickreads.org.uk
www.worldbookday.com

Reaching for the Stars

How you can make your dreams come true

Lola Jaye

Harper

‘When I was eleven years old I used to shut myself away in my room and write, creating characters and imagining them on children’s telly!’

Lola Jaye always dreamed of being a writer, but getting her first book published wasn’t easy. She would come home from her day job and write every evening and weekend. But it wasn’t until years later, after lots of rejections, that she finally got her first book deal.

Now Lola wants to help others reach for their dreams. In this step-by-step guide, she shows that, with plenty of self-belief and hard work anything is possible.

The Dare

John Boyne

Black Swan

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 ever 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.

John Boyne tells the story from the point of view of a twelve-year-old boy.
The Dare
is about how one moment can change a family forever.

Dr Who: The Sontaran Games

Jacqueline Rayner

BBC Books

Every time the lights go out, someone dies...

The TARDIS lands at an academy for top athletes, all hoping to be chosen for the forthcoming Globe Games. But is one of them driven enough to resort to murder? The Doctor discovers that the students have been hushing up unexplained deaths. As he begins to investigate, the Doctor finds a squad of Sontarans invading the academy!

As the Sontarans begin their own lethal version of the games, the Doctor is captured and forced to take part in the Sontaran Games. Can even a Time Lord survive this deadly contest?

Featuring the Doctor as played by David Tennant in the acclaimed hit series from BBC Television.

All These Lonely People

Gervase Phinn

Penguin Paperbacks

The world is full of lonely people. One wonders where they all come from…

Even with a huge problem to worry about, Father McKenzie still manages to see the good in everyone. His job is made more difficult by his nosy housekeeper and the gossips from the shop down the road. Will they succeed in spoiling things, or will Father McKenzie’s advice win the day?

This charming tale shows the ups and downs of everyday life in a truly heart-warming way. It will have you laughing out loud and shedding a tear - all at the same time.

The Tannery

Sherrie Hewson

Pan

This is the story of one family struggling to survive the war years.

It’s 1938. Dolly Ramsden is six years old. Times are hard. But Dolly doesn’t care. Her family is everything to her.

Then war comes and everything changes. Her father leaves his job at the local tannery and joins the war effort. He leaves behind a bitter wife and a daughter who can see no hope for the future. With no money, Dolly’s mother is forced to take desperate measures to help them survive. Soon she becomes lonely and depressed. She turns to drink and Dolly’s life becomes a living hell.

When the war ends and Dolly’s father comes home, he finds a teenage daughter who has grown up too soon, and a wife who has been destroyed by what she’s become. Hatred and secrets hinder his attempts to restore a normal life for them. Until, one night, things get out of control….

Black-Eyed Devils

Catrin Collier

Accent Press

One look was enough. Amy Watkins and ‘Big’ Tom Kelly were in love. But that one look condemned them both.

Amy’s father is out to kill Tom. All Tom wants is Amy, but Tonypandy in 1911 is a dangerous place for Irish workers who have been brought in to replace the striking miners.

The miners drag them from their beds and hang them from lamp posts as a warning to those who would take their jobs. Frightened for Amy, Tom fights to deny his heart, while Amy dreams of a future with the man she loves. But her dream seems impossible until a man they believed to be their enemy offers to help. But, can they trust him with their lives?

101 Ways to get your Child to Read

Patience Thomson Foreword by Michael Morpurgo

Barrington Stoke

Some children find it hard to read. Some parents find it hard to help them. So how can you get your child reading if they can’t read, or won’t read? And what if you’re not a great reader yourself?
101 Ways to get your Child
to Read has the answers.

This is an accessible and friendly book. It draws on Patience’s thirty years of experience teaching reading, and her ten years of publishing books for reluctant readers. It features advice and encouragement from celebrity parents and well-known dyslexics. It also gives practical, tried-and-tested tips to help every parent to encourage their child to read.

Dragons’ Den

Your road to success Duncan Bannatyne, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis and James Caan

Collins

4 million people watch the Dragons on TV. Now you can read their stories and learn from them.

Duncan Bannatyne, Deborah Meaden, James Caan, Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis are the stars of TV programme
Dragons’ Den
, but they haven’t always been millionaires and TV stars. Here, they reveal the secrets that have taken them from nothing to the very top.

The Dragons tell their personal stories of success and failure. They also give advice on how to succeed in business and in life, including how to make money from scratch.

If you’re looking for advice on making the most of your life or your business, this is the perfect book for you.

Other resources

Free courses are available for anyone who wants to develop their skills. You can attend the courses in your local area. If you’d like to find out more, phone 0800 66 0800.

A list of books for new readers can be found on
www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk
or at your local library.

Publishers Barrington Stoke (
www.barringtonstoke.co.uk
), New Island (
www.newisland.ie
) and Sandstone Press (
www.sandstonepress.com
) also provide books for new readers.