Cirrus@Austlit

'Malini lives with her parents and young sister, Banni, in northern Sri Lanka. As the civil war heads towards its catastrophic end, Malini and her family are herded by Tamil Tiger troops towards the coast where they will act as human shields, along with thousands of other Tamil civilians. When Malini's father pushes a mobile phone into her hands and tells her to run off into the forest with Banni, Malini does as she is told. But then the shelling begins, and Malini has no way of finding her mother and father.

'With the role of parent thrust upon her, Malini has no choice but to travel to her grandfather's village a long way inland. She and Banni will need to keep off the highways and stay alert for soldiers from all sides. But where will the next meal come from? Who can they trust? Where will they shelter? And will they ever be reunited with their parents again?

'The uplifting story of one girl's odyssey through war-torn Sri Lanka.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'For high-school student Emilio Garcia Lopez, it's an ordinary school day. But that evening the knock on the door announcing the arrival of his police-officer cousin Juanita, flanked by a tall man in the uniform of the Federal Police, will turn his ordinary day into the beginning of a long nightmare. Emilio's mother has been kidnapped in broad daylight from a hotel carpark by unidentified criminals, who appear to know a great deal about her business and who have mistaken her for a wealthy businesswoman.

'An action-packed story set in a contemporary conflict zone.' (Publication summary)

'The explosion jolts him awake. He sits up, gasping for air, heart thumping.

'Was the blast real? Perhaps it had only happened in his head, a bad dream. Demons of the dark, his father had called them. 'Push them away. They'll only poison your thoughts. Seek the light and they can't hurt you.'

'Naveed is sick of war - of the foreign powers and the Taliban, the warlords and the drug barons that together have torn Afghanistan apart. He's had to grow up quickly to take care of his widowed mother and little sister, making what little money he can doing odd jobs and selling at the markets. When he adopts Nasera, a street dog with extraordinary abilities, he has a chance to help rebuild his country. But will a new friend's betrayal crush his dreams of peace forever?

'From the winter of war comes the spring of hope.' (Publication summary)

'Zafir has a comfortable life in Homs, Syria, until his father, a doctor, is arrested for helping a protester who was campaigning for revolution. While his mother heads to Damascus to try to find out where his father is being held, Zafir stays with his grandmother - until her house is bombed. With his father in prison, his mother absent, his grandmother ill and not a friend left in the city, Zafir must stay with his Uncle Ghazi. But that too becomes dangerous as the city becomes more and more besieged. Will Zafir survive long enough to be reunited with his parents?' (Publication summary)

'When the soldiers came in the dead of night, Hasina's family fled in all directions. All Hasina remembers is picking up her baby brother and running deep into the forest. Braving snakes and elephants, they hid until they no longer saw smoke or heard gunfire. When Hasina and Rima emerge, it is to a village half-standing. She’s overjoyed to find her grandmother but there is no sign of Hasina's father and mother, her older brother and sister. As head of her household, Hasina must take care of her family. But how is anyone in the village to live when so many are gone? Who will work the fields and fish and feed them all? One thing Hasina knows—they will all need to work together to survive.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.