New Releases by Melvin Burgess

With the trickster, Loki, as your guide, journey to the ancient forests of Scandinavia and bear witness to the legends of Norse mythology. Starting with the Norse creation myths, the trickster god Loki takes the reader on a wild ride through Norse mythology, from the era when the gods—the founders of Asgard—defeated a race of monsters, and then hurtles through legendary stories, including Odin hanging himself on the World Tree, the theft of the corrupting gold ring, and the murder of Baldr, the god of love and the sun. Born within the heart of a fire in the hollow of a tree-trunk, Loki arrives in Asgard as an outsider. He is a trickster, an unreliable narrator, the god of intelligence and politics. In spite of his cleverness and sparkling wit (or, perhaps, because of this), Loki struggles to find his place among the old patriarchal gods of supernatural power and is constantly at odds with the god of thunder—Thor. Alongside the politics of Asgard, the novel charts the course of Loki''s many loves and families, from his mothering of Odin''s famous horse to his intense, turbulent, and, eventually fatal relationship with Baldr the Beautiful—a tender and moving story of a love that goes wrong. This is a retelling that is contemporary in tone, at once amusing and relatable. It is a heartfelt plea to overthrow the old gods of power and authority and instigate a new era ruled by love and intelligence.

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.

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.

From the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of Smack comes a middle-grade tale of adventure and cunning in the spirit of Treasure Island Victorian London in the 1850''s: Jamie, Ten Tons and Davies are young "mudlarks"--scavengers who eke out a meager existence by reclaiming bits of coal, rope, and anything of value from the muddy banks of the River Thames. Anything they find might keep them from starving for one more day. When they see a massive roll of copper fall off a ship, the trio comes up with a daring plan to retrieve it and make their fortunes. But can three small boys alone retrieve the impossibly heavy copper from the bottom of the Thames? They resolve to find a way--or die trying.

Death is een nieuwe drug. Als je die pil slikt, beleef je zeven fantastische dagen. Het is de ultieme geluksroes. Met als uiterste prijs de dood. Adams leven is waardeloos. Zijn vriendin heeft hem verlaten en zijn broer is verdwenen. Hij heeft niets te verliezen en laat zich tot Death verleiden. Met nog maar zeven dagen te leven, besluit Adam alles te doen wat God verboden heeft. Maar dan blijkt dat het leven hem meer waard is dan hij dacht... ''Burgess, meester van de young adult-literatuur, heeft een roman geschreven waar je witte knokkels van de spanning van krijgt, met een ambitieuze filosofische onderlaag. Een echte winnaar.'' Booklist Melvin Burgess werd in één keer wereldberoemd met zijn geruchtmakende boek Junkies, waarvoor hij de Carnegie Medal won, de Britse prijs voor het beste jeugdboek. Met het onverschrokken en razendspannende Hype laat hij zien dat hij nog steeds een meester is in het schrijven van young adult-romans.

Dino''s girlfriend won''t give him what he wants. Jonathon is afraid of what his mates will think of the girl he likes. And Ben is having extra lessons from his sexy teacher. Three seventeen-year-old boys discover sex for the first time: but do they really know what they’re doing?

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

“This fantasy about a drug that gives users a perfect week, then sudden death, is compelling fiction—and nearly a masterpiece.” —The Guardian A new drug is on the street. Everyone’s buzzing about it. Take the hit. Live the most intense week of your life. Then die. It’s the ultimate high at the ultimate price. Adam thinks it over. He’s poor, and doesn’t see that changing. Lizzie, his girlfriend, can’t make up her mind about sleeping with him, so he can’t get laid. His brother Jess is missing. And Manchester is in chaos, controlled by drug dealers and besieged by a group of homegrown terrorists who call themselves the Zealots. Wouldn’t one amazing week be better than this endless, penniless misery? After Adam downs one of the Death pills, he’s about to find out. “A boundary pushing thriller. . . . Amid violent action, existential anguish, and the heightened appreciation for life that death can bring, Burgess has created a premise that readers will find hard to forget.” —Publishers Weekly “Viscerally exciting and emotionally engaging. . . . A clear winner from Burgess.” —Booklist “An exciting, dark story of sex, drugs, and revolution that is sure to grip readers.” —School Library Journal

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?

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.

Tam is unhappy at home and often takes refuge in the ruins of Thowt It Farm. But then one day he is transported back to the Second World War. Alone and afraid, he makes friends with May, who has been rescued from a bombed-out house. She tries to persuade him to stay at the farm, but Tam is afraid of being trapped in the past forever.

"There was something else there, curled up inside the corpse, huddled into the body cavity. Another body. It seemed to have made a nest inside the big man; he was pregnant with it. Evil was captured once, intombed deep in an unmarked grave, but now it has been released. When Beth wakes up one morning covered in dirt she puts it down to an extreme case of sleepwalking. But when reports of a desecrated grave circulate her night-time wanderings take on a sinister air. Something has changed in her. Soon Manchester is being plagued by strange sightings and sudden disappearances while all around there lingers the unmistakable stench of death."

Billy''s mother is dead, and his father and brother are fiercely involved in a bitter miners'' fight that has split the local community. Billy''s father wants his son to learn boxing, like he did and his father before him. But Billy is fascinated by the grace and magic of ballet and is determined to dance his way to a different future...

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.

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?

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.

Traditional Chinese edition of Junk (Smack, in the US) by Melvin Burgess. The book is the winner of the 1996 Carnegie Medal for Literature, and the Guardian Award. The book sends a powerful message about teenagers who were lured into trying drugs. In Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Tam, dont les parents sont séparés, se réfugie souvent dans une ferme en ruines, à l''écart de la ville. Il y rencontre une vieille mendiante et son chien. Ensemble, ils vont effectuer un étonnant voyage dans le temps et se trouver plongés en pleine Seconde Guerre mondiale. May, une étrange petite fille, devient alors son amie... Melvin Burgess signe là un roman très émouvant, où l''on glisse imperceptiblement, en compagnie de personnages forts et attachants, de la réalité au rêve.

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?

Sara veut devenir célèbre. La célébrité est son obsession. La chirurgie esthétique, son fantasme. Aussi, quand la légendaire star de rock, Jonathan Heat, propose de la prendre en main, c''est comme si son rêve devenait réalité. Mais s''il y avait un prix insoupçonné... Et Sara serait-elle prête à aller jusque là ? Melvin Burgess se glisse avec un talent étonnant dans la peau d''une jeune névrosée, obsédée par son image. Un thriller psychologique décapant et provocateur qui se dévore d''une traite.

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.