Ordinary is what most people are and I am not. I am not ordinary at all. I am a scientist. One stormy night, a group of villagers are struck by lightning. The only survivor is a baby - Mary Anning. From that moment on, a spark is lit within her. Growing up poor but proud on the windswept Dorset coast, Mary follows after her father, hunting for fossils uncovered by waves and landslips: ancient creatures, turned to stone. Ignoring other people's taunts, Mary faces danger to bring back valuable treasures to help feed her family. But tragedy and despair is never far away. Mary must depend upon her unique courage and knowledge to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist in a time when girls have no opportunities for such ambitions. What will happen when she makes her greatest discovery of all...? With a factual section about Mary Anning, her life, and the discoveries she made.

After the Civil War, state and national Prohibition galvanized in Atlanta the issues of classism, racism and anti-immigrant sentiment. While many consider flappers and gangsters the iconic images of the era, in reality, it was marked with temperance zealotry, blind tigers and white lightning. Georgia's protracted and intense battle changed the industrial and social landscapes of its capital city and unleashed a flood of illegal liquor that continually flowed in the wettest city in the South. Moonshine was the toast of the town from mill houses to the state capitol. The state eventually repealed prohibition, but the social, moral and legal repercussions still linger seventy years later. Join authors Ron Smith and Mary O. Boyle as they recount the colorful history of Atlanta's struggle to freely enjoy a drink.

Gabria, a young woman with unusual magical powers, is awarded the chance to teach in a male-dominated world, but first she must lead her future students into battle against a creature with supernatural abilities

Galina was born into a world of horrors. So why does she mourn its passing? SHORTLISTED: Impress Prize LONGLISTED: Bath Novel Award LONGLISTED: Grindstone Novel Award It is December 1941, and eight-year-old Galina and her friend Vera are caught in the siege of Leningrad, eating soup made of wallpaper, with the occasional luxury of a dead rat. Galina's artist father Mikhail has been kept away from the front to help save the treasures of the Hermitage. Its cellars could now provide a safe haven, provided Mikhail can navigate the perils of a portrait commission from one of Stalin's colonels. Nearly forty years later, Galina herself is a teacher at the Leningrad Art Institute. What ought to be a celebratory weekend at her forest dacha turns sour when she makes an unwelcome discovery. The painting she embarks upon that day will hold a grim significance for the rest of her life, as the old Soviet Union makes way for the new Russia and Galina's familiar world changes out of all recognition. Warm, wise and utterly enthralling, Molly Gartland's debut novel guides us from the old communist world, with its obvious terrors and its more surprising comforts, into the glitz and bling of 21st-century St Petersburg. Galina's story is at once a compelling page-turner and an insightful meditation on ageing and nostalgia. 'A beautifully written book that takes you right into the characters' world. Highly recommended' LUCINDA HAWKSLEY

After being struck by lightning, pediatric psychiatrist Dr. Owen Lerner only wants to barbecue, and his patients and family, who rely on him to make sense of their world, must find a way to deal with this life-changing event.

36 hours: a town is plunged into darkness.. the mayor is missing..

Before the word dinosaur was even invented, an English girl discovered a remarkable skeleton on the rocky beach at Lyme Regis. Thus began a lifelong passion for the woman who became one of the first commercial fossil collectors. Mary Anning (1799–1847) spent her lifetime teaching herself about fossils and combing the rugged shore for ancient treasures. Her collection thrilled the public, excited the scientific community, and proved that a woman could overcome danger and social limitations to accomplish great things.