Singapore, 1960s: Sembawang is home away from home for a tightly-knit community of bachelors and families who work at Her Majesty's Naval Base. Behind closed doors, a matriarch controls her daughters-in-law's movements. A bachelor from Kerala pines by his window for his forbidden lover. A maid from a rubber estate across the border aches to hold her young son once more. An inter-racial love between a conservative Tamil woman and a worldly Chinese man wreaks havoc in the life of an innocent bystander. The idyllic village life is shaken when two midwives are viciously attacked at the maternity clinic, and again when one of their own beloved residents meets with an unnatural death. As catastrophes strike, the village comes together as one. A dramatic, sweeping saga of Sembawang families across five decades.

Comprehensive study into the Singapore Malayalee communityUnique combination of academic essays, personal oral testimonies, hundreds of personal photos, and detailed family treesEach personal story complemented with contemporary portrait photograph of intervieweeAlso includes special 'In Conversation' interviews with noted personalities, such as former President SR Nathan

A coming-of-age story set during the liberation of Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies). At the end of the war, Nell is released from a Japanese internment camp in Java. While searching for her father in the chaos, she meets Tim, a young man who is looking for his family too. Nell’s journey takes her first to Singapore then to a new life and new friends in Sydney, Australia. But although Tim may well be the love of her life, her father puts her on a passenger liner bound for the Netherlands. Will Nell really be able to settle in a country she’s never known – and will she ever see Tim again? Based on the true story of Nora Valk, this is an exciting tale of courage and friendship, hope and determination, about the search for love and a place to finally call home.

Especially for fans of love stories comes a collection written by established and new authors. This anthology is partly inspired by true stories and partly by well-known epic tales. A young woman of Peranakan descent in Singapore, a Malayalee woman thousands of miles away from Singapore at the brink of WWII and an interracial couple in current times, all face a similar predicament - Do they break free from conventions and follow their beckoning hearts? A young man with no future nor prospects pines for his one true love in his kampong, a May-December couple's plans for their second chance is threatened, a young impressionable woman falls for a man-child - Will fate give them a helping hand? What if Cinderella's evil stepmother had loved her? What if the hundred nights of pursuit of the 10th-century Japanese court lady Ono Komachi took place in Singapore? What if a single decision, one moment or an unspoken wish changed your life forever?

Ten years ago, Liyana Dhamirah was in a precarious situation: at 22, she was heavily pregnant and had no place to call home. For Liyana, home was often unstable. Once a bright teenager full of optimism, she faced uncertainty and found no support from family, government agencies and welfare groups. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. When she started living on a beach in Sembawang, she discovered a community of people — families — who were homeless just like her. They stuck together and watched out for each other, even when there were raids. She learned that in prosperous Singapore, the homeless are not always identifiable by appearance alone. Months later, journalists eventually uncovered Liyana’s story and how she navigated a bureaucracy of obstacles. Today she is a successful entrepreneur and this is her memoir.

This book comprises stories from Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia, written especially for young adults. This specially curated anthology of short stories from Asia explores the human spirit and lives of the common man separated by time, space and culture, and yet united in the human spirit to overcome the difficulties that they face in life. It provides an insight into the rich and diverse landscape of Asia, as well as heritage and cultural practices. It also challenges pre-conceived notions of biases and beliefs about other cultures and opens up room for discussion on the differences that define the human race. A Tapestry of Colours 2 provides a platform for readers to develop global awareness of the landscape and the people of Asia.