“Andreea Raducan was in the middle of an unhappy turn of events — most of which were beyond her control and started from an innocent action. Subsequently, it blotted her career. To win the Olympic gold medal is perhaps the rarest occasion when the gods are on your side, so to speak. As an athlete you have to be in the best shape of your life and your performances have to impress the judges in such a way that they know you are the best in the world. Andreea was an Olympic Champion and experienced the euphoria and elation that comes with being an Olympic champion — something that only a few people ever experience. More amazing was the all-around championship result (a Romanian 1-2-3) and while Andreea was still receiving congratulatory messages from Romania and abroad, the nightmare began. In only a few moments our extreme joy turned into bewilderment, despair, frustration and indignation at a decision that is very difficult to explain, even today. It is for this reason that this book attempts to revisit those events as accurately as possible.”

It's easy to look at the Christmas season through rose colored glasses, but the scrappy radio show "The Other Side" makes it their mission to bring you a different point of view. Through a series of vignettes, host Thomas May guides his audience through moments that aren't exactly holiday card material: Camping out on line for a Black Friday sale, spending your first Christmas without a loved one, forced fun at the office holiday party...some funny, some poignant, all unexpected. The Other Side of Christmas is a heartfelt and humorous play about putting down the burdens of perfection and embracing what truly makes the holiday season special - each other.

Autobiography of well-known Australian Rules football player. Discusses the highs and lows of his career with Collingwood Football Cl;ub, including the controversial auction of his Brownlow Medal and also reflects on his family relationship, marriages, alcohol, financial difficulties and business ventures.

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child. Not a speck, not a stain on her gray school skirt and blue blouse to show what terrible thing had happened . . . If only by putting on something fresh and new, they could begin the day again. When twelve-year-old Sade's mother is killed, she and her little brother Femi are forced to flee from their home in Nigeria to Britain. They're not allowed to tell anyone - not even their best friends - as their whole journey is secret, dangerous - and illegal. Their dad promises to follow when he can, but once the children arrive in London, things go from bad to worse when they're abandoned by the people they had been told would protect them. Sade faces challenge after challenge - but her dad has always taught her to stand up for what is right, and to tell the truth no matter what. And with that strength of spirit in her heart, Sade will find the courage to fight for the new, happy life she, Femi and her dad deserve. A powerful novel which explores what it means to be classified as 'illegal' and the difficulties which come with being a refugee - winner of the Carnegie Medal 2000. 'A marvellous read ... that refuels the desire for justice and freedom' - Jon Snow 'Beverley Naidoo breaks the rules, producing books for young people which recognize that they want to know about the real world' Guardian 'This novel wholly deserves its classic status . . . still relevant and poignant.' Booktrust

Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award! Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean—and definitely not inside the lines!—to be beautiful.

The tenth installment in the beloved, epic Aubrey/Maturin series and inspiration for the major motion picture starring Russell Crowe. The War of 1812 continues, and Captain Jack Aubrey sets course for Cape Horn on a mission after his own heart: intercepting a powerful American frigate outward bound to wreak havoc with the British whaling trade. Meanwhile, Stephen Maturin has a mission of his own in the world of secret intelligence and comes face to face with the harsh realities for women of the age. Disaster in various guises awaits them in the Great South Sea and in the far reaches of the Pacific—typhoons, castaways, shipwrecks, an ill-fated affair, murder, and criminal insanity—as well as a bold rescue by a crew of seafaring female warriors.