From renowned Newbery-winning author Jerry Spinelli comes a powerful story about how not fitting in just might lead to an incredible life. This classic book is perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Carl Hiaasen. Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls down with laughter over a word like "Jabip." Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyone else. And one winter night, Zinkoff's differences show that any name can someday become "hero." With some of his finest writing to date and great wit and humor, Jerry Spinelli creates a story about a boy's individuality surpassing the need to fit in and the genuine importance of failure. As readers follow Zinkoff from first through sixth grade, it becomes impossible not to identify with and root for him through failures and triumphs. The perfect classroom read.

What dating advice would you give your daughter as she heads out into the real world? If you re pub-owner Mark Berzins, who has literally seen it all during his 21-year bar career, you would create a handbook and give it to her as a graduation gift. Frank and humorous, here is his perspective on finding a Good Man...and avoiding the Losers! "Remember the name Mark Berzins-he is as eloquent, passionate, informative, empowering, self-aware, funny, entertaining, and insightful as they come. He understands what makes men tick, what women want, and what all of us really need on our journey to find love and happiness." -Brian Howie, producer of "The Great Love Debate" and author of How to Find Love in 60 Seconds"

Thomas Bernhard was one of the most original writers of the twentieth century. His formal innovation ranks with Beckett and Kafka, his outrageously cantankerous voice recalls Dostoevsky, but his gift for lacerating, lyrical, provocative prose is incomparably his own.One of Bernhard's most acclaimed novels, The Loser centers on a fictional relationship between piano virtuoso Glenn Gould and two of his fellow students who feel compelled to renounce their musical ambitions in the face of Gould's incomparable genius. One commits suicide, while the other-- the obsessive, witty, and self-mocking narrator-- has retreated into obscurity. Written as a monologue in one remarkable unbroken paragraph, The Loser is a brilliant meditation on success, failure, genius, and fame.

The second book in the brilliant Roald Dahl Funny Prize winning BARRY LOSER series. Perfect for readers aged 7-10 years old and fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates and Dennis the Menace. You know when someone's horrible to you in a dream and you wake up really annoyed with them? That's what happened to me with my best friend Bunky. Barry has a new problem: Gordon Smugly - who's got the most perfect name for himself ever in the history of having a name, because he looks like a Gordon and is smug and ugly - has stolen Barry's best friend. Join Barry as he attempts to get Bunky back, organises a girly-screamvoice test and tries to avoid seeing his teacher kissing his gran. Have you got all of Jim Smith’s amazekeel books? I am not a Loser I am still not a Loser I am so over being a Loser I am sort of a Loser Barry Loser and the holiday of doom Barry Loser and the case of the crumpled carton Barry Loser’s ultimate book of keelness Barry Loser hates half term My mum is a loser My dad is a loser Future Ratboy and the attack of the killer robot grannies Future Ratboy and the invasion of the nom noms Future Ratboy and the quest for the missing thingy Barry Loser: I am Not a Loser was selected as a Tom Fletcher Book Club 2017 title. Jim Smith is the keelest kids’ book author in the whole wide world amen. He graduated from art school with first class honours (the best you can get) and went on to create the branding for a sweet little chain of coffee shops. He also designs cards and gifts under the name Waldo Pancake.

"At a sports-crazy NJ high school where all kids must play on a team, a group of rebels start[s] a soccer team designed to undermine the jock-culture of the school"--

Teenage smut author Lisa Edelstein is the last person you'd want defending humanity from bloodthirsty monsters, especially since she's never actually seen one in person. But a midnight train ride changes everything. One summer and a few forged transcripts later, our intrepid hero finds herself attending Ashibar Academy, a tough-as-nails high school for magically-enhanced monster-killers. With no powers, no weapons, and no combat experience, she'll have to rely on her wits and charisma to survive in the cutthroat halls of an unfamiliar school. But when her mysterious black scars start drawing unwanted attention from a paramilitary organization, she begins to discover that there might be more to her than she originally thought. Her newfound friends may be the only thing standing between her and annihilation.

Mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved... 18-year-old Samantha Brown sits in a hand-me-down car with the keys clutched in her hand. Caught between a yearning for the unknown and feeling bound by expectation, she telescopes back to a time before her world had fallen apart. As she relives her senior year, we meet Sam’s well-intentioned helicopter mother Bev and her high school sweetheart of a boyfriend Adam, but it’s her painfully alive best friend Kelly that haunts her. Kelly was everything Sam is not – impetuous and daring. She pushed Sam to break rules and do the unexpected. When Kelly’s killed in a car wreck, Sam loses not only her best friend but also the part of herself that was learning to be brave. Now, Sam has to make a decision. Will she follow her mother’s dreams for her, or will she summon the courage to drive away from her friends and family into a future she can’t imagine?