One Good Turn (7 page)

Josephine Cox

HarperCollins

Best mates Mark and Pete board a train to London for their lads' night out.

As Pete finds a seat he notices a girl sitting on a bench. She looks sad and lonely. When the train leaves, he can't get her out of his mind because in her, he has seen a glimpse of himself.

Over the coming months Pete sees the girl often, but when tempted to speak to her, his courage fails. Then one day she simply disappears. Hopelessly besotted by this girl he believes to be his kindred spirit, Pete will not rest until he finds her.

Adele Parks

Penguin

Lisa is forty-two, divorced and a mum of three. For the past year, she has been going out with Mark, who is five years younger than her. Lisa really likes him but she worries that one day he will leave – just like her ex-husband did. On top of everything else, Lisa feels really tired and moody, and has put on weight. She thinks it's the menopause but could there be another reason for how she's feeling?

Lisa's life is about to change in a big way but does she want Mark by her side? Does he even want to be there? With the help of her family and friends, Lisa starts to believe that a second chance of love and happiness might just be possible . . .

Scott Quinnell

Accent Press

Scott Quinnell is one of the best-known names in rugby. He played both rugby league and rugby union, for Wales and for the British Lions. He was captain of the Welsh team seven times and won 52 caps.

But amidst all this success, Scott had a painful secret. He struggled to read. In
The Hardest Test,
he describes his struggle against learning difficulties throughout his childhood and his journey towards becoming one of the best rugby players in Britain. When he retired from rugby in 2005 he continued his battle with dyslexia in order to change both his and his children's lives.

Gilda O'Neill

Penguin

Gilda O'Neill was born in London's East End. Her nan had a pie and mash shop and her grandfather was a tug-boat skipper. You might think Gilda's childhood was filled with knees-ups in pubs and famous criminals – but that is just half the story. In
East End Tales,
Gilda tells what the true East End was like – not the place of myth and legend. Tales of hardship and upheaval rub shoulders with stories of kindness, pride, courage and humour.

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A list of books for new readers can be found on www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk or at your local library.

Publishers Barrington Stoke (
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), New Island (
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) and Sandstone Press (www.sandstonepress.com) also provide books for new readers.

The BBC runs a reading and writing campaign. See www.bbc.co.uk/raw.

2008 is a National Year of Reading. To find out more, search online, see
www.dius.gov.uk
or visit your local library.