Books with author Lisa M Evans

#1 UK Bestseller“A thoughtful, funny, companionable novel…executed with verve.”—London TimesThe author of the acclaimed Crooked Heart returns with a comic, charming, and surprisingly timely portrait of a once pioneering suffragette trying to find her new passion in post-WWI era London.1928. Riffling through a cupboard, Matilda Simpkin comes across a small wooden club—an old possession that she hasn’t seen for more than a decade. Immediately, memories come flooding back to Mattie—memories of a thrilling past, which only further serve to remind her of her chafingly uneventful present. During the Women's Suffrage Campaign, she was a militant who was jailed five times and never missed an opportunity to return to the fray. Now in middle age, the closest she gets to the excitement of her old life is the occasional lecture on the legacy of the militant movement.After running into an old suffragette comrade who has committed herself to the wave of Fascism, Mattie realizes there is a new cause she needs to fight for and turns her focus to a new generation of women. Thus the Amazons are formed, a group created to give girls a place to not only exercise their bodies but their minds, and ignite in young women a much-needed interest in the world around them. But when a new girl joins the group, sending Mattie’s past crashing into her present, every principle Mattie has ever stood for is threatened. Old Baggage is a funny and bittersweet portrait of a woman who has never given up the fight and the young women who are just discovering it.

#1 UK Bestseller“A thoughtful, funny, companionable novel…executed with verve.”—London TimesThe author of the acclaimed Crooked Heart returns with a comic, charming, and surprisingly timely portrait of a once pioneering suffragette trying to find her new passion in post-WWI era London.1928. Riffling through a cupboard, Matilda Simpkin comes across a small wooden club—an old possession that she hasn’t seen for more than a decade. Immediately, memories come flooding back to Mattie—memories of a thrilling past, which only further serve to remind her of her chafingly uneventful present. During the Women's Suffrage Campaign, she was a militant who was jailed five times and never missed an opportunity to return to the fray. Now in middle age, the closest she gets to the excitement of her old life is the occasional lecture on the legacy of the militant movement.After running into an old suffragette comrade who has committed herself to the wave of Fascism, Mattie realizes there is a new cause she needs to fight for and turns her focus to a new generation of women. Thus the Amazons are formed, a group created to give girls a place to not only exercise their bodies but their minds, and ignite in young women a much-needed interest in the world around them. But when a new girl joins the group, sending Mattie’s past crashing into her present, every principle Mattie has ever stood for is threatened. Old Baggage is a funny and bittersweet portrait of a woman who has never given up the fight and the young women who are just discovering it.

Stuart Horten, ten years old and small for his age, is about to have the strangest ADVENTURE of his life. After moving to the boring town of Beeton, he finds himself swept up in an INCREDIBLE QUEST to find his great-uncle's lost legacy: a magician's workshop stuffed with trickery and MAGIC. There are clues to follow, unbearable neighbours to avoid and PUZZLES to solve, but what starts as FUN ends up as DANGER, and Stuart begins to realise that he can't finish the task on his own...

The man made of stars is hard at work every night, bringing more and more light to the world, bit by bit. But what is his secret, and where does he go every evening when he walks out past town with his lantern twinkling? This is the story of one curious child who, determined to come up with an answer to this mystery, discovers something incredible about himself. It is a reminder that small acts have great consequences, and that there is always room for more light in the world.

From the author of the acclaimed Crooked Heart comes another “smart, funny, ingenious, revealing tale of London life during the Second World War” (The Independent)—longlisted for the Orange Prize upon its original publication in England.It is 1940. France has fallen, and only a narrow strip of sea lies between Great Britain and invasion. The war could go either way and everyone must do their bit. Young copy writer Catrin Cole is drafted into the Ministry of Information to help “write women” into propaganda films—something that the men aren’t very good at.She is quickly seconded to the Ministry’s latest endeavor: a heart-warming tale of bravery and rescue at Dunkirk. It’s all completely fabricated, of course, but what does that matter when the nation’s morale is at stake? Since call-up has stripped the industry of its brightest and best, it is the callow, the jaded and the utterly unsuitable who must make up the numbers: Ambrose Hilliard, third most popular British film-star of 1924; Edith Beadmore, Madame Tussauds wardrobe assistant turned costumier; and Arthur Frith, whose peacetime job as a catering manager has not really prepared him for his sudden, unexpected elevation to Special Military Advisor.Now in a serious world, in a nation under siege, they must all swallow their mutual distaste, ill-will, and mistrust to unite for the common good, for King and Country, and—in one case—for better or worse....“Evans displays a fine eye for detail and for the absurdities involved in filming. She also brilliantly evokes the disruption and dangers of wartime London. This funny, heart-warming and beautifully crafted novel is a must-read.”—Daily Mail (London)

Enter a wonderful world filled with real magic, mystery, and danger.As if being small and having S. Horten as his name isn't bad enough, now 10-year-old Stuart is forced to move far away from all his friends.But on his very first day in his new home, Stuart's swept up in an extraordinary adventure: the quest to find his great-uncle Tony--a famous magician who literally disappeared off the face of the earth--and Tony's marvelous, long-lost workshop. Along the way, Stuart reluctantly accepts help from the annoying triplets next door… and encounters trouble from another magician who's also desperate to get hold of Tony's treasures.A quirky, smart, charming page-turner, Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms will enchant young readers--as well as teachers, librarians, and parents. Long-listed for the Carnegie Medal (2012) and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (2011)

No one has ever gone to the Olympics without a coach. Why pursue your academic dreams without one? Study Skills Training Manual has a unique and engaging approach that teaches students top skills they need to learn more effectively, get better grades and prepare for exams so they can reach their academic and professional goals. The study skills in this book have been thoroughly researched and are presented in an appealing, up-beat, and no-nonsense manner. In Study Skills Training Manual the author captures with an intense focus, the study skills that students from 5th -12th grade need to study better and best prepare for exams. For a student who has big goals, they need a coach who can help them reach those goals, and who can cheer them on and believe in them. The author does just that through this empowering book.

This magical follow-up to Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms continues Stuart's amazing adventures--with more enchantment, more surprises, and more thrills. When we last left 10-year-old Stuart, he had just recovered his great-uncle Tony's long-lost magic workshop. Now all the priceless tricks are on display in the Beeton Museum--and Stuart is junior curator of the exhibit! But another mystery awaits Stuart: Where did the great magician hide his will? Only by entering the magic world of the workshop can he find the answer. But as the mechanisms whisk him off on increasingly incredible adventures, the puzzles become harder and harder to solve…and the stakes higher. With even more page-turning action, this second book in the exciting middle-grade series does a magic trick of its own: it's even better than the first!

From the author of the acclaimed Crooked Heart comes another “smart, funny, ingenious, revealing tale of London life during the Second World War” (The Independent)—longlisted for the Orange Prize upon its original publication in England.It is 1940. France has fallen, and only a narrow strip of sea lies between Great Britain and invasion. The war could go either way and everyone must do their bit. Young copy writer Catrin Cole is drafted into the Ministry of Information to help “write women” into propaganda films—something that the men aren’t very good at.She is quickly seconded to the Ministry’s latest endeavor: a heart-warming tale of bravery and rescue at Dunkirk. It’s all completely fabricated, of course, but what does that matter when the nation’s morale is at stake? Since call-up has stripped the industry of its brightest and best, it is the callow, the jaded and the utterly unsuitable who must make up the numbers: Ambrose Hilliard, third most popular British film-star of 1924; Edith Beadmore, Madame Tussauds wardrobe assistant turned costumier; and Arthur Frith, whose peacetime job as a catering manager has not really prepared him for his sudden, unexpected elevation to Special Military Advisor.Now in a serious world, in a nation under siege, they must all swallow their mutual distaste, ill-will, and mistrust to unite for the common good, for King and Country, and—in one case—for better or worse....“Evans displays a fine eye for detail and for the absurdities involved in filming. She also brilliantly evokes the disruption and dangers of wartime London. This funny, heart-warming and beautifully crafted novel is a must-read.”—Daily Mail (London)

No one has ever gone to the Olympics without a coach. Why pursue your academic dreams without one? Study Skills Training Manual has a unique and engaging approach that teaches students top skills they need to learn more effectively, get better grades and prepare for exams so they can reach their academic and professional goals. The study skills in this book have been thoroughly researched and are presented in an appealing, up-beat, and no-nonsense manner. In Study Skills Training Manual the author captures with an intense focus, the study skills that students from 5th -12th grade need to study better and best prepare for exams. For a student who has big goals, they need a coach who can help them reach those goals, and who can cheer them on and believe in them. The author does just that through this empowering book.

This magical follow-up to Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms continues Stuart's amazing adventures--with more enchantment, more surprises, and more thrills. When we last left 10-year-old Stuart, he had just recovered his great-uncle Tony's long-lost magic workshop. Now all the priceless tricks are on display in the Beeton Museum--and Stuart is junior curator of the exhibit! But another mystery awaits Stuart: Where did the great magician hide his will? Only by entering the magic world of the workshop can he find the answer. But as the mechanisms whisk him off on increasingly incredible adventures, the puzzles become harder and harder to solve…and the stakes higher. With even more page-turning action, this second book in the exciting middle-grade series does a magic trick of its own: it's even better than the first!