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Leopold - Ploegsma - Condor
Leopold was founded in 1923 and evolved into a children's-and young-adult publishing house in the 1950's. Leopoldestablishes a lot of collaborations with museums, different organizations and the government. The first children's book ever published is still in print: Johan Fabricius'Java Ho! The Adventures of Four Boys Amid Fire, Storm, and Shipwreck. Leopold hosts a lot of famous Dutch authors, for example the classic works of Tonke Dragt (The Letter for the King, The Secrets of the Wild Wood).Several popular brands are also published by Leopold, likeFrog(Max Velthuijs) andAlfie the Werewolf(Paul van Loon). The beautiful Leopold picture books by renowned illustrators like Annemarie van Haeringen, Wouter van Reek and Ingrid Godon are taking a flight due to the fantastic teamwork with museums. Not only classic authors and popular brands are a big part of Leopold. A younger generation of authors and illustrators is building a vast oeuvre. Books like Zeb.(Gideon Samson, Joren Joshua) andFright Night(Maren Stoffels) shake up the world of children's literature. Ploegsma has been part of the Dutch publishing scene for well over a hundred years. The publishing house was founded in 1905 by Johannes Ploegsma and has been specialising in children's books since the 1960's: adventurous and humorous fiction and non-fiction books for children of all ages. These include many classic titles, such as the books by Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking) and Arnold Lobel (Frog and Toad), as well as books by contemporary and very popular authors like Mirjam Oldenhave(Mister Twister), Marjon Hoffman (Flora), Yvon Jaspers (Tess and Tommy), Reggie Naus (The Pirates Next Door), Vivian den Hollander, Janny van der Molen and Caja Cazemier. Many of these authors have been translated. Even though a lot has changed the past hundred years, Ploegsma's love for beautiful books is still going strong.
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Children's & YAWONDERS AND LEGENDS ON DRAGONS
Dragons have inspired the imagination of mankind since the dawn of time. Each civilization, in its own way, has honored the wonderful creature. Then, as times changed, the same ones who had once adored it now called it a cruel and bloodthirsty monster.
by Séverine Pineaux
Rattling scales, breath of fire, twirling under the scarlet skies... Dragons have fed the imagination of men since the dawn of time, giving birth to many legends. Each civilization in its own way has honored the marvelous creature.As times changed, the same ones who had once adored it now called it a cruel and bloodthirsty monster, and its executioners became the heroes.In this book, we honor the “great fire-breathers,” these magnificent, untamable creatures, who have ignited a childhood passion that can never be extinguished and guide us as we go through life with our head in the clouds, on the back of our very own dragon…
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FictionOctober 2020GABRIEL GERFAUT’S INVESTIGATIONS VOL.10: THE FORTRESS OF THE CURSED
When Gerfaut learns that Brittany, land of legends, is also called the gate of hell, he knows that he will have to face the impossible.
by Gilles Milo-Vacéri
In Brittany (western France), near Yeun Elez, a ghosthunter vanishes during an investigation, two childrendisappear and a man is crucified and beaten to death.The prosecutor panics and calls Major Gerfaut as abackup. When the latter learns that this land of legendsis also called the gate of hell, he knows that he will haveto face the impossible, starting with the secret of theFortress of the Cursed.Used to sadistic killers and defying the invisible, Gerfautexpects the worst. Unfortunately, there is always aworse than the worst ...
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FictionOctober 2019TELL ME SWEET WORDS
How do we actually manage to love? How do we say “I love you”? But also, how do we say “I don’t love you anymore”? How do we get up after biting the dust? How do we keep it beautiful despite of it all?
by Cécile Hennerolles
A couple in their forties whose relationship has reached a standstill tries to figure out how things went wrong. A friendship, based on a common trauma, finds its own way to resilience. A woman, abused by her partner, decides to give love another chance by finding the strength to leave him. Grandparents have gone through life without ever letting the spark falter. Yet life will decide that something must end. A child discovers that his heart can beat very fast for a girl, and wonders if at some point it might explode. These five paths will intertwine and confront each other, each in their own way, with the intensity of love. How do we actually manage to love? How do we say “I love you”? But also, how do we say “I don’t love you anymore”? How do we get up after biting the dust?How do we keep it beautiful despite of it all?
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September 2021THE BEAST WITHIN HER
Marie has left her native countryside, and has taken a summer job in a Parisian brasserie. Staying with her parents’ friends, the husband regularly abuses her. So, she silences her shame and her pain, which leads the beast inside her to grow...
by Camille Lysière
Marie has just graduated from high school. She leaves her hometown and takes a summer job in a Parisian brasserie. During her stay, she is hosted by a couple, her parents’ friends. He is a shadowy journalist. She is a frustrated housewife. Marie, who dreams of a future in literature, is honored to have Olivier take an interest in her. He enjoys chatting with her, he takes her seriously. Marie feels important when he invites her to his office for a private chat. But this beautiful relationship gradually goes off track. There is that one time by the library when he holds onto her a little longer than necessary. Should she have said or done something?Since then, Olivier comes to her room to talk. The first time he sits on the bed, imploring. The next time, she struggles, but it is not enough. And every other night he comes back. Marie is devastated. Had she seduced Olivier in spite of herself? So she silences her shame and her pain, which leads the beast inside her to grow. Marie is not alone. In 2009, she is experiencing what other 17-year-old women like her have experienced in another times. Claudine in 1937, Isabelle in 1973 and Amandine in 1990. Travelling through time, this striking novel gives us the same story: the tragedy and the arbitrary nature of rape that shatters destinies.
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December 2019Black Matter
A THRILLER WITH CAPTIVATING REALISM: BLACK MATTER IS A BOMB THAT EXPLODES ONLY INSIDE YOUR BODY.
by Ivan Zinberg
In July 2017, Jacques Canovas, a Parisian reporter for the crime news magazine Crime-hebdo, went to Savoie near Lac du Bourget: since the morning of July 15, a 22-year-old woman who had gone jogging had not been seen. He has to cover this very mediatic case, which has monopolized the columns of the local press for two days and attracted journalists from all over the country.The body of the young woman, Marion Testud, is discovered the day of his arrival. The body lies in a creek. The police, already seized of the disappearance, is charged with the case by the prosecutor. The doubts are directed towards the entourage of the victim and in particular her spouse. Tensions within the couple could have led to the drama. The man claims his innocence. After several days of research with a local informant, a former gendarme, the reporter sees another possibility: that of a murder in a longer series. A living memory of the events, a formidable weaver of links and connections, Canovas links this crime to older cases. He establishes that these women were all abducted in the direct proximity of nightclubs.Based on this new lead, which the gendarmerie did not seem to take into account, Canovas became interested in a disappearance that had occurred a few days earlier 150 kilometers away. Canovas decides to leave Savoie and goes to the Loire, where he identifies a policeman, Karim Bekkouche, who knows the mother of the missing woman. July 2017. Karim Bekkouche, "Bek" of his nickname, works as head of the BAC at the central police station of Saint-Étienne. Separated from his wife for years, he leads an austere life between his job, his passion for soccer and the difficult contacts he has with his son Rayan, a student in Paris.Anissa Djebbar, a childhood friend from the neighborhood whom he hasn't seen in years, calls him for help after her daughter Ines runs away for the umpteenth time after a party. She is convinced that the escapade lasts this time too long: the kid, major since recently, gave quickly news. No police investigation is carried out, given the profile of the missing girl and her right to be unaccountable. Faced with the mother's distress, Bek agrees to launch an informal search. He gathers elements that suggest that she may have been abducted. Bek opens up about the situation to his colleagues in the judicial services and a procedure for worrying disappearance is opened. Discreetly, supported by his assistant and Ines' stepfather, Karim continues his research in parallel with the official investigations. He discovers the hidden life of Ines. During her absences, she worked as an escort-girl in a brothel in Switzerland. Manipulated by an Albanian kingpin, pimp and drug trafficker, she was leading a high life. Bek goes to Switzerland, meets the local thugs and takes all the risks in order to shed light on the dark personality of young Ines. Having reached the end of what he could do, he receives an unexpected visit from a Parisian journalist, Jacques Canovas.
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FIVE FINGERS IN THE SNOW
by Jacques Saussey
1968. Paris. Alexandre, 12 ans, agresse une petite fille de 10 ans et lui casse le bras dans la cave d’un immeuble. 1974. Vosges. Marc, écrivain renommé, élève seul son fils Alexandre depuis la mort de sa femme, cinq ans plus tôt. Ils ont déménagé dans cette région reculée juste après l’agression. Marc a payé la famille de la fillette pour que l’affaire soit étouffée. Pour le dix-huitième anniversaire d’Alexandre, Marc organise une fête chez lui avec des ami(e)s de son fils. Bloqués par une chute de neige précoce pour la saison, il doit les héberger. Durant la nuit, Mathilde, une jeune fille de dix-sept ans, fait un malaise après avoir ingéré de la cocaïne. Alors qu’il essaie de la ranimer, il réalise qu’elle a été mordue à la poitrine et il en déduit qu’elle a été abusée sexuellement. Persuadé que son fils est coupable — il l’a surpris le jour même en possession de cette drogue — et qu’elle est en train de mourir, Marc décide de faire disparaître son corps. Si Alexandre est arrêté, il finira sa vie en prison, voire sous la lame de la guillotine. Marc vole une voiture d’un des jeunes et la précipite dans un lac avec la fille à bord. Il simulera une fugue. Mais l’« accident » a un témoin : Jonathan Keller, qui s’est trouvé là au mauvais moment. Keller devient le suspect n° 1, car il convoite en vain Michelle, la mère de Mathilde, depuis des années. Les recherches permettent de retrouver Mathilde dans un creux de roches. Elle est presque mourante. Ses mains et ses pieds ont gelé. Relâché faute de preuves, Jonathan Keller est assassiné par le père de la jeune fille, pour lequel sa culpabilité ne fait aucun doute. Après la mort de Keller, l’enquête s’arrête. Marc se rapproche très intimement de Michelle. Lorsque Mathilde sort de l’hôpital, elle reconnaît celui qui a tenté de la tuer et se met à hurler dans la voiture. Sa mère comprend alors la vérité et écrase Marc contre un mur avec une fureur viscérale. L’un des policiers, qui ne croyait pas à la version officielle, a assisté à la scène. Il masque le crime de Michelle pour que Mathilde ne se retrouve pas seule, puisque son père est en prison pour avoir abattu Keller. Le vrai meurtrier a été puni, et c’est tout ce qui compte, après tout. Dans sa chambre, Mathilde se reconstruit près de sa mère, jour après jour, en reproduisant avec du papier bulle le bruit du crâne de Marc qui a éclaté contre le mur de l’hôpital…
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THE FOURTH GATHERING
by Cyril Carrère
Trois associés, un cadavre, un butin, une embrouille. Un coup de maître. Visalia, Californie centrale. William, l’homme d’affaires, rêve de créer un nouveau pôle d’excellence dans la région qui l’a vu naître, loin de la Silicon Valley et de la Baie de San Francisco. Lorsque sa société Educorp fait faillite, étourdi par le désir de revanche, il accepte l’aide d’un fonds privé sans en avertir ses associés. Quand Carl, l’avocat fiscaliste, met son nez dans les affaires d’Educorp, ce qu’il découvre va l’aspirer au cœur d’un engrenage incontrôlable. Philip s’active pour offrir une fin de vie décente à sa mère. Pour y parvenir, le lieutenant de police est prêt à tout. Le destin de ces trois hommes va se télescoper quand William doit revoir ses associés, une semaine plus tard, à l’occasion du Rassemblement, rituel instauré depuis la fin de leur aventure commune. Parfaite symétrie des situations et des hommes : dans ce dédale de faux-semblants, de violences feutrées et de trahisons, le face-à-face s’annonce comme la plus dangereuse réunion à laquelle ils n’aient jamais participé.
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JUSTICE
On his way home from a training session, Nolan witnesses an attempted rape and decides to take action. Seriously injured, he considers his intervention a failure and decides to get help from a priest with unconventional methods.
by Dario Alcide
On his way home from a training session, Nolan, a sportsman used to capoeira fighting, witnesses an attempted rape and decides to step in. Even if he manages to help the victim, he still ends up in the hospital, seriously injured. This violent beating weighs on the young man’s mind, and he gradually drifts into depression, unable to bear what he considers to be a failure.It is finally a meeting with a priest that will help him get back on his feet. It must be said that Father Franck has a very unique method for working with young people experiencing difficulties.The two other teenagers he takes care of at the same time, Valentina and Hervé, have had a difficult life. But this unusual trio seems to share something more than a simple patient/therapist relationship.Father Franck’s methods will lead Nolan into strange and sometimes dangerous situations. Will he manage to overcome his own demons to regain serenity?
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THE SAGA OF SOULS #1 THE BLUE SOUL
When Oksana meets Max, the attraction she feels for him is instantaneous, almost too strong. But Max is fierce and difficult to understand. What does he hide deep inside?
by Océane Ghanem
One winter evening, Oksana goes to a nightclub to celebrate her best friend Steeve’s birthday. To get away from his sister Camelia, she sits at the bar and orders a beer. Oksana eventually notices a man in the crowd who catches her eye. He fascinates her upon first glance. She herself doesn’t understand this obsession of hers, this want to know his every move throughout the evening. She only wishes to rid herself of the sadness she feels deep down.As for Max, he enjoys his evening with his friends and roommates. However, the constant gaze of this woman at the bar intrigues and disturbs him much more than he would like. He tests her reactions, sometimes by slipping away from the dance floor while she looks away, sometimes by provoking her with mindless flirting and dancing. This curiosity will finally drive him to join her at the bar. A relationship develops between them over time, creating a strong and powerful bond.Despite this, both protagonists have secrets they would rather keep to themselves. How far will they be willing to go to prevent the other from knowing?
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May 2021THE STRANGE POWER OF DISASTERS
A topical novel about the fertile social mutations triggered by a pandemic. How a highly lethal disease will allow a mother and a son to find their way back to each other...
by Hélène Le Bris
France, summer 2029. A strange disease with an unspeakable name, called “Plague” for convenience, is sweeping the country. Deadly and highly contagious, it strikes in successive waves, upsetting the economy and social relations and overturning democracy. It eventually withdraws to Paris, placed under lockdown.On either side of the medical barricade, a mother and her grown son witness contrasting events, she in her village, repopulated by townspeople spared from the virus, and he imprisoned in a devastated Paris. Their past opposes them, their present also keeps them apart: she struggles with paperwork in the filthy workshop next to her house, and he enjoys his job as a guide for the Louvre Museum. As the plague takes its toll, an unexpected reconciliation gradually takes place.Their relationships with their loved ones also change. A couple of overworked caregivers, a distraught garage owner, and an emotional fortune teller experience with them the shock that the plague imposes on human relationships.
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Children's & YAA STRANGE NEIGHBOURHOOD
During his holidays, Olivier goes into the garden of one of the houses in his village without permission and makes a strange discovery… Is it linked to one of the most famous puzzles in history?
by Florian Dennisson
Olivier, 13 years old, moves with his parents to the countryside after his mother, a history and geography teacher, is transferred to Arville, an old town that prides itself on having a commandery that traces back to the Knights Templar and their preceptor. While walking his friend Thomas’ dog, Olivier watches heavy work in a neighboring property and notices, horrified, that a shovel falls into a huge hole. Curiosity leads Olivier to go back to his neighbors’ garden and, to his great astonishment, uncovers with the shovel some old chests decorated with a kind of logo representing two riders on the same horse. The adventure could have begun here, but because Olivier went on the neighbors’ property without permission, his strict father punishes him: Olivier is grounded for all of summer vacation and will not be able to leave the house.Fortunately, Amanda, who he is secretly in love with, lives across the street and promises to help him.
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July 2021AT DUSK AND AFTERWARDS
Flavien discovers a magical world under a hospital bed. A disturbing mist ravages the kingdom and a sleeping princess could be the key to saving his sister.
by Raphaël Panarisi
After the accident that put his sister in a deep coma, Flavien discovers a magical world under a hospital bed. A disturbing mist ravages the kingdom of this mysterious land, and a sleeping princess somewhere off in this distant universe could be the key to saving his sister.The young boy, accompanied by a strange creature, embarks on an epic and dreamlike quest full of adventures and riddles to defeat Scarified, an evil being whose scars reflect the darkest nightmares, and to liberate the Kingdom of the Underworld, whose territories are divided between light, shadow, and twilight. Many trials await them, such as a visit to a haunted forest and a face-to-face encounter with two gigantic monsters who, like a Sphinx, impose riddles to guard the entrance of a sacred mausoleum.Without knowing it, he will travel through some literary classics like Alice in Wonderland, The Neverending Story, and The Wizard of Oz.For all these references are not accidental, and Flavien will discover at the end of his journey, during the final confrontation, that everything is linked to the books he has always loved.
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Children's & YAMARIUS’ TRICKS
Cleverness • Tricks • Chinchilla • Poetic Nature • Animals
by Tataninig
Marius is a chinchilla as tall as 3 apples, as wide as a melon, and as gentle as a lamb. Marius jumps very high and leaps like a kangaroo. He swallows flies before they even fly away! As you can see, Marius has more than one trick up his sleeve...
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September 2021ALL THAT BINDS US
When Marianne drives her daughter to her first day of high school, the same place she herself went 20 years earlier, she comes face to face with her high school sweetheart who broke her heart. He wants to reconnect; she wants to avoid him...
by Christelle Da Cruz
At 38, Marianne has a real estate agency to manage, a daughter entering 9th grade, and a difficult past she is trying to come to terms with.Nostalgic, she drives her daughter Charlotte to her first day of high school, the same place she went 20 years earlier. She still has trouble realizing her baby is all grown up. The years flew by as she raised her daughter alone and tried to overcome the mourning of her husband.But if this new school year is a new milestone, she did not expect for a single moment to come face-to-face with her high school sweetheart. To top it off, Raphaël De Luca is Charlotte’s main teacher.He wants to reconnect; she wants to avoid him.How can she avoid falling again for this man who once broke her heart?She could do without this extra challenge in her life! Especially since her friends, who are a little nosy, are convinced she is making a mistake…
