Northern Lights, Philip PullmanIn this first part of the "Dark Materials" trilogy, Lyra's friend Roger disappears. She and her daemon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him. Their quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North where a team of scientists are conducting unspeakably horrible experiments.

law and order had totally broken down

Stewart also explores the strange numerology of real mathematics

Steph Ng knows all too well what it feels like to be voiceless in a cultural environment that frowns upon open discussions about mental illness

the importance of identity and the meaning of home

Two witnesses

including the 1897 Basle Congress

A gorgeous new edition of a playful

lord of the underworld – and one does not refuse the master and live to tell the tale

(Answer: they both cheat

as well as one of the shrewdest

is a small library

Vikas Swarup presents a kaleidoscopic vision of the struggle between good and evil—and what happens when one boy has no other choice in life but to survive