‘I straighten her little tiara every morning – I lift her chin and remind her that she is meant for greater things than playground bullies.’

‘Everything shines in its own time. There is no timetable for life.
Timetables are for classrooms, not for people.’

These are just some of the wisdoms shared on The Village, South Africa’s beloved Facebook group for parents raising tweens, teens and young adults.

Having kids is a baffling endeavour beset with sulks, meltdowns, anxiety and disappointment – and that’s just the parents! When you get that call to the principal’s office? When the school acceptances don’t come? When the bedroom door slams and you hear your child sobbing behind it? All awful but the family years are also, to many of us, our most precious time. The trick? To find a way to enjoy our families, love our children and believe in them and ourselves despite the daily challenges. And laugh . . .

In this book, Vanessa Raphaely and Karin Schimke have gathered together experiences and insights from The Village members. These are the gems and remedies from the real parenting experts – the parents – to help you raise your family in your own perfectly imperfect way.

At the height of her journalism career, more than one million households across the country knew her name and her face. Her reportage on human suffering and triumph captivated viewers, and with it Vanessa Govender shot to fame as one of the first female Indian television news reporters in South Africa. Always chasing the human angle of any news story, Govender made a name for herself by highlighting stories that included the grief of a mother clutching a packet filled with the fragments of the broken bones of her children after they’d been hacked to death by their own father, and another story where she celebrated the feisty spirit of a little girl who was dying of old age, while holding onto dreams that would never be realised. Yet Govender, a champion for society’s downtrodden, was hiding a shocking story of her own. In Beaten But Not Broken, she finally opens up about her deepest secret – one that so nearly ended her career in broadcast journalism before it had barely kicked off.

She was a rookie reporter at the SABC in 1999. He was a popular radio disc jockey, the darling of the SABC’s Lotus FM, a radio station catering to nearly half a million Indian people across South Africa. They were the perfect pair, or so it seemed. And if anyone suspected the nature of the abusive relationship, Govender says, she doesn’t believe they knew the full extent of the horror that the popular DJ was inflicting on this intrepid journalist. The bruising punches, the cracking slaps, and the relentless episodes filled with beatings, kicking and strangling were as ferocious as the emotional and verbal abuse he hurled at her. No one would know the brutal and graphic details of Govender’s story … until now.

In Beaten But Not Broken, this Indian woman does the unthinkable, maybe even the unforgiveable, in breaking the ranks of a close-knit conservative community to speak out about her five-year-long hell in this abusive relationship. Her story also lays bare her heart-breaking experiences as a victim of childhood bullying and being ostracised by some in her community for being a dark-skinned Indian girl. Govender tells a graphic story of extreme abuse, living with the pain, and ultimately of how she was saved by her own relentless fighting spirit to find purpose and love. This is a story of possibilities and hope; it is a story of a true survivor.

The Crown focuses on Queen Elizabeth II as a 25-year-old newlywed faced with the daunting prospect of leading the world's most famous monarchy while forging a relationship with legendary Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill.

The British Empire is in decline, the political world is in disarray, and a young woman takes the throne.... a new era is dawning.

Peter Morgan's masterfully researched scripts reveal the Queen's private journey behind the public facade with daring frankness. Prepare to be welcomed into the coveted world of power and privilege and behind locked doors in Westminster and Buckingham Palace....the leaders of an empire await.

Will he choose inheritance – or freedom.

1918: Freddie was destined for a different life, determined to make his fortune in the plantations of Ceylon. But just as the great war comes to an end, the eldest brother and heir to Coombe Hall, Edward, doesn’t return.

Torn between duty and freedom, Freddie must now sacrifice his own dreams to keep the estate – and the future of Coombe – alive. And now he must now marry for an heir, not for love.

But the turmoil of war didn’t end on the battlefield; the country faces upheavals like never before. And when an unexpected legacy blows in from Edward’s secret past, Freddie’s grip on the estate – and his future – looks more uncertain than ever . . .

Sweeping from the smoking battlefields of France to the rich estates of Devon, from Suffragettes to political extremists, this is a story of legacy and scars, of the price of change, the price of family…

A spellbinding, sweeping novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII – and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family.

Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara’s family is in terrible danger: her 15-year-old son, Abel, has disappeared, and her youngest daughter, Jasmin, is confined in a basement to prevent being pressed into service at the comfort stations. Her eldest daughter Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day.

Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth.

A decade prior, Cecily had been desperate to be more than a housewife to a low-level bureaucrat in British-colonized Malaya. A chance meeting with the charismatic General Fuijwara lured her into a life of espionage, pursuing dreams of an "Asia for Asians." Instead, Cecily helped usher in an even more brutal occupation by the Japanese. Ten years later as the war reaches its apex, her actions have caught up with her. Now her family is on the brink of destruction—and she will do anything to save them.

Spanning years of pain and triumph, told from the perspectives of four unforgettable characters, THE STORM WE MADE is a dazzling saga about the horrors of war; the fraught relationships between the colonized and their oppressors, and the ambiguity of right and wrong when survival is at stake.

All episodes from the first season of the animation set in the 'Star Wars' universe between the events of 'Revenge of the Sith' (2005) and 'A New Hope' (1977). With the rebellion against the empire in its infancy, the story follows Ezra (voice of Taylor Gray), a young orphan who finds himself caught up in the adventures of the fledgling rebels. The episodes are: 'Droids in Distress', 'Fighter Flight', 'Rise of the Old Masters', 'Breaking Ranks', 'Out of Darkness', 'Empire Day', 'Gathering Forces', 'Path of the Jedi', 'Idiot's Array', 'Vision of Hope', 'Call to Action', 'Rebel Resolve' and 'Fire Across the Galaxy'.

‘Outside, in the road, behind what looks like some hastily erected barricades, I see a crowd.

Television cameras. Lights. Paparazzi. Press photographers.

They’ve materialised out of nowhere. What looks like over a hundred locals and tourists are peering into every car leaving this area. Crowding against the car doors, pushing cameras up against the windows. Jostling. Screaming. Shouting. In all my anxiety, hard- nosed journalist that I’m not, during the hours spent shifting around in the plastic seat in the waiting room I had somehow not understood the enormity of this story.’

As deputy editor of the glamorous FILLE magazine in London, Lisa Lassiter had almost passed up the chance of a weekend on a billionaire’s yacht off the coast of Mykonos. But her best friend Claudia Hemmingway, on her way to becoming one of the hottest movie stars on the planet, could be very persuasive when she wanted something. Not only would they get there by private jet, she’d told Lisa, they would also get to rub shoulders with VIP guests – not least a famous Hollywood film producer. It would be a weekend of fun, sunshine, champagne and partying. And it was all of those things. Until it wasn’t.

Lisa has spent ten years trying to get past that weekend. If she has learnt anything, it is that unfinished business and secrets always work their way to the surface. Moving on is one thing; forgetting is another, and forgiving ... well, where to start?

In January 1785, a young African American woman named Elizabeth was put on board the Lucretia in New York Harbor, bound for Charleston, where she would be sold to her fifth master in just twenty-two years. Leaving behind a small child she had little hope of ever seeing again, Elizabeth was faced with the stark reality of being sold south to a life quite different from any she had known before. She had no idea that Robert Townsend, a son of the family she was enslaved by, would locate her, safeguard her child, and return her to New York--nor how her story would help turn one of America's first spies into an abolitionist. Robert Townsend is best known as one of George Washington's most trusted spies, but few are aware of how he worked to end slavery. As Robert and Elizabeth's story unfolds, prominent figures from history cross their path, including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benedict Arnold, John André, and John Adams, as well as participants in the Boston Massacre, the Sons of Liberty, the Battle of Long Island, Franklin's Paris negotiations, and the Benedict Arnold treason plot. The 2023 paperback edition includes a new chapter highlighting recent discoveries about Liss's freedom and later life.

All 13 episodes from the first season of the children's animated series set in the 'Star Wars' universe. When young scavenger Rowan Freemaker (voice of Nicolas Cantu) discovers an ancient artefact known as the Kyber Saber, he suddenly becomes aware of a natural connection with the Force. After meeting a Jedi named Naare (Grey Griffin), Rowan and his siblings Kordi (Vanessa Lengies) and Zander (Eugene Byrd) set off on a dangerous journey which sees them become embroiled in the ongoing battle between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. The episodes are: 'A Hero Discovered', 'The Mines of Graballa', 'Zander's Joyride', 'The Lost Treasure of Cloud City', 'Peril On Kashyyyk', 'Crossing Paths', 'Race On Tatooine', 'The Test', 'The Kyber Saber Crystal Chase', 'The Maker of Zoh', 'Showdown On Hoth', 'Duel of Destiny' and 'Return of the Kyber Saber'.

The first episode from the Star Wars Rebels series. Set between episodes III and IV of the Star wars saga with the rebellion against the empire in its infancy, the story follows Ezra (Taylor Gray) a young orphan who finds himself caught up in the adventures of the fledgling rebels. Along with his new friends, Ezra is pursued through space by the Imperial Agent Kallus (David Oyelowo).

The complete second series of the BBC drama, adapted from Jennifer Worth's memoirs, about a group of midwives working in East London in the 1950s. In this series, it's 1958, and while Jenny (Jessica Raine) has her hands full dealing with an abused patient, fellow midwives Trixie (Helen George) and Sister Evangelina (Pam Ferris) are forced to board a Swedish cargo ship to tend to the captain's pregnant daughter.

Collection of two comedies. In 'No Strings Attached' (2011), when long-time friends Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) decide to add a physical dimension to their relationship and move into 'friends with benefits' territory, they agree to keep things strictly casual and on a 'no strings' basis. But before long both of them find things becoming more complicated than planned as those pesky emotions get in the way. In 'Morning Glory' (2010), a sparky, ambitious young television producer spies an opportunity to claw her way up the career ladder when she is offered a job on 'Daybreak', the worst-performing morning chat show in the ratings. Her decision to hire veteran newscaster Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) to host the show meets with scepticism from network executive Jerry (Jeff Goldblum) and co-host Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton), and with little enthusiasm from Pomeroy himself, who is obliged by his contract to take this less-than-promising gig. Can Becky overcome the poor ratings and in-fighting to bring the team together and transform the show into something to be proud of?

'A thrillingly suspenseful novel that reveals its riches, layers and secrets through effortlessly elegant prose . . . I was hooked right through to the shocking end' BERNARDINE EVARISTO 'Obsessed' KERRY WASHINGTON 'A shimmering success' DIANA EVANS Nicole Oruwari has the perfect life: a handsome husband, a palatial house in the heart of Lagos and a glamorous group of friends. She left London and a troubled family past behind to become part of a community of expat wives. But when Nicole disappears without a trace after a boat trip, the cracks in her so-called perfect life start to show. As the investigation turns up nothing but dead ends, her aunt Claudine flies to Nigeria to take matters into her own hands. As she digs into her niece's life, she uncovers a hidden truth. But the more she finds out about Nicole, the more Claudine's own buried history threatens to come to light.

All six episodes from the first series of the BBC drama, adapted from Jennifer Worth's memoirs, about a group of midwives working in East London in the 1950s. Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine) gets her first job at Nonnatus House which she soon realises is a nursing convent and not a hospital, as she had assumed. As she begins caring for patients, she gradually becomes accustomed to her new environment, making friends with fellow midwives Cynthia (Bryony Hannah), Trixie (Helen George) and the clumsy Chummy (Miranda Hart).

Triple bill of crime dramas. In 'Bad Karma' (2012), starring Ray Liotta and Dominic Purcell, a criminal's attempts to go straight are sabotaged by his former partner. Relocating from Sydney to the Gold Coast to start afresh, Molloy (Liotta) is remarkably successful and even finds something approaching domestic bliss with a new girlfriend. Naturally, when his old crime partner Mack (Purcell) tracks him down he finds that Molloy is reluctant to return to his past life. Unfortunately, this doesn't deter the increasingly deranged Mack as he sets about convincing Molloy to help him pull off one last job. In 'The Entitled' (2011) social misfit Paul (Kevin Zegers) is driven to desperate measures when he is turned down for yet another job and his ill mother is given a foreclosure notice on the family home. He enlists the help of two friends to abduct three kids from rich families and hold them ransom for a million dollars each, but the plan goes badly wrong and they soon find themselves in way over their heads. 'Officer Down' (2012) follows Detective David Callahan (Stephen Dorff), known as 'Cal' on the force, who has had a mixed career as a police officer, struggling with drink problems and straying to the wrong side of the law himself at times. When he finds himself caught up in a murder investigation, Cal must attempt to overcome the demons from his own past as well as the challenges of the case.

Roland Emmerich directs this political thriller based around the notion that William Shakespeare was not in fact the author of the canon of plays attributed to him. In Elizabethan England, political intrigue abounds as the Tudors and the Cecils battle it out over the succession of Queen Elizabeth I (Joely Richardson/Vanessa Redgrave), and the Essex Rebellion mobilises against her. Enter the dashing and wildly talented Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (Jamie Campbell Bower/Rhys Ifans), who not only fathers an illegitimate son in a clandestine incestuous relationship with Queen Elizabeth, but is also the secret author of the plays labeled with the name of William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall).

David Frankel directs this comedy drama about a middle-aged couple who seek professional help after running into marital problems. Scripted by Vanessa Taylor, the film tells the story of Arnold and Maeve Soames (Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep), who have hit the rocks after 30 years of marriage. Recognising that they must face the problems in their relationship, they decide to attend an 'intense counseling weekend', where they are taken under the wing of impassioned couples therapist Dr Bernie Feld (Steve Carrell).

Collected edition of all three of Disney's super-successful teen musicals. Follow the fortunes of sporty Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and brainy Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) as they sing and dance their way through their years at East High School.

In her brilliantly inventive debut collection, Vanessa Onwuemezi takes readers on a surreal and haunting journey through a landscape on the edge of time. At the border with another world, a line of people wait for the gates to open; on the floor of a lonely room, a Born Winner runs through his life's achievements and losses; in a suburban garden, a man witnesses a murder that pushes him out into the community. Struggling to realize the human ideals of love and freedom, the characters of Dark Neighbourhood roam instead the depths of alienation, loss and shame. With a detached eye and hallucinatory vision, they observe the worlds around them as the line between dream and reality dissolves and they themselves begin to fragment. Electrifying and heady, and written with a masterful lyrical precision, Dark Neighbourhood heralds the arrival of a strikingly original new voice in fiction.

Mary had a little plan that sprouted on the spot. It all began the day she passed a drab, abandoned lot. Fashion-forward Mary is known for adding flair everywhere she goes. When she spots an abandoned lot in her neighborhood, Mary knows she can use her stylish talent to spruce it up. Soon she's rallying neighborhood shops and calling on her friends to help. With Mary leading the way, this group carries out her little plan that has a big impact on her community! "Pinkalicious + Fancy Nancy + Eloise = Mary, the diminutive, precocious, brown-skinned queen of glam."--Kirkus Reviews (starred) on Mary Had a Little Glam

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This timely Research Agenda provides imaginative solutions to existing and emerging challenges for the study, application, and development of water law. It argues for a dynamic approach to water law, anticipating how water and its relationship to humanity will shift due to climate change, modern societal norms and values, and technological innovation. Bringing together leading experts and rising new voices, this Research Agenda analyses local, national, and international water law. It explores the pressing issues of today and tomorrow, and identifies areas for further research to ensure legal regimes can respond to future challenges for water provision. Contributors consider the legal personhood of rivers, water quality, international basins, water markets, and the role of indigenous groups in water management. Ultimately, this Research Agenda provides a portfolio of options for responding to the uncertain natural, social, and political future of water. Providing a cutting-edge overview of the challenges facing water law locally, nationally, and internationally, A Research Agenda for Water Law will be a valuable resource for scholars of water law, environmental law, and public international law. It will also be essential reading for policy-makers seeking to build future-facing water law regimes.

Hypothermia is set in 1940, in a German hospital for hereditary and incurable diseases. A doctor (Erich) and his assistant (Lisa) discover their patients, who had been sent on to other doctors for further treatment, had really been the victims of the testing of various torture (and often death) methods. It poses the question 'now that you know, what will you do?'