Helen Brain – författare

Thandeka has a dream. She wants to leave her rural school and get accepted into the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. When she learns that her headmistress didn't even put forward her name for Oprah's school, she decided to take matters into her own hands and find a way to get to the school hundred of kilometres away. The journey turns into a nightmare and Thandeka lands up in hospital trying desperately to keep her dream alive.

Sixteen-year-old Ebba den Eeden is dealing with all the typical teenage things: first boyfriends, mean girls, overbearing aunts – and, of course, navigating the political schemes of a murderous dictator, running a farm to feed an entire city, preventing the genocide of 2,000 teenagers trapped inside South Africa’s famous Table Mountain, and saving the world from another apocalypse by reuniting four ancient amulets with the help of her ghostly ancestors. Just another day for a den Eeden! In The Thousand Steps, we met Ebba, a red-headed mixed-race teen with a mysterious birthmark who spent sixteen years underground when nuclear war caused massive sea level rise and flooded her home city of Cape Town. Now a second apocalypse is on the way, and according to an old family prophecy, Ebba is the only one with power to stop it. With Hal imprisoned, the Colony running out of food, Micah off leading the Resistance with a gorgeous new sidekick, and the Second “Calamity” only days away, Ebba must listen to her instincts, even if it means destroying the things she holds most dear. Who can she trust to help take down General de Groot and find the missing amulets – and who will betray her? In the second installment of Helen Brain’s Fiery Spiral trilogy, Ebba will learn the impossible decisions – and great sacrifice – that sometimes come with destiny. A dystopian fantasy that plays out on the shores of South Africa, for lovers of Akata Witch and Children of Blood and Bone.PRAISE FOR THE FIERY SPIRAL BOOK ONE“This novel will draw readers in with its high stakes and well-developed characters. […] A strong, character-driven work recommended for readers looking for dystopian fantasy with a social justice bent.” - School Library Journal“A deftly crafted, impressively original, and inherently entertaining novel […]. The Thousand Steps will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to any high school or community library YA Fiction collection.” - Midwest Book Review“Mixing mythology with real historical atrocities like apartheid, this is a solid tale featuring diverse characters who reflect the real-world communities of South Africa” —Kirkus Reviews

The last installment of the top selling Fiery Spiral Trilogy.In a dystopian future Cape Town, Teenager Ebba Den Eeden is desperate to restore ecological and social harmony to an Earth torn apart by the warring Gods Theia and her brother Prospiroh.To end the divine conflict, Ebba must guard and return the necklace of four amulets to Theia. Forced to search the utopian planet of Celestia, which is populated by people who died on Earth, Ebba is guided by a magical map and Lucas Poladion- who died in Cape Town saving Ebba's life-, and their annoyance at one another laced with complications... and maybe something deeper.As Ebba crosses time and landscapes, the God Prospiroh stalks her and will do anything to get his hands on the necklace.The further Ebba journeys, the more difficult the choices she faces become. She searches for strength, guided by spiritual encounters with her female ancestors, all the while grappling with the burden of her hunt and the betrayal of Micah, her ex-boyfriend.The Fiery Spiral combines mysticism, magic, and time travel in a tale of impossible decisions and the great sacrifices that can come with destiny. A mythical dystopian fantasy that plays out on the shore of South Africa, for lovers of Akata Witch and Children of Blood and Bone.

From the outside, Claire and her family seem perfect. But beneath their rich and successful lifestyle are problems that she has managed to hide from her friends. When Claire is put into a group with the two class nerds to research their family histories, she finds that all families have their secrets. Only once these are out in the open, can you stop hiding and find out who you really are.Hodder African Readers are high-interest books designed to appeal to both boys and girls. They are highly motivating, contemporary adventure and action stories which attract the reader's attention and hold it through the story. Together these titles form a strong, vibrant and attractive supplementary readers series for African schools.