The Stray Cats of HomsSami's childhood is much like any other an innocent blend of family and school, of friends and relations and pets (including stray cats and dogs, and the turtle he keeps on the roof). But growing up in one of the largest cities in Syria, with his country at war with itself, means that nothing is really normal. And Sami's hopes for a better future are ripped away when he is conscripted into the military and forced to train as a map maker. Sami may be

000 idiomatic phrases

THE INSPIRATION FOR HBO AND SKY TV'S EMMY NOMINATED HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

or the constant twilight of a Norwegian summer night

and all thoughtfully

is snatched away

Sarah Churchill

Afua Hirsch explores a very British crisis of identity

It is packed with worked examples

unflappable Detective Sasagaki is assigned to the case

showstopping desserts

hoping that when the World of Men failed

Returning to England after the war Gilbert Joseph is treated very differently now that he is no longer in an RAF uniform