Books by Alison Larkin

Jane Austen was as skilful with a needle as she was with a pen. This unique book from Jennie Batchelor and Alison Larkin showcases recently discovered 18th century embroidery patterns expertly repurposed into 15 exciting modern stitching projects. Now readers can stitch-a-long wi...th Jane to make a selection of beautiful and practical items.
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When Pippa--raised English--learns that her birth parents are American, she's off to the South... to learn the meaning of culture clash!

When Pippa Dunn, adopted as an infant and raised terribly British, discovers that her birth parents are from the American South, she finds that culture clash has layers of meaning she'd never imagined. Meet The English American, a fabulously funny, deeply poignant debut novel tha...t sprang from Larkin's autobiographical one-woman show of the same name. In many ways, Pippa Dunn is very English: she eats Marmite on toast, knows how to make a proper cup of tea, has attended a posh English boarding school, and finds it entirely familiar to discuss the crossword rather than exchange any cross words over dinner with her proper English family. Yet Pippa--creative, disheveled, and impulsive to the core--has always felt different from her perfectly poised, smartly coiffed sister and steady, practical parents, whose pastimes include Scottish dancing, gardening, and watching cricket. When Pippa learns at age twenty-eight that her birth parents are from the American South, she feels that lifelong questions have been answered. She meets her birth mother, an untidy, artistic, free-spirited redhead, and her birth father, a charismatic (and politically involved) businessman in Washington, D.C.; and she moves to America to be near them. At the same time, she relies on the guidance of a young man with whom she feels a mysterious connection; a man who discovered his own estranged father and who, like her birth parents, seems to understand her in a way that no one in her life has done before. Pippa feels she has found her self and everything she thought she wanted. But has she? Caught between two opposing cultures, two sets of parents, and two completely different men, Pippa is plunged into hilarious, heart-wrenching chaos. The birth father she adores turns out to be involved in neoconservative activities she hates; the mesmerizing mother who once abandoned her now refuses to let her go. And the man of her fantasies may be just that... With an authentic adopted heroine at its center, Lar
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Both a hymn to the joys of being different and an earnest exploration of the serious traumas suffered by teenagers who are lucky enough, and unlucky enough, to be unconventional. - The Guardian Sitting by himself on a bench during recess, fashion-loving Francis is joined by Jessi...ca. He's surprised when he learns that she's a ghost and that Francis is the first person who has been able to see her since she died. When they become friends, then meet two more outsiders who can also see Jessica the questions arise: Why are they the only ones who can see Jessica? And how did she die? Narrating this humorous, beautifully written story taught me that when someone is depressed, instead of trying to fix things, it can be more helpful to just shut up and listen. -Alison Larkin Releasing on September 10th - National Suicide Prevention Day The audiobook is followed by a candid discussion with three American teenagers about depression, anxiety, bullying, suicide, social media and the healing power of friendship.
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Both a hymn to the joys of being different and an earnest exploration of the serious traumas suffered by teenagers who are lucky enough, and unlucky enough, to be unconventional. - The Guardian Sitting by himself on a bench during recess, fashion-loving Francis is joined by Jessi...ca. He's surprised when he learns that she's a ghost and that Francis is the first person who has been able to see her since she died. When they become friends, then meet two more outsiders who can also see Jessica the questions arise: Why are they the only ones who can see Jessica? And how did she die? Narrating this humorous, beautifully written story taught me that when someone is depressed, instead of trying to fix things, it can be more helpful to just shut up and listen. -Alison Larkin Releasing on September 10th - National Suicide Prevention Day The audiobook is followed by a candid discussion with three American teenagers about depression, anxiety, bullying, suicide, social media and the healing power of friendship.
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