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Launch Something!
69,000 TNDEarth is experiencing a sweltering heatwave caused by a second “sun” – a shining object in the sky that either looks like Pac-Man or a pizza missing a slice, depending on who you ask. As this object increases in size and risks making Earth uninhabitable, the Korean government decides it has to do its part and help the US-led Allied Space Force. Launch Something! is a sci-fi novel about a Korean Space Force that contains his quirky brand of political satire.
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Lemon
49,000 TNDThis is not a murder story. It is the story of those left behind. Parasite meets The Good Son in this piercing psychological portrait of three women haunted by a brutal, unsolved crime.
In the summer of 2002, Kim Hae-on was killed in what became known as the High School Beauty Murder. There were two suspects: Shin Jeongjun, who had a rock-solid alibi, and Han Manu, to whom no evidence could be pinned. The case went cold.
Seventeen years pass without justice, and the grief and uncertainty take a cruel toll on her younger sister, Da-on, in particular. Unable to move on with her life, Da-on tries in her own twisted way to recover some of what she’s lost, ultimately setting out to find the truth of what happened. Shifting between the perspectives of Da-on and two of Hae-on’s classmates, Lemon ostensibly takes the shape of a crime novel.
But identifying the perpetrator is not the main objective here: Kwon Yeo-sun uses this well-worn form to craft a searing, timely exploration of privilege, jealousy, trauma, and how we live with the wrongs we have endured and inflicted in turn. Praise for Lemon: ‘Discovering whodunnit isn’t really the point here; Lemon is a subtle, often intense meditation on the after-effects of violence’ Guardian ‘Chilling, suspenseful and disconcerting… I couldn’t put it down and read deep into the night until I finished it, with my heart hammering’ Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face
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Lia Park and the Missing Jewel
49,000 TNDPerfect for fans of the Storm Runner and Aru Shah series, this ‘;intriguing, fast-paced’ (Kirkus Reviews) middle grade fantasy follows a young girl who must venture to the undersea kingdom of the Dragon King in Korea to save her parents from an evil diviner spirit.
Twelve-year old Lia Park just wants to fit in. Her parents work with a mysterious organization that makes them ridiculously overprotective. Lia’s every move has been scrutinized since she was born, and she’d love to have the option of doing something exciting for once.
So when she gets invited to the biggest birthday party of the yearand her parents say she can’t goLia sneaks out.
But her first act of rebellion not only breaks her parents’ rules, but also an ancient protection spell, allowing an evil diviner spirit to kidnap and ransom her parents for a powerful jewel that her family has guarded for years. With just the clothes on her back and some very rusty magical skills, Lia finds herself chasing mysterious clues that take her to her grandmother’s home in Korea.
From there, she has to make their way to the undersea kingdom of the Dragon King, the only person who knows where the powerful jewel might be.
Along with her friend, Joon, Lia must dig deep and find courage to stand up for those who are weakand become the hero her parents need. -
Lonely Castle in the Mirror
59,000 TNDWould you share your deepest secrets to save a friend?In a tranquil neighbourhood of Tokyo, seven teenagers wake to find their bedroom mirrors are shining. At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives to a wondrous castle filled with winding stairways, watchful portraits and twinkling chandeliers. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish.
But there’s a catch: if they don’t leave the castle by five o’clock, they will be punished. As time passes, a devastating truth emerges: only those brave enough to share their stories will be saved. Tender, playful, gripping, LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR is a mesmerizing tale about the importance of reaching out, confronting anxiety and embracing human connection. -
Lonely Castle in the Mirror
69,000 TNDSeven students find unusual common ground in this warm, puzzle-like Japanese bestseller laced with gentle fantasy and compassionate insight.
Bullied to the point of dropping out of school, Kokoro’s days blur together as she hides in her bedroom, unable to face her family or friends. As she spirals into despair, her mirror begins to shine; with a touch, Kokoro is pulled from her lonely life into a resplendent, bizarre fairytale castle guarded by a strange girl in a wolf mask. Six other students have been brought to the castle, and soon this marvelous refuge becomes their playground.
The castle has a hidden room that can grant a single wish, but there are rules to be followed, and breaking them will have dire consequences. As Kokoro and her new acquaintances spend more time in their new sanctuary, they begin to unlock the castle’s secrets and, tentatively, each other’s.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a mesmerizing, heart-warming novel about the unexpected rewards of embracing human connection.
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Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon
79,000 TNDI am the go-between. When a young woman from Tokyo contacts the go-between to request a meeting with a deceased TV star who once helped her, she doesn’t expect a teenage boy to show up. Dressed in a designer duffel coat and carrying a tattered notebook, Ayumi Shibuya offers an extraordinary service: he reunites the living with their dearly departed.
Meeting his clients at a luxury hotel, Ayumi lays down the ground rules: each reunion is a one-time arrangement that the dead can refuse, the service is entirely free, and the meeting must take place during a full moon. As Ayumi arranges these reunions, we encounter a resentful eldest son who wants to ask his mother to unearth the deeds to a plot of land, a teenage girl who blames herself for her best friend’s death, and a weary businessman seeking answers about his fiancée’s disappearance days after he proposed. Already a multimillion-copy bestseller in Japan, Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is storytelling at its finest.
Captivating, cosy, and compulsively readable, this is an unforgettable page-turner in which the living and the dead are given one last chance for closure. Now read HOW TO HOLD SOMEONE IN YOUR HEART, the sequel to LOST SOULS MEET UNDER A FULL MOONFirst published in Japan under the title TSUNAGU or GO-BETWEENReaders are obsessed:’Every word resonated in my heart’ ***** Reader review”Perfect for anyone who loves to think deeply about what they have just read’ ***** Reader review’Makes you ponder about death and about life’ ***** Reader review -
Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon
59,000 TNDI am the go-between. When a young woman from Tokyo contacts the go-between to request a meeting with a deceased TV star who once helped her, she doesn’t expect a teenage boy to show up. Dressed in a designer duffel coat and carrying a tattered notebook, Ayumi Shibuya offers an extraordinary service: he reunites the living with their dearly departed.
Meeting his clients at a luxury hotel, Ayumi lays down the ground rules: each reunion is a one-time arrangement that the dead can refuse, the service is entirely free, and the meeting must take place during a full moon. As Ayumi arranges these reunions, we encounter a resentful eldest son who wants to ask his mother to unearth the deeds to a plot of land, a teenage girl who blames herself for her best friend’s death, and a weary businessman seeking answers about his fiancée’s disappearance days after he proposed. Already a multimillion-copy bestseller in Japan, Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is storytelling at its finest.
Captivating, cosy, and compulsively readable, this is an unforgettable page-turner in which the living and the dead are given one last chance for closure. Now read HOW TO HOLD SOMEONE IN YOUR HEART, the sequel to LOST SOULS MEET UNDER A FULL MOONFirst published in Japan under the title TSUNAGU or GO-BETWEENReaders are obsessed:’Every word resonated in my heart’ ***** Reader review”Perfect for anyone who loves to think deeply about what they have just read’ ***** Reader review’Makes you ponder about death and about life’ ***** Reader review -
Love in the Big City
59,000 TNDA fresh and unique debut novel by the bestselling young star of Korean queer fiction about queers and Catholicism, women, abortion, STDs, and the socio-economic class divide in contemporary South Korea.
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Masks
59,000 TNDPublished for the first time in the UK, one of Japan’s greatest modern female writers Ibuki loves widow Yasuko who is young, charming and sparkling with intelligence as well as beauty. His friend, Mikamé, desires her too but that is not the difficulty. What troubles Ibuki is the curious bond that has grown between Yasuko and her mother-in-law, Mieko, a handsome, cultivated yet jealous woman in her fifties, who is manipulating the relationship between Yasuko and the two men who love her.
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Matcha on Monday
79,000 TNDHidden among the cherry trees in a quiet corner of Tokyo, Café Marble is a place of warmth, kindness and second chances. Throughout the week, customers drift through its doors in search of comfort.
But Mondays are special. Each week, the café’s enigmatic owner hosts a tea tasting, inviting guests to slow down, savour a bowl of carefully prepared matcha, and discover that life’s answers can sometimes be found in life’s simplest rituals. Across twelve interconnected stories spanning the seasons, we meet people at turning points in their lives: a woman who must learn to change her outlook, a couple whose relationship is under strain, an artist searching for lost inspiration, and a young woman trying to free herself from the weight of family expectations.
Drawn together by Café Marble’s quiet magic, each finds unexpected connection, hope and the courage to begin again. Watching over them all is a mysterious white cat, whose gentle observations remind us that even the smallest encounters can transform a life. Tender, uplifting and full of quiet wisdom, MATCHA ON MONDAY is a celebration of friendship, community and the healing power of everyday moments, all beginning with a single cup of matcha.
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Meet Me at the Convenience Store by the Sea
59,000 TNDWelcome to Tenderness. Our doors are always open. Need a pick-me-up? Visit the Tenderness convenience store in Mojiko, Kitakyushu.
A sweet treat to lift your spirits. A quiet place to talk over a warm meal. A kind word when you need it most.
The sound of the sea in the distance. You’ll always find more than you imagined possible here… Returning to the bestselling series that sold a million copies, Meet Me at the Convenience Store by the Sea follows the customers and employees of a beloved 24/7 convenience store in Japan. -
Mina’s Matchbox
49,000 TNDAfter the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent to live for a year with her uncle in the coastal town of Ashiya. It is a year which will change her life.
The 1970s are bringing changes to Japan and her uncle’s magnificent colonial mansion opens up a new and unfamiliar world for Tomoko; its sprawling gardens are even home to a pygmy hippo the family keeps as a pet. Tomoko finds her relatives equally exotic and beguiling and her growing friendship with her cousin Mina draws her into an intoxicating world full of secret crushes and elaborate storytelling.