A moving story about a forbidden love, the courage of despair and humanity in the face of disaster.
DIE REBELLIN UND DER DIEB
(The Rebel Girl and the Thief)
by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Blessing/PRH Germany, August 2021
18-year-old Niri, his parents and siblings have a modest but secure existence as servants in the villa of a wealthy family. Until the pandemic comes, Niri’s entire family is laid off and stares into the abyss of deepest poverty.
The previously well-behaved monastic student does not want to wait for the mercy of an indifferent government and, in the face of growing hardship, rebels against his father’s resignation to fate. Sneaking past the patrols at night through a sealed-off city, he returns to the villa to get what the family needs to survive. Waiting for him there is his childhood friend Mary, who not only gives him food, but has a larger plan that will change the lives of the town and the two of them forever.
The universal story of two lovers from different worlds who learn what matters in the face of disaster: Courage to resist, will to change, and unconditional trust in each other.
Jan-Philipp Sendker, born in 1960, was the US correspondent for Stern magazine from 1990 to 1995, and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. His first novel, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and his other books are international best sellers. He lives in Potsdam with his family.
Scientist Alex Welch-Peters has believed for twenty years that his super-algae can reverse the effects of climate change. His obsession with his research has jeopardized his marriage, his relationships with his kids, and his own professional future. When Sensus, the colossal tech company, offers him a chance to complete his research, he seizes the opportunity. The catch? His lab will be in outer space on Parallaxis, the first-ever luxury residential space station built for billionaires. Alex and six other scientists leave their loved ones to become Pioneers, the beta tenants of Parallaxis.
Davy Spencer might be the new kid in school, but that doesn’t mean he can’t start as the most POPULAR kid. With the help of his two best friends, Chuck and Annie, Davy throws himself into making viral YouTube videos with hilariously disastrous results. If he can pull this off, then everybody at his new school will know his name before even meeting him. Davy’s YouTube channel has everything – awesome pranks? Check! School lunch reviews? Check! Undercover detention missions? Check! Getting duct taped to the wall? Check – wait, what? Becoming a rockstar Youtuber isn’t easy, but Davy won’t give up… no matter how crazy things have to get.
The residents of affluent Upper Washbourne certainly believed so when they charged and then tried young Thomas Ware for triple murder in 1958. All is not as it seems behind the hedgerow surrounding the lavish Henneberry estate where Tommie Ware’s mother, Esther, works as the live-in housekeeper. When Tommie is unexpectedly transplanted into this unfamiliar and rarefied world, he is left on his own to navigate the grounds, the massive house, and the twisted family inside. There’s the delusional pill-popping mother, Muriel, who takes a strange shine to Thomas; her husband, a respected dentist who may have known Tommie’s recently deceased aunt; and their entitled son, Martin, who reveals a dark and dangerous side as he cruelly torments the old widow who lives next door. High class comes with high stakes, and as Tommie is dragged deeper into the Henneberrys’ dysfunction, he can’t help but wonder: what does someone good and brave have to do to stop such people?