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BOOKS
NO ROOM IN NEVERLAND
Penguin Random House SEA, 2023
All Gemma Young remembers of her childhood are her regular visits to the idyllic, imaginary Neverland before her mother fell sick.
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When Gemma meets Cole, a disenchanted boy who stirs up more than just memories of her adventures in Neverland, she begins to piece together her half-forgotten childhood: her mother sick with longing for Neverland, the accident that ripped her family apart, and her father who abandoned her when she was a child.
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But now, Gemma’s near-obsessive quest to find her father sends her spiralling deeper into Neverland just like her mother had. As the boundaries blur between the real world and Neverland, Gemma must sift through fact and fiction, discern between truth and make-belief, to find out what happened to her mother and rebuild a new life with her father.
KINGDOM OF
BLOOD AND GOLD
Penguin Random House SEA, 2023
Five Elementals. A fallen kingdom. One survivor to restore it.
Following the events of last winter, Desert Rose flees the Oasis Kingdom with the rogue prince Wei, his mother, and a newfound magical power in tow.
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When she learns that her father’s soul is trapped in the Darklands and can only be freed if the prophesied Elemental finds the spring, Desert Rose sets out to eliminate the other Elementals—starting with the one found in Oasis Kingdom’s biggest enemy, Lettoria.
Meanwhile, in the Oasis Kingdom, newly crowned emperor Meng finds his position jeopardised by the return of his older brother, the exiled Prince Han. To secure the throne (and his life), he travels to Lettoria with his secret assassin Windshadow and proposes an alliance.
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As their fates cross again, Desert Rose and Windshadow must join hands to defeat the Metal Elemental while Wei and Meng collude to restore the kingdom—and home—they left behind. But when Lettoria and Oasis Kingdom finally clash in a long-brewing war, Han reveals his dark ambition and a secret weapon that will unmake the kingdom and threaten the fates of all involved … a weapon that only an Elemental can destroy.
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KINGDOM OF BLOOD AND GOLD is the second instalment of the Children of the Desert trilogy.
UNTIL MORNING
Penguin Random House SEA, 2023
Lexi Lee thinks she’s found her soulmate. The problem is, she has never met Night, the elusive street artist who leaves his paintings in the nooks and crannies of the city. Still, that doesn’t stop her from penning letters to him and dreaming about living in his paintings.
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After a car accident lands her in a coma, she finds herself wandering through Night’s paintings and her childhood memories. Her only companion in dreamland is a boy who doesn’t understand why he is trapped there with her and wants to leave.
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Christopher Fang is trying to make sense of the recent dreams he has been having, dreams in which he meets the irreverent, free-spirited Lexi, a girl unlike anyone else he has met in his world of mercenary businessmen. Soon, he finds himself seeking escape from his life in those dreams. But when he finds out that his father’s latest property development project involves taking over the inn that Lexi’s father owns, Chris must choose between his loyalties to his father and helping Lexi return to the life she left behind.
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But as Lexi and Chris grow closer, the truth about Lexi’s accident comes to light, threatening to tear them apart and making them question the people they believe in, their love for each other, and what it is they are really awake for.
LAND OF SAND AND SONG
Penguin Random House SEA, 2021
Legend has it that a magical spring lies dormant in the heart of the Khuzar desert. Said to be a gift from the gods, the spring holds the cure to all mortal woes.
As mercenaries from everywhere try in vain to find the mystical spring, 17-year-old Desert Rose is on the run after her chieftain father is overthrown and captured by rebel clans. Now out for revenge, she sets out alone to the Oasis Capital to assassinate the person instigating the rebellion: the corrupt Emperor Zhao, who will stop at nothing to possess the elixir of life from the spring.
To infiltrate the Imperial Guard, Desert Rose must pass a series of trials to test her wit, mettle, and her loyalty. But the real test lies in navigating the cut throat court politics with no ally but a rogue prince and a latent magic stirring in her – magic that can bring a kingdom to its knees or destroy her from within.
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LAND OF SAND AND SONG is the first of an Asian fantasy series.
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LAMBS FOR DINNER
Straits Times Press, 2013
Winner of the 'Beyond Words' Competition 2012, organised by the National Arts Council and Straits Times Press
There is no such thing as coincidence – at least, not according to Skye. It wasn’t a coincidence that her father died seven hours after she broke a mirror, and it isn’t a coincidence that her imaginary friend is reappearing now that she meets Drew – the mysterious boy with the dark past, one that is somehow connected to her.
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Then there's Pool, Drew's estranged ex-roommate from Hopewood Sanatorium. Blinded by the Steppenwolf theory, Pool sees only Them and Us, Man and beast. And he will stop at nothing to make sure no one takes the Wolf out of Drew, least of all Skye.
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Haunted by suppressed memories and scarred by their disturbing pasts, Drew and Skye each have to battle their own demons – or risk losing their precarious future with each other.
MINUTES, HOURS, DAYS
poems & prose
"Sometimes, we only realise what we’ve forgotten when we can’t remember them anymore."
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What are the moments that have transformed you? Which memories do you still hold close to you? Who are the people who have left their mark on your soul?
From your first heartbreak to your latest triumph, the vibrant days to the lonely nights, you'll find pieces of yourself in this book of poetry and short prose. Joyce Chua explores love, life, and loss in this collection, attempting to rediscover the quiet exuberance of living in each moment.
WE WERE MEANT TO SAVE THE WORLD
short stories
Not all heroes wear capes, and not every villain bares his fangs.
In this collection of meet-cutes and madness, Death goes on a Tinder date, two orphaned sisters live in a cloud, and an undercover hunter catches nightmares that roam the streets. Joyce Chua tells 20 whimsical and dark tales set in the most unlikely places, from ancient apothecaries to rowdy office parties to fantasy kingdoms.