Penguin modern classics

Holden Caulfield, a 16-year old American, is the original 'cynical adolescent'. With unusual candour he relates the story of a few days of his life just after he has been expelled from his prep school. First published in 1951, this book is just as edgy today.

In the wild there is no safety. The otter cub Tarka grows up with his mother and sisters, learning to swim, catch fish - and to fear the cry of the hunter and the flash of the metal trap. Soon he must fend for himself, travelling through rivers, woods, moors, ponds and out to sea, sometimes with the female otters White-tip and Greymuzzle, always on the run. Eventually, chased by a pack of hounds, he meets his nemesis, the fearsome dog Deadlock, and must fight for his life.