Twelve-year-old Mosca Mye hasn't got much. Her cruel uncle keeps her locked up in his mill, and her only friend is her pet goose, Saracen, who'll bite anything that crosses his path. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. She doesn't know it yet, but in a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life.

Enter Eponymous Clent, a smooth-talking con man who seems to love words nearly as much as Mosca herself. Soon Mosca and Clent are living a life of deceit and danger — discovering secret societies, following shady characters onto floating coffeehouses, and entangling themselves with crazed dukes and double-crossing racketeers. It would be exactly the kind of tale Mosca has always longed to take part in, until she learns that her one true love — words — may be the death of her.

"Fly by Night" is astonishingly original, a grand feat of the imagination from a masterful new storyteller.

Turner Buckminster is not just the son of the new minister in a small Maine town; he is also shunned for playing baseball differently than the local boys. Then he befriends the smart and lively Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from Malaga Island, a community founded by former slaves.

Lizzie shows Turner a new world along the Maine coast, from digging clams to rowing a boat next to a whale. When the powerful town elders, including Turner’s father, decide to drive the people off the island to set up a tourist business, Turner stands alone against them.

He and Lizzie try to save her community, but there’s a terrible price to pay for going against the tide.

Set in Italy during the dramatic finale of World War II, this novel by the bestselling author of The Sparrow and Children of God is both ambitious and engrossing. It is September 8, 1943, and fourteen-year-old Claudette Blum is learning Italian with a suitcase in her hand. She and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to be safe at last, now that the Italians have broken with Germany and made a separate peace with the Allies.

The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it becomes an open battleground among the Nazis, the Allies, resistance fighters, Jews in hiding, and ordinary Italian civilians trying to survive. Through the lives of a handful of fascinating characters—a charismatic Italian Resistance leader, a priest, an Italian rabbi’s family, a disillusioned German doctor—Mary Doria Russell tells the little-known story of the vast underground effort by Italian citizens who saved the lives of 43,000 Jews during the final phase of World War II.

A Thread of Grace puts a human face on history, weaving a tale of courage and resilience that is both hauntingly beautiful and utterly unforgettable. This captivating story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times is full of drama, warmth, nobility, and hope.

A Reluctant Hero
Trey may have saved Luke's life, but he still thinks of himself as a coward who can barely stand to be outdoors. Now Trey finds out Luke has been taken prisoner at Population Police headquarters. Trey is terrified, but he knows that if he doesn't rescue his friend, no one will.

At police headquarters, Trey impersonates an officer to try getting to Luke. But just when it looks like he's close, Trey suddenly finds himself in danger of exposing not just himself but all shadow children.

In the aftermath of a crisis that threatens the safety of all shadow children — illegal third-borns in a society that allows only two children per family — Trey's friends expect him to take charge — a function he doesn't want or think he can do. Trey's new role leads him to travel with Luke Garner's brother, Mark, to Population Police headquarters. There he impersonates an officer to try to rescue Luke, who has been taken prisoner. The nonstop adventure puts all three boys in danger and risks exposing the underground movement to help all shadow children.

In this, the fifth book in the Shadow Children series, Margaret Peterson Haddix returns to the futuristic setting and compelling characters she created in Among the Hidden. With an adrenaline-fueled plot and surprising twists, Haddix has again crafted a story that is suspenseful until the last page.

Naomi Soledad León Outlaw has had a lot to contend with in her young life, her name for one. Then there are her clothes (sewn in polyester by Gram), her difficulty speaking up, and her status at school as "nobody special." But according to Gram, most problems can be overcome with positive thinking.

With Gram and her little brother, Owen, Naomi's life at Avocado Acres Trailer Rancho in California is happy and peaceful... until their mother reappears after seven years of being gone, stirring up all sorts of questions and challenging Naomi to discover and proclaim who she really is.

When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi runs away to Oaxaca, Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father. This journey is filled with adventure, self-discovery, and the courage to face life's challenges.

One of the most extraordinary survival stories ever told — Aron Ralston's searing account of his six days trapped in one of the most remote spots in America, and how one inspired act of bravery brought him home.

It started out as a simple hike in the Utah canyonlands on a warm Saturday afternoon. For Aron Ralston, a twenty-seven-year-old mountaineer and outdoorsman, a walk into the remote Blue John Canyon was a chance to get a break from a winter of solo climbing Colorado's highest and toughest peaks. He'd earned this weekend vacation, and though he met two charming women along the way, by early afternoon he finally found himself in his element: alone, with just the beauty of the natural world all around him.

It was 2:41 P.M. Eight miles from his truck, in a deep and narrow slot canyon, Aron was climbing down off a wedged boulder when the rock suddenly, and terrifyingly, came loose. Before he could get out of the way, the falling stone pinned his right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. And so began six days of hell for Aron Ralston. With scant water and little food, no jacket for the painfully cold nights, and the terrible knowledge that he'd told no one where he was headed, he found himself facing a lingering death — trapped by an 800-pound boulder 100 feet down in the bottom of a canyon.

As he eliminated his escape options one by one through the days, Aron faced the full horror of his predicament: By the time any possible search and rescue effort would begin, he'd most probably have died of dehydration, if a flash flood didn't drown him before that.

What does one do in the face of almost certain death? Using the video camera from his pack, Aron began recording his grateful good-byes to his family and friends all over the country, thinking back over a life filled with adventure, and documenting a last will and testament with the hope that someone would find it. The knowledge of their love kept Aron Ralston alive, until a divine inspiration on Thursday morning solved the riddle of the boulder. Aron then committed the most extreme act imaginable to save himself.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place — a brilliantly written, funny, honest, inspiring, and downright astonishing report from the line where death meets life — will surely take its place in the annals of classic adventure stories.

Varjak Paw is a Mesopotamian Blue cat who has never been Outside before. He and his family have always lived in the isolated house at the top of the hill. But Varjak is forced out into the city when the sinister Gentleman and his two menacing cats take over his home.

With help from his mystical ancestor, Jalal, Varjak manages to overcome challenges such as self-survival and a threat from the gangland cats. He ultimately discovers the terrifying secrets behind the Vanishings. But can he save his own family from their fate?

With wonderful integrated illustrations from acclaimed comic book artist Dave McKean, this book will appeal to all ages.

Delrita likes being invisible. If no one notices her, then no one will notice her uncle Punky either. Punky is a grown man with a child's mind. Delrita loves him dearly and can't stand people making fun of his Down Syndrome. But when tragedy strikes, Delrita's quiet life—and Punky's—are disrupted forever.

Can she finally learn to trust others, for her own sake and Punky's? This story captures the joy and sorrow that come when we open our hearts to love.

Munich Signature opens in the year 1936, amidst the ominous rise of Nazi terrorism sweeping through central Europe. This gripping tale is the third installment in the Zion Covenant series, where courage and conviction are tested against the backdrop of Hitler's Third Reich.

The story follows 800 Jewish refugees as they embark on a perilous journey aboard a battered freighter, facing the heart-wrenching reality of having no harbor willing to offer them sanctuary. It's a tale of desperation, hope, and the relentless quest for freedom.

Experience the breathtaking drama that continues from Vienna Prelude and Prague Counterpoint, as the characters strive to stand against tyranny and find a place to call home.

Warsaw Requiem is a gripping tale set in the tumultuous times of 1936. This installment of the Zion Covenant series unveils the courageous and compelling stories of those who risk everything to stand against the growing tide of Nazi terrorism sweeping through central Europe.

As the German tanks overrun Czechoslovakia and storm into Poland, Nazi planes bomb Warsaw into flames. Time is running out as the Nazis close in on the port of Danzig, a crucial escape point for Jewish children. The book continues the life-and-death struggle to save these children, weaving a narrative of hope and defiance against Hitler's Third Reich.

Join Lori Ibsen and Jacob Kalner as they flee to Danzig to evade Hitler's bombers, while Peter Wallich seeks refuge with the Jews of Warsaw. Warsaw Requiem is not just a story of war, but a testament to the indomitable human spirit.

Flyboys is a gripping narrative of war, friendship, and honor set against the backdrop of the remote Pacific island of Chichi Jima. Nine American flyers, Navy and Marine pilots tasked with bombing Japanese communications towers, were shot down. This is their story.

One of these men was miraculously rescued by a U.S. Navy submarine, while the others faced capture by Japanese soldiers. The fate of these eight captured men was shrouded in secrecy, buried by both American and Japanese governments.

James D. Bradley takes readers on a journey to uncover the truth, navigating through dusty attics in American towns, classified government archives, and the heart of Japan, ultimately reaching Chichi Jima itself. His findings reveal a mystery stretching back 150 years, to America's westward expansion and Japan's initial encounters with the Western world.

With vivid descriptions, Bradley brings to life the courage and sacrifice of these young men, while also exploring the complex history of two nations at war. He delves into the Japanese warrior mentality and the U.S. military strategies that justified devastating attacks on civilians.

Ultimately, Flyboys is about how we live and die, epitomized by the tale of the one Flyboy who escaped capture—a young Navy pilot named George H. W. Bush, who would later become President of the United States.

This masterpiece of historical narrative will forever change our understanding of the Pacific war and the very principles we fight for.

After the cowardly incompetence of two officers besmirches their name, Captain Richard Sharpe must redeem the regiment by capturing the most valued prize in the French Army—a golden Imperial Eagle, the standard touched by the hand of Napoleon himself.

At Talavera in July of 1809, Captain Richard Sharpe, bold, professional, and ruthless, prepares to lead his men against the armies of Napoleon into what will be the bloodiest battle of the war. Sharpe has earned his captaincy, but there are others, such as the foppish Lieutenant Gibbons and his uncle, Colonel Henry Simmerson, who have bought their commissions despite their incompetence. After their cowardly loss of the regiment's colors, their resentment toward the upstart Sharpe turns to treachery, and Sharpe must battle his way through sword fights and bloody warfare to redeem the honor of his regiment.

A boy learns of his dragon past; a girl has known hers for years. They combine their faith, courage, and love to overcome an evil slayer who seeks to bring an end to dragon heritage, forever.

The kids at school call Billy "Dragon Breath" for good reason. His breath is bad! It isn't the normal, morning-mouth bad; it's the hot-as-fire, "don't-you-dare-get-near-me" bad. Trouble erupts when his hot breath sets off the fire sprinklers in the boys' restroom in school, and his parents learn that they've kept their secret for too long.

Billy finally discovers the secret. His father was once a dragon! Now that's a piece of news a guy doesn't deal with every day! Billy feels betrayed, alien, lost. When the dragon slayer traps him on a cold mountaintop in West Virginia, Billy learns to battle with weapons of steel and spirit while relying on a power he doesn't understand, a power that helps him learn to trust again.

Bonnie, an orphan, tries to find a home, someone to love her, even though she feels like a freak because of a body feature that she calls a deformity. But this unusual feature becomes a life-saving attribute as she discovers that her love for others and her faith in a creator hold the answers she's looking for.

The Brothers Lionheart (Swedish: Bröderna Lejonhjärta) is a children's fantasy novel written by Astrid Lindgren. It was published in the autumn of 1973 and has been translated into 46 languages. Many of its themes are unusually dark and heavy for the children's book genre. Disease, death, tyranny, betrayal and rebellion are some of the dark themes that permeate the story. The lighter themes of the book involve platonic love, loyalty, hope, courage and pacifism.

The two main characters are two brothers; the older Jonatan and the younger Karl. The two brothers' surname was originally Lion, but they are generally known as Lionheart. Karl's nickname is Skorpan (Rusky) since Jonatan likes these typical Swedish toasts or crusts.

In Nangijala, a land in "the campfires and storytelling days", the brothers experience adventures. Together with a resistance group they lead the struggle against the evil Tengil, who rules with the aid of the fearsome fire-breathing dragon, Katla.

Touching the Void is the heart-stopping account of Joe Simpson's terrifying adventure in the Peruvian Andes. He and his climbing partner, Simon, reached the summit of the remote Siula Grande in June 1985. A few days later, Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frost-bitten, with news that that Joe was dead.What happened to Joe, and how the pair dealt with the psychological traumas that resulted when Simon was forced into the appalling decision to cut the rope, makes not only an epic of survival but a compelling testament of friendship.

102 Minutes tells the dramatic and moving account of the struggle for life inside the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, when every minute counted.

At 8:46 am, 14,000 people were inside the twin towers—reading e-mails, making trades, eating croissants at Windows on the World. Over the next 102 minutes, each would become part of a drama for the ages, one witnessed only by the people who lived it—until now.

New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn have taken a revealing approach. Reported from the perspectives of those inside the towers, 102 Minutes captures the little-known stories of ordinary people who took extraordinary steps to save themselves and others.

Dwyer and Flynn rely on hundreds of interviews with rescuers, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone, e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts. They cross a bridge of voices to go inside the infernos, seeing cataclysm and heroism, one person at a time, to tell the affecting, authoritative saga of the men and women—the nearly 12,000 who escaped and the 2,749 who perished—as they made 102 minutes count as never before.

Nita Callahan is at the end of her rope because of the bullies who've been hounding her at school... until she discovers a mysterious library book that promises her the chance to become a wizard. But she has no idea of the difference that taking the Wizard's Oath is going to make in her life.

Shortly, in company with fellow beginner-wizard Kit Rodriguez, Nita's catapulted into what will be the adventure of a lifetime—if she and Kit can both live through it. For every wizard's career starts with an Ordeal in which he or she must challenge the one power in the universe that hates wizardry more than anything else: the Lone Power that invented death and turned it loose in the worlds.

Plunged into a dark and deadly alternate New York full of the Lone One's creatures, Kit and Nita must venture into the very heart of darkness to find the stolen, legendary Book of Night with Moon. Only with the dangerous power of the wizardly Book do they have a chance to save not just their own lives, but their world...

Sixteen-year-old Erik Brandt barely knows what Germany is fighting for when he is drafted into Hitler's army in 1944. Sent to the killing fields of the Eastern Front, he is surrounded by unimaginable sights, more horrific than he ever thought possible.

It's kill or be killed, and it seems clear that Erik's days are numbered. Until, covered in blood and seriously injured, he conceives of another way to survive.

Filled with gritty and visceral detail, Soldier X will change the way every reader thinks about the reality of war.

Major General Smedley D. Butler was a military hero of the first rank, the winner of two Medals of Honour, a true "fighting marine" whose courage and patriotism could not be doubted.

Yet, he came to believe that the wars in which he and his men had fought, bled, and died were all pre-planned conflicts, designed not so much to defend America as to bloat the balance sheets of US banks and corporations.

War Is a Racket is the title of two works, a speech and a booklet, by retired United States Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley D. Butler. In them, Butler frankly discusses from his experience as a career military officer how business interests commercially benefit from warfare.

After his retirement from the Marine Corps, Gen. Butler made a nationwide tour in the early 1930s giving his speech "War is a Racket". The speech was so well received that he wrote a longer version as a small book with the same title that was published in 1935.

I spent five years of my life being treated for cancer, but since then I've spent fifteen years being treated for nothing other than looking different from everyone else. It was the pain from that, from feeling ugly, that I always viewed as the great tragedy of my life. The fact that I had cancer seemed minor in comparison.

At age nine, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with a potentially terminal cancer. When she returned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she faced the cruel taunts of classmates. In this strikingly candid memoir, Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength without sentimentality and with considerable wit.

Vividly portraying the pain of peer rejection and the guilty pleasures of wanting to be special, Grealy captures with unique insight what it is like as a child and young adult to be torn between two warring impulses: to feel that more than anything else we want to be loved for who we are, while wishing desperately and secretly to be perfect.

Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail is a gripping memoir that reads like a political thriller. It tells the story of Malika Oufkir's turbulent and remarkable life.

Born in 1953, Malika Oufkir was the eldest daughter of General Oufkir, the King of Morocco's closest aide. Adopted by the king at the age of five, Malika spent most of her childhood and adolescence in the seclusion of the court harem, one of the most eligible heiresses in the kingdom, surrounded by luxury and extraordinary privilege.

Then, on August 16, 1972, her father was arrested and executed after an attempt to assassinate the king. Malika, her five younger brothers and sisters, and her mother were immediately imprisoned in a desert penal colony. After fifteen years, the last ten of which they spent locked up in solitary cells, the Oufkir children managed to dig a tunnel with their bare hands and make an audacious escape.

Recaptured after five days, Malika was finally able to leave Morocco and begin a new life in exile in 1996. This is a heartrending account of extreme deprivation and the courage with which one family faced its fate. Stolen Lives is an unforgettable story of one woman's journey to freedom.

Four independent-minded sisters come of age in the early 1900s, and four interwoven novels tell their stories, each through a different sister's eyes.

The year is 1910, and the four Purcell sisters have only each other. Their mother has died, leaving them orphans in a rambling country estate. But with the help of the Mackenzies - their guardian and his family, whom the sisters come to love in very different ways - Sarah, Frances, Julia, and Gwen find the courage to follow their own paths in a world that is rapidly changing.

Avid readers and fans of historical-fiction classics will love these spirited heroines and will be thoroughly absorbed by their intertwining tales, full of feistiness, creativity, and young romance.

The Dividing Sea (Book Three) is Julia's story. It tells of her eventful time as a volunteer nurse in France during the Great War and her ill-started love story with Geoffrey Mackenzie.

Skallagrigg unites Arthur, a little boy abandoned many years ago in a grim hospital in northern England, with Esther, a radiantly intelligent young girl suffering from cerebral palsy, and Daniel, an American computer-games genius.

Skallagrigg—whatever the name signifies, whoever he is—will come to transform all their lives. William Horwood's inspired, heart-rending story of rescue and redemptive love will undoubtedly touch your life too.

Gloria Whelan's National Book Award-winning novel chronicles the breathtaking story of a remarkable young woman who dares to defy fate. Like many girls her age in India, thirteen-year-old Koly faces her arranged marriage with hope and courage. But Koly's story takes a terrible turn when, in the wake of the ceremony, she discovers she's been horribly misled; her life has been sold for a dowry.

In prose both graceful and unflinching, this powerful novel relays the story of a rare young woman, who even when cast out into a brutal current of time-worn tradition, sets out to forge her own remarkable future. Inspired by a newspaper article about real teenage widows in India today, this universally acclaimed, best-selling novel, characterized by spare, lyrical language and remarkable detail, transports readers into the heart of a gripping tale of hope.

Koly's journey is a testament to the power of courage and hope, showing that fate can indeed be taken into one's own hands.

Luke Garner is terrified. Out of hiding for the first time in his life, he knows that any minute one of his new classmates at Hendricks School for Boys could discover his secret: that he's a third child passing as the recently deceased Lee Grant. And in a society where it's illegal for families to have more than two children, being a third child means certain death at the hands of the dreaded Population Police.

His first experience outside the safety of his home is bewildering. There's not a single window anywhere in the school; Luke can't tell his classmates apart (even as they subject him to brutal hazing); and the teachers seem oblivious to it all.

Desperate to fit in, Luke endures the confusion and teasing until he discovers an unlocked door to the outside, and a chance to understand what is really going on. But to take this chance—to find out the secrets of Hendricks—Luke will need to put aside his fears and discover a courage that a lifetime in hiding couldn't thwart.

Once again, best-selling author Margaret Peterson Haddix delights her fans with this spine-tingling account of an all-too-possible future. Among the Impostors is a worthy companion to Among the Hidden and a heart-stopping thriller in its own right.

Using Stanford University's voluminous collection of archival material, including previously unpublished writings, interviews, recordings, and correspondence, King scholar Clayborne Carson has constructed a remarkable first-person account of Dr. King's extraordinary life.

Beginning with his boyhood, the book portrays King's education as a minister, his ascendancy as a leader of the Montgomery bus boycott, his pivotal role in the civil rights demonstrations in Washington, D.C., and his complex relationship with the Kennedy brothers, LBJ, Malcolm X, and numerous other leading figures of the day.

His birth was marked by wonder and tragedy. He sees beauty and terror beyond our deepest dreams. His story will change the way you see the world.

Bartholomew Lampion is born on a day of tragedy and terror that will mark his family forever. All agree that his unusual eyes are the most beautiful they have ever seen. On this same day, a thousand miles away, a ruthless man learns that he has a mortal enemy named Bartholomew. He embarks on a relentless search to find this enemy, a search that will consume his life.

And a girl is born from a brutal rape, her destiny mysteriously linked to Barty and the man who stalks him. At the age of three, Barty Lampion is blinded when surgeons remove his eyes to save him from a fast-spreading cancer.

As he copes with his blindness and proves to be a prodigy, his mother counsels him that all things happen for a reason and that every person’s life has an effect on every other person’s, in often unknowable ways. At thirteen, Bartholomew regains his sight. How he regains it, why he regains it, and what happens as his amazing life unfolds and entwines with others results in a breathtaking journey of courage, heart-stopping suspense, and high adventure.

No one is safe...

In 1936, Nazi darkness descends upon Europe. Every person is only one step away from being swept into the nightmarish tide of evil. Blond Elisa Lindheim, a violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, adopts an Aryan stage name for protection. But her closest friend, Leah, a talented Jewish cellist, is in perilous position.

There are those who choose to fight Hitler's madness: Elisa's father Theo, a courageous American reporter named John Murphy, Winston Churchill the British statesman, a farm family in the Tyrolean Alps, and the Jewish Underground. But will all their efforts be enough to stop the coming Holocaust?

And now Elisa must decide. If she becomes part of the Underground, she will risk everything... and put everyone she loves in danger.

Readers of all ages will welcome the chance to be reunited with Dorothy Gale and beloved characters such as the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion. Meet new favorites like the Hungry Tiger, whose appetite is never satisfied; Princess Langwidere, who has thirty heads; Billina, a talking chicken; and Tiktok, a mechanical man.

Blown overboard while sailing with her uncle, Dorothy finds herself in the fairy realm of Ev. She sets out with her friends to rescue the Queen of Ev and her ten children, imprisoned by the cruel Nome King. But even Ozma, the wise Ruler of Oz, is no match for the clever king, and it's up to Dorothy to save everyone from terrible danger. Will the Nome King's enchantments be too much even for the plucky little girl from Kansas?

Former "street rat" Briar leads a comfortable life at Winding Circle Temple, learning plant magic from Rosethorn. But street kids are still his friends, and when one of them gets sick, she turns to Briar for help.

When her disease proves beyond even Rosethorn's power, Briar realizes that all of Summersea is in danger. As the mysterious illness spreads, Sandry, Daja, and Tris join Briar and their teachers to fight the epidemic. But just as the situation improves, the unthinkable happens.

Will Briar be able to save what he loves most?

The Freedom Writers Diary is a powerful and unforgettable example of how hard work, courage, and the spirit of determination can change lives. This book presents the inspiring story of an idealistic young English teacher, Erin Gruwell, and her remarkable students at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California.

Confronted with a classroom of "unteachable, at-risk" students, Erin Gruwell discovered a note containing an ugly racial caricature. She used this moment to teach her students about the Holocaust, only to be met with uncomprehending looks. Determined to make a difference, she revamped her curriculum, using treasured books like Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo to combat intolerance and misunderstanding.

Through their journey, the students began to see parallels in these books to their own lives, recording their thoughts and feelings in diaries. They named themselves the "Freedom Writers," paying homage to the civil rights activists "The Freedom Riders." Their efforts led to significant recognition and educational success, with all 150 Freedom Writers graduating from high school and attending college.

Featuring entries from the students’ diaries and narrative text by Erin Gruwell, this book remains a vital read for anyone who believes in second chances and the transformative power of education.

Thirteen tales are unspun from the deeply familiar and woven anew into a collection of fairy tales that wind back through time. Acclaimed Irish author Emma Donoghue reveals heroines young and old in unexpected alliances—sometimes treacherous, sometimes erotic, but always courageous.

Told with luminous voices that shimmer with sensuality and truth, these age-old characters shed their antiquated cloaks to travel a seductive new landscape, radiantly transformed.

Cinderella forsakes the handsome prince and runs off with the fairy godmother; Beauty discovers the Beast behind the mask is not so very different from the face she sees in the mirror; Snow White is awakened from slumber by the bittersweet fruit of an unnamed desire.

Acclaimed writer Emma Donoghue spins new tales out of old in a magical web of thirteen interconnected stories about power and transformation and choosing one's own path in the world. In these fairy tales, women young and old tell their own stories of love and hate, honor and revenge, passion and deception.

Using the intricate patterns and oral rhythms of traditional fairy tales, Emma Donoghue wraps age-old characters in a dazzling new skin.

Bearing the Cross: A monumental account of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., this book offers an in-depth look into the evolution of a young pastor into an iconic leader of America’s civil rights movement.

Based on extensive research and over 700 interviews, including conversations with Andrew Young, Jesse Jackson, and Coretta Scott King, this biography paints a multidimensional portrait of a charismatic figure driven by his strong moral obligation to lead.

The book details King’s spiritual development and his crucial role at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, whose protest campaigns in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama, led to the enactment of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.

This comprehensive yet intimate study reveals the deep sense of mission King felt to serve as an unrelenting crusader against prejudice, inequality, and violence, and his willingness to sacrifice his own life on behalf of his beliefs.

WARSAW 1942

On a cold, dark night in Warsaw in 1942, the Balicki children watch in horror as Nazi Storm Troopers arrest their mother. Now they are alone. With the war raging around them, food and shelter are hard to come by. They live in constant fear.

Finally, they get word that their father is alive. He has made it to Switzerland. Edek and Ruth are determined to find him, though they know how dangerous the long trip from Warsaw will be. But they also know that if they don't make it, they may never see their parents again.

Their gripping story is taken from actual accounts.

A Woman of Independent Means is a captivating novel that takes readers on a journey through the life of Bess Steed Garner at the turn of the century, a time when women had few choices. Bess inherits a legacy—not only of wealth but of determination and desire, making her truly a woman of independent means.

From the early 1900s through the 1960s, we accompany Bess as she endures life's trials and triumphs with unfailing courage and indomitable spirit: the sacrifices love sometimes requires of the heart, the flaws and rewards of marriage, the often-tested bond between mother and child, and the will to defy a society that demands conformity.

This richly woven story, told in letters, follows Bess from her childhood in 1899 to her death in 1977. It's an inspirational tale of a woman who stands firm against the pressures of her time, offering a unique perspective on the evolution of women's roles throughout the 20th century.

For eighteen years, Fran Benedetto kept her secret and hid her bruises. She stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father, and because, in spite of everything, she loved him. Then one night, when she saw the look on her ten-year-old son's face, Fran finally made a choice—and ran for both their lives.

Now she is starting over in a city far from home, far from Bobby. In this place, she uses a name that isn't hers, cradles her son in her arms, and tries to forget. For the woman who now calls herself Beth, every day is a chance to heal, to put together the pieces of her shattered self. And every day she waits for Bobby to catch up to her. Because Bobby always said he would never let her go. Despite the flawlessness of her escape, Fran Benedetto is certain of one thing: It is only a matter of time...

Spark of Life is a gripping tale of resilience and resistance set in a German concentration camp during World War II. For ten years, 509 has been a political prisoner, enduring the most hellish conditions imaginable.

Despite being deathly weak, he retains his wits and senses that the end of the war is near. If he and his fellow prisoners can hold on for liberation—or force their own—they might find meaning in their suffering.

The SS officers running the camp have become complacent, and their defenses are down. The courageous, though terribly weak, prisoners might have just enough strength left to resist. Even if they die fighting, they will do so on their own terms, cheating the Nazis out of their devil's contract.

As long as there is life, there is hope.

After Mama is taken away by the Nazis, Riva and her younger brothers cling to their mother's brave words to help them endure life in the Lodz ghetto. Then the family is rounded up, deported to Auschwitz, and separated. Now Riva is alone.

At Auschwitz, and later in the work camps at Mittlesteine and Grafenort, Riva vows to live, and to hope - for Mama, for her brothers, for the millions of other victims of the nightmare of the Holocaust. And through determination and courage, and unexpected small acts of kindness, she does live - to write the unforgettable memoir that is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.

Joan of Arc is a historical novel that showcases Mark Twain's unrestrained admiration for the French heroine's nobility of character. This book, purportedly written by Joan's longtime friend, Sieur Louis de Conte, takes readers on an inspirational journey through her life.

Mark Twain once said, "I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well." This sentiment reflects the depth of research and passion Twain invested in writing this novel, which took twelve years of preparation and two years of writing.

Joan of Arc is not just a tale of a young girl leading an army; it's a story of bravery, faith, and the enduring spirit of a woman who became a saint. Twain's portrayal of Joan is filled with respect and admiration, bringing her story to life for generations of readers.

Bobby Griffith was an all-American boy... and he was gay. Faced with an irresolvable conflict—for both his family and his religion taught him that being gay was "wrong"—Bobby chose to take his own life.

Prayers for Bobby is the story of the emotional journey that led Bobby to this tragic conclusion. But it is also the story of Bobby's mother, a fearful churchgoer who first prayed that her son would be "healed," then anguished over his suicide, and ultimately transformed herself into a national crusader for gay and lesbian youth.

As told through Bobby's poignant journal entries and his mother's reminiscences, Prayers for Bobby is at once a moving personal story, a true profile in courage, and a call to arms to parents everywhere.

Follow Your Heart is an international bestseller with tremendous word-of-mouth appeal. This bittersweet, heartwarming novel spans generations and teaches the universal truths about life, love, and what lies within each of us.

Originally published in Italy, it begins in late autumn 1992 as an elderly Italian woman, prompted by the knowledge of her encroaching death, sits down to write a letter to her granddaughter, now grown and living in far-off America. Through these moving reflections, one life is laid bare—joys, sorrows, regrets, and all.

Through the eyes of a woman nearing the end of her days, we come to understand what life experience has taught her: that no matter what the stakes, we must look within ourselves and gather the courage to follow our hearts.

To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it's bad for them. They think we want what they got. That's why they don't want us reading. - Nightjohn

I didn't know what letters was, not what they meant, but I thought it might be something I wanted to know. To learn. - Sarny

Sarny, a female slave at the Waller plantation, first sees Nightjohn when he is brought there with a rope around his neck, his body covered in scars. He had escaped north to freedom, but he came back—came back to teach reading. Knowing that the penalty for reading is dismemberment, Nightjohn still returned to slavery to teach others how to read. And twelve-year-old Sarny is willing to take the risk to learn.

Set in the 1850s, Gary Paulsen's groundbreaking novel is unlike anything else the award-winning author has written. It is a meticulously researched, historically accurate, and artistically crafted portrayal of a grim time in our nation's past, brought to light through the personal history of two unforgettable characters.

In January 1991, eight members of the SAS regiment embarked upon a top secret mission that was to infiltrate them deep behind enemy lines. Under the command of Sergeant Andy McNab, they were to sever the underground communication link between Baghdad and north-west Iraq, and to seek and destroy mobile Scud launchers. Their call sign: BRAVO TWO ZERO.

Each man was laden with 15 stone of equipment, and they patrolled 20km across flat desert to reach their objective. Within days, their location was compromised. After a fierce fire fight, they were forced to escape and evade on foot to the Syrian border. In the desperate action that followed, though stricken by hypothermia and other injuries, the patrol 'went ballistic'. Four men were captured. Three died. Only one escaped. For the survivors, however, the worst ordeals were to come.

Delivered to Baghdad, they were tortured with a savagery for which not even their intensive SAS training had prepared them.

Bravo Two Zero is a breathtaking account of Special Forces soldiering: a chronicle of superhuman courage, endurance, and dark humour in the face of overwhelming odds.

Tandia sat waiting anxiously for the fight to begin between the man she loved the most in the world and the man she hated the most in the world.

Tandia is a child of Africa: half Indian, half African, beautiful and intelligent. She is only sixteen when she is first brutalized by the police. Her fear of the white man leads her to join the black resistance movement, where she trains as a terrorist.

With her in the fight for justice is the one white man Tandia can trust, the welterweight champion of the world, Peekay. Now he must fight their common enemy in order to save both their lives.

In November 1965, some 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore, were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was chopped to pieces.

Together, these actions at the landing zones X-Ray and Albany constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War. How these men persevered—sacrificed themselves for their comrades and never gave up—makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating.

General Moore and Joseph Galloway, the only journalist on the ground throughout the fighting, have interviewed hundreds of men who fought there, including the North Vietnamese commanders. This devastating account rises above the specific ordeal it chronicles to present a picture of men facing the ultimate challenge, dealing with it in ways they would have found unimaginable only a few hours earlier.

It reveals to us, as rarely before, man's most heroic and horrendous endeavor.

De vrolijke oude koning van het goede land Katoren is overleden zonder een opvolger te hebben. Zes zure ministers regeren het land en beweren al 17 jaar dat ze een nieuwe koning zoeken, maar er gebeurt niets. Dan komt de 17-jarige Stach de ministers vragen wat je moet doen om koning te worden. De ministers geven Stach zeven bijna onuitvoerbare opdrachten, waarop al velen voor hem hun kracht beproefd hebben. Maar Stach is niet bang. Hij is slim en weet met gezond verstand alle opdrachten uit te voeren, waardoor hij Katoren weer tot een leefbaar land maakt.

Kon-Tiki is the record of an astonishing adventure — a journey of 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean by raft. Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, biologist Thor Heyerdahl suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race from thousands of miles to the east, led by a mythical hero, Kon-Tiki. He decided to prove his theory by duplicating the legendary voyage.

On April 28, 1947, Heyerdahl and five other adventurers sailed from Peru on a balsa log raft. After three months on the open sea, encountering raging storms, whales, and sharks, they sighted land — the Polynesian island of Puka Puka.

Translated into sixty-five languages, Kon-Tiki is a classic, inspiring tale of daring and courage — a magnificent saga of men against the sea.

In The Mirror of Her Dreams, the dazzling first volume of Mordant's Need, New York Times bestselling author Stephen R. Donaldson introduced us to the richly imagined world of Mordant, where mirrors are magical portals into places of beauty and terror.

Now, with A Man Rides Through, Donaldson brings the story of Terisa Morgan to an unforgettable conclusion. Aided by the powerful magic of Vagel, the evil Arch-Imager, the merciless armies are marching against the kingdom of Mordant.

In its hour of greatest need, two unlikely champions emerge. One is Geraden, whose inability to master the simplest skills of Imagery has made him a laughingstock. The other is Terisa Morgan, transferred to Mordant from a Manhattan apartment by Geraden's faulty magic.

Together, Geraden and Terisa discover undreamed-of talents within themselves—talents that make them more than a match for any Imager, including Vagel himself. Unfortunately, those talents also mark them for death.

Branded as traitors, they are forced to flee the castle for their lives. Now, all but defenseless in a war-torn countryside ravaged by the vilest horrors Imagery can spawn, Geraden and Terisa must put aside past failures and find the courage to embrace their powers—and their love—before Vagel can spring his final trap.