Books with category 📚 Fiction
Displaying books 4321-4368 of 8808 in total

First Lord's Fury

2009

by Jim Butcher

In the final novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher's acclaimed Codex Alera series, the people of Alera—who use their unique bond with the elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal for protection—must face the ultimate conflict. For Gaius Octavian, life has been one long struggle. Battling ancient enemies, forging new alliances, and confronting the corruption within his own land, he became a legendary man of war and leader of men—and the rightful First Lord of Alera.

Now, the end of all he fought for is close at hand. The brutal, dreaded Vord are on the march, using fear and chaos to turn the Alerans against one another, and forcing those who will not submit to flee to the outer reaches of the realm. Perhaps for the final time, Gaius Octavian and his legions must stand against the enemies of his people. And it will take all his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.

The Fourth Apprentice

2009

by Erin Hunter

Erin Hunter's #1 nationally bestselling Warriors series continues in Warriors: Omen of the Stars!

The first book in this fourth series, Warriors: Omen of the Stars #1: The Fourth Apprentice, brings more adventure, intrigue, and thrilling battles to the epic world of the warrior Clans.

It has been foretold that Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and one other cat will hold the power of the stars in their paws. Now they must wait for a sign from StarClan to tell them which of their Clanmates will complete the prophecy.

Meanwhile, Dovekit and Ivykit—kin of the great leader Firestar—are poised to become ThunderClan apprentices. Soon one sister will have an ominous dream—and will begin to realize that she possesses mystical skills unmatched by any other cat.

In the midst of a cruel season that threatens the lives of all four warrior Clans, bonds will be forged, promises made, and three young cats will start to unravel the secrets that bind them together.

Betrayals

2009

by Lili St. Crow

She’s no angel... Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she’s just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn’t entirely human. (So what else is new?)

Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England Schola for other teens like her, and there’s a big problem—she’s the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn’t be so bad, but Dru’s killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide...

Can Dru survive long enough to find out who has betrayed her trust—and maybe even her heart?

Shadowland

2009

by Alyson Noël

Enter the realm of the Immortals—the #1 New York Times bestselling series that's been acclaimed as breathtaking, mesmerizing, flawless, and extraordinary.

Ever and Damen have traveled through countless past lives—and fought off the world’s darkest enemies—so they could be together forever. But just when their long-awaited destiny is finally within reach, a powerful curse falls upon Damen... one that could destroy everything. Now a single touch of their hands or a soft brush of their lips could mean sudden death—plunging Damen into the Shadowland.

Desperate to break the curse and save Damen, Ever immerses herself in magick— and gets help from an unexpected source—a surfer named Jude. Although she and Jude have only just met, he feels startlingly familiar. Despite her fierce loyalty to Damen, Ever is drawn to Jude, a green-eyed golden boy with magical talents and a mysterious past. She’s always believed Damen to be her soulmate and one true love—and she still believes it to be true. But as Damen pulls away to save them from the darkness inhabiting his soul, Ever’s connection with Jude grows stronger—and tests her love for Damen like never before…

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 01

2009

by Isuna Hasekura

The life of a traveling merchant is a lonely one, a fact with which Kraft Lawrence is well acquainted. Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart, and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine—that is, until the night Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart.

Taking the form of a fetching girl with wolf ears and a tail, Holo has wearied of tending to harvests in the countryside and strikes up a bargain with the merchant to lend him the cunning of "Holo the Wisewolf" to increase his profits in exchange for taking her along on his travels. What kind of businessman could turn down such an offer?

Lawrence soon learns, though, that having an ancient goddess as a traveling companion can be a bit of a mixed blessing. Will this wolf girl turn out to be too wild to tame?

HMS Ulysses

HMS Ulysses is the novel that launched the astonishing career of one of the 20th century’s greatest writers of action and suspense. It is an acclaimed classic of heroism and the sea during World War II, now reissued in a new cover style.

The story follows men who rise to heroism, and then to something even greater. HMS Ulysses takes its place alongside The Caine Mutiny and The Cruel Sea as one of the classic novels of the navy at war.

This compelling story of Convoy FR77 to Murmansk is a voyage that pushes men to the limits of human endurance, crippled by enemy attack and the bitter cold of the Arctic.

Deadly Little Lies

Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town.

Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow been transferred to her.

Ben returns to school, but he remains aloof, and Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Camelia makes the painful decision to let him go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results.

A chilling sequence of events uncovers secrets from Ben’s past – and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out who – before it's too late.

Everwild

2009

by Neal Shusterman

Everlost, the limbo land of dead children, is at war. Nick, the “Chocolate Ogre”, wants to help the children of Everlost reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Mary Hightower, self-proclaimed queen of lost children and dangerous fanatic, is determined to keep Everlost’s children trapped within its limbo for all eternity. Traveling in the memory of the Hindenburg, Mary is spreading her propaganda and attracting Afterlights to her cause at a frightening speed.

Meanwhile, Allie the Outcast travels home to seek out her parents, along with Mikey, who was once the terrifying monster the McGill. Allie is tempted by the seductive thrill of skinjacking the living, until she discovers the shocking truth about skinjackers.

Full Tilt

2009

by Neal Shusterman

Sixteen-year-old Blake and his younger brother, Quinn, are exact opposites. Blake is the responsible member of the family, constantly having to keep an eye on the fearless Quinn, whose thrill-seeking sometimes goes too far.

But the stakes get higher when Blake has to chase Quinn into a bizarre phantom carnival that traps its customers forever. In order to escape, Blake must survive seven deadly rides by dawn, each of which represents a deep, personal fear — from a carousel of stampeding animals to a hall of mirrors that changes people into their deformed reflections.

Blake ultimately has to face up to a horrible secret from his own past to save himself and his brother — that is, if the carnival doesn't claim their souls first!

The Gladiator

2009

by Carla Capshaw

He won his fame—and his freedom—in the gory pits of Rome's Colosseum. Yet the greatest challenge for the once-legendary gladiator Caros Viriathos comes to him through a slave. His slave, the beautiful and mysterious Pelonia Valeria.

Her secret brings danger to his household but offers Caros a love like he's never known. Should anyone learn she is a Christian, Pelonia will be executed. Her faith threatens not only herself, but her master. Can she convince a man who found fame through unforgiving brutality to show mercy?

And when she's ultimately given the choice, will Pelonia choose freedom or the love of a gladiator?

Under the Dome

2009

by Stephen King

On a beautiful fall day, the town of Chester's Mill, Maine, is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. No one knows what this barrier is and when--or if--it will go away.

The Morganville Vampires, Volume 1

2009

by Rachel Caine

In Rachel Caine's town of Morganville, there's always a surprise just around every dark corner — and it usually involves the undead. Now, these secrets come to light in the first two books of the Morganville Vampires series, together in one volume.

Glass Houses
Morganville is a small college town in the heart of Texas that has its share of quirky characters — and some evil ones too. When student Claire Danvers moves off campus into one of Morganville's oldest houses, she finds that her roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

The Dead Girls' Dance
Claire Danvers has her share of challenges — like living among creatures of the night. On the upside, she has a great roommate (who tends to disappear at sunup) and a new boyfriend. Now, a fraternity is throwing its annual Dead Girls' Dance and — surprise! — Claire and her equally outcast friend have been invited. When they find out why, all hell breaks loose, because this time both the living and the dead are ready to tear up the night.

Fade Out

2009

by Rachel Caine

Without the evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville, the resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are almost starting to feel comfortable again… Now Claire can actually concentrate on her studies, and her friend Eve joins the local theatre company. But when one of Eve’s castmates goes missing after starting work on a short documentary, Eve suspects the worst. Claire and Eve soon realize that this film project, whose subject is the vampires themselves, is a whole lot bigger—and way more dangerous—than anyone suspected.

Heart's Blood

Whistling Tor is a place of secrets, a mysterious, wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress of a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.

For young scribe Caitrin, it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth, she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set

The Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson is a landmark fantasy series that has been credited with breathing fresh life into the genre. This set includes three epic novels: Mistborn: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages.

Set in a world dominated by the Dark Lord, it is a place of ash, pain, and subjugation. However, it is also a world where magic can be drawn from metals, offering a glimmer of hope and a new heroine to challenge the darkness. Sanderson's mastery of world building, sweeping plots, believable characters, and engrossing magic systems has made this series a word of mouth bestseller in the USA and a massive hit in the UK, introducing readers to one of the genre's great talents.

Nightlight: A Parody

About three things I was absolutely certain.

First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe.

Second, there was a vampire part of him—which I assumed was wildly out of his control—that wanted me dead.

And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

And thus Belle Goose falls in love with the mysterious and sparkly Edwart Mullen in the Harvard Lampoon’s hilarious send-up of Twilight.

Pale and klutzy, Belle arrives in Switchblade, Oregon looking for adventure, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls.

After witnessing a number of strange events—Edwart leaves his tater tots untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!—Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire.

But how can she convince Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, especially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?

Complete with romance, danger, insufficient parental guardianship, creepy stalker-like behavior, and a vampire prom, Nightlight is the uproarious tale of a vampire-obsessed girl, looking for love in all the wrong places.

The Crying of Lot 49

2009

by Thomas Pynchon

Thomas Pynchon's classic post-modern satire, which tells the wonderfully unusual story of Oedipa Maas, first published in 1965. When her ex-lover, wealthy real-estate tycoon Pierce Inverarity dies and designates her the co-executor of his estate, California housewife Oedipa Mass is thrust into a paranoid mystery of metaphors, symbols, and the United States Postal Service. Traveling across Southern California, she meets some extremely interesting characters, and attains a not-inconsiderable amount of self-knowledge.

The Lacuna

In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities. Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico—from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City—Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey.

Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence.

Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach—the lacuna—between truth and public presumption.

With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist—and of art itself. The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.

2 States: The Story of My Marriage

2009

by Chetan Bhagat

Love marriages around the world are simple: Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. They get married. In India, there are a few more steps:


Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy. Girl's family has to love boy. Boy's family has to love girl. Girl's Family has to love Boy's Family. Boy's family has to love girl's family. Girl and Boy still love each other. They get married.


Welcome to 2 States, a story about Krish and Ananya. They are from two different states of India, deeply in love and want to get married. Of course, their parents don't agree. To convert their love story into a love marriage, the couple have a tough battle in front of them. For it is easy to fight and rebel, but it is much harder to convince. Will they make it?


From the author of blockbusters Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center and The 3 Mistakes of My Life, comes another witty tale about inter-community marriages in modern India.

I'll Be Your Drill, Soldier

2009

by Crystal Rose

Ryan Gracin had a good life until he told his parents he was gay. Since they yanked their support for college, he had to find a way to pay for it. Little did he know that joining the Army was going to change his life forever. Especially when he was introduced to a Drill Sergeant who was nicknamed 'Big Daddy'.

Phillip Grabowski had joined the Army to follow in his father's footsteps. By the time Ryan entered, he had already made a name for himself. He was a soldier's soldier, but Ryan was making it really hard for him to remember that.

Skull Full of Kisses

2009

by Michael West

Love and evil know no bounds! Turn the page and enter a world of shadow, as Michael West brings together his most disturbing short stories—twisted tales of forbidden desires and ghoulish deeds, where nightmares manifest in the most mundane and unlikely of places...

The basement of a Japanese restaurant, where a seductive creature promises comfort to a lonely hitman, if only he will set her free...

A ruined city, where survivors of a natural disaster have become prey to something unnatural...

An Indiana farmhouse, where a frightened child attempts to fool the Angel of Death...

And the darkest regions of space, where a man fights to protect the woman he loves from invaders only he can see...

Ten reasons to lock your doors. Ten reasons to keep the lights on. Ten reasons why you may never sleep again.

Sookie Stackhouse 8 Volume Set

Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is no typical Southern belle. She can read minds. And she's got a thing for vampires. Which, in a town like Bon Temps, Louisiana, means she'll have to watch her back-and neck...

This boxed set includes:

  • Dead Until Dark
  • Living Dead in Dallas
  • Club Dead
  • Dead to the World
  • Dead as a Doornail
  • Definitely Dead
  • All Together Dead
  • From Dead to Worse

Bed of Roses

2009

by Nora Roberts

Love blooms in the second novel in Nora Roberts's celebrated Bride Quartet series. As little girls, MacKensie, Emma, Laurel, and Parker spent hours acting out their perfect make-believe "I do" moments. Years later, their fantasies become reality when they start their own wedding planning company to make every woman's dream day come true.

With perfect flowers, delicious desserts, and joyful moments captured on film, Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet shares each woman's emotionally magical journey to romance.

In Bed of Roses, florist Emma Grant is finding career success with her friends at Vows wedding planning company, and her love life appears to be thriving. Though men swarm around her, she still hasn't found Mr. Right. And the last place she's looking is right under her nose.

But that's just where Jack Cooke is. He's so close to the women of Vows that he's practically family, but the architect has begun to admit to himself that his feelings for Emma have developed into much more than friendship. When Emma returns his passion—kiss for blistering kiss—they must trust in their history...and in their hearts.

Invisible

2009

by Paul Auster

Paul Auster, one of America’s greatest novelists, dazzlingly reinvents the coming-of-age story in his most passionate and surprising book to date. Invisible is sinuously constructed in four interlocking parts, opening in New York City in the spring of 1967, when twenty-year-old Adam Walker, an aspiring poet and student at Columbia University, meets the enigmatic Frenchman Rudolf Born and his silent and seductive girlfriend, Margot. Before long, Walker finds himself caught in a perverse triangle that leads to a sudden, shocking act of violence that will alter the course of his life.

Three different narrators tell the story of Invisible, a novel that travels in time from 1967 to 2007 and moves from Morningside Heights, to the Left Bank of Paris, to a remote island in the Caribbean. It is a book of youthful rage, unbridled sexual hunger, and a relentless quest for justice. With uncompromising insight, Auster takes us into the shadowy borderland between truth and memory, between authorship and identity, to produce a work of unforgettable power that confirms his reputation as one of America’s most spectacularly inventive writers.

Lockdown

Furnace Penitentiary: the world’s most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth’s surface. Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, sentenced to life without parole, “new fish” Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world.


Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries. Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison.


Together with a bunch of inmates—some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers—Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace’s deeper, darker purpose, Alex’s actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that’s hidden from the eyes of the world.

Makers

2009

by Cory Doctorow

From the New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother, comes a major novel about the booms, busts, and further booms awaiting America.

Perry and Lester are inventors of quirky creations like seashell robots that make toast and Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also devise new economic systems, such as the "New Work," a modern-day New Deal for the technological era.

As barefoot bankers traverse the nation, microinvesting in tech-savvy communal startups like Perry and Lester's, they transform the country. Andrea Fleeks, a journo-turned-blogger, captures the unfolding events.

However, the story takes a turn as the New Work bust overshadows the dot-com bomb. Perry and Lester create a network of interactive rides in abandoned Wal-Marts, celebrating the New Work's heyday. But jealousy arises from a rogue Disney executive, who manipulates the police into believing that their 3D printers are producing illegal weapons.

Goths flock to the shantytown erected by the New Workers, forming a cult. Meanwhile, lawsuits fly as venture capitalists adopt a new strategy: backing litigation against giants like Disney. The once-solid friendship between Lester and Perry crumbles when Lester undergoes the 'fatkins' treatment, turning him into a sybaritic gigolo.

And then, things get really interesting...

Splendor

2009

by Anna Godbersen

New Beginnings. Shocking Revelations. Unexpected Endings.

As spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new role as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father's death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder at what cost a life of splendor comes.

Carolina Broad, society's newest darling, fans a flame from her past, oblivious to how it might burn her future. Penelope Schoonmaker is finally Manhattan royalty—but when a real prince visits the city, she covets a title that comes with a crown. Her husband, Henry, bravely went to war, only to discover that his father's rule extends well beyond New York's shores and that fighting for love may prove a losing battle.

In the dramatic conclusion to the bestselling Luxe series, New York's most dazzling socialites chase dreams, cling to promises, and tempt fate. As society watches what will become of the city's oldest families and newest fortunes, one question remains: Will its stars fade away or will they shine ever brighter?

The Gathering Storm

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready. The final volume of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan's editor—his wife, Harriet McDougal—to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm as the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.

In this epic novel, Robert Jordan's international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward—wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders—his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.

Egwene al'Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower—and possibly the world itself.

The Mortal Instruments Boxed Set: City of Bones; City of Ashes; City of Glass

2009

by Cassandra Clare

In City of Bones, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is introduced to the world of the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world. And she's introduced with a vengeance, when Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque monster sent by the evil and powerful Shadowhunter, Valentine. How could a mere human survive such an attack.

In the second novel, City of Ashes, Clary just wants her life to go back to normal--but that turns out to be impossible. For one thing, her mother is still in the hospital, in a mysterious coma. For another, she and her newfound brother Jace have fallen under a cloud of suspicion now that the Shadowhunter world knows that Valentine is still alive--and that Jace and Clary are his son and daughter. Then Clary's best friend Simon is turned into a vampire and kidnapped by Valentine, who intends to sacrifice him as part of a bloody ritual that will make the Mortal Instruments Valentine's forever.

In book three, City of Glass, Clary has to use all her ingenuity and newfound magical skills to get herself to the Glass City in Idris, the secretive Shadowhunters' home country, where she is forbidden to go--for it is only there that she can find the cure to the enchanted sleeping sickness to which her mother has succumbed. When Valentine attacks the city and destroys the demon towers, Clary and her allies are all that stand between him and the total annihilation of all Shadowhunters.

Love is a mortal sin and the past tangles inextricably with the present as Clary and Jace face down their father in the final installment of the Mortal Instruments series.

Dragonfly

2009

by Julia Golding

Princess Taoshira of the Blue Crescent Islands is appalled when she is ordered to marry Prince Ramil of Gerfal. And he's not too pleased, either. She is used to a life of discipline, ritual, and splendor. He is used to hunting and carousing. They hate each other on sight. But both of their countries are under threat from a fearsome warlord, and the only chance of peace is to form an alliance.

When Tashi and Ram are kidnapped, they fear there's no escape—from their kidnappers or from each other. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive ambush, unarmed combat, brainwashing, and imprisonment?

And will the people they meet on their adventure—including a circus strongman, a daring rebel leader, a sinister master of spies, and the best female fighter they have ever seen—help them or betray them to the enemy?

Last Night in Twisted River

2009

by John Irving

In 1954, in the cookhouse of a logging and sawmill settlement in northern New Hampshire, an anxious twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable’s girlfriend for a bear. Both the twelve-year-old and his father become fugitives, forced to run from Coos County—to Boston, to southern Vermont, to Toronto—pursued by the implacable constable. Their lone protector is a fiercely libertarian logger, once a river driver, who befriends them.

In a story spanning five decades, Last Night in Twisted River—John Irving’s twelfth novel—depicts the recent half-century in the United States as “a living replica of Coos County, where lethal hatreds were generally permitted to run their course.”

From the novel’s taut opening sentence—“The young Canadian, who could not have been more than fifteen, had hesitated too long”—to its elegiac final chapter, Last Night in Twisted River is written with the historical authenticity and emotional authority of The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany. It is also as violent and disturbing a story as John Irving’s breakthrough bestseller, The World According to Garp.

What further distinguishes Last Night in Twisted River is the author’s unmistakable voice—the inimitable voice of an accomplished storyteller. Near the end of this moving novel, John Irving writes: “We don’t always have a choice how we get to know one another. Sometimes, people fall into our lives cleanly—as if out of the sky, or as if there were a direct flight from Heaven to Earth—the same sudden way we lose people, who once seemed they would always be part of our lives.”

The Museum of Innocence

2009

by Orhan Pamuk

"It was the happiest moment of my life, though I didn’t know it." So begins the new novel, his first since winning the Nobel Prize, from the universally acclaimed author of Snow and My Name Is Red.

It is 1975, a perfect spring in Istanbul. Kemal, scion of one of the city’s wealthiest families, is about to become engaged to Sibel, daughter of another prominent family, when he encounters Füsun, a beautiful shopgirl and a distant relation. Once the long-lost cousins violate the code of virginity, a rift begins to open between Kemal and the world of the Westernized Istanbul bourgeoisie—a world, as he lovingly describes it, with opulent parties and clubs, society gossip, restaurant rituals, picnics, and mansions on the Bosphorus, infused with the melancholy of decay—until finally he breaks off his engagement to Sibel. But his resolve comes too late.

For eight years, Kemal will find excuses to visit another Istanbul, that of the impoverished backstreets where FĂĽsun, her heart now hardened, lives with her parents. There, Kemal discovers the consolations of middle-class life at a dinner table in front of the television. His obsessive love will also take him to the demimonde of Istanbul film circles (where he promises to make FĂĽsun a star), a scene of seedy bars, run-down cheap hotels, and small men with big dreams doomed to bitter failure.

In his feckless pursuit, Kemal becomes a compulsive collector of objects that chronicle his lovelorn progress and his afflicted heart’s reactions: anger and impatience, remorse and humiliation, deluded hopes of recovery, and daydreams that transform Istanbul into a cityscape of signs and specters of his beloved, from whom now he can extract only meaningful glances and stolen kisses in cars, movie houses, and shadowy corners of parks.

A last chance to realize his dream will come to an awful end before Kemal discovers that all he finally can possess, certainly and eternally, is the museum he has created of his collection, this map of a society’s manners and mores, and of one man’s broken heart.

A stirring exploration of the nature of romantic attachment and of the mysterious allure of collecting, The Museum of Innocence also plumbs the depths of an Istanbul half Western and half traditional—its emergent modernity, its vast cultural history. This is Orhan Pamuk’s greatest achievement.

Caim

Neste novo romance, o vencedor do prêmio Nobel José Saramago reconta episódios bíblicos do Velho Testamento sob o ponto de vista de Caim, que, depois de assassinar seu irmão, trava um incomum acordo com deus e parte numa jornada que o levará do jardim do Éden aos mais recônditos confins da criação.

Se, em O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo, José Saramago nos deu sua visão do Novo Testamento, neste Caim ele se volta aos primeiros livros da Bíblia, do Éden ao dilúvio, imprimindo ao Antigo Testamento a música e o humor refinado que marcam sua obra. Num itinerário heterodoxo, Saramago percorre cidades decadentes e estábulos, palácios de tiranos e campos de batalha, conforme o leitor acompanha uma guerra secular, e de certo modo involuntária, entre criador e criatura.

No trajeto, o leitor revisitará episódios bíblicos conhecidos, mas sob uma perspectiva inteiramente diferente. Para atravessar esse caminho árido, um deus às turras com a própria administração colocará Caim, assassino do irmão Abel e primogênito de Adão e Eva, num altivo jegue, e caberá à dupla encontrar o rumo entre as armadilhas do tempo que insistem em atraí-los.

A Caim, que leva a marca do senhor na testa e portanto está protegido das iniquidades do homem, resta aceitar o destino amargo e compactuar com o criador, a quem não reserva o melhor dos julgamentos. Tal como o diabo de O Evangelho, o deus que o leitor encontra aqui não é o habitual dos sermões: ao reinventar o Antigo Testamento, Saramago recria também seus principais protagonistas, dando a eles uma roupagem ao mesmo tempo complexa e irônica, cujo tom de farsa da narrativa só faz por acentuar.

The Dragonfly Pool

2009

by Eva Ibbotson

Tally Hamilton is furious to hear she is being sent from London to a horrid, stuffy boarding school in the countryside. And all because of the stupid war. But Delderton Hall is a far more unusual and interesting place than Tally ever imagined, and she soon falls in love with its eccentric staff and pupils.

Now she's even organizing an exciting school trip to the kingdom of Bergania... although Tally never expected to meet the prince. Prince Karil hates his life at the palace and he is only truly happy when he escapes to the dragonfly pool, a remote spot in the forests of Bergania. Then Karil meets a feisty English girl who brings the promise of adventure. But his country is under threat, and the prince soon looks to his new friend Tally for survival as well as friendship...

Ain't She Sweet?

Sugar Beth Carey is back in town, the small southern town she despised and never intended to return to. However, she's also on a mission, to find a painting willed to her worth millions. To gain access to the estate of her deceased father, she must 'make nice' with its current occupant, Colin Byrne. No easy task, because as her teacher 15 years earlier, she ruined his reputation by falsely accusing him of molesting her, and now he is a rich, famous author relishing his opportunity for revenge.

But, what neither of them foresee is the begrudging respect they will develop for one another's wit and intelligence as they struggle to maintain their emotional distance and prevent themselves from falling in love. Complicated not only by their pasts, but by others who were hurt in the past as well.

Ain't She Sweet? is a story of courage and redemption...of friendship and laughter...of love and the possibility of happily-ever-after.

Akira, Vol. 1

2009

by Katsuhiro Otomo

Akira, Vol. 1 is a gripping science fiction tale set in the year 2019, in the bustling metropolis of Tokyo. The city, once devastated by World War III, now stands rebuilt, but shadows of the past linger. The story follows the lives of two teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, who are caught in the whirlwind of chaos created by a mysterious and monstrous power known as Akira.

The narrative weaves through the dark alleys and neon-lit streets of Neo-Tokyo, where government agencies and rival factions vie for control over the supernatural forces that emerge. As Tetsuo and Kaneda navigate this treacherous world, they grapple with their own fears and the consuming power that threatens to engulf them.

Charmed Life

Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

Dog Days

2009

by Jeff Kinney

It’s summer vacation, the weather’s great, and all the kids are having fun outside. So where’s Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing video games with the shades drawn.

Greg, a self-confessed "indoor person," is living out his ultimate summer fantasy: no responsibilities and no rules. But Greg’s mom has a different vision for an ideal summer . . . one packed with outdoor activities and "family togetherness."

Whose vision will win out? Or will a new addition to the Heffley family change everything?

Hush, Hush

A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

Ireland

2009

by Frank Delaney

In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O'Mara in the Irish countryside. This storyteller is the last practitioner of an honored, centuries-old tradition known as the Seanchai. For three magical evenings, he enthralls his assembled audience with narratives of foolish kings, fabled saints, and Ireland's enduring accomplishments.

However, after being banished for blasphemy, he moves on, but not before leaving a lasting impression on young Ronan. These unforgettable nights set Ronan on a path he will follow for years, as he pursues the elusive, itinerant storyteller and the magical tales that weave the glorious saga of his tenacious, troubled, and extraordinary isle.

Wolf Hall

2009

by Hilary Mantel

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition.

But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie

In this mesmerizing sequel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, music prodigy James Morgan and his best friend, Deirdre, join a private conservatory for musicians. James' musical talent attracts Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die.

Composing beautiful music together unexpectedly leads to mutual admiration and love. Haunted by fiery visions of death, James realizes that Deirdre and Nuala are being hunted by the Fey and plunges into a soul-scorching battle with the Queen of the Fey to save their lives.

A Touch of Dead

Meet Sookie Stackhouse! Sookie Stackhouse is everybody's favourite cocktail waitress: a cute bubbly blonde ... who can read minds. But Sookie's far from being the only person in Bon Temps, Louisiana with a handicap, what with the local vampire population demanding their unhuman rights and weres fighting for territory ... In fact, Bon Temps is a pretty lively place these days!

A Touch of Dead collects together all the Sookie Stackhouse short stories in one gorgeous volume, and showcases the writing talents of international bestseller Charlaine Harris. Stories include “Fairy Dust,” “One Word Answer,” “Dracula Night,” “Lucky,” and “Giftwrap.”

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?

2009

by Louise Rennison

For Georgia, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Just when she thought she was the official one-and-only girlfriend of Masimo, he's walked off into the night with the full hump, leaving Georgia all aloney on her owney—again.

All because Dave the Laugh tried to do fisticuffs at dawn with him! Two boys "fighting" over Georgia? It's almost as romantic as Romeo and Juliet... though perhaps a touch less tragic.

It's time for Georgia to get to the bottom (oo-er) of this Dave the Laugh spontaneous puckering business once and for all. It's like they always say: If you snog a mate in the forest of red bottomosity and no one is around to see it, is he still a mate? Or is he something more?

Friday Night Bites

2009

by Chloe Neill

Vamps in Chicago! You’d think headlines like that would have provoked the fine citizens of the Windy City to take up arms against us bloodsucking fiends. Instead, ten months later, we’re enjoying a celebrity status reserved for the Hollywood elite—fending off paparazzi only slightly less dangerous than cross and stake-wielding slayers. Don’t get me wrong, Joe Public isn’t exactly thrilled to be living side-by-side with the undead, but at least they haven’t stormed the castle yet.

But all that will change once they learn about the Raves—mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle and drink themselves silly. Most civilized vampires frown on this behavior, putting mere mortals at ease with their policy of asking a person’s consent before taking a big gulp of the red stuff. However, that doesn’t make good copy for a first time reporter looking to impress his high society family.

So now my “master,” the centuries old, yet gorgeously well-preserved Ethan Sullivan, wants me to reconnect with my own upper class family and act as liaison between humans and vampires—and keep the more unsavory aspects of our existence out of the media. But someone doesn’t want people and vamps to play nicey-nice—someone with an ancient grudge.

Half Broke Horses

2009

by Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls's memoir The Glass Castle was nothing short of spectacular. Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person voice that is authentic, irresistible, and triumphant. "Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette Walls's no nonsense, resourceful, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car and fly a plane. And, with her husband Jim, she ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle. Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Rosemary Smith Walls always told Jeannette that she was like her grandmother, and in this true-life novel, Jeannette Walls channels that kindred spirit. Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. Destined to become a classic, it will transfix audiences everywhere.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

2009

by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol. This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

Leviathan

It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.

Aleksandar Ferdinand, a Clanker, and Deryn Sharp, a Darwinist, are on opposite sides of the war. But their paths cross in the most unexpected way, taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure….One that will change both their lives forever.

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