Displaying books 4801-4848 of 11201 in total

Anya's Ghost

2011

by Vera Brosgol

Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part.

Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs. Or so she thinks.

Spooky, sardonic, and secretly sincere, Anya's Ghost is a wonderfully entertaining debut from author/artist Vera Brosgol.

Bakuman, Volume 5

By the creators of Death Note! The mystery behind manga-making revealed!

Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world?

Big changes are in store now that Moritaka and Akito have their very own series in Shonen Jump. Hanging out with their favorite manga creators, hiring assistants, keeping track of the weekly reader surveys—life as a professional manga artist is tough! Can these two survive the pressure?

Blood Red Road

2011

by Moira Young

Saba's life in Silverlake is one of scavenging in a dried-up wasteland left behind by the Wreckers. All is bearable as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is with her. But when a monster sandstorm brings four cloaked horsemen who capture Lugh, Saba's world is irrevocably shattered.

Determined to rescue Lugh, Saba embarks on an epic quest that throws her into the lawless reality outside Silverlake. It is here that she discovers her own capacity for fierce fighting, survival, and cunning strategy. Allying with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a band of girl revolutionaries known as the Free Hawks, Saba's fight for Lugh's freedom will lead to a showdown that may just change the course of her civilization.

Blood Red Road is a tale of unyielding action, a poetically minimal writing style, and an epic love story, marking Moira Young as a remarkable voice in teen fiction.

Everlasting

2011

by Alyson Noel

Their epic love story has captured the hearts of millions and enchanted readers across the world. Everlasting is the beautiful finale to Alyson Noël's bestselling Immortals series, in which their journey draws to a spectacular conclusion—where all will be revealed.

Their darkest enemies now defeated, Damen and Ever are free to embark upon their final quest—to free Damen from the poison lingering in his body. If they can just find the antidote, they'll finally be able to feel each other's touch—and experience the passionate night they've been longing for. But their fight to be together will lead them into the most formidable terrain yet...into the dark heart of Summerland. Here in a land of scorched earth and endless rain, Ever and Damen will discover their relationship's hidden origins, expose a secret history they never imagined...and come face to face with the true reason fate keeps tearing them apart. Only then, when the final mystery is unraveled and the last secret revealed, Ever and Damen's future will hinge on one ultimate decision that will put everything at stake....even eternity.

Forgotten

2011

by Cat Patrick

Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can "remember" are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture.

Luke Henry is not someone you'd easily forget, yet try as she might, London can't find him in her memories of things to come. When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it's time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting before it destroys her future.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

2011

by Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed writing, technology, government, and organized religion—as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war—and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history.

Hereafter

2011

by Tara Hudson

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence.

All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world... forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss.

Hit List

A serial killer is hunting the Pacific Northwest, murdering victims in a gruesome and spectacular way. The local police suspect "monsters" are involved, and have called in Anita Blake and Edward, U.S. Marshals who really know their monsters, to catch the killer.

But some monsters are very real. The Harlequin have been the bogeymen of the vampire world for more than a thousand years; they are a secret so dark that even to speak their name can earn you a death sentence. Now they are here in America, hunting weretigers...and human police.

The Harlequin serve the Mother of All Darkness, the first vampire. She was supposed to be dead, but only her body was destroyed. Now she needs a new one, and she's decided that Anita Blake's is the body she wants. Edward thinks the serial killings are a trap to lure Anita closer to the most dangerous vampire they've ever hunted. The vampires call Edward "Death" and Anita the "Executioner," but Mommy Darkest is coming to kill one and possess the other, and she doesn't care how many others have to die along the way.

Hunt the Moon

2011

by Karen Chance

Cassandra Palmer recently defeated a god, which you'd think would buy a girl a little time off. But when your job is being Pythia - the world's chief clairvoyant - you don't get a lot of R&R.

Cassie is busier than ever, discovering her power, figuring out her complicated relationship with the enigmatic and sexy vampire Mircea, and preparing for her upcoming coronation.

But someone is dead-set against Cassie becoming Pythia, and will go to any lengths to stop the coronation ceremony from happening - including making sure that Cassie is never born.

Now, Cassie has to save herself - and the world, if she can find the time…

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

2011

by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. A horrific family tragedy sends sixteen-year-old Jacob on a journey to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow, impossible though it seems, they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, this novel will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

Outliers

Learn what sets high achievers apart — from Bill Gates to the Beatles — in this #1 bestseller from "a singular talent" (New York Times Book Review).

In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"—the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

Robopocalypse

In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense, and communication.

In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans—a single mother disconcerted by her daughter's menacing "smart" toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a "pacification unit" go haywire—but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.

When the Robot War ignites—at a moment known later as Zero Hour—humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us ... and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years.

Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star

It’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid for girls in this hilarious novel!

Nikki’s Road to Stardom Checklist:
✔ Diva showdown
✔ BFF feud
✔ Talented entourage to back up VIP (Very Important Pop Star!)

Just when I was starting to get used to life at my new school, this talent competition could change everything!

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have)

2011

by Sarah Mlynowski

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house - parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they definitely, maybe, probably shouldn't have.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents").

But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

The All of It

2011

by Jeannette Haien

While fishing in an Irish salmon stream one rainy morning, Father Declan de Loughry ponders the recent deathbed confession of his parishioner, Kevin Dennehy. It seems Dennehy and his wife, Enda, had been quietly living a lie for fifty years. Yet the gravity of their deception doesn’t become clear to the good father until Enda shares the full tale of her suffering, finally confiding “the all of it.”

Jeannette Haien’s exquisite first novel is a deceptively simple story that resonates with the power of a modern-day myth—an unforgettable narrative of transgression, empathy, and, ultimately, absolution.

Tiger's Quest

2011

by Colleen Houck

Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest-this time with Ren's dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger's Curse.

Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, Tiger's Quest brings the trio one step closer to breaking the spell that binds them.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

2011

by John le Carré

A modern classic in which John le Carré expertly creates a total vision of a secret world, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy begins George Smiley's chess match of wills and wits with Karla, his Soviet counterpart. It is now beyond a doubt that a mole, implanted decades ago by Moscow Centre, has burrowed his way into the highest echelons of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of its most vital operations and its best networks. It is clear that the double agent is one of its own kind. But which one? George Smiley is assigned to identify him. And once identified, the traitor must be destroyed.

The Swiss Family Robinson

The Swiss Family Robinson, originally written to entertain his four young sons, Johann David Wyss based this classic adventure on Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719). Upon its initial publication in 1812, The Swiss Family Robinson was received with great enthusiasm not only as a first-rate adventure story but also as a practical guide to self-sufficiency.

Alice Bliss

Alice Bliss is a profoundly moving coming-of-age novel about love and its many variations. When Alice Bliss learns that her father, Matt, is being deployed to Iraq, she's heartbroken. Alice idolizes her father, loves working beside him in their garden, accompanying him on the occasional roofing job, playing baseball. When he ships out, Alice is faced with finding a way to fill the emptiness he has left behind.

Matt will miss seeing his daughter blossom from a tomboy into a full-blown teenager. Alice will learn to drive, join the track team, go to her first dance, and fall in love, all while trying to be strong for her mother, Angie, and take care of her precocious little sister, Ellie. But the smell of Matt is starting to fade from his blue shirt that Alice wears every day, and the phone calls are never long enough.

These characters' struggles amidst uncertain times echo our own, lending the novel an immediacy and poignancy that is both relevant and real. At once universal and very personal, Alice Bliss is a transforming story about those who are left at home during wartime, and a teenage girl bravely facing the future.

Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes is the explosive first book in The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey, a pseudonym for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Set in a future where humanity has colonized the solar system, the novel introduces us to James Holden, the executive officer of an ice mining ship, and Detective Miller, who is on the hunt for a missing girl.

When Holden and his crew discover a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they are thrust into a dangerous conspiracy that threatens to destabilize the fragile balance of power in the system. Miller's investigation into the girl's disappearance leads him to Holden and the secrets hidden aboard The Scopuli. Together, they must navigate the tensions between Earth's government, outer planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations. Amidst political intrigue and looming war, Holden and Miller's actions could alter the course of human history.

Bakuman, Vol. 4: Phone Call and The Night Before

When Akito is unable to come up with a storyboard within the time frame he promised, Moritaka decides to break up their partnership! As they go their separate ways to create manga, it may turn out that they're actually headed in the same direction…

Cascade

What if you not only fell back through time...but fell in love, too?

Gabi knows she's left her heart in the fourteenth century, and she persuades Lia to help her to return, even though they know doing so will risk their very lives. When they arrive, months have passed, and all of Siena longs to celebrate the heroines who turned the tide in the battle against Florence—while their enemies will go to great lengths to see them dead.

Even in the midst of the battles, Gabi is increasingly drawn to Marcello, just as Lia's heart is drawn to Luca. In medieval Italy, the sisters must discover things inside themselves that they couldn't seem to find in the present—connection with their mom, courage within, and the understanding that a life well lived often means encountering sacrifice. But in a world long past, many things still keep Gabi from giving Marcello her heart forever... and one thing in particular calls all three of the Betarrinis home.

Happy Ever After

2011

by Nora Roberts

Childhood friends Mackensie, Parker, Laurel, and Emmaline have formed a very successful wedding-planning business together. While helping thousands of happy couples organize the biggest day of their lives, three of the four women have all found love themselves - but workaholic Parker remains resolutely single. Her business is her life, and she devotes all her energies to it.

But as she is forced to re-evaluate her friendships, Parker finds that someone is about to divert her focus...

Mechanic Malcolm Kavanaugh loves figuring out how things work, and Parker Brown—with her mile-long legs—is no exception. As a good friend of Parker’s brother, Mal knows that moving from minor flirtation to major hookup is a serious step.

No man has rattled Parker in a long time, but the motorcycle-riding, raven-haired Mal seems to have a knack for it. His passionate kisses always catch her off guard, much like her growing feelings for him. Parker’s business risks have always paid off, but now she’ll have to take the chance of a lifetime with her heart...

Slice

2011

by Steven Herrick

Darcy Walker, a 16-year-old boy, navigates the tumultuous waters of adolescence with a sharp wit and an unyielding spirit. He grapples with the typical challenges of teenage life, from social dynamics to the complexities of relationships. Darcy's journey is marked by his interactions with his parents, friends, and the enigmatic Audrey, for whom he harbors a deep infatuation.

Not one to shy away from adventure, Darcy's experiences range from engaging in intellectual battles over chess with his nerdy best friend Noah, to facing the unpredictable elements during a kayaking school excursion. His life is a series of misadventures and learning experiences, all while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy. Yet, Darcy's biggest obstacle may just be his inability to keep his mouth shut, a trait that leads to some of the most juicy moments in his impossible life.

Dreams of Joy

2011

by Lisa See

In her most powerful novel yet, acclaimed author Lisa See returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy.

Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father—the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the Communist regime.

Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation.

Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives.

Kiss of Snow

2011

by Nalini Singh

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other’s secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight…

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna’s darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home…and the alpha who is its heartbeat…

Magic Slays

2011

by Ilona Andrews

Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job.

Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name, and many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.

So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. Turns out this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price.

Starcrossed

How do you defy DESTINY?Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is - no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood... and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together - and trying to tear them apart.

The Girl in the Steel Corset

2011

by Kady Cross

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one... except the "thing" inside her.When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on even if it seems no one believes her.

The Midnight Palace

In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery. Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life.

Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere’s sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night—and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces.

The Monster in the Hollows

2011

by Andrew Peterson

Book Three of The Wingfeather Saga

Janner Wingfeather's father was the High King of Anniera. But his father is gone. The kingdom has fallen. The royal family is on the run, and the Fang armies of Gnag the Nameless are close behind.

Janner and his family hope to find refuge in the last safe place in the world: the Green Hollows—a land of warriors feared even by Fangs of Dang. But there's a big problem. Janner's little brother—heir to the throne of Anniera—has grown a tail. And gray fur. Not to mention two pointed ears and long, dangerous fangs.

To the suspicious folk of the Green Hollows, he looks like a monster. But Janner knows better. His brother isn't as scary as he looks. He's perfectly harmless. Or is he?

Join the Wingfeathers on an adventure filled with mystery, betrayal, and sneakery in a land of tasty fruits. There's a monster on the loose and the truth lurks in the shadows.

Darkness Everlasting

2011

by Alexandra Ivy

Two Men— Darcy Smith always sensed she was different from everyone else—if only she knew how different. Possessing a secret strong enough to end an entire race of demons, Darcy unwittingly becomes a pawn in an epic battle between the vampires and the weres as she discovers a new world filled with ecstasy—and dark passions.

One Desires Her Love... Consumed with lust for Darcy, Styx—the Anasso of vampires—will do everything in his power to keep her out of the lair of Salvatore Giuliani, the deadly leader of the weres. But protecting the woman he loves could cost Styx the ultimate price...

The Other...Her Life. Salvatore Giuliani knows time is running out for the weres. Pushed to the brink of extinction, he will stop at nothing to make Darcy his ultimate conquest and queen—for she alone holds the key to his survival. But which of these men can Darcy truly trust? For all it takes is one bite to plunge her into a lifetime of servitude—or a lifetime of pleasure.

An Echo in the Bone

2011

by Diana Gabaldon

An Echo in the Bone, the seventh volume in the Outlander saga, continues the extraordinary story of eighteenth-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his twentieth-century time-traveling wife, Claire Randall.

Jamie Fraser, former Jacobite and reluctant rebel, is already certain of three things about the American rebellion: The Americans will win, fighting on the side of victory is no guarantee of survival, and he'd rather die than have to face his illegitimate son—a young lieutenant in the British army—across the barrel of a gun.

Claire Randall knows that the Americans will win, too, but not what the ultimate price may be. That price won’t include Jamie's life or his happiness, though—not if she has anything to say about it.

Meanwhile, in the relative safety of the twentieth century, Jamie and Claire's daughter, Brianna, and her husband, Roger MacKenzie, have resettled in a historic Scottish home where, across a chasm of two centuries, the unfolding drama of Brianna's parents' story comes to life through Claire's letters. The fragile pages reveal Claire's love for battle-scarred Jamie Fraser and their flight from North Carolina to the high seas, where they encounter privateers and ocean battles—as Brianna and Roger search for clues not only to Claire's fate but to their own. Because the future of the MacKenzie family in the Highlands is mysteriously, irrevocably, and intimately entwined with life and death in war-torn colonial America.

Beauty Queens

2011

by Libba Bray

The 50 contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But, sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness.

Blood Magic

2011

by Tessa Gratton

It starts off simply. Draw a circle... place a dead leaf in the center... sprinkle some salt... recite a little Latin... add a drop of blood... Maybe that last part isn’t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents’ horrific deaths. She’s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn’t the only recent arrival in Silla’s life. There’s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She’s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick’s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can’t deny their attraction. And they can’t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard

2011

by Liz Murray

Breaking Night is the stunning memoir of a young woman who, at the tender age of fifteen, found herself living on the streets. Yet, against all odds, she eventually made her way to Harvard. Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. Her early life was a struggle, taunted in school for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair.

Eventually, she skipped so many classes that she was placed in a girls' home. At age fifteen, when her family finally unraveled, Murray found herself on the streets. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep.

Determined to change her fate, Murray decided to take control of her destiny. She went back to high school, often completing her assignments in hallways and subway stations where she slept. She squeezed four years of high school into two, while homeless; won a New York Times scholarship; and made her way into the Ivy League.

Breaking Night is an unforgettable and beautifully written story of one young woman's indomitable spirit to survive and prevail, against all odds.

Silver Sparrow

2011

by Tayari Jones

Silver Sparrow opens with the intriguing line, “My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist.” Author Tayari Jones masterfully unveils a breathtaking story about deception, familial complicity, and the complex lives of two teenage girls caught in the middle.

Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta during the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s two families—the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. This relationship is destined to explode as secrets unravel.

At the heart of this novel are the two girls navigating their intertwined lives, searching for love, demanding attention, and trying to imagine themselves as women. Jones portrays their fragility and strength with raw authenticity, creating a soulful story of friendship and sisterhood that paints an unforgettable picture of the messy knots that bind families together.

The Power of Neurodiversity: Unleashing the Advantages of Your Differently Wired Brain

Develop a new understanding of neurodivergence with this thoughtful exploration of the human mind from a bestselling author and psychologist. From ADHD and dyslexia to autism, the number of diagnosis categories listed by the American Psychiatric Association has tripled in the last fifty years. With so many people affected, it is time to revisit our perceptions of people with disabilities.

Bestselling author, psychologist, and educator Thomas Armstrong illuminates a new understanding of neuropsychological disorders. He argues that if they are a part of the natural diversity of the human brain, they cannot simply be defined as illnesses. Armstrong explores the evolutionary advantages, special skills, and other positive dimensions of these conditions.

A manifesto as well as a keenly intelligent look at "disability," The Power of Neurodiversity is a must for parents, teachers, and anyone who is looking to learn more about neurodivergence.

The Sleeping Beauty

2011

by Mercedes Lackey

Heavy is the head—and the eyelids—of the princess who wears the crown...

In Rosamund's realm, happiness hinges on a few simple beliefs:

  • For every princess there's a prince.
  • The king has ultimate power.
  • Stepmothers should never be trusted.
  • And bad things come to those who break with Tradition....

But when Rosa is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Determined to escape and save her kingdom from imminent invasion, she agrees to become the guinea pig in one of her stepmother's risky incantations—thus falling into a deep, deep sleep.

When awakened by a touchy-feely stranger, Rosa must choose between Tradition and her future...between a host of eligible princes and a handsome, fair-haired outsider. And learn the difference between being a princess and ruling as a queen.

The moral of the story? Sometimes a princess has to create her own happy endings....

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy: The Summer I Turned Pretty; It's Not Summer Without You; We'll Always Have Summer

2011

by Jenny Han

Belly has always lived for the summertime because it means all her favorite things: swimming, the beach, and the Fisher boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. She has spent every summer with them at Cousins Beach for as long as she can remember.

She has always been in love with Conrad and finally, one summer, it seems like he might have feelings for her too. But it turns out, so does Jeremiah.

As the summers go on, Belly has to choose between two brothers who love her as she comes to the realization that she will have to break one of their hearts.

For the first time, all three Summer novels are in one collection, including The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You, and We'll Always Have Summer.

The Warlock

2011

by Michael Scott

The twins of prophecy have been divided—the end has begun.


Alcatraz: Although their ally Dr. John Dee has been declared utlaga, Machiavelli and Billy the Kid will follow the plans the Elders have laid before them: they will loose the monsters of Alcatraz on the city of San Francisco, thereby triggering the end of the human race.


Danu Talis: The Shadowrealm that Scatty and Joan of Arc have entered is far more dangerous than they could ever have imagined. And they haven't landed here by chance—the warriors were called for a reason. So were Saint-Germain, Palamedes, and Shakespeare. The group was summoned because they must travel back in time to Danu Talis to destroy it. For the island of Danu Talis, known in humani myth as the lost city of Atlantis, must fall if the modern world is to exist.


San Francisco: The end is finally near. Josh Newman has chosen a side, and he will not stand with his sister, Sophie, or with the Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel. He will fight alongside Dee and the mysterious Virginia Dare. Unless Sophie can find her twin before the battle begins, all is lost—forever.

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead

Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair, and after a string of botched suicide attempts, she’s determined to get her death right. She starts visiting a website for “completers”— www.through-the-light.com.While she’s on the site, Daelyn blogs about her life, uncovering a history of bullying that goes back to kindergarten. When she’s not on the Web, Daelyn’s at her private school, where she’s known as the freak who doesn’t talk.

Then, a boy named Santana begins to sit with her after school while she’s waiting to for her parents to pick her up. Even though she’s made it clear that she wants to be left alone, Santana won’t give up. And it’s too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life... isn't it?

In this harrowing, compelling novel, Julie Anne Peters shines a light on what might make a teenager want to kill herself, as well as how she might start to bring herself back from the edge.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

2011

by Tom Franklin

Tom Franklin's extraordinary talent has been hailed by the leading lights of contemporary literature. His narrative power and flair for characterization have been compared to the likes of Harper Lee and Flannery O'Connor. Now, the Edgar Award-winning author returns with his most accomplished and resonant novel so far—an atmospheric drama set in rural Mississippi.

In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months, the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit.

More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. Now, the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.

Embassytown

In the far future, humans have colonized a distant planet, home to the enigmatic Ariekei, sentient beings famed for a language unique in the universe, one that only a few altered human ambassadors can speak.

Avice Benner Cho, a human colonist, has returned to Embassytown after years of deep-space adventure. She cannot speak the Ariekei tongue, but she is an indelible part of it, having long ago been made a figure of speech, a living simile in their language.

When distant political machinations deliver a new ambassador to Arieka, the fragile equilibrium between humans and aliens is violently upset. Catastrophe looms, and Avice is torn between competing loyalties—to a husband she no longer loves, to a system she no longer trusts, and to her place in a language she cannot speak yet speaks through her.

Gender Born, Gender Made

2011

by Diane Ehrensaft

Gender Born, Gender Made is a groundbreaking guide to caring for children who live outside binary gender boxes. We are only beginning to understand gender. Is it inborn or learned? Can it be chosen—or even changed? Does it have to be one or the other?

These questions may seem abstract—but for parents whose children live outside of gender “norms,” they are very real. No two children who bend the “rules” of gender do so in quite the same way. Felicia threw away her frilly dresses at age three. Sam hid his interest in dolls and “girl things” until high school—when he finally confided his desire to become Sammi. And seven-year-old Maggie, who sports a boys’ basketball uniform and a long blond braid, identifies as “a boy in the front, and a girl in the back.”

But all gender-nonconforming children have one thing in common—they need support to thrive in a society that still subscribes to a binary system of gender. Dr. Diane Ehrensaft has worked with children like Felicia, Sam, and Maggie for over 30 years. In Gender Born, Gender Made, she offers parents, clinicians, and educators guidance on both the philosophical dilemmas and the practical, daily concerns of working with children who don’t fit a “typical” gender mold. She debunks outmoded approaches to gender nonconformity that may actually do children harm. And she offers a new framework for helping each child become his or her own unique, most gender-authentic person.

I'll Be There

Emily Bell believes in destiny. To her, being forced to sing a solo in the church choir—despite her average voice—is fate: because it's while she's singing that she first sees Sam. At first sight, they are connected.

Sam Border wishes he could escape, but there's nowhere for him to run. He and his little brother, Riddle, have spent their entire lives constantly uprooted by their unstable father. That is, until Sam sees Emily. That's when everything changes.

As Sam and Riddle are welcomed into the Bells' lives, they witness the warmth and protection of a family for the first time. But when tragedy strikes, they're left fighting for survival in the desolate wilderness, and wondering if they'll ever find a place where they can belong.

Beautifully written and emotionally profound, I'll Be There is a gripping story that explores the complexities of teenage passions, friendships, and loyalties.

Pittsburgh Noir

2011

by Kathleen George

Pittsburgh Noir roars forth, exploring the hidden underworld of what has often been called the most livable city in America. Despite Pittsburgh being labeled the country’s most livable city, the fictional citizens populating the 14 high-quality stories in Akashic’s noir anthology centered on the Steel City have the same dreams, frustrations, passions, and vices as anyone else.

When the steel business faltered and died, ‘the smoky city’ reinvented itself as a white-collar urban site, fueled by its thriving universities. It had been a place so dark with pollution in the steel days that men carried clean shirts with them to work in order to change during the day. Now you can see the hills, the rivers, the rhythmic skyline—and as the cameras are fond of displaying at sports events, the city is now glittering and beautiful.

What is Pittsburgh to noir and noir to Pittsburgh? It certainly has its rough streets and grisly murders. But dark crime stories depend on something in addition to killing. The best examples of the genre revolve around private moralities and private law; they are the stories of people pushing against real or imagined oppression. In Pittsburgh Noir, as in most of the novels and films that gave the genre its name, the real story is the dark underbelly of existence, the fear and guilt and rebellion and denial in regular people: the woman buying groceries, the man grilling hot dogs. Their secret lives.

The Farseer Trilogy

2011

by Robin Hobb

The Farseer Trilogy is a captivating bundle that includes three enthralling books: Assassin’s Apprentice (book one), Royal Assassin (book two), and Assassin’s Quest (book three).

In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy becomes a walking enigma. Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, the son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals – the old art known as the Wit – gives him solace and companionship. However, the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, abhorred by the nobility.

When Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must relinquish his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners, and the secrets of killing as he trains to become a royal assassin.

Enter the extraordinary world of Robin Hobb’s magnificent Farseer Trilogy and embark on an unforgettable journey filled with magic, intrigue, and adventure.

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