List

Category
Audience

Minecraft: Zombies Return!

Nick Eliopulos

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the Overworld, the zombies have returned!

Bobbie is on a mission. She’s already survived one encounter with Logan, the zombie-herding jerk who attacked her village and turned her brother into a zombie. And now she won’t rest until she stops his evil plan to conquer the Overworld with his zombie horde. But the closer she gets to foiling Logan, the further away she gets from her original goal: finding a cure for her zombie brother.

Ben is on . . . babysitting duty. Separated from Bobbie, Ben is now in charge of caring for her zombie-fied little brother, Johnny, and keeping up with his Zombie Obedience Lessons. Lessons that are going well! Johnny doesn’t even need his leash anymore, and he hardly tries to eat people at all—unless they really, really deserve it. Logan’s abandoned lair is even starting to feel a little like home.

But while doing a little spring cleaning, Ben discovers Logan’s secret diary, filled with all his biggest plots, including his next target: a legendary hero named Pigstep Peggy. Now, it’s a race against time. Can Ben track down Bobbie and stop Logan before his zombies feast again? Can they win Peggy over to their cause? Will Johnny ever stop hungering for brains? 

Find out all this and more . . . as soon as you stop reading this summary and start reading Minecraft: Zombies Return!

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The Last Kids on Earth and the Monster Dimension

Max Brallier

The highly-anticipated ninth book in the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling series, with over ten million copies in print!

The last kids may have escaped the forbidden fortress by the skin of their teeth, but there isn't much to celebrate. Thrull has what he needs to complete the Tower, Rezzoch will most certainly come to Earth, and the world as they know it will cease to exist. Except Jack's Cosmic Hand is now even more powerful than he realized, and it might just be able to stop the inevitable from happening. To get the answers he seeks, he'll need to travel farther than he's ever been. He must go . . . to the monster dimension!

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Stacey's Mistake: A Graphic Novel (the Baby-Sitters Club #14)

Ann M. Martin

A Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adapted by National Book Award longlister and Eisner-nominated cartoonist Ellen T. Crenshaw!

 

Stacey is so excited! Her friends from The Baby-sitters Club are coming to New York City for a long weekend. It's going to be perfect -- a party and a sleepover on Friday night, a big baby-sitting job on Saturday, and lots of sightseeing throughout.

But it turns out that the baby-sitters are way out of place in the big city. Mary Anne sounds like a walking guidebook, Dawn is afraid of everything, Kristy can't keep her mouth shut, Claudia is jealous of Laine -- Stacey's New York best friend -- and Mallory and Jessi feel intimidated by Stacey's classmates. With ten kids to baby-sit and a full schedule of activities, how will Stacey keep the weekend from becoming a complete disaster?

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The Secret of the Ravens

Joanna Cacao

In this charming middle grade graphic novel, orphan twins Elliot and Liza find themselves taking on a series of mysterious raven quests in order to make money and survive--only for Liza to be mortally injured during one of their adventures. Now, Elliot must team up with a mysterious dark mage in order to save her.

Twin siblings Elliot and Liza only have each other. Their parents are gone. Their home was taken, and to survive on their own, they're forced to scrounge up plastic and metal to trade for coin within an abandoned garbage heap. Desperate to escape the vagabond cycle that they're trapped in, the answer to their plight seemingly appears when they stumble upon a Raven Quest--magical tasks offered by mysterious message-carrying ravens that when successfully completed, promise the victors coin and untold riches.

In a gamble to change their fates, Elliot and Liza follow the trail of Raven Quests to the kingdom's capital, where the greedy rulers of the Kawumiti Kingdom reign and young people are enlisted to train as royal mages for the kingdom's army. But the Ravens Quests aren't as they seem, and the King is on a mission to hunt down vagrant participants like the twins.

When a quest goes terribly wrong, Liza is poisoned, and Elliot finds himself racing against the clock to find the cure. Now the only way to save his sister is to join forces with a royal apprentice and a dark mage with mysterious motives of her own--even if it means sacrificing everything.

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Sweetness All Around

Suzanne Supplee

An indomitable heroine who believes she is destined to find her kidnapped neighbor leads this warm, big-hearted story with irresistible characters and a captivating mystery.

Almost-eleven-year-old Josephine is NOT pleased to be moving into the Happy World trailer park over the summer of 1974. She misses her beautiful bedroom with ballerinas on the wall and her pretty, well-dressed friends. Happy World isn’t happy. It’s dingy and depressing! Nothing like the world that headstrong Josephine wants for herself.

But when Josephine learns that her would-be next door neighbor in Happy World was kidnapped months ago, she develops a begrudging interest in her new home. A kidnapping is exciting—and all signs point to Josephine being meant to find ten-year-old Molly.

Despite her efforts to stay detached, Josephine investigates Molly’s disappearance with help from the eccentric cast of characters living in Happy World. It turns out the rough edges of her community are softer and sweeter than they first seemed. And the unexpected friendships she forms might be more precious than anything she's ever owned.

In her extraordinary middle grade debut, Suzanne Supplee brings a small Tennessee town and its memorable residents to life. Perfect for daydreamers and unstoppable imaginations. Hand this beautiful, bursting-with-feelings read to fans of Kate DiCamillo's Raymie Nightingale series.

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The Misfits #1: A Royal Conundrum

Lisa Yee

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • When a notorious thief is out for priceless treasure (gems! cats! general decorum!)—who're you gonna call? An elite team of crime-fighting underdogs, that's who! The Misfits are on the case in this hilarious illustrated series from Newbery Honoree Lisa Yee and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat!

“For any kid who’s felt like a misfit, this crackling adventure packs a wallop!” —Lincoln Peirce, creator of Big Nate and Max & the Midknights

Olive Cobin Zang has . . . issues. And they mostly aren’t her fault. (No, really!) Though she often slips under the radar, problems have a knack for finding her. So, imagine her doubts when she’s suddenly dropped off at the strangest boarding school ever: a former castle turned prison that's now a “reforming arts school”!

But nothing could’ve prepared Olive for RASCH (not “rash”). There, she’s lumped with a team of other kids who never quite fit in, and discovers that the academy isn’t what it seems—and neither is she. In fact, RASCH is a cover for an elite group of misfits who fight crime . . . and Olive has arrived just in time.

Turns out that RASCH is in danger of closing, unless Olive’s class can stop the heist of the century. And as Olive falls in love with this wacky school, she realizes it’s up to her new team to save the only home that’s ever welcomed them.

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The Girl Who Sang

Estelle Nadel

A heartrending graphic memoir about a young Jewish girl's fight for survival in Nazi occupied Poland, The Girl Who Sang illustrates the power of a brother's love, the kindness of strangers, and finding hope when facing the unimaginable.

Born to a Jewish family in a small Polish village, Estelle Nadel—then known as Enia Feld—was just seven years old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. Once a vibrant child with a song for every occasion, Estelle would eventually lose her voice as, over the next five years, she would survive the deaths of their mother, father, their eldest brother and sister, and countless others.

A child at the mercy of her neighbors during a terrifying time in history, The Girl Who Sang is an enthralling first-hand account of Estelle's fight for survival during World War II. She would weather loss, betrayal, near-execution, and spend two years away from the warmth of the sun—all before the age of eleven. And once the war was over, Estelle would walk barefoot across European borders and find remnants of home in an Austrian displaced persons camp before finally crossing the Atlantic to arrive in New York City—a young woman carrying the unseen scars of war.

Beautifully rendered in bright hues with expressive, emotional characters, debut illustrator Sammy Savos masterfully brings Estelle story of survival during the Holocaust to a whole new generation of readers. The Girl Who Sang is perfect for fans of March, Maus, and Anne Frank's Diary.

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Cursed Princess Club Volume Three

LambCat

Just because you’re cursed doesn’t mean you’re not special.

Gwendolyn, the youngest of the king’s three daughters, is living proof that princesses don’t always have it all. She isn’t like a typical fairy-tale princess, or other princesses in the Pastel Kingdom. Gwendolyn, with her big heart and love of baking, isn’t particularly attractive. Unlike her sisters who have woodland creatures do their hair and makeup, or have flowers blossom wherever they sleep, Gwendolyn is a bit . . . different.

When her father proposes marriage for her and her sisters to make an alliance with the Plaid Kingdom, it breaks Gwendolyn’s heart to hear that Prince Frederick thinks she’s “really ugly.” Overwhelmed and ashamed, she runs away into the forest and encounters the twisted world of the Cursed Princess Club, where her life will never be the same.

The Cursed Princess Club are a ragtag band of outcasts, misfits and cursed princesses who have created an incredible friendship circle. It is among these friends where Gwendolyn learns to embrace her uniqueness and find her people.

In this third book of the series, collecting episodes 62-77 of the hit WEBTOON series, Gwen sits for her portrait painting, we realize Frederick is more complicated than we thought as his feelings for Gwen evolve, and we meet the mysterious Whitney of the Monochrome Kingdom, who is more than meets the eye!.

This volume includes 4 bonus shorts with irreverent retellings of classic fairytales!

Bonus 1 - Maria and Blaine in . . . Little Red Riding Hood
Bonus 2 - Lorena and Lance in . . . Jack and the Beanstalk
Bonus 3 - Gwendolyn and Frederick in . . . Hansel and Gretel
Bonus 4 - Frederick’s Favorite Story (The Man in the Hole and the Angel)

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Ghost Roast

Shawneé Gibbs

Ghost Roast delivers a paranormal adventure full of first crushes, lost histories, and the impossible task of fitting in when your dad is a professional ghosthunter. A stand-alone YA graphic novel from authors Shawneé and Shawnelle Gibbs and artist Emily Cannon!

For as long as she can remember, Chelsea Grant has tried everything she can think of to distance herself from the disastrous damage her father does to her social life. It's not easy to shake her reputation as Ghost Girl when Dad keeps advertising his business as a "paranormal removal expert" in big, bold, loud letters all over New Orleans!

This year, Chelsea's all grown up, attending one of the most prestigious high schools in the city, and she's finally made friends with the popular crowd. Things are looking up--until a night on the town backfires spectacularly, landing her in hot water at home. Her punishment? Working for her dad at Paranormal Removal Services. All. Summer.

Worst of all, her new job reveals an unexpected secret she has to keep: While Dad hunts ghosts with his own DIY tech, Chelsea can actually see them. And when she meets Oliver, a friendly spirit, at the fancy mansion her dad is getting a handsome fee to exorcize, she realizes she has to save his after-life, even if it risks everything her father's worked for.

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Make Me a Liar

Melissa Landers

Veronica Mars gets a fantastical twist in this novel about a girl with a transferrable consciousness, who uses her power for good, only to have it turned on her when someone uses her body to commit murder. Now she must solve the crime before the killer comes after her.

Caught red handed... for a crime she didn't commit.

It's an open secret at Harvey Davis High School that Tia Dante can solve all your problems (for a fee, of course). As one of the few blessed with the genetic gift of transferable consciousness, she can slip inside your mind and do your dirty work--humiliate your cheating boyfriend, bring a bully to his knees, tell your boss where to stick it--and then return your body with no one the wiser. No task is too awkward, and unlike the competition, she takes care of business without peeking at your goods. Her rules are simple: pay in full, don't report her side hustle to the government, and let her gorge on all the foods that would otherwise send her and her weak stomach fleeing to the nearest bathroom.

Everything is going smoothly during a routine job, until Tia catches a breaking news broadcast: live video coverage of her (body) murdering the town prosecutor in cold blood. With the crime caught on camera and no concrete alibi, Tia is forced to ask her infuriatingly gorgeous ex to help clear her name and bring the criminal who hijacked her unconscious body to justice. But they quickly find the heat is on, in more ways than one, as their investigation unearths multiple scandals, massive corruption, and more than a few stray bullets.

With a cliff-hanger at the end of every chapter, Melissa Landers weaves an unputdownable mystery that will have everyone talking.

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Social Media Survival Guide

Holly Bathie

Empower your kids to stay safe online with this fun, comprehensive guide for kids aged 11+.

Packed with entertaining illustrations alongside practical information, the Social Media Survival Guide answers questions about all aspects of social media - the good AND the bad - making it a must-have tool for young people (and parents) to help navigate the online world safely and confidently and learn the best approaches to taking care of themselves.

Content includes:
- In-depth coverage of a range of important a difficult issues young people face including: body image, appearance-enhancing filters, influencers, sexual content and mental health
- Uses recognisable themes rather than platform specifics, making the content relevant long-term
- Tips on how to set up accounts safely and best manage privacy and messaging settings
- Addressing your persona, online reputation, and relationships
- Understanding fake news and information
- How to handle online bullying, as well as avoiding trolls
- Also includes links to professionally approved websites with more advice and support
- Expert advice from children's online charity, Childnet International

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Nightshade Revenge

Anthony Horowitz

Alex Rider is now an IMDb TV/Amazon Original series!

From internationally bestselling author Anthony Horowitz comes the fourteenth thrilling installment of the Alex Rider series! Follow the world's greatest teen spy as he sets off to California to battle Nightshade once again--this time, for good.


When Alex Rider thwarted the plans of the criminal organization Nightshade, he knew he'd made a new, blatantly evil enemy. But he hadn't expected to get sucked back into the spy game so quickly--that is, until the Nightshade masterminds kidnap his best friend, forcing Alex to do their bidding if he ever wants to see his pal alive again.

As Alex dives deep into this latest mission, his friend isn't the only one whose life is on the line. Nightshade has entered the world of virtual reality gaming, and the lines between what's real and what's digital are being blurred everywhere. With a ruthless enemy fighting dirty and not caring who gets hurt along the way, the stakes have never been higher--and this time, it's personal.

The #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling Alex Rider series is back with a vengeance in this edge-of-your-seat adventure. Perfect for fans of James Bond and Jason Bourne!

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Seven Minutes in Candyland

Brian Wasson

"A debut with razor-sharp wit and irresistible charm. Get ready to be swept off your feet by this heart-stopping rom-com that will have you falling head over heels with Wasson's fresh voice." --Kim Johnson, author of This Is My America

This multilayered YA rom-com about follows Kalvin, a guy navigating his parents' impending separation, racial dynamics in his mostly white high school, and a side hustle as a relationship therapist who also sells candy to his patients in need...one of whom is his crush.

Sophomore Kalvin Shmelton has finally perfected his underground candy-selling hustle at school. He keeps his prices reasonable, his inventory fresh, and himself out of the drama. But when a heartbroken Sterling Glistern--Kal's longtime crush--barges into the storage closet where he keeps his candy supply, a new source of income unexpectedly presents itself: relationship therapist. He only meant to help Sterling realize she's dating a jerk--and maybe win her over--but news spreads fast that Kalvin's not just the master of sweets...but hearts, too! And as the son of two famous therapists, he leans into this newfound reputation and the money that comes with it.

The truth, however, is that Kalvin's parents' "perfect" marriage is crumbling. He was supposed to woo the girl of his dreams, fix his parents' relationship, and lend a listening ear to a school full of heartbroken teens. But a jealous boyfriend, a vengeful competitor, and Kalvin's own growing ego threaten those plans, forcing Kal to rethink all he thought he knew about friendship, family, and love.

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Tagging Freedom

Rhonda Roumani

Out of the revolutions across the Arab world comes this inspirational story of hope, freedom, and belonging, perfect for fans of Other Words for Home and A Good Kind of Trouble.



Kareem Haddad of Damascus, Syria, never dreamed of becoming a graffiti artist. But when a group of boys from another town tag subversive slogans outside their school, and another boy is killed while in custody, Kareem and his friends are inspired to start secretly tag messages of freedom around their city.



Meanwhile, in the United States, his cousin, Samira, has been trying to make her own mark. Anxious to fit in at school, she joins the Spirit Squad where her natural artistic ability attracts the attention of the popular leader. Then Kareem is sent to live with Sam's family, and their worlds collide. As graffitied messages appear around town and all eyes turn to Kareem, Sam must make a choice: does she shy away to protect her new social status, or does she stand with her cousin?



Informed by her time as a journalist, author Rhonda Roumani's Tagging Freedom is a thoughtful look at the intersection between art and activism, infused with rich details and a realistic portrayal of how war affects and inspires children, similar to middle grade books for middle schoolers by Aisha Saeed, The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandi, or Refugee by Alan Gratz.
 

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Here, and Only Here

Christelle Dabos

The new novel from the million-copy bestselling author of The Mirror Visitor Quartet

 

Welcome to the School of Here, an unsettling and peculiar place that is nonetheless familiar to us all. A place full of codes and unspoken rules that are passed down from year to year.

 

 

At Here, society is highly stratified, the pairs, friend groups, and outcasts are all ruled by a godlike prince. This year--as all other years--things are not at all as they seem. A self-effacing first-year student vanishes into thin air. A persecuted outsider delivers himself into permanent exile. A tyrannical upperclassman meets his match. A newly-minted prophetess tests her powers. And, behind the scenes, a cabal of students conducts a top-secret investigation into the unexplained phenomenon at the heart of it all. Back to school season marks the start of a time-honored cycle of revolution and rebirth in which each must play their part.

 

 

With Here, and Only Here, Christelle Dabos - author of the international sensation The Mirror Visitor Quartet - gives readers an intriguing and penetrating novel that explores the difficulties of fitting in and the private, individual choices that make up the sometimes abhorrent, always unpredictable Collective.

 

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The Women

Kristin Hannah

From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

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Redwood Court

DéLana R. A. Dameron

A Reese's Book Club Pick!

A “nuanced, brilliant” (Essence) debut about one unforgettable Southern Black family and its youngest daughter’s coming of age in the 1990s.

“A triumph . . . Redwood Court is storytelling at its best: tender, vivid, and richly complicated.”—Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times bestselling author of Red at the Bone


“Mika, you sit at our feet all these hours and days, hearing us tell our tales. You have all these stories inside you: all the stories everyone in our family knows and all the stories everyone in our family tells. You write ’em in your books and show everyone who we are.”

So begins award-winning poet DéLana R. A. Dameron’s debut novel, Redwood Court. The baby of the family, Mika Tabor spends much of her time in the care of loved ones, listening to their stories and witnessing their struggles. On Redwood Court, the cul-de-sac in the all-Black working-class suburb of Columbia, South Carolina, where her grandparents live, Mika learns important lessons from the people who raise her: her exhausted parents, who work long hours at multiple jobs while still making sure their kids experience the adventure of family vacations; her older sister, who in a house filled with Motown would rather listen to Alanis Morrisette; her retired grandparents, children of Jim Crow, who realized their own vision of success when they bought their house on the Court in the 1960s, imagining it filled with future generations; and the many neighbors who hold tight to the community they’ve built, committed to fostering joy and love in an America so insistent on seeing Black people stumble and fall.

With visceral clarity and powerful prose, Dameron reveals the devastation of being made to feel invisible and the transformative power of being seen. Redwood Court is a celebration of extraordinary, ordinary people striving to achieve their own American dreams.

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A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

Tia Williams

In this enchanting love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician are irreversibly linked through the history, art, and magic of Harlem.



Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing.



Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn't one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she's the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they're long-stemmed roses, she's a dandelion: an adorable bloom that's actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her.



When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers.



One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.



Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.

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The Teacher

Freida McFadden

"Superb...[The Teacher] rivets." Publishers Weekly, starred review

A mind-bending, psychological thriller from Freida McFadden, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Housemaid!

Lesson #1: trust no one

Eve has a good life. She gets up each day, gets a kiss from her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except...

Last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, with one student, Addie, at its center. But Eve knows there is far more to these ugly rumors than meets the eye.

Addie can't be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that's what everyone says.

But nobody knows the real Addie. Nobody knows the secrets that could destroy her. And Addie will do anything to keep it quiet.

From the New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes a story of twisting secrets and long-awaited revenge.

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The Year of the Locust

Terry Hayes

Terry Hayes, author of the #1 global bestseller I Am Pilgrim, returns with a terrifying and eagerly awaited new thriller.

If, like Kane, you’re a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA, then boundaries have no meaning. Your function is to go in, do whatever is required, and get out again—by whatever means necessary. You know when to run, when to hide—and when to shoot.

But some places don’t play by the rules. Some places are too dangerous, even for a man of Kane’s experience. The badlands where the borders of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan meet are such a place—a place where violence is the only way to survive.

Kane travels there to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West—but instead he meets an adversary who will take the world to the brink of extinction. A frightening, clever, vicious man with blood on his hands and vengeance in his heart...

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Fourteen Days

The Authors Guild

Set in a Lower East Side tenement in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Fourteen Days is an irresistibly propulsive collaborative novel from the Authors Guild, with an unusual twist: each character in this diverse, eccentric cast of New York neighbors has been secretly written by a different, major literary voice--from Margaret Atwood and Celeste Ng to Tommy Orange and John Grisham.

One week into the COVID-19 shutdown, tenants of a Lower East Side apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop and tell stories. With each passing night, more and more neighbors gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants--some of whom have barely spoken to each other--become real neighbors. In this Decameron-like serial novel, general editors Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston and a star-studded list of contributors create a beautiful ode to the people who couldn't escape when the pandemic hit. A dazzling, heartwarming, and ultimately surprising narrative, Fourteen Days reveals how beneath the horrible loss and suffering, some communities managed to become stronger.

Includes writing from: Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Joseph Cassara, Jennine Capó Crucet, Angie Cruz, Pat Cummings, Sylvia Day, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Maria Hinojosa, Mira Jacob, Erica Jong, CJ Lyons, Celeste Ng, Tommy Orange, Mary Pope Osborne, Douglas Preston, Alice Randall, Ishmael Reed, Roxana Robinson, Nelly Rosario, James Shapiro, Hampton Sides, R.L. Stine, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Monique Truong, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rachel Vail, Weike Wang, Caroline Randall Williams, De'Shawn Charles Winslow, and Meg Wolitzer!

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Bride

Ali Hazelwood

#1 Indie Next Pick!
A Hall of Fame LibraryReads pick!

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis.


Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

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The Ghost Orchid

Jonathan Kellerman

Psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis confront a baffling, vicious double homicide that leads them to long-buried secrets worth killing for in the riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling “master of suspense” (Los Angeles Times).

LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis sees it all the time: Reinvention’s a way of life in a city fueled by fantasy. But try as you might to erase the person you once were, there are those who will never forget the past . . . and who can still find you.

A pool boy enters a secluded Bel Air property and discovers two bodies floating in the bright blue water: Gio Aggiunta, the playboy heir to an Italian shoe empire, and a gorgeous, even wealthier neighbor named Meagin March. A married neighbor.

An illicit affair stoking rage is a perfect motive. But a “double” in this neighborhood of gated estates isn’t something you see every day. The house is untouched. No forced entry, no forensic evidence. The case has “that feeling,” and when that happens, Milo turns to his friend, the brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware.

As Milo and Alex investigate both victims, they discover two troubled pasts. And as they dig deeper, Meagin March’s very identity begins to blur. Who was this glamorous but conflicted woman? Did her past catch up to her? Or did Gio’s family connections create a threat spanning two continents?

Chasing down the answers leads Alex and Milo on an exploration of L.A.’s darkest side as they contend with one of the most shocking cases of their careers and learn that that some secrets are best left buried in the past.

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Come and Get It

Kiley Reid

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick

An Indie Next Pick
A LibraryReads Pick

From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students.


It's 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the chance. But Millie's starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardized by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue.

A fresh and intimate portrait of desire, consumption, and reckless abandon, Come and Get It is a tension-filled story about money, indiscretion, and bad behavior—and the highly anticipated new novel by acclaimed and award-winning author Kiley Reid.

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House of Flame and Shadow

Sarah J. Maas

The stunning third book in the sexy, action-packed Crescent City series, following the global bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath.

Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she's going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that's no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.

Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he's in the Asteri's dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce's fate. He's desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri's leash, his hands are quite literally tied.

In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt's world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.

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Good Material

Dolly Alderton

A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK • From the New York Times best-selling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love: a story of heartbreak and friendship and how to survive both

“One of the foremost ‘it’ writers of our time . . . Whatever ails you, Alderton can fix it with her intimate wisdom . . . There is no writer quite like Dolly Alderton working today."
—Lisa Taddeo, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Three Women


Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy. And he can't work out why she stopped.

Now he is. . .

Without a home

Waiting for his stand-up career to take off

Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn't looking

Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of his ruined relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him. But Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend's side of the story…

In this sharply funny and exquisitely relatable story of romantic disaster and friendship, Dolly Alderton offers up a love story with two endings, demonstrating once again why she is one of the most exciting writers today, and the true voice of a generation.

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Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

Benjamin Stevenson

For fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz, a fiendishly fun locked room murder mystery from the author of the indie darling Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone --this time set on a train full of mystery writers, agents, editors, and fans.

Ernest Cunningham returns in a deliciously witty locked room (train) mystery.

When the Australian Mystery Writers' Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn't pan out.

The program is a who's who of crime writing royalty:

the debut writer (me!)

the forensic science writer

the blockbuster writer

the legal thriller writer

the literary writer

the psychological suspense writer

But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime.

Of course, we should also know how to commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

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Hard by a Great Forest

Leo Vardiashvili

NAMED ONE OF THE OBSERVER’S 10 BEST NEW NOVELISTS FOR 2024

"This novel annihilated me.... Left my heart bruised and battered and aching for more." —Khaled Hosseini, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kite Runner

“Tender and raw and funny.” —Colum McCann, National Book Award winning author of Let the Great World Spin

"Propulsive, funny, and profound."—Elif Batuman, Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of The Idiot

“A book like no other, from an imagination like no other.” —Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Less Is Lost

Amid rubble and rebuilding in a former Soviet land, one family must rescue one another and put the past to rest: a stirring novel about what happens after the fighting is over


Saba is just a child when he flees the fighting in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia with his older brother, Sandro, and father, Irakli, for asylum in England. Two decades later, all three men are struggling to make peace with the past, haunted by the places and people they left behind.

When Irakli decides to return to Georgia, pulled back by memories of a lost wife and a decaying but still beautiful homeland, Saba and Sandro wait eagerly for news. But within weeks of his arrival, Irakli disappears, and the final message they receive from him causes a mystery to unfold before them: “I left a trail I can’t erase. Do not follow it.”

In a journey that will lead him to the very heart of a conflict that has marred generations and fractured his own family, Saba must retrace his father’s footsteps to discover what remains of their homeland and its people. By turns savage and tender, compassionate and harrowing, Hard by a Great Forest is a powerful and ultimately hopeful novel about the individual and collective trauma of war, and the indomitable spirit of a people determined not only to survive, but to remember those who did not.

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I Did a New Thing

Tabitha Brown

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Feeding the Soul (Because It's My Business) presents an inspirational guide for encouraging positive changes in your life--one day and one challenge at a time.

I did a new thing today!

Years ago, Tabitha Brown started a 30-day personal challenge that she called "I Did a New Thing!" The challenge was simple. Every day she would do something she'd never done before. Sometimes it was something small like trying a new food. Other times, she'd step it up a bit and speak to someone she'd never spoken to before. Still other times, she'd do the hard thing--facing a fear that she had, like having that tough conversation with a friend. No matter what it was, the point was that she was going to take a leap of faith and watch God open up a new lane for her.

One of the "new things" she tried was a vegan challenge. She'd been struggling with illness for nearly a year and was desperately searching for healing. She challenged herself to eat vegan every day for thirty days, and six years later, her life has never been the same--all because she decided to do a new thing.

In I Did a New Thing, Tab shares her own stories and those of others, alongside gentle guidance and encouragement to create these incredible changes for yourself and see what good can come from them. Whether that means having the hard conversation or trying for a promotion or simply wearing something different or doing something kind for someone else, Tab has a plan for you: Try one new thing, every single day, for thirty days. You don't have to wait until Monday or the beginning of a new month or year to get started. There's no set time and place or any extra preparation required. All you have to do is show up for yourself. And that can start right now.

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The Excitements

C. J. Wray

"Irresistible...Filled with surprise, poignancy, and excitement, this is a surefire winner." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A brilliant and witty drama about two brave female World War II veterans who survived the unthinkable without ever losing their killer instinct...or their joie de vivre.

Meet the Williamson sisters, Britain's most treasured World War II veterans. Now in their late nineties, Josephine and Penny are in huge demand, popping up at commemorative events and history festivals all over the country. Despite their age, they're still in great form--perfectly put together, sprightly and sparky, and always in search of their next "excitement."

This time it's a trip to Paris to receive the Légion d'honneur for their part in the liberation of France. And as always, they will be accompanied by their devoted great-nephew, Archie.

Keen historian Archie has always been given to understand that his great aunts had relatively minor roles in the Women's Royal Navy and the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, but that's only half the story. Both sisters are hiding far more than the usual "official secrets". There's a reason sweet Auntie Penny can dispatch a would-be mugger with an umbrella.

This trip to Paris is not what it seems either. Scandal and crime have always quietly trailed the Williamson sisters, even in the decades after the war. Now armed with new information about an old adversary, these much decorated (but admittedly ancient) veterans variously intend to settle scores, avenge lost friends, and pull off one last, daring heist before the curtain finally comes down on their illustrious careers.

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Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame

Olivia Ford

“One of those books you just want to hug to your chest. I loved it so much.”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of While We Were Dating

A huge-hearted, redemptive coming-of-old-age tale, a love story, and an ode to good food


Nothing could be more out of character, but after fifty-nine years of marriage, as her husband Bernard’s health declines, and her friends' lives become focused on their grandchildren—which Jenny never had—Jenny decides she wants a little something for herself. So she secretly applies to be a contestant on the prime-time TV show Britain Bakes.

Whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras and timed challenges, Jenny delights in a new-found independence. But that independence, and the stress of the competition, starts to unearth memories buried decades ago. Chocolate teacakes remind her of a furtive errand involving a wedding ring; sugared doughnuts call up a stranger’s kind act; a simple cottage loaf brings back the moment her life changed forever.

With her baking star rising, Jenny struggles to keep a lid on that first secret—a long-concealed deceit that threatens to shatter the very foundations of her marriage. It’s the only time in six decades that she’s kept something from Bernard. By putting herself in the limelight, has Jenny created a recipe for disaster?

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Random in Death

J. D. Robb

In this crime thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling J.D. Robb, a small and easily concealed weapon wreaks havoc, and the killer is just a face in the crowd.

Jenna’s parents had finally given in, and there she was, at a New York club with her best friends, watching the legendary band Avenue A, carrying her demo in hopes of slipping it to the guitarist, Jake Kincade. Then, from the stage, Jake catches her eye, and smiles. It’s the best night of her life.
It’s the last night of her life.

Minutes later, Jake’s in the alley getting some fresh air, and the girl from the dance floor comes stumbling out, sick and confused and deathly pale. He tries to help, but it’s no use. He doesn’t know that someone in the crowd has jabbed her with a needle—and when his girlfriend Nadine arrives, she knows the only thing left to do for the girl is call her friend, Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

After everyone on the scene is interviewed, lab results show a toxic mix of substances in the victim’s body—and for an extra touch of viciousness, the needle was teeming with infectious agents. Dallas searches for a pattern: Had any boys been harassing Jenna? Was she engaging in risky behavior or caught up in something shady? But there are no obvious clues why this levelheaded sixteen-year-old, passionate about her music, would be targeted.

And that worries Dallas. Because if Jenna wasn’t targeted, if she was just the random, unlucky victim of a madman consumed by hatred, there are likely more deaths to come.

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Family Family

Laurie Frankel

​“Not all stories of adoption are stories of pain and regret. Not even most of them. Why don’t we ever get that movie?”

India Allwood grew up wanting to be an actor. Armed with a stack of index cards (for research/line memorization/make-shift confetti), she goes from awkward sixteen-year-old to Broadway ingenue to TV superhero.

Her new movie is a prestige picture about adoption, but its spin is the same old tired story of tragedy. India is an adoptive mom in real life though. She wants everyone to know there’s more to her family than pain and regret. So she does something you should never do — she tells a journalist the truth: it’s a bad movie.

Soon she’s at the center of a media storm, battling accusations from the press and the paparazzi, from protesters on the right and advocates on the left. Her twin ten-year-olds know they need help – and who better to call than family? But that’s where it gets really messy because India’s not just an adoptive mother...

The one thing she knows for sure is what makes a family isn’t blood. And it isn’t love. No matter how they’re formed, the truth about family is this: it's complicated.

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The Bullet Swallower

Elizabeth Gonzalez James

A dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez, The Bullet Swallower follows a Mexican bandido as he sets off for Texas to save his family, only to encounter a mysterious figure who has come, finally, to collect a cosmic debt generations in the making.

In 1895, Antonio Sonoro is the latest in a long line of ruthless men. He’s good with his gun and is drawn to trouble but he’s also out of money and out of options. A drought has ravaged the town of Dorado, Mexico, where he lives with his wife and children, and so when he hears about a train laden with gold and other treasures, he sets off for Houston to rob it—with his younger brother Hugo in tow. But when the heist goes awry and Hugo is killed by the Texas Rangers, Antonio finds himself launched into a quest for revenge that endangers not only his life and his family, but his eternal soul.

In 1964, Jaime Sonoro is Mexico’s most renowned actor and singer. But his comfortable life is disrupted when he discovers a book that purports to tell the entire history of his family beginning with Cain and Abel. In its ancient pages, Jaime learns about the multitude of horrific crimes committed by his ancestors. And when the same mysterious figure from Antonio’s timeline shows up in Mexico City, Jaime realizes that he may be the one who has to pay for his ancestors’ crimes, unless he can discover the true story of his grandfather Antonio, the legendary bandido El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower.

A family saga that’s epic in scope and magical in its blood, and based loosely on the author’s own great-grandfather, The Bullet Swallower tackles border politics, intergenerational trauma, and the legacies of racism and colonialism in a lush setting and stunning prose that asks who pays for the sins of our ancestors, and whether it is possible to be better than our forebears.

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Dead Man's Hand

Brad Taylor

New York Times bestselling author and former special forces officer Brad Taylor is back with a propulsive and topical edge-of-your-seat thriller featuring Pike Logan as he goes head-to-head with Putin's henchmen.

To finally end the war between their nations, a rogue band of Ukranian partisans known as the Wolves teams up with members of Russia's military intelligence to assassinate Vladimir Putin.

But Putin is aware of the traitors in his midst and assigns the loyal commander of the Russian National Guard to root them out. It's a mission Victor Petrov is expected to undertake after he prevents Sweden from joining NATO--by assassinating a deputy minister of foreign affairs.

After receiving intelligence about the threat in Sweden, the United States sends Pike Logan to identify Petrov's target--only for him to get caught in the crossfire between Putin's agents and the Wolves. When the smoke clears, Pike makes no effort to stop the Wolves on their ultimate mission, believing it just, until he discovers that their operation has unimaginable consequences.

For Putin is preparing a devastating endgame: activating the Dead Man's Hand nuclear response that will launch Russia's missiles in the event of his death. . .

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Diva

Daisy Goodwin

New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.

When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she’d found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

In this remarkable novel, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice and went on to triumph.

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The Friendship Club

Robyn Carr

A brand-new novel from the #1 bestselling author of VIRGIN RIVER

Four women come together at a tumultuous time in their lives, forging an unbreakable bond that will leave them all forever changed.

Celebrity cooking show host Marni McGuire has seen it all. She's been married--twice--and widowed and divorced. Now in her midfifties, she's single. Happily so. She just needs to convince her pregnant daughter, Bella, of this fact. And maybe convince herself, too. Especially after Marni's efforts to humor her determined daughter result in a series of disastrous dates that somehow prompt Marni to wonder if maybe the right man for her is still out there after all.

Similarly single, Marni's best friend and colleague is confident she's content without a man, but both older women soon find themselves leading by example as the young intern on their show appears caught in a toxic relationship--and Bella reveals her own marriage maybe isn't built to withstand the stresses of the baby on the way.

Suddenly, all four women find themselves at a crossroads, each navigating the challenges of dating, marriage, loneliness and love. Thankfully, they have each other to lean on. The realities of modern love are far from easy, but there's no better group to have in your corner than friends who will lift you up, no matter what, and hold fast in the face of any storm.

Don't miss these other great summer beach reads from Robyn Carr
 

  • A Family Affair
  • Sunrise On Half Moon Bay
  • The View From Alameda Island
  • The Summer That Made Us
  • Never Too Late

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels

Janice Hallett

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

“The queen of found footage thrillers.” —Julia Bartz, New York Times bestselling author

A whip-smart and “fast-paced mystery” (The Daily Telegraph, London) from the internationally bestselling author of The Twyford Code and The Appeal about a true crime journalist who revives a long-buried case about a cult—and finds herself too close to the story.

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. When the girl came to her senses and called the police, the Angels committed suicide and mother and baby disappeared.

Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby’s trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realize that the truth about the Angels is much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined, and in pursuit of the story they risk becoming part of it.

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The Clinic

Cate Quinn

From the critically acclaimed author of Black Widows comes a thriller set in a remote rehab clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, in which the death of a woman inside prompts her sister to enter the clinic as a patient in order to find the truth. Perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Tarryn Fisher!

Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.

There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can't believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself - to investigate what really happened from the inside.

Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family - and anyone who could help her.

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The Missing Witness

Allison Brennan

"This latest installment will likely satisfy Quinn and Costa's loyal followers and attract those curious about the interplay between public policy, law enforcement, and politics." --Booklist


When a key witness goes missing, Quinn & Costa must find her before a killer silences her for good...



Detective Kara Quinn is back in Los Angeles to testify against a notorious human trafficker, finally moving past the case that upended her life. But when the accused is shot in broad daylight, the chaotic scene of the crime turns up few reliable bystanders. And one witness--a whistleblower who might be the key to everything--has disappeared.


After another person close to the case is killed, it's clear that anyone who knows too much is in danger, and tracking down the witness becomes a matter of life-and-death. But as explosive secrets surface within the LAPD and FBI, Kara questions everything she thought she knew about the case, her colleagues and the life she left behind months ago.


Now with FBI special agent Matt Costa's help, she must race to find the missing witness and get to the bottom of the avalanche of conspiracies that has rocked LA to its core...before it's too late.


A Quinn & Costa Thriller


Book 1: The Third to Die

Book 2: Tell No Lies

Book 3: The Wrong Victim

Book 4: Seven Girls Gone

Book 5: The Missing Witness

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The Fury

Alex Michaelides

A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder — from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind...and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

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Only If You're Lucky

Stacy Willingham

A sharp and twisty exploration of female friendship from the New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things.

Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can't say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It's a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she's been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered... and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.

From the author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things comes a tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

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Where You End

Abbott Kahler

“A perfectly paced, addictive thriller with a vicious twist.” —Paula Hawkins

From bestselling nonfiction author Abbott Kahler comes a spellbinding fiction debut: an unusual form of amnesia upends the lives of identical twins, forcing them to face the indelible, dangerous shadow of the past.


When Kat Bird wakes up from a coma, she sees her mirror image: Jude, her twin sister. Jude’s face and name are the only memories Kat has from before her accident. As Kat tries to make sense of things, she believes Jude will provide all the answers to her most pressing questions:

Who am I?
Where am I?
What actually happened?

Amid this tragedy, Jude sees an irresistible opportunity: she can give her sister a brand-new past, one worlds away from the lives they actually led. She spins tales of an idyllic childhood, exotic travels, and a bright future.

But if everything was so perfect, who are the mysterious people following Kat? And what explains her uncontrollable flashes of violent anger, which begin to jeopardize a sweet new romance?

Duped by the one person she trusted, Kat must try to untangle fact from fiction. Yet as she pulls at the threads of Jude’s elaborate tapestry, she has no idea of the catastrophe she’s inviting. At stake is not just the twins’ relationship, but their very survival.

Intensely creepy and beautifully written, Abbott Kahler’s Where You End is an unforgettable tale of intrigue, revenge, and the quest for redemption.

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Beautyland

Marie-Helene Bertino

A Must Read: Nylon, The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Review of Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, Kirkus Reviews, BookRiot

A wise, tender novel about a woman who doesn't feel at home on Earth, by the acclaimed author of Parakeet.

At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno is tiny and jaundiced, but she reaches for warmth and light. As a child, she recognizes that she is different: She possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives, beings who have sent her to report on the oddities of Earthlings.

For years, as she moves through the world and makes a life for herself among humans, she dispatches transmissions on the terrors and surprising joys of their existence. Then, at a precarious moment, a beloved friend urges Adina to share her messages with the world. Is there a chance she is not alone?

Marie-Helene Bertino’s Beautyland is a novel of startling originality about the fragility and resilience of life on our Earth and in our universe. It is a remarkable evocation of the feeling of being in exile at home, and it introduces a gentle, unforgettable alien for our times.

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The Parliament

Aimee Pokwatka

The Birds meets The Princess Bride in this tale of friendship, responsibility, and the primal force of nature.

“Murder owls are extreme,” Jude said. “What’s more extreme than murder owls?”

Madigan Purdy is stuck in her home town library.

When tens of thousands of owls descend on the building, rending and tearing at anyone foolish enough to step outside, Mad is tasked with keeping her students safe, and distracted, while they seek a solution to their dilemma.

Perhaps they’ll find the inspiration they seek in her favorite childhood book, The Silent Queen....

With food and fresh water in low supply, the denizens of the library will have to find a way out, and soon, but the owls don’t seem to be in a hurry to leave...

The Parliament is a story of grief and missed opportunities, but also of courage and hope.

And of extremely sharp beaks.

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The Bright Spot

Jill Shalvis

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis returns to Sunrise Cove with a heartwarming story about the choices we make and the love we let into our lives...

Luna Wright is a lot of things, but sweet and trusting isn't on the list. However, she's a sucker for the underdog and a hard-luck story. Adopted at birth, with scant knowledge of her biological family, she's created her own inner circle, a motley crew which includes her bestie Willow, to help her run the struggling but charming Apple Ridge Farm.

With a farm-to-table café as well as a menagerie of rescued animals (complete with a baby goat who keeps escaping to the pantry to eat the secret stash of decidedly not organic potato chips), it's the best home she's ever known. But when the owner Silas, who they secretly call The Grinch, passes away, Luna discovers the farm is now under control of his investment manager, the enigmatic Jameson Hayes....and her. And that Silas had many, many secrets.

Now Luna's carefully controlled corner of the world is threatened and she--along with some help from her friends--has to dig deep to find true strength and the real meaning of love and family.

 

 

 

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The Curse of Pietro Houdini

Derek B Miller

From the Dagger Award–winning author of Norwegian by Night comes a vivid, thrilling, and moving World War II art-heist-adventure tale where enemies become heroes, allies become villains, and a child learns what it means to become an adult—for fans of All the Light We Cannot See.

August, 1943. Fourteen-year-old Massimo is all alone. Newly orphaned and fleeing from Rome after surviving the American bombing raid that killed his parents, Massimo is attacked by thugs and finds himself bloodied at the base of the Montecassino. It is there in the Benedictine abbey’s shadow that a charismatic and cryptic man calling himself Pietro Houdini, the self-proclaimed “Master Artist and confidante of the Vatican,” rescues Massimo and brings him up the mountain to serve as his assistant in preserving the treasures that lay within the monastery walls.

But can Massimo believe what Pietro is saying, particularly when Massimo has secrets too? Who is this extraordinary man? When it becomes evident that Montecassino will soon become the front line in the war, Pietro Houdini and Massimo execute a plan to smuggle three priceless Titian paintings to safety down the mountain. They are joined by a nurse concealing a nefarious past, a café owner turned murderer, a wounded but chipper German soldier, and a pair of lovers along with their injured mule, Ferrari. Together they will lie, cheat, steal, fight, kill, and sin their way through battlefields to survive, all while smuggling the Renaissance masterpieces and the bag full of ancient Greek gold they have rescued from the “safe keeping” of the Germans.

Heartfelt, powerfully engaging, and in the tradition of City of Thieves by David Benioff, The Curse of Pietro Houdini is a work of storytelling bravado: a thrilling action-packed adventure heist, an imaginative chronicle of forgotten history, and a philosophical coming-of-age epic where a child navigates one of the most enigmatic and morally complex fronts of World War II and lives to tell the tale.

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True North

Andrew J. Graff

From the author of Raft of Stars comes a heartfelt novel of marriage and whitewater rafting, following one couple as they navigate the changing currents of family, community, and the river itself.

As the summer of 1993 begins, Sam and Swami Brecht roll into town with a twenty-six-foot Winnebago camper van, their three young kids, and the deed to Woodchuck Rafting Company. Sam and Swami met as young, adventurous river guides but, a decade later, find themselves weighed down by money worries and the demands of adulthood. The town of Thunderwater, in Wisconsin's Northwoods, could be the fresh start their marriage needs. But Woodchuck, once the property of Sam's eccentric uncle, has seen better days and will need a serious overhaul if it is going to stand a chance at survival.

Soon Sam and Swami learn they are not the only ones looking for change and profit on the river. A competing rafting outfit, clashing raft guides, stubborn townsfolk, and an exploratory mining company begin to threaten their tenuous livelihood. Then nature intervenes, in the form of historic floods throughout the Midwest. Amid tumultuous currents both on and off the river, Sam and Swami struggle to maintain the new life they've built. Before the summer draws to a close, the Brechts must learn to face the floodwaters together in order to create a sustainable future for their family, the town, and the pristine river from which it all flows.

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The Heiress

Rachel Hawkins

A January Indie Next Pick and LibraryReads Pick

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins returns with a twisted new gothic suspense about an infamous heiress and the complicated inheritance she left behind.

There's nothing as good as the rich gone bad.

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.

And as Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

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The Waters

Bonnie Jo Campbell

A Read With Jenna Book Club pick!

On an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp--an area known as "The Waters" to the residents of nearby Whiteheart, Michigan--herbalist and eccentric Hermine "Herself" Zook has healed the local women of their ailments for generations. As stubborn as her tonics are powerful, Herself inspires reverence and fear in the people of Whiteheart, and even in her own three estranged daughters. The youngest--the beautiful, inscrutable, and lazy Rose Thorn--has left her own daughter, eleven-year-old Dorothy "Donkey" Zook, to grow up wild.

Donkey spends her days searching for truths in the lush landscape and in her math books, waiting for her wayward mother and longing for a father, unaware that family secrets, passionate love, and violent men will flood through the swamp and upend her idyllic childhood. Rage simmers below the surface of this divided community, and those on both sides of the divide have closed their doors against the enemy. The only bridge across the waters is Rose Thorn.

With a "ruthless and precise eye for the details of the physical world" (Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review), Bonnie Jo Campbell presents an elegant antidote to the dark side of masculinity, celebrating the resilience of nature and the brutality and sweetness of rural life.

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The Atlas Complex

Olivie Blake

The Atlas Complex marks the much-anticipated, heart-shattering conclusion in Olivie Blake's trilogy that began with the New York Times bestselling phenomenon, The Atlas Six.

Only the extraordinary are chosen.

Only the cunning survive.

An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment.

Old alliances quickly fracture as the initiates take opposing strategies as to how to deal with the deadly bargain they have so far failed to uphold. Those who remain with the archives wrestle with the ethics of their astronomical abilities, while elsewhere, an unlikely pair from the Society cohort partner to influence politics on a global stage.

And still the outside world mobilizes to destroy them, while the Caretaker himself, Atlas Blakely, may yet succeed with a plan foreseen to have world-ending stakes. It’s a race to survive as the six Society recruits are faced with the question of what they're willing to betray for limitless power—and who will be destroyed along the way.

Also by Olivie Blake
The Atlas Six
The Atlas Paradox
Alone with You in the Ether
One for My Enemy
Masters of Death

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The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years

Shubnum Khan

AN INDIE NEXT PICK
A LIBRARY READS PICK

“A dark and heady dream of a book” (Alix E. Harrow) about a ruined mansion by the sea, the djinn that haunts it, and a curious girl who unearths the tragedy that happened there a hundred years previous


Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate off the coast of South Africa. Nearly a century later, it stands in ruins: an isolated boardinghouse for eclectic misfits, seeking solely to disappear into the mansion’s dark corridors. Except for Sana. Unlike the others, she is curious and questioning and finds herself irresistibly drawn to the history of the mansion: To the eerie and forgotten East Wing, home to a clutter of broken and abandoned objects—and to the door at its end, locked for decades.

Behind the door is a bedroom frozen in time and a worn diary that whispers of a dark past: the long-forgotten story of a young woman named Meena, who died there tragically a hundred years ago. Watching Sana from the room’s shadows is a besotted, grieving djinn, an invisible spirit who has haunted the mansion since her mysterious death. Obsessed with Meena’s story, and unaware of the creature that follows her, Sana digs into the past like fingers into a wound, dredging up old and terrible secrets that will change the lives of everyone living and dead at Akbar Manzil. Sublime, heart-wrenching, and lyrically stunning, The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years is a haunting, a love story, and a mystery, all twined beautifully into one young girl’s search for belonging.

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Holiday Country

İnci Atrek

A seductive and lyrical debut following a young woman’s dangerous summer romance during an idyllic vacation on the Aegean coast

"A gorgeous exploration." —Raven Leilani, author of Luster


"A book full of pleasures." —Kirkus

Ada adores spending every summer in a Turkish seaside town with her mother and grandmother at the family villa. The glittering waters, endless olive groves, and her spirited friends make it easy to leave her idle life in California behind. But no matter how much Ada feels she belongs to the country where her mother grew up, deep down, her connection to the culture feels as fleeting as the seasons.

When Levent, a mysterious man from her mother’s past, shows up in their town, Ada can’t help but imagine a different future for her mother—one that promises a return to home, to love, to happiness. But while playing matchmaker, Ada has to come to terms with her own intensifying attraction to Levent. Does the future she’s fighting for belong to her mother—or to her alone?

Lush and evocative, İnci Atrek’s Holiday Country is a rapturous meditation about what it means to experience being of two worlds, the limitations and freedom of a life in translation, and the intricacies of a love triangle that stretches across generations and continents.

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Goodbye Girl

James Grippando

A contentious intellectual piracy case leads to an unsolved murder, and Jack Swyteck's client--a pop music icon--is the accused killer.

Piracy costs the movie and music industry billions. No one has been able to stop it. But that won't stop Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck. His latest client, Imani Nichols, is a Grammy-winning popstar whose career has skyrocketed. Despite her success, she's the most underpaid superstar on the planet because of an onerous record contract she signed as a teenager with her now ex-husband Shaky Nichols, who has made himself rich off her royalties.

Preferring to see thieves profit from her music than let her ex-husband pocket one more dime, Imani takes to social media and tells her millions of fans to "go pirate" and download her music illegally. Her hardball tactic leads to scorched-earth litigation, and now she needs Jack's help.

The case takes a deadly turn when salacious allegations of infidelity send Imani and Shaky down a path of mutual assured destruction, each implicating the other in the unsolved murder of Imani's extra-marital lover twelve years ago. Tyler McCormick died of asphyxiation, and his body was found in Biscayne Bay, chained to a piling with the words "goodbye girl" impressed on his chest. Despite their fierce denials, Imani and Shakey are both indicted for murder, leading to a sensational trial that exposes shocking secrets about their failed marriage, their cut-throat business partnership, and Imani's astonishing success.

Yet as Jack discovers, uncovering the truth about the killing and the cryptic "goodbye girl" won't just exonerate or convict his client, her ex, and their music empire. It may shape the future of the entire recording industry.

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You Only Call When You're in Trouble

Stephen McCauley

“I don’t think I will find a book I love more this year.”
—Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author

“Funny, poignant, joyous, explosive, but most of all affirming of our connections to one another. You Only Call When You're in Trouble is a book to cherish. A book that loves you back. What more could you want, my gosh? Read it!”

—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less Is Lost

Is it ever okay to stop caring for others and start living for yourself?

After a lifetime of taking care of his impossible but irresistible sister and his cherished niece, Tom is ready to put himself first. An architect specializing in tiny houses, he finally has an opportunity to build his masterpiece—“his last shot at leaving a footprint on the dying planet.” Assuming, that is, he can stick to his resolution to keep the demands of his needy family at bay.

Naturally, that’s when his phone rings. His niece, Cecily—the real love of Tom’s life, as his boyfriend reminded him when moving out—is embroiled in a Title IX investigation at the college where she teaches that threatens her career and relationship. And after decades of lying, his sister wants him to help her tell Cecily the real identity of her father.

Tom does what he’s always done—answers the call. Thus begins a journey that will change everyone’s life and demonstrate the beauty or dysfunction (or both?) of the ties that bind families together and sometimes strangle them.

Warm, funny, and deeply moving, You Only Call When You’re in Trouble is an unforgettable showcase for Stephen McCauley’s distinctive voice and unique ability to create complex characters that jump off the page and straight into your heart.

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California Bear

Duane Swierczynski

This "fresh, exciting, and brilliantly unpredictable" thriller (James Patterson) from a "great storyteller" (Michael Connelly) follows four unlikely vigilantes who pit themselves against the villain behind California's coldest case when they decide to take justice into their own hands.

NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE

"KILLER": Jack Queen has been exonerated and freed from prison thanks to retired LAPD officer Cato Hightower. But when guilt gnaws at Jack, he admits: "I actually did it." To which Hightower responds: "Yeah, no kidding." You see, the ex-cop has a special job in mind for the ex-con...

THE GIRL DETECTIVE: Fifteen-year-old Matilda Finnerty has been handed a potential death sentence in the form of a leukemia diagnosis. But that's not going to stop her from tackling the most important mystery of her life: Is her father guilty of murder?

GENE JEANIE: Jeanie Hightower mends family trees for a living, but the genealogist is unable to repair her own marriage. And her soon-to-be ex may have entangled her in a scheme that has drawn the bloody wrath of...

THE BEAR: A prolific serial killer who disappeared forty years ago, who is only now emerging from hibernation when the conditions are just right. And this time, the California Bear is not content to hunt in the shadows...

From two-time Edgar nominee Duane Swierczynski, California Bear is clever, moving, and surprising as it takes aim at the true crime industry, Hollywood, justice, and the killers inside us all.

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Long Goes to Dragon School

Helen H. Wu

Wrapped in Eastern and Western dragon lore, this fantasy tale celebrates perseverance, self-acceptance, and cultural differences.
It's the first day of Dragon School, where all the young dragons must learn how to harness their fire breath. Today's lesson? Using it to cook food! All the dragons are excited to test their powers . . . except Long.
Long is from the East and can only breathe out water. No matter how hard he huffs and puffs, he isn't sure he can match his fire breathing classmates. But will he be discovered? Or will Long find his own unique path to cooking-and to fitting in?
From TOFU TAKES TIME author Helen H. Wu and New York Times bestselling illustrator Mae Besom (WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AN IDEA?) comes a gorgeously illustrated and stirring tale about self-acceptance. Wrapped in Eastern and Western dragon lore, this fantasy tale is a celebration of cultural differences.

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My Grandfather's Song

Phùng Nguyên Quang

A stunning picture book about a family's connection to their land, their home, and each other--from the creators of My First Day.

Long ago, Grandfather came to a new land. Fish swam in the water, birds chirped in the sky, monkeys played in the trees. And in this wilderness, with his own two hands, Grandfather built a house.

It wasn't easy. But the land gave him what he needed. And it became his home. Decades later, his grandson will have all he needs: a head full of memories, two capable hands, and the heart to appreciate family, nature, and home. This picture book creates a warm symphony of conservation and the sacred bond between grandparent and child, perfect for baby showers, birthdays, and family celebrations.

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Broken Crayons Still Color

Toni Collier

Help your kids process big feelings, build a social-emotional tool kit, and find beauty in life's challenges with this creative story that expresses the hope of the gospel from podcast host, speaker, and mom Toni Collier.

Avery has big emotions and bubbling anxieties about changes in her life. When her crayons break as she scribbles furiously, she discovers that they have personalities and feelings too! And they can show her how to use her love of coloring to manage scary, overwhelming feelings and embrace curiosity and joy. As Avery follows the crayons' advice, gets creative, and chooses bravery and positive thinking, she discovers that God can use her to make beautiful things, even with broken crayons.

In Broken Crayons Still Color, children 4 to 8 will

  • see that everyone feels frustrated and overwhelmed at times
  • learn to express emotions and explore creativity
  • practice coping skills, such as drawing worries, affirmations, and breathing
  • understand that God loves them just as they are and He can turn their mistakes and weaknesses into beautiful new things

This illustrated picture book includes

  • an inventive illustration style that models to children how to draw their own feelings
  • an emotion color chart to guide children in identifying how they feel

With a fun story, silly crayon characters, and practical guidance for kids struggling with powerful emotions, insecurity, and perfectionism, Broken Crayons Still Color will entertain children as it assures them that God is making a beautiful masterpiece out of things they thought were broken. The presentation page and deluxe dust jacket make this encouraging book a beautiful gift for back-to-school, kids facing new experiences and tough situations, and any child with big feelings.

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It's Really Cold Outside

Harriet Ziefert

Join Really Bird and his friends who play outside in the snow while Really Bird keeps warm inside and directs the others in a game of throwing snowballs.

Meet Really Bird, a small bird who lives in a large city park with his friends, Cat, Rabbit, and Pup. In each story, Really Bird finds himself really wanting something - to be bigger, to have his fair share, or to be a leader - to be really silly, funny, strong, cool, happy, or brave. And when he feels something, he really feels it.
Each story is an entertaining, character-driven caper based on relatable social/emotional themes, delivered with surprise twists, high drama, and expert timing. Along the way, lessons are learned about qualities such as teamwork and compassion. The emphasis is on character growth and development through creative problem solving. Friendship and emotional engagement are at the heart of every story.
In It's Really Cold Outside!, Really Bird manages to stay warm while his friends play outside in the snow. By coming up with a creative idea, the friends manage to include everyone even if one member of the group isn't quite feeling up to facing the cold snowy weather.

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Sometimes I Cry

Jess Townes

From Jess Townes with illustrations by Daniel Miyares, this poignant picture book deftly tackles the wide array of emotions experienced in childhood, and especially reminding readers that there’s nothing wrong with crying.

Sometimes I cry
. . . when I’m angry.
. . . when I’m scared.
. . . when I’m happy.

There are all sorts of feelings that can make us cry—from disappointment to joy, from grief to love. Sometimes I Cry offers a gentle and necessary affirmation of the emotional complexity of growing up. Powerful, poignant, and universally relevant, it is a triumph for readers of any age.

Sometimes I cry.
And that’s okay.

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Lullaby for the King

Nikki Grimes

An awe-inspiring Christmas tale from multi-award-winning poet Nikki Grimes.

The caravan traveled through wilderness, uphill and down, for hours that spun into days.

 

Then at last, glittering diamond-bright, Bethlehem appeared through the haze.

With glittering poetry and stunning watercolor artwork, Lullaby for the King ushers readers into the awe and wonder of the Christmas story. Animals from across the ancient Palestinian landscape lumber, gambol, crawl, fly, and parade toward Bethlehem with gifts worthy of the newborn King. Rare ebony wood, a finely tuned harp, mustard and saffron, a zither, apricot cakes, and other treasures are carried to the manger. The animals bow low and join the music of the angels in a welcoming lullaby.

New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes and illustrator Michelle Carlos bring together a captivating tale of awe, wonder, and imagination that is sure to become a holiday classic.

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The Witch's Wings and Other Terrifying Tales (Are You Afraid of the Dark? Graphic Novel #1)

Tehlor Kay Mejia

Based on Nickelodeon's hit horror franchise Are You Afraid of the Dark?, TheWitch's Wings and Other Terrifying Tales is the first in an all-new horror graphic novel series with three original stories based on Hispanic urban legends and cultural lore from bestselling and award-winning author Tehlor Kay Mejia, which are beautifully and hauntingly brought to life by artists Junyi Wu, Justin and Alexis Hernandez, and Kaylee Rowena.



A new Midnight Society gathers around the campfire to share urban legends, folklores, and all manner of spooky stories. These three terrifying tales feature haunted buses, monstrous creatures, and spine-chilling mysteries guaranteed to have you reaching for the light switch!



In "The Tale of the Witch's Wings," a young boy with a habit of bullying meets his match when an ancient witch sets her eyes on him. In "The Tale of the Haunting of Bus #13," a young girl finds herself potentially trapped on a bus haunted by more than just ghosts! And in "The Tale of the Stray Comet," two siblings bring home a stray dog that is much more monstrous than they could ever imagine!



Are you afraid of the dark? You will be...

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Shakira

Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

From the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Shakira, the world’s most popular Latin American singer.
 
As a child, little Shakira knew she was born to be performer. Even as a little girl, she was full of natural rhythm and she was obsessed with singing, writing songs and dancing whenever she got the opportunity.

At 14 years old she recorded her first album, and although it wasn't a success, she knew she had found her calling. She persevered, and within four years she had finally got her first hit! She soon became a Latin American icon, winning many awards and creating global hits across the world, becoming widely known as the Queen of Latin Music.

With her fame, Shakira started a foundation to help children in her native country, Colombia and other developing countries across the world, providing them with education and the chance of a better future.
 
This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the iconic singer's life.

Little People, BIG DREAMS is a best-selling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardcover and paperback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. With rewritten text for older children, the treasuries each bring together a multitude of dreamers in a single volume. You can also collect a selection of the books by theme in boxed gift sets. Activity books and a journal provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children.
 
Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

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What It's Like to Be a Bird (Adapted for Young Readers)

David Allen Sibley

In this edition for young readers adapted from the bestselling work written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley, readers will find a unique treasure trove of fascinating facts about birds, paired with more than 300 full-color illustrations—some life-size! The extraordinary world of birds is brought to life on the page.

Did you know that many species of birds have sensory abilities that surpass those of humans? Or that some birds spend the entire winter in the air, and even sleep while flying? Have you ever wondered why birds have feathers? Or why they are a particular color? Have you noticed that some birdsong sounds like a musical scale?

Maybe you’re more interested in “how” questions: How do birds actually fly or swim? How and why do some birds migrate? How do they find food? How do they take care of their offspring?

Birds are not only beautiful and fascinating, but they also serve an essential role in our ecosystem. This book shows how birds and humans are intrinsically connected, sometimes helping and sometimes hindering each other.

Perfect for dedicated birdwatchers—or for anyone who simply delights in noticing birds in their neighborhood. Readers can explore, share, and return to the pages again and again, each time gaining a broader appreciation for our enchanting feathered friends.

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The Last Rose

Leah Cypess

The fourth book in the Sisters Ever After series of fairy tale retellings, this is the wild story of Mera, the only one who can save her beautiful older sister when she is kidnapped by the Beast who viciously rules over their small village.

For as long as Mera can remember, she and her sister Darina have feared the Beast who lurks in the castle above their village. On countless nights they have locked themselves into their home while the Beast led his hounds on the Wild Hunt, preying on anything in his path.

Now Darina has been kidnapped by the Beast, and only Mera can save her. But she soon finds that in the Beast’s eerie, magic-haunted castle, nothing is quite what it seems—including her own sister. Here, Mera will discover the dark secrets that have bound her village to the Beast for so long.

But in order to set them all free, she will have to face the most dangerous secret of all: the truth about herself.

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Starry Henna Night: A Branches Book (the Party Diaries #2)

Mitali Banerjee Ruths

Priya plans a henna-night party that is out-of-this-world in the second installment of this full-color early chapter book series!

 

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

Priya's party-planning business is hired to put together a henna-night party for teenagers! Priya gets more and more nervous as she struggles to find a theme for the party. What do TEENAGERS like?! All she knows for sure is that this party will help save endangered pangolins! So can Priya create a perfect henna-night party or will it be a flop?

With speech bubbles, easy-to-read text, and vibrant artwork on every page, this series is perfect for newly independent readers!

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Wildfire (a Graphic Novel)

Breena Bard

An inspiring and moving graphic novel, Wildfire follows climate change through the eyes of one middle-school girl, who's eager to turn her anger into action.



Julianna loved her life in rural Oregon.



She loved taking care of her farm animals and being part of her local 4H club. But then the unthinkable happened...a wildfire destroyed her family's home.



In the aftermath, her family relocated to Portland, Oregon, where Julianna hopes to put everything behind her. Believing the fire to be the result of kids playing with fireworks, she certainly isn't interested when her parents and younger sister start getting involved in the growing climate change protests.



All she wants to do is move on, but that becomes near impossible when Carson, an old friend from her hometown who may have had a hand in starting the wildfire, is suddenly back in her life. Julianna can't seem to catch a break, but when two new friends invite her to join their school's conservation club, she learns that maybe she can turn her anger into something powerful.



Emotional and inspiring, Wildfire shows readers that healing from tragedy can take many forms and demonstrates what it means to take action in the face of climate change--and how that action can be different for each of us.

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Rick Riordan Presents: Fox Snare

Yoon Ha Lee

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents a third space opera starring Korean animal spirits by Yoon Ha Lee, author of Dragon Pearl.

While on a mission to cement peace between the Sun Clans and the Thousand Worlds, Min the fox spirit and her ghost brother Jun get stranded on a death planet with Haneul the dragon spirit and Sebin the tiger spirit. To survive, the young cadets will have to rely on all their wits, training, and supernatural abilities. And let's not forget the Dragon Pearl . . .

This thrilling conclusion of the Thousand Worlds trilogy, told in alternating points of view, will put you under a delightful spell as it transports you to worlds full of both danger and wonder.

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Rick Riordan Presents: Serwa Boateng's Guide to Witchcraft and Mayhem

Roseanne A. Brown

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the highly anticipated sequel to Rosanne A. Brown's explosive novel about a preteen vampire slayer, inspired by Ghanaian folklore.
"Rosie writes her characters with such lyrical power, wit, and empathy that you can't help falling in love with Serwa Boateng, her family, and her friends."
--Rick Riordan, New York Times best-selling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

 

After a lifetime of fighting creatures of black magic, twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng has just learned a devastating secret: she herself is half vampire! Now not only is she dealing with vampire puberty, she's on the run from the organization of Slayers she trained her whole life to join.

Serwa's only ally is her aunt Boahinmaa, an obayifo who urges Serwa to embrace her vampire side. Boahinmaa and her underlings are on the hunt for the Midnight Drum, from which they hope to free Serwa's grandmother. When they learn that the Abomofuo have hidden the Midnight Drum deep within the Smithsonian Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., what do they do? Stage a heist to steal it, of course!

For their plan to succeed, Serwa will have to get close to her rival, a Slayer named Declan Amankwah, without revealing her real nature. Declan gets under her skin like no one else . . . and might just force Serwa to confront some truths she's tried hard to deny.

With both sympathy and laugh-out-loud humor, Rosanne A. Brown captures all the discomfort of a girl stuck between two worlds in this second book in the unputdownable Serwa Boating saga.

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A Curse for True Love

Stephanie Garber

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE, the breathtaking conclusion to Stephanie Garber’s #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy

Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out. . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Also by Stephanie Garber:

The Caraval Series
- Caraval
- Legendary
- Finale

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Shipwrecked!

Martin W. Sandler

"(A) deeper dive into marine archaeology...enlivened by photographs, diagrams and archival images, describes sunken vessels as ‘time capsules’ and the ocean floor itself as ‘the world’s greatest museum.’ But what extraordinary things have been found, despite the depth and waves!"—The Wall Street Journal

From National Book Award–winning author Martin W. Sandler, here is a fascinating look at what shipwrecks reveal about our world’s past—and how exploring them led to the development of a whole new field of science: marine archaeology.


Most of the world’s ocean floor remains to be discovered. In fact, it’s estimated to be home to over 3 million sunken vessels and countless treasures of the past. This enthralling and adventure-filled nonfiction book for young readers recounts some of the most captivating shipwrecks from history, ranging from the Shinan, a Chinese merchant ship laden with riches from the 14th century, to the HMS Erebus and Terror, two polar exploration ships that mysteriously disappeared in the early 1800s. Combining new research, stunning archival material, and vivid storytelling, Shipwrecked! dives deep into the world of marine archaeology and shows young readers what each discovery reveals about the world before our time.

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Carry My Secret to Your Grave (Murder, She Wrote #2)

Stephanie Kuehn

Small town murders.

Big time thrills.

 

The second installment in the suspenseful, modern update of the classic mystery TV series. Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, Sadie, and Gossip Girl.

 

"Someone knows where you live. And whoever they are, they want you to know... you're next."

 

Bea Fletcher never met a cold case she didn't want to solve. So when she finds herself staying with family near Lake Paloma, she's torn. Sure, she's not thrilled to be bunking with her moody, taciturn uncle and his wife while her father's out of town. Being away from Cabot Cove means less time for Bea to work on her true crime blog, visit her great-aunt Jessica, and spend time with new friends Leisl, Leif, and Carlos and the mysterious underground treasure hunting game they've been playing.

 

But Lake Paloma has mysteries of its own, including the unsolved drowning of teenaged Eden Vicente the year before. And when Bea starts to ask questions about Eden's death, the answers lead her closer to home than she ever imagined. If Bea isn't careful, she could be the next girl to end up at the bottom of the lake.

 

And underwater, no one can hear you scream...

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Alebrijes

Donna Barba Higuera

The next stunning novel from Donna Barba Higuera, author of Newbery and Pura Belpré Award-winning The Last Cuentista



This is the story as it was told to me by Leandro the Mighty.



For 400 years, Earth has been a barren wasteland. The few humans that survive scrape together an existence in the cruel city of Pocatel - or go it alone in the wilderness beyond, filled with wandering spirits and wyrms. They don't last long.



13 year-old pickpocket Leandro and his sister Gabi do what they can to forge a life in Pocatel. The city does not take kindly to Cascabel like them - the descendants of those who worked the San Joaquin Valley for generations.



When Gabi is caught stealing precious fruit from the Pocatelan elite, Leando takes the fall. But his exile proves more than he ever could have imagined -- far from a simple banishent, his consciousness is placed inside an ancient drone and left to fend on its own. But beyond the walls of Pocatel lie other alebrijes like Leandro who seek for a better world -- as well as mutant monsters, wasteland pirates, a hidden oasis, and the truth.



From Donna Barba Higuera, Newbery and Pura Belpré Medal-winning author of The Last Cuentista, comes another novel to astonish us and create a whole new imaginative world, that holds a mirror to our own.



P R A I S E



★ "An instant classic."

--School Library Journal (starred)



★ "Breathtaking... A ferociously epic and beautiful middle-grade dystopian novel."

--Shelf Awareness (starred)



★ "Combines humanity and technology with imaginative splendor."

--Foreword (starred)



★ "This heartfelt adventure signals hope for humanity, even in the aftermath of darkness."

--Kirkus (starred)



★ "High-stakes adventure... Beautiful, imaginative writing fills this dystopian sf novel. Though it exposes cruelty and corruption, it raises up storytelling, culture, and kindness as stronger yet... A wondrous addition to any collection."

--Booklist (starred)



★ "This stellar speculative narrative explores themes of identity across circumstance, centering an adolescent without structural power working to protect family and community."

--Publishers Weekly (starred)



★ "Higuera brilliantly balances the heaviness of a dystopian future of a ruined Earth with her own blend of science fiction and Mexican folkloric elements once Leandro leaves his human body... Leandro and his unflinching dedication to an uplifting view of humanity that will spark engagement from the first page and linger in the minds of readers well after they finish the novel."

--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred)



"With its social and environmental commentary, this fast-paced and imaginative novel tackles issues of deception and control and leaves one with a sense of wonder that a single flap of a wing or a solitary voice can bring about unimaginable change."

--Horn Book


 

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The Wild Robot Protects

Peter Brown

The New York Times bestselling The Wild Robot series returns, taking Roz on an action-packed under-the-ocean journey to save her beloved island!

Life for Roz and the animals on their island is perfect. But when mysterious, dangerous waters surround the island, the animals are forced inland to fight over dwindling resources.

Roz calms and organizes the animals, but the poison tide takes a terrible toll on the island. So the wild robot sets out across the ocean, determined to stop the poison tide. During her journey, Roz encounters amazing geological formations and incredible creatures, and she sees the devastation caused by the toxic waters. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island and everything she loves?

This thrilling third installment of the Wild Robot series takes readers on a new adventure through the ocean and to the frigid northern waters where Roz may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

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Spy School Goes North

Stuart Gibbs

In the eleventh book in the New York Times bestselling Spy School series, Ben Ripley goes on a rescue mission when one of his own is abducted from a remote Alaskan training facility.

Ben Ripley and his friends are training in Alaska when Cyrus Hale is kidnapped by his old Russian nemesis. Ben, Erica, and the others mount a rescue mission, but events quickly spiral out of control in a plot involving the secret history of US-Russian relations, a young KGB agent with skills to rival Erica’s—and lots and lots of bears.

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Upside Down

Danielle Steel

#1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel delivers a poignant novel about a mother and daughter who must repair their relationship and find a way to follow their hearts.

Oscar-winning actress Ardith Law is a Hollywood icon. Radiant at sixty-two, she is the epitome of glamour and a highly respected artist. But her success has come at a price: She has a strained relationship with her daughter, Morgan, who at thirty-eight still blames Ardith for putting her career before being a mother. Morgan is a successful plastic surgeon in New York City—and the distance from Ardith’s Bel Air mansion is not lost on either of them.

Ardith became a single mother when Morgan was seven, after her unfaithful husband died in a helicopter accident. In recent years, she has found amiable companionship with fellow actor Bill West. But Ardith’s comfortable world is turned upside down when she hires a temporary personal assistant, Josh Gray, while Bill is away filming in London. Josh’s rough-around-the-edges persona is the opposite of what Ardith is used to, but an unexpected tragedy brings them closer, stirring up conflicting feelings in her for this younger man.

In New York, Morgan is swept off her feet by world-renowned TV anchorman Ben Ryan. Though more than two decades her senior, Ben is handsome, charismatic, and just as smitten as Morgan. But when a blackmail scheme puts his career—and their relationship—on the line, Morgan doesn’t know where to turn. Perhaps . . . to her mother? As each woman navigates an unconventional romance, they cautiously approach each other on new terms and attempt to put aside their past for a new future.

In Upside Down, Danielle Steel tells an unforgettable story of bold choices, second chances, and the hope of reconciliation.

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First Lie Wins

Ashley Elston

Evie Porter has everything a nice, Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence and a garden, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

"Buckle up. First Lie Wins features some of the best cat and mouse suspense I've read in years, while serving up plenty of heart along this wild ride."—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Step Too Far

First Lie Wins is a high-stakes thriller…Smart and sharp, fast-paced and twisty...a truly unpredictable, unforgettable story!”—Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of The Last to Vanish


The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes--especially after what happened last time.

Because the one thing she’s worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to—her real identity—just walked right into this town. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there’s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn't be higher--but then, Evie has always liked a challenge...

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The Storm We Made

Vanessa Chan

A spellbinding, sweeping novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII—and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family.

Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara’s family is in terrible danger: her fifteen-year-old son, Abel, has disappeared, and her youngest daughter, Jasmin, is confined in a basement to prevent being pressed into service at the comfort stations. Her eldest daughter Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day.

Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth.

A decade prior, Cecily had been desperate to be more than a housewife to a low-level bureaucrat in British-colonized Malaya. A chance meeting with the charismatic General Fuijwara lured her into a life of espionage, pursuing dreams of an “Asia for Asians.” Instead, Cecily helped usher in an even more brutal occupation by the Japanese. Ten years later as the war reaches its apex, her actions have caught up with her. Now her family is on the brink of destruction—and she will do anything to save them.

Spanning years of pain and triumph, told from the perspectives of four unforgettable characters, The Storm We Made is a dazzling saga about the horrors of war; the fraught relationships between the colonized and their oppressors, and the ambiguity of right and wrong when survival is at stake.

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Anna O

Matthew Blake

"A riveting, unsettling crime novel that will keep you turning pages well past your bedtime. Is Anna O a sleeping beauty or a sleeping killer? Matthew Blake's tension-filled thriller is as elusive and mysterious as sleep itself."--Nita Prose, #1 New York Times author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

Joining the ranks of Gillian Flynn, A. J. Finn, and Alex Michaelides, Matthew Blake delivers the thriller of the year: a dark, twisty, and shocking mystery about a young woman who commits a double murder while sleepwalking, and then never opens her eyes again.

THE WORLD WILL KNOW HER NAME

What if your nightmares weren't really nightmares at all?

We spend an average of 33 years of our lives asleep. But what really happens, and what are we capable of, when we sleep?

Anna Ogilvy was a budding twenty-five-year-old writer with a bright future. Then, one night, she stabbed two people to death with no apparent motive--and hasn't woken up since. Dubbed "Sleeping Beauty" by the tabloids, Anna's condition is a rare psychosomatic disorder known to neurologists as "resignation syndrome."

Dr. Benedict Prince is a forensic psychologist and an expert in the field of sleep-related homicides. His methods are the last hope of solving the infamous "Anna O'"case and waking Anna up so she can stand trial. But he must be careful treating such a high-profile suspect--he's got career secrets and a complicated personal life of his own.

As Anna shows the first signs of stirring, Benedict must determine what really happened and whether Anna should be held responsible for her crimes.

Only Anna knows the truth about that night, but only Benedict knows how to discover it. And they're both in danger from what they find out.

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Wild and Distant Seas

Tara Karr Roberts

Evangeline Hussey has made a home for herself on Nantucket, though she knows she is still an outsider to the island's small, close-knit community, one that by 1849 has started to feel the decline of a once-thriving whaling industry. Her husband, Hosea, and the life they built together, was once all she needed--but now Hosea is gone, lost at sea. Evangeline is only able to hold on to his inn, and her place on the island, by employing a curious gift to glimpse and re-form the recent memories of those who would cast her out.

One night, an idealistic sailor appears on her doorstep asking her to call him Ishmael. He seeks only a warm bed and a bowl of chowder, and yet suddenly, unsettlingly, her careful illusion begins to fracture. He soon sails away with Ahab to hunt an infamous white whale, and Evangeline is left to forge a new life from the pieces that remain.

Her choices ripple through generations, across continents, and into the depths of the sea, in a narrative that follows Evangeline and her descendants from mid-nineteenth century Nantucket to Boston, Brazil, Florence, and Idaho. Moving, beautifully written, and elegantly conceived, Wild and Distant Seas takes Moby-Dick as its starting point, but Tara Karr Roberts brings four remarkable women to life in a spellbinding epic all her own.

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Mercury

Amy Jo Burns

A roofing family’s bonds of loyalty are tested when they uncover a long-hidden secret at the heart of their blue-collar town—from Amy Jo Burns, author of the critically acclaimed novel Shiner

It’s 1990 and seventeen-year-old Marley West is blazing into the river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. A perpetual loner, she seeks a place at someone’s table and a family of her own. The first thing she sees when she arrives in town is three men standing on a rooftop. Their silhouettes blot out the sun.

The Joseph brothers become Marley’s whole world before she can blink. Soon, she is young wife to one, The One Who Got Away to another, and adopted mother to them all. As their own mother fades away and their roofing business crumbles under the weight of their unwieldy father’s inflated ego, Marley steps in to shepherd these unruly men. Years later, an eerie discovery in the church attic causes old wounds to resurface and suddenly the family’s survival hangs in the balance. With Marley as their light, the Joseph brothers must decide whether they can save the family they’ve always known—or whether together they can build something stronger in its place.

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The Ascent

Adam Plantinga

When a high security prison fails, a down-on-his luck cop and the governor's daughter are going to have to team up if they're going to escape in this "jaw-dropping, authentic, and absolutely gripping" (Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author) debut thriller from Adam Plantinga, whose first nonfiction book Lee Child praised as "truly excellent."

Kurt Argento, an ex-Detroit street cop who can't let injustice go--and who has the fighting skills to back up his idealism.

If he sees a young girl being dragged into an alley, he's going to rescue her and cause some damage.

When he does just that in a small corrupt Missouri town, he's brutally beaten and thrown into a maximum-security prison.

Julie Wakefield, a grad student who happens to be the governor's daughter, is about to take a tour of the prison. But when a malfunction in the security system releases a horde of prisoners, a fierce struggle for survival ensues.

Argento must help a small band of staff and civilians, including Julie and her two state trooper handlers, make their way from the bottom floor to the roof to safety.

All that stands in their way are six floors of the most dangerous convicts in Missouri.

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Rabbit Hole

Kate Brody

A twisty debut exploring the dark side of true crime fandom and the blurry lines of female friendship, perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, My Favorite Murder, and Fleabag

Conspiracy theories from Reddit seduce a disaster-prone woman into an obsession with solving her older sister’s cold-case disappearance


Ten years ago, Theodora “Teddy” Angstrom’s older sister, Angie, went missing. Her case remains unsolved. Now Teddy’s father, Mark, has killed himself. Unbeknownst to Mark’s family, he had been active in a Reddit community fixated on Angie, and Teddy can’t help but fall down the same rabbit hole.

Teddy’s investigation quickly gets her in hot water with her gun-nut boyfriend, her long-lost half brother, and her colleagues at the prestigious high school where she teaches English. Further complicating matters is Teddy’s growing obsession with Mickey, a charming amateur sleuth who is eerily keen on helping her solve the case.

Bewitched by Mickey, Teddy begins to lose her moral compass. As she struggles to reconcile new information with old memories, her erratic behavior reaches a fever pitch, but she won’t stop until she finds Angie—or destroys herself in the process.

A biting critique of the internet’s voyeurism, Rabbit Hole is an outrageous and heart-wrenching character study of a mind twisted by grief—and a page-turning mystery that’s as addictive as a late-night Reddit binge.

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The Book of Fire

Christy Lefteri

“A compelling story of love, loss, and redemption in the face of unimaginable tragedy . . . As with The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Lefteri transports the reader to a once lush and now destroyed world.”—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale

“Christy Lefteri writes with great delicacy and urgency, making us see the world through fresh eyes.”—Heather Morris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

In present-day Greece, deep in an ancient forest, lives a family: Irini, a musician, who teaches children to read and play music; her husband, Tasso, who paints pictures of the forest, his greatest muse; and Chara, their young daughter, whose name means joy. On the fateful day that will forever alter the trajectory of their lives, flames chase fleeing birds across the sky. The wildfire that will consume their home, and their lives as they know it, races toward them.

Months later, as the village tries to rebuild, Irini stumbles upon the man who started the fire, a land speculator who had intended only a small, controlled burn to clear forestland to build on but instead ignited a catastrophe. He is dying, although the cause is unclear, and in her anger at all he took from them, Irini makes a split-second decision that will haunt her.

As the local police investigate the suspicious death, Tasso mourns his father, who has not been seen since before the fire. Tasso’s hands were burnt in the flames, leaving him unable to paint, and he struggles to cope with the overwhelming loss of his artistic voice and his beloved forest. Only his young daughter, who wants to repair the damage that’s been done, gives him hope for the future.

Gorgeously written, sweeping in scope and intimate in tone, The Book of Fire is a masterful work about the search for meaning in the wake of tragedy, as well as the universal ties that bind people together, and to the land that they call home.

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The Lost Van Gogh

Jonathan Santlofer

"Ingeniously plotted, irresistibly readable, brimming with inside information about the high-stakes art world of theft, forgery, and murder...Also included are brilliantly rendered drawings by the author, who is as accomplished an artist as he is a writer of suspense thrillers." --Joyce Carol Oates

From the author of the much-praised The Last Mona Lisa comes another thrilling story of masterpieces, masterminds, and mystery.

For years, there have been whispers that, before his death, Van Gogh completed a final self-portrait. Curators and art historians have savored this rumor, hoping it could illuminate some of the troubled artist's many secrets, but even they have to concede that the missing painting is likely lost forever.

But when Luke Perrone, artist and great-grandson of the man who stole the Mona Lisa, and Alexis Verde, daughter of a notorious art thief, discover what may be the missing portrait, they are drawn into a most epic art puzzles. When only days later the painting disappears again, they are reunited with INTERPOL agent John Washington Smith in a dangerous and deadly search that will not only expose secrets of the artist's last days but draws them into one of history's darkest eras.

Beneath the paint and canvas, beneath the beauty and the legend, the artwork has become linked with something evil, something that continues to flourish on the dark web and on the shadiest corridors of the underground art world.

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Two Dead Wives

Adele Parks

"Absolutely gripping, this is revenge lit at its best. Provocative and compelling. I was left breathless at the final twist." --Lisa Jewell, author of The Family Remains

Lost. Missing. Murdered? How do you find a woman who didn't exist?


It's a case that has gripped a nation: A woman with a shocking secret is missing, presumed dead. And her two husbands are suspects in her murder.

DCI Clements knows the dark side of human nature and that love can make people do treacherous things. You can't presume anything when it comes to crimes of the heart. Until a body is found, this scandalous and sad case remains wide open.

Stacie Jones lives a quiet life in a small village, nursed by her father as she recovers from illness, and shielded from any news of the outside world. But their reclusive life is about to be shattered.

How are these families linked, and can any of them ever rebuild their lives in the wake of tragedy?

This explosive thriller from international bestseller Adele Parks examines what it is to be a family and the dangerous lengths that people will go to for those they love.

Look for these other pulse-pounding thrillers by bestselling author Adele Parks:
 

  • I Invited Her In
  • Lies Lies Lies
  • Just My Luck
  • Woman Last Seen

 

 

 

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What Waits in the Woods

Terri Parlato

Her ballet career derailed by injury, a once-promising young dancer returns to her hometown only to face a grisly discovery - and the increasingly alarming realization that nothing from her past is quite what she believed - in this electrifyingly twisty suburban thriller for fans of Stacy Willingham, Greer Hendricks, and Megan Miranda.

"A moody, atmospheric thriller perfectly crafted." --Charlie Donlea, USA Today bestselling author of Twenty Years Later on All the Dark Places

When Esmé Foster left the Boston suburbs to become a professional ballerina, the future shimmered with promise. Eleven years later, her career has been derailed by an injury, and Esme knows it's time to come back to Graybridge to help her brother care for their ailing father. But her return coincides with an unthinkable crime. Kara Cunningham, one of Esme's high school friends, is found dead in the woods behind the Fosters' house.

Esmé is shocked and grieving, but also uneasy. In her dreams, she still sees the man who showed up at the scene of the car accident that killed her mother--and told Esmé he was going to kill her too. Family and friends insisted the figure was a product of Esmé's imagination, that she was concussed after the crash. But she and Kara looked alike, sharing the same petite build, the same hair color. Could Kara's murder have been a case of mistaken identity?

Detective Rita Myers is familiar with close-knit communities like Graybridge, where, beneath the friendliness, there are whispers and secrets. The town has seen other tragedies too, including the long-ago drowning of a young girl in a pond, deep in the woods. Even within the once-close circle of friends that included Kara and Esmé, Rita discerns a ripple of mistrust.

Day by day, Esmé discovers more about the place she left behind--and the friends and family she thought she knew. Soon, shining a light into the darkness to learn what really happened the night Kara died is the only way she can bring the nightmare to an end . . .

"A must read...I loved this book." --Lisa Jackson, # 1 New York Times bestselling author on All the Dark Places

"Hooks you immediately. Sharp characters and a plot full of twists kept the pages turning to the last. Fantastic read!" --Mary Burton, New York Times bestselling author on All the Dark Places

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The Weekend Retreat

Tara Laskowski

A wealthy family's vacation at their lush winery estate becomes a weekend to kill for in this deliciously twisted novel of suspense

"Absolutely captivating! A riveting and immersive puzzle for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware." --Hank Phillippi Ryan


Every year, the illustrious Van Ness siblings, heirs to a copper fortune, gather at their secluded winery estate for a joint birthday celebration. It's a tradition they've followed nearly all their lives, and now they are back with their significant others for a much-needed weekend of rest and relaxation, away from the public spotlight.

With lavish comforts, gorgeous scenery, and indulgent drinking, the trip should be the perfect escape. But it soon becomes clear that even a remote idyllic getaway can't keep out the problems simmering in each of their lives. As old tensions are reignited, the three couples are pushed to the edge. Will their secrets destroy them, or will they destroy each other first? And who's been watching them from beyond the vineyard gates?

When a torrential rainstorm hits, plunging them into darkness, the answers prove all too deadly...

"Clever... [A] satisfying mash-up of Succession and Agatha Christie." --Publishers Weekly

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The Fearless One

Lori Foster

"Count on Lori Foster for sexy, edgy romance." --Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author

He had it all planned...until she showed up.


Jedidiah Stephens came to the Colorado Rockies for one reason: to uncover the truth behind the fire that killed her family. She's been chasing down clues, and everything has led her to an isolated campground. Her plan is to get a job there so she can investigate who comes and goes. Getting involved with her boss, Memphis Osborn, the ruggedly handsome groundskeeper, is definitely not part of the plan.

When Jedidiah arrives on the scene, Memphis just knows she's up to something. He can see the desperation in her eyes and warily agrees to hire her. As they work side by side, Diah triggers his deepest protective instincts--and the chemistry between them ignites.

But the more Diah digs into her family's past, the more secrets she unravels...and the more afraid she becomes. She lost everything once before. She'll never forgive herself if now she loses Memphis, too.

Osborn Brothers

Book 1: The Dangerous One
Book 2: The Fearless One

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Dead of Night

Simon Scarrow

As Germany strangles under the tight grip of the Nazi Party, the frozen winter of 1940 brings even more reasons to fear the dark in the crackling new WWII crime novel from #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Scarrow--perfect for fans of Philip Kerr's Berlin Trilogy, Robert Ludlum, Andrew Gross, and William Christie . . .

Germany, 1940. The world holds its breath and hopes for peace. At home, the Nazi Party's grip on power tightens. Reasons to fear the dark are growing . . .

On a night in Berlin, during the most bitter winter in memory, SS doctor Manfred Schmesler is found in his study, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The hurried and official version of the Reich is suicide.

Schmesler's widow doesn't believe it. At the risk of running afoul of the Gestapo, neither does Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke. The warnings to drop the investigation only compel Schenke to dig deeper. Then Schenke learns of the suspicious death of a child in a remote clinic outside Potsdam.

At first, the cases seem unconnected, but soon chilling links emerge that point to a terrifying secret. Schenke isn't the only one in jeopardy. So is everyone within his circle, including Schmesler's widow, who has a secret of her own.

Under a pitiless regime, how deep into hell are they willing to go to find the truth? And what will it take to make it out alive?

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On the Plus Side

Jenny L. Howe

What Not to Wear and Queer Eye meet All the Feels in this sparkling romantic comedy by Jenny L. Howe, in which the new guest on a popular plus-size makeover show has her style—and her love life—transformed.

Everly Winters is perfectly happy to navigate life like a good neutral paint color: appreciated but unnoticed. That’s why she’s still a receptionist instead of exploring a career in art, why she lurks but never posts on the forums for her favorite makeover show, On the Plus Side, and why she’s crushing so hard on her forever-unattainable co-worker. When no one notices you, they can’t reject you or insist you’re too much.

This plan is working perfectly until someone secretly nominates Everly for the next season of On the Plus Side. Overwhelmed by the show’s extremely extroverted hosts and how much time she’ll have to spend on screen, she finds comfort in a surprising friendship with the grumpy but kind cameraman, Logan. Soon Everly realizes that he’s someone she doesn’t mind being noticed by. In fact, she might even like it.

But when their growing connection is caught on camera, it sends the show’s ratings into a frenzy. Learning to embrace all of herself on national TV is hard enough; can Everly risk heartbreak with the whole world watching?

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Prophet Song

Paul Lynch

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023

SHORTLISTED FOR THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2023

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find two officers from Ireland's newly formed secret police on her step. They have arrived to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.

Ireland is falling apart, caught in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny. As the life she knows and the ones she loves disappear before her eyes, Eilish must contend with the dystopian logic of her new, unraveling country. How far will she go to save her family? And what--or who--is she willing to leave behind?

Exhilarating, terrifying and surprisingly intimate, Prophet Song offers a shocking vision of a country at war and a deeply human portrait of a mother's fight to hold her family together.

 

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Death in the Dark Woods

Annelise Ryan

A potential Bigfoot sighting is linked to a vicious murder, but skeptical cryptozoologist Morgan Carter is on the case in this new Monster Hunter Mystery by USA Today bestselling author Annelise Ryan.

Business has been booming since Morgan Carter solved the case of the monster living in Lake Michigan. The Odds and Ends bookstore is thriving, of course, but Morgan is most excited by the doors that were opened for her as a cryptid hunter.

Recently, there have been numerous sightings of a Bigfoot-type creature in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest area of Bayfield County, Wisconsin. After a man is found dead from a vicious throat injury in the forest, the conservation warden asks Morgan to investigate.

When Morgan and her dog, Newt, go there to investigate, they uncover a trail of lies, deception, and murder. It seems a mysterious creature is indeed living in the forest, and Morgan might be its next target.

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The Lace Widow

Mollie Ann Cox

Could Alexander Hamilton be at the center of a vast murder plot engulfing Old New York? As his widow, Eliza, pieces together the puzzle, she unearths a heartbreaking secret that threatens to tear her family apart.

Perfect for fans of Sherry Thomas and Deanna Raybourn, taking us from the city’s gilded mansions to its meanest streets, Mollie Ann Cox’s debut historical mystery transports readers to center stage in a time of grave political danger.


New York, 1804. America’s beloved Alexander Hamilton lies dead after a duel with Aaron Burr. Meanwhile, Eliza Hamilton’s eighteen-year-old son, Alexander Jr., was seen fighting with a man in a tavern the night before his father’s duel and quickly comes under suspicion for murder when the man turns up dead.

Eliza searches for ways to clear her son’s name, even as she is grieving, but as she combs through her late husband’s papers, she finds evidence of a plot to steal money from the government during his tenure as secretary of state. Hamilton was accused of stealing that money, and it was a scandal that almost broke the family—but is Eliza now holding proof of Alexander’s innocence?

Deep in debt and despair, with eight children to support, Eliza turns to selling her handmade lace—and is drawn into a mysterious network of widow lacemakers who are intimately connected to New York’s high-society families. They know their dead husbands’ secrets—and soon, Eliza begins to piece together the truth.

There’s a dark plot connected with the duel, as one by one, witnesses to the bout are being killed. Now, Eliza must not only clear her husband’s and son’s names but keep herself out of the killer’s sights.

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The Stage Kiss

Amelia Jones

In this slow-burn yet highly combustible enemies-to-lovers romance, perfect for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon and Abby Jimenez, two stage actors find themselves falling for each other with each onstage kiss...against their better judgment.

Actress Eden Blake’s biggest claim to fame is a mortifying pharmaceutical commercial for male enhancement pills. That is, until the female lead on the nationwide tour of Broadway’s hit Pride & Prejudice musical abruptly quits, and Eden is called up to fill the role.

The cast of Liz and Darcy: The Musical has just settled into a three-week run in Washington, DC, and Broadway royalty Brennon Thorne is set to play Darcy. Despite Brennon’s reputation as being “a dream to work with,” Eden’s first impression of him is more like a nightmare. Now, she’ll have to kiss the pompous jerk eight shows per week.

Brennon can’t disguise his disdain for understudies like Eden. But New York is filled with reminders of his most recent failed relationship, and this American tour is a much-needed distraction from his loneliness. As Eden and Brennon take the stage playing Jane Austen’s most memorable characters, their reality begins to mirror Elizabeth and Darcy’s—explosive chemistry and all. Together, they power through press performances and curtain calls, even as rumors of Brennon’s checkered romantic past resurface and prove to Eden that he can’t be trusted.

But with each choreographed stage kiss, Eden and Brennon’s passion for the stage—and each other—ignites. Maybe, just maybe, not all rumors are to be believed—and not all showmances are doomed to fail.

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Game On

Seressia Glass

When an unexpected Player Two enters her life, a gamer must decide if their relationship is worth leveling up in this new romance from the author of The Love Con.

Samara Reynolds has built a large following as a gamer under an anonymous screen name, and uses her skills as a DEIA consultant to advocate for equal representation in video games. When she posted a video critiquing the popular game Legendsfall, she knew she’d get a reaction from her fans, but the video leads to hundreds of female gamers critiquing the game and its company, Artemis Games. The only thing more unexpected than starting an online movement is getting a job offer from the handsome CEO of Artemis.

Aron Galanis has been on a mission to get his company certified to create gaming content for people with disabilities. When he sees Artemis trending online for all the wrong reasons, he’s determined to right his wrongs and offers the originator a mea culpa, as well as a job offer to overhaul the character options in Legendsfall.

Working together turns Aron and Samara from adversaries into allies, allies into friends, and after that—something more. But once their relationship goes public, will Aron and Samara be able to weather the storm and fight for their happy ending, or is it game over?

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Housebroke

Jaci Burton

A millionaire and a woman who thinks he's a house flipper are stuck living in a house together with a menagerie of rescue dogs as roommates, in this heartfelt romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Jaci Burton.

After her ex took all their money and bailed, Hazel Bristow is left broke and homeless. A kind friend whose home is on the market lets Hazel and her foster dogs stay there until it sells. It’s the perfect setup, until her friend forgets to tell Hazel she’s sold the house.


Linc Kennedy is shocked to find Hazel and her pups squatting in the house he just bought, but after some negotiating—she offers to cook amazing meals for him in return for a paycheck—he agrees to let her remain while he’s renovating the place. Linc tells Hazel he’s an investor who renovates homes for fun—he just leaves out the part about being wealthy.


Hazel’s intrigued by Linc. He’s funny, sweet, ridiculously hot, and loves dogs almost as much as she does. But her track record with men? Not great. She worries her trust meter isn’t in working order.


Linc’s never met anyone like the quirky beauty who puts everyone’s needs—human and canine—before her own. He didn’t tell her about his wealth because he’s been burned by women who only wanted him for his money. But with Hazel, he’s never felt more like himself. Now he has to figure out how to tell her the truth without losing her. Because Linc realizes what he feels for her isn't puppy love—it's true love.

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Garbage Collectors

Laura K. Murray

Hello, garbage collectors! Young learners are introduced to this community helper in a beginning reader that's perfect for curious kids. Early readers will learn how garbage collectors drive garbage trucks. Full color images and carefully leveled text highlight what garbage collectors do, where they work, and how they help the community by removing trash. Part of the Seedlings series from Creative Education, this title plants seeds of knowledge about jobs people do to help our communities. Includes a labeled photo diagram featuring tools and equipment.

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Caring for Pets

Carron Brown

"How do people take care of their pets? Shine a light behind the page and see... From adopting a cat and walking a dog, to caring for rodents, birds, and lizards, each page reveals an important part of keeping pets happy and healthy" --

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