Fiction

What Can't Wait
Ashley Hope Perez
"Another day finished, gracias a Dios." Seventeen-year-old Marisa's mother has been saying this for as long as Marisa can remember. Her parents came to Houston from Mexico. They work hard, and they expect Marisa to help her familia. An ordinary life--marrying a neighborhood guy, working, having babies--ought to be good enough for her. Marisa hears something else from her calc teacher. She should study harder, ace the AP test, and get into engineering school in Austin. Some days, it all seems possible. On others, she's not even sure what she wants. When her life at home becomes unbearable, Marisa seeks comfort elsewhere--and suddenly neither her best friend nor boyfriend can get through to her. Caught between the expectations of two different worlds, Marisa isn't sure what she wants--other than a life where she doesn't end each day thanking God it's over. But some things just can't wait...
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Vampire Crush
A. M. Robinson
I swear, my life was always totally normal.Normal house, normal family, normal school. My looks are average, I don't have any superpowers, no one's showing up to tell me I'm a princess—you get the picture. But when my junior year started, something not normal happened. There were new kids at school . . . new kids with a wardrobe straight out of a 19th-century romance novel, and an inexplicable desire to stay at school until sundown.And on top of that, James Hallowell showed up. James, who stole my sandwiches in fourth grade and teased me mercilessly through middle school. James, who now seems to have the power to make my heart race any time he comes near.But something weird is going on. Because James rarely goes out during the day. And he seems stronger than your typical guy. And he knows the new kids, all of whom seem to be harboring some kind of deep secret. . . .
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Conspiracy 365: December
Gabrielle Lord
In the final month of his 365 day countdown, fifteen-year-old fugitive Cal works to get to Ireland in hopes of finally reaching the Ormond Singularity and saving his life.
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Silver Zombie
Carole Nelson Douglas
Zombies and Witches and Vamps . . . Oh, My! What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—at least that’s Delilah Street’s hope. With Sin City’s vampire and werewolf mobs wanting to cash in her chips once and for all, she’s retreating with her partner Ric Montoya and half-wolfhound Quicksilver to her Kansas birthplace. Unfortunately, when it comes to finding trouble, there’s no place like home. . . . It doesn’t take long before Delilah realizes she’s not in Vegas anymore. Zombie cowboys and spectral cattle drives are kicking up dust, the local weather girls are total witches who forecast perfect storms, and some Hollywood fanatic is recasting zombies as the greatest stars of the silver screen. And speaking of silver, Delilah’s special affinity for the all-purpose monster-repellent leads her posse straight down a silver brick road—and into a notso- fun house of mirrors—putting her face-to-face with her dicey past and a mystery woman named Lilith, who’s a real dead ringer for Delilah. The key word being dead.
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Teenage Waistland
Lisa Pazer, Lynn Biederman
“You all believe that losing one-hundred-plus pounds will solve everything, but it won’t. Something far heavier is weighing on you, and until you deal with that, nothing in your lives will be right.” –Betsy Glass, PhD, at first weekly group counseling session for ten severely obese teens admitted into exclusive weight-loss surgery trial Patient #1: Female, age 16, 5'4", 288 lbs.Thrust into size-zero suburban hell by remarried liposuctioned mom. Hates new school and skinny boy-toy stepsister.Body size exceeded only by her big mouth. Patient #2: Male, age 16, 6'2", 335 lbs.All-star football player, but if he gets “girl surgery,” as his dad calls it, he’ll probably get benched.Has moobies—male boobies. Forget about losing his V-card—he’s never even been kissed. Patient #3: Female, age 15, 5'6", 278 lbs.Morbidly obese and morbid, living alone with severely depressed mother who won’t leave her bed.Best and only friend is another patient, whose dark secret threatens everything Patient #3 believes about life. Told in the voices of patients Marcie Mandlebaum, Bobby Konopka, and Annie “East” Itou, Teenage Waistland is a story of betrayal, intervention, a life-altering operation, and how a long-buried truth can prove far more devastating than the layers of fat that protect it.Contains an afterword by Jeffrey L. Zitsman, MD, director of the Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
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Gifts From The Gods:Ancient Words and Wisdom From Mythology
Gareth Hinds, Lise Lunge-Larsen
Ancient names come to rich and fascinating life in this lavishly illustrated gift book for mythology fans and word lovers.Did you know that “museums” were initially temples built to worship the nine muses, the goddesses of the arts? That “Janus” was the god of the doorways and hallways, and we have named our janitors after him?Where did these words — and other words, such as chaos, genius, nemesis, panic, echo, and narcissus — come from? From the ancient stories of the Greeks — stories that rang so true and wise that the names of the characters have survived for centuries as words we use every day. The brief stories here not only impart the subtle wisdom of these ancient tales, but make us understand the words, and our own world, more deeply.
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Invisible Things
Jenny Davidson
Sixteen-year-old Sophie knows there is more to the story of her parents' death. And she's on a mission to find the truth. To aid her in solving the decades-old mystery, Sophie has enlisted her best friend, Mikael, whose friendship has turned into something more. It's soon clear that Sophie's future is very much wrapped up in the details of her family's past, and the key lies with information only one man can provide: her parents' former employer, the elusive billionaire Alfred Nobel.As the threat of war looms in Europe, dangers to Sophie and her loved ones grow. While her determination to solve the mystery doesn't waver, forces beyond her control conspire to keep her from her purpose. Then, news of her great-aunt Tabitha's death sets off a chain of events that leaves Sophie questioning everything.The more Sophie learns, the more she realizes that nothing—and no one—in her life is what it seems. And coming to terms with the dark secrets she uncovers means imagining a truth that she never dreamed possible. Full of gorgeous settings, thrilling adventure, and romance, invisible things is a novel that dares to ask, what if?
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The Sentinels: Stone of Tymora
Geno Salvatore, R.A. Salvatore
The lightning-paced conclusion to the Stone of Tymora trilogy by best-selling author R.A. Salvatore and his son...After dueling with a dragon and a demon, Maimun knows he must destroy the stone that has kept him on the run for most of his life. The question now is how. With Joen by his side, Maimun journeys to the Tower of Twilight to beg famed wizard Malchor Harpell for answers. But Harpell's help comes at a steep price. Friends become enemies. Lost secrets come to light. And deep in the shadows, the sentinels are watching, scheming to save the stone--even if it means someone must die.Featuring the sage words and signature swordwork of R.A. Salvatore's best-selling character Drizzt Do'Urden, this final book of the Stone of Tymora trilogy is packed with action, magic, intrigue, and a heart-stopping twist that Salvatore fans won't want to miss.
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Bug Island
R.G. Cordiner
They destroyed the mighty Mayan Empire. What hope for a few shipwrecked survivors?A South American cruise. It should have been a once in a lifetime experience. And it was. But not in the way they imagined. Barely surviving a horrific shipwreck, the remaining passengers have to try and cope with finding food, water, shelter, let alone the constant arguments. And then there are the bugs. Not the sort that you squish and then get on with your day. Oh no. Toe biters, pond skaters, assassin bugs and harvestmen that drop down on top of their victims – all of these could be found in your garden. But on this lost island they are all at least twenty times their normal size. Trapped on an island with a six metre long giant centipede with armoured plates was not on the cruise itinerary. Now all they want is to get off – without being squished! “Anyone pack the bug spray?”BUG ISLAND is suitable for anyone aged 8 years or older.
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Spinning Out
David Stahler
High school senior Frenchy has little ambition beyond hanging out at the smoking rock until his best friend, the ever-witty and conniving Stewart, gets him to try out for Man of la Mancha. To everyone's surprise, the guys are a hit. But when Stewart's antics begin to grow more obsessivehe wears his costume 24/7, freaks out about little details, and displays an incessant hatred of the high-tech windmills outside of townFrenchy worries that there's something deeper going on. Is Stewart spiraling into madness, just like Don Quixote? And can Frenchy battle through his own demons in time to save his friend from self-destruction before it's too late?