Fiction

There Is No Long Distance Now
Naomi Shihab Nye
In these forty life-altering, life-affirming, and extremely short short stories, the award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye proposes that no matter how great the divide between friends, siblings, life and death, classmates, enemies, happiness and misery, war and peace, breakfast and lunch, parent and child, country and city, there is, in fact, no long distance. Not anymore.
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The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Michelle Hodkin
Mara Dyer doesn't believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is. She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.
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Arabat: Absolute Midnight
Clive Barker, Clive Barker
Clive Barker, author of The Thief of Always, delivers an epic battle filled with fantasy and adventure that readers won't want to put down!Candy Quackenbush, her allies, and her enemies are back in Abarat: Absolute Midnight, the third book in Clive Barker's New York Times bestselling Abarat series."The waiting is over. Tomorrow there will be no dawn. Only midnight, absolute and eternal." Mater Motley, the Old Mother of Darkness herself—following the events of Abarat and Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War—has crafted a scheme that may destroy the Abarat, a vast archipelago where every hour is an island in one eternal day.When Candy discovers Mater Motley's secret plot, she realizes that only she can bring an end to the destruction. Only she can stop the complete darkness threatening to abolish all hope and happiness from the Abarat.
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Fury
Elizabeth Miles
Sometimes sorry isn't enough....It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems... Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend. On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed. In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay. Em and Chase have been chosen. "Achingly gorgeous. Fury seduced me."--Lauren Kate, New York Times bestselling author of Fallen "A fresh dark twist on paranormal, with surprises around every corner. FURY kept me up all night!" --Nancy Holder, NYT Bestselling Author of WICKED and CRUSADE
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Sudden Flash Youth
Mark Budman, Tom Hazuka, Christine Perkins-Hazuka

A unique collection. The only anthology of short-short stories to focus on youth. In these stories of no more than 1000 words, well-known and emerging American authors spotlight crucial moments of change during coming-of-age. Their young protagonists face matters of great consequence, such as the death of a parent, unwanted pregnancy, and bullying, as well as lighter, if perplexing circumstances: how to hold a prom when being home-schooled; what to do when the babysitter suddenly sees the Rapture. The stories are of this moment--a girl who falls in love and then is pressured to lose her virginity in a cyberspace world--and they also remember the past: the Nixon era, the Vietnam War, slavery. Here is a glimpse into the way we live now from the point of view of those who will determine the future. Among the contributors are Steve Almond, Peter Bacho, Richard Bausch, Gayle Brandeis, Richard Brautigan, Ron Carlson, Kelly Cherry, Dave Eggers, Pia Z. Ehrhardt, Jim Heynen, Victor Lavalle, Meg Kearney, Naomi Shihab Nye, Maryann O'Hara, Sonia Pilcer, Pamela Painter, Bruce Holland Rogers, Robert Shapard, and Alice Walker.
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Journal of a Schoolyard Bully
Farley Katz
In the tradition of the mega successful DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and DORK DIARIES comes Niko Kayler, a school bully who must keep a journal to right all the wrongs he has done, but Niko, being a habitual trouble-maker, has other ideas. Niko Kayler, the terror of his middle school, doles out wedgies and collects money he doesn't need. When he is forced to begin keeping a journal of his activities to curb his bullying ways, he secretly turns his diary into a how-to guide for bullies. Now, against the wishes of his peers, Niko plans to conquer his middle school and teach everyone a lesson in bullying, including his teachers. Check out JournalofaSchoolyardBully.com for more.
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Shifting
Bethany Wiggins
After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Magdalene Mae is transferred to what should be her last foster home in the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. Now that she's eighteen and has only a year left in high school, she's determined to stay out of trouble and just be normal. Agreeing to go to the prom with Bridger O'Connell is a good first step. Fitting in has never been her strong suit, but it's not for the reasons most people would expect-it all has to do with the deep secret that she is a shape shifter. But even in her new home danger lurks, waiting in the shadows to pounce. They are the Skinwalkers of Navajo legend, who have traded their souls to become the animal whose skin they wear-and Maggie is their next target. Full of romance, mysticism, and intrigue, this dark take on Navajo legend will haunt readers to the final page.
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All These Things I've Done
Gabrielle Zevin
In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family. From Gabrielle Zevin--the author of the critically acclaimed Elsewhere--comes All These Things I've Done, a masterful novel about an impossible romance, a mafiya family, and the ties that forever bind us.
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The Underdogs
Mike Lupica
#1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica tackles football!Will Tyler can fly on a football field. He may not be the biggest running back around, but no one can touch him when it comes to hitting the hole and finding the end zone. And no one can match his love of the game. When Will has a football in hand, he may as well be flying for real because life can't touch him - his dad isn't so defeated, his town isn't so poor, and everyone has something to cheer for. All of which does him no good if the football season is canceled. With no funding for things like uniforms and a cared-for playing field, with seemingly every other family moving to find jobs, there simply isn't enough money or players for a season. Unless one kid can rally an entire town and give everyone a reason to believe . . .For fans of his bestselling novels Travel Team and Million-Dollar Throw, Mike Lupica delivers a feel-good sports story that will have readers cheering where they sit.“There's plenty of action for sports fans, and readers will root for Will and his teammates till the very last page.” –School Library Journal “[F]ootball fans will…respond to the detailed and exciting game action once the season gets rolling and find inspiration in Will and his teammates' tenacity.” –Publisher’s Weekly “Will's ingenuity and loyalty are encouraging, causing readers to want to cheer him on as he makes his dream come true.” –VOYA
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Blood Wounds
Susan Beth Pfeffer
âWillaâs frankly portrayed grief, confusion, and uncertainties will have a strong impact on readers.â âPublishers Weekly, starred review Sixteen-year-old Willa is fortunate to have a happy blended family. But a frantic phone call from Pryor, Texas, shatters the calm. Willaâs birth father has murdered his second wife and daughters . . . and the police think heâs on his way east to hunt down Willa and her mother. As this disturbing tragedy inevitably exposes family secrets to Willa and her community, she struggles with her own destructive secret