JO LAROUCHE HAS lived her 13 years in the California desert with her Aunt Lily, ever since she was dropped on Lily’s doorstep with this note: This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a dangerous baby. At Lily’s annual Christmas costume party, a variety of strange events take place that lead Jo and Lily out of California forever—and into the mysterious, strange, fantastical world of Eldritch City. There, Jo learns the scandalous truth about who she is, and she and Lily join the Order of Odd-Fish, a collection of knights who research useless information. Glamorous cockroach butlers, pointless quests, obsolete weapons, and bizarre festivals fill their days, but two villains are controlling their fate. Jo is inching closer and closer to the day when her destiny is fulfilled, and no one in Eldritch City will ever be the same.

JOEL WILL SOON be 12, and he thinks nothing is going on in the small community where he lives. But he’s wrong. One day, an incident that could easily have been a catastrophe turns into a miracle. Now Joel believes he owes the world a good deed, to prove that he deserved what might have been divine intervention. He thinks up an elaborate scheme, but it doesn’t go as anticipated. Even though his heart is in the right place, feelings are hurt. If he confesses what he’s done and why, will things be put right again? Readers who met Joel Gustafson, his father, and their friends in A Bridge to the Stars will follow, with appreciation, Henning Mankell’s shrewd depiction, in this companion novel, of the surprising changes in Joel’s existence. Mankell deftly explores Joel’s self-discovery, his realization that lives can be altered in a single moment, and his new understanding that a choice between telling the truth and keeping silent can make all the difference.

Snappy, pulp-inspired noir set in the mean hallways of middle school, from an exciting debut author.   The treacherous, hormone-soaked hallways of Franklin Middle School are the setting for this sharp, funny noir novel about tough guys and even tougher girls. “The Frank” is in the clutches of a crime syndicate run by seventh-grader Vinny “Mr. Biggs” Biggio, who deals in forged hall passes and black-market candy. Double-cross him and your number is punched by one of his deadly water-gun-toting assassins. One hit in the pants and you are in “the Outs” forever. Matt Stevens is a proud loner with his own code of justice. He’s avoided being pulled into Vinny’s organization until now: Mr. Biggs has offered him a job he can’t resist, one that leads to the surprising downfall of Vinny’s top assassin, the beautiful and deadly Nikki “Fingers” Finnegan, at the hands of an unknown assailant. Matt thinks he was used, and he becomes determined to find the trigger-guy or -girl, even if it means bringing down one of his oldest friends.  New talent Jack D. Ferraiolo revitalizes the noir novel while delivering a terrific, addictive mystery that crackles with wit and excitement.   “Jack Ferraiolo shines a light on middle school and reveals what we’ve always suspected: it’s a sinister place ruled by crime bosses and thugs. ‘The Big Splash’ will make you laugh out loud.”—Jeff Kinney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of DIARY OF A WIMPY KID“Move over Bogart; now there's hard-boiled private detective Matt Stevens on the job at Franklin Middle School ... You could call this genre kid noir.”—Judy Freeman, on the "Sure Shot Books for Boys" list on readkiddoread.com“Entertaining and thrilling.”--The New York Times Sunday Book Review (full page review)“A first novel with an ingenious premise: junior high noir … Twists and curve balls keep readers guessing; extended jokes will keep them laughing. With crisp prose and surprisingly poignant moments, Ferraiolo’s debut entertains on many levels.” --Publishers Weekly, starred review“Ferraiolo weaves a tale that is thought-provoking and rib-tickling all at the same time. Highly recommended.”--Library Media Connection starred review“Matt Stevens may turn out to be a bankable franchise: His first-person present-tense narration carries in it echoes of Marlowe, and the simple plot makes some crafty twists and turns as it goes along.”--Kirkus“Ferraiolo cleverly interweaves Mafia undertones with Middle School social dynamics in this comical yet page turning novel.  Young adult mystery enthusiasts will love the unmasking of this new sleuth in literature.”--ALAN “Ferraiolo has taken us down, in a manner of speaking. Good fun, and the comic-book style cover will attract readers.”—KLIATT reviews“This fabulous mystery will have teens racing to get to the last page…A great whodunit mystery lovers are sure to consume.”—VOYA“This debut novel delivers plenty of laughs … Fans of private-eye spoofs will enjoy this entertaining read.”—Booklist“Well paced, funny, and suspenseful, with some real commentary on bullying and mob mentality, this book will have fans eagerly awaiting the next installment in this faux noir detective series.”—School Library Journal“Ferraiolo shines in this debut novel, working the noir tropes for all they’re worth … The mystery itself is cagily constructed to keep readers guessing pretty much til’ the last bell.”—Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books“If middle school has an “underworld,” this book is The Godfather and The Maltese Falcon all rolled into one. Better still, it’s funny, and not just a little.”—Gordon Korman, author of SCHOOL OF ROCK F&P level: W

Walk-in closet full of designer everything? Check. Private Caribbean island? Check. Connection to the aristocracy? Working on it. Cunning, malicious stalker? Double check. Welcome to the world of the Kents, a charismatic, ambitious, and fabulously wealthy English family with two sisters – one as strong and sparkling as the other is delicate and wounded – who must somehow put their differences aside to keep an unknown enemy from bringing them down. Wild and beautiful Emily Kent has had the world laid at her feet by her ruthless mother and billionaire father – but it's not enough. Gifted with her mother's to-die-for looks, her father's hard-scrabble business sense, and both of her parents' lust for control, Emily is determined to make her own luck by seducing the only man she's ever wanted, a man who can make her dreams of attaining the heights of old-money English society come true. By contrast, Emily's step-sister, Claudia, is a fragile soul―her mother died when she was five, leaving her to the unkind reign of step-mother Innocence. In an uncharacteristic burst of rebellion, Claudia trades her gilded lifestyle for an ordinary flat and daytime job where she meets the man of her dreams… or so she imagines. But, Emily and Claudia are caught up in a desperate situation that may be beyond their control. As for their father, disgraced tycoon Jack Kent, and his wife Innocence, they are too obsessed with the fight for supremacy over their vast empire to see that a mighty and sinister opponent is plotting to ruin them all.