JANUARY NEWSLETTER
DVDs:
At 59, Mike Flynt may be too old to be on a college football field, but not too old to feel the weight of unfinished business. After nearly four decades, he returns to his alma mater to take the hit that changed everything. Bruised, doubted, and nearly broken, he pushes for one more game, not for glory, but for the teammates he lost, the family he fractured, and the ending he still believes is possible. Includes Spanish SDH.
In 1987, nine-year-old John O’Leary survives a terrible accident and grows into a man who show us what it means to truly live.
A mad professor’s forgotten creation, Stitch Head, protects his family of frightened monsters in their castle. But when a sly carnival owner named Mr. Freakfinder offers him fame and fortune, will Stitch Head accept and leave his family helpless against a mob of local townspeople? Based on the best-selling book series, Stitch Head is a delightful comedy adventure for monsters of every age!
It follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.
As World War II rages, a teenage boy in Germany is forced to confront a terrible truth: loyalty to his country now means loyalty to a lie. When his trusted bishop urges obedience to the Nazi regime, he begins to question everything. And after his Jewish friend is taken away, he secretly listens to banned radio broadcasts and launches a resistance, exposing the truth. But in a nation ruled by fear, defiance comes at a cost and as the regime closes in, he must decide what it truly means to be a good German.
Elphaba, cast out as the Wicked Witch, hides in the forest, fighting for Oz’s oppressed Animals and seeking to reveal the Wizard’s lies. Glinda, now a beloved public figure, enjoys fame in Emerald City but is troubled by her lost bond with Elphaba. As she tries to reconcile them, tensions rise, affecting Boq, Fiyero, and Nessarose, especially when a girl from Kansas arrives. In the face of rising conflict, Elphaba and Glinda must reunite, confronting truth and empathy to change Oz forever.
ADULT FICTION
Madison Walker left Rome, Kentucky, determined to make it in the culinary world. But after years of chasing success in New York, all she has to show for it is her shattered confidence and a desperate need for a fresh start. Coming home isn’t part of the plan–until an unexpected job offer lands in her lap–the head chef position at a new farm-to-table restaurant in her hometown. The only catch? It comes from James Huxley, owner of Huxley Farm, her brother’s best friend. James has always played it safe, keeping his head down and running the family business. But when Madison’s happiness is on the line, he’s willing to take up his estranged brother’s offer to launch a restaurant. James has loved her quietly for years, knowing she’s never seen him as more than an annoyance, but now that she’s back, he’s determined to change that. Madison and James are tasked with launching the dreamy restaurant in record time, but keeping things strictly professional soon becomes impossible, and the town can’t help but meddle in their relationship. As opening night looms closer, Madison’s fears threaten to hold her back. When an unexpected disaster collides with a long-simmering sibling feud, both Madison and James will have to face their biggest insecurities–and decide if love is worth the risk or if some dreams are safer left untouched.
BARNETT-THROUGH WATER AND STONE
In 1948, Zion National Park ranger Henry Eriksson and his wife, Alma, are less than one year removed from their infant son’s sudden death in a flash flood. When Henry discovers an abandoned baby on his morning rounds, he’s unsure how to react, but Alma is delighted at what seems to be a miracle from God. Nearly eighty years later, Talia Eriksson returns to Zion National Park to reconnect with her grandfather and review her life goals. But when an at-home DNA test exposes family secrets, Talia searches for answers. With the uncertain future looming, Talia must learn that family is deeper than genetics and that trusting God can mean being still and clinging to the Rock.
Aiden Valentine has a he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight. Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life–or lack thereof–she begins to question if she’s as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending… even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.
The Flynn family is coming undone. Catherine and Bud’s open marriage has reached its breaking point as their daughters spiral in their own chaotic orbits: Abigail, the eldest, is dating a man in his twenties nicknamed War Crime Wes; Louise, the middle child, maintains a secret correspondence with an online terrorist; the brilliant youngest, Harper, is being sent to wilderness reform camp due to her insistence that someone—or something—is monitoring the town’s citizens. Casting a shadow across their lives, and their small coastal town, is Paul Alabaster, a billionaire shipping magnate. Rumors of corruption circulate, but no one dares dig too deep. No one except Harper, whose obsession with a mysterious shipping container sends the family hurtling into a criminal conspiracy—one that may just bring them closer together. Irreverent and addictive, pinging between the voices of the Flynn family and those of the panorama of characters around them, Madeline Cash’s Lost Lambs is a debut novel of quick-witted observation and surprising tenderness. With it, Cash has crafted a family saga for the twenty-first century, all held together with crazy glue.
In the mid-1980s in the tiny town of Longview, Texas, Nellie Anderson, the beautiful daughter of the Anderson family dynasty, has burst onto the scene. She always gets what she wants. What she can’t get for herself…well, that’s what her mother is for. Because Charleigh Andersen, blond, beautiful, and ruthlessly cunning, remembers all too well having to claw her way to the top. When she was coming of age on the poor side of East Texas, she was a loser, an outcast, humiliated, and shunned by the in-crowd, whose approval she’d so desperately thirsted for. When a prairie-kissed family moves to town, all trad-wife, woodworking dad, wholesome daughter vibes, Charleigh’s entire self-made social empire threatens to crumble. Who will be leftstanding when the dust settles?
COHN-MY EX-HUSBANDS EX-HUSBAND
Audrey and Ian were best friends–until they fell in love with the same man. To be precise, they fell in love with, married, and divorced the same man. And there’s no coming back from that. Twenty-odd years later, they’re right back at the beginning: Vienna, where their university study abroad turned into a love triangle from which they never quite recovered. But it’s Christmas, and Audrey’s daughter is getting married. Time to let bygones be bygones. Not for the sake of the holiday or even because they’ve matured with age…but because their mutual ex is nowhere to be found. It’s up to Audrey and Ian to track him down. As wedding plans go further awry, the former besties race to find the father of the bride. Juggling complicated family dynamics (and the cocktails required to cope), they learn that, sometimes, it’s not about the search but the friendships rediscovered along the way.
Five years after her husband Owen disappeared, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter Bailey have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together, they’ve forged a relationship with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas and are putting the past behind them. But when Owen shows up at Hannah’s new exhibition, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger again. Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety–and finds there just might be a way back to Owen and their long-awaited second chance.
Aren Bellamore has no interest in being anyone’s princess. She’s too busy running the Raven’s Beak tavern, fending off unwanted marriage proposals, and dreaming of escape. But when a brush with death and a dangerously handsome stranger upend her life, Aren finds herself bound to a bargain that could change everything. Prince Dietan has carried the cursed Rings of Fate ancient weapons of devastating power since childhood. The magic is killing him, and the enemies are closing in. To make the journey to reverse his curse, he needs a bride to hide his secrets. Aren wants freedom. Pretending to be his fiancée should give them both what they want. But as their perilous journey pits them against political schemes, monstrous Kilandrar, and a growing attraction neither can deny, the line between make-believe and destiny begins to blur. And the fate of two kingdoms may depend on whether a cynical barmaid and a cursed prince are willing to risk their hearts.
Princess Aradella is trapped in the iron grip of her evil and powerful aunt, Queen Olina. Navigating the treacherous waters of political machinations and familial duties, Aradella discovers allies in unexpected places, including Tanek, a swansman with his own mysterious connections. Set in a world where royalty, magic, and mythical beings coexist, Aradella’s path is intertwined with that of Kaley Arens, an Earthling who becomes deeply entangled in the planet’s intricate social hierarchy, as she is faced with a choice between her homeland and newfound love. As Aradella and her companions uncover dark secrets and hidden agendas, they embark on an adventure filled with loyalty, romance, and courage, where the lines between magic and reality blur, but where love has the power to transform destinies. Aradella’s heart finds a beacon in Mekos, the son of Tanek, whose distinct heritage and protective nature captivate her. As their bond deepens amidst political intricacies, their love story unfolds through secret plans and whispered promises. But in this world, nothing is as it seems and destiny can’t be denied…
Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor, until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. For the competitive former chess prodigy, returning to her family’s failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father is the best shot she has. With the right moves, she hopes to restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career. Keera’s chance to play in the big leagues comes when she’s retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There’s little hard evidence against him, but considering the couple’s impending and potentially nasty divorce, LaRussa faces life in prison. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, who’s eager to destroy her in court on her first homicide defense. As Keera and her team follow the evidence, they uncover a complicated and deadly game that’s more than Keera bargained for. When shocking information turns the case upside down, Keera must decide between her duty to her client, her family’s legacy, and her own future.
Camille needs an alibi. Aubrey agrees to give her one. A tense, feverish thriller about two women’s lives that are forever intertwined when a murder threatens to expose them both. Everyone at Chantilly’s Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. Flirted a little with a local but returned alone to her B&B before midnight in her sleek car. But that woman wasn’t Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price. Aubrey has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she’s convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there’s more than one way to get to the truth – and she may have found the perfect way in. Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life, married to hot-shot lawyer Ben, and is daughter to a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it appears: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can’t find proof because he tracks her every move. Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek. Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone.
FEENEY-MY HUSBAND’S WIFE
Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife. One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying. Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.
GARCIA-THE FAIR WEATHER FRIEND
Faith Richards, a beloved TV meteorologist, is murdered after vanishing during a work break. As the town unravels, an intern digs into a web of secrets, suspects, and hidden grudges. The investigation exposes Faith’s true life and sparks a tense psychological chase filled with twists and a devastating final reveal.
GEORGE-YOU’VE LOST THAT LIVIN’ FEELIN’
Introducing Adam Parrall—retired drummer, vinyl record store owner . . . and amateur sleuth! Adam Parrall’s wild days as a drummer in a rock band are far behind him. Now semi-retired and running a record store in the sleepy town of Cordoba on the mid-California coast, life is considerably calmer, with pleasant surprises such as winning a lifetime achievement award (which Adam learns, depressingly, is intended for deceased artists). There’s plenty of life left in Adam yet, though sadly the same can’t be said of Righteous Brother tribute artist Barry Haddon, whose dead body is discovered by Adam outside a nightclub. Suddenly Adam discovers an exciting new hobby—sleuthing! Is a knife-wielding robber terrorizing the locals responsible for Barry’s murder? As panic and confusion sweep through the town, Adam can’t rule anything—or anyone—out. Unfortunately, his meddling may mean that he’ll qualify for that lifetime achievement award sooner than he thought! The first in an irresistibly charming cozy mystery series featuring a retired drummer seeking to recapture the excitement of his rock band heyday by solving crime. A page-turning must-read for fans of M.C. Beaton, Richard Osman and J.M. Hall!
GODFREY-THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS
We’ll make a list. A list of all the people and things we see that are suspicious. And then… we’ll investigate them.” Miv is panicking. Life hasn’t been amazing since her mom got sick, but now her dad is talking about wanting to move their family away from the town Miv has lived in her whole life. Because of the murders. But leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv’s mum stopped talking. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all? So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things on their street. People they know. People they don’t. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighborhood, within their families-and between each other-than they ever thought possible. What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?
Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck must contend with a unique problem. His client, Elliott Stafford, indicted for murder, has gone silent. Not just silent in asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination–Elliott refuses to speak. He won’t talk to the judge, his girlfriend, or even the attorney fighting for his life. There seems to be no medical or psychological reason for his silence. He has, as Jack puts it, ‘chosen to become his own worst enemy.’ To some, it’s an act of protest against a broken criminal justice system. Jack doesn’t buy it. Undeterred by the hoopla and calls to walk away, he keeps his client and tries his best to save Elliott from himself. As he digs for facts, Jack discovers a much more disturbing reason for Elliott’s silence. Virtually everything Elliott told Jack before the indictment is proving false, including Elliot’s criminal history, family turmoil, and secret past. As Jack plunges deeper, he comes to believe that Elliott isn’t trying to hide his own guilt. He may be protecting someone else–and the stakes could not be higher.
Catherine lives a normal life with her loving husband, Sam, and their two children. But many parts of her past are shrouded in mystery…and that’s the way she likes it. Keeping the past buried keeps her safe. When a former flame resurfaces, something inside of Catherine gives way, releasing a flood of trauma she had thought was buried long ago. Lying in the hospital after a complete breakdown, language eludes Catherine. The shock of her painful past has left her mute, unable to explain to Sam or her children the root of her anguish. As Catherine’s fragmented memories of her university days sharpen, the threads of her past and present start to coalesce. Catherine is transported back in time to her love affair with Lucian, a charismatic and complicated artist, with whom she shared a passion that was destined to end in tragedy. Fifteen years after the fateful end of their romance, Catherine must finally confront the events that brought her to crisis, while the fragile pieces of her life, so delicately balanced, begin to shift–and threaten to shatter.
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins is back with a thrilling new gothic suspense set in a Gulf Coast beach motel where hurricane season can be murder. St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama is famous for three things: the deadly hurricanes that regularly sweep into town, the Rosalie Inn, a century-old hotel that’s survived every one of those storms, and Lo Bailey, the local girl infamously accused of the murder of her lover, political scion Landon Fitzroy, during Hurricane Marie in 1984. When Geneva Corliss, the current owner of the Rosalie Inn, hears a writer is coming to town to research the crime that put St. Medard’s Bay on the map, she’s less interested in solving a whodunnit than in how a successful true crime book might help the struggling inn’s bottom line. But to her surprise, August Fletcher doesn’t come to St. Medard’s Bay alone. With him is none other than Lo Bailey herself. Lo says she’s returned to her hometown to clear her name once and for all, but the closer Geneva gets to both Lo and August, the more she wonders if Lo is actually back to settle old scores. As the summer heats up and another monster storm begins twisting its way towards St. Medard’s Bay, Geneva learns that some people can be just as destructive-and as deadly-as any hurricane, and that the truth of what happened to Landon Fitzroy may not be the only secret Lo is keeping…
When Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017–revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was “fresh, unpretentious and lean” (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)–critics lauded it as “a revelation” (Susan Chira, New York Times) and “a cultural landmark” (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of Homer’s other great epic–the most revered war poem of all time. The Iliad roars with the clamor of arms, the bellowing boasts of victors, the fury and grief of loss, and the anguished cries of dying men. It sings, too, of the sublime magnitude of the world–the fierce beauty of nature and the gods’ grand schemes beyond the ken of mortals. In Wilson’s hands, this thrilling, magical, and often horrifying tale now gallops at a pace befitting its legendary battle scenes, in crisp but resonant language that evokes the poem’s deep pathos and reveals palpably real, even “complicated,” characters–both human and divine. The culmination of a decade of intense engagement with antiquity’s most surpassingly beautiful and emotionally complex poetry, Wilson’s Iliad now gives us a complete Homer for our generation.
A new translation of the epic poem, and the first by a woman, brings alive Homer’s tale of shipwrecks, monsters, and magic, and provides an introductory overview of the poem’s major themes, controversial origin, and the scope of its influence.
Her words used to set the page on fire. But a viral backlash over her latest film adaptation forced Petra Rose to take a hiatus, resulting in missed deadlines and an overdue mortgage. Branded a fraud and fame-hungry opportunist, she learned the hard way what happens when the Internet turns on you. And she’s been uninspired to write ever since. Now, with her next suspense novel outlined and savings nearly gone, she retreats to a secluded lakeside cabin, hoping to find inspiration. It’s Petra’s last-ditch attempt to save her career–and herself. Then he shows up. Detective Nathaniel Saint arrives with disturbing news, his presence igniting a creativity in her she thought long since burned out. Petra’s words return in a rush, and her fictional cop character begins to mirror the very real cop who’s becoming her muse. Their “research” sessions blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Each glance, every touch pulls Petra deeper into a world she thought she’d never lose herself in again. But inspiration this powerful comes at a cost. When Saint starts taking his role into her career too seriously, Petra’s forced to confront the chaos she created. But doing so could cost her more than the reputation she’s been trying to salvage. The reputation the world wrote for her–the reputation only she can reclaim.
Esther Nacht is born in Vienna in 1905. Her father dies on board a ship to Portland, Maine; her mother is murdered by anti-Semites in Portland. Dr. Larch knows it won’t be easy to find a Jewish family to adopt Esther; in fact, he won’t find any family who’ll adopt her. When Esther is fourteen, soon to be a ward of the state, Dr. Larch meets the Winslows, a philanthropic New England family with a history of providing foster care for unadopted orphans. The Winslows aren’t Jewish, but they despise anti-Semitism. Esther’s gratitude for the Winslows is unending; even as she retraces her roots back to Vienna, she never stops loving and protecting the Winslows. In the final chapter, set in Jerusalem in 1981, Esther Nacht is seventy-six.
KOONTZ-THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY
The human ‘oddities’ in the Museum of the Strange are less wondrous than the gawking rubes had been promised. But Alida is something else. The real thing. Traveling Depression-era America from carnival midways to speakeasies, Alida is resigned to an exploited and lonely life on the road as the museum’s golden ticket–until she’s rescued by two compassionate strangers. Franklin and Loretta Fairchild see in Alida a gifted and uncannily well-read girl in need of a loving touch and a family. With the openhearted couple and their three precociously imaginative children, Alida finds it. Yet despite everyone’s overwhelming generosity and acceptance, Alida knows she is still a very different kind of girl. Her dreams bear that out. They’re vivid, unsettling, and threatening. Alida fears that they’re also warnings–and that it’s the Fairchilds who may need rescue from a bad, bad world
KRENTZ-THE SHOP ON HIDDEN LANE
The Harper and the Wells families have regarded each other with deep suspicion for four generations. The Harpers have been known to offer their psychic talents for less-than-legal purposes, and the powerful Wells clan has a reputation for playing both sides of the street. But for all the years of history and distrust between them, there is a mysterious pact binding the two. They share the responsibility for protecting a long-buried and very dangerous secret. Sophy Harper and Luke Wells are shocked to learn that her aunt and his uncle have been sleeping together—and now they are both missing. Not only that, but the last traces of them are at the scene of a murder soaked in negative paranormal energy. Clearly, someone is willing to kill to obtain the secret their families have been charged with protecting. Despite their mutual distrust, which, as far as Sophy is concerned extends to Luke’s hellhound of a dog, they both know that the terms of the pact must be honored. Their investigation uncovers a psychic trail leading to a bizarre desert art colony where nothing is as it seems. But Luke and Sophy are concealing a few secrets, too. By a strange twist of fate, a Harper and a Wells have no choice but to trust each other and the fierce attraction that is binding them as surely as the pact between the families.
When Matilda receives a sudden invitation from Kingsley Cello, the estranged father she’s never met, she travels to his seaside home, Hidden Beach, hoping for connection and self-discovery. Instead, she encounters her lost brother Meer, troubled ex-actor Brock, and the guarded Tatum, all hiding painful secrets. With Kingsley missing, Matilda must unravel the dark mysteries of Hidden Beach, where lies and blood ties blur beneath the surface.
A suburban neighborhood starts to spiral when one text message causes a nasty chain reaction with horrifying consequences. You press send and your message disappears. Full of secrets about your neighbors, it’s meant for your sister. But it doesn’t reach her – it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead. As rumor spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighborhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten. But then you receive the first death threat. The next day, a woman has been murdered. And what’s even more chilling is that she had the same address as you – 26 Oakpark – but in a different part of town. Did the killer get the wrong house? It won’t be long before you find out…
MARKOVITS-THE REST OF OUR LIVES
When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair twelve years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. He is also on the run from his own health issues and a forced leave from work. So, rather than returning to his wife in Westchester, Tom keeps driving west with the vague plan of visiting people from his past–an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son–en route, maybe, to California. He’s moving toward a future he hasn’t even envisioned yet while he considers his past and the choices he’s made that have brought him to this particular present. Pitch-perfect, tender, and keenly observed, The Rest of Our Lives is a story about what to do when the rest of your life is only just the beginning of your story.
The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.1664: Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works, who secretly dreams of escaping her circumstances and creating her own masterpiece. When her father is unjustly imprisoned, Alouette’s efforts to save him lead to her own confinement in the notorious Salpêtrière asylum, where thousands of women are held captive and cruelly treated. But within its grim walls, she discovers a small group of brave allies, and the possibility of a life bigger than she ever imagined.1939: Kristof Larson is a medical student beginning his psychiatric residency in Paris, whose neighbors on the Rue de Gobelins are a Jewish family who have fled Poland. When Nazi forces descend on the city, Kristof becomes their only hope for survival, even as his work as a doctor is jeopardized. A spellbinding and transportive look at a side of Paris known to very few—the underground city that is a mirror reflection of the glories above—Paula McLain’s unforgettable new novel chronicles two parallel journeys of defiance and rescue that connect in ways both surprising and deeply moving.
MONTGOMERY-MURDER AT WORLD’S END
Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley’s Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom–every window, chimney, and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within. By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow. All eyes turn to Stephen Pike, Tithe Hall’s newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn’t commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, eighty-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she’s been waiting for. Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges, and rising terror to unmask the killer before it’s too late.
For two decades, Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, Guy and Shep, have ruled television as America’s Favorite Family. Millions of viewers tune in every week to watch them play flawless, black-and-white versions of themselves. But now it’s 1964, and the Newmans’ perfection suddenly feels woefully out of touch. Ratings are in free fall, as are the Newmans themselves. Del is keeping an explosive secret from his wife, and Dinah is slowly going numb-literally. Steady, stable Guy is hiding the truth about his love life, and rock ‘n roll idol Shep may finally be in real trouble. When Del-the creative motor behind the show-is in a mysterious car accident, Dinah decides to take matters into her own hands. She hires Juliet Dunne, an outspoken young reporter, to help her write the final episode. But Dinah and Juliet have wildly different perspectives about what it means to be a woman, and a family, in 1964. Can the Newmans hold it together to change television history? Or will they be canceled before they ever have the chance? Funny, big-hearted, and deeply moving, Meet the Newmans is a rich family story about the dual lives we lead. Because even when our lives aren’t televised weekly, we all have a behind-the-scenes.
PATRICK-THE TIME HOP COFFEE SHOP
Greta Perks was once the shining star of the iconic Maple Gold coffee commercials. Now fame has faded, her marriage is on the rocks, her teenage daughter has become distant, and Greta’s once-glittering career feels like a distant memory. When Greta stumbles upon a mysterious coffee shop serving a magical brew, she wishes for the perfect life in those past Maple Gold commercials. Next thing she knows, Greta wakes in the idyllic make-believe town of Mapleville. But can life ever be like a coffee commercial? And what will happen when Greta has to choose between perfection and real life?
Zona never thought her life was headed this way, but here she is, newly divorced and moving back in with her mom, Louise. After her gambling addicted ex-husband lost all of their savings, including their daughter’s college fund, she doesn’t really have a choice. She’s cutting every coupon she can and she’s going to help put her daughter through nursing school, even if it kills her. This wasn’t Louise’s plan, either, laid up at home with a broken leg after one unfortunate tumble on the senior singles cruise she’d been looking forward to for months. But if she’s going to spend all her time at home, at least she’s got her daughter there with her. And there’s some hot new eye candy next door to distract them both from their troubles. He appears to be single and just around Zona’s age. Could his arrival be the universe making amends for everything it’s put her through? Maybe the universe isn’t feeling as generous as Louise hoped. There’s something lurking under that mans surface charm, something…dangerous? And who’s the woman they can hear him in all-out shouting matches with on the other side of the fence? When the woman seems to disappear without a trace, imaginations run wild. Or at least, Zona hopes it’s just her mother’s imagination…
RAYBOURN-KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE
They’ve spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they’re sixty years old, four women friends can’t just retire – it’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills. When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death. Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman–and a killer–of a certain age
After months of planning a romantic holiday getaway in Venice, Paul is blindsided when his five-year marriage suddenly unravels. Fueled by heartbreak, Paul endeavors to take the trip alone. Soon after arriving in Italy, he notices a small, scruffy, self-assured dog trotting alongside a canal with the confidence he so desperately wants for himself. When their paths cross again, Paul feels compelled to learn how his new four-legged friend thrives on his own. Amid the food, sights, and welcoming people of Venice, Paul’s journey culminates in a magical encounter that leads him to feel real connection-to a dog, to a foreign city and, most importantly, to himself. Capturing Steven Rowley’s signature wit, insight, and indelible characters, The Dogs of Venice offers another timeless story of love lost, and independence found-a holiday tonic for the soul.
Sharon Sala is a consummate storyteller.” –Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author. Crossroads, Texas, is a town of second chances in this new small town romance series from Sharon Sala, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Blessings, Georgia series. Asher Kingston is a special investigator for the Texas Attorney General’s office in Austin, TX. When he gets a call that his dad has been injured in an attempted robbery of his bar, he rounds up his two brothers and heads back to Crossroads. During visiting hours at the hospital, Nora Borden, Asher’s girlfriend from high school, runs into him and they rekindle their friendship. Nora is a high-profile computer tech with a high security clearance; Asher claims his job too unpredictable for relationships. But before long, their romance rekindles as well. Together they unravel a case long gone cold to find out what happened in the bar late that night and to clear the Kingston family name.
Graduating magna cum laude from MIT is the happiest day of Billie Banks’s life, although her family is not part of it. Her mother, who always supported her, died when Billie was seventeen. Since then, her father has been slowly drinking himself to death on the family farm in Iowa, and she and her younger sister Mickie have grown even more estranged … Despite Billie’s attempts to look after Mickie following their mother’s death, her sister consistently treated her with cruelty. So when Mickie invites Billie to move in with her in Los Angeles, Billie is both wary and hopeful. Taking a leap of faith, she joins her sister on the West Coast … But then the siblings’ difficult history once again rises to the surface.
VONNEGUT-NOVELS & STORIES: 1950-1962
Before winning international fame with Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut was a master of the drugstore paperback and the popular short story. This authoritative collection of his brilliant early work opens with Player Piano (1952), a Metropolis-like parable of breakneck technological innovation and its effect on those it robs of their livelihoods. The Sirens of Titan (1959), the interplanetary adventures of the world’s wealthiest and most despised man, is both a pulp-fiction space opera and a satire on the vanity of human striving. The confessions of a German-American double agent well placed among the Nazi elite, Mother Night (1962) is a cautionary tale with a famous moral: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” Here too are six of Vonnegut’s best short stories, gems that display his matchless talent for hilarious invention and caustic social criticism.
A companion volume, Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories 1963–1973, collects Cat’s Cradle; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater; Slaughterhouse-Five; Breakfast of Champions; and three short stories, including “Welcome to the Monkey House.”
VONNEGUT-NOVELS & STORIES 1963-1973
Kurt Vonnegut is an acidly funny Midwestern fabulist whose anger and sorrow at the way things are is equaled only by his love for the best that we can be. This collection of mid-career masterpieces opens with Cat’s Cradle (1963), an icy black comedy of the end of the world. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965) tells the tale of a fool, his money, and the lawyer who contrives to part them. Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) is the saga of Bill Pilgrim, who, having come unstuck in time, is doomed to relive continually both the firebombing of Dresden and his abduction by space aliens. And Breakfast of Champions (1973) describes the fateful meeting of a luckless science fiction writer and a sad-hearted Pontiac dealer who disastrously believes that everyone but himself is a robot. Rounded out by three classic short stories, this is the essential Vonnegut, the works that established him as a signature voice of the sixties and a comic writer for the ages.
VONNEGUT-NOVELS & STORIES: 1976-1985
Slapstick (1976) takes the form of the post-apocalyptic memoirs of Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain, architect of a brilliant scheme to rid mankind of loneliness. Jailbird (1979) is a political fable of our time, the biography of a good man who becomes embroiled in several of the worst political scandals of the American Century. Deadeye Dick (1982) depicts a talentless playwright’s struggle to atone for the crimes of his youth, and the sins of his country. Galápagos (1985), a favorite of the author’s among his books, tells the story of how and why a million years ago, during the global ecological disaster of 1986, humankind embarked on an unlikely evolution. The volume is rounded out with an assortment of Vonnegut rarities: speeches, essays, and commentary from the period that touch upon the themes, incidents, and particulars of the novels.
VONNEGUT-NOVELS & STORIES: 1987-1997
The final three novels of the visionary master who defined a generation. Bluebeard (1987) is the colorful history of a phenomenally gifted realist painter who, in the 1950s, betrayed his artistic vision for commercial success. Now, at seventy-one, he writes his memoirs and plots his revenge on the worldly forces that sonspired to corrept his talent. In Hocus Posus (1990), a freewheeling prison memoir by a Vietnam vet and disgraced academic, Vonnegut brings his indelible voice to a range of still-burning issues–free speech, racism, environmental calamity, deindustrialization, and global ization. Timequake (1997), the author’s last completed novel, is part science fiction yarn (starring perennial protagonist Kilgore Trout), part diary of the mid-1990s (starring the author himself). The result is a perfect fusion of Vonnegut’s two signature genres, the satirical fantasy and the personal essay, and a literary magician’s fond farewell to his readers and his craft.
When you lose your way in life, the Elsewhere Express just might find you. Step on board the train that may take you to your life’s purpose in this wistful, Ghibli-esque fantasy from the bestselling author of Water Moon. You can’t buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it’s a magical train seeming to carry very rare and special cargo: a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging. Raya is one of those lost souls. She had dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead. One day on the subway, as her thoughts wander, she’s swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, an intriguing artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world.Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that’s also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lily pads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds.Over the course of their long, strange night on the train, they also discover that it harbors secrets—and danger: A mysterious stranger has stowed away and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy the train. But in investigating the stowaway’s identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life’s true purpose—and is it a destination the Elsewhere Express can take her to? You can’t buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it’s a magical train seeming to carry very rare and special cargo: a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging. Raya is one of those lost souls. She had dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead. One day on the subway, as her thoughts wander, she’s swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, an intriguing artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world. Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that’s also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lily pads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds. Over the course of their long, strange night on the train, they also discover that it harbors secrets—and danger: A mysterious stranger has stowed away and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy the train. But in investigating the stowaway’s identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life’s true purpose—and is it a destination the Elsewhere Express can take her to?
ADULT NON-FIC:
APELIAN-FORGOTTEN HOME APOTHECARY: 250 POWERFUL REMEDIES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
With this book, you’ll have a 250-remedy apothecary at your fingertips. These powerful, time-tested formulas were once the cornerstone of traditional apothecaries. It’s sad that many of the remedies that could have helped millions of people have vanished along with them. Unlike others, this book is very easy to use! You just go to the beginning of the book, search for the shelf you’re looking for, and check the recipe on that shelf. Let’s say you have a sore throat that you want to manage. You go to the Respiratory Shelf … and look for some recipes that will help with that. The Amish Cough-Busting Syrup sounds like a good idea! As you can see, the entire process is very simple and practical. Unlike most remedy books that show general information, this one goes straight to the point.
James Baldwin was a uniquely prophetic voice in American letters. His brilliant and provocative essays made him the literary voice of the Civil Rights Era, and they continue to speak with powerful urgency to us today, whether in the swirling debate over the Black Lives Matter movement or in the words of Raoul Peck’s documentary “I Am Not Your Negro.” Edited by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, the Library of America’s Collected Essays is the most comprehensive gathering of Baldwin’s nonfiction ever published. With burning passion and jabbing, epigrammatic wit, Baldwin fearlessly articulated issues of race and democracy and American identity in such famous essays as “The Harlem Ghetto,” “Everybody’s Protest Novel,” “Many Thousands Gone,” and “Stranger in the Village.” Here are the complete texts of his early landmark collections, Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961), which established him as an essential intellectual voice of his time, fusing in unique fashion the personal, the literary, and the political. The classic The Fire Next Time (1963), perhaps the most influential of his writings, is his most penetrating analysis of America’s racial divide and an impassioned call to “end the racial nightmare…and change the history of the world.” The later volumes No Name in the Street (1972) and The Devil Finds Work (1976) chart his continuing response to the social and political turbulence of his era and include his remarkable works of film criticism. A further 36 essays—nine of them previously uncollected—include some of Baldwin’s earliest published writings, as well as revealing later insights into the language of Shakespeare, the poetry of Langston Hughes, and the music of Earl Hines.
BLACKBURN-THE LANGUAGE-LOVER’S LEXIPEDIA: AN A-Z OF LINGUISTIC CURIOSITIES
A delightful rollick through language unlike any you’ve ever experienced. As the inventor of the bestselling game about words, League of the Lexicon, Joshua Blackburn has created an A-Z that’s part-encyclopedia, part-treasure map, and an all-around joy for anyone interested in words and language. Meticulously researched, joyfully written, and beautifully designed, The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia dives into the quirky, the curious, and the unexpected to reveal a world of language you never knew existed. Discover the biting humor of Scottish insults (you’re talking mince), the curious history of the Chinese typewriter, and the strange yet vivid color names of Elizabethan England–like “dead Spaniard” and “lusty gallant.” Whether it’s the dark history of the Index of Banned Books or the bewildering grammar of Yoda, each pithy entry is brimming with knowledge and wit. Illustrated with enchanting line art that evokes a 19th-century reference book, The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia is as visually delightful as it is intellectually captivating. It’s stuffed with quirky lists, surprising facts, and illuminating stories, making it the ultimate gift for any language lover. Want to uncover the secret of Ikea product names? Decode the euphemisms of Victorian England? Or understand why pedants are pedantic? This book has you covered–and then some. Blackburn’s infectious enthusiasm turns linguistic oddities into pure entertainment and offers up endless rabbit holes to dive down, with each thoughtful entry promising to charm, educate, and tickle. From the linguistic history of marijuana to the origins of nonsense, The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia is a must-read for anyone who revels in the beauty, humor, and sheer weirdness of language.
Stefan Merrill Block was nine when his mother pulled him from school, certain that his teachers were “stifling his creativity.” Hungry for more time with her boy who was growing up too quickly, she began to instruct Stefan in the family’s living room. Beyond his formal lessons in math, however, Stefan was largely left to his own devices and his mother’s erratic whims, such as her project to recapture her twelve-year-old son’s early years by bleaching his hair and putting him on a crawling regimen. Years before homeschooling would become a massive nationwide movement, at a time when it had just become legal in his home state of Texas, Stefan vanished into that unseen space and into his mother’s increasingly eccentric theories and projects. But when, after five years away from the outside world, Stefan reentered the public school system in Plano as a freshman, he was in for a jarring awakening. At once a novelistic portrait of mother and son, and an illuminating window into an overlooked corner of the American education system, Homeschooled is a moving, funny and ultimately inspiring story of a son’s battle for a life of his own choosing, and the wages of a mother’s insatiable love.
BO-REUM-EVERY DAY I READ: 53 WAYS TO GET CLOSER TO BOOKS
Why do we read? What is it that we hope to take away from the intimate, personal experience of reading for pleasure? How often do we ask these profound, expansive questions of ourselves and of our relationship to the joy of reading? In each of the essays in ‘Every day I read,’ Hwang Bo-reum contemplates what living a life immersed in reading means. She goes beyond the usual questions of what to read and how often, exploring the relationship between reading and writing, when to turn to a bestseller vs. browse the corners of a bookstore, the value of reading outside of your favorite genre, falling in love with book characters, and more. ‘Every day I read’ provides many quiet moments for introspection and reflection, encouraging booklovers to explore what reading means to each of us. While this is a book about books, at its heart is an attitude to life, one outside capitalism and climbing the corporate ladder. Lifelong and new readers will take inspiration from it, including a treasure trove of book recommendations blended seamlessly within.
From Rhonda Byrne, author of the global phenomenon The Secret and the New York Times bestseller The Greatest Secret, comes Countdown to Riches—the book that can lead anyone to financial freedom. Financial struggle is caused by one thing—our thoughts. To have a rich life, you have to use your mind, the very thing that has previously kept money from you. You must free yourself once and for all of a scarcity mindset, which unfortunately plagues the majority of people. When your mind becomes wealthy, YOU become wealthy. Countdown to Riches reveals simple, proven wealth-attracting practices that are easily incorporated into daily life, and that will rapidly change the financial circumstances of anyone who applies them.
A celebration of Tim Curry’s life’s work–including the iconic Dr. Frank-N-Further in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”–and a testament to his profound impact on the entertainment industry as we know it today, There are few stars in Hollywood today that can boast the kind of resume Emmy award-winning actor Tim Curry has built over the past five decades. From his breakout role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” to his iconic depiction as the sadistic clown Pennywise in It to his critically acclaimed role as the original King Arthur in both the Broadway and West End versions of Spamalot, Curry redefined what it meant to be a “character actor,” portraying heroes and villains alike with complexity, nuance, and a genuine understanding of human darkness. He’s had dozens of roles across movies, tv shows, and musicals; lent his instantly recognizable voice to dozens of voice roles, audiobooks, and videogames; and he’s changed the lives of countless fans in the process. Now, in his memoir, Curry takes readers behind-the-scenes of his rise to fame from his early beginnings as a military BRAT with difficult family dynamics, to his formative years in boarding school and university, to the moment when he hit the stage for the first time. He goes in-depth about what it was like to work on some of the most emblematic works of the 20th century, constantly switching between a camera and a live audience. He also explores the voicework that defined his later career and provided him with a chance to pivot after surviving a catastrophic stroke in 2012 that nearly took his life. With the upcoming 50th anniversary of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the 40th anniversary of Clue, there’s never been a better time for Tim to share his story with the world.
EMANUEL-EAT YOUR ICE CREAM: SIX SIMPLE RULES FOR A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE
Everyone wants to live a full and healthy life―and every day brings a tidal wave of attention-grabbing misinformation, faddish ideas from “wellness” influencers, and bizarre advice from news outlets over-extrapolating the results of tiny, outlier studies. The “Wellness Industrial Complex” prescribes conflicting and complicated regimens while promising us more time to enjoy in the future―though it sure is demanding a lot of time right now. But what actually matters most to our health and longevity? What has the most robust, actionable evidence? What’s the junk you can skip? In Eat Your Ice Cream, renowned physician Ezekiel J. Emanuel argues that life is not a competition to live the longest and that “wellness” shouldn’t be difficult; it should be an invisible part of one’s lifestyle that yields maximum health benefits with the least work. Dr. Emanuel cuts through the noise with wit and good humor, giving readers just what they need: simple, high-impact, evidence-based guidelines on such issues as alcohol consumption, food and nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental acuity, and social engagement. Resisting the tide of the latest trends to extend life at all costs, Eat Your Ice Cream reveals that many of the tools for a long, healthy and meaningful life are already within reach. Pairing common sense with uncommon wisdom based on his decades of expertise and experience, Dr. Emanuel helps us consider which lifestyle changes are worth making and how to most easily implement them for longer, healthier, and happier lives. Readers will come away with greater clarity and a deeper understanding of what really matters for well-being―connection, purpose, and sustainable choices backed by rigorous science.
The Bible can feel overwhelming, but studying it is easier and more exciting than you think. Christians are supposed to love the Bible, right? They’re supposed to tell Bible stories, explain their beliefs, and recite favorite verses from memory. But Scripture is sometimes hard to read! It can be complex, boring (yes, you can say that), and difficult to apply. Many of us carry secret shame about how little we read the Bible. We want to grow as Christians, but we don’t know how. Faith Womack understands those feelings. Growing up in a home where Bible verses were used to control her, she yearned to grow close to God but found the Bible confusing and boring. After a spiritual wakeup in college, she discovered the life-changing power of real Bible study. Free of the spiritual abuses of her past, she has devoted her life to helping readers like you get excited about Bible reading.”
ABKs:
YOUNG ADULT:
Isla Crown has charted a new destiny and leapt into the unknown, determined to defeat her insidious ancestor Lark, no matter the cost. But Skyshade is nothing like she anticipated, and she’ll have to use all of her skills just to survive, let alone end Lark for good. Meanwhile, Grim and Oro would sooner set fire to their own kingdoms than leave Isla stranded on a path toward certain death. But getting her back will involve forging an alliance–if they can find a way to forgive their long history of betrayals.
BARNES-THE SAME BACKWARD AS FORWARD
A tragic love story unfolds, told in two parts, between a charismatic heir with no memories and the woman nursing him back to health who has every reason to hate him.
After Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters begin investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. As they examine Beth’s relationships and recent events, multiple individuals emerge as possible suspects, including people close to the family. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of the surviving sisters and flashbacks from Beth’s point of view, revealing family tensions, personal ambitions, and public scrutiny following the publication of a controversial book by their father. The novel explores themes of grief, loyalty, and suspicion within a family as the search for answers intensifies.
Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally. Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris’s parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power. Until he meets Demelza. As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides. While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.
From a remote hilltop haven, far from the city of Fantome, Seraphine Marchant and her Order of Flames plot to eradicate shade magic with lightfire. But as Sera struggles to control her blooming powers, destiny calls her back to Fantome, and to the assassin who haunts her dreams. Ransom Hale can’t get Sera out of his head. As their rivalry grows and he grapples with the responsibility of leading the Order of Daggers, he feels himself slipping further from who he wants to be. Is he doomed to a life in the shadows? Or can he forge another path? Meanwhile, rebellion is stirring in the kingdom and a dangerous prince grows in power. Forced to work together by order of the king, Sera and Ransom’s conflicted hearts are tested to their limits. And all the while, an ancient prophecy is unfolding that will change the fate of Valterre forever.
Kidan Adane has finally embraced her darkness. She’s killed without remorse, lied, and broken Uxlay University’s most sacred law by inviting elusive rogue vampires, the Nefrasi, into Uxlay.Trapped with a violently unstable vampire, and reeling from her sister’s return, Kidan wields her anger like a weapon. She vows to master her house and protect the sacred artifact hidden inside, even if it means forging an alliance with the depraved leader of the Nefrasi, Samson Sagad–and betraying Susenyos.A dangerous new philosophical text seems to hold the answers and promises the very thing Kidan has lost: control. Even as the dark pages consume her, Kidan knows no soul at Uxlay is trustworthy—least of all Susenyos. For Kidan and Susenyos, the lines of loathing and attraction may blur, but the quest for power rules them both. And neither is willing to surrender.As devastating secrets resurface from the past, Kidan and her sister, June, must finally confront each other and take their rightful places in the looming war.
Since the dragons emerged-along with the scourge that ravaged our lands and people-there’s only one human city that remains standing: Vinguard. But the hellfire from above is nothing compared to the threat from within. For there is no worse fate than being dragon cursed. Slowly and excruciatingly, you’ll be transformed into a mindless beast who destroys everything-and everyone-you love. Any of us could be tainted. Any of us could be lying. Any of us could be caught and killed by the authorities. And I’m terrified that I might be next. There’s only one other person who might suspect my secret. He’s like my shadow, following me wherever I go. Part protector, part tormentor, fully annoying. Sometimes I think I am just one of the million unfathomable secrets he keeps hidden. Because Lucan definitely knows something. And if I’m dragon cursed, death might be the only mercy I get.
The Hazel Wood meets Laini Taylor in this gorgeous urban fantasy of sisterhood, ghosts, and old family curses. Are the four Farthing sisters really descended from Persephone? This is what their aunt has always told them: that the women in their family can trace their lineage right back to the Goddess of the Dead. And maybe she’s right, because the Farthing girls do have a ghost in the attic of their New York City brownstone –a kind and gentle ghost named Henry, who only they can see. When one of the sisters falls in love with the ghost, and another banishes him to the Underworld, the sisters are faced with even bigger questions about who they are. If they really are related to Persephone, and they really are a bit magic, then perhaps it’s up to them to save Henry, to save the world, and to save each other.
A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts. A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow. A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy. A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes. Welcome back to the Sinclair family. They were always liars.
While attempting to banish the spirit of an infamous murderer from his ancestral home, Mallory, a witch with the ability to see ghosts, finds herself at the center of an investigation for a new murder.
Margot is on the quest to uncover and reassemble an ancient–and cursed–vase, with the help of a boy who went missing in 1932, because it’s the only way to put back together her broken heart.
Finn has always loved Autumn. She is a constant in his life, except it’s in the role of friend, not girlfriend. Finn wants her to see him as more, wants to prove HE should be the man by her side. Even if that means heartache for the people they are each dating. It would be worth the pain to be with right person. Finn knows he and Autumn are fated to be together. But sometimes fate can be cruel to those in love.
I will love you to ruination,” the Fairy King said, brushing a strand of golden hair from my cheek. “Yours or mine?” I asked. The Fairy King did not answer. Effy and Preston have been torn apart by the wars of men, the power of words, and the specter of magic–but it was through stories that they found each other. Relive Effy and Preston’s love story through their own pens in this immersive collection of mementos, illustrations, maps, blueprints, diary entries, and more. Read Angharad with Effy’s annotations; sneak excerpts of Preston’s diary; see the architectural sketches that brought Effy to Hiraeth; get your own ticket to Saltney; and experience the never-before-seen epilogue to Effy and Preston’s romance. A perfect gift for fans of A Study in Drowning and A Theory of Dreaming and anyone who wants to embark on their own dark academia journey, this gorgeously illustrated novella collects ephemera from Effy and Preston as they remember the romance and prepare for a new chapter in their lives–together.
This collection of unforgettable and uncanny stories could only come from the mind of award winner Neal Shusterman. Compiled for the first time in one epic volume, these stories both classic and brand-new will stretch your imagination from terror to the sublime and back again. Explore a world where bats block out the sun, where soup is a trap for your soul, or where the life-force of a glacier can bring back the dead. Journey to a place where the wind can be captured, time can be crafted into infinite attic space, or a hot tub can house an ancient monster. And revisit the Arc of the Scythe universe for two all-new tales of gleaning. In this collection, the only thing that is truly certain is nothing is certain.
Who is Vivien Featherswallow? It’s the question on the lips of every human and dragon in Britannia, and even she doesn’t know the answer. Is she the Swallow, the face of the rebellion against the corrupt government and invading Bulgarian dragons? Is she a brasstongue, a translator on the cusp of discovering a new dragon language? Or is she just Viv, the girl who lost the love of her life after playing spy? Viv isn’t sure, but she knows she has to fight back. Armed with a machine that allows her to listen to dragons’ thoughts, a diary with the clues of a never-before translated dragon tongue, and her own need to avenge her lost love, Viv seeks out the elusive Hebridean Wyverns. If she can find them and convince them to join the war, the rebellion might have a chance. Viv will soon realize that while translation is a weapon, it might not help her on her journey to victory–or to finding herself.
Seventeen-year-old Fable joins the young, motley crew of the Marigold to escape the island where her father abandoned her, but she quickly realizes life off the island is more dangerous than she imagined.
YOUNG ADULT NON-FIC:
ESTRIN-THE HONEST BOOK OF PRESIDENTS: THE MEN WHO SHAPED AMERICA
Only forty-five men have held the title President of the United States. In this concise yet powerful volume, PragerU — in collaboration with leading historians, political thinkers, and bestselling authors — takes you inside the lives of the leaders who have steered America through its 250-year story. From the most revered to the most reviled, each president’s journey reveals personal dramas and struggles, tragedies, and triumphs. The Honest Book of Presidents pushes back against today’s revisionist history with a fresh, fact-driven look at our nation’s leaders. Along the way, you’ll see how presidents wrestled with their flaws, rose to moments of greatness, and shaped the nation’s destiny on their way to founding new political parties, winning wars, and defending liberty.
GRAPHIC NOVELS:
BARNETT-FIRST CAT IN SPACE AND THE BABY PIRATE’S REVENGE
First Cat, LOZ 4000, and the Moon Queen encounter Captain Babybeard and his crew of swashbuckling pirates. After Captain Babybeard steals a treasure map from the Queen of the Moon, the notorious pirate sees nothing but piles of gold in his future. But a mutiny, led by his first mate, the Martian Pirate James Plantain, leaves Babybeard marooned on a deserted island. Betrayed by his crew, the little captain seeks an unlikely alliance… Will Captain Babybeard get revenge? Will First Cat, the Moon Queen, and LOZ 4000 recover their treasure map? Or will the moon fall into the hands of a nefarious banana?
The Heelers are moving?! Bluey tries to stop Mum and Dad from selling their house while the whole family is distracted helping Uncle Rad and Frisky get married. Can Bluey and Bingo change their parents’ minds before it’s too late?
Dive into three new stories with best buds Narwhal and Jelly! It’s Palentine’s Day and Jelly gives Narwhal a whaley nice card – but now Narwhal has no idea what to give him! One card isn’t nearly enough, and soon Narwhal is flooding Jelly with gifts galore: waffles, a song about Jelly, more waffles, a book about Jelly…MORE waffles! Jelly is grateful, but would prefer the present of Narwhal’s presence more than all of Narwhal’s over-the-top displays of friendship. Can Narwhal realize what true friendship means before they go off the deep end trying to please their pal?
DOUCET-ART CLUB: DARE TO CREATE!
After the art programs are cut at his school, Dale Donovan recruits talented artists to create an after-school art club.
HUXLEY-BRAVE NEW WORLD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL
Originally published in 1932, Brave New World is one of the most revered and profound works of twentieth century literature. Touching on themes of control, humanity, technology, and influence, Aldous Huxley’s enduring classic is a reflection and a warning of the age in which it was written, yet remains frighteningly relevant today. With its surreal imagery and otherworldly backdrop, Brave New World adapts beautifully to the graphic novel form. Fred Fordham’s singular artistic flair and attention to detail and color captures this thought-provoking novel as never before, and introduces it to a new generation, and countless modern readers, in a fresh and compelling way.
KIRKMAN-THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TWO
An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled– no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.
Alice has been unhappy ever since her parents sent her to Prince Edward Island to live with her strict grandmother. Alice is fanciful, prone to telling tall tales, and absolutely OBSESSED with dragons! Fairies deliver dragon eggs to a select few, known as Kindreds, but no egg has ever arrived for Alice. While wandering the woods alone, she finds and secretly befriends a mysterious old dragon named Brim. Alice is excited to finally have a dragon friend of her own, but when Brim suddenly falls ill, Alice must set out on a desperate quest to save him. As Alice searches for a cure, she discovers that her connection to dragons is unlike that of any Kindred – but will her new power be enough to save her friend? Let your imagination take flight in this heartfelt story of friendship, family, and learning to love who you are!
METZGER- FRABBIT: BIRTH OF A SUPERHERO
Walter and Christopher, big fans of the Frabbit comic books, race off to Pete’s Comic Book store to get the newest issue. But it’s not out yet! Pete reveals he has something even better–a copy of the first book in the Frabbit series, a collector’s item with a hefty pricetag. The comic contains some suprising facts about their favorite superhero and the boys must have it! When their dad won’t gve them the money, they decide to sell baseball caps. Will they earn enough money before Pete sells the comic book or will they miss out on their one chance? The clock is ticking . . .
ORWELL-ANIMAL FARM: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
Animals on a small farm band together to overthrow the rule of the farmers, but in their place rises a new oppressive order ruled by the pigs.
Orwell’s best-known work of unrelenting dystopian realism warns against totalitarianism. The story is told from the point of view of Winston Smith, a functionary of the Ministry of Truth whose work involved the “correction” of all records each time the “Big Brother” decided that the truth had changed.
A raccoon who lives inside the walls of a restaurant and dreams of cooking fine human cuisine is forced to reevaluate her sense of purpose as she goes on a grand and magical adventure to reunite a baby crow with his family
SWEET VALLEY TWINS: THREE’S A CROWD
Elizabeth and Jessica juggle personal projects as a new friend, Mary, grows closer to their mom, eliciting different emotions in each twin.
TWEEN FICTION:
BANKS-THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD
A nine-year-old boy receives a plastic Indian, a cupboard, and a little key for his birthday and finds himself involved in adventure when the Indian comes to life in the cupboard and befriends him.
Poverty-stricken Joseph bravely rides out all the storms life keeps throwing at him
Follows elite ice dancer Adriana Russo as she finds herself drawn to both her old dance partner and her new one.
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents’ divorce.
For twenty-five years, Ellen Raskin’s Newbery Medal-winning The Westing Game has been an enduring favorite and is now being reissued with a brand-new jacket by Kevin Hawkes and an introduction by Ann Durell. This highly inventive mystery involves sixteen people who are invited to the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. They could become millionaires, depending on how they play the tricky and dangerous Westing game, which involves blizzards, burglaries, and bombings. Ellen Raskin has entangled a remarkable cast of characters in a puzzle-knotted, word-twisting plot filled with humor, intrigue, and suspense.
TWEEN NON-FIC:
COCHRAN-BREAKING INTO SUNLIGHT
Seventh-grader Reese struggles to cope with his dad’s opioid addiction but finds solace in two new friends who are also dealing with issues beyond their control.
CURTIS-GREEKING OUT: HEROES AND OLYMPIANS
Want to know the greatest feats and strangest secrets of the Olympians and other gods, goddesses, and heroes of Greek mythology? You’re in the right place! Told in the same fresh, tongue-in-cheek voice that’s made National Geographic Kids Greeking Out a #1 kids and family podcast, these stories of heroic victories, perilous adventures, and plain old mischief are sure to delight. In this book, you’ll encounter a god kidnapped by pirates, sheep used as camouflage, a super-shiny fleece, some dangerous metalworking, the world’s most perfect animal, a really heavy boulder, and much more. Dynamic, playful illustrations coupled with laugh-out-loud storytelling and fascinating nuggets of nonfiction information about ancient Greece–delivered by the fan-favorite Oracle of Wi-Fi–make this collection of fabulous fables the perfect fit for any curious reader who loves a great story.
When her married nanny returns to take care of her while her parents are away in France, Harriet hears something curious that makes her think Ole Golly is in some sort of trouble.
HAIDT-THE AMAZING GENERATION: YOUR GUIDE TO FUN AND FREEDOM IN A SCREEN-FILLED WORLD
This book addresses the impact of smartphones and social media on children’s and adolescents’ development. Written for a young audience, it combines informational text with illustrations, interactive activities, and personal reflections to encourage critical thinking about technology use. The authors present research-based perspectives, practical strategies, and first-person accounts from young adults, with the aim of helping readers develop habits that support well-being, independence, and personal growth in a digitally connected world.
CHILDREN’S EASY CHAPTER:
DAHL-CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory takes advantage of the situation in his own way.
DAHL-CHARLIE AND THE GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR
Taking up where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory leaves off, Charlie, his family, and Mr. Wonka find themselves launched into space in the great glass elevator.
Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.
A young boy is placed in the custody of his eccentric witch-expert grandmother before being transformed into a mouse by an evil coven that is plotting against local kids.
HARRIS-THE COMPLETE TALES OF UNCLE REMUS
Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit, and their animal friends populate a series of stories collected on a Georgia plantation during the Civil War.
Eleven-year-old Fern grapples with her father’s death, a distant best friend, and a failing family business, but discovers an unexpected connection with neighbor Jasper as they collaborate on a photography contest and attempt to photograph an endangered pod of killer whales.
CHILDREN’S EASY CHAPTER NON-FIC:
BENNETT-THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ENCYCLOPEDIA
RAMPTON-THERE ARE NO SILLY QUESTIONS: MORE THAN 200 WEIRD AND WACKY QUESTIONS, EXPERTLY ANSWERED!
Fact-checked by experts from across the University of Cambridge, this book expertly answers 213 of the most unusual and interesting questions you never thought to ask about the world — one for at least every bone in your body!
CHILDREN’S EASY:
ARCHAMBAUGH-CHICKA CHICKA I LOVE YOU
In this joyful companion to the beloved and bestselling classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, rollicking rhymes and bold artwork celebrate love — from A to Z!
Have you met Ploof? The friendly cloud full of feelings returns in an all new interactive picture book for fans of Hervé Tullet’s Mix It Up! Ploof is a puffy cloud who’s ready for their big moment — their first rainbow! But how? With your help, of course! Can you help Ploof gather enough colors to make their rainbow? How about keeping them steady while they paint? Cheer Ploof on through the ups and downs of trying something new, follow along with some calming breathing exercises and find a new perspective!
This picture book follows a family as they try their hand at camping, which does not go well, but when they find Campingland, a perfect indoor camping theme park, they realize it’s perfectly boring and decide to give outdoor camping another go!
FORNEY-SAY PEEKABOO! BUNNY’S BEST VALENTINE
Chick has been looking forward to Valentine’s Day for weeks. She can’t wait to deliver a surprise Valentine’s Day card for her best friend Bunny! With the card tucked safely under her wing, Chick sets off toward Bunny’s burrow. She meets lots of her forest friends on the way, but everyone is being so secretive. Why is Kid tangled in ribbons, and why does Duck have sugar all over her beak?
GEHRLEIN-THIS IS NOT A SLEEPY BEAR BOOK
An amusing series of interruptions, from DJs with lasers to jazz flute solos, thwarts a bear’s journey to hibernation
HALEY-DOLLY PARTON’S BILLY THE KID DANCES HIS HEART OUT
French bulldog and musical superstar Billy the Kid prepares face his greatest fear, dancing in public, by taking dance lessons, but his crush on his teacher Bella makes him stumble as he struggles to win her attention and master the routine in time.
The Humble Pie likes to give others the spotlight. Aw, shucks!—they deserve it! But when he’s paired with his best friend, Jake the Cake, for a school project, he soon realizes that staying in the shadows isn’t always as sweet as pie. Readers of all ages will laugh along as their new pie pal discovers that letting your voice be heard always takes the cake! Jory John and Pete Oswald serve up another heaping plate of laughs and lessons with this empowering, witty, and charming addition to their #1 New York Times bestselling series!
K-POP DEMON HUNTERS: FOR THE FANS!
This Little Golden Book, based on Netflix’s hit animated film KPop Demon Hunters, is sure to delight Demon Hunters of all ages! Rumi, Mira, and Zoey are pop stars by day and Hunters by night. Meet them along with Saja Boys, the hottest new demon-boy band on the scene, Derpy Tiger, Sussie, and more beloved characters from K-Pop Demon Hunters. Featuring adorable, stylized artwork, this must-have, official storybook will entertain and excite fans of all ages. Happy fans, happy Honmoon!
Oscar the bird is worried that one day love will find him. After all, there’s a scurry of friendly squirrels in the forest who just can’t help showering him with affection. Determined to keep it – and them – away, he gets a scruffy guard dog and names him Brutus. Brutus quickly learns to growl and bark and chase. And he becomes a very good guard dog. So Oscar gives him a friendly scratch. Then a tasty treat. And soon, growling and barking and chasing aren’t Brutus’s only jobs. There’s also fetching sticks…and keeping Oscar company…And maybe even teaching Oscar a thing or two about love. From the creator of the beloved Harold the Bear series, Love Finds a Way is a joyous and heartwarming reminder that sometimes all you need is a little love.
Flat Cat, who was born naturally flat, sneaks into his friend Willow’s backpack and goes on a school adventure, where unexpected chaos makes him question whether he truly likes being flat after all.
MANTCHEV-THE TROUBLE WITH GIRAFFES
A girl and her pet giraffe go to Pet Club, where all are welcome.
MARTIN-THE CALENDAR KIDS: MEET FEBRUARY
February loves a lot of things! her favorite thing to do is create Valentine’s Day cards for her friends!
Celebrate the small, often overlooked things that cats, dogs, and children love in this sweet and gentle picture book from Newbery Medal winner and author of the Henry and Mudge series, Cynthia Rylant. Cats love boxes and windows and toys…and other things. Dogs love sticks and biscuits and puddles…and other things. Children love bubbles and cake and stories…and other things. But what do they all love? Love.
Twig is a kid made of snowflakes, sticks, and stones, but when his hat blows away he takes cautious steps forward to find his hat and find out who he is.
Stickler learns that Valentine’s Day is about giving friends what they love, not what Stickler loves, and decides to give Cat a gift she truly wants.
Elvis loves to sleep and doesn’t like running around or playing hide and seek. He can’t wait to go the dog park and have a nice, quiet nap. Romeo loves to rush and race around, howl, and fetch sticks. He can’t wait to go to the dog park and make a new friend. Elvis and Romeo’s burgeoning friendship doesn’t exactly get off to the most promising start when they meet. It seems like they have nothing in common. But little by little, these polar-opposite pooches may just become the closest of canines after all.
A self-important groundhog is excited for the big day when his shadow (or lack thereof) will decide if winter is over. But he finds himself overlooked as people stock up on candy hearts, write romantic couplets, and hope to be struck by Cupid’s arrow! Meanwhile, Cupid himself spreads love and joy, oblivious to the groundhog’s frustration. Can the two holiday icons learn to share the spotlight? Or will their battle for people’s hearts get out of control? Find out in this silly celebration of two kid-favorite holidays: Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day!
WILLAN-VALENTINES ARE THE WORST!
Gilbert, a goblin, claims he does not have time for Valentines or Valentine’s Day festivities, but has a change of heart when caught in the crosshairs of cupids’ arrows.
CHILDREN’S EASY NON-FIC:
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