High in the mountains, Zel lives with her mother, who insists they have all they need — for they have each other. Zel's life is peaceful and protected — until a chance encounter changes everything. When she meets a beautiful young prince at the market one day, she is profoundly moved by new emotions. But Zel's mother sees the future unfolding — and she will do the unspeakable to prevent Zel from leaving her..."Will leave readers spellbound."— Publishers Weekly, starred review

The last person on Earth….At least, Sarah Wright is fairly sure she’s the last person left alive. Every man, woman, and child in her tiny mountain town of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, died of a terrible fever more than two months earlier, and since then, she hasn’t seen another living soul. Her former neighbor’s ham radio is silent, and the power has been out for months. With winter closing in, she has to decide whether to shelter in place at the historic hotel that’s become her refuge, or head down the mountain in the hope that she’ll somehow manage to find someone. Anyone. But when gorgeous survivor Cameron shows up on her literal doorstep, all of Sarah’s plans change. Will they share an enchanted Christmas together, or will his secrets tear them apart?Note: Although Illuminated is Book 8 of the Djinn Wars series, it’s a completely standalone holiday novella and can be read on its own.

Jimmy Blackburn grows up in the Midwest believing the things that adults tell him. He questions his teachers and they lie to him. He questions his parents and his father beats him. He questions the world and it hurts him.And so Jimmy Blackburn becomes a killer.In this novel we meet many of Blackburn's twenty-one victims. They include law enforcers, writers, adulterers, auto mechanics, and other liars.This is an exceptional novel, at once riotously funny and searingly potent: a vision of America through the eyes of the central bogeyman of our culture.

A boy and his ghostly twin sister work together to pass messages from the beyond in this funny paranormal debut.There are a few things you should know about Baylor Bosco: He's thirteen-years-old, he has a twin sister, and he really does NOT like ghosts...which is problematic because he's a medium and sees ghosts everywhere. Oh, and his twin sister, Kristina? She's a ghost too. They've been working as a pair for years, expertly relaying messages from ghosts to their still-living loved ones. Baylor's even managed to come up with an introductory phrase—one that he has to use far too often. But when a strange ghost shows up close to Halloween, a grown man, covered in a sheet, with only his black leather shoes showing from the bottom, Baylor starts to wonder if something else has taken notice of him. And when his sister goes missing, somehow ghost-napped, he's forced to figure out the truth about the Sheet Man and his sister's disappearance, all...

It's 2026, and catastrophe has struck from an unexpected source. The Alpha Centauri supernova has risen like a second sun, rushing Earth toward its last summer. Floods, fires, starvation, and disease paralyze the planet. In a blue aurora flash of gamma rays, all microchips worldwide are destroyed, leaving an already devastated Earth without communications, transportation, weaponry, or medicine.The disaster sets three groups of survivors on separate quests. A militant cult seizes the opportunity to free their leader, known as the Eye of God, from the long-term coma to which a court sentenced her. Three cancer patients also search for a man in judicial sleep: the brilliant scientist--and monstrous criminal--who alone can continue the experimental treatment that keeps them alive. From a far greater distance come the survivors of the first manned Mars expedition, struggling homeward to a world that has changed far beyond their darkest fears. And standing at the crossroads is one man, U.S. President Saul Steinmetz, who faces a crucial decision that will affect the fate of his own people...and the world.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Human bones lie on a ledge under the peak of Ship Rock mountain, the remains of a murder victim undisturbed for more than a decade. Three hundred miles across the Navajo reservation, a harmless old canyon guide is felled by a sniper's bullet. Joe Leaphorn, recently retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, believes the shooter and the skeleton are somehow connected and recalls a chilling puzzle he was previously unable to solve. But Acting Lieutenant Jim Chee is too busy to take an interest in a dusty cold case ... until the reborn violence of it hits much too close to home.

While Nick Gardner's family is falling apart, his best friend, Scooter, is dying from a freak disease. The Scoot's final wish is that Nick and their quirky classmate, Jaycee Amato, deliver a prized first-edition copy of Of Mice and Men to the Scoot's father. There's just one problem: the Scoot's father walked out years ago and hasn't been heard from since. So, guided by Steinbeck's life lessons, and with only the vaguest of plans, Nick and Jaycee set off to find him. Characters you'll want to become friends with and a narrative voice that sparkles with wit make this a truly original coming-of-age story.

Libby has an idyllic life on an apple orchard and is close to her grandfather, a cider maker. When he dies in a freak accident, Libby is devastated. She finds it difficult to talk to her parents about her feelings as her mother seems cold and her father says little. Grieving, angry, and feeling distant from her parents who are struggling with their own relationship, she begins compulsively pulling her hair out. To get away from the unhappiness, Libby unwillingly goes to boarding school. There, she befriends Charlie, and goes to stay with her family, which is warm, friendly and fun. While there, Libby enjoys being part of all the outdoor adventures and gains new perspectives on herself and her parents. This young adult novel is a story of strong friendships and growing understanding that combine to overcome difficulties.

Flame-haired Jeannie Buchanan has spent all her life in the shadow of the dar North Sea. Working with freezing fingers to gut the precious herring, she follows the fleet south, travellign far away from her Scottish home. When her beloved father's trawler goes missing, Jeannie must face up to life on her own. But her fiery temper and fierce independence attract powerful and devious enemies. By standing up to the Hayes-Gorton family, she could be threatening the future of those she cares for most. By denying a man prepared to sacrifice all his privileges for a chance to offer his devotion, she could be facing years of unhappiness. Amidst the great social upheaval of the inter-war years, Jeannie must search again for the real love she has always denied herself... Margaret Dickinson's novel brilliantly evokes the dramas of those who are born to the fishing way of life.

From colonial times to the modern day, two things have remained constant in American history: the destructive power of fires and the bravery of those who fight them.Fighting Fire! brings to life ten of the deadliest infernos this nation has ever endured: the great fires of Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, the disasters of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the General Slocum, and the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, the wildfire of Witch Creek in San Diego County, and the catastrophe of 9/11. Each blaze led to new firefighting techniques and technologies, yet the struggle against fires continues to this day. With historical images and a fast-paced text, this is both an exciting look at firefighting history and a celebration of the human spirit.