Peter Ho Davies is a young writer of unusually worldly perspective. Born in Britain to Welsh and Chinese parents, he writes stories that not only reflect his multinational heritage, but delight in odd juxtapositions. In tales that travel from Coventry to Kuala Lumpur, from the past to the present, and from hilarity to tragedy, American bandits herd ostriches in Patagonia, British soldiers confront Zulus in Natal, and John Wayne leads the way for local revolutionaries in Southeast Asia. These are stories in which small lives are affected by consequential events. In "A Union," a prolonged strike at a Welsh slate quarry plays mystifying tricks of time on a couple expecting a baby. In "The Silver Screen," ragtag rebels join a communist revolution with all the flair of the Keystone Kops. In the heartbreaking title story, a rural community in North Wales copes with the accidental death of a child and learns the reaches of guilt. With their deep vein of humanism and pointed humor, the... Views: 70
Big Jim Rand's search for the murderer of his brother brought him to Alvarez County. At first it looked to be peaceful territory, but the big hunter and his sawn-off Mex sidekick were soon locking horns with three belligerent defenders of the peace.Here, in Alvarez, Big Jim was befriended by the beautiful and unpredictable Ruth Harnett and her father, the old hellion who had begun wreaking havoc with the Talbot Stage Line, fast earning notoriety as the Laughing Ghost.And, here, Big Jim had to appoint himself judge, prosecutor and jury to challenge and defeat a quartet of deadly desperadoes. Views: 70
The vampire civil war has been averted, deadly were-demons have been beaten back and now it Damali Richards and Carlos Rivera (now a Council level vampire) will finally have the chance to settle in and explore their deeper, sexier love. But Carlos and Damali should know by now that there is no rest for the saviors of the known world. One of the four topside Master vampires has stolen one of the Keys-the living blood of Christ---that opens the sixth seal as foretold in Revelations. He who possesses the Key and the Seal can decide to the outcome of the Final War, a.k.a. Armageddon. With a vampire in possession of the Key, the balance between the Light and the Dark have been thrown off and even Damali is deeply effected. She is now sporting a pair of fangs. In order to retrieve the Key, Carlos and Damali are quickly thrust into a web of vampire politics and intrigue. And when Carlos's secret drug, Oblivion, finds its way into the hands of the enemies, even the seventh... Views: 70
A few months after winning her school's talent show with her original song Homesick, eighth-grader Lark's star is on the rise. Not only did she impress her classmates, but now she's making waves on YouTube, thanks to her friend Mimi uploading a video of Lark's singing. A record executive is interested in signing Lark to his label, which infuriates Lark's mom, who runs her own record label.Meanwhile, Lark's friends in the British boy band Abbey Road are still trying to make it big in the U. S. As they're being primed for fame, Lark worries that she's losing touch with her new friends . . . until they ask her to be an opening act. Can she find the courage to overcome her recurring stage fright in time to perform when it counts the most? Views: 70
Even though they're identical, Tristan isn't close to his twin Robbie at all—until Robbie tries to kill himself. Forced to share a room to prevent Robbie from hurting himself, the brothers begin to feel the weight of each other's lives on the ice, and off. Tristan starts seeing his twin not as a hockey star whose shadow Tristan can't escape, but a struggling gay teen terrified about coming out in the professional sports world. Robbie's future in the NHL is plagued by anxiety and the mounting pressure from their dad, coach, and scouts, while Tristan desperately fights to create his own future, not as a hockey player but a musical theatre performer. As their season progresses and friends turn out to be enemies, Robbie finds solace in an online stranger known only as "Jimmy2416." Between keeping Robbie's secret and saving him from taking his life, Tristan is given the final call: sacrifice his dream for a brother he barely knows, or pursue his own path. How far is Robbie... Views: 70
Best friends forever! Rachel and Kirsty know a thing or two about how to be a good friend. So do the Friendship Fairies. But there's one resident of Fairyland who definitely doesn't: Jack Frost! The icy villain has stolen Esther's magic heart brooch, and now friends everywhere are fighting. Rachel and Kirsty have to find it—fast! Find the special fairy object in each book and help save the friendship magic! Views: 70
Sputnik, the Virgin Mary, a murder... 1957. In the secluded Eastern European village of Baia Luna, life orbits around church, work, home and the pub. This is very much the case for fifteen-year-old Pavel Botev - that is, until the seismic shift of world politics is felt even in his small community. When Communist party officials arrive and claim Baia Luna for the Soviet Union, Pavel's schoolteacher commits grisly suicide. Piecing together her diaries, Pavel slowly unravels the tragic story of his schoolteacher's affair with an ambitious party official and, on the very last page, he finds a single scrawled message - Send him to hell. Naturally, Pavel promises his dead teacher that he'll do just that.Meanwhile, crackled radio reports of the US-Soviet space race keep the villagers occupied and somewhat imaginative; when the statue of the Virgin Mary is stolen from the chapel, Pavel's grandfather and his gypsy best friend assume the obvious... Views: 70
Super-snobby eleven-year-old Clara Frankofile has all she could possibly want. Her parents are rich, she lives in an apartment with its own roller coaster, and anyone who is anyone in New York City is terrified of her. Each night at her parents' fashionable restaurant, Pish Posh, Clara watches the celebrity diners, deciding who is important enough to stay and who must be banished. But Clara's world turns upside down when she discovers a mystery happening right under her nose. With the help of her new friend - a brilliant twelve-year-old jewel thief - Clara begins to look at life differently, and she may just be able to solve this most intriguing case. Views: 69
When a cleaning spell goes awry, Heidi gets so totally grounded in the twenty-fourth Heidi Heckelbeck adventure!When Mom asks for help cleaning the house, Heidi takes her magic a little too far. After all, who really wants to deal with all that dust, dirt, and grime? Not Heidi, that's who! So she creates a cleaning helper named Dusty to do her dirty work. There's only one problem: Dusty isn't the most careful cleaner, and when he accidentally breaks Mom's favorite vase, Heidi gets so totally grounded. With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Heidi Heckelbeck chapter books are perfect for beginning readers. Views: 69
Dark Fantasy/Romance. 82302 words long. Views: 69
Bill Gaston's characteristic keen insight and wit dazzle in this new collection. Here, we see the world through the prism of unfamiliar perspectives: a bank executive whose excellent sex life might in fact be killing her, an amorous tree surgeon better attuned to the values of his "patients" than to other people, a vacationing schizophrenic wary of his housemates, a pizza-delivery boy convinced he's witnessed magic—all struggling with the world as they see it.This versatile collection—at times darkly playful, absurd, or shockingly real—illustrates how we can fail to understand the simplest of truths and how we are trapped by the peculiarities of our own points of view.In Gaston's hands, the outlandish becomes comprehensible and everyday life begins to look strange. What unifies these stories and their characters is the underlying faith in the humanity of even the most dangerously misguided among us.Brazenly entertaining, but just as often... Views: 69
When Collin Sykes dies in an automobile accident, his life changes forever. Views: 69
