The terrible Emerald Queen is vanquished…but the war in Midkemia is not yet won, as the remarkable Raymond E. Feist concludes his magnificent Serpentwar Saga with Shards of a Broken Crown—a spellbinding tale of magic, conflict, and treachery that sees the rise of a new threat from the ashes of defeat, an evil poised to strike mercilessly at realm triumphant but weakened by war. Views: 691
Inspired by a traditional ballad, Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary is the tale of a mysterious young man and three ordinary young girls, of ancient magic and the modern world.
Three sisters live comfortably with their parents: Juniper, 16, who likes cooking and computer chats; Gentian, 13, who likes plays and astronomy; Rosemary, 11, who likes Girl Scouts. Enter Dominic, handsome as the night, quoting poetry, telling riddles, and asking help for a complex and fascinating science project.
Gentian isn't interested at first--she has her own life. But gradually her life, and her time, belong more and more to Dominic and his project, and her father begins to fear that the lad may be more than a charmer. . . . Views: 690
In Penrod and Sam, the imaginative adventures of Tarkington\'s 10-year-old Penrod Schofield continue. Penrod\'s sidekick is Samuel Williams, and together they improvise, causing general mischief and disorder wherever they go. In picaresque fashion, a fencing battle takes them all through the neighborhood; they narrowly escape serious injury while making boastful demonstrations with a loaded gun; they indulge in dubious "\'nishiation" practices for their secret society; they steal food for the starving horse concealed in the Schofields\' empty stable; they attempt to fish a cat out of a cistern using a pair of trousers; and they cause general chaos at Miss Amy Rennsdale\'s dance. Familiar characters from the earlier Penrod volume -- Maurice Levy, Georgie Basset, Roddy Bitts, Herman and Verman, and Marjorie Jones -- make their appearance in Penrod and Sam. This is a delightfully nostalgic look at Tarkington\'s turn-of-the-century Indiana. Views: 689
In this haunting debut, Garth Stein brilliantly invokes his Native American heritage and its folklore to create an electrifying supernatural thriller. When a grieving mother returns to the remote Alaskan town where her young son drowned, she discovers that the truth about her son's death is shrouded in legend— and buried in a terrifying wrinkle between life and death. When Jenna Rosen abandons her comfortable Seattle life to return to Wrangell, Alaska, it's a wrenching return to her past. Long ago the home of her Native American grandmother, Wrangell is located near the Thunder Bay resort, where Jenna's young son, Bobby, disappeared two years before. His body was never recovered, and Jenna is determined to lay to rest the aching mystery of his death. But the spectacular town provides little comfort beyond the steady and tender affections of Eddie, a local fisherman. And then whispers of ancient legends begin to suggest a frightening new possibility about Bobby's fate. Soon, Jenna must sift through the beliefs of her ancestors, the Tlingit— who still tell of powerful, menacing forces at work in the Alaskan wilderness.
There beliefs are shared by Dr. David Livingstone, a practicing shaman who had been hired to "cleanse" Thunder Bay of its restless spirits. The experience almost cost him his life, and he warns Jenna about the danger of disturbing the legendary kushtaka— soul-stealing predators that stalk a netherworld between land and sea, the living and the dead. But Jenna is desperate for answers, and she appeals to both Livingstone and Eddie to help her sort fact from myth, and face the unthinkable possibilities head-on. Armed with nothing but a mother's ferocious protective instincts, Jenna's quest for the truth about her son— and the strength of her beliefs— is about to pull her into a terrifying and life-changing abyss...
Coloring powerful legend with universal emotions, Garth Stein masterfully evokes our most primal dreams and fears. Remarkably vivid and relentlessly suspenseful, "Raven Stole the Moon" marks the arrival of a stunningly imaginative new talent. Views: 684
After a thrilling three-week dance program in New York City, Jessi is invited to join the Dance NY education program full-time. Is she ready to leave Stonybrook and all her friends behind? Views: 682
"Brilliant. . . . A powerfully observed, stylistically elegant exploration." --The New York Times
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
"The book's strength lies in Naipaul's extraordinary ability as a storyteller to draw striking portraits of a cross section of individuals."--The Boston Globe
Fourteen years after the publication of his landmark travel narrative Among the Believers, V. S. Naipaul returned to the four non-Arab Islamic countries he reported on so vividly at the time of Ayatollah Khomeini's triumph in Iran. Beyond Belief is the result of his five-month journey in 1995 through Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia--lands where descendants of Muslim converts live at odds with indigenous traditions, and where dreams of Islamic purity clash with economic and political realities.
In extended conversations with a vast number of people--a rare survivor of the martyr brigades of the Iran-Iraq war, a young intellectual training as a Marxist guerilla in Baluchistan, an impoverished elderly couple in Teheran whose dusty Baccarat chandeliers preserve the memory of vanished wealth, and countless others--V. S. Naipaul deliberately effaces himself to let the voices of his subjects come through. Yet the result is a collection of stories that has the author's unmistakable stamp. With its incisive observation and brilliant cultural analysis, Beyond Belief is a startling and revelatory addition to the Naipaul canon.
"Highly accomplished. . . . Another display of Naipaul's remarkable talent." --The Independent (London) Views: 682
When Rachel Carson died of cancer in 1964, her four books, including the environmental classic Silent Spring, had made her one of the most famous people in America. This trove of previously uncollected writings is a priceless addition to our knowledge of Rachel Carson, her affinity with the natural world, and her life. Views: 680
Do you ever really know your mother, your daughter, the people in your family? In this rich and rewarding new novel by the beloved bestselling author of Talk Before Sleep and The Pull of the Moon, a reunion between two sisters and their mother reveals how the secrets and complexities of the past have shaped the lives of the women in a family.
Ginny Young is on a plane, en route to see her mother, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to for thirty-five years. She thinks back to the summer of 1958, when she and her sister, Sharla, were young girls. At that time, a series of dramatic events--beginning with the arrival of a mysterious and sensual next-door neighbor--divided the family, separating the sisters from their mother. Moving back and forth in time between the girl she once was and the woman she's become, Ginny at last confronts painful choices that occur in almost any woman's life, and learns surprising truths about the people she thought she knew best.
Emotional honesty and a true understanding of people and relationships are combined in this moving and deeply satisfying new book by the novelist who "writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, love and hope. And the transcendence that redeems" (Andre Dubus). Views: 679
An international literary phenomenon, The Elementary Particles is a frighteningly original novel–part Marguerite Duras and part Bret Easton Ellis-that leaps headlong into the malaise of contemporary existence.
Bruno and Michel are half-brothers abandoned by their mother, an unabashed devotee of the drugged-out free-love world of the sixties. Bruno, the older, has become a raucously promiscuous hedonist himself, while Michel is an emotionally dead molecular biologist wholly immersed in the solitude of his work. Each is ultimately offered a final chance at genuine love, and what unfolds is a brilliantly caustic and unpredictable tale.
Translated from the French by Frank Wynne.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 675
A Parody Outline of History Donald Ogden Stewart Views: 667
My second life began when I was kidnapped by two complete strangers . . .
That the kidnappers are actually Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max makes no difference to thirteen-year-old Domenica Santolina Doone, better known as Dinnie--she just doesn't want to go. Dinnie's accustomed to change, with her family constantly moving for "opportunity"--but when her aunt and uncle whisk her far away to an international school in Switzerland, she's not sure she's ready to face this "opportunity" alone.
All at once she finds herself in a foreign country, surrounded by kids from different cultures speaking all sorts of languages and sharing various beliefs. Home and her first life seem so far away.
But new friendships and the awesome beauty of Switzerland begin to unlock thoughts and dreams within her. Her joys and struggles make up a rich tapestry of experiences she can find nowhere else. Switzerland begins to be more than a temporary home--it becomes a part of Dinnnie herself, the self she never knew she could be.
Switzerland is the picturesque backdrop of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech's new novel about a young girl discovering the beauty of nature, her place in the world, the value of friendship--and that life is full of wonderful "bloomabilites." Views: 667
"The West Indians' primitive vitality and humanity in Storm of Fortune is rendered in ... some of the most delightful dialogue to see print in many a long year." -Library Journal Views: 663
"Chester K. Steele" was a pseudonym of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, founded by Edwin Stratemayer. The Chester K. Steele books are a mysteries intended for an older audience than the children\'s books like the Rover Boys and the Bobbsey Twins series Stratemeyer normally produced. In The Golf Course Mystery, Harry Bartlett and Gerry Poland are friendly rivals for the hand of Viola Carwell. Unfortunately, Harry\'s family got the best of Viola\'s father, the Honorable Horace Harwell, in a business deal. Viola shows no favoritism, but her father is rumored to be distinctly cool toward Harry. The Honorable Horace dies in the middle of a golf match. The cause of death is poison. Was it suicide due to financial reverses? Or was it murder, with Harry as a prime suspect? The reluctant detective Colonel Ashley, assisted by his servant Shag, must solve the case. The Colonel would rather be fishing, but murder has a way of interrupting his reading of Walton\'s Compleat Angler. Views: 663
