Avery Rose lives a life of luxury. She is a Descendant, daughter of the most powerful Primes on Olympia. However, when a change in the rules states that Descendants must now be Cured as well as the Norms, Avery's life will be changed forever. Will she be a Norm, living in the poverty stricken Fields? A Prime, destined to a blessed life? Or will she find a way out? Views: 70
A boring field trip turns dangerous. (RL 2.0) (20060929)From School Library JournalGrade 5-9–Dan Hogg is the class brain who wears glasses and has weird hair. But his biggest problem is his name: it just begs for insults. And the kids in his class are glad to oblige. When they go on a field trip to a heritage farm specializing in raising pigs, Dan knows that it will be the worst day of his life, but he never imagined just how bad it would get. An escaped criminal has made his way to the farm and locked up the owner. The convict is not sure what to do with the bus full of eighth graders, but soon figures out that he needs to get rid of them all. Surprising even himself, Dan, in a bumbling, self-effacing way, becomes a hero by saving his classmates and teacher. He is still the class nerd, but he has earned the respect of the biggest bully, and that helps. Grant has done a fantastic job of developing the voice of an adolescent who is the class bully's whipping boy. Dan's wry sense of humor catches readers' attention and has them rooting for him practically from the first page. Pigboy is a great quick read for boys who may be reluctant readers, but others will enjoy it as well.–Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Grant hits the nail on the head when she brings both mucous and underwear into the story line Grant writes a compelling story with lots of suspense, but it's the journey to Dan's personal redemption that is most enjoyable to read Highly recommended." (CM Magazine 20061215)"Dan's wry sense of humor catches readers' attention and has them rooting for him practically from the first page. Pigboy is a great quick read for boys who may be reluctant readers, but others will enjoy it as well." (School Library Journal 20080615)"This quick read is perfect for reluctant readers, especially boys. In a story of bravery and redemption, Grant moves quickly to first establish Dan's post on the lowest rung of the social ladder, and then chronicles his eventual rise to the top." (KLIATT 20081101)"Middle school readers will appreciate this adventure." (VOYA )no details (Canadian Book Review Annual )"It would suit high interest low vocabulary readers with its brevity and reading level, but the high action and excellent writing, not to mention the likable main character, would make it a good choice for any reader." (Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's Books ) Views: 70
Following her successful appearance at an Embassy Ball—where Eliza Doolittle won Professor Henry Higgins' bet that he could pass off a Cockney flower girl as a duchess—Eliza becomes an assistant to his chief rival Emil Nepommuck. After Nepommuck publicly takes credit for transforming Eliza into a lady, an enraged Higgins submits proof to a London newspaper that Nepommuck is a fraud. When Nepommuck is found with a dagger in his back, Henry Higgins becomes Scotland Yard's prime suspect. However, Eliza learns that most of Nepommuck's pupils had a reason to murder their blackmailing teacher. As another suspect turn up dead and evidence goes missing, Eliza and Higgins realize the only way to clear the Professor's name is to discover which of Nepommuck's many enemies is the real killer. When all the suspects attend a performance of Hamlet at Drury Lane, Eliza and Higgins don their theatre best and race to upstage a murderer. Eliza and Higgins make a... Views: 70
Lacey is busting with excitement for her first trip to France. She'll be with her friend Magda Rousseau, corset creator for D.C.'s wealthiest (and kinkiest) citizens. And—best of all—the trip's on her newspaper's dime, since she'll supposedly be there to report on haute couture. The real reason for the trip, though, is the Rousseau family mystère: the whereabouts of a lost corset lined with jewels supposedly stolen from Russia after the assassination of Czar Nicholas's family. But just before the big adventure, someone poisons Magda. Could it have something to do with the priceless corset? To find out, Lacey must follow a thread from Normandy to New Orleans.... Views: 70
Newton's Laws of Motion describe the relationship between a body and its response to the forces acting upon it. For the men and women in States of Motion, imbalance is a way of life. Set in Michigan small towns both real and fictional, the stories in Laura Hulthen Thomas's collection take place against a backdrop of economic turmoil and the domestic cost of the war on terror. As familiar places, privilege, and faith disappear, what remains leaves these broken characters wondering what hope is left for them. These stories follow blue collars and white, cops and immigrants, and mothers and sons as they defend a world that is quickly vanishing. The eight stories in States of Motion follow tough, quixotic characters struggling to reinvent themselves even as they cling to what they've lost. A grieving father embraces his town's suspicions of him as the sole suspect in his daughter's disappearance. A driving instructor struggles to care for his abusive mother between... Views: 70
"It's taken me almost a whole lifetime to become a decent liar."Award-winning author Sujata Massey is back with a delicious blend of mystery and contemporary women's fiction, and in Girl in a Box, Japanese-American sleuth Rei Shimura is on her most dangerous outing yet.Chronically underemployed Rei takes a freelance gig with a Washington, D.C., alphabet agency that just might have ties to the CIA. Her mission, should she choose to accept it, is to go undercover as a clerk in a big Tokyo department store. It's a tricky and risky assignment, but it also gives Rei the opportunity to check out all the latest fashions and use her store discount to indulge her shopping impulses.Meanwhile, she's listening in on conversations not meant for her and crashing a conference she's not invited to. She winds up fending off the advances of a couple of the store's executives who seem to be fascinated by her navel ring. When her cover is blown, Rei is in big trouble, and it will take all her resourcefulness and unorthodox methods to unmask a killer. Views: 70
A classic murder mystery by acclaimed crime writer Bernard Knight. Jackie Stott, Tyneside boxer turned nightclub owner – and criminal – seeks to evade the Newcastle police as he stumbles from one dodgy deal to another. When Jackie gets involved in a murder, the police have a reason to try to get him locked up for good – and it's not just the police who are out to get Jackie, for rival gangland figures are soon gunning for him too! A rip-roaring ride through the nightlife and criminal underworld of a bustling British city during the 1960s. Views: 70
"I'm fat," I hear myself saying. I look in the mirror. My face has gone hot and red; I feel like I'm going to explode. "I'm fat." It sizzles under my skin, puffing me up, pushing me out, making me massive.
Weight has always been a big issue in Carmen's life. How could it not? Her mom is obsessed with the idea that thin equals beautiful, thin equals successful, thin equals the way to get what you want. Carmen knows that as far as her mom is concerned, there is only one option: be thin.
When her mother sweeps her off to live in the city, Carmen finds that her old world is disappearing. As her life spirals out of control Carmen begins to take charge of the only thing she can -- what she eats. If she were thin, very thin, could it all be different?
** Views: 70
It is Holy Week in Seville and the heat is rising. A murderer is on the loose and visiting academic Maria Gutierrez can see something in his ways that the police are missing. But her insight does nothing to help her popularity in the force – and draws her to the attention of the killer. The Angel Brothers, two controversial modern artists, are found dead in a killing that emulates a famous painting, and an old lady remembers the atrocities of the Civil War. Maria was supposed to be an observer to the police investigation. But her own past in the city soon puts her one step ahead of the cops . . . and in the killer's sights. First published as Semana Santa in 1996 by HarperCollins. Views: 69
Stout knows his time machine is screwed up when a person just starts appearing and disappearing at random times. And that person is him. Stout, the former owner of the Garden Lounge finally gets to meet the inventers of the jukebox. But first he has to deal with himself. In more ways than one. A jukebox origin story. Views: 69
How music provided hope in one of the world's darkest times—the inspirational life story of Alice Herz-Sommer, the oldest living Holocaust survivorAlice Herz-Sommer was born in Prague in 1903. A talented pianist from a very early age, she became famous throughout Europe; but, as the Nazis rose to power, her world crumbled. In 1942, her mother was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp and vanished. In 1943, Alice, her husband and their six-year-old son were sent there, too. In the midst of horror, music, especially Chopin's Etudes, was Alice's salvation. Theresienstadt was a "show camp", a living slice of Nazi propaganda created to convince outsiders that the Jews were being treated humanely. In more than a hundred concerts, Alice gave her fellow prisoners hope in a time of suffering. Written with the cooperation of Alice Herz-Sommer, Melissa Müller and Reinhard Piechocki's Alice's Piano is the first time her story has been... Views: 69
