From School Library JournalGrade 3-5–Cowell is getting a great deal of mileage from her pseudomemoirs of the delightfully alliterative Viking. She retains her touch in this latest volume, which relates Hiccup's quest to find the Vegetable-That-No-One-Dares-Name, namely a potato that is the only thing that can prevent his friend Fishlegs from dying of Vorpentitis. The potato, you see, is an imaginary vegetable that comes from a place that doesn't really exist: America. When Hiccup realizes that he has only until 10 o'clock the next morning to find the mythical vegetable, it is a race against time and against the wishes of his father. It also requires traveling with the charming bog-burglar Camicazi, breaking into the headquarters of Norbert the Nutjob and his Hysteric tribe, and stealing the frozen potato while they sleep, all the while trying to avoid a fearsome sea predator. The result is an irresistible concoction. As with all the Hiccup books, this one is full of amusing illustrations, clever design that includes inkblots scattered throughout the pages, and an occasional explanation of hibernating dragons and venomous vorpents. This action-filled and compelling story will draw readers along. It's a must for libraries that have the previous books in this series, which is probably most.–Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review'Outrageously funny and inventive ... a novel with huge appeal ... It's hard to beat this story for sheer entertainment and larger than life, distinctive - and differentiated characters.' -- Books for Keeps 'Fiercely exciting and laugh-aloud funny, it is as full of joy for children of 7+ who have given up reading as for those who love it.' -- Amanda Craig, The Times PRAISE FOR HICCUP:Irresistably funny, exciting and endearing -- Amanda Craig, The Times CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK: This book is great fun and has a Blackadderish sense of humour ... full of the sort of jokes that will make schoolboys snigger. -- Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times How to Train Your Dragon is a delightful narrative caper... It offers a challenging read to 11-year-olds, and rewards reading aloud, especially for those who relish an element of theatre at story time. -- Sunday Herald, Glasgow ... raucous and slapstick ... liberally illustrated with [Cressida Cowell's] riotous drawings, notes and maps. -- The Financial Times [Cressida Cowell] puts a contemporary spin on the old brains over brawn moral and brings the story to a climax with a thrilling dragon duel. Lots for lots of different readers to enjoy. -- Books for Keeps Bulging with good jokes, funny drawings and dramatic scenes, it is absolutely wonderful. -- Independent on Sunday Rollicking fun with a whiff of the past. -- The Guardian 20061125 'Rollicking fun with a whiff of the past.' -- The Guardian 20061125 'If you haven't discovered Hiccup yet, you're missing out on one of the greatest inventions of modern children's literature.' -- Julia Eccleshare, Guardian children's editor 20061125 Views: 14
In Mary Jane Clark's latest blockbuster novel, you will enter the mind of a sociopath. It's a place where the rules don't apply. Where anything is fair game. And where murder is the ultimate means to an end. What kind of person...Gets what they wantTakes without askingKills without remorseLIGHTS...Key News film and theatre critic Caroline Enright thinks her trip to a theatre festival in the beautiful Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts will be as easy as a summer breeze...until her complicated relationship with her stepdaughter, Meg, grows even more tense, and two of Meg's friends are killed in what looks to be a tragic accident.OUT...Soon a world-famous actress goes missing. An actress who has been the obsession of millions. Or maybe just the true obsession of one? TONIGHT...As Caroline gets drawn into a web of madness, deception, and insanity, she finds she can trust no one. Not even those closest to her. Because... Views: 14
A luminous, seductive new collection from the "fearless" (The New York Times) Pulitzer Prize–winning poetLouise Glück is one of the finest American poets at work today. Her Poems 1962–2012 was hailed as "a major event in this country's literature" in the pages of The New York Times. Every new collection is at once a deepening and a revelation. Faithful and Virtuous Night is no exception. You enter the world of this spellbinding book through one of its many dreamlike portals, and each time you enter it's the same place but it has been arranged differently. You were a woman. You were a man. This is a story of adventure, an encounter with the unknown, a knight's undaunted journey into the kingdom of death; this is a story of the world you've always known, that first primer where "on page three a dog appeared, on page five a ball" and every familiar facet has been made to shimmer like the contours of a dream, "the dog... Views: 14
At first, Olivia passes over the ad incredulously. What kind of man advertises for a wife? But as time goes by and she can't find work, the ""job"" sounds more interesting. What better way to earn money for acting school? She can be Juliet to this Romeo, can't she? Advertising was not how he had dreamed of finding a wife, but Dr. Neil McCoy is desperate. He dreads to see what kind of woman will answer such an ad. Even if he finds someone acceptable, how can he make this work? When Juliet answers his ad, Neil is pleasantly surprised. But what will happen at the end of the year? Can they walk away from each other, or will they find that God has brought them together for a greater purpose than they'd foreseen? Views: 14
Andre is a millionaire business man who meets and marries the woman of his dreams on a vacation in the Bahamas...Ava is a young woman struggling with health problems and a 'why me' attitude. But when she finds out she's pregnant, her life takes on new meaning. Ava, however, fails to let Andre know that she's pregnant.Then he finds out...Their lives unfold in this three-part series that takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. And just what will a man do for the woman he loves more than himself?* * *NOTE: If you've already purchased individual copies of the Dying To Love Her series, you do not need to purchase this boxed set.This Boxed Set contains the COMPLETE Dying To Love Her Series and includes:Dying To Love HerDying To Lover Her 2Dying To Love Her 3 Views: 14
All of his short life, Paavo Deshin has seen ghosts. The same two ghosts who have now approached him on the school playground, ghosts who look older and actually smell bad. Paavo's cry for help brings the authorities, a few lawyers, and Retrieval Artist Miles Flint, who learns some secrets about the ghosts—and about Paavo's parents. This short stand-alone science fiction novel in the Retrieval Artist series received a Special Mention from the prestigious international UPC contest."The Possession of Paavo Deshin" is a masterfully crafted story. Definitely don't miss this one.—Tangent OnlineA custody battle like no other, where every side has its own agenda. An engaging story, a title very apt.—Internet Review of Science FictionRusch mounts hard-boiled noir on an expansive sf background with great panache.—BooklistInternational bestselling writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch has won two Hugo awards, a World Fantasy Award, and three... Views: 14
A new novel by the author of The Loney, which was praised by Stephen King as "an amazing piece of fiction."In the wink of an eye, as quick as a flea,The Devil he jumped from me to thee.And only when the Devil had gone,Did I know that he and I'd been one . . . Every autumn, John Pentecost returns to the farm where he grew up, to help gather the sheep down from the moors for the winter. Very little changes in the Endlands, but this year, his grandfather—the Gaffer—has died and John's new wife, Katherine, is accompanying him for the first time. Each year, the Gaffer would redraw the boundary lines of the village, with pen and paper but also through the remembrance of tales and timeless communal rituals, which keep the sheep safe from the Devil. But as the farmers of the Endlands bury the Gaffer and prepare to gather the sheep, they begin to wonder whether they've let the Devil in after all. Views: 14
Frozen beneath the treacherous ice, a man stares wide-eyed, killed by a twelve-gauge shotgun. And hidden behind the deceptive beauty of Tawes Island, secrets remain unspoken, waiting to be brought to light.Curious about the birth mother she's never known, Bailey Elliott arrives on Tawes to look into her own past, but its wary residents don't take to outsiders digging up long-buried scandal. Her great-uncle warns her she's not safe, her mother lies dead in the church graveyard, and despite the sizzling attraction between them, Daniel Catlin tells her, "The sooner you leave, the better."Now Bailey discovers a diary no one wants her to read, Daniel gives into temptation, and a decades-old crime of passion is about to be reenacted....Review"French weaves an intriguing, action-packed tale." --RT BOOKclubAbout the AuthorJudith E. French is the award-winning author of over thirty novels. Her recent contemporary suspense novels received rave reviews from critics and readers alike. She is sold world-wide and her books are translated in more than a dozen languages. Judith lives with her husband and assorted dogs and cats in a restored 18th century farmhouse in rural Delaware. She is descended from early Scottish and English settlers--who came to Maryland's Eastern Shore in the 17th century--and from Native Lenni Lenape Indians. Oral storytelling has been a strong tradition in her family for generations. Judith calls on her fascination with this unique culture to weave adventure-packed tales of intrigue. Her previous works has been published at both HarperCollins and Ballantine. Views: 14
Dennis Bock’s novel The Communist’s Daughter met with praise from readers and reviewers the moment it reached bookstore shelves, debuting as an instant Maclean’s bestseller. This is the story of legendary Canadian doctor Norman Bethune—visionary, radical, martyr. Amidst the death and chaos of the Japanese army’s advance into the hills of northern China, Bethune composes a wrenching letter to his daughter, a small child he has never seen, the daughter of a woman abandoned in war-torn Spain. Set against the tumult of the late 1930s, The Communist’s Daughter is a remarkable depiction of the moral ambiguities of war, political idealism and personal responsibility, an elegant, passionate novel that unfolds against the sweep of history. Views: 14
Reece Villiers is handsome, incredibly driven and successful--and too proud to show his love. Sorrel left him, so the only solution can be a divorce.... Until he meets her again for the first time in three months and realizes that she's pregnant! Suddenly Reece is insisting that they remain married--or he will sue for custody of their child. Sorrel is furious--is he just flexing his undoubted power because she walked out on their marriage? But wedlock is the only answer if she is to do the right thing for her baby--even if that means being Reece's wife again in every sense.... Views: 14
