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Splintered

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.Praise for *Splintered:"Attention to costume and setting render this a visually rich read..."--Kirkus Reviews*"It’s a deft, complex metamorphosis of this children’s fantasy made more enticing by competing romantic interests, a psychedelic setting, and more mad violence than its original."--Booklist"Wonderland is filled with much that is not as wonderful as might be expected, and yet, it is in Wonderland that Alyssa accepts her true nature. The cover with its swirling tendrils and insects surrounding Alyssa will surely attract teen readers who will not disappointed with this magical, edgy tale."--Reading Today OnlineAbout the AuthorA. G. Howard wrote Splintered while working at a school library. She always wondered what would’ve happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child. She lives in Amarillo, Texas.
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The Birth House

The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing. Dora becomes Miss B.'s apprentice, and together they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives. Filled with details as compelling as they are surprising, The Birth House is an unforgettable tale of the struggles women have faced to have control of their own bodies and to keep the best parts of tradition alive in the world of modern medicine.From the Hardcover edition.
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The Seal

THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF TEMPLE OF THE GRAIL.It is the year 1307 and the ancient Order of the Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is in danger. The King of France and Pope Clement V are plotting its destruction, scheming to appropriate the Order's most sacred relic: an ancient mystery encrypted on the ring seal of the Grand Master, Jacques de Molay.Jacques entrusts the sacred ring to his seneschal, Etienne de Congost, a battle-weary but incorruptible man whose task is to take the Seal to the farthest edges of Europe for safekeeping. While Jacques and his Templar brothers are tortured and left to die in prisons, the trusted seneschal travels through a world in ruin, overcoming Machiavellian plots and dodging Papal spies, only to find that the greatest test awaits him at his final destination...But will Etienne be strong enough to resist the temptations that guard the true power of the Seal?The answer comes almost 700 years later, by way of a writer who arrives at Lockenhaus Castle in Austria to research a book on the Templars. Together with an eccentric local woman, a mystic, the writer explores the history of the Seal, not realising that, at the same time, they are also untangling a web of destiny. A web that binds them both to the mystery of the Seal.
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Losing It

After being cast out from his home village, Sevim wanders through the marshes, fatally wounded and waiting for death from hunger or cold. His dying mind plays tricks on him and he imagines shapes in the mist - fantastic creatures, monsters and spirits.One of these spirits seems more than just imaginary; it re-visits Sevim many times, talking to him, comforting him. It appears as a young boy, his name is Spall, and he is lonely. When he offers to save Sevim's life, there is a catch, because Spall is no normal ghost, he is called into being by the dying dreams of men. He is a Sin Eater. About Lesley Glaister Novelist Lesley Glaister was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. She grew up in Suffolk, moving to Sheffield with her first husband, where she took a degree with the Open University. She was 'discovered' by the novelist Hilary Mantel when she attended a course given by the Arvon Foundation in 1989. Mantel was so impressed by her writing that she recommended her to her own literary a Novelist Lesley Glaister was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. She grew up in Suffolk, moving to Sheffield with her first husband, where she took a degree with the Open University. She was 'discovered' by the novelist Hilary Mantel when she attended a course given by the Arvon Foundation in 1989. Mantel was so impressed by her writing that she recommended her to her own literary agent.Lesley Glaister's first novel, Honour Thy Father (1990), won both a Somerset Maugham Award and a Betty Trask Award. Her other novels include Trick or Treat (1991), Limestone and Clay (1993), for which she was awarded the Yorkshire Post Book Award (Yorkshire Author of the Year), Partial Eclipse (1994) and The Private Parts of Women (1996), Now You See Me (2001), the story of the unlikely relationship between Lamb, a former patient in a psychiatric ward, and Doggo, a fugitive on the run from the police, As Far as You Can Go (2004), a psychological drama, in which a young couple, Graham and Cassie, travel to a remote part of Australia to take up a caretaking job, only to be drawn into the dark secrets of their mysterious employers. Nina Todd Has Gone (2007) was another complex psychological thriller.Lesley Glaister lives with her husband in Edinburgh with frequent sojourns in Orkney. She has three sons and teaches Creative Writing at the University or St Andrews. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
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The Vampire Who Loved Me

Julian Kane is back in town.Once, as a girl of seventeen, beautiful, headstrong Portia Cabot saved the cursed life of the dashing vampire Julian Kane—who marked her forever, then left to go in search of his soul. He returns five years later to find the enchanting young girl he left behind grown into a bewitching woman with a woman's heart . . . and a woman's desires.Portia quickly discovers that Julian's seductive and forbidden kiss can still make her crave the night . . . and his touch. But the Julian who has returned to London is not the vampire she remembers. His fruitless pursuit of his stolen mortality has reduced him to drunken debauchery. And a recent spate of murders makes Portia fear that the man she has always adored may truly be a monster.Julian knows he must drive Portia away—but his passion and hunger for her grow more irresistible every time they touch....
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Spring Broke

Free lodging in Hawaii sounds like the vacation of a lifetime—maybe the girls of 86 Bloomberg Place can raise cash for airfare by having a really big garage sale!
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Heart Stop

Jay "Flash" Reynolds has a brilliant future as a trauma surgeon until a truck on a rainy night changes her life. Assistant chief medical examiner Olivia Price is more at ease with the dead than the living—at least the dead never lie. All she needs to do is listen to their stories. What she doesn't need is a surly new resident who would rather be somewhere else.Two women, one with a damaged body, the other a damaged spirit, challenge each other to dare to live again.
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The Comforts of Home

Simon Serrailler faces his most difficult case yet in the ninth installment of Susan Hill's gripping mystery series.Susan Hill—the Man Booker Prize nominee and winner of the Whitbread, Somerset Maugham, and John Llewellyn Rhys awards—returns with a hair-raising new novel, the ninth book in one of the most acclaimed mystery series of our time. Featuring the enigmatic and brooding chief police inspector Simon Serrailler, this intricate and pulse-pounding series follows a collection of grisly crimes plaguing the city of Lafferton—and The Comforts of Home is the most chilling and unputdownable installment yet.In this gripping new thriller, Simon, eager to be back at work after recovering from a near-fatal injury, takes on a cold-case review for the Lafferton police about a girl who disappeared some years before. Meanwhile, his family adjusts to changes of its own; namely his sister's marriage to Chief Constable Kieron Bright. But when events take...
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Double Date

The girls of the DG have found that through the club, both their friendships and their dating savvy have grown. But all that is about to be put to the test. Despite their promises of secrecy, word has somehow gotten out, and new girls want to join the club. The reaction in the DG is mixed, but with the Christmas Ball coming up, they need to pull together to organize their double dates. The trouble is, how can they get guys interested in a dance that's become increasingly unpopular?Cassidy, Devon, Abby, Bryn, and Emma are quickly becoming teen favorites as they navigate the crazy world of dating. As always, Melody Carlson subtly delivers great advice wrapped up tight in a package of fun and friendship.
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