Sid has a busy day ahead and an important meeting at work, but what happens when his life line, his mobile phone is hijacked?Every night little Johnny would lie in his bed and read his favorite comic book series "The Boogeyman." Johnny’s big sister Betty would tease him about his comic book on a daily basis, and say things like, "Johnny if you don't stop reading those stupid comic books the boogeyman is going to get you." She would come in his room and yank the comic book out of his hands and throw it across the room. The more his sister tormented him, the more anger for his sister was mounting.Finally one night as he was reading about the boogeyman his sister yanked the comic book out of his hands and started tearing the pages out of the comic book. She said as she was laughing "Sorry, Johnny, but it's for your own good."Johnny replied, "I wish you were dead."

In this riveting prequel to the bestselling Awakened series, Jason Tesar sets in motion a sweeping fantasy epic birthed at the very foundations of mankind, when our prehistoric world collided with supernatural forces, spawning an age of mythological creatures and heroes.Since the ages before time was measured, the angelic races have existed. Unseen by our eyes, they move through creation, shaping our world, sustaining our existence, and battling demonic hordes. But the war is changing; the battle lines are expanding into new frontiers and the next epoch is emerging.Centuries after the first humans were exiled from their home, their descendants have pushed eastward into a prehistoric wilderness. In a land shrouded by mist and superstition, primitive tribes struggle to establish new civilizations, unaware that their world is about to change forever.Weary from unceasing conflict, Sariel—legendary warrior of the Eternal Realm—crosses into the Temporal in search of the only one who can bring him peace. But he is not the first; others have already begun their inhabitation. As the dominance of their kingdom spreads, threatening to engulf all of humanity, Sariel finds himself standing between his own kind and the one he loves and must embrace the life he abandoned in order to secure her freedom.

The Muroshi family are an infamous clique of serial killers. When an innocent group of teenagers on a camping trip cross the path of the Muroshis, it is survival of the strongest. Will Keeper and his friends are in the trip of their lives.Peta has been living in London and having a great time. Then she finds herself heading home to Australia, as her parents have gone missing whilst bush walking near the town of Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains.Unsure what to do, as the search continues for her parents, Peta does manage to uncover some very interesting information about her family and finds out that, people are not always what they seem.

"Showdown at the Cactus's Prick" is a short story written by David Reynolds. It was originally published in Late Night Dungeons. Sabaku has already left the oppressive land that was once his home. Now, he must resist capture at the Cactus's Prick, a tiny hovel beyond the borders of his homeland.The pain I've felt so longCould never have beenWithout reasonEvery bit of it could never be wrongBecause it's taught me whatTo really say and how to mean itYou're so good I can't believe my eyesI can't understand how you came to beYou've made me thankful for all the liesI ever had to believeAnd made me thank God you came to meEvery untruth I was toldHas given me strength to see what is goodAnd to know how to hold Onto what I should

Abe Jennings is a mutant and all he wants to do is fight.Abe's parents finally got him out of the zone and into the Keystone. A decent town where everyone looks normal and the streets are filled with sludge. The best part is the lack of giant monsters destroying the place. That's all fine and dandy for his parents, but Abe has no interest in staying there.Abe Jennings’ parents finally got him out of the zone and into Keystone. A decent town where everyone looks normal and the streets aren’t filled with sludge. The best part is the lack of giant monsters destroying the place. That’s all fine and dandy for his parents, but Abe has no interest in staying there.The kids treat him like a second class citizen. And thanks to the radiation back home, he was born with a face only a mother could love. But Abe tries his best to make it through school everyday. Which isn’t easy until he finds his true calling: fighting. Now that’s all he can think about which doesn’t make his straight-laced parents too happy.

Once there was a legend.Long ago, in a time the world of men no longer remembers, an evil was born in the lands of Sul. Shadows came into the world; ice and snow covered the earth in eternal, damnable winter. A prophecy was laid down: a messiah would be born to the Witch Queen of Sul, a child who could destroy the Dark Lord who arose in the West. A price would be paid, a life for a life.I was there. I remember when darkness came into the world, when it unleashed a plague of damnation upon the races to which the world was given. I remember when the unholy heir of darkness was born, and when her father fell.A second war begins. The cold grip of death stretches over the world in ice and winter, for the heart of evil and the heart of the world are bound to one another. The heir of darkness rises as her father, and blood flows in rivers upon the frozen earth. A prophesied messiah rises to stand against the gathering dark. The tears of the fairies fall for the world that is frozen.

A collection of six stories that bend the rules of time - from straight-ahead time travel, to moving through the ages via more mystical means...Includes the Writers of the Future Honorable Mention-earning novellas Seer and Superthread; plus the short stories Predict THIS, Tag-Alongs, Broker, and Liberation. BONUS: a sneak peek at the YA Fantasy novel, "The Conge Posterne," coming in 2013!Elendor, currently ruled by a newly appointed queen named Nadia, is under attack by their mortal enemies. Dravion, leader of dreaded Sha, will stop at nothing to take control of Nadia's entire kingdom but before he has the chance to kill her an unforeseen circumstance occurs.

In this delightful short story, enterprising actress and amateur sleuth Isobel Spice faces down a theater ghost to learn the truth behind an actor’s mysterious death during a performance of Gilbert & Sullivan’s gothic operetta "Ruddigore."A Poem by D. D. which was inspired by the photo that it accompanies. The verse is not what I expected when i typed the first line and title. The poem evolved as i wrote it, which is how most of my poems are written. My first thought when I typed the first line was of remembering a love or a happier time, While it did end up with the remembrance of a love, the poem that you see is as written and unmodified, and from my heart. Must be Pride Month helped it along.D. D.

A coming of age tale about a girl who runs away from New York to live with a tribe of kids she meets on an island at the end of the world.After running from New York to get away from sadness that plagued the city in the years after the towers fell, and the callous nature of the people at Columbia who I thought were my friends, I found the bones for this novel in New Zealand. Shortly after arriving I fell in love with a circle of kids who were somewhere between studying and employment and had no career opportunities, no ambition, and yet were far happier than the depressed people I had met in New York who on the surface seemed to have everything. The contrast between New York and New Zealand fascinated me, and I swore that I would remain in New Zealand until I had pinned down the novel that I saw all friends running around in, inside my head. I like to think of it as a version of what might have happened if Daisy Buchanan grew some balls like Jack Kerouac, ran away to an island at the end of the world and then stumbled across Peter Pan. But the deeper she goes into this Alice in Wonderland-like experience, it starts to look more like Lord of the Flies than happiness. If these kids are so happy on this island, why do they have to take drugs every night? And what happens when you run out of places to run? The title came from the letters of Hunter S. Thompson. He mentions it in a couple of different contexts, but my favourite might be his disappointment upon visiting Ken Kesey in the forest to find him pre-occupied and distracted by the joys of acid, creating more masterpieces like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Next. At first I thought I was stealing it from him – but then his editor from Hells Angels told me once that he got it from F. Scott Fitzgerald. So there you go. There is nothing new under the sun, as Plato wrote, and he probably got it from someone else. While writing this I read A Midsummer Night's Dream a couple of times, and listened to The Wall by Pink Floyd a lot. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's finally finished.

Kimaya Verma is a half-British half-Indian teen with an acceptably normal life. Everything seems to be perfect, until the family next door starts having problems. What seemed to be a simple case of cheating turns out to be more dangerous, and Kimaya is the only one who knows. As things get worse, Kimaya battles the problems alone - but will she be able to unscramble the mess before it's too late?Meet Kimaya Verma. Born in London, Kimaya is a half-British half-Indian teen with an acceptably normal life. Everything seems to be perfect, until the family next door starts having problems.What seemed to be a simple case of cheating turns out to be more dangerous, and Kimaya is the only one who knows. As things get complicated, Kimaya battles the problems alone - but will she be able to unscramble the mess before it's too late?

Genetically selected children compete and kill for the chance to win Christmas. In a simulated, yet antiquated future playground called Daycare, Ceep, an omniscient computer,responsible for creating deadly gangs of urchins who desire to reap the rewards of Christmas, encourages his creations to use their enhanced genetic skills to destroy one another and take the Christmas tree for their own.In this cyberpunk Christmas tale genetically selected children compete and kill for the chance to win Christmas. In a simulated, yet antiquated future playground called Daycare, Ceep, an omniscient computer,responsible for creating deadly gangs of urchins who desire to reap the rewards of Christmas, encourages his creations to use their enhanced genetic skills to destroy one another and take the Christmas tree for their own. Only the strongest survive, or do they? When Chronos, the leader of his gang, discovers his love for one of the most detested members of his group is stronger than his love for his creator, he can't help but try to save her from ultimate destruction.

If you're made an offer that seems too good to be true; it usually is. And if you're Roanne Harper, the too-good-to-be-true offer could just end with demons, gods and psychopaths.Roanne Harper is having a bad week. Falsely accused of shoplifting and suspended from school, her whole life has taken a distinct nose-dive. So when her solicitor tells her that there is another option open to her, that by helping to rescue a kidnapped child the charges against her could be dropped, she ignores the nagging voice of doubt in the back of her mind and agrees to help. What she doesn’t realise is that her journey will take her through a parallel dimension, where she will meet gods, demons, psychopaths and a boy who may hold the answer to who she really is.

Greg Mortenson has built a global reputation as a selfless humanitarian and children’s crusader, and he’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is also not what he appears to be. As acclaimed author Jon Krakauer discovered, Mortenson has not only fabricated substantial parts of his bestselling books Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, but has also misused millions of dollars donated by unsuspecting admirers like Krakauer himself. This is the tragic tale of good intentions gone very wrong.

Trenton Kingsley, the embitttered Duke of Broddington, has dreamt of the day that he would avenge his beloved father's death. Returning suddenly from self-imposed exile on the Isle of WIght, he takes aim at the man he holds responsible... the unscrupulous Baxter Caldwell, Viscount Winsham. In a masterstroke of irony, he forces the viscount's hand and walks away with his most precious posession... his innocent sister, Ariana.Ariana Caldwell has grown up in the shadow of a secret family tragedy, at the heart of which lay Trenton Kingsley. Forced to marry a man she had been led to hate - and fear - Ariana is helplessly caught in the renewed fury of an ancient feud. But despite the danger, her husband's unaccountable torment only draws Ariana closer, and her instincts will not allow her to retreat. Caught between Trenton's brooding desire and her brother's imperious demands, Ariana is on an odyssey for the truth...consumed by the promise of a passionate, overwhelming love.

After 13-year-old Charlie Hall’s mother dies and his father retreats into the silence of grief, Charlie finds himself drifting lost and alone through the brutal halls of junior high school. But Charlie Hall is not entirely friendless.  In the woods behind his house, Charlie is saved from a mountain lion by a grizzly bear, thought to be extinct in northern Idaho.  And this very unusual bear will change Charlie’s life forever. Deeply moving, and interwoven with hope and joy, Emory’s Gift is not only heartwarming and charming coming of age story, but also a page-turning insightful look at how faith, trust, and unconditional love can heal a broken family and bridge the gaps that divide us.**

The only piece of information that Summer Davis takes away from her years at Peninsula Upper School -- one of the finest in the Brooklyn Heights-to-Park Slope radius, to quote the promotional materials -- is the concept that DNA defines who we are and forever ties us to our relatives. A loner by circumstance, a social outcast by nature, and a witty and warm narrator of her own unimaginable chaos by happenstance, Summer hangs on to her interest in genetics like a life raft, in an adolescence marked by absence: her beautiful, aloof mother abandons the family without a trace; her father descends into mental illness, haunted by a lifelong burning secret and abetted by a series of letters that he writes to make sense of his feelings; her best friend Claire drifts out of Summer's life in a breeze of indifference, feigned on both sides; and her older brother fluctuates between irrational fury and unpredictable tenderness in an inaccessible world of his making. Uncertain of her path and unbalanced by conflicting impulses toward hope and escape, Summer stays close to her father while attending college, taking him to electro-shock therapy treatments and trying to make sense of his inscrutable past. Upon his departure for a new and possibly recovered life, Summer begins to question the role of genetics and whether she is destined to live out her family's legacy of despair. But it is only when Summer decides to leave New York herself and put off a promising science career to take care of her great-aunt Stella -- bedrock of the family and bastion of folksy wisdom, irreverent insight, and Sinatra memorabilia in a less-than-scenic part of the Pennsylvanian countryside -- that Summer begins to learn that her biography doesn't have to define her...and that her future, like her DNA, belongs to her alone. In a novel consumed by the uncertainties of science, the flaws of our parents, and enough loss and longing to line a highway, Sara Shepard is a penetrating chronicler of the adolescence we all carry into adulthood: how what happens to you as a kid never leaves you, how the fallibility of your parents can make you stronger, and how being right isn't as important as being wise. From the backwoods of Pennsylvania to the brownstones of Brooklyn Heights, The Visibles investigates the secrets of the past, and the hidden corners of our own hearts, to find out whether real happiness is a gift or a choice.

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. New Directions is excited to reissue the Gardner classics, beginning with October Light, a complex relationship rendered in a down-to-earth narrative. October Light is one of John Gardner's masterworks. The penniless widow of a once-wealthy dentist, Sally Abbot now lives in the Vermont farmhouse of her older brother, 72-year-old James Page. Polar opposites in nearly every way, their clash of values turns a bitter corner when the exacting and resolute James takes a shotgun to his sister's color television set. After he locks Sally up in her room with the trashy blockbuster novel that has consumed her (and only apples to eat), the novel-within-the-novel becomes an echo chamber providing glimpses into the history of the family that spawned these bizarre, sad, and stubborn people. Gardner uses the turbulent siblings as a stepping-off point from which he expands upon the lives of their extended families, and the rural community that surrounds them. He also engages larger issues of how liberals and conservatives define themselves, and considers those moments when life transcends all their arguments.

The Secret Series continues in this dangerous and daring fourth adventure. Cass finds herself alone and disoriented, a stranger in a dream-like, medieval world. Where is she? Who is she? With the help of a long-lost relative, she begins to uncover clues and secrets--piecing together her family's history as she fights her way back to the present world. Meanwhile, back home, Cass is at the hospital in a deep coma. Max-Ernest knows she ate Time Travel Chocolate--and he's determined to find a cure. Can our expert hypochondriac diagnose Cass's condition before it's too late? And will he have what it takes to save the survivalist?

Before Secretariat and Seabiscuit, Man o’ War set the standard for horse racing. Walter Farley, the creator of the Black Stallion, chronicles the mightiest racer ever seen on an American racetrack from his surging power and blistering speed to his overwhelming desire to run! Here is the unofficial biography of the “red giant,” from the moment he was foaled through all of his racing triumphs. Winning an astonishing 20 of his 21 starts, Man o’ War became a legend, and captured the heart of a nation before he retired in 1920 to sire Hard Tack, the father of Seabiscuit, and Triple Crown winner War Admiral. With his seamless storytelling, Farley tells the life story of the horse most horse lovers continue to regard as America’s greatest thoroughbred. Told through the eyes of a fictional stableboy, Danny Ryan, Farley makes the intricate world of the “Sport of Kings” accessible and exciting to horse lovers and racing fans of all ages.

JPod, Douglas Coupland's most acclaimed novel to date, is a lethal joyride into today's new breed of tech worker. Ethan Jarlewski and five co-workers whose surnames begin with "J" are bureaucratically marooned in jPod, a no-escape architectural limbo on the fringes of a massive Vancouver game design company. The jPodders wage daily battle against the demands of a boneheaded marketing staff, who daily torture employees with idiotic changes to already idiotic games. Meanwhile, Ethan's personal life is shaped (or twisted) by phenomena as disparate as Hollywood, marijuana grow-ops, people-smuggling, ballroom dancing, and the rise of China. JPod's universe is amoral, shameless, and dizzyingly fast-paced like our own. Praise for JPod: "JPod is a sleek and necessary device: the finely tuned output of an author whose obsolescence is thankfully years away."-New York Times Book Review"It's to [Coupland's] credit that in JPod he's still nimble enough to take the post-modern man-too young for Boomer nostalgia and too old for youthful idealism-and drown his sorrows in a willful, joyful satire that revels in the same cultural conventions that it sends up."-Rocky Mountain News "It's time to admire [Coupland's] virtuoso tone and how he has refined it over 11 novels. The master ironist just might redefine E. M. Forster's famous dictate 'Only connect' for the Google age."-USA Today "Zeitgeist surfer Douglas Coupland downloads his brain into JPod."-Vanity Fair

No one likes or wants to take the statewide assessment tests. Not the students in Mrs. Woods's sixth-grade class, not even their teacher. It's not like the kids don't already have things to worry about. . . . Under pressure to be the top gymnast her mother expects her to be, RANDI starts to wonder what her destiny truly holds. Football-crazy GAVIN has always struggled with reading and feels as dumb as his high school-dropout father. TREVOR acts tough and mean, but as much as he hates school, he hates being home even more. SCOTT's got a big brain and an even bigger heart, especially when it comes to his grandfather, but his good intentions always backfire in spectacular ways. NATALIE, know-it-all and aspiring lawyer, loves to follow the rules--only this year, she's about to break them all. The whole school is in a frenzy with test time approaching--kids, teachers, the administration. Everyone is anxious. When one of the kids has a big idea for acing the tests, they're all in. But things get ugly before they get better, and in the end, the real meaning of the perfect score surprises them all.