In "RESPONSIBILITY" Phillip learns a valuable lesson in what it means to be responsible and how important it is to ask for forgiveness. Phillip agrees to take care of his best friend's hamster, named Henry, while his friend Caleb and family are on vacation. Will Phillip learn what it means to be responsible in time before his friend comes back from vacation?RESPONSIBILITY is the first in a series of Christ-centered character quality books about the Carson family. Each book in the series demonstrates how the Carson family learn biblical character qualities while honoring Jesus Christ along the way. The Carson family includes Mr. and Mrs. Carson, their son, Phillip and twin daughters, Eleanor and Allison. In "RESPONSIBILITY" Phillip learns a valuable lesson in what it means to be responsible and how important it is to ask for forgiveness. Phillip agrees to take care of his best friend's hamster, named Henry, while his friend Caleb and family are on vacation. Will Phillip learn what it means to be responsible in time before his friend comes back from vacation? Does Phillip learn how to honor Jesus Christ in being responsible?

From award-winning poet Benjamin Alire Sáenz comes In Perfect Light, a haunting novel depicting the cruelties of cultural displacement and the resilience of those who are left in its aftermath. In Perfect Light is the story of two strong-willed people who are forever altered by a single tragedy. After Andés Segovia's parents are killed in a car accident when he is still a young boy, his older brother decides to steal the family away to Juárez, Mexico. That decision, made with the best intentions, sets into motion the unraveling of an American family. Years later, his family destroyed, Andés is left to make sense of the chaos -- but he is ill-equipped to make sense of his life. He begins a dark journey toward self-destruction, his talent and brilliance brought down by the weight of a burden too frightening and maddening to bear alone. The manifestation of this frustration is a singular rage that finds an outlet in a dark and seedy El Paso bar -- leading him improbably to Grace Delgado. Recently confronted with her own sense of isolation and mortality, Grace is an unlikely angel, a therapist who agrees to treat Andés after he is arrested in the United States. The two are suspicious of each other, yet they slowly arrive at a tentative working relationship that allows each of them to examine his and her own fragile and damaged past. Andés begins to confront what lies behind his own violence, and Grace begins to understand how she has contributed to her own self-exile and isolation. What begins as an intriguing favor to a friend becomes Grace's lifeline -- even as secrets surrounding the death of Andés' parents threaten to strain the connection irreparably. With the urgent, unflinching vision of a true storyteller and the precise, arresting language of a poet, Sáenz's In Perfect Light bears witness to the cruelty of circumstance and, more than offering escape, the novel offers the possibility of salvation.

Creepy. Peculiar. Fairy. Goblin. Liar. Weirdo. Crank. Genius. No one knows what to make of Juliet Slater, not even her mother. And clothes, boys, school, friends, the changing seasons and what other people think - none of these things seem to matter to Juliet. She spends hours in her room with incomprehensible mathematical text books, her mind voyaging in strange seas of thought, alone. Is she a genius? It might take the rest of her life to find out. While Stella Gibbons was celebrated for her beloved bestseller Cold Comfort Farm, the manuscript for Pure Juliet lay unseen and forgotten until it was brought to light by her family in 2014, and is published here for the first time in Vintage Classics. A tale that travels from an eco-millionaire's British country idyll to an Arabian Nights-style fantasy of the Middle East, this is a treat for fans of this witty, curious and always surprising author.

From New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson comes Outta the Bag the hilarious prequel story to her upcoming novel Me, Myself and Why, the first in a brand new series. In Outta the Bag, Clive Better—the better-than-best plumber in town—attends a speed dating event where—instead of attempting to score phone numbers—he recounts his recent run-in with a freaked-out cat and a sexy-but-psychotic woman that has left him confused, scratched up, and rather aroused.  

For many of us, the Ace Double Novels of the 50s and 60s have long been a source both of pleasure and nostalgia. This new double volume from Subterranean Press stands squarely in that distinguished tradition, offering a pair of colorful, fast-paced stories from the reigning master of the intergalactic space opera: Alastair Reynolds. Thousandth Night, the genesis for the epic novel House of Suns, is quintessential Reynolds. A visionary account of intrigue, ambition, and technological marvels set within a beautifully realized far-future milieu, it combines world-class storytelling with a provocative meditation on the mystery, grandeur, and inconceivable immensity of the universe. The masterful novella Minla s Flowers features Merlin, a familiar figure to Reynolds s readers. Diverted by technical difficulties to a planet known as Lecythus, Merlin finds himself forced to play a part in the moral and military dilemmas of a world on the verge of extinction.

Innumerable ages have passed since Menelaus Montrose last beheld his loved Rania, who departed the Milky Way long ago to plead for humanity before the authority whose inhuman laws govern the Orion Arm. Man has altered himself by forced evolution and created godlike machines, larger than worlds, which now determine human destiny. But a new star burns in the skies of Earth: it is the celestial vessel of Rania, returning, Montrose hopes, with the cliometric equations promising equality, peace and liberation. In the barren wastes of Torment, the world that is home to the last and most distant human colony, Montrose and his equally immortal rival, Del Azarchel, meet again, this time in a common cause to discover the fate of Rania, of humanity, and of the galaxy itself. The alien monstrosities of Ain at long last are revealed, their hidden past laid bare, along with the reason for their brutal treatment of humanity and all the species seeded throughout the Orion Arm. And they have still one more secret that could upend everything Montrose has fought for and lived so long to achieve.

If you want to survive, you have to follow the rules… Mikayla Morgan is wanted for her mother's murder. She's been on the run for almost a year now, avoiding not only the police but the real killer. Tired of running and desperate to clear her name, she breaks one of the most sacred rules: never return to the scene of the crime. Every bounty hunter on the Eastern Seaboard is after the Morgan girl—but Shaun Denver and his partner snagged her. She's a piece of work, and Shaun can't decide if he wants to kiss her or kill her. When things take a sharp turn south, Shaun does the only thing he can think of to keep her close—he handcuffs them together. As the danger mounts and the killer closes in, the chemistry between them threatens to explode. Shaun and Kayla will need to break all the rules if they hope to get out of this alive.

Vampires exist. So do werewolves. The creatures that you fear in the darkness? They're all real. And the baddest of the paranormals...those who love to hurt humans...they're sent to Purgatory, the only paranormal prison in the U.S.His job is to stop the monsters. Deadly forces are at work within Purgatory. The monsters are joining together--and their plans have to be stopped. FBI Agent Shane August, a very powerful vampire with a dark past, is sent into the prison on an undercover assignment. His job is to infiltrate the vampire clan, by any means necessary. She wants to help the prisoners. Dr. Olivia Maddox wants to find out just why certain paranormals go bad. What pushes some vampires over the edge? Why do some werewolves turn so savage? If she can understand the monsters, then Olivia thinks she can help them. When she gets permission to enter Purgatory, Olivia believes she is being given the research opportunity of a lifetime. Olivia doesn't realize that she's walking straight into hell. To survive, they have to rely on each other. When the prisoners break loose, there is only one person--one vampire--who can protect her, but as Olivia and Shane fight the enemies that surround them, a dark and dangerous passion stirs to life between the doctor and the vamp. Shane realizes that Olivia is a woman carrying secrets--powerful, sinful secrets. Secrets that a man would kill to possess. And Olivia realizes that--sometimes--you can't control the beast inside of you. No matter how hard you try. Some passions can push you to the very limits of your control...and the growing lust that she feels for her vampire...it's sending her racing right into a deadly storm of desire. Welcome to Purgatory...a place that's a real hell on earth... Note: MARKED BY THE VAMPIRE is a sexy paranormal romance. It contains hot scenes, an alpha vampire, and a heroine who isn't afraid to fight monsters. Word count: 55,000. The first book in the Purgatory series (THE WOLF WITHIN) is also available. All of the books in the Purgatory series can be read as stand-alone titles.

Families can detonate. Some families are torn apart forever by one small act, one solitary mistake. In my family it was a series of small explosions; consistent, passionate, pathetic. Cruel words, crude threats... We spurred each other on till we reached a crescendo of pain and we retired exhaused to our rooms, in tears or in fury. Ari is nineteen, unemployed and a poofter who doesn't want to be gay. He is looking for something - anything - to take him away from his aimless existence in suburban Melbourne. He doesn't believe in anyone or anything, except the power of music. All he wants to do is dance, take drugs, have sex and change the world. For Ari, all the orthodoxies of family, sex, politics and work have collapsed. Caught between the traditional Greek world of his parents and friends and the alluring, destructive world of clubs, chemicals and anonymous sex, all Ari can do is ease his pain in the only ways he knows how. Written in stark, uncompromising prose, Loaded is...

A dazzling family love story reminiscent of Everything I Never Told You from a novelist heralded by Lorrie Moore as a "great new talent."If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.Their prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in '80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11, hoping to control fate; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.A sweeping novel of remarkable...

I knew from the moment I first saw her she was the one. The only girl I could ever want. The only girl I could ever love. She is light. I am darkness. She is innocent. I’ve done too much. She is good. I am bad. She is my every dream. I should be her every nightmare. We come from different worlds. She’s…perfect. And I’m… Not. Somehow she wants me anyway. So we’ll grasp at what we can. We’re going to make this summer count. She’s my secret. And I’m hers. The problem with secrets is they never last for long. And when others discover we’re together, they’ll do whatever it takes to keep us apart. All I know is: I won’t let them. Because Reverie Hale? She’s mine.

"Our sister is marrying a vampire."When the ever practical Caroline Cabot first hears those words from the lips of her fanciful youngest sister, she accuses Portia of having a wild imagination. But when she discovers their sister Vivienne is actually being courted by Adrian Kane, the mysterious viscount rumored to be a vampire, she decides to accept his invitation to a midnight supper and do some sleuthing of her own. To both her delight and her dismay, she soon finds herself falling under Kane's bewitching spell.After all, what's a proper young lady to do when her sister's suitor arouses more than just her suspicions?

THE BIG MONEY completes John Dos Passos's three-volume "fable of America's materialistic success and moral decline" (American Heritage) and marks the end of "one of the most ambitious projects that an American novelist has ever undertaken" (Time). Here we come back to America after the war and find a nation on the upswing. Industrialism booms. The stock market surges. Lindbergh takes his solo flight. Henry Ford makes automobiles. From New York to Hollywood, love affairs to business deals, it is a country taking the turns too fast, speeding toward the crash of 1929. Ultimately, whether the novels are read together or separately, they paint a sweeping portrait of collective America and showcase the brilliance and bravery of one of its most enduring and admired writers.**

Anyone worried that living in a small town could be boring certainly hasn't lived in Henry Adams, Kansas. From the wealthy divorcÉe who saved this historic town founded by freed slaves to the romantic entanglements that have set tongues wagging and hearts fluttering (and everything in between), there's plenty to keep the lovably eccentric townsfolk busy.Preston Miles is happy living with his foster parents, but an e-mail from his maternal grandmother is about to change all that. . . . Riley Curry, the former town mayor, is convinced his pet hog, Cletus, acted in self-defense when he sat on--and killed--a man. Now Riley just has to prove it in a court of law. . . . And as for Rocky, she has already had a lifetime of hurt. Will she risk opening her heart--and her life--to Jack? Warm, funny, poignant, and unforgettable, Beverly Jenkins's latest excursion to Henry Adams is a true delight--a welcome return to a place that always feels like home.

Mordock's Cave is one of the wonders of the world: a place where thousands of sightseers every year take an awe-inspiring boat trip on a lake deep beneath the earth's surface and marvel at Nature's handiwork. But the darkness is also the home of things Nature never intended - things violent, bestial and obscenely evil. And when a sudden power failure traps a group of tourists underground, the unnatural creatures who dwell there emerge from the depths… *** From Publishers Weekly Fast-paced and tightly constructed, this novel by the author of The Stake combines the best elements of psycho-slasher thrillers, disaster epics and classic supernatural horror tales. When a power failure traps a tourist group deep in Mordock's Cavern, tour guide Darcy Raines leads a small team that attempts to break through Ely's Wall, a man-made barrier sealing off one end of the cave. Creepy Kyle Mordock, teenage descendant of Ely, the wall's builder, and son of the attraction's current owner, is along on the tour because of his morbid erotic fascination with the beautiful Darcy. Flashbacks reveal that he has recently inherited a longstanding Mordock family trait, namely, the propensity to rape and murder female guests of the Mordock Cave Hotel and dump the bodies in the sealed-off part of the cave. Laymon adds fiendishly clever topspin to this gruesome revelation, placing on the other side of the wall a danger grislier and more bizarre than any natural disaster or psychotic killer. Horror fans will relish this highly entertaining tale.

An unnamed author waits in a bar in Tel Aviv on a stifling hot night. He is there to give a reading of his work but as he sits, bored, he begins to conjure up the life stories of the people he meets. Later, when the reading is done he asks a woman for a drink. She declines and the author walks away, only to climb the steps to her flat, later that night. Or does he? In Amos Oz's beguiling, intriguing story the reader never really knows where reality ends and invention begins...

A lyrical and deeply moving portrait of grief, blame, and forgiveness, and of finding the courage to confront your ghosts—one truth at a time. As soon as she was under, Maggie heard the quiet, though every sound was amplified in her ears and in her brain...Sound, like shame, travels four times faster under the water. Though only a sophomore, Maggie Paris is a star on the varsity swim team, but she also has an uncanny, almost magical ability to draw out people's deepest truths, even when they don't intend to share them. It's reached a point where most of her classmates, all but her steadfast best friend, now avoid her, and she's taken to giving herself away every chance she gets to an unavailable—and ungrateful—popular boy from the wrestling team, just to prove she still exists. Even Maggie's parents, who are busy avoiding each other and the secret deep at the heart of their devastated family, seem wary of her. Is there such a thing as too much truth?

Jordie Thomas is looking for something to take his mind off of the woman he let go—or rather, pushed away—and the terrifying prospect of what will happen if his broken leg doesn’t heal. He’s ready to get back to his family and fellow teammates on the Nashville Assassins and get back onto the ice. However, with his injured leg in the way and his mind clouded by a certain woman, he needs a break to clear his head and his heart. With New Orleans in his sights, can this player find a way to get back to the crazy and reckless life he used to live? Find out as author Toni Also takes readers on a wild journey in this Assassins novella.

Mary Freeman was a prominent American author in the late 19th century, and historical novels like Pembroke are still in print today.

A.E.W. Mason was a 20th century British politician, but today he's best known for the classic The Four Feathers, a story about the virtues and vices of wartime.

Starman's Quest By Robert Silverberg