### Product Description Go inside the dark history of the Blue Rock Academy and learn more about the twisted past that made this school a hunting ground for a ruthless killer...and what became of one of the school's most infamous alumni in this companion to the *New York Times* bestseller WITHOUT MERCY. From #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Lisa Jackson comes a pulse-pounding thriller that goes behind the doors of an exclusive academy with a terrifying secret. . . Ever since her father was stabbed to death in a home invasion, Julia "Jules" Farentino has been plagued by nightmares. Her half-sister, Shaylee, now seventeen, has had her own difficulties since the tragedy, earning a rap sheet for drug use, theft, and vandalism. Still, when Jules learns of her mother's decision to send Shay to an elite boarding school in Oregon, she's skeptical. The Academy has a reputation for turning wayward kids around--but one of its students went missing six months ago and her body has never been found. There are rumors she may have died during one of the school's questionable treatments. Once enrolled, Shay grows fearful, convinced her every move is being watched. And the deeper Jules digs, the more concerned she becomes. On impulse, Jules applies for a teaching job at the Academy. Though the facility boasts state-of-the-art equipment and a breathtaking campus, Jules senses cracks in the director's do-good demeanor. Shortly before Jules arrived, a student was found hanged, and a hysterical Shay believes it was murder. Staff members are wary and unwelcoming--all except Cooper Trent, another recent hire who has his own suspicions, and his own secrets. Then another girl goes missing, and yet another is found dead. There's no doubt something sinister is at hand--but Jules may be too late to stop it. Behind the Academy's idyllic veneer lurks an evil force on a brutal and terrifying mission. And Jules has become the next target of a bloodthirsty killer without limits, without remorse, without mercy. . .

"Stewart's beautifully lucid, poetic prose makes for a narrative of commanding power and enchantment that echoes the best of Le Guin and Tolkien." — Booklist"An astonishing, wise, beautiful work, full of the terror and wonder and love and power of life and legend intertwined." — LocusThe island people of Clouds End are united by their history, an abundance of tales relating heroic struggles and the emergence of their land from the dreaded Mist. The preservation of their traditions is entrusted to a tribal Witness, who foretells the future and enshrines the past with stories of memorable lives. Young Brook longs for adventures that will culminate in her role as a Witness, and her journey begins when Jo, a shapeshifting "haunt" who sometimes assumes the guise of a seagull, forms her exact double. "Twinning" is a fearful fate since only one of the two can survive and both usually come to untimely ends.The end seems very near at hand with the...

Loyalties are tested and secrets are revealed in this third book of the epic animal adventure series set in the subway tunnels of Brooklyn, ideal for “fans of Erin Hunter, Brian Jaques, and Kathryn Lasky” (School Library Journal).Felina the cat queen may be gone, but the subway tunnels of Atlantia are still dangerous to all rodents who dwell within the twists and turns. Pup and his spider companion Hacklemesh are lurking in the shadows... Hopper is determined to reach out to his brother-gone-bad, to see if he can talk some sense into the young rodent. But then Hope, the youngest of Zucker and Firren’s new litter, goes missing, and all signs point to Pup as culprit. Meanwhile, Firren is rattled not only by the disappearance of her daughter, but a shameful secret from her past that she’s kept hidden for years. A secret that may hold damaging consequences for not only Firren, but all of Atlantia. How can Pup betray his...

From critically acclaimed author and Japanese scholar Lesley Downer, an enchanting portrait of the mysterious world of the geisha.Ever since Westerners arrived in Japan, they have been intrigued by Japanese womanhood and, above all, by geisha. This fascination has spawned a wealth of extraordinary fictional creations, from Puccini's Madama Butterfly to Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. The reality of the geisha's existence, though, whether today or in history, has rarely been addressed. Contrary to popular opinion, geisha are not prostitutes but, literally, "arts people." Their accomplishments include singing, dancing, playing a musical instruments; but above all, they are masters of the art of conversation, soothing the worries and stroking the egos of the wealthy businessmen who can afford their attentions. It is this which imbues the geisha with such power--and which makes absolute secrecy such a crucial aspect of their work. As...

As a computer technician at the university, Anna Petrowski knows she has one thing in common with doctors and lawyers, and it's not the salary. It's that everyone thinks her advice comes free, even on weekends. That's why she keeps a strict observance of her Saturday routine: a scone, a caramel mocha, and nobody bothering her. So when she meets a new campus hire at the Bean Grinder who needs computer help yet doesn't ask for it, she's intrigued enough to offer. It's the beginning of a beautiful friendship and possibly something more.But Elizabeth Markel is a little higher up the university food chain than she's let on, and the truth brings out buried prejudices that Anna didn't know she had.People and computers have one thing in common: they're both capable of self-sabotage. The difference is that computers are easier to fix.

A stunning new translation of Mahmoud Darwish's intertwining poetic narrative, presenting a profound portrait of the Palestinian people, the human condition, and Darwish's own hopes and dreams Since Mahmoud Darwish's death, his poetic writings continue to be read by an audience in awe. This is a collection of autobiographical poetry designed to give an insight into the wider human condition. Darwish explores the meaning of life, identity, and the impact of exile. Hailed as the most important Arab poet of the modern day, Darwish's voice has come to represent a generation and the Palestinian people in the midst of the tense political situation in the Middle East. While Darwish explored themes of lost Eden, exile, and life after death, he resisted classification as a spokesperson for the Palestinian cause, and refused to use his art for purely political ends. Darwish's was a nomadic existence, much of it spent in international exile, and these experiences lent his...

Newbery Honor--winning author Gennifer Choldenko deftly combines humor, tragedy, fascinating historical detail, and a medical mystery in this exuberant new novel. San Francisco, 1900. The Gilded Age. A fantastic time to be alive for lots of people . . . but not thirteen-year-old Lizzie Kennedy, stuck at Miss Barstow's snobby school for girls. Lizzie's secret passion is science, an unsuitable subject for finishing-school girls. Lizzie lives to go on house calls with her physician father. On those visits to his patients, she discovers a hidden dark side of the city--a side that's full of secrets, rats, and rumors of the plague. The newspapers, her powerful uncle, and her beloved papa all deny that the plague has reached San Francisco. So why is the heart of the city under quarantine? Why are angry mobs trying to burn Chinatown to the ground? Why is Noah, the Chinese cook's son, suddenly making Lizzie question everything she has known to be true? Ignoring the rules of...

In this thoughtful meditation on the future of humanity, colonists on Mars struggle to prevent their own extinction Doomed by overpopulation, irreversible environmental degradation, and never-ending war, Earth has become a fetid swamp. For many, Mars represents humankind's last hope. In six tightly clustered towers on the red planet's surface, the colonists who have escaped their dying home world are attempting to make a new life unencumbered by the corrupting influences of politics, art, and religion. Unable ever to return, these pioneers have chosen an unalterable path that winds through a landscape as terrible as it is beautiful, often forcing them to compromise their beliefs—and sometimes their humanity—in order to survive. But the gravest threat to the future is not the settlement's total dependence on foodstuffs sent from a distant and increasingly uncaring Earth, or the events that occur in the aftermath of the miraculous discovery...

The New York Times bestselling author of A Certain Age transports readers to sunny Florida in this lush and enthralling historical novel—an enchanting blend of love, suspense, betrayal, and redemption set among the rumrunners and scoundrels of Prohibition-era Cocoa Beach.Burdened by a dark family secret, Virginia Fortescue flees her oppressive home in New York City for the battlefields of World War I France. While an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, she meets a charismatic British army surgeon whose persistent charm opens her heart to the possibility of love. As the war rages, Virginia falls into a passionate affair with the dashing Captain Simon Fitzwilliam, only to discover that his past has its own dark secrets—secrets that will damage their eventual marriage and propel her back across the Atlantic to the sister and father she left behind.Five years later, in the early days of Prohibition, the newly widowed Virginia Fitzwilliam arrives in the...

From the New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Camp 14, the shocking, gripping account of the most powerful American spy you've never heard of, whose role at the center of the Korean War—which gave rise to the North Korean regime—is essential to understanding the most intractable foreign policy conflict of our time. In 1946, master sergeant Donald Nichols was repairing jeeps on the sleepy island of Guam when he caught the eye of recruiters from the army's Counter Intelligence Corps. After just three months' training, he was sent to Korea, then a backwater beneath the radar of MacArthur's Pacific Command. Though he lacked the pedigree of most U.S. spies—Nichols was a 7th grade dropout—he quickly metamorphosed from army mechanic to black ops phenomenon. He insinuated himself into the affections of America's chosen puppet in South Korea, President Syngman Rhee, and became a pivotal player in the Korean War, warning months in...

It begins with a sound. And sounds can never hurt ... can they? The Tower stands in solitude. What began as a medieval farmhouse has grown over the centuries into something very evil. There are the stark walls, the shadow-filled rooms and lonely corridors haunted by a pervading darkness. But the Tower is possessed by much more than the ghosts of the past and it has the power to do more than simply terrify. Its dark heart has grown restless. When five unsuspecting young people agree to stay there as house-sitters, they soon learn that visitors are not welcome. This is The Tower, a house whose occupants don't always wear a human face....

Anna Norton used to be fat. Correction: Anna Norton used to be a fat, nerdy, overeater with low self esteem. When she moves from suburban Ohio to Manhattan at age 23, her life does a total 180. With guidance from her boss, an unlikely Fairy Godmother in the form of a chic caterer and excellent cook, Anna loses all the weight and-though still not quite Kate Moss-finally drops her inferiority complex, brushes the crumbs off her skirt, and enters the world of feeling good, looking good, and . . . finally having sex. When Anna meets Ben, the man of her dreams (and of every other person's dreams who isn't blind) she almost can't believe she is dating the Ken Doll. Deep down, she is still the chubby nerd who wrote in a diary called Hello Fatty. But not everything is perfect; her hot boyfriend is a huge flirt, and every leggy blond who crosses his path is a threat to Anna. She just can't escape the feeling that Ben is way out of her league and that everyone thinks she is dating up and he's dating down. It gets so bad, she decides she will do anything to make these women go away. Enter the Makedown. The reverse makeover. As Anna was made up, so will Ben be made down. Where she went from shabby to chic, he will go from prince to frog. Anna will sabotage his hotness for the sake of her own sanity, and to bring this man into more of what she considers her own league. Enter Nair to induce premature balding, Sears catalogs to inspire bad dressing, and secret additions of cream to her cooking and SKOR bars in granola bar wrappers to induce weight gain. Hilarity ensues, but in the end, Anna must find out if Ben's makedown will save their relationship, or end it.

Thirteen years ago, two teens met on the ramp to Ground Zero, on a cold and snowy day, strangers bonding in a moment of grief. The boy pressed a crystal snowflake ornament into the girl's hand and disappeared into the crowd, unaware that his simple act of kindness saved her from the guilt that threatened to consume her. Since losing her mom, Elena Larsen hasn't set foot in New York City -- until now. Agreeing to help her sister prepare for her baby's birth seems like a good way to spend Christmas and Elena vows not to let the monstrous guilt that weighs on her heart ruin everything. But those plans go awry when she meets Lucas Adair, a man whose own grief and guilt just might rival her own. When Elena discovers Lucas is the boy who gave her that crystal snowflake all those years ago, she can't accept it as the sign Lucas believes it to be. For her, it means only one thing --- even beyond the grave, her mother can never forgive Elena for breaking her heart. For Lucas, New York is hallowed ground that he can never leave. He spends his days working in the Financial District and his evenings volunteering and it's almost enough to help him forget what he did. Lucas knows better than to make plans with a woman who will soon be leaving, yet can't help himself. There's something about Elena that pulls him in. He doesn't put much faith in signs but even he starts to believe Elena is his absolution. Now, he only has to convince her. Christmas in New York seriesBook 1: This Christmas by Jeannie Moon Book 2: All I Want for Christmas by Jennifer Gracen Book 3: A Light in the Window by Jolyse Barnett Book 4: Goodness and Light by Patty Blount

Book two of Ellen Potter's charming new illustrated early chapter book series set on an island off the coast of Maine, where kids, lobster boats, and a hint of magic are part of everyday life. As far as Piper Green is concerned, the day started out lucky:Lucky thing #1: Her mom is painting Piper's bedroom her favorite color.Lucky thing #2: Piper found a perfect strawberry at breakfast.Lucky thing #3: Piper lost a tooth. And as everyone knows, tooth + tooth fairy = ka-ching! There's just one problem. According to her friend Jacob, too much good luck can sometimes equal bad luck. And when Piper gets to school that day, Bad Luck is waiting for her. Will the Fairy Tree in Piper's front yard be enough to break her unlucky streak?

An iridescent verse novel from award-winning author Steven Herrick that shines light on friendship, family and finding your way.People like you and me, Jonah,we drag down the price of everything we touch.Life for Jonah and Manx means fishing for mullet at the lake, watching their school mates party on Friday night and wishing they had the courage to talk to Ella and Rachel.But now their lakeside town is being sold off, life doesn't seem so simple. Manx holds a grudge against the wealthy blow-ins from the city and Jonah just wants his parents to stop arguing.One memorable night at the lake will change everything.