A glimpse into parallel lives in a suburban town Tom Perrotta has made recognizably his in novels like ELECTION, LITTLE CHILDREN and this fall's THE LEFTOVERS. Clay wouldn't have said his life was defined by his place on the high school football team's roster, but when he's sidelined by injury, everything, including his sense of self, seems different. And it's not just that his concussion was bad enough to cause his parents and doctors to worry, to make him have trouble concentrating. It's that he's seeing the previously familiar people in his world—from his girlfriend Megan to his geriatric neighbor Mrs. Scotto—from a new perspective. Perrotta's warmth and ability to describe the dramatic moments in the average lives of characters of every age are perfectly presented in "Senior Season", a story that will add a layer to fans' pleasure in this author's themes and concerns. This e-book also includes an excerpt of THE LEFTOVERS.

I'm cursed. At least when it comes to finding Mr. Right. I'm tired of men that only want one night stands or blind dates that are nothing but awkward and uncomfortable. I'm tired of avoiding inappropriate text messages and the constant disappointment of always meeting Mr. Wrong. After all these years of dates that lead nowhere, I can admit that it's me. I'm the problem. I'm shy and picky and cursed. Definitely cursed. So I've decided two things. The first? I'm giving up dating and relationships and men in general. Maybe, possibly, forever. The second? I'm going to have to try harder to avoid Ezra Baptiste. If I couldn't hack it in the kiddy pool of dating, I certainly can't swim in his deep end. He's too successful. Too intense. He's all man when I'm used to nothing but boys pretending to be grownups. He's everything I'm afraid to want and so far out of my league we might as well be different species entirely. So he'll need to find a different artist to paint his mural. And a different graphic designer to help him with his website. He'll need to find someone else to glare at and flirt with and kiss. It can't be me. We're too different.

It is significant that the only character in Hindu mythology, a king at that, to be given the title of ekam-patni-vrata, devoted to a single wife, is associated with the most unjust act of abandoning her in the forest to protect family reputation. This seems a deliberate souring of the narrative, made even more complex by Ram’s refusal to remarry despite the pressure on royalty to produce an heir. The intention seems to be to provoke thought on notions of fidelity, property and self-image. And so mythologist and illustrator Devdutt Pattanaik narrates the Ramayan, drawing attention to the many oral, visual and written retellings composed in different times by different poets, each one trying to solve the puzzle in their own unique way. This book approaches Ram by speculating on Sita—her childhood with her father, Janak, who hosted sages mentioned in the Upanishads; her stay in the forest with her husband who had to be a celibate ascetic while she was in the prime of her youth; her interactions with the women of Lanka, recipes she exchanged, emotions they shared; her connection with the earth, her mother; her role as the Goddess, the untamed Kali as well as the demure Gauri, in transforming the stoic prince of Ayodhya into God.

Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby. But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood. With palpable drama and delicious craft, Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the YA scene with the story that everyone will be talking about.

Winner of the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Ten years after RABBIT REDUX, Harry Angstrom has come to enjoy prosperity as the Chief Sales Representative of Springer Motors. The rest of the world may be falling to pieces, but Harrry's doing all right. That is, until his son returns from the West, and the image of an old love pays a visit to his lot....

International bestselling author Jeffrey Archer has spent the last five years gathering spellbinding stories from around the globe. These fifteen brand-new tales showcase Archer's talent for capturing an unforgettable moment in time, whether tragic, comic, or outrageous. In India, Jamwal and Nisha fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green on the streets of Delhi. From Germany comes "A Good Eye," the tale of a priceless oil painting that has remained in the same family for over two hundred years, until... To the Channel Islands and "Members Only," where a golf ball falls out of a Christmas cracker, and a young man's life will never be the same... To Italy and "No Room at the Inn," where a young man who is trying to book a room at a hotel ends up in bed with the receptionist, unaware that she... To England, where, in "High Heels," a woman has to explain to her husband why a pair of designer shoes couldn't have gone up in flames... Some of these stories will make you laugh while others will bring you to tears but, once again, every one of them will demand that you keep turning the page until you finally discover what happens to this remarkable cast of characters.

Facts and fictions are different truths. Minna Pratt stares at this message above her mother's typewriter every day and tries to understand it. But how can she, when her mind is already so full? She wishes her mother would ask her normal questions like "How was your day?" instead of "What is the quality of beauty?" She wishes her brother, McGrew, could catch a baseball. She wishes she had a vibrato and could play Mozart on her cello the way he deserves to be played. Then she meets Lucas Ellerby. Minna thinks Lucas has the perfect life. His home runs smoothly and evenly. Dinner conversation is full of facts, and everyone always has matching socks to wear. So why is he so intrigued by her family? Minna doesn't know, but as her friendship with Lucas grows, she discovers some important truths about herself and her family. In Patricia MacLachlan's hope-filled coming-of-age story Minna learns to value her family because of their eccentricities, and to value herself because of her own.

In the heart of a civil war-torn African nation, primate researcher Hope Clearwater made a shocking discovery about apes and man . . . Young, alone, and far from her family in Britain, Hope Clearwater contemplates the extraordinary events that left her washed up like driftwood on Brazzaville Beach. It is here, on the distant, lonely outskirts of Africa, where she must come to terms with the perplexing and troubling circumstances of her recent past. For Hope is a survivor of the devastating cruelities of apes and humans alike. And to move forward, she must first grasp some hard and elusive truths: about marriage and madness, about the greed and savagery of charlatan science . . . and about what compels seemingly benign creatures to kill for pleasure alone.

What side do you choose when you don’t even know what War you’re fighting? Over generations, the War has grown. It has become bloodier. Both sides will do anything to win. But with the involvement of a third faction—one that wants to put an end to the violence finally—even more enemies lurk around every corner. Strangers have been watching Christopher for his entire life. He doesn’t know why, but he knows that he has paranoia in his blood. He has prepared since he was young for the day that they would stop watching and come for him. On his eighteenth birthday, Christopher is attacked. Though he escapes with his life, he finds himself thrust into a War he never knew existed. To the people of the War, Christopher is a legend, the hero or the villain who may one day bring an end to the conflict. But Christopher knows only that he isn’t willing to become anyone’s pawn....

It is Norway in the thirteenth century, a land rent by unremitting warfare and feebly lit by Christianity. Olav Audunsson was once an outlaw; now he is a man of wealth and stature. But he is haunted by the memory of crimes for which there is no easy atonement and by losses that may never be redeemed.

Richard Adams’s Watership Down was a number one bestseller, a stunning work of the imagination, and an acknowledged modern classic. In Shardik Adams sets a different yet equally compelling tale in a far-off fantasy world. Shardik is a fantasy of tragic character, centered on the long-awaited reincarnation of the gigantic bear Shardik and his appearance among the half-barbaric Ortelgan people. Mighty, ferocious, and unpredictable, Shardik changes the life of every person in the story. His advent commences a momentous chain of events. Kelderek the hunter, who loves and trusts the great bear, is swept up by destiny to become first devotee and then prophet, then victorious soldier, then ruler of an empire and priest-king of Lord Shardik—Messenger of God—only to discover ever-deeper layers of meaning implicit in his passionate belief in the bear’s divinity.

Even before A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin had already established himself as a giant in the field of fantasy literature. The first of two stunning collections, Dreamsongs: Volume I is a rare treat for readers, offering fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master.   Gathered here in Dreamsongs: Volume I are the very best of George R. R. Martin’s early works, including his Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker award–winning stories, cool fan pieces, and the original novella The Ice Dragon, from which Martin’s New York Times bestselling children’s book of the same title originated. A dazzling array of subjects and styles that features extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume I is the perfect collection for both Martin devotees and a new generation of fans. “Fans, genre historians and aspiring writers alike will find this shelf-bending retrospective as impressive as it is intriguing.”—*Publishers Weekly *  “Dreamsongs is the ideal way to discover . . . a master of science fiction, fantasy and horror. . . . Martin is a writer like no other.”—The Guardian (U.K.)   PRAISE FOR GEORGE R. R. MARTIN “Of those who work in the grand epic-fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best. In fact . . . this is as good a time as any to proclaim him the American Tolkien.”—Time “Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.”—The New York Times   “I always expect the best from George R. R. Martin, and he always delivers.”—Robert Jordan

He was lost and alone. Then he found her. And the future seemed more fragile than ever. As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed. All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy… As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.

The classic, award-winning novel, made famous by Steven Spielberg's film, tells of a young boy's struggle to survive World War II in China. Jim is separated from his parents in a world at war. To survive, he must find a deep strength greater than all the events that surround him. Shanghai, 1941 -- a city aflame from the fateful torch of Pearl Harbor. In streets full of chaos and corpses, a young British boy searches in vain for his parents. Imprisoned in a Japanese concentration camp, he is witness to the fierce white flash of Nagasaki, as the bomb bellows the end of the war...and the dawn of a blighted world. Ballard's enduring novel of war and deprivation, internment camps and death marches, and starvation and survival is an honest coming-of-age tale set in a world thrown utterly out of joint.