Love and Decay, Episode One

      Rachel Higginson
     Love and Decay, Episode One

Zombies- as if that wasn’t enough to ruin any girl’s dream of a happily ever after. Reagan said goodbye to love when she was forced to run her high school boyfriend over with her mom’s car just to keep him from eating her for dinner. Now, two years later, and in need of a serious shower, she’s just over the entire concept of a soul mate- or really, any kind of mate. Well, mostly anyway. When she runs- literally- into a group of boys holed up in a relative utopia of peanut butter and bottled water, maybe all hope in the love department is not lost. But at the end of the world, nothing can be simple. And with a horde of Zombies after her, Reagan is going to have to schedule falling in love between hunting and surviving. Hopefully she can last long enough find out if true love can still exist when everything else has started to fall apart. Love and Decay, Episode One, the first in a novella series in a Dystopian Romance about Zombies, the end of the world and finding someone to share it with. This story takes place over multiple episodes, with a release date every two weeks. Approximately 20,000 words.

Read online

  • 876

    Doglands

      Tim Willocks
     Doglands

Furgul is a puppy born in a slave camp for racing greyhounds, and he has a terrible secret--he is himself only part greyhound. When the cruel owner of the camp recognizes Furgul's impure origins he takes Furgul to be killed, but Furgal manages a spectacular escape. Now Furgul must confront the indifference, complexity, warmth, and ferocity of the greater world, a world in which there seem to be two choices: live the comfortable life of a pet and sacrifice freedom or live the life of a free dog, glorious but also dangerous, in which every man will turn his hand against you. In the best tradition of The Call of the Wild and Watership Down, novelist Tim Willocks offers his first tale for young adults, an allegorical examination of human life through a dog's eyes, infused with heart, heroism, and the mysteries of the spirit. From the Hardcover edition.

Read online

  • 876

    A Web of Air

      Philip Reeve
     A Web of Air

The second, thrilling adventure in the Fever Crumb trilogy from the brilliant and award-winning Philip Reeve. Two years ago, Fever Crumb escaped the war-torn city of London in a traveling theater. Now, she arrives in the extraordinary city of Mayda, where buildings ascend the cliffs on funicular rails, and a mysterious recluse is building a machine that can fly. Fever is the engineer he needs - but ruthless enemies will kill to possess their secrets.

Read online

  • 875

    Esperanza Rising

      Pam Muñoz Ryan
     Esperanza Rising

Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico — she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances — Mama's life, and her own, depend on it. Pam Munoz Ryan eloquently portrays the Mexican workers' plight in this abundant and passionate novel that gives voice to those who have historically been denied one. "When I was a child, I always assumed my grandmother grew up in poverty because the stories she told were primarily about raising her children in farm labor camps in California in the 1930s. It wasn't until I was a young woman that she told me about her childhood in Mexico. I was so moved by her riches-to-rags fairytale that I felt compelled to share her story." — Pam Munoz Ryan.

Read online

  • 875

    Taken Over

      Erica Stevens
     Taken Over

Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ASIN B0086Q7UNK. Devastated by the loss of Cade, struggling to survive in a world she no longer knows, Bethany is determined to exact revenge upon the aliens that have shredded her life, and the lives of her family and friends. Presented with an opportunity to uncover the secret that Dr. Bishop feels her blood holds, and why she is different than the rest of the survivors, Bethany strikes out on a mission. With a small group of fellow survivors, Bethany is determined to gather the supplies necessary to discover what help she may be for humanity. Though she is haunted by memories of those she’s lost, Bethany refuses to give up hope that one day they might be able to regain some semblance of their former lives. However chances of that are looking smaller and smaller as they are confronted with new, and even deadlier creatures looking for only one thing; the destruction of the human race.

Read online

  • 875

    Shadow of the Wolf

      Gloria Whelan
     Shadow of the Wolf

Libby Mitchell can’t believe her luck! In 1841, her pioneer family decides to move north—near her best friend, Fawn, who lives with the Ottawa tribe. But the girls’ happiness at reuniting is short-lived. Greedy men want to cheat Fawn’s people out of their land and put all of the forest in danger. Now Libby and Fawn must think of a way to stop them—before the woods that they call home are lost forever. History Stepping Stones now feature updated content that emphasizes Common Core and today’s renewed interest in nonfiction. Perfect for home, school, and library bookshelves! From the Trade Paperback edition.

Read online

  • 875

    Smek for President

      Adam Rex
     Smek for President

In this much anticipated sequel to The True Meaning of Smekday, Tip and J.Lo are back for another hilarious intergalactic adventure. And this time (and last time, and maybe next time), they want to make things right with the Boov. After Tip and J.Lo banished the Gorg from Earth in a scheme involving the cloning of many, many cats, the pair is notorious-but not for their heroics. Instead, human Dan Landry has taken credit for conquering the Gorg, and the Boov blame J.Lo for ruining their colonization of the planet. Determined to clear his name, J.Lo and Tip pack into Slushious, a Chevy that J.Lo has engineered into a fairly operational spaceship, and head to New Boovworld, the aliens' new home on one of Saturn's moons. But their welcome isn't quite as warm as Tip and J.Lo would have liked. J.Lo is dubbed Public Enemy Number One, and Captain Smek knows that capturing the alien is the only way he'll stand a chance in the Boovs' first-ever presidential election. With the help of a friendly flying billboard named Bill, a journey through various garbage chutes, a bit of time travel, and a slew of hilarious Boovish accents, Tip and J.Lo must fight to set the record straight-and return home in once piece.

Read online

  • 875

    Beastly

      Alex Flinn
     Beastly

I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster. You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell. Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Read online

  • 874

    Arthur, for the Very First Time

      Patricia MacLachlan
     Arthur, for the Very First Time

Arthur Rasby is ten years old and having the worst summer of his life. His parents don't listen to him, so he writes everything down -- everything that's real -- in his journal. But when he goes to stay with his Great-Aunt Elda and Great-Uncle Wrisby on their farm, his world is turned upside down. For the first time Arthur wonders what's real and what's not. His aunt and uncle do things Arthur's parents would never do -- like climbing out windows to sit in trees, singing to their pet pig, and speaking French to a pet chicken. Life on the farm happens much too fast to write down -- sometimes wonderful, sometimes terrible. Arthur begins to understand there is more than one way of seeing and doing and loving. And he realizes there's a whole world just waiting to be discovered.

Read online

  • 874

    Call Me Crazy

      Quinn Loftis
     Call Me Crazy

“I’m looking out from inside the chaos. It must be a one-way mirror because no one seems to be able to see back inside to where I am. The looks on their faces, the judgment in their eyes, tells me everything I need to know. The most frustrating part about the whole messed up situation is that even though I’m the one that they stare at in shock, I am just as shocked as they are. I know no more than they do of why I lose control. What they don’t know is that I am more scared of myself than they could ever be.” ~ Tally Baker After a devastating turn of events, seventeen year old Tally Baker is admitted to Mercy Psychiatric Facility where she is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. She has come to a place where she honestly believes that her life is over. Her mind tells her that she will never smile or laugh again, that she will never be normal again. It is in this unlikely place that she meets two people, different in every way, yet both critical to helping her realize that she has so much more living to do. Candy, a cantankerous sixty year old Mercy Psychiatric patient, is hell bent on driving everyone as crazy as she is. Candy shows Tally that, regardless of her diagnosis, the ability to push on and live her life to the fullest is her choice and hers alone. In the midst of Tally’s oftentimes humorous, sometimes heart-wrenching, escapades with Candy, a new patient is admitted to Mercy—a Native American woman named Lolotea. Along with this new patient comes a daily visitor, her son, Trey Swift. At first glance, it is obvious to Tally that he is incredibly handsome and unbelievably caring. But what she learns through her second glance, and many thereafter, is that there is much more to Trey than he ever lets on. It is during these daily visits that Trey and Tally build a friendship far deeper than either of them truly realize. With Trey, Tally feels for the first time since being admitted that someone is looking at her as a person and not as a disease. Trey begins to make it clear that he wants more than friendship, but she knows that she can never give him more. How can she, when she won’t even give him the truth? Tally doesn’t tell Trey that she is a patient at Mercy, and she doesn’t ever plan to. Her plans go up in flames when she finds out that Trey is a new student at her school, the school where her brokenness was found out in the floor of the girl’s bathroom in a pool of her own blood.

Read online

  • 874

    Homecoming

      Kass Morgan
     Homecoming

Weeks after landing on Earth, the Hundred have managed to create a sense of order amidst their wild, chaotic surroundings. But their delicate balance comes crashing down with the arrival of new dropships from space. These new arrivals are the lucky ones—back on the Colony, the oxygen is almost gone—but after making it safely to Earth, GLASS’s luck seems to be running out. CLARKE leads a rescue party to the crash site, ready to treat the wounded, but she can’t stop thinking about her parents, who may still be alive. Meanwhile, WELLS struggles to maintain his authority despite the presence of the Vice Chancellor and his armed guards, and BELLAMY must decide whether to face or flee the crimes he thought he’d left behind. It’s time for the Hundred to come together and fight for the freedom they’ve found on Earth, or risk losing everything—and everyone—they love.

Read online

  • 874

    Dark Times

      Rob Reger
     Dark Times

Emily's uniquely strange homeschool syllabus includes: Time Travel 101 Advanced Spy Photography Bonnet Basics Great Aunts Through the Ages Intro to Germ Theory Care and Feeding of 'Squito Fish Fundamentals of Black Rock Spiderweb Embroidery Historical & Contemporary Felines Pop Quizzes Foodstuffs of the 1780s Thwarting Ancestral Enemies Techniques in Parallel

Read online

  • 874