Anomaly

      K. A. Tucker
     Anomaly

She was merely a pawn in their game. And then something happened. Once the fragile, naïve human, Evangeline has become altogether … different. A being who holds formidable power, she may be the key to changing the course of fate. Or she could be the final nail in the world’s coffin. But Evangeline doesn’t know exactly what she is, what she can do. She knows only that she has to stop an enemy far worse than the Sentinel and the sorceresses—one driven by revenge. And he’s hunting the man she loves. As Evangeline fights to keep Caden alive and the human population from eradication, she can’t help but sense the imminent doom. Find out if fate will prevail in the harrowing conclusion to the Causal Enchantment series.

Read online

  • 414

    Black Water

      D. J. MacHale
     Black Water

Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here and here BREAKING THE RULES Just when fifteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon thinks he understands his purpose as a Traveler—to protect the territories of Halla from the evil Saint Dane—he is faced with an impossible choice. The inhabitants of Eelong are in danger of being wiped out by a mysterious plague. The only way Bobby can stop it is to bring the antidote from another territory. Since moving items between territories is forbidden by the Traveler rules, if Bobby chooses to save Eelong he could endanger himself, his friends, and the future of every other being in Halla.

Read online

  • 414

    Family Affairs

      Jen Calonita
     Family Affairs

The filming for sure-to-be-blockbuster movie Pretty Young Assassins has wrapped, and teen movie star Kaitlin Burke returns to life on the set of primetime drama Family Affair. After ten seasons of filming the hit favorite TV show, Kaitlin would have thought that she could see any curveballs coming, but with a plotting new actress on set, all bets are off. The new diva, Alexis, makes even Kaitlin's long-time nemesis Skye seem like a puppy in comparison. Can Kaitlin keep her sane boyfriend, her insane job, and her composure in the face of this new star power?

Read online

  • 414

    The Bell Family

      Noel Streatfeild
     The Bell Family

'Well, little people, what's the news?' Meet the big, happy Bell family who live in the vicarage at St Marks. Father is a reverend, Mother is as kind as kind can be. Then there's all the children - practical Paul, dancing Jane, mischievous Ginnie, and finally the baby of the family, Angus, whose ambition is to own a private zoo (he has already begun with his six boxes of caterpillars). And not forgetting Esau, a sure fire competitor for the most beautiful dog in Britain. Follow their eventful lives from tense auditions to birthday treats; from troubled times to hilarious escapades. Includes exclusive material: In the Backstory you can find out which one of the Bell children you most resemble! Vintage Children's Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives. Discover timeless favourites from Peter Pan and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to modern classics such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Read online

  • 414

    A Little Taste of Poison

      R. J. Anderson
     A Little Taste of Poison

Twelve-year-old Isaveth tries to take down the man who framed her father for murder in this lively follow-up to A Pocket Full of Murder, which Kirkus Reviews called “thoroughly entertaining.” The city of Tarreton is powered by magic, from simple tablets that light lamps to advanced Sagery that can murder a man from afar. Isaveth has a talent for spell-making, but as a girl from a poor neighborhood she never dreamed she could study at the most exclusive magical school in the city. So when she’s offered a chance to attend, she eagerly accepts. The school is wonderful, but old and new enemies confront Isaveth at every turn, and she begins to suspect her scholarship might be more a trap than a gift. Even her secret meetings with Esmond, her best friend and partner in crime-solving, prove risky—especially once he hatches a plan to sneak her into the biggest society event of the season. It’s their last chance to catch the corrupt politician who once framed her father for murder. How can Isaveth refuse?

Read online

  • 414

    The Boy Spies of Philadelphia

      Joanna H. Mathews
     The Boy Spies of Philadelphia

On the morning of April 2, 1778, three boys, the eldest of whom was not more than sixteen years of age and the youngest hardly a year his junior, were standing on that side of the town-house nearest the pillory, in the city of Philadelphia.They were not engaged in sportive conversation, nor occupied with schemes for pleasure, as is usually the case with boys of such age; but wore a graver look than seemed suitable to youth under ordinary circumstances.These boys were witnessing and taking part in events decidedly startling—events well calculated to impress themselves upon the minds even of children.It is hardly necessary, because such fact is familiar to all Americans, to say that on the 26th of September, 1777, General Howe took possession of the city of Philadelphia, and it was yet occupied by the British forces on this 2d day of April, 1778.The past winter had been one of gayety for the wealthy Tory inhabitants of the city, since the English officers were pleased to spend their time in every form of revelry, and ever ready to accept the more than generous hospitality which was extended by such of the citizens as were desirous of remaining under British rule.The officers of the army indulged to the utmost their love for luxury and ease while serving in the command of the indolent Howe, and the privates had so far followed the example set by their superiors that the king's troops had become more demoralized by this winter of idleness than could have been possible under almost any other circumstances.So great was this demoralization that Benjamin Franklin was able to say with truth, when taunted with the fact that the enemy had captured the city:"General Howe has not taken Philadelphia; Philadelphia has taken General Howe."It was at about the time of which this story treats that the British government decided to give command of the forces under General Howe to Sir Henry Clinton, and those of the population loyal to the cause of freedom were considerably exercised in mind as to how this change of officers might effect them.

Read online

  • 413

    Roger Kyffin's Ward

      William Henry Giles Kingston
     Roger Kyffin's Ward

London was in commotion. On a certain afternoon in the early part of the year 1797, vast numbers of persons of all ranks of society, wealthy merchants, sober shopkeepers, eager barristers, country squires, men of pleasure, dandies, and beaus, and many others of even more doubtful position, might have been seen hurrying up through lanes and alleys towards the chief centre of British commerce—the Bank of England, that mighty heart, in and out of which the golden stream flows to and fro along its numberless arteries. Numerous carriages, also, some with coronets on their panels, and powdered footmen behind, rolled up from Cheapside. Among their occupants were ministers of state, foreign ambassadors, earls and barons of the realm, members of parliament, wealthy country gentlemen, and other persons of distinction. While in not a few were widows and spinster ladies, dowager duchesses and maids of honour, and other dames with money in the funds. On the countenances of the larger portion of the moving throng might be traced a word of uncomfortable import—“Panic.” It was an eventful period. Seldom during that or

Read online

  • 413

    The Thirteenth Skull

      Rick Yancey
     The Thirteenth Skull

Alfred Kropp lost—then found—the legendary sword Excalibur. Then he defeated King Paimon, arguably the nastiest of demons ever to roam the earth. What could possibly be in store for him now? Plenty. Not only is a dangerous new enemy tracking Alfred’s every move, even the people who have sworn to protect him no longer seem trustworthy. Who, or what, is "Sofia," and is there a connection between Sofia and the mysterious Thirteen Skull? The reluctant hero who has always narrowly avoided death may not be getting out of this adventure alive. Just right for fans of Alex Rider and Stephen King, this third installment in Rick Yancey’s acclaimed series is a compulsive page turner readers won’t soon forget.

Read online

  • 413

    One Night at the Call Center

      Chetan Bhagat
     One Night at the Call Center

Press 1 for technical support. Press 2 for broken hearts. Press 3 if your life has totally crashed. . . . Six friends work nights at a call center in India, providing technical support for a major U.S. appliance corporation. Skilled in patience–and accent management–they help American consumers keep their lives running. Yet behind the headsets, everybody’s heart is on the line. Shyam (Sam to his callers) has lost his self-confidence after being dumped by the girl who just so happens to be sitting next to him. Priyanka’s domineering mother has arranged for her daughter’s upscale marriage to an Indian man in Seattle. Esha longs to be a model but discovers it’s a horizontal romp to the runway. Lost, dissatisfied Vroom has high ideals, but compromises them by talking on the phone to idiots each night. Traditional Radhika has just found out that her husband is sleeping with his secretary. And Military Uncle (nobody knows his real name) sits alone working the online chat. They all try to make it through their shifts–and maintain their sanity–under the eagle eye of a boss whose ego rivals his incompetence. But tonight is no ordinary night. Tonight is Thanksgiving in America: Appliances are going haywire, and the phones are ringing off their hooks. Then one call, from one very special caller, changes everything. Chetan Bhagat’s delicious romantic comedy takes us inside the world of the international call center, where cultural cross-wires come together with perfect pathos, hilarity, and spice. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Read online

  • 413

    The Big Six: A Novel

      Arthur Ransome
     The Big Six: A Novel

In this (more or less) sequel to the adventures of Coot Club, Arthur Ransome returns once more to his beloved Norfolk Broads where trouble is again brewing for Joe, Bill, and Pete, the three boatbuilders' sons who (more or less) live full-time aboard the Death and Glory and the three Coots, Tom, Dorothea and Dick. The problem seems to be that boats are constantly being set adrift, and all the evidence points squarely at the three Death and Glories. In a clever bit of detective work, and with some help from a sophisticated photographic trap, the Big Six manage to exonerate themselves and catch the villains. Of course, this book, like all Ransome titles, is about a lot more than clever detective work; it has the smell of water and tarred rope, the sound of birds, and the plight of children left to their own devices and coping with everything from catching monster pike to trapping midnight eels. Ransome, who wrote these imperishable books, spent his childhood in England's Lake District, and after a career in journalism that took him to Russia (where he married Trostsky's secretary), China, and Egypt (interspersed with summers of cruising through the Baltic Sea and the canals of Europe), he retired to Coniston where he could practise his favorite pastimes of sailing and fishing and where he wrote Swallows and Amazons. What sets these books apart from other books of the period is both his attention to detail and his admirable ability to provide a wealth of practical information. If kids still exist who wish to know how to read a compass, handle a main sheet, reef a sail, bait a hook, or pitch a tent, these are the books they'll embrace.

Read online

  • 413