Award Winner: 2018 Best Book Awards Fiction: Young Adult
As the Summer of Love comes to an end, 15-year-old Ida Petrovich waits for a father who never comes home. While commercial fishing in Alaska, he is lost at sea, but with no body and no wreckage, Ida and her mother are forced to accept a “presumed” death that tests their already strained relationship. While still in shock over the loss of her father, Ida overhears an adult conversation that shatters everything she thought she knew about him. This prompts her to set out on a search for the truth that takes her from her Washington State hometown to Southeast Alaska, where she works at a salmon cannery, develops love for a Filipino classmate, and befriends a Native Alaskan girl. In this wild, rugged place, she also begins to understand the physical and emotional bonds that took her father north and why he kept them secret—a journey of discovery that ultimately brings her family together and helps them heal. Insightful and heartfelt, The Leaving Year is a tale of love and loyalty, family and friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in our search for meaning.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Fiction: Young Adult
"Brilliant pacing, sizzling romance, and a storyline I absolutely devoured!" Victoria Scott, author of Fire and Flood.
Since Skye Reilly can remember, she has been looking up to the stars. With high school graduation upon her, her telescope in one hand and her college acceptance letter in the other, she has life as meticulously mapped out as her star chart. That is, until the Celeians arrive and she meets Ethan, an alluring alien. Ethan collides into her like an asteroid, causing a gravitational shift in Skye’s trajectory and hurling her life into a cataclysmic collision course of interplanetary proportions.
The Celeians promise many things. An end to disease, global warming, and famine. The knowledge to help humankind. Despite the suspicions surrounding the intriguing aliens and rising anti-alien protests, Skye gives Ethan her trust, and eventually her heart. The very heart he could stop with a lethal electrifying touch of his hand.
When the Magistrate, a council of alien leaders, threatens to put an end to their interspecies relationship, following her heart could cost Skye her life and the lives of everyone she loves.
Not even light can escape the pull of a black hole.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Fiction: Young Adult
A High School “American Psycho”
SOME TRUTHS ARE BETTER KEPT SECRET. SOME SECRETS ARE BETTER OFF DEAD.
Along the banks of the Bogue Falaya River, sits the abandoned St. Francis Seminary. Beneath a canopy of oaks, blocked from prying eyes, the teens of St. Benedict High gather here on Fridays. The rest of the week belongs to school and family—but weekends belong to the river.
And the river belongs to Beau Devereaux.
The only child of a powerful family, Beau can do no wrong. Handsome. Charming. Intelligent. The star quarterback of the football team. The “prince” of St. Benedict is the ultimate catch.
He is also a psychopath.
A dirty family secret buried for years, Beau’s evil grows unchecked. In the shadows of the ruined St. Francis Abbey, he commits unspeakable acts on his victims and ensures their silence with threats and intimidation. Senior year, Beau sets his sights on his girlfriend’s headstrong twin sister, Leslie, who hates him. Everything he wants but cannot have, she will be his ultimate prize.
As the victim toll mounts, it becomes crystal clear that someone has to stop Beau Devereaux.
And that someone will pay with their life.
WARNING: Readers of Death by the River will encounter situations of violence and sexual abuse which could be upsetting to the reader.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Fiction: Young Adult
What fate awaits a girl who hears monsters at night…
Sixteen-year-old Jaclyn looks up to her father. An honest man who once fought for the king, he now teaches Jaclyn how to use her wits—and her sword.
But he has a secret. And his secret may have a connection to the one thing Jaclyn is hiding from him.
Upon hearing “monsters” are terrorizing the small villages around Black Mountain, Jaclyn’s father and his friends head out to hunt them … but they don’t return.
Armed only with her sword and three magic beans—a gift from a mysterious old woman—Jaclyn sets out for Black Mountain to save her father.
On her climb, one bean drops and grows into a beanstalk, catching her when she falls.
She isn’t the only one that takes the ride. Jack, her childhood friend and secret crush, is following her.
Together, Jaclyn and Jack must battle to save not only their fathers, but the townspeople the beasts plan to lay waste to before it’s too late.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Fiction: Young Adult
From the creator of the award winning Bartholomew the Adventure Trilogy comes Book Four of the Orville Wellington Mouse series.
When Orville Mouse wakes up from a terrifying nightmare to find a mysterious red book in his bed, he and his best friend Sophia set out to decipher the cryptic manuscript, convinced the book is connected to the disappearance of Orville's neighbor, Aislin Mouse. Their quest takes them to the lost city of Cathne where an astonishing turn of events catapults the adventurers into a desperate interdimensional race to save Aislin. Accompanied by their old friend Proto the Rabbiton, Orville and Sophia enter the bewildering and terrifying world of Elysian in search of Aislin Mouse. With help from a beautiful ghost mouse, Orville's cantankerous neighbor Ebenezer, Puella the Wise One, crusty old Captain Tobias, an austere monk named Brother Solus, dreamy Madam Beasley, and Charon the Ferrymouse, the stalwart adventurers must uncover the secret of the last Metaphonium and confront the horrific burning charcoal stick creature known only as the Shadow King.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Fiction: Young Adult
Absolute obedience, servitude, neutrality.
These were the laws that once governed Bartholomew, an immortal soulcatcher, until one ill-fated night when he was forced to make a choice: rebel against his masters or reveal an ancient, dangerous secret.
He choose defiance.
Imprisoned for centuries as punishment for his decision, Bartholomew wastes away-until he creates an opportunity to escape. By a stroke of chance, Bartholomew finds himself in the human world and soon learns that breaking his bonds does not come without a price. Cut off from the grace that once ruled him, he must discover a new magic in 1930s Chicago.
Armed with only a cryptic message to give him direction, Bartholomew desperately tries to resume the mission he had started so long ago. Relying on the unlikely guidance of the streetwise orphan Charlie Reese, Bartholomew must navigate the depressed streets of the City in the Garden. But in order to solve this riddle, he must first discover if choice and fate are one in the same.
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards Fiction: Young Adult
18-year-old Bowie is the envy of his peers; the sharpest eye with a rifle, deadly as a viper in hand-to-hand combat, and set to marry the prettiest girl around. Papa Byrne, leader of the Fort Thunder militia, has high hopes for this rising star, sees him as the heir apparent to their Pacific Northwest island stronghold.
That all changes when a plane crashes into the island. Its sole survivor is Alexis, an exotic young woman who looks nothing like the fair-skinned people back at the Fort. Bowie brings her back to the stronghold, throwing the fearful community into chaos. Even his parents worry about what this will mean…
All fears are confirmed when an impromptu mission leaves a young cadet dead and Bowie wounded. Worse still, Bowie is being blamed for the death, framed by his former mentor and banished by a hung jury. The once favored son of Fort Thunder is about to have his eyes opened to the larger world – if he can live long enough to see it.
Violet is a young woman who goes on a personal journey into a magical place. She meets many interesting creatures such as dragons, wolves, mermaids and so much more. Violet is taught what magic truly is, compared to what mortals believe it is. Violet learns much about herself, as she also learns she is oh so much more than she grew up believing. So. Much. More.
Hovering just below the surface of Shilo Giannelli’s average existence lays an amazing spiritual power. Late one night, her world erupts with the revelation that, like her great-grandmother, she has The Gift. But the power to heal isn’t something she can share with the soccer team, her genius little sister, or her boyfriend, Kenji. Definitely not Kenji.
Deep beneath Misty Morning’s tough façade is a lifetime of abandonment, foster homes and broken dreams. When her two-year-old son is abused by her boyfriend, her fragile world shatters…until Shilo prays for Tyler, and he is healed, leaving Misty grateful but incredibly curious.
Shilo can’t give Misty the answers she needs; she only knows she has a God-given destiny, and despite facing strained relationships, impossible decisions, and the threat of being hounded day and night for her abilities, she will fulfill it.
The journey Misty and Shilo take together unites them as friends but invites danger into their lives. And it will take a miracle for these unlikely friends to elude a gang bent on revenge, keep The Gift a secret, trust God in extraordinary circumstances, and hold on to the people they love.
Despite the years of bullying in school, Jewel Hart has remained sweet and kind. She has it all--a great life, a great family, and beauty--but she has never been able to obtain the one thing she wants--to belong.
When Jewel meets Kaiden Carter, a good-looking, charming new student at York Mills High, things start to look up. On the surface, he is perfect, but Jewel can't shake the feeling that everything is not as it seems.
When the devastation of the rising suicides in her school hits too close to home and drives Jewel into a deep despair, she clings to Kaiden's strength to find her way back. Through the pain and fear surrounding her, she finds hope and the will to go on. But just as she picks herself up, tragedy strikes again, threatening to steal her last glimmer of hope. How will she go on? Can she ever find her place in the world?
Elsie Richardson’s world crumbles when her dad drops from a seizure at the 4th of July festival. The reality that his brain tumor is back with a vengeance slams the 17-year-old aspiring artist and her family into intense hardship. Her mom needs help to make ends meet, forcing Elsie into adulting overnight. On top of that, Elsie’s caustic, grudge-holding brother is on his way home, and Elsie fears he will only make matters worse.
Feeling alone and hopeless, Elsie does as she’s told and goes to work with her mom. That’s when she meets Tyler Vaughn, the grandson of her mom’s wealthiest client.
After he invites her to go jogging at the historical Shiloh National Military Park, Elsie is warned by her mom to stay away from the wealthy, young man. Elsie gets the notice a bit too late, and so she lies about who she’s meeting each morning.
Over the next few weeks, Tyler becomes her secret solace amidst all the uncertainty she’s facing. But when reality strikes and her private world crashes, she's forced to find her inner strength on her own.
Bret Pine sees something in the woods that leaves him very troubled. He’s not sure he can even talk about it without being labeled as crazy. When the disappearance of a family of four from Europe draws national media attention, some people in town want to point fingers. Then, on the last day before summer break begins, Bret and his friend Ashley, blow the school’s electric grid with a single touch. A few people close to Bret seem to know more than they want to admit about the legend of Light Guardians and it has him seriously contemplating his murky beginnings. There’s no stepping outside anymore without the feeling that he’s being watched. For Bret, the questions only get deeper when he’s carried off by a creature that isn’t supposed to exist, to a place he could have never dreamt up. When a man arrives searching for two powerful young Light Guardians and proves himself willing to kill to get to them, Bret and Ashley will be dragged into a war, a war they didn’t even know existed.
The last thing Kaylee wants to do is participate in a childish scavenger hunt--especially inside the abandoned retirement home on the edge of town. When she finds a bruised, deaf boy hiding inside one of the rooms, she vows to lead him to safety . . . only to discover the front doors are now padlocked, and her friends are nowhere to be found. Kaylee is about to learn that not everything that goes 'bump in the night' is imaginary, and sometimes there are worse things to fear than ghosts.
Brody Yates has fallen on hard times. Fired from his job as a sports reporter for a major newspaper, he decides to masquerade as a trainer in order to infiltrate the backstage world of figure skating. He has one chance to save someone’s life and to turn his around by breaking the story of a lifetime. The Chosen Ones, though fictionalized, reveals the secrets behind the sequins against the backdrop of the high pressure sport of world class figure skating. In this non-stop thriller, only one person can win. Not everyone will survive.
Angelica was willing to do almost anything for Merrick, until they were caught. Her punishment for breaking Lymerian law is unthinkable, but at least she will live. In fact, she might live forever. This YA Sci-fi novel is the first in a series by debut author Bianca Sierra-Luebke.
The Lymerians have been living in secret on Earth for centuries. Angelica is their newest replacement, taken to ensure the survival of this long-lived race and to discourage falling in love with a human. Yet Angelica is not like the previous replacements. Even her Architect is unusual. Clara, commander of the Slayers and deadliest of the Lymerians, is chosen. When she steps forward, their fates are sealed. The Laws of Liturgy are binding. As Clara and two Guards descend into the dungeons with Angelica, the entire race wonders what kind of Lymerian will return when the transition is complete.
Full of deception, heartache, and despair, this dark novel is for readers that love a great twist. Bit by bit the story unfolds, changing everything you thought you knew the page before.
Eight-year old Jesse Hall and his pregnant mother move to the “Eden of America,” a small rural town in Ohio, to escape an abusive father addicted to gambling and alcohol. There, Jesse is bullied by the most popular school kid, denied a church experience by a self-righteous preacher, and threatened with foster care by a well-meaning social worker. Can Jesse fulfill his dream of a normal family with his own parents and brothers and sisters? See what he does with the help of a fatherless eight-year old girl, the lovely Five and Dime clerk, and a mummified corpse.
Logan Hall is a Vagrant, one of the disenfranchised living beneath the mega city of New Washington. The Vagrants have to hide from the Company who is rounding all of them up and shipping them to newly discovered planets to work in the mines. That’s what happened to Logan’s father. Shayna is one of the privileged. She has a chip, a credit disc, and lives in a shiny stainless steel and glass high-rise above ground. Shayna is allergic to corn so she is one of the few above ground people who is not stoned on Sopore. Sopore is a drug found in genetically altered corn. It’s in almost all food. The Vagrants know about Sopore and avoid it. These two teens from wildly differing environments meet by accident and fall in love. Logan will stop at nothing to rescue his friend Raj, captured and sent to the moon. Together, he and Shayna will follow his dream of finding his father who was sent to work in the mines of Gliess 67.
Sitting in a move theater with her dad, Meri checks her phone for a good time to go to the ladies' room. She leaves during a battle scene and meets her soon-to-be new best friend, Fiona, in the restroom. To their mutual horror, a bomb goes off in the theater. Meri awakes in the hospital to find out her world is changed forever.
Coping with PTSD is real to veterans and to those of all ages who experience shocking horror and loss. Meri sees the changes to her family and her life and with the help of an unlikely friend, her faith, and her family, is able to move forward to a new future.
Two high schoolers become unlikely friends across the distance between their cultures. They are two Quixotes who are each other’s Sancho. Julian, an Argentine who’s a budding conspiracy theorist, would try to infiltrate a military dictatorship and expose its crimes. Edgar, a lonely American expat and science genius, would risk everything to rescue his idealistic Dulcinea from the claws of those same monsters. While fighting to find reason in a world that has lost it completely, they will both doubt their sanity in confronting a massive evil that builds deceptions to hide its nightmares.
But as Edgar’s reality starts to unravel, he realizes that his quest might be impossible. Because he has received a message from the future, which poses an unsolvable question: what do you need to change to save humanity’s future? And the messenger was very clear about how important it is for him to solve this puzzle. Because if Edgar doesn’t, the man from the future would have to kill him.
Set in Buenos Aires and against the background of the 1978 Soccer World Cup—with Argentina both suffering a bloodthirsty tyranny and cheering for a victory of their National Team—this is a story about fighting at all costs to alter the unfathomable mechanism of human history.
Explore the mysteries of New Orleans’ French Quarter during Mardi Gras, through the eyes of three seventh graders as they search to reconnect with their parents and avoid a nasty set of bad guys. Left alone and homeless in Haiti, Jean Benoit is sent state-side by an orphanage to live with foster parents and attend Catholic school as a social outcast. His new-found friend Oscar, known as Walmart, is mocked by fellow students as an overweight under-achiever whose mother abandoned him in Wal-Mart. The boys are befriended by Bella, an American Indian, who lives with her adoptive parents. Her birth parents are dead, but they left her a legacy she soon discovers as she begins to shape-shift. Jean receives a gift from his dead father, too. It’s a magic amulet pursued by a voodoo witch named Odette, her brother Bocor, and her son, Natas. Jean has no idea how to use it. He must learn on the fly, on a wild race around New Orleans, on a train to Little Haiti, Miami and back, to the cemetery in the swamp, as the three friends try to find his mother before the black magic users get to her, or them.
MONA LISA’S GHOST, a thrilling mystery, is the sequel to The Crystal Navigator in this four book series. During a class video about the Mona Lisa, Lucy Nightingale and her best friend, Sam Winter notice that the painting seems to be melting. Sam thinks it has been attacked by a molecule-destroying syndrome called Zoom Seizure. On winter vacation, Lucy and her parents go to Paris where she can investigate. In the Mona Lisa Gallery of the Louvre Museum, Lucy bumps into Melissa Blackwood, a classmate from home. Melissa shocks Lucy telling her that she is the reincarnation of Mona Lisa and that she has come back to steal the painting. That night, the painting is mysteriously stolen and Lucy must find it before Zoom Seizure destroys it. In an adventure that takes Lucy through the ghost-infested Catacombs of Paris, down underground rivers, and back to sixteenth-century France, she solves a mystery that would shock the world if it were ever made public. This coming-of-age series is sure to entertain and inspire young readers as Lucy learns to trust her intuition, see herself, others, and the world around her with greater clarity, and to believe in the magic that lies inside every one of us.
Life wasn’t easy for a poor country boy coming of age in World War II, especially with a father away at war. But life will get easier as soon as his father’s army pay starts rolling in. The allotment checks will fix everything—or so he thinks. His mother has other ideas. When Jackson rebels, he places himself and those he loves in mortal danger.
Nancy Dane’s latest novel introduces us to descendants of the Lorning and Matthers families of earlier novels.
A Cherokee prophecy, escalating natural disasters and strange sounds, mark the approaching end of planet Terra, our Earth. When Jewel Adams leaves home school for high school in her senior year, she discovers she’s not the only one with special abilities. Jewel, the Fletcher twins and Storm Ryder share a destiny as the only ones who might avert the coming disaster, but will their enhancements be enough to save Terra? Jewel sees auras and through disguises. Sky is a strong empath and her twin brother Pax, the only one who can calm her, is able to smell pheromones and other scent molecules better than a bloodhound. Storm’s telekinesis seems to be the most practical gift, but can he control it during one of his rages? Will an ancient enmity between two star systems cause their mission to fail? Are they willing to take the chance? If they don’t, Terra will self-destruct and mankind will be destroyed.
When Jewel Adams is abducted and taken to a place that most people don’t know exists, her friends are frantic to find her. The one alien race they thought they could count on refuses to help them. The other, the reptilians, are holding her captive. Will they harm her? Together, the four have abilities that, when combined, can save Earth from self-destruction, but they can’t do it without Jewel. In this exciting sequel to Terra’s Call, the four teens discover that things are not at all as they seem. There are more mysteries in this world than any of them have dreamed of, and they’re about to meet some of those mysteries head-on.
“I cannot guarantee I’ll be the person you want in your life, but I will do everything in my power to be the person you need.” Elara Dunlin never imagined how much her life would change after moving across the country at the start of her senior year of high school. Who is the mysterious man with the piercing blue eyes who follows her everywhere she goes? Strange events unfold, causing Elara to question her own reality. Her predictable and simple life changes on one cold, fateful night … the night when the elusive blue-eyed man approaches and shares information that turns her world upside down. Eventually, Elara realizes that she must tell her only friend, Cyrus, the truth about the mysterious visitor. Will he believe any of it? The elusive man continues to reveal dark secrets about her troubled past, adding a new dimension to their growing relationship. Is she willing to place all of her trust in the one person who pushes her physically and emotionally farther than she ever thought possible? He warned Elara that her life would change forever, but does she have the courage to move forward? Seeker of Time is the first installment in the award-winning Seeker of Time Series. Filled with twists and turns around every corner, this epic adventure leaves the reader on the edge of their seat, longing for more.
Tarlab sat on the swing swaying back and forth and watched the group of kids play in the dirt. There was so little to do on the playground, if one could really consider it a playground. It consisted of four swings, but only two were completely functional. The other two were cracked and hanging partially off the chains. Only a very light, small child could sit in the broken swings and even then they would be taking a chance of falling. Tarlab had grabbed one of the working swings as soon as school was out, and he still sat there a half hour later to the disappointment of a line of kids waiting for a turn. Normally, he’d let one of the younger kids enjoy the freedom of the movement and flying high while feeling the wind whip across their face. It was as free as one would ever feel in this world. But not today since today was his last day of childhood. His last day to be among the kids sitting on the ground scooping handfuls of dirt and dumping it to the side as they paved make-believe roads. It was his last day to watch a group of kids swinging sticks around as weapons or hitting stones into the field beyond the playground. It was his last time to swing and enjoy his freedom. Tomorrow started his purgatory before adulthood. He knew he should be frightened. He knew making it through purgatory was unlikely, and he should be worried, but rather his heart weighed heavy. So he watched the children with envy…nostalgia for days of freedom gone, never to return.
If you like music and romance, you'll love Nothing but a Song...the story of Rebecca Kendall who has a life any nineteen-year-old would envy: musical talent, love, romance, and a promising future. When a tragic accident erases her past, present, and future, Rebecca's life turns into turmoil and irreconcilable loss. Becca faces her new life alone, angry, depressed, and DEAF. Becca wants nothing but a song, but will her dream survive such insurmountable odds? Will she ever take another chance at love? Only a mysterious stranger can answer those questions.
On the day she was born, Maité received a cradle gift from the faery Nahia—a gift that allows her to travel into other worlds while in a dream state.
At seventeen, Maité’s mortal world is torn apart with the tragic loss of her parents. Uprooted from the only home she’s ever known and isolated in a foreign country, the young woman struggles to make sense of her new life. But the conflict in the realm of Faerie is about to bleed over into Maité’s reality. She finds herself in the middle of an ancient struggle between Nahia and the Beautiful One as they furiously clash for control over the realm.
Through her Cradle Gift, Maité uncovers the extent of the Faerie Realm’s involvement in her life, and in her quest to come to terms with it, Maité has the help of best friend Emily, and David; a young man whose interest in genetics illuminates possibilities that will change her identity forever.
This children story is about a group of animals who were previously abused, bullied, neglected, or endangered by humans, living together on an unconventional sanctuary. This once peaceful sanctuary was disrupted when two villains attempt to steal a few prized animals from an old farmer. Both the farmer and the animals face multiple challenges. Will they be able to overcome these dangers?
This exciting yet emotional story touches on environmental concerns, animal abuse, arrogance, and bullying. It also emphasizes the importance of recycling, respect, team work, and self-esteem to all readers. Each individual animal has different personality traits and strength; as they embrace and support one another to fight off many hardships which they are faced with.
Two city kids from California move out to the country, to the Great State of Texas! With doubts as to whether they will fit in, they run into barbed wire attitudes and a lot of hard work. Can they last long enough to experience the warmth, good manners, and compassion that the good people of Texas have to offer?
Arthur Rhodes knows he’s different. Severely OCD, he dreams of popularity and Ashley Green, a girl who won’t even look at him. His older brother, Keith, was in the Army. He’s currently at home taking out all his PTSD-induced rage on Arthur. Arthur’s mother is rarely home. She donates all her time to veterans’ organizations. His father, an anally-retentive Major in the Marine Corps, is currently head of security at Ames Research Center. Between his OCD and his family life, Arthur’s only friend is Emilio Luna who has Tourette Syndrome.
Emilio’s symptoms are twitching and inappropriate outbursts. Arthur barely notices his friend’s idiosyncrasies. As a pair, they’ve suffered torture, bullying and ostracizing through every level of school since Arthur’s family moved to the Silicon Valley.
When Arthur’s military father forces him to go camping, Emilio accompanies him. A space pod crashes in the deep woods on Mt. Shasta and the two sixteen-year-old boys discover Tonigen Dweezil Emyris, a cryonically preserved young Nysian from the Cygnus system. They take the alien home and defrost him, and that's when their entire lives begin to change.
