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Bunnicula

Deborah Howe

THIS book is written by Harold. His full time occupation is dog. He lives with Mr. and Mrs. X (here called Monroe) and their sons Toby and Pete. Also sharing the home are a cat named Chester and a rabbit named Bunnicula. It is because of Bunnicula that Harold turned to writing. Someone had to tell the full story of what happened in the Monroe household after the rabbit arrived. 
It all began when the Monroes went to see the movie Dracula At the theater Toby found something on his seatÑa baby rabbit that he took home and named Bunnicula. It proved to be an apt name, at least as far as Chester was concerned. A well-read and observant cat, he soon decided that there was something odd about the newcomer. For one thing he seemed to have fangs. And the odd markings on his back looked a little like a cape. Furthermore, Bunnicula slept from sunup to sundown. He was awake only at night. 
When the family started funding white vegetables, drained dry, with two fang marks in them, Chester was sure Bunnicula was a vampire. But what to do about it. None of the family seemed to grasp the trouble, and Chester's hilarious hints were totally misunderstood. 
Was Bunnicula really a vampire? Only Bunnicula knows for sure. But the story of Chester's suspicions and their consequences makes uproarious reading.

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Little Brother

Cory Doctorow

The first in Cory Doctorow’s New York Times bestselling YA series about a youthful rebellion against the torture-and-surveillance state.

“A wonderful, important book ... I’d recommend Little Brother over pretty much any book I’ve read this year.” –Neil Gaiman

Marcus, a.k.a "w1n5t0n," is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school's intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.

But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they're mercilessly interrogated for days.

When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself.

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Feed

M. T. Anderson

Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains.

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr., M. T. Anderson has created a not-so-brave new world — and a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now.

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Animal Farm

George Orwell

The perfect edition for any Orwell enthusiasts' collection, discover Orwell's classic dystopian masterpiece beautifully reimagined by renowned street artist Shepard Fairey

'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.'

Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organised to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten. And something new and unexpected emerges. . .

First published in 1945, Animal Farm - the history of a revolution that went wrong - is George Orwell's brilliant satire on the corrupting influence of power.

'Remains our great satire of the darker face of modern history' Malcolm Bradbury 

'A prophet who thought the unthinkable and spoke the unspeakable, even when it offended conventional thought' Daily Express

'As valid today as it was fifty years ago' Ralph Steadman

COMPLETE THE TRIO WITH SHEPARD FAIREY'S NEW-LOOK 1984 AND DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON.

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Unmanned

Brian K. Vaughan

Now more than halfway across the country, Earth's sole surviving human male, Yorick Brown, and his companions, cloning specialist Dr. Allison Mann and government agent 355, are preparing for the final leg of their journey to San Francisco, where Dr. Mann's most important experiment awaits. But before they can leave, they need to get antibiotics for the planet's only other living male-Yorkick's monkey, Ampersand. For Yorick that means an enforced stay in the back country of Colorado with one of 355's former associates, the retired agent 711. But Yorick is in for much than a quiet weekend in the woods. Of all the dangers that he's faced in his travels, what awaits him in 711's cabin will be the hardest to confront-and will also prove the difference between life and death for the world's last man.

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A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

In Anthony Burgess's influential nightmare vision of the future, where the criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, a teen who talks in a fantastically inventive slang that evocatively renders his and his friends' intense reaction against their society. Dazzling and transgressive, A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil and the meaning of human freedom. This edition includes the controversial last chapter not published in the first edition, and Burgess's introduction, "A Clockwork Orange Resucked."

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Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

A fantasy of the future that sheds a blazing critical light on the present--considered to be Aldous Huxley' s most enduring masterpiece.

"Mr. Huxley is eloquent in his declaration of an artist' s faith in man, and it is his eloquence, bitter in attack, noble in defense, that, when one has closed the book, one remembers."
--"Saturday Review of Literature"

"A Fantastic racy narrative, full of much excellent satire and literary horseplay."
--"Forum"

"It is as sparkling, provocative, as brilliant, in the appropriate sense, as impressive ads the day it was published. This is in part because its prophetic voice has remained surprisingly contemporary, both in its particular forecasts and in its general tone of semiserious alarm. But it is much more because the book succeeds as a work of art...This is surely Huxley' s best book."
--Martin Green

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Ready Player One

Ernest Cline

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

“Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.”—USA Today • “As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simply evaporates.”—Entertainment Weekly

A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days.

When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself. 

Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly San Francisco Chronicle Village Voice Chicago Sun-Times iO9 The AV Club

“Delightful . . . the grown-up’s Harry Potter.”HuffPost

“An addictive read . . . part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.”—CNN

“A most excellent ride . . . Cline stuffs his novel with a cornucopia of pop culture, as if to wink to the reader.”Boston Globe

“Ridiculously fun and large-hearted . . . Cline is that rare writer who can translate his own dorky enthusiasms into prose that’s both hilarious and compassionate.”—NPR

“[A] fantastic page-turner . . . starts out like a simple bit of fun and winds up feeling like a rich and plausible picture of future friendships in a world not too distant from our own.”iO9

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Divergent

Veronica Roth

Paperback features over fifty pages of bonus materials, including a sneak peek of Insurgent, an author Q&A, a discussion guide, a Divergent playlist, faction manifestos, and more!

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Veronica Roth is the New York Times bestselling author of Divergent, the first in a trilogy of dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

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The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death on live TV.

One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor tohis or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capitol wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rule. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games.

But Katniss has been close to dead before -- and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins, author of the New York Times bestselling Underland Chronicles, delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.

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The Testaments

Margaret Atwood

** WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 **

** SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER **

BOOK OF THE YEAR: Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Stylist, Sunday Times, Financial Times, Guardian, The Times, Observer, Red

Margaret Atwood's dystopian masterpiece, The Handmaid's Tale, is a modern classic. Now she brings the iconic story to a dramatic conclusion in this riveting sequel.

More than fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within. At this crucial moment, the lives of three radically different women converge, with potentially explosive results.

Two have grown up as part of the first generation to come of age in the new order. The testimonies of these two young women are joined by a third voice: a woman who wields power through the ruthless accumulation and deployment of secrets.

As Atwood unfolds The Testaments, she opens up the innermost workings of Gilead as each woman is forced to come to terms with who she is, and how far she will go for what she believes.

'Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in.' Margaret Atwood

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The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

Now a Hulu Original Series

The Handmaid's Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population.

The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid's Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.

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Sally Heathcote, Suffragette

Mary M. Talbot

A tale of loyalty, love, and courage, Sally Heathcote, Suffragette follows the fortunes of a common housemaid swept up in the feminist militancy of early 20th century Edwardian Britain. As the growing hunger for change grows within a culture of rigid social mores and class barriers, Sally and thousands like her rise up to break the bonds of oppression at the risk of ostracization and violence.

Costa Award winners Mary and Bryan Talbot and acclaimed illustrator Kate Charlesworth have crafted a graphic novel of stunning depth, gripping drama, and lavish visual detail that brings history to life.

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Unorthodox

Deborah Feldman

"The Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism is as mysterious as it is intriguing to outsiders. In this arresting memoir, Deborah Feldman reveals what life is like trapped within a religious tradition that values silence and suffering over individual freedoms. The child of a mentally disabled father and a mother who abandoned the community while her daughter was still a toddler, Deborah was raised by her strictly religious grandparents, Bubby and Zeidy. Along with a rotating cast of aunts and uncles, they enforced customs with a relentless emphasis on rules that governed everything from what Deborah could wear and to whom she could speak, to what she was allowed to read. As she grew from an inquisitive little girl to an independent-minded young woman, stolen moments reading about the empowered literary characters of Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott helped her to imagine an alternative way of life. She had no idea how to seize this dream that seemed to beckon to her from the skyscrapers of Manhattan, but she was determined to find a way. The tension between Deborah's desires and her responsibilities as a good Satmar girl grew more explosive until, at the age of seventeen, she found herself trapped in a sexually and emotionally dysfunctional marriage to a man she had met for only thirty minutes before they became engaged. As a result, she experienced debilitating anxiety that was exacerbated by the public shame of having failed to immediately consummate her marriage and thus serve her husband. But it wasn't until she had a child at nineteen that Deborah realized more than just her own future was at stake, and that, regardless of the obstacles, she would have to forge a path—for herself and her son—to happiness and freedom."--book jacket.

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Hood Feminism

Mikki Kendall

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“The fights against hunger, homelessness, poverty, health disparities, poor schools, homophobia, transphobia, and domestic violence are feminist fights. Kendall offers a feminism rooted in the livelihood of everyday women.” —Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of  How to Be an Antiracist, in The Atlantic

“One of the most important books of the current moment.”—Time
 
“A rousing call to action... It should be required reading for everyone.”—Gabrielle Union, author of We’re Going to Need More Wine


A potent and electrifying critique of today’s feminist movement announcing a fresh new voice in black feminism

Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? 

In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hypersexualization, along with incisive commentary on reproductive rights, politics, pop culture, the stigma of mental health, and more, Hood Feminism delivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux. An unforgettable debut, Kendall has written a ferocious clarion call to all would-be feminists to live out the true mandate of the movement in thought and in deed.

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Singled Out

Virginia Nicholson

After the First World War a generation of women who believed marriage to be their birthright discovered that there were simply not enough men left to go round. Tracing their fates, Nicholson shows how the single woman of the inter-war years had to depend on herself and, in doing so, helped change society.

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Vanguard

Martha S. Jones

"According to conventional wisdom, American women's campaign for the vote began with the Seneca Falls convention of 1848 and ended with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The movement was led by storied figures such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. But this women's movement was an overwhelmingly white one, and it secured the constitutional right to vote for white women, not for all women. In Vanguard, acclaimed historian Martha Jones offers a sweeping history of African American women's political lives in America, recounting how they fought for, won, and used the right to the ballot and how they fought against both racism and sexism. From 1830s Boston to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and beyond to Shirley Chisholm, Stacey Abrams, and Kamala Harris, Jones excavates the lives and work of black women who, although in many cases suffragists, were never single-issue activists. She recounts the lives of Maria Stewart, the first American woman to speak about politics before a mixed audience of men and women African Methodist Episcopal preacher Jarena Lee Reconstruction-era advocate for female suffrage Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Boston abolitionist, religious leader, and women's club organizer Eliza Ann Gardner, and other hidden figures who were pioneers for both gender and racial equality. Revealing the ways black women remained independent in their ideas and their organization, Jones shows how black women were again and again the American vanguard of women's rights, setting the pace in the quest for justice and collective liberation. In the twenty-first century, black women's power at the polls and in politics is evident. Vanguard reveals that this power is not at all new, but is instead the culmination of two centuries of dramatic struggle"--

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Wake

Rebecca Hall

A Best Book of 2021 by NPR and The Washington Post

Part graphic novel, part memoir, Wake is an imaginative tour-de-force that tells the “powerful” (The New York Times Book Review) story of women-led slave revolts and chronicles scholar Rebecca Hall’s efforts to uncover the truth about these women warriors who, until now, have been left out of the historical record.

Women warriors planned and led revolts on slave ships during the Middle Passage. They fought their enslavers throughout the Americas. And then they were erased from history.

Wake tells the “riveting” (Angela Y. Davis) story of Dr. Rebecca Hall, a historian, granddaughter of slaves, and a woman haunted by the legacy of slavery. The accepted history of slave revolts has always told her that enslaved women took a back seat. But Rebecca decides to look deeper, and her journey takes her through old court records, slave ship captain’s logs, crumbling correspondence, and even the forensic evidence from the bones of enslaved women from the “negro burying ground” uncovered in Manhattan. She finds women warriors everywhere.

Using a “remarkable blend of passion and fact, action and reflection” (NPR), Rebecca constructs the likely pasts of Adono and Alele, women rebels who fought for freedom during the Middle Passage, as well as the stories of women who led slave revolts in Colonial New York. We also follow Rebecca’s own story as the legacy of slavery shapes her life, both during her time as a successful attorney and later as a historian seeking the past that haunts her.

Illustrated beautifully in black and white, Wake will take its place alongside classics of the graphic novel genre, like Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Art Spiegelman’s Maus. This story of a personal and national legacy is a powerful reminder that while the past is gone, we still live in its wake.

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Notorious RBG

Irin Carmon

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Featured in the critically acclaimed documentary RBG

“The authors make this unassuming, most studious woman come pulsing to life. . . . Notorious RBG may be a playful project, but it asks to be read seriously. . . . That I responded so personally to it is a testimony to [its] storytelling and panache.”— Jennifer Senior, New York Times

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame—she has only tried to make the world a little better and a little freer.

But nearly a half-century into her career, something funny happened to the octogenarian: she won the internet. Across America, people who weren’t even born when Ginsburg first made her name as a feminist pioneer are tattooing themselves with her face, setting her famously searing dissents to music, and making viral videos in tribute.

Notorious RBG, inspired by the Tumblr that amused the Justice herself and brought to you by its founder and an award-winning feminist journalist, is more than just a love letter. It draws on intimate access to Ginsburg's family members, close friends, colleagues, and clerks, as well an interview with the Justice herself. An original hybrid of reported narrative, annotated dissents, rare archival photos and documents, and illustrations, the book tells a never-before-told story of an unusual and transformative woman who transcends generational divides. As the country struggles with the unfinished business of gender equality and civil rights, Ginsburg stands as a testament to how far we can come with a little chutzpah.

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She-wolves

Helen Castor

The stories of these women - told here in all their vivid humanity - illustrate the paradox which the female heirs to the Tudor throne had no choice but to negotiate. Man was the head of woman; and the king was the head of all. How, then, could a woman be king, how could royal power lie in female hands?

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The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

Jeanne Theoharis


"Jeanne’s book not only inspired the documentary but has been a catalyst in changing our national understanding of Rosa Parks. Highly recommend!”—Soledad O’Brien, executive producer of the Peabody Award–winning documentary The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

"A must-read for young people.”—Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy

Now adapted for readers ages 12 and up, the award-winning biography that examines Rosa Parks’s life and 60 years of radical activism and brings the civil rights movement in the North and South to life

The basis for the documentary of the same name executive produced by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, now streaming on Peacock. The documentary is the recepient of the 2022 Television Academy Honors Award.

A Chicago Public Library’s “Best of the Best Books of 2021” Selection · A Kirkus Reviews “Best YA Biography and Memoir of 2021” Selection

Rosa Parks is one of the most well-known Americans today, but much of what is known and taught about her is incomplete, distorted, and just plain wrong. Adapted for young people from the NAACP Image Award–winning The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert shatter the myths that Parks was meek, accidental, tired, or middle class. They reveal a lifelong freedom fighter whose activism began two decades before her historic stand that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and continued for 40 years after. Readers will understand what it was like to be Parks, from standing up to white supremacist bullies as a young person to meeting her husband, Raymond, who showed her the possibility of collective activism, to her years of frustrated struggle before the boycott, to the decade of suffering that followed for her family after her bus arrest. The book follows Parks to Detroit, after her family was forced to leave Montgomery, Alabama, where she spent the second half of her life and reveals her activism alongside a growing Black Power movement and beyond.

Because Rosa Parks was active for 60 years, in the North as well as the South, her story provides a broader and more accurate view of the Black freedom struggle across the twentieth century. Theoharis and Colbert show young people how the national fable of Parks and the civil rights movement—celebrated in schools during Black History Month—has warped what we know about Parks and stripped away the power and substance of the movement. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks illustrates how the movement radically sought to expose and eradicate racism in jobs, housing, schools, and public services, as well as police brutality and the over-incarceration of Black people—and how Rosa Parks was a key player throughout.

Rosa Parks placed her greatest hope in young people—in their vision, resolve, and boldness to take the struggle forward. As a young adult, she discovered Black history, and it sustained her across her life. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks will help do that for a new generation.

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Wonder Women

Sam Maggs

A fun and feminist celebration of the forgotten women in science, technology, and beyond—from the bestselling author of The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy

You may think you know women’s history pretty well. But have you ever heard of:
 
Alice Ball, the chemist who developed an effective treatment for leprosy—only to have the credit taken by a man?
Mary Sherman Morgan, the rocket scientist whose liquid fuel compounds blasted the first U.S. satellite into orbit?
Huang Daopo, the inventor whose weaving technology revolutionized textile production in China—centuries before the cotton gin?
 
Smart women have always been able to achieve amazing things, even when the odds were stacked against them. In Wonder Women, author Sam Maggs tells the stories of the brilliant, brainy, and totally rad women in history who broke barriers as scientists, engineers, mathematicians, adventurers, and inventors. Plus, interviews with real-life women in STEM careers, an extensive bibliography, and a guide to women-centric science and technology organizations—all to show the many ways the geeky girls of today can help to build the future.
 
Table of Contents:
Women of Science
Women of Medicine
Women of Espionage
Women of Innovation
Women of Adventure

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”—Entertainment Weekly

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” (LITHUB), AND “BEST” (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review Entertainment Weekly O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times New York Independent (U.K.) • Times (U.K.) • Publishers Weekly Library Journal Kirkus Reviews Booklist Globe and Mail

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. 

Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. 

Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? 

Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

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The Radium Girls

Kate Moore (Writer and editor)

A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestseller!

"The glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still." --NPR Books

Discover the gripping and inspiring true story of The Radium Girls, a groundbreaking work by acclaimed author Kate Moore. Immerse yourself in this compelling narrative that unravels the extraordinary lives of these fearless women who fought against all odds.

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive--until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.

With meticulous research and a keen eye for detail, Kate Moore delves into the lives of these remarkable individuals, capturing their resilience, strength, and unwavering determination. Through their stories, she exposes the shocking negligence and corporate cover-ups that plagued the radium industry, ultimately sparking a revolution in workplace safety.

The Radium Girls is a masterful blend of historical account and heartfelt tribute. Moore's vivid prose brings these forgotten heroines back to life, ensuring that their sacrifices and triumphs are forever etched in our collective memory. As you turn each page, you'll be captivated by their indelible legacy and inspired by their enduring spirit.

The Radium Girls is a must-read for history enthusiasts, feminists, and anyone seeking a remarkable story of resilience and empowerment.

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The Summer Wives

Beatriz Williams

“The Summer Wives is an exquisitely rendered novel that tackles two of my favorite topics: love and money. The glorious setting and drama are enriched by Williams’s signature vintage touch. It’s at the top of my picks for the beach this summer.”

—Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Perfect Couple

New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams brings us the blockbuster novel of the season—an electrifying postwar fable of love, class, power, and redemption set among the inhabitants of an island off the New England coast . . .

In the summer of 1951, Miranda Schuyler arrives on elite, secretive Winthrop Island as a schoolgirl from the margins of high society, still reeling from the loss of her father in the Second World War. When her beautiful mother marries Hugh Fisher, whose summer house on Winthrop overlooks the famous lighthouse, Miranda’s catapulted into a heady new world of pedigrees and cocktails, status and swimming pools. Isobel Fisher, Miranda’s new stepsister—all long legs and world-weary bravado, engaged to a wealthy Island scion—is eager to draw Miranda into the arcane customs of Winthrop society.

But beneath the island’s patrician surface, there are really two clans: the summer families with their steadfast ways and quiet obsessions, and the working class of Portuguese fishermen and domestic workers who earn their living on the water and in the laundries of the summer houses. Uneasy among Isobel’s privileged friends, Miranda finds herself drawn to Joseph Vargas, whose father keeps the lighthouse with his mysterious wife. In summer, Joseph helps his father in the lobster boats, but in the autumn he returns to Brown University, where he’s determined to make something of himself. Since childhood, Joseph’s enjoyed an intense, complex friendship with Isobel Fisher, and as the summer winds to its end, Miranda’s caught in a catastrophe that will shatter Winthrop’s hard-won tranquility and banish Miranda from the island for nearly two decades.

Now, in the landmark summer of 1969, Miranda returns at last, as a renowned Shakespearean actress hiding a terrible heartbreak. On its surface, the Island remains the same—determined to keep the outside world from its shores, fiercely loyal to those who belong. But the formerly powerful Fisher family is a shadow of itself, and Joseph Vargas has recently escaped the prison where he was incarcerated for the murder of Miranda’s stepfather eighteen years earlier. What’s more, Miranda herself is no longer a naïve teenager, and she begins a fierce, inexorable quest for justice for the man she once loved . . . even if it means uncovering every last one of the secrets that bind together the families of Winthrop Island.

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The Beautiful Ones

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

"Truly one of the most beautiful books I've read in a long time. This sweeping tale of love lost and found is told with old-world elegance and grace with just the right touch of magic." —M.J. Rose, New York Times bestselling author

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a sweeping fantasy of manners set in a world inspired by the belle époque.

In a world of etiquette and polite masks, no one is who they seem to be.

Antonina Beaulieu is in the glittering city of Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she will attend balls and mingle among high society. Under the tutelage of the beautiful but cold Valerie Beaulieu she hopes to find a suitable husband. However, the haphazard manifestations of Nina’s telekinetic powers make her the subject of malicious gossip. 

Yet dazzling telekinetic performer and outsider Hector Auvray sees Nina’s powers as a gift, and he teaches her how to hone and control them. As they spend more and more time together, Nina falls in love and believes she’s found the great romance that she’s always dreamt of. But Hector’s courtship of Nina is deceptive.

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The Inheritance Games

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD OF THE #1 BESTSELLING SERIES!



Don't miss this New York Times bestselling "impossible to put down" (Buzzfeed) novel with deadly stakes, thrilling twists, and juicy secrets -- perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out.



Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why -- or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.



To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch -- and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.



**Avery's story continues in The Hawthorne Legacy and The Final Gambit

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When Women Were Dragons

Kelly Barnhill

A rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are. • The first adult novel by the Newbery award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.
 
Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and 
watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.

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Voyager

Diana Gabaldon

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The third book in Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series.

“Triumphant . . . Her use of historical detail and a truly adult love story confirm Gabaldon as a superior writer.”—Publishers Weekly 
  
In this rich, vibrant tale, Diana Gabaldon continues the story of Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser that began with the now-classic novel Outlander and continued in Dragonfly in Amber. Sweeping us from the battlefields of eighteenth-century Scotland to the West Indies, Diana Gabaldon weaves magic once again in an exhilarating and utterly unforgettable novel. 
  
He was dead. However, his nose throbbed painfully, which he thought odd in the circumstances. 
  
Jamie Fraser is, alas, not dead—but he is in hell. Waking among the fallen on Culloden Field, he is concerned neither for his men nor his wounds but for his wife and their unborn child. Lord, he prayed passionately, that she may be safe. She and the child. It’s a prayer he’ll utter many times over the next twenty years, never knowing but always hoping that Claire made it through the standing stones, back to the safety of her own time.

Safe she is, but believing Jamie gone forever, she’s obliged to live without a heart, her only comfort their daughter, Brianna. But now, their daughter grown, she discovers that Jamie survived, and a fateful decision lies before her: Stay with her beloved daughter, or go back to search Scotland’s dangerous past for the man who was her heart and soul, sustained only by the hope that they will still know each other if she finds him.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, and Green

Dave Baker

An anthology of standalone TMNT one-shots in a new artistic style that brings together some of the most popular voices in the wider comics world.

See the turtles as you've never seen them before: in bold black, white, and green! This anthology of fresh yet evergreen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles short stories brings together powerhouse artists and writers who to this iconic franchise. Each creator gives the characters their own personal take while honoring the comic history that made them beloved characters in the first place. Talent ranges from indie up-and-comers to heavy hitters, highlighting diversity and unique voices.

Collects Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, and Green #1-4 by creators Dave Baker, Paulina Ganucheau, Jeremy Holt, Declan Shalvey, Jesse Lonergan, Tyler Boss, Javier Rodríguez, Dave Wielgosz, Riley Rossmo, and Lee Garbett.

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The Maze Runner

James Dashner

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING MAZE RUNNER SERIES • A teenager with no memory must navigate a deadly maze to survive in book one of this post-apocalyptic phenomenon.

“[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of the Flies [and] The Hunger Games” (Entertainment Weekly)

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
 
Outside the towering stone walls that surround them is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying: Remember. Survive. Run.

Look for more books in the blockbuster Maze Runner series:
THE MAZE RUNNER • THE SCORCH TRIALS • THE DEATH CURE • THE KILL ORDER • THE FEVER CODE

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The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

The definitive edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's most beloved book, sporting a facsimile of his original cover design and complete with colour plates of his own paintings, brand new reproductions of all his drawings, and colour versions of both maps.

Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services - as a burglar - on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo's life is never to be the same again.

Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as JRR Tolkien's classic tale, The Hobbit. Since its first publication in 1937 it has remained in print to delight each new generation of readers all over the world, and its hero, Bilbo Baggins, has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals: Alice, Pooh, Toad...

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A Heart So Fierce and Broken

Brigid Kemmerer

In the sequel to New York Times bestselling A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Brigid Kemmerer returns to the world of Emberfall in a lush fantasy where friends become foes and love blooms in the darkest of places.

Find the heir, win the crown.
The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.
Grey may be the heir, but he doesn't want anyone to know his secret. On the run since he destroyed Lilith, he has no desire to challenge Rhen--until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother's violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

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The Gilded Wolves

Roshani Chokshi

*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

First in a “wildly inventive and wildly representative” (The New York Times Book Review) historical fantasy series, Roshani Chokshi’s The Gilded Wolves follows the exploits of a found family—six societal outcasts tasked with stealing a powerful artifact that can alter their lives for the better, but at the cost of breaking the world.

All eyes are on Paris where the Exposition Universelle World Fair is to be held. Hidden among the technological marvels and artistic creations on display is an item of unimaginable power—a Babel fragment that would enable those who wield it with magical Forging abilities over nature’s elements.

Séverin Montagnet-Alarie's birthright was stolen from him. Now, to reclaim his rightful place among France’s elite, he must obtain the Babel fragment for the Order. It is a heist that will require the ingenuity and skills of those with nothing to lose and everything to gain: Enrique, a gifted historian and wordsmith, caught between two worlds; Zofia, a brilliant Forging artist and engineer, separated from her family; Hypnos, a rival aristocrat who needs an ally among the Order; Tristan, an extraordinary Forger raised at Séverin’s side, loyal to his adopted brother’s quest; and Laila, the mysterious dancer and espionage artist who stole Séverin’s heart in a moment of vulnerability he couldn’t afford.

But as the dangerous risks of their escapade surge, Séverin finds himself torn between his desire for revenge against all those who wronged him and the people he’s deliberately placing in harm’s way—including the woman he loves and fears to lose... 

“A masterpiece of imagination.” —New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Garber

“Part political misadventure, part puzzle and thoroughly charming, with a band of rapscallions and a string of surprises.” —New York Times bestselling author Holly Black

“[A] smart, dark adventure.” —New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Taylor Jenkins Reid

“Riveting, heart-wrenching, and full of Old Hollywood glamour, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most captivating reads of 2017.” —BuzzFeed

“The epic adventures Evelyn creates over the course of a lifetime will leave every reader mesmerized. This wildly addictive journey of a reclusive Hollywood starlet and her tumultuous Tinseltown journey comes with unexpected twists and the most satisfying of drama.” —PopSugar

In this entrancing novel “that speaks to the Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in us all” (Kirkus Reviews), a legendary film actress reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

“Heartbreaking, yet beautiful” (Jamie Blynn, Us Weekly), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is “Tinseltown drama at its finest” (Redbook): a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it costs—to face the truth.

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Heartstopper

Alice Oseman

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out.

"Absolutely delightful. Sweet, romantic, kind. Beautifully paced. I loved this book." -- Rainbow Rowell, author of Carry On

Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn't think he has a chance.

But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.
 

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Accidentally Engaged

Farah Heron

A delectable romantic comedy about a woman who fakes an engagement to the boy next door to enter a couples cooking contest--named one of the best romances of the year by NPR, USA Today, and Entertainment Weekly



When it comes to bread, Reena Manji knows exactly what she's doing. She treats her sourdough starters like (somewhat unruly) children. But when it comes to Reena's actual family--and their constant meddling in her life--well, that recipe always ends in disaster.



Now Reena's parents have found her yet another potential Good Muslim Husband. This one has the body of Captain America, a delicious British accent, and lives right across the hall. He's the perfect, mouthwatering temptation . . . and completely ruined by the unwelcome side dish of parental interference.



Reena refuses to marry anyone who works for her father. She won't be attracted to Nadim's sweet charm or gorgeous lopsided smile. That is, until the baking opportunity of a lifetime presents itself: a couples' cooking competition with the prize of her dreams. Reena will do anything to win--even asking Nadim to pretend they're engaged. But when it comes to love, baking your bread doesn't always mean you get to eat it too.



Entertainment Weekly Best Romances of 2021

USA Today Best Rom-Coms of 2021

NPR Best Romances of 2021

CBC Best Books of Canada

Vulture Best Romances of 2021

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Emerald Blaze

Ilona Andrews



 

Ilona Andrews, #1 New York Times bestselling author, continues her spellbinding series set in the Hidden Legacy world where magic controls everything...except the hearts of those who wield it.

As Prime magic users, Catalina Baylor and her sisters have extraordinary powers--powers their ruthless grandmother would love to control. Catalina can earn her family some protection working as deputy to the Warden of Texas, overseeing breaches of magic law in the state, but that has risks as well. When House Baylor is under attack and monsters haunt her every step, Catalina is forced to rely on handsome, dangerous Alessandro Sagredo, the Prime who crushed her heart.

The nightmare that Alessandro has fought since childhood has come roaring back to life, but now Catalina is under threat. Not even his lifelong quest for revenge will stop him from keeping her safe, even if every battle could be his last. Because Catalina won't rest until she stops the use of the illicit, power-granting serum that's tearing their world apart.

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Stickmen's Guide to Aircraft

John Farndon

How do planes stay in the air? What is vertical takeoff? How does a pilot control altitude in a hot-air balloon? Join the Stickmen to find out how mechanisms work. Get an insider's view of these airborne wonders!

Source: Publisher

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Zephyr Takes Flight

Steve Light

Zephyr is a girl who loves airplanes. She draws pictures of them, makes them out of paper, builds them out of junk, and hopes one day to fly one of her own. But when Gramma, Daddy, and Mom are too busy to play airplane with her, Zephyr’s excess enthusiasm gets her sent to her room — where she discovers a secret door that leads to the most wondrous place she’s ever seen! Lovers of flying machines and gadgets, along with adventurers of all kinds, will be buoyed by this lighthearted tale of a little girl who finds her wings.

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All about Amelia Earhart

Lew Freedman

Amelia Earhart was a pioneer pilot, an aviator who was the best known and most popular woman flyer of her time and someone who established many records in the early days of flight. Amelia was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, something that was looked at as being so bold that she received fame and honors for the accomplishment. During her life, Earhart was also a social worker, wrote best-selling books, helped design a line of clothing, worked as an educator, and in all her pursuits worked hard to promote the rights of girls and woman. She always encouraged women to take charge of their own lives, and never to be discouraged by the doubts of others.

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Fly Girls Young Readers' Edition

Keith O'Brien

From NPR correspondent Keith O’ Brien comes this thrilling Young Readers' edition of the untold story about pioneering women, including Amelia Earhart, who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s—and won.

In the years between World War I and World War II, airplane racing was one of the most popular sports in America. Thousands of fans flocked to multiday events, and the pilots who competed in these races were hailed as heroes. Well, the male pilots were hailed. Women who flew planes were often ridiculed by the press, and initially they weren’t invited to race. Yet a group of women were determined to take to the sky—no matter what. With guts and grit, they overcame incredible odds both on the ground and in the air to pursue their dreams of flying and racing planes.

Fly Girls follows the stories of five remarkable women: Florence Klingensmith, a high-school dropout from North Dakota; Ruth Elder, an Alabama housewife; Amelia Earhart, the most famous, but not necessarily the most skilled; Ruth Nichols, a daughter of Wall Street wealth who longed to live a life of her own; and Louise Thaden, who got her start selling coal in Wichita. Together, they fought for the chance to race against the men—and in 1936 one of them would triumph in the toughest race of all.
 
Complete with photographs and a glossary, Fly Girls celebrates a little-known slice of history wherein tenacious, trail-blazing women braved all obstacles to achieve greatness.  

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Unlawful Orders: A Portrait of Dr. James B. Williams, Tuskegee Airman, Surgeon, and Activist (Scholastic Focus)

Barbara Binns

Barbara Binns presents the inspiring story of one man in his struggle for racial equality in the field of battle and the field of medicine.

 

Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future.

The Tuskegee Airmen heroically fought for the right to be officers of the US military so that they might participate in World War II by flying overseas to help defeat fascism. However, after winning that battle, they faced their next great challenge at Freeman Field, Iowa, where racist white officers barred them from entering the prestigious Officers' Club that their rank promised them. The Freeman Field Mutiny, as it became known, would eventually lead to the desegregation of the US armed forces, forever changing the course of American history and race relations.

One Black officer who refused to give in to the bigotry at Freeman Field was James Buchanan "JB" Williams. JB grew up the son of sharecroppers, but his loving family and insuppressible intellect drove him to push boundaries placed on Black Americans in the early twentieth century. JB's devotion to the betterment of others took him from the classroom where he learned to be a doctor, to serving as a medic in the US military and eventually joining the elite Tuskegee Airmen, where he fought to change the minds of all who believed Black men couldn't make good soldiers. But JB's greatest contribution came in his role as doctor and Civil Rights activist after the war, where he continued to push past injustices placed on Black Americans.

Critically acclaimed author Barbara Binns tells the story of one man's remarkable life, and in doing so, explores the trials of the brave Black freedom fighters who defended the world against racism and bigotry, both on the front lines and at home.

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Sprouting Wings

Louisa Jaggar

The inspirational and true story of James Herman Banning, the first African American pilot to fly across the country, comes to life in this picture book biography perfect for fans of Hidden Figures and Little Leaders. Includes art from a Coretta Scott King award-winning illustrator.

James Herman Banning always dreamed of touching the sky. But how could a farm boy from Oklahoma find a plane? And how would he learn to fly it? None of the other pilots looked like him. Despite the challenges and prejudices that stood in his way, James knew he belonged above the clouds.

In a journey that would span 3,300 miles, take twenty-one days, and inspire a nation, James Herman Banning proved that you can't put barriers on dreams. Louisa Jaggar incorporates over seven years of research, including Banning's own writings and an interview with the aviator's great-nephew. She teams up with cowriter Shari Becker and award-winning illustrator Floyd Cooper to capture Banning's historic flight across the United States.

"A pathos-filled picture book that celebrates the life of a figure in American history who hasn't been featured often." -School Library Journal, Starred Review

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The Littlest Airplane

Brooke Hartman

A rhyming picture book about how sometimes it’s not the biggest, strongest, or the fastest, but the littlest who can get the job done!

"Charming, entertaining, and original, The Littlest Airplane is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library picture book collections for children ages 4-7."
Midwest Book Review

"This is a really cute story about a plane that is smaller than all the others. He feels inferior because he can’t do what the big planes can. But when people get stuck in a storm and call for help, the big planes are too big to land to rescue the people, the little plane can reach them and he saves them. The illustrations were cute; I love the expressiveness of the planes. . . 4 stars."
Youth Services Book Review

"The text clearly stands out against Joseph's wonderful illustrations, which work in tandem with the text to convey exactly what's happening in the story. These scenes are big and colorful, making it easy to see all aspects of the picture, even from a distance—perfect for story hours. . . Altogether, Hartman has created another wonderful ride of a story. A great rhyming read aloud for little learners to introduce different types of planes and spot light the oft-forgotten bush plane."
School Library Journal

"The story told in lilting rhyming text is brought to life in colorful illustrations featuring personified airplanes with expressive faces and beautiful Alaskan scenery. Facts about bush planes and a labeled diagram of a plane appear in the back pages. Young children identify with being small and wanting to be important. They will recognize this story as a good companion to The Little Engine That Could."
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database

“Alaska Northwest Books wings into spring with... The Littlest Airplane by Brooke Hartman, illus. by John Joseph, in which a storm necessitates calling a mighty little bush plane to rescue people stuck on a mountain in the snow.”
Publishers Weekly, Spring 2022 Children’s Sneak Previews

At a landing strip in the far north, a little bush plane watches quietly as bigger, stronger, faster planes take off for adventure. But when a storm hits and hikers are stranded on the mountain, who will come to the rescue?

Told in rhyming verse with bright illustrations, The Littlest Airplane soars high with heart and excitement.

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Cloud Chaser

Anne-Fleur Drillon

Dreamy Emery loves doodling wild inventions . . . but when a new friend moves in next door with piles of tools and ideas, can they build a real flying machine together? This charming celebration of intergenerational friendship, creativity and the thrill of scientific discovery will delight young inventors and STEM educators alike.

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Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride

Pam Munoz Ryan

Children's Literature Legacy Award Winner

An extraordinary picture book from Newbery Honoree Pam Munoz Ryan and Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick about two heroines, national treasures, and close friends, Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt!

 

Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt were birds of a feather. Not only were they two of the most admired and respected women of all time, they were also good friends. Illuminated here for the first time in picture book form is the true story of a thrilling night when they made history together!On a brisk and cloudless evening in April 1933, Amelia and Eleanor did the unprecedented: They stole away from a White House dinner, commandeered an Eastern Air Transport jet, and took off on a glorious adventure--while still dressed in their glamorous evening gowns!This picture book tour de force celebrates the pioneering spirit of two friends whose passion for life gave them the courage to defy convention in the name of fulfillment, conviction, and fun. Soaring text, inspired by the known facts of this event, and breathtaking drawings ask readers to dream dreams as big as Amelia and Eleanor's.

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The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont

Victoria Griffith

While the Wright Brothers were gliding over Kitty Hawk, the charming Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont was making his own mark on the history of flight.

Alberto loved floating over Paris in his personal flying machine called a dirigible. He would tie it to a post, climb down, and spend the day shopping or meeting friends for coffee. But he wanted to make his invention even better. By 1906, Alberto had transformed his balloon into a box with wings! But now there was competition. Another inventor challenged Alberto to see who would be the first in flight. Alberto's hard work paid off, and his airplane successfully soared into the air, making him the first pilot to lift off and land a completely self-propelled plane.

The book includes an author's note about Santos-Dumont, a bibliography, an index, and photographs of his flying machines.

Praise for Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont
"At the turn of the last century, all sorts of ambitious and eccentric men were competing furiously to get the first airplane into the sky. One of the most famous of these was a dashing Brazilian who lived in Paris and, to wide admiration, did his errands by airship. Victoria Griffith tells his story...which is illustrated with panache in rich, smudgy oils and pastels by Italian artist Eva Montanari." -Wall Street Journal

"An excellent read-aloud, this picture book is a must when studying the history of flight and can be used as a resource for research, a book for all your reading needs!" -Library Media Connection

"Montanari's chalky illustrations are distinguished by a strong sense of motion, and the story's suspense (rival pilots! harrowing landings!) and surprise cameos (Louis Cartier!) make this an elegant tribute to a hero of early aviation." -Publishers Weekly

"Strong vertical trim and layout, which one would expect to exploit sweeping skyscapes, are instead cleverly deployed to put viewers among the earthbound spectators, most often glimpsing the aviator in the distance. A bibliography and brief index round out the title, which will be a first choice for aviation enthusiasts." -The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A generous spirit and penchant for grand gestures make him [Santos-Dumont] all the more worth knowing--particularly for American audiences unaware that there is any question about who was the first to fly. -Kirkus Reviews

"Montanari captures the look, dress, and formality of the era in her splendid, impressionistic pastel, chalk, and oil paintings. The endnotes add details and facts about the life of this charismatic, adventurous man and mark his place in aviation history." -School Library Journal

 

"Even if you've never heard of Santos-Dumont, you'll be delighted to meet this real-life historical figure in Victoria Griffith's vivid debut picture book. This fine picture book resurrects his story in lively prose and large-scale illustrations rendered in pastels, chalks, oil pastels and oil paint, perfectly capturing the drama of the events. The fuzzy lines lend a feeling of history to the illustrations, and gestures and humorous touches, such as a dog holding the dirigible's tether or Alberto racing horse-drawn carriages, make Alberto Santos-Dumont and his times come alive." -BookPage

 

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A Life of Service: The Story of Senator Tammy Duckworth

Christina Soontornvat

Thai American creators portray the inspirational and barrier-breaking life of Senator Tammy Duckworth in a picture-book tribute to an extraordinary woman.

Senator Tammy Duckworth has logged a long list of “firsts” during her tenure as the first Thai American woman elected to Congress, including being the first woman with a disability to serve in the House and Senate. But while she dreamed of serving her country from a young age, Tammy’s path was not without its challenges. In this dramatic account, award-winning creators Christina Soontornvat and Dow Phumiruk chronicle Tammy’s journey. From her childhood fight to keep her family from homelessness, to her service in the US Army, to her recovery from grievous injuries sustained in the line of duty, Tammy never lost her determination to keep going against staggering odds. 
Evoking Tammy Duckworth’s spirited nature with sensitivity and joy, this uplifting account of a groundbreaking military veteran and rising political star will inspire readers to dream and achieve. Includes a time line and suggestions for further reading.

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Exploring Flight! (Ada Twist, Scientist: the Why Files #1)

Andrea Beaty

From the New York Times bestselling creator of the Questioneers, Andrea Beaty, and author Theanne Griffith, Exploring Flight! (Ada Twist, Scientist: The Why Files) is the first in a full-color nonfiction early-reader series based on the Netflix series!

Why do airplanes look the way they do? Why can't birds fly when they're first born? And why do some paper planes fly farther than others?

Ada Twist, Scientist: The Why Files is the perfect nonfiction resource for all these questions and more. Discover everything there is to know about flight from Ada Twist, Scientist--from information about creatures that fly, to the history of aircrafts, to modern technology that allows us to soar through the air faster than ever!

Based on the bestselling series and the Netflix show, this nonfiction series is perfect for the youngest scientists of tomorrow!

Check out all the books in the Questioneers Series:

  • The Questioneers Picture Book Series: Iggy Peck, Architect Rosie Revere, Engineer Ada Twist, Scientist Sofia Valdez, Future Prez Aaron Slater, Illustrator Lila Greer, Teacher of the Year
  • The Questioneers Chapter Book Series: Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters Ada Twist and the Perilous Pants Iggy Peck and the Mysterious Mansion Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote Ada Twist and the Disappearing Dogs Aaron Slater and the Sneaky Snake
  • Questioneers: The Why Files Series: Exploring Flight! All About Plants! The Science of Baking Bug Bonanza! Rockin' Robots!
  • Questioneers: Ada Twist, Scientist Series: Ghost Busted Show Me the Bunny Ada Twist, Scientist: Brainstorm Book 5-Minute Ada Twist, Scientist Stories
  • The Questioneers Big Project Book Series: Iggy Peck's Big Project Book for Amazing Architects Rosie Revere's Big Project Book for Bold Engineers Ada Twist's Big Project Book for Stellar Scientists Sofia Valdez's Big Project Book for Awesome Activists Aaron Slater's Big Project Book for Astonishing Artists
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Touching the Sky

Louise Borden

On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers took their historic first flight, and by 1909 the brothers were full-fledged celebrities. In September of that year, Wilbur and Orville finally showed the world, firsthand, just what they had achieved. 
In the United States, Wilbur delighted the crowd with spectacular flying demonstrations in New York City during the city's Hudson-Fulton Celebration. He flew over the harbor, glided past tall buildings, looped the Statue of Liberty, and even traveled up the Hudson River to Grant's Tomb. The people of New York were astonished and thrilled to witness these unbelievable flights. At the same time, Orville held daring public exhibitions in Germany and set amazing new records. He flew the highest ever, and took the longest flight with a passenger. The Wright brothers opened doors that no one knew could be opened! 
Louise Borden and Trish Marx document the extraordinary lives and achievements of two of our most celebrated American heroes, Wilbur and Orville Wright, from their humble beginnings to their later success and riches.

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The Problem with Early Flying Machines

Ryan Nagelhout

Taking to the skies has always been a dream for human beings. Watching birds and bees take flight while people remained chained to the soil provided the inspiration to experiment with machines capable of flying high overhead. But these experiments proved dangerous—and often deadly. From early helicopter designs and bicycles with wings, learning how to fly was far more than a physics experiment. Often, it was a matter of life and death! Readers are taken on a journey through the history of aviation, and discover the contributions of luminaries such as the Wright brothers and Howard Hughes.

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Leonardo and the Flying Boy

Laurence Anholt

There were no spaceships or airplanes when Zoro was a boy. He lived in Italy during the era we now call the Renaissance, a time when the sky belonged to the birds. But one unusual man dreamed of incredible flying machines. "One day, Zoro," he told his pupil, "people will sail through the clouds and look down at the world below." Zoro was curious. He knew that his teacher did more than merely dream about the future, but was an important artist and inventor. Then Zoro made an astonishing discovery. His teacher was building a mysterious machine. A machine intended to fly! Here begins a fascinating story based on a true event, for Zoro's master was the famous artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci. Full-color illustrations throughout this beautiful book include reproductions of some of Leonardo's famous artworks.

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The Flying Machine Book

Bobby Mercer

Calling all future Amelia Earharts and Chuck Yeagers—there's more than one way to get off the ground. Author and physics teacher Bobby Mercer will show readers 35 easy-to-build and fun-to-fly contraptions that can be used indoors or out. Better still, each of these rockets, gliders, boomerangs, launchers, and helicopters are constructed for little or no cost using recycled materials. The Flying Machine Book will show readers how to turn rubber bands, paper clips, straws, plastic bottles, and index cards into amazing, gravity-defying flyers. Learn how to turn a drinking straw, rubber band, and index card into a Straw Rocket, or convert a paper towel tube into a Grape Bazooka. Empty water bottles can be transformed into Plastic Zippers and Bottle Rockets, and ordinary paper can be cut and folded to make a Fingerrangs—a small boomerang—or a Maple Key Helicopter. Each project contains a material list and detailed step-by-step instructions with photos. Mercer also includes explanations of the science behind each flyer, including concepts such as lift, thrust, and drag, the Bernoulli effect, and more. Readers can use this information to modify and improve their flyers, or explain to their teachers why throwing a paper airplane is a mini science lesson. Bobby Mercer has been sharing the fun of free flight for over two decades as a high school physics teacher. He is the author of several books and lives with his family outside of Asheville, North Carolina.

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My Brothers' Flying Machine

Jane Yolen

Celebrating the centennial of the first flight, this story--told through the eyes of their sister Katherine--follows Wilbur and Orville Wright's earliest attempts at studying aviation by playing with a toy flying machine and their later success as the designers of the very first airplane.

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Flying Ace

Angela Bull

Amelia Earhart by Angela Bull is the biography of the famous American flying ace, who became the first woman to fly the Atlantic. With her husband (also her publicist), she plotted an even bigger hat -- to fly mound the world. She set off, completed several legs, and then disappeared. The search that followed revealed nothing. To this day, what happened to Amelia Earhart remains one of the great mysteries of our time.

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Flying!

Kevin Luthardt

A series of simple questions triggers a playful, imaginative exchange between a child and his father.

"Papa, why can't I fly?" a boy asks. His father's simple answer leads to another question, and then another, until the father playfully demonstrates to his son all the things the child can do. In the end the boy discovers that with a little imagination and some help from his dad he can fly—even without wings!

Kevin Luthardt's highly expressive, comical, full-color illustrations and simply worded text capture the special bond between father and son. Readers will enjoy the playful fun and easy-going relationship depicted in this delightful story.

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Things We Couldn't Say

Jay Coles

From one of the brightest and most acclaimed new lights in YA fiction, a fantastic new novel about a bi Black boy finding first love . . . and facing the return of the mother who abandoned his preacher family when he was nine.

 

 

There's always been a hole in Gio's life. Not because he's into both guys and girls. Not because his father has some drinking issues. Not because his friends are always bringing him their drama. No, the hole in Gio's life takes the shape of his birth mom, who left Gio, his brother, and his father when Gio was nine years old. For eight years, he never heard a word from her . . . and now, just as he's started to get his life together, she's back.

 

It's hard for Gio to know what to do. Can he forgive her like she wants to be forgiven? Or should he tell her she lost her chance to be in his life? Complicating things further, Gio's started to hang out with David, a new guy on the basketball team. Are they friends? More than friends? At first, Gio's not sure . . . especially because he's not sure what he wants from anyone right now.

 

There are no easy answers to love -- whether it's family love or friend love or romantic love. In Things We Couldn't Say, Jay Coles, acclaimed author of Tyler Johnson Was Here, shows us a guy trying to navigate love in all its ambiguity -- hoping at the other end he'll be able to figure out who is and who he should be.

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Now That I've Found You

Kristina Forest

"Through this pitch-perfect rom-com, Kristina Forest explores the legacy of family and what it means to be young and full of artistic passion. I was utterly charmed from start to finish." —Maurene Goo, author of Somewhere Only We Know

Now That I've Found You is a YA novel about searching for answers, love, and your eccentric grandma in all the wrong places.

Following in the footsteps of her überfamous grandma, eighteen-year-old Evie Jones is poised to be Hollywood’s next big star. That is until a close friend’s betrayal leads to her being blacklisted . . .

Fortunately, Evie knows just the thing to save her floundering career: a public appearance with America’s most beloved actress—her grandma Gigi, aka the Evelyn Conaway. The only problem? Gigi is a recluse who’s been out of the limelight for almost twenty years. Days before Evie plans to present her grandma with an honorary award in front of Hollywood’s elite, Gigi does the unthinkable: she disappears.

With time running out and her comeback on the line, Evie reluctantly enlists the help of the last person to see Gigi before she vanished: Milo Williams, a cute musician Evie isn’t sure she can trust. As Evie and Milo conduct a wild manhunt across New York City, romance and adventure abound while Evie makes some surprising discoveries about her grandma—and herself.

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The Davenports

Krystal Marquis

*Instant New York Times Bestseller*

The Davenports delivers a totally escapist, swoon-worthy romance while offering a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked.

"The perfect read for fans of escapist historical fiction.” —NBC’s TODAY

The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it's 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love—even where they’re not supposed to.

There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married . . . until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love—unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business—and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. But Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can’t seem to keep his interest . . . until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.

Inspired by the real-life story of the Patterson family, The Davenports is the tale of four determined and passionate young Black women discovering the courage to steer their own path in life—and love.

"The Davenports has it all: romance, heartbreak, courage." Ebony
"A fresh, utterly enchanting read.” —Ayana Gray, New York Times bestselling author of the Beasts of Prey trilogy
"Deftly written . . . A dazzling debut."Kirkus (starred review)
"Stunningly wrought . . . Presents a cast of take-charge women." PW (starred review)
"It has the compulsive readability of Gossip Girl."Booklist (starred review)
"Compelling . . . distinct and satisfying." BCCB
"Skilled . . . Well-written . . . Sure to please." SLJ
"If this whole series existed right now, I’d tear through it to the exclusion of everything else in my life." —Teen Librarian Toolbox

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Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry

Joya Goffney

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by debut author Joya Goffney is a story of an overly enthusiastic list maker who is blackmailed into completing a to-do list of all her worst fears. It's a heartfelt, tortured, contemporary YA high school romance. Fans of Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Kristina Forest's I Wanna Be Where You Are will love the juicy secrets and leap-off-the-page sexual tension.

"A hilarious and swoonworthy story." --Kristina Forest, author of Now That I've Found You

"A fun, emotionally rich romance with a sweet, imperfect character who will win your heart." --Liara Tamani, author of All the Things We Never Knew

Quinn keeps lists of everything--from the days she's ugly cried, to "Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud" and all the boys she'd like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing . . .

Then an anonymous account posts one of her lists on Instagram for the whole school to see and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears, or else her entire journal will go public. Quinn doesn't know who to trust. Desperate, she teams up with Carter Bennett--the last known person to have her journal--in a race against time to track down the blackmailer.

Together, they journey through everything Quinn's been too afraid to face, and along the way, Quinn finds the courage to be honest, to live in the moment, and to fall in love.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Epic Reads Recommended Pick at Target

A Kirkus Children's Best Book of 2021

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Opposite of Always

Justin A. Reynolds

“One of the best love stories I’ve ever read.” —Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give

“Read this one, reread it, and then hug it to your chest.”  —Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Debut author Justin A. Reynolds delivers a hilarious and heartfelt novel about the choices we make, the people we choose, and the moments that make a life worth reliving. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and John Green.

When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Froot Loops and their favorite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack.

But then Kate dies. And their story should end there.

Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind.

Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do to save the people he loves.

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Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

Talia Hibbert

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors—and each other.

Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.

Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)

These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

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You Should See Me in a Crown

Leah Johnson (Young adult author)

A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time

A Stonewall Honor Book

A Reese's Book Club YA Pick

 

Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She's smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?

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A Song Below Water

Bethany C. Morrow

Bethany C. Morrow's A Song Below Water is the story for today’s readers — a captivating modern fantasy about Black sirens, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today's racism and sexism. 

In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers. 

Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school’s junior year.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment.

Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it’s only Tavia and Effie’s unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.

"It's beautiful and it's brilliant.”--Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

“An enthralling tale of Black girl magic and searing social commentary ready to rattle the bones.” — Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles

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Happily Ever Afters

Elise Bryant

Jane the Virgin meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before in this charming debut romantic comedy filled with Black Girl Magic. Perfect for fans of Mary H. K. Choi and Nicola Yoon, with crossover appeal for readers of Jasmine Guillory and Talia Hibbert romances.

Sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson has never felt like the protagonist in her own life. She's rarely seen herself reflected in the pages of the romance novels she loves. The only place she's a true leading lady is in her own writing--in the swoony love stories she shares only with Caroline, her best friend and #1 devoted reader.

When Tessa is accepted into the creative writing program of a prestigious art school, she's excited to finally let her stories shine. But when she goes to her first workshop, the words are just...gone. Fortunately, Caroline has a solution: Tessa just needs to find some inspiration in a real-life love story of her own. And she's ready with a list of romance novel-inspired steps to a happily ever after. Nico, the brooding artist who looks like he walked out of one of Tessa's stories, is cast as the perfect Prince Charming.

But as Tessa checks each item off Caroline's list, she gets further and further away from herself. She risks losing everything she cares about--including the surprising bond she develops with sweet Sam, who lives across the street. She's well on her way to having her own real-life love story, but is it the one she wants, after all?

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Dread Nation

Justina Ireland

New York Times bestseller * Six starred reviews

At once provocative, terrifying, and darkly subversive, Dread Nation is Justina Ireland's stunning vision of an America both foreign and familiar—a country on the brink, at the explosive crossroads where race, humanity, and survival meet.

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.

In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.

But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.

But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. 

And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

Please note that this book has deckle edges (the edges of the paper are purposely rough).

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Felix Ever After

Kacen Callender

A Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time

From Stonewall and Lambda Award-winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

Felix Love has never been in love--and, yes, he's painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it's like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What's worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he's one marginalization too many--Black, queer, and transgender--to ever get his own happily-ever-after.

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages--after publicly posting Felix's deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned--Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn't count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi-love triangle....

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

"Felix is attending an ultracompetitive arts summer program to have a better shot at a full scholarship to Brown when someone posts Felix's dead name beside photos of him, pre-transition, in the school's lobby. Felix's plot to get revenge throws him onto the path of love and self-discovery." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")

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Cinderella is Dead

Kalynn Bayron

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'Kalynn Bayron does more than re-write a fairytale ... She breaks it apart and rebuilds it into a wholly original and captivating story where girls finally decide for themselves who lives happily ever after' - New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer

'A richly diverse and lovely read ... relevant, modern and inclusive' - NetGalley Reviewer

'An intense experience, but a captivating one' - Paper Lanterns Magazine
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It's 200 years since Cinderella found her prince, but the fairytale is over.

Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she's tiny until the night she's sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball ... are forfeit.

But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen - she's in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia's night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella's tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world ...

An electrifying twist on the classic fairytale that will inspire girls to break out of limiting stereotypes and follow their dreams!

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Legendborn

Tracy Deonn

An Instant New York Times Bestseller!
Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic.

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

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Love Radio

Ebony LaDelle

“Readers won’t be able to get enough of these dope-ass characters.” —Elizabeth Acevedo, author of Clap When You Land

Hitch meets The Sun Is Also a Star in this “mega swoon-worthy, effortlessly cool” (Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author) novel about a self-professed teen love doctor with a popular radio segment who believes he can get a girl who hates all things romance to fall in love with him in only three dates.

Prince Jones is the guy with all the answers—or so it seems. After all, at seventeen, he has his own segment on Detroit’s popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, where he dishes out advice to the brokenhearted. 

Prince has always dreamed of becoming a DJ and falling in love. But being the main caretaker for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and his little brother means his dreams will stay just that and the only romances in his life are the ones he hears about from his listeners. Until he meets Dani Ford. 

Dani isn’t checking for anybody. She’s focused on her plan: ace senior year, score a scholarship, and move to New York City to become a famous author. But her college essay keeps tripping her up and acknowledging what’s blocking her means dealing with what happened at that party a few months ago. And that’s one thing Dani can’t do. 

When the romantic DJ meets the ambitious writer, sparks fly. Prince is smitten, but Dani’s not looking to get derailed. She gives Prince just three dates to convince her that he’s worth falling for. Three dates for the love expert to take his own advice, and just maybe change two lives forever.

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Charming as a Verb

Ben Philippe

From the award-winning author of The Field Guide to the North American Teenager comes a whip-smart and layered romantic comedy. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han.

Henri "Halti" Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, the dutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for his wealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University.

There is only one person who seems immune to Henri's charms: his "intense" classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri's less-than-honest dog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image at school. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself.

Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something more surprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . .

This is a sharply funny and insightful novel about the countless hustles we have to keep from doing the hardest thing: being ourselves.

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The Partner Plot

Kristina Forest

Two former high school sweethearts get a second chance in this marriage of convenience romance by Kristina Forest, author of The Neighbor Favor.

To Violet Greene, fashion is everything. As a successful celebrity stylist, she travels all over the world, living out her dreams. Professionally, she’s thriving, but her personal life is in shambles. After surviving a very public breakup with her ex-fiancé six months ago, Violet is now determined to focus on her career. But life hands her something—or rather, someone—that might derail everything…

Xavier Wright did not expect to run into his high school girlfriend Violet—the girl he once thought he’d marry—on a birthday trip to Vegas. As a high school teacher and basketball coach, he rarely leaves his New Jersey hometown, so what were the chances? But when the initial shock wears off, they decide to celebrate together. They feel young and reckless as they party the night away—and reckless they clearly were when the following morning, they wake up beside each other with rings on their fingers.

Their impulsive nuptials might be a blessing in disguise, though, when they realize that both of their careers could benefit from the marriage. So they play the part of a blissfully wedded couple. Yet when their passion comes hurling back, they realize their feelings are just as real as they were back when they were teens. But are their lives too different to stick it through or will they finally get a happy ending?

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Assistant to the Villain

Hannah Nicole Maehrer

THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Maehrer’s laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villain...and their unexpected romance.

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem and terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage's employment status isn't just important, it's vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer—naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat...and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain—and his entire nefarious empire—out.

Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work...and ensure he makes them pay.

After all, a good job is hard to find.

The Assistant and the Villain series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 Assistant to the Villain
Book #2 Apprentice to the Villain
Book #3 Accomplice to the Villain

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That Summer Feeling

Bridget Morrissey

One of Amazon's Best Romances of June ∙ A Real Simple Must-Read of Summer 2023 ∙ A Book Riot Best Romance Book of Summer 2023 ∙ A Buzzfeed Romance Book To Look Out For In 2023 ∙ A Paste Magazine Most Anticipated Contemporary Romance Book of 2023

When a divorced woman attends a sleepaway camp for adults, she reconnects with a man from her past—only to fall head over heels for his sister instead.  
 
Garland Moore used to believe in magic, the power of optimism, and signs from the universe. Then her husband surprised her with divorce papers over Valentine's Day dinner. Now Garland isn’t sure what to believe anymore, except that she’s clearly never meant to love again. When new friends invite her to spend a week at their reopened sleepaway camp, she and her sister decide it’s an opportunity to enjoy the kind of summer getaway they never had as kids. If Garland still believed in signs, this would sure seem like one. Summer camp is a chance to let go of her past and start fresh.
 
Nestled into the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, Camp Carl Cove provides the exact escape Garland always dreamed of, until she runs into Mason—the man she had a premonition about after one brief meeting years ago. No matter how she tries to run, the universe appears determined to bring love back into Garland’s life. She even ends up rooming with Mason’s sister Stevie, a vibrant former park ranger who is as charming as she is competitive. The more time Garland spends with Stevie, the more the signs confuse her. The stars are aligning in a way Garland never could have predicted.
 
Amid camp tournaments and moonlit dances, Garland continues to be pulled toward the beautiful blonde outdoorswoman who makes her laugh and swoon. Summer camp doesn’t last forever, but if Garland can learn to trust her heart, the love she finds there just might.

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Before I Let Go

Kennedy Ryan

"Real, raw, magnificent--Before I Let Go is the beautiful angst I love to read." --Colleen Hoover, #1 New York Times bestselling author



A Good Morning America Book Buzz Pick!

Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn't solve or save everything.



It couldn't save their marriage.



Yasmen wasn't prepared for how her life fell apart, but she's is finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they're always drawn back to each other, and now they're beginning to wonder if they're truly ready to let go of everything they once had.



Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another...and then more. It's hot. It's illicit. It's all good--until old wounds reopen. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?



Award-winning and bestselling "powerhouse" author Kennedy Ryan is at her absolute best in this compelling, scorching novel about hope and healing, and what it truly means to love for a lifetime (USA Today).



Book of the Month Club selection

NPR Best Books of 2022

Entertainment Weekly Best Romances of 2022

Washington Post 10 Best Romances of the Year

Women's Health Best Books of the Year

Publishers Weekly Best Romance Books of 2022

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Throne of the Fallen

Kerri Maniscalco

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Kerri Maniscalco makes her adult debut with this New York Times bestselling sensation, a "hot" new standalone fantasy romance (Jennifer L. Armentrout) about a dark prince battling an impossible curse—and the artist who might be the only one who can set him free.

Sinner. Villain. Wicked.

The Prince of Envy has never claimed to be a saint. But when a cryptic note arrives, signaling the beginning of a deadly game, he knows it will take more than a hint of sin to win and save his falling demon court. Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way, though none of his meticulous plans prepare him for her, the frustrating artist who ignites his sin like no other…
 
Virtuous. Darling. Liar.

The trouble with scoundrels and blackguards is that they haven’t a modicum of honor, a fact Miss Camilla Antonius learns after one desperate mistake allows Waverly Green’s most notorious rake to blackmail her. To avoid a ruinous scandal, Camilla is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Envy, little expecting his game will awaken her true nature . . .

Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the Underworld—from glittering demon courts to the sultry vampire realm and beyond—while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.

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Practice Makes Perfect

Sarah Adams

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A small-town sweetheart and an emotionally unavailable bad boy try to find some common ground in this chemistry-filled romance from the author of The Cheat Sheet and When in Rome.

A POPSUGAR AND CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match—someone who complements her happy, quiet life running the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. But finding her dream man may be harder than Annie imagined. Everyone knows everyone in her hometown, and the dating prospects are getting fewer by the day. After she overhears her latest date say she is “so unbelievably boring,” Annie starts to think the problem might be her. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice . . . and Annie has the perfect person in mind to be her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will—the sexy , tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard—is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement builds for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker, Annie’s brother. He has one personal objective while on the job: stay away from Annie Walker and any other possible attachments to this sleepy town. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will finds himself tasked with helping Annie find the love of her life by becoming the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie. He knows for a fact that some stuffy, straitlaced guy won’t make her happy, but he doesn’t have the heart to say no.

Amid steamy practice dates and strictly “educational” tutoring lessons, Annie discovers there are more layers to Will’s usual stoic attitude. As the lines of their friendship become dangerously blurred, Annie reconsiders her dream guy. Maybe her love life doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be real. 

Look for all of Sarah Adams’s When in Rome books:
WHEN IN ROME • PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT • BEG, BORROW, OR STEAL (Coming Soon!)

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Fall for Him

Andie Burke

In Fall for Him by Andie Burke, seven-hundred-fifty square feet isn’t enough for the home-renovation-fueled hatred and the building sexual tension.

Dylan Gallagher’s hot neighbor loathed him from the second he moved in, and causing a flood, falling through the floor, and landing directly onto that same neighbor’s bed probably means that’s unlikely to change. The poorly timed “It’s Raining Men” joke didn’t help.

Meanwhile, ER nurse Derek Chang’s life is a literal when-rains-it-pours nightmare. A man he hates dropped into his life along with an astronomically expensive problem originating from Derek’s own apartment’s plumbing. Also, the local HOA tyrant has been sniffing around trying to fine him for his extended, illicit banned breed dog-sitting.

Since Dylan also wants to keep the catastrophe quiet, he offers to fix the damage himself. Dylan’s sure he’s not Derek’s type, so he focuses all his ADHD hyper fixation energy on getting the repair job done as quickly as possible—avoiding doing anything stupid like acting on his very inconvenient crush. Meanwhile Derek tries to ignore that the tattooed nerd sleeping on the couch is surprisingly witty, smart, and kind, despite the long-term grudge Derek’s been holding against him. But will squeezing all their emotional baggage plus a dog into a tiny one-bedroom apartment be a major disaster...or just prove they’re made for each other? 

Fall for Him combines banter, hijinks, and heart in a story of finding out what it means to fix things after your life crumbles.

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Earls Trip

Jenny Holiday

AS SEEN ON THE TODAY SHOW!

"This is a witty, charming, character-driven story that is honestly one of the best historical romances I’ve read in years." —Julia Quinn, bestselling author of the Bridgerton novels on the TODAY Show

The Washington Post Books to Read After Bridgerton | Buzzfeed Book Recommendations Based on Your Fave TV Show | Parade.com Best Summer Beach Reads 2024

Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton for a 19th century spin on The Hangover in USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday’s laugh-out-loud bromantic comedy featuring three Regency-era Earls on their annual trip – ride-or-die buddies offering one another unconditional support in everything from Lady problems to family woes.

From the author of CANADIAN BOYFRIEND, the perfect romp for fans of Evie Dunmore, India Holton, Virginia Heath, Manda Collins, and Suzanne Allain!

Even an earl needs his ride-or-dies, and Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, counts himself lucky to have two. The annual trip that Archie takes with his BFFs Simon and Effie holds a sacred spot in their calendars. This year Archie is especially eager to get away until an urgent letter arrives from an old family friend, begging him to help prevent a ruinous scandal. Suddenly the trip has become earls-plus-girls, as Archie’s childhood pals, Clementine and Olive Morgan, are rescued en route to Gretna Green.

This…complicates matters. The fully grown Clementine, while as frank and refreshing as he remembers, is also different to the wild, windswept girl he knew. This Clem is complex and surprising—and adamantly opposed to marriage. Which, for reasons Archie dare not examine too closely, he finds increasingly vexing.

Then Clem makes him an indecent and quite delightful proposal, asking him to show her the pleasures of the marriage bed before she settles into spinsterhood. And what kind of gentleman would he be to refuse a lady?

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The Love Wager

Lynn Painter

Two people make a wager on who can find love first, not realizing what they should be betting on is each other, in this new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Wrong Number.

Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of. 

After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward. 

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together. 

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

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When I Think of You

Myah Ariel

In this sweeping second chance romance from debut author Myah Ariel, the unexpected spark of two former flames may force them to choose between their dreams and each other.

Kaliya Wilson has paid her dues. But all the years behind the reception desk at a flashy film studio have only pushed her movie-making dreams further out of reach. That is, until a surprise reunion presents an opportunity that could make her career, or break her heart…a second time. 

It’s been seven years since Kaliya’s whirlwind college romance with Danny Prescott went up in flames. While her passions have stalled, his career is taking off. So when the hot shot director reappears to offer her a job on his next production, it’s a shock to the system. Working with Danny may recapture the intensity of their film school days, but trusting him again won’t come as easily. 

As the pair allows themselves the openness and vulnerability to entrust their deepest truths to each other, the possibility of a true connection draws ever closer. But when Hollywood politics and scandal threaten to sink the production and her career, Kaliya may have to risk everything to do what’s right—even if it means letting go of the second chance love of a lifetime.

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Forget Me Not

Julie Soto

"She loves him. She loves him not... Ama Torres has a lot of rules, but the most important one? Absolutely no relationships. Ironic given that her goal is to become the go-to wedding planner in Sacramento. But the one time she came close to her own happily-ever-after, it ended disastrously. So, when she scores the celebrity wedding of the year, Ama is ready to make her dreams into reality. The catch? The tall, gorgeous, and incredibly terse florist who she maybe almost fell in love with...and whose heart she most definitely broke. Elliot Bloom knows that flowers need only three things: light, water, and attention. Which makes them infinitely better than humans, especially certain bright, workaholic exes who are obsessed with donuts-and unfortunately for him, utterly irresistible. If living without Ama is hard, working with her might be damn near impossible. But as the wedding takes on a life of its own, Ama and Elliot are about to discover that some things can survive a complete catastrophe...and that love can be sweeter the second time around"--

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The Charm Offensive

Alison Cochrun

A MOST ANTICIPATED ROM-COM SELECTED BY * BUZZFEED * LGBTQ READS * BUSTLE * THE NERD DAILY * ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT * FROLIC MEDIA * AND MORE!

A BEST BOOK PICK BY * HARPER’​S BAZAAR * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

The Charm Offensive will sweep you off your feet.” —PopSugar

​​​​In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.

Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.

Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off.

As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.

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The Ex Vows

Jessica Joyce

An Instant USA Today Bestseller!
An Indie Next Pick
A Library Reads Pick

Estranged exes must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance from the USA Today bestselling author of You, with a View.

Georgia Woodward lives by her lists, none more so than the one about her ex, Eli Mora. It’s full of the ironclad dos and don’ts they’ve been following since she returned to the Bay Area after their cataclysmic breakup five years ago. 

With the wedding of their mutual best friend, Adam, looming, and them about to step into their roles as best woman and man, Georgia’s never needed it more. She refuses to threaten their tight-knit friend group with her messy—and still very present—feelings. The rules on that list will keep her cool, calm, and compartmentalized. 

What’s not on her list? Eli arriving from New York with a new rule-breaking attitude or the all-inclusive venue burning to the ground, leaving the bride and groom in dire straits. Nor does she anticipate Adam asking her and Eli to help him make a miracle happen. Together.

As Georgia and Eli rush up to Napa Valley to pull off the perfect wedding, their old chemistry comes back in technicolor. Somewhere between cake tastings gone wrong, disastrous DJ auditions, and Eli’s heated attention, Georgia starts recognizing the man she fell in love with before. And if she lets herself break her rules, she might find what they’re building isn’t the something old that ruined them—it’s a chance at something new.

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Ne'er Duke Well

Alexandra Vasti

INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

Featured in Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, Good Housekeeping, NPR, Oprah Daily, and more...

In this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife—the only problem is she's starting to think that might be her.

Peter Kent—newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana—must become respectable. Between his radical politics and the time he interrupted a minor royal wedding with a flock of sheep—not his fault!—he’s developed a scandalous reputation at odds with his goal of becoming guardian to his half siblings. For help, he turns to the cleverest and most managing woman of his acquaintance, Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

Selina is society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. When Peter asks for her help, she suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable reputation. (Which is to say, definitely not herself.)

But matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan. Peter’s siblings run rampant on Bond Street. Selina ends up in the Serpentine. And worst of all, the scorching chemistry between Peter and Selina proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love just might be the ultimate scandal.

“As hot as it is heartfelt, this will have historical romance fans hooked.” – Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

“An irresistible delight from a remarkable new talent.” – India Holton, USA Today bestselling author of The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love

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Seven Days in June

Tia Williams

Two writers get a second chance at love in this romantic, sexy-as-hell New York Times bestselling novel.



Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer. Shane Hall is a reclusive, award-winning novelist. When the two meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that when they were teenager, Eva and Shane spent one crazy week madly in love. They can pretend they've never met, but they can't deny their chemistry--or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years.



With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious starcrossed romance.



A Best Book of the Year: NPR * Kirkus * Marie Claire * PopSugar * New York Public Library * Bustle * Reader's Digest * Literary Hub A Best Book of the Summer: Harper's Bazaar * Oprah Daily * Shondaland * The Los Angeles Times * CBS News * PureWow * Good Housekeeping * BuzzFeed * theSkimmA Best Romance of 2021: The Washington Post * USA Today * Vulture * Goodreads * BookPage * BuzzFeed * Happy Mag

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Ready or Not

Cara Bastone

A surprise pregnancy leads to even more life-changing revelations in this “absolutely buoyant read” (Elle).

“Bastone delivers on this truly heartwarming, funny, and real story. Come for the dog bar, stay for the special, slow-burn romcom.”—Abby Jimenez, New York Times bestselling author

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, Elle

Eve Hatch lives for surprises! Just kidding. She expects every tomorrow to be pretty much the same as today. She loves her cozy apartment in Brooklyn that’s close to her childhood best friend Willa, and far from her midwestern, traditional family who has never really understood her. While her job is only dream-adjacent, it’s comfortable and steady. She always knows what to expect from her life . . . until she finds herself expecting after an uncharacteristic one-night stand.

The unplanned pregnancy cracks open all the relationships in her life. Eve’s loyal friendship with Willa is feeling tense, right when she needs her the most. And it’s actually Willa’s steadfast older brother, Shep, who steps up to help Eve. He has always been friendly, but now he’s checking in, ordering her surprise lunches, listening to all her complaints, and is . . . suddenly kinda hot? Then, as if she needs one more complication, there’s the baby’s father, who is (technically) supportive but (majorly) conflicted.

Up until this point, Eve’s been content to coast through life. Now, though—maybe it’s the hormones, maybe it’s the way Shep’s shoulders look in a T-shirt—Eve starts to wonder if she has been secretly desiring more from every aspect of her life.

Over the course of nine months, as Eve struggles to figure out the next right step in her expanding reality, she begins to realize that family and love, in all forms, can sneak up on you when you least expect it.

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Harold and the Purple Crayon

Crockett Johnson

A collectable classic picture book that every child should read and own. Maurice Sendak says "Harold is a masterpiece"."One night, after thinking it over for some time, Harold decided to go for a walk in the moonlight"

 

Armed only with an oversized purple crayon, Harold draws himself a landscape full of beauty and excitement. He conducts his adventure with the utmost care, letting his imagination run free, but keeping his wits about him all the while. This magical journey gives us the wondrous sense that anything is possible.

This joyful story has delighted readers of all ages for over fifty years.

Essential Picture Book Classics - timeless stories for every child to treasure.

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The Rabbit Listened

Cori Doerrfeld

Age range 3 to 6
 

A person dealing with grief or depression often needs someone who will just sit quiet and listen.

In The Rabbit Listened we know that Taylor has been through a very difficult time. And now he is surrounded by concerned friends who each tell him how he should feel and what he should do to start feeling better. But it is not until they have gone and a little rabbit comes and sits quietly by his side, that he begins to process his thoughts and start to think and feel on his own.

Download Help A Friend Certificate and Colouring sheets

'Brims with emotional honesty and profound empathy.' -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

'Doerrfeld gives children a model for how to process difficult events and provide meaningful support to friends who need it. This appealing work is an excellent addition to any emotional-intelligence shelf.' -- Kirkus Reviews, starred reviews

  • One of TIME Magazine's Best 10 Children's Book of 2018
  • A NY Public Library Best Book of 2018
  • Publisher's Weekly Editors Pick
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018
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Each Kindness

Jacqueline Woodson

WINNER OF A CORETTA SCOTT KING HONOR AND THE JANE ADDAMS PEACE AWARD!

Each kindness makes the world a little better

This unforgettable book is written and illustrated by the award-winning team that created The Other Side and the Caldecott Honor winner Coming On Home Soon. With its powerful anti-bullying message and striking art, it will resonate with readers long after they've put it down.

Chloe and her friends won't play with the new girl, Maya. Every time Maya tries to join Chloe and her friends, they reject her. Eventually Maya stops coming to school. When Chloe's teacher gives a lesson about how even small acts of kindness can change the world, Chloe is stung by the lost opportunity for friendship, and thinks about how much better it could have been if she'd shown a little kindness toward Maya.

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Say Something!

Peter H. Reynolds

From the creator of the New York Times bestseller The Word Collector comes an empowering story about finding your voice, and using it to make the world a better place.

A New York Times Bestseller

The world needs your voice. If you have a brilliant idea... say something If you see an injustice... say something 

In this empowering new picture book, beloved author Peter H. Reynolds explores the many ways that a single voice can make a difference. Each of us, each and every day, have the chance to say something with our actions, our words, and our voices. Perfect for kid activists everywhere, this timely story reminds readers of the undeniable importance and power of their voice. There are so many ways to tell the world who you are... what you are thinking... and what you believe. And how you'll make it better. The time is now: SAY SOMETHING

"A motivational must-have for every collection." -- School Library Journal

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Malala's Magic Pencil

Malala Yousafzai

Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai's first picture book, inspired by her own childhood.
* "This is a wonderful read for younger students that will also provide insight and encourage discussion about the wider world. ... The simplicity of Yousafzai's writing and the powerful message she sends, make this book inspirational for all."
--- School Library Journal (starred review)
Malala's first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them.
As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true. 
This beautifully illustrated volume tells Malala's story for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed Malala to hold on to hope even in the most difficult of times.

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The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

Justin Roberts

Hardly anyone noticed young Sally McCabe.
She was the smallest girl in the smallest grade.
 
But Sally notices everything—from the twenty-seven keys on the janitor’s ring to the bullying happening on the playground. One day, Sally has had enough and decides to make herself heard. And when she takes a chance and stands up to the bullies, she finds that one small girl can make a big difference.

Grammy-nominated children’s musician Justin Roberts, together with vibrant artwork from award-winning illustrator Christian Robinson, will have readers cheering for young Sally McCabe.

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Horton Hears a Who!

Dr. Seuss

Choose kindness with Horton the elephant and the Whos of Who-ville in Dr. Seuss's classic picture book about caring for others that makes it a perfect gift! 

A person's a person, no matter how small.

Everyone's favorite elephant stars in this heartwarming and timeless story for readers of all ages. In the colorful Jungle of Nool, Horton discovers something that at first seems impossible: a tiny speck of dust contains an entire miniature world--Who-ville--complete with houses and grocery stores and even a mayor! But when no one will stand up for the Whos of Who-ville, Horton uses his elephant-sized heart to save the day. This tale of compassion and determination proves that any person, big or small, can choose to speak out for what is right. 

This story showcases the very best of Dr. Seuss, from the moving message to the charming rhymes and imaginative illustrations. No bookshelf is complete without Horton and the Whos!

Do you see what I mean? . . . They've proved they ARE persons, no matter how small. And their whole world was saved by the Smallest of All!

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The Lorax

Dr. Seuss

Celebrate Earth Day with Dr. Seuss and the Lorax in this classic picture book about sustainability and protecting the environment!
 
I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. 
 
Dr. Seuss’s beloved story teaches kids to treat the planet with kindness and stand up and speak up for others. Experience the beauty of the Truffula Trees and the danger of taking our earth for granted in a story that is timely, playful, and hopeful. The book’s final pages teach us that just one small seed, or one small child, can make a difference.  
 
Printed on recycled paper, this book is the perfect gift for Earth Day and for any child—or child at heart—who is interested in recycling, advocacy, and the environment, or just loves nature and playing outside. 
 
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

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