List

Audience
Category

Persuasion

Jane Austen

In a publishing career that spanned less than a decade, Jane Austen revolutionized the literary romance, using it as a stage from which to address issues of gender politics and class-consciousness rarely expressed in her day. The Collection included 'Sense and Sensibility', 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Mansfield Park', 'Emma', 'Northanger Abbey', 'Persuasion', and 'Lady Susan' - represent all of Austen's mature work as a novelist, and provide the reader with an introduction to the world she and her memorable characters inhabited. Also added to this beautiful collection the readers can find the Letters of Jane Austen and a Memoir made by James Edward Austen-Leigh.

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Katherine

Anya Seton

"A glorious example of romance in its most classic literary sense: exhilarating, exuberant, and rich with the jeweled tones of England in the 1300s." --Austin Chronicle

Katherine is an epic novel of a love affair that changed history--that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family. Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets--Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II--who rule despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king's son, falls passionately in love with the already-married Katherine. Their affair persists through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption. Anya Seton's vivid rendering of the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster makes Katherine an unmistakable classic.

Anya Seton (1904-1990) was the author of many best-selling historical novels, including The Winthrop Woman, Avalon, Dragonwyck, Green Darkness, Devil Water, and Foxfire. She lived in Greenwich, Connecticut.
 

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Outlander

Diana Gabaldon

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

One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS’s The Great American Read!

 
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and history that combines exhilarating adventure with a love story for the ages.

Scottish Highlands, 1945. Claire Randall, a former British combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding clans in the year of Our Lord . . . 1743.
 
Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of a world that threatens her life, and may shatter her heart. Marooned amid danger, passion, and violence, Claire learns her only chance of safety lies in Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior. What begins in compulsion becomes urgent need, and Claire finds herself torn between two very different men, in two irreconcilable lives.

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The Kindness Quotient

Rhonda Sciortino

Harness the power of kindness to change your world.

KQ, or kindness quotient, is a measure of how much each of us embodies the virtues of kindness, caring and generosity. A high KQ means taking advantage of all opportunities to be kind and finding personal success by bringing kindness into the world. Now there’s a way to boost your KQ and maximize your kindness potential.

The Kindness Quotient helps you understand exactly how kindness affects, and is affected by, everything you do. In doing so, we learn to better appreciate the importance of kindness in our personal and professional lives and learn new ways to share and experience the best that the world has to offer.

With The Kindness Quotient, you will:

- Develop the proactive habits of successful kind people
- Learn how kindness shown to others can boost your happiness
- Experience how tapping into the power of kindness can create success at work, at home and in the world
- Pinpoint new opportunities for kindness in your daily life
- Learn to embody the nine principles of kindness

Each of us has the potential to improve the world around us and increase our level of peace and happiness through kindness. So, what’s your KQ?

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Practical Kindness

Raje S. Airey

This insightful book is divided into three sections, each forming part of a 'tree of kindness' that can grow from small beginnings and shelter us from the storms of life. The first section (roots) deals with the foundations of kindness. Section two (branches) outlines five key 'pathways to kindness' that show how kindness operates at a personal level. The final section (fruits and seeds), explores the ripple effects of kindness, extending out from beyond ourselves to our relationships with others. Throughout the book there are plenty of practical ideas and compassion-based mindfulness exercises, for bringing more kindness into your everyday life.

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When Action Follows Heart

Susan Spencer

"Kindness is exactly what we need in our fractured world right now—it provides the simplest path to healing."

A single act of kindness, whether to a friend or a stranger, can become a spool of generosity that unwinds and touches the lives of so many. . .

From Woman’s Day Editor-in-Chief Susan Spencer comes a heartwarming book featuring 365 kindness-focused actions. With beautifully whimsical illustrations by artist Jutta Kuss, this book shows how small acts can make a big difference.

When Action Follows Heart was inspired by the Kindness Project, a monthly column in the magazine that highlights good deeds and everyday kindnesses from Woman’s Day readers from all over. The idea behind it is simple: to showcase readers’ kind acts toward others.

Whether it’s bringing a box of doughnuts to a fire station, yielding a parking space to the other person vying for it, collecting blankets for the homeless, or even sharing a smile—these acts are sure to make your world a little brighter.

Full of practical advice; uplifting stories; and inspirational quotations, this book is a must-have for anyone looking to bring positivity and joy into their lives—and the lives of others.

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Make Your Own Sunshine

Janice Dean

The New York Times bestselling author and Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean returns with more inspiring stories of people who know how to find light in dark times.

While the news is filled with villains and villainy, we do see a few famous heroes now and again. But what about the everyday heroes? The people going out of their way bring a little love into someone else's life? They deserve a time in the spotlight to inspire us all.

Life can be tough--but it helps to know other people have come through hard times with a smile on their face. In Make Your Own Sunshine, Janice Dean shares inspiring stories that will lift your spirit and touch your heart. Good people are all around us doing selfless deeds, from a firefighter who bravely battled for his colleague's health after 9/11 to a good Samaritan who secretly pays for the coffees of everyone in line behind him. You can't help but smile reading about the teacher who cut her hair to make her student feel better. And you may shed a tear when you hear the story of the dad who never missed writing a napkin note for his daughter, including stashing extra notes in case he lost his batter with cancer. From a young man who makes bow ties for dogs waiting to be adopted to an Uber driver who brightened a new mom's day by helping her buy baby clothes, the heroes in this story will warm your heart and stick in your mind.

Janice has made it her mission to uncover and document these good stories to inspire us and gives us a much-needed boost of optimism. All we have to do is open our minds and our hearts, to look for the light on a cloudy day. Because as she reminds us, if we don't make our own sunshine--who will?

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Bringing Up Race

Uju Asika

"Uju Asika has written a necessary book for our times."--Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters' Street

You can't avoid it, because it's everywhere. In the looks Black kids get in certain spaces, the manner in which some people speak to them, the stuff that goes over their heads. Stuff that makes them cry even when they don't know why. How do you bring up your kids to be kind and happy when there is so much out there trying to break them down?

Bringing Up Race is an important book, for all families whatever their race or ethnicity. It's for everyone who wants to instill a sense of open-minded inclusivity in their kids, and those who want to discuss difference instead of shying away from tough questions. Uju Asika draws on often shocking personal stories of prejudice along with opinions of experts, influencers, and fellow parents to give prescriptive advice in this invaluable guide.

Bringing Up Race explores:

When children start noticing ethnic differences (hint: much earlier than you think)

What to do if your child says something racist (try not to freak out)

How to have open, honest, age-appropriate conversations about race

How children and parents can handle racial bullying

How to recognize and challenge everyday racism, aka microaggressions

Bringing Up Race is a call to arms for all parents as our society works to combat white supremacy and dismantle the systemic racism that has existed for hundreds of years.

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This Book Will Make You Kinder

Henry James Garrett

An I Weigh Book Club Pick
 
“I have been a fan of Henry’s work for a long time and I’m excited for more people to see it.” —Jameela Jamil 

From the creator of Drawings of Dogs, a warmly illustrated and thoughtful examination of empathy and the necessity of being kinder


The kindness we owe one another goes far beyond the everyday gestures of feeding someone else's parking meter--although it's important not to downplay those small acts. Kindness can also mean much more. In this timely, insightful guide, Henry James Garrett lays out the case for developing a strong, courageous, moral kindness, one that will help you fight cruelty and make the world a more empathetic place.

So, how could a book possibly make you kinder? It would need to answer two questions:

    Why are you kind at all? and,
    Why aren't you kinder?

In these pages, building on his academic studies in metaethics and using his signature-sweet animal cartoons, Henry James Garrett sets out to do just that, exploring the sources and the limitations of human empathy and the many ways, big and small, that we can work toward being our best and kindest selves for the people around us and the society we need to build.

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On Kindness

Adam Phillips

Kindness is the foundation of the world’s great religions and most-enduring philosophies. Why, then, does being kind feel so dangerous? If we crave kindness with such intensity, why is it a pleasure we often deny ourselves? And why—despite our longing—are we often suspicious when we are on the receiving end of it?

In this brilliant book, the eminent psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and the historian Barbara Taylor examine the pleasures and perils of kindness. Modern people have been taught to perceive ourselves as fundamentally antagonistic to one another, our motives self-seeking. Drawing on intellectual history, literature, psychoanalysis, and contemporary social theory, this book explains how and why we have chosen loneliness over connection. On Kindness argues that a life lived in instinctive, sympathetic identification with others is the one we should allow ourselves to live.

Bursting with often shocking insight, this brief and essential book will return to its readers what Marcus Aurelius declared was mankind’s “greatest delight”: the intense satisfactions of generosity and compassion.

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The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story

Christie Watson

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A moving, lyrical, beautifully-written portrait of a nurse and the lives she has touchedChristie Watson spent twenty years as a nurse, and in this intimate, poignant, and remarkably powerful book, she opens the doors of the hospital and shares its secrets. She takes us by her side down hospital corridors to visit the wards and meet her unforgettable patients. 
 
In the neonatal unit, premature babies fight for their lives, hovering at the very edge of survival, like tiny Emmanuel, wrapped up in a sandwich bag. On the cancer wards, the nurses administer chemotherapy and, long after the medicine stops working, something more important--which Watson learns to recognize when her own father is dying of cancer. In the pediatric intensive care unit, the nurses wash the hair of a little girl to remove the smell of smoke from the house fire. The emergency room is overcrowded as ever, with waves of alcohol and drug addicted patients as well as patients like Betty, a widow suffering chest pain, frail and alone. And the stories of the geriatric ward--Gladys and older patients like her--show the plight of the most vulnerable members of our society. 

Through the smallest of actions, nurses provide vital care and kindness. All of us will experience illness in our lifetime, and we will all depend on the support and dignity that nurses offer us; yet the women and men who form the vanguard of our health care remain unsung. In this age of fear, hate, and division, Christie Watson has written a book that reminds us of all that we share, and of the urgency of compassion.

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Kind Is the New Classy

Candace Cameron Bure

In today's culture of outrage, how can you stand your ground with grace? Join bestselling author and actress Candace Cameron Bure as she reveals the countercultural thought patterns and practices that have enabled her to stay centered in who she is while practicing radical graciousness toward others.

As a woman in today's world, you know what it's like to feel pressure on all sides from clashing cultural expectations. How can you stay true to who God has uniquely created you to be in the face of the script you've been given? What's more, how can you stand your ground with grace?

The classy confidence you know and love--whether it's on the set of Full House, Fuller House, Dancing with the Stars, The View, or your favorite Hallmark movies--is no act. But it hasn't come easily. Candace's secret? Kindness. It's timeless, unexpected, and even countercultural--and best of all, it never goes out of style.

Whether you're navigating major life choices, questions of calling and career, relationships, or personal goals, this book will show you how to:

  • Keep your cool under pressure
  • Respond to criticism with grace
  • Stay grounded but still go places in life
  • Stay true to who you are despite the expectations of others
  • Stay centered in what ultimately matters the most

Let this book help you say goodbye to society's "shoulds" and find a new way to shine.

Praise for Kind Is the New Classy:

"Candace has always been the epitome of kind and classy. We need more grace-filled women like her in this world."

--Kathie Lee Gifford, New York Times bestselling author and former cohost of the TODAY show

"No one ever killed anyone with kindness--only the dark is killed by kindness. The rest of us are resurrected by it. Read with joy: you are holding a kind of resurrection in your hands."

--Ann Voskamp, bestselling author, The Broken Way and One Thousand Gifts

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Kindfulness

Brahm

Mindfulness is not enough...

When we add kindness to mindfulness we get “kindfulness,” a new approach to meditation. Kindfulness is the cause of relaxation. It brings ease to the body, to the mind, and to the world. Kindfulness allows healing to happen. So don’t just be mindful, be kindful!

With his trademark knack for telling engaging stories paired with step-by-step anyone-can-do-it instructions, Brahm brings alive and makes accessible powerful tools transformation. This slim, beautifully designed volume is a Quick Start guide for living a life of joy and compassion.

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Special Topics in Being a Human

S. Bear Bergman

As an author, educator, and public speaker, S. Bear Bergman has documented his experience as, among other things, a trans parent, with wit and aplomb. He also writes the advice column "Ask Bear," in which he answers crucial questions about how best to make our collective way through the world.

Featuring disarming illustrations by Saul Freedman-Lawson, Special Topics in Being a Human elaborates on "Asking Bear"'s premise: a gentle, witty, and insightful book of practical advice for the modern age. It offers Dad advice and Jewish bubbe wisdom, all filtered through a queer lens, to help you navigate some of the complexities of life--from how to make big decisions or make a good apology, to how to get someone's new name and pronouns right as quickly as possible, to how to gracefully navigate a breakup. With warmth and candor, Special Topics in Being a Human calls out social inequities and injustices in traditional advice-giving, validates your feelings, asks a lot of questions, and tries to help you be your best possible self with kindness, compassion, and humor.

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Radical Kindness

Angela Santomero

The beloved creator of Blues Clues and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and protégé of Fred Rogers explores the importance of kindness and how it can change your life in this essential guide and tie-in to the PBS special, “The Power of Radical Kindness.”

Angela C. Santomero, the creator, executive producer, and head writer of many of today’s most popular educational children’s shows believes in the radical power of kindness, on her shows, and in her life. Inspired by her mentor Fred Rogers, beloved host of the classic, award-winning PBS show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Angela has dedicated her life to teaching others that when you treat yourself and others with warmth, empathy, and respect, life changing benefits follows.

From the true meaning of self-care and the gift of vulnerability, to the importance of active listening or the magic of asking for help, Radical Kindness goes beyond The Golden Rule and entreaties to “be nice,” contending that kindness is the key to recognizing others, and ourselves, as worthy of love and understanding.

Much like gratitude, Angela contends we need a kindness practice. A practice in which we learn to see with our hearts and act from a place of compassion. As the Dalai Lama says, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” Through practicing radical kindness—toward ourselves, with loved ones, and to the world at large—we can transform ourselves, our neighborhood, and our world for the better.

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How to Raise Kind Kids

Thomas Lickona

Can you teach a child to be kind?

This vital question is taking on a new urgency as our culture grows ever more abrasive and divided.
 
We all want our kids to be kind. But that is not the same as knowing what to do when you catch your son being unkind.  A world-renowned developmental psychologist, Dr. Thomas Lickona has led the character education movement in schools for forty years. Now he shares with parents the vital tools they need to bring peace and foster cooperation at home. Kindness doesn’t stand on its own. It needs a supporting cast of other essential virtues—like courage, self-control, respect, and gratitude. 

With concrete examples drawn from the many families Dr. Lickona has worked with over the years and clear tips you can act on tonight, How to Raise Kind Kids will help you give and get respect, hold family meetings to tackle persistent problems, discipline in a way that builds character, and improve the dynamic of your relationship with your children while putting them on the path to a happier and more fulfilling life.

 

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How to be Fine

Jolenta Greenberg

A humorous and insightful look into what advice works, what doesn't, and what it means to transform yourself, by the co-hosts of the popular By the Book podcast.

In each episode of their podcast By the Book, Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer take a deep dive into a different self-help book, following its specific instructions, rules, and advice to the letter. From diet and productivity to decorating to social interactions, they try it all, record themselves along the way, then share what they've learned with their devoted and growing audience of fans who tune in.

Before they began their podcast, Jolenta wanted to believe the promises of self-help books, while Kristen was very much the skeptic. They embraced their differences of opinion, hoping they'd be good for laughs and downloads. But in the years since launching the By the Book, they've come to realize their show is about much more than humor. In fact, reading and following each book's advice has actually changed and improved their lives. Thanks to the show, Kristen penned the Amish romance novel she'd always joked about writing, traveled back to her past lives, and she broached some difficult conversations with her husband about their marriage. Jolenta finally memorized her husband's phone number, began tracking her finances, and fell in love with cutting clutter.

In How to Be Fine, Jolenta and Kristen synthesize the lessons and insights they've learned and share their experiences with everyone. How to Be Fine is a thoughtful look at the books and practices that have worked, real talk on those that didn't, and a list of philosophies they want to see explored in-depth. The topics they cover include:

Getting off your device
Engaging in positive self-talk
Downsizing
Admitting you're a liar
Meditation
Going outside
Getting in touch with your emotions
Seeing a therapist

Part memoir, part prescriptive handbook, this honest, funny, and heartfelt guide is like a warm soul-baring conversation with your closest and smartest friends.

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Do One Nice Thing

Debbie Tenzer

A few years ago, Debbie Tenzer was feeling overwhelmed by all the crises in the news. But rather than give in to despair, she thought, Maybe I can't solve our big problems, but I know I can do something. She realized that helping doesn't have to be difficult or expensive or time-consuming. You can help simply by doing one nice thing. So that's what she vowed to do, one day a week. Not every day-she says she's not that nice-but once a week was a promise she could keep.
So she started a website, DoOneNiceThing.com, and each week she posted an easy way to help people around town or across the globe. Good news traveled fast, and now Debbie is the leader of a worldwide kindness movement with fellow Nice-o-holics in ninety countries. They've sent . . .
- cans of food to food banks and schools
- notebooks to soldiers who will give them to Afghan children
- gifts to foster children whose birthdays are overlooked
- and much more
"Do One Nice Thing" has many new, easy ideas for small deeds that anyone can do (and includes explicit information on how exactly to execute the ideas, so you don't have to go digging for information or resources). There's even a chapter of nice things you can do in minutes without leaving your desk.
Join Debbie and her army of Nice-o-holics, and give the world some help-and some hope. Best of all, the more help you give, the more hopeful you'll feel. And before you know it, you won't be able to stop.

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Clock Striker, Volume 1

Issaka Galadima

Clock Striker, now in graphic novel format, follows Shonen manga’s first Black female lead hero, Cast, in her quest to become a member of the SMITHS, the legendary warrior engineers.

*2024 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Nominee*
*2023 Texas Library Association Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Winner - Starred Selection*
*2022 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics Finalist*


Cast dreams of being a SMITH, and though she’s rather handy with her tools, no one in her small town ever realizes their dreams. Besides, these legendary warrior engineers haven’t been seen in years and were never known for having female members. Fortunately, Cast meets one surviving member named Ms. Philomena Clock, who agrees to take her on as her apprentice, or striker.

Now Cast is thrust into one deadly adventure after another! From cybernetic desperadoes to technology thieves and more, Cast has to use her mind and her remodeled robotics-lab prosthetic hand, which offers unfathomable offensive power in the form of scientific experiments. Need lightning? Cast can generate it from her hand! Cast’s mentor seeks to uncover an ominous mystery that explains what happened to the SMITHS and shines a light on a hidden power that may be within Cast herself.

Can Cast become a new member of the SMITHS? More importantly, can Cast survive the process to become a SMITH?

Clock Striker is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.

Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters.

Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

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When Langston Dances

Kaija Langley

A young Black boy dreams of dancing in this exuberant, buoyant picture book celebrating the beauty of dance, and the wonder of Black Boy Joy—perfect for fans of Firebird and Crown!

Langston likes basketball okay, but what he loves is to dance—ever since he saw the Alvin Ailey Dance Company perform. He longs to twirl into a pirouette, whirl into a piqué. He wants to arabesque and attitude, grand battement and grand jeté. When he walks, the whole street is his stage.

With his neighborhood cheering him on, will Langston achieve his dream?

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Speculation

Nisi Shawl

A wonderful middle-grade fantasy debut about Black families, family history, family curses ... and a really marvelous pair of spectacles.

After Winna's little sister breaks her glasses, her grandfather gives her an old-timey pair of spectacles that belonged to her great-aunt Estelle. The specs are silver and perfectly circular, with tiny stars on the bridge and earpieces that curl all the way around her ears.

Best of all, they're magic.

Because when Winna makes a wish beginning with the words "What if"--that is, when she speculates--the spectacles grant it. Winna wishes she could see ghosts ... and soon she meets not only the real Estelle, but Estelle's mother, Winona. Nearly a century before, Winona escaped from slavery and ran north with her baby, Key. But Key was stolen from her under mysterious circumstances, and now Estelle and Winona have a mission for Winna: Find Key.

He's still alive. He doesn't know the whole truth. And unless Winna can solve the mystery and bring him home, a powerful curse called the Burden will smother out their family's lives--and Winna's mom could be its next victim.

This beautifully written historical fantasy by an award-winning science fiction author offers new twists and turns in every chapter and will leave you looking at your own family's roots with new eyes.

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Take Back the Block

Chrystal D. Giles

"This book made me want to step aside, hand over the mic, and listen to Wes. A must-read." --Mariama J. Lockington, author of For Black Girls Like Me

Brand-new kicks, ripped denim shorts, Supreme tee--

Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That--and hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games--is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to.

But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. The grownups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they're doing is arguing. Even Wes's best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn't about to give up the only home he's ever known. Wes has always been good at puzzles, and he knows there has to be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it . . . before it's too late?

Exploring community, gentrification, justice, and friendship, Take Back the Block introduces an irresistible 6th grader and asks what it means to belong--to a place and a movement--and to fight for what you believe in.

* "Outstanding."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

* “Transformative.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"Filled with hope, friendship, and grit." --Stacy McAnulty, best-selling author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

"Timely and penetrating." --Kelly Starling Lyons, author of Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations

"Chrystal Giles's sparkling debut will have you standing up and cheering." --Lisa Yee, award winning author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius

"Chrystal Giles really nailed it. I loved this book." --Linda Williams Jackson, award winning author of Midnight Without a Moon

"Necessary and inspiring. An empowering read." --Ashley Herring Blake, author of the Stonewall Honor Book Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World

"Wes will welcome middle grade readers into his delightful circle of friends, his strong and loving family, and his powerful community." --Barbara Dee, author of the ALA Notable Children's Book Maybe He Just Likes You

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The Magic Violin

Christine A. Platt

Ana & Andrew are learning to play the violin! They are excited to join the youth orchestra. At first it is fun. But when they start to lose interest, Ana & Andrew learn from an important African American about the importance of practicing. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Calico Kid is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO.

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Me & Mama

Cozbi A. Cabrera

A Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Honor Book

Mama’s love is brighter than the sun, even on the rainiest of days. This celebration of a mother-daughter relationship is perfect for sharing with little ones!

On a rainy day when the house smells like cinnamon and Papa and Luca are still asleep, when the clouds are wearing shadows and the wind paints the window with beads of water, I want to be everywhere Mama is.

With lyrical prose and a tender touch, the Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Honor Book Mama and Me is an ode to the strength of the bond between a mother and a daughter as they spend a rainy day together.

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Between the Lines

Nikki Grimes

This thought-provoking companion to Nikki Grimes’ Coretta Scott King Award-winning Bronx Masquerade shows the capacity poetry has to express ideas and feelings, and connect us with ourselves and others.
 
Darrian dreams of writing for the New York Times. To hone his skills and learn more about the power of words, he enrolls in Mr. Ward’s class, known for its open-mic poetry readings and boys vs. girls poetry slam. Everyone in class has something important to say, and in sharing their poetry, they learn that they all face challenges and have a story to tell—whether it’s about health problems, aging out of foster care, being bullied for religious beliefs, or having to take on too much responsibility because of an addicted parent. As Darrian and his classmates get to know one another through poetry, they bond over the shared experiences and truth that emerge from their writing, despite their private struggles and outward differences.

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Children of the Quicksands

Efua Traoré

Simi is sent to stay with her long-lost grandmother in a remote Nigerian village. There's no TV, internet or phone. Not a single human sound can be heard at night, just the noise of birds and animals in the dark forest. Her grandmother makes herbal medicines for the villagers, but she won't talk to Simi about their family's past. Something bad must have happened, but what? To find out, Simi goes exploring. Caught in the sinking red quicksand of a forbidden lake, her extraordinary journey begins.

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Everything in Its Place

Pauline David-Sax

An inspiring and poetic story about reading, libraries, and overcoming shyness to find community.

I gather the books in my arms, and give them a hug. "Welcome back," I whisper.
 
Nicky is a shy girl who feels most at home in the safe space of her school library, but the library closes for a week and Nicky is forced to face her social anxiety. When she meets a group of unique, diverse, inspiring women at her mother's diner—members of a women's motorcycle club—Nicky realizes that being different doesn’t have to mean being alone, and that there’s a place for everyone.

Book lovers of all ages will find inspiration in this beautiful love letter to reading—and how words help us find empathy and connections with the world around us.

★ Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

An Atlanta Parent Best Book of the Year

A RISE: A Feminist Book Project Reading List selection

An Association for Library Service to Children Notable Book

Maine Chickadee Award nominee, 2023-24

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High Score

Destiny Howell

"Months after his last 'job' sparked unintended consequences, mastermind DJ ... [and] seventh grader ... is lying low at his new school, retired from a life of cons, heists, and schemes. That is, until his best friend and former partner-in-crime Conor transfers to be with him, and promptly runs afoul of the lottery kingpin who controls the school's underground economy of Starcade-brand arcade tickets. Now, DJ has two weeks to acquire 100,000 tickets, or both he and Conor will be 'rocket boosted'--socially disappeared. To achieve the impossible, DJ goes straight to the source, planning to lift the tickets from the Starcade itself by any means necessary. But even after he recruits actor Audrey Valentine and intimidating but soft-spoken Monty LaCroix to round out his new crew, it'll take every trick in the book to pull off a caper of this caliber"--Publishers Weekly (04/25/2022)

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What My Daddy Loves

Raissa Figueroa

In her joyous authorial debut, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor winner Raissa Figueroa celebrates the warm love between Black fathers and their children.

Capturing a child's perspective and infused with gentle humor, Raissa Figueroa's tender, insightful look at fathers is an irresistible ode to the bond between daddies and the children they love.

Whether it's exploring, learning, dreaming--or anything in between--all daddies love doing things with their kids. In fact, the only thing they love more than spending time with their kids is the kids themselves!

Perfect for Father's Day or any day.

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Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe: A Graphix Chapters Book (Mimi #1)

Shauna J. Grant

Rising star Shauna J. Grant makes her Graphix Chapters debut with this humorous and wholesome series.

 

Get drawn into reading with Graphix Chapters!

 

Graphix Chapters are ideal books for beginning and newly independent readers aged 6-8. With approachable page counts, easy-to-follow paneling, and artwork that supports text comprehension, these engaging stories with unforgettable characters help children become lifelong readers.

 

Meet Mimi. She's charming! She's cheerful! She's cute!

 

But that's not all! She's also a loyal friend and fun playmate, who has the best adventures with Penelope, her magical toy dog. But when Mimi notices people treating her like she's too cute, can she show them that she's much more than meets the eye? Or will she be stuck in this cute-astrophe?

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The In-Between

Katie Van Heidrich

For fans of Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle and Life in Motion by Misty Copeland, this middle grade memoir in verse with “stellar writing [and] perfect pacing” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) chronicles a young girl and her family who must start over after losing their home.

In the early 2000s, thirteen-year-old Katie Van Heidrich has moved more times that she can count, for as long as she can remember. There were the slow moves where you see the whole thing coming. There were the fast ones where you grab what you can in seconds. When Katie and her family come back from an out-of-town funeral, they discover their landlord has unceremoniously evicted them, forcing them to pack lightly and move quickly.

They make their way to an Extended Stay America Motel, with Katie’s mother promising it’s temporary. Within the four walls of their new home, Katie and her siblings, Josh and Haley, try to live a normal life—all while wondering if things would be easier living with their father. Lyrical and forthcoming, Katie navigates the complexities that come with living in-between: in between homes, parents, and childhood and young adulthood, all while remaining hopeful for the future.

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Alex Wise vs. the End of the World

Terry J. Benton-Walker

Welcome to the summer of the apocalypse. One 12-year-old boy leads the charge against the forces of evil as he tries to stop the Four Horsemen from taking over the world in the start to a wildly funny and addictive fantasy series about accepting yourself and finding your inner hero.

Alex Wise feels like his world is ending. His best friend, Loren, is leaving town for the summer, his former friend and maybe sort of crush Sky hasn't spoken to him since he ditched Alex on first day of sixth grade, and now his mom is sending him and his annoying younger sister, Mags, on a cruise with the dad who abandoned them. And, as if things couldn't get worse, a creepy shadow monster may or may not be stalking him.

But none of this could prepare Alex for the actual end of the world. Too bad that is exactly what's coming, after the definitely-real Shadow Man kidnaps Mags and she is possessed by the ancient spirit of Death—one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Luckily (depending on who you ask), Alex is possessed as well by a powerful god who imbues Alex with their powers in an effort to stop the Horsemen…if he can figure out how to use them. So begins an epic battle between good and evil: Alex, Loren, a grumpy demi-god, and Alex's fourth grade teacher vs. Death, Pestilence, Famine, War, and the waves of chaos and destruction they bring to LA and soon the rest of the globe. Just your average summer vacation.

Alex is more used to being left behind than leading the way, but now he's the only one who can save his sister—and the world. That is, if he can unlock his new powers and see himself as the hero he is.

“Never has the apocalypse been so fun!"
—Mark Oshiro, author of THE INSIDERS and co-author with Rick Riordan of THE SUN AND THE STAR: A NICO DI ANGELO ADVENTURE.

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The Making of Butterflies

Zora Neale Hurston

"Kendi and Yangni collaborate to introduce young children to the African American folklore tradition and to Hurston's importance within that tradition." --The Horn Book

A First Folktale from the creators of Magnolia Flower, Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, about the origin of butterflies.

The Creator wuz all finished and thru makin' de world.

But soon, the Creator finds themselves flying through the sky, making gorgeous butterflies of every color, shape, and size.

Find out why butterflies were made in Zora Neale Hurston's stunning and layered African American folktale retold by #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Kah Yangni. This accessible and sizable board book is perfect for introducing the youngest of readers to the beauty of Hurston's storytelling and will spark curiosity in children about how things in our world came to be.

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Chester Keene Cracks the Code

Kekla Magoon

Cracking the code isn't all it's cracked up to be in this scavenger hunt adventure from a Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author.

“Delivers a truly fresh mystery — along with a heist, some heartbreak, some unforgettable characters and plenty of laser tag.” —The New York Times Book Review


Chester Keene takes great comfort in his routines. Afterschool Monday to Thursday is bowling, and Friday, the best of days, is laser tag! But Chester has one other very special thing—he gets secret spy messages from his dad, who must be on covert government assignments, which is why Chester has never met him.

Then one day, Chester’s classmate, Skye, approaches him with a clue. They’ve been tasked with a complex puzzle-solving mission. Skye proves to be a useful partner and good company, even if her free-wheeling ways are disruptive to Chester’s carefully built schedule.

As Chester and Skye get closer to their final clue, they discover the key to their spy assignment: they have to stop a heist! But cracking this code may mean finding out things are not always what they seem.

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The Gold Bowl: An Acorn Book (Rainbow Days #2)

Valerie Bolling

Zoya makes Coco a golden birthday present in this full-color book perfect for beginning readers!

 

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!

This series is part of Scholastic's early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color artwork on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and fluency. Acorn books plant a love of reading and help readers grow!

It's Coco's birthday and Zoya wants to give her pup the perfect present. She tries out a few ideas -- including a yarn necklace and colorful frosted treats. But she finally decides to paint Coco's bowl gold. With some paint and LOTS of glitter, Zoya creates a gift Coco is sure to love!

With Kai Robinson's vibrant, full-color artwork and Valerie Bolling's engaging, easy-to-read text throughout, this sparkly series is perfect for beginning readers!

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Just Like Me

Vanessa Brantley-Newton

An ode to the girl with scrapes on her knees and flowers in her hair, and every girl in between, this exquisite treasury will appeal to readers of Dear Girl and I Am Enough and have kids poring over it to find a poem that's just for them.

I am a canvas
Being painted on
By the words of my family
Friends
And community

From Vanessa Brantley-Newton, the author of Grandma's Purse, comes a collection of poetry filled with engaging mini-stories about girls of all kinds: girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful; girls who love their bodies and girls who don't; country girls, city girls; girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. With bright portraits in Vanessa's signature style of vibrant colors and unique patterns and fabrics, this book invites readers to find themselves and each other within its pages.

"A dynamic, uplifting, and welcoming world of girls."--Kirkus 

"Thoughtful, inclusive, and celebratory"--Publishers Weekly

"Bursting with positivity, this would be a great book to use in primary school classrooms when discussing issues of friendship, diversity, and self-esteem."--Booklist

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In the Key of Us

Mariama J. Lockington

Stonewall Book Awards—Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Honor Book

From the author of the critically acclaimed novel For Black Girls Like Me, Mariama J. Lockington, comes a coming-of-age story surrounding the losses that threaten to break us and the friendships that make us whole again.

Thirteen-year-old Andi feels stranded after the loss of her mother, the artist who swept color onto Andi’s blank canvas. When she is accepted to a music camp, Andi finds herself struggling to play her trumpet like she used to before her whole world changed. Meanwhile, Zora, a returning camper, is exhausted trying to please her parents, who are determined to make her a flute prodigy, even though she secretly has a dancer’s heart.

At Harmony Music Camp, Zora and Andi are the only two Black girls in a sea of mostly white faces. In kayaks and creaky cabins, the two begin to connect, unraveling their loss, insecurities, and hopes for the future. And as they struggle to figure out who they really are, they may just come to realize who they really need: each other.

In the Key of Us is a lyrical ode to music camp, the rush of first love, and the power of one life-changing summer.

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Kin

Carole Boston Weatherford

A powerful portrait of a Black family tree shaped by enslavement and freedom, rendered in searing poems by acclaimed author Carole Boston Weatherford and stunning art by her son Jeffery Boston Weatherford.

I call their names:
Abram Alice Amey Arianna Antiqua
I call their names:
Isaac Jake James Jenny Jim
Every last one, property of the Lloyds,
the state’s preeminent enslavers.
Every last one, with a mind of their own
and a story that ain’t yet been told.
Till now.

Carole and Jeffery Boston Weatherford’s ancestors are among the founders of Maryland. Their family history there extends more than three hundred years, but as with the genealogical searches of many African Americans with roots in slavery, their family tree can only be traced back five generations before going dark. And so from scraps of history, Carole and Jeffery have conjured the voices of their kin, creating an often painful but ultimately empowering story of who their people were in a breathtaking book that is at once deeply personal yet all too universal.

Carole’s poems capture voices ranging from her ancestors to Frederick Douglass to Harriet Tubman to the plantation house and land itself that connects them all, and Jeffery’s evocative illustrations help carry the story from the first mention of a forebear listed as property in a 1781 ledger to he and his mother’s homegoing trip to Africa in 2016. Shaped by loss, erasure, and ultimate reclamation, this is the story of not only Carole and Jeffery’s family, but of countless other Black families in America.

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Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion

Charles R Smith

A Coretta Scott King Award winner and a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor winner pair up for a rousing picture book biography-in-verse of legendary African American cyclist Marshall "Major" Taylor and the Six-Day Race.

One hundred years ago, one of the most popular spectator sports was bicycle racing, and the man to beat was Marshall "Major" Taylor, who set records in his teens and won his first world championship by age twenty. The first African American world champion in cycling and the second Black athlete to win a world championship in any sport, Major Taylor faced down challenge after challenge, not least the grueling Six-Day Race, a test of speed, strength, and endurance. With energy, heart, and pounding verse, Charles R. Smith Jr. evokes the excitement of the crowd at Madison Square Garden as Major powered through exhaustion, hallucinations, and racist abuse from fellow riders, who tried to crash his bike throughout the competition. Leo Espinosa's dynamic illustrations capture the action, and as day six draws to a close, and Major's odds narrow, there is little doubt that his triumphant rise and legacy as an international cycling champion are assured--whatever the outcome of one race--in this high-octane tribute to a trailblazing athlete.

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Dream Street

Tricia Elam Walker

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMESFIVE STARRED REVIEWS
 
Visit a truly special street bursting with joy, hope, and dreams. Inspired by the neighborhood where they grew up as cousins, this gorgeous picture book from an award-winning illustrator and critically acclaimed author is the perfect gift or keepsake for every generation.
 
Welcome to Dream Street--the best street in the world!  Jump rope with Azaria--can you Double Dutch one leg at a time?  Dream big with Ede and Tari, who wish to create a picture book together one day. Say hello with Mr. Sidney, a retired mail carrier who greets everyone with the words, "Don't wait to have a great day. Create one!" On Dream Street, love between generations rules, everyone is special, and the warmth of the neighborhood shines.
 
A magical story from the critically acclaimed author of Nana Akua Goes to School and a Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winning illustrator. Illuminating this vivid cast of characters are vibrant, joyful illustrations that make this neighborhood--based on the Roxbury neighborhood in Boston where the author and illustrator grew up together as cousins--truly sing. This book is a perfect way for parents to share with their children the importance of community.

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History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin

Tracey Baptiste

Turn back the clock with History Comics! In this volume, learn about two brave women who stood up against segregation, setting in motion the Montgomery Bus Boycott!

A Black woman who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus sparked a bus boycott and became part of one of the most iconic moments in American history. Yet, few know that Rosa Parks had actively worked toward social justice her whole life. And even fewer know that the seeds of the statewide bus boycott were first planted by a teenager named Claudette Colvin, who was arrested on similar charges months earlier. Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin inspired a nation, showing how positive change can start with a single defiant act. Their actions have become the stuff of legend, but there is so much more to their lives, their stories, and the movement they began.

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When Winter Robeson Came

Brenda Woods

The whole world seems to transform during the summer of 1965, when Eden’s cousin from Mississippi comes to visit her in L.A. just as the Watts Riots erupt, in this stirring new novel by Coretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods.

When Eden’s cousin Winter comes for a visit, it turns out he’s not just there to sightsee. He wants to figure out what happened to his dad, who disappeared ten years earlier from the Watts area of L.A. So the cousins set out to investigate together, and what they discover brings them joy—and heartache. It also opens up a whole new understanding of their world, just as the area they’ve got their sights on explodes in a clash between the police and the Black residents. For six days Watts is like a war zone, and Eden and Winter become heroes in their own part of the drama. Eden hopes to be a composer someday, and the only way she can describe that summer is a song with an unexpected ending, full of changes in tempo and mood--totally unforgettable.

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Call and Response

Veronica Chambers

Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter is a broad and powerful exploration of the history of Black Lives Matter told through photographs, quotes, and informative text by New York Times best-selling authors Veronica Chambers and Jennifer Harlan.

In 2020, the world watched history being made in the streets of America. The rallying cry of Black Lives Matter captured global attention and spurred thousands of people of all ages, races, genders, and backgrounds to stand up for major progressive social reform. The widespread protests, rooted in the call-and-response tradition of the Black community, were fueled by a growing understanding for many that systemic racism undermines the very nature of democracy. But where did this movement begin? And why, after years of work by everyday people, did the world finally begin to take notice?

Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter covers the rise of Black Lives Matter and how it has been shaped by U.S. history. From the founders of the movement--Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi--to the watershed moments that challenged people to take action, this book tells the story of how a hashtag became a movement. It follows the activists and organizers on their journeys, examines some of the ways that protest has been fundamental to American history, and shows how marches, rallies, and demonstrations can be vital tools for making meaningful change.

In this essential history, New York Times editors Veronica Chambers and Jennifer Harlan explore Black Lives Matter through striking photographs, in-depth reporting, stunning visual timelines and graphics, and compelling quotes. Call and Response is perfect for young readers who need an introduction to this impactful movement--and for any reader looking for concrete information on this timely topic.

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Susie King Taylor

Erica Armstrong Dunbar

From the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of Never Caught and She Came to Slay comes a vibrant middle grade biography of Susie King Taylor, one of the first Black Civil War nurses, in a new series spotlighting Black women who left their mark on history.

A groundbreaking figure in every sense of the word, Susie King Taylor (1848–1912) was one of the first Black nurses during the Civil War, tending to the wounded soldiers of the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Afterward, she was a key figure in establishing a postbellum educational system for formerly bonded Black people, opening several dedicated schools in Georgia. Taylor was also one of the first Black women to publish her memoirs.

Even as her country was at war with itself, Taylor valiantly fought for the rights of her people and demonstrated true heroism.

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Sankofa

Eric Adjepong

"Based on his own experiences as a first-generation Ghanaian American growing up in New York City, chef and author Adjepong’s debut picture book beautifully captures Kofi’s complicated feelings of in-betweenness, seeing himself as not quite American enough and not quite Ghanaian enough, even as he tries to connect to his family’s history. A recipe for jollof rice, the dish Kofi proudly shares with his class, is included at the end." —BCCB, starred review

Inspired by acclaimed chef Eric Adjepong’s own childhood, Sankofa is the powerful story of a young boy’s culinary journey 400 years into the past to reconnect with his African roots and find his own place in America. This thoughtful picture book also includes a recipe for jollof rice.

"Adjepong has crafted a delectable story that blends food history and Ghanaian culture. A celebration of food and culture that reminds youngsters to look back as they move forward." —Kirkus Reviews


What if home was a place you’ve never been? For Kofi, a first-generation Ghanaian American boy, home is a country called Ghana. But it’s a place he’s never been. When tasked to bring a dish that best represents his family’s culture to school for a potluck lunch, Kofi is torn. With the help of his Nanabarima (grandfather), Kofi learns the hardship and resilience his family has endured—and how food has always been an integral part their story and culture. Sankofa is a reminder that food can transport you to a place called home—even if you’ve never been.

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African Icons

Tracey Baptiste

In this expansive collection of history, meet ten real-life kings, queens, inventors, scholars, and visionaries who lived in Africa thousands of years ago and changed the world.

Black history begins thousands of years ago with the many cultures and people of the African continent. Through portraits of ten heroic figures, bestselling author Tracey Baptiste takes readers on an empowering, energetic journey through time to meet some of the great leaders and thinkers whose vision built nations and shaped the course of history:

  • Menes: Creator of Dynasties
  • Merneith: A Queen Erased
  • Imhotep: From Peasant to God
  • Aesop: The Wisest Man in the Ancient World
  • Hannibal Barca: Unparalleled Military Strategist
  • Terence: North African Playwright
  • Amanirenas: Warrior, Diplomat, Queen
  • Tin Hinan: Founder of a City on the Dunes
  • Mansa Musa: The Richest Man of All Time
  • Queen Idia: Kingmaker

Illustrator Hillary D. Wilson's brilliant portraits accompany each profile, along with vivid, information-filled landscapes, maps, and graphics for readers to pore over and return to again and again. This rich and thrilling work, which celebrates Black excellence and provides an essential correction to Eurocentric tellings of history, will enthrall readers of all ages.

"In African Icons, Baptiste engages in the hard work of unveiling the myths about the African continent to young readers . . . This is a great beginner's guide to pre-colonial Africa." --Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist

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Once in a Blue Moon

Sharon G. Flake

A beautiful and uplifting novel in verse about family, friendship, journeys that take us far from home and back again, renewed and more courageous from the three-time Coretta Scott King Honor winner of The Skin I'm In!

James Henry used to be brave. He hasn't been the same since that fateful night at the lighthouse when his ma went searching for Dog. Now months later, he feels as small as the space between the numbers on a watch, nervous day and night, barely able to go outside. Even words have a hard time leaving his mouth. The only person he speaks to is Hattie, his courageous twin sister, who fiercely protects him, especially from bullies.

James Henry wants nothing more than to be brave again. However, finding his voice will mean confronting the truth about what happened at the lighthouse-a step James Henry isn't sure he can take. Until a blue moon is forecast, and as Gran has said, everything is possible under a rare blue moon . . .

* "An evocative, immediate novel with compelling characters and a wonderfully well-paced plot." —The Horn Book, starred review

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Nesting Dolls

Vanessa Brantley-Newton

A heartwarming picture book about how one little girl's unique beauty has been growing for generations in her family tree.

Anyiaka is in awe of her gorgeous Gullah Geechee family—she wants to be beautiful like her older sister, Sorie, a great listener like her mom, and a talented artist like her grandma. But on today's visit to her grandparents’ house, Anyiaka sticks out from the rest of the family like a sore thumb. She can't seem to do anything right, and a trip to Grandma's art studio confirms just how different she is from the rest of the family.

But Grandma’s artwork—a special set of nesting dolls—also shows that what’s on the outside doesn’t always tell the whole story. While they may be distinct, together, her family’s beauty and inner strength have deep roots that have been growing within each of them for generations.

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Akim Aliu: Dreamer (Original Graphic Memoir)

Akim Aliu

This honest, engrossing graphic memoir tells the story of professional athlete and activist Akim Aliu's incredible life as a hockey prodigy in Canada.

 

Akim Aliu -- also known as "Dreamer" -- is a Nigerian born, Ukrainian Canadian professional hockey player whose career took him all around the world and who experienced systemic racism at everyone turn. This graphic novel tells Akim's incredible story, from being the only black child in his Ukrainian school, to having his teeth bashed in by a racist teammate in the Ontario junior league. A gut-wrenching and riveting graphic novel memoir that reminds us to never stop dreaming, this story is sure to inspire young readers everywhere.

 

"With honesty and courage, Akim Aliu's Dreamer will inspire readers of all ages to move confidently in the direction of their future." - Colin Kaepernick

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Woke

Mahogany L. Browne

"This collection of poems by women of color covers topics relating to social justice, activism, discrimination and empathy, focusing on the need to speak out and inspiring middle-graders." -Vogue

Woke: A Young Poet's Guide to Justice is a collection of poems to inspire kids to stay woke and become a new generation of activists.


Historically poets have been on the forefront of social movements. Woke is a collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out.

With Theodore Taylor’s bright, emotional art, and writing from Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood, kids will be inspired to create their own art and poems to express how they see justice and injustice.

With a foreword by best-selling author Jason Reynolds.

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Slavery and the African American Story

Patricia Williams Dockery

Until now, you've only heard one side of the story: how slavery began, and how America split itself in two to end it. Here's the true story of America from the African American perspective.

From the moment Africans were first brought to the shores of the United States, they had a hand in shaping the country. Their labor created a strong economy, built our halls of government, and defined American society in profound ways. And though the Emancipation Proclamation wasn't signed until 300 years after the first Africans arrived, the fight for freedom started the moment they set foot on American soil.
This book contains the true narrative of the first 300 years of Africans in America: the struggles, the heroes, and the untold stories that are left out of textbooks. If you want to learn the truth about African American history in this country, start here.

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Moonwalking

Zetta Elliott

"This novel in verse, alternately narrated by two boys in 1980s Greenpoint, Brooklyn, one channeled by Elliott and one by Miller-Lachmann, eloquently tackles race, culture and life on the spectrum." — The New York Times

For fans of Jason Reynolds and Jacqueline Woodson, this middle-grade novel-in-verse follows two boys in 1980s Brooklyn as they become friends for a season.

Punk rock-loving JJ Pankowski can't seem to fit in at his new school in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as one of the only white kids. Pie Velez, a math and history geek by day and graffiti artist by night is eager to follow in his idol, Jean-Michel Basquiat's, footsteps. The boys stumble into an unlikely friendship, swapping notes on their love of music and art, which sees them through a difficult semester at school and at home. But a run-in with the cops threatens to unravel it all.

From authors Zetta Elliott and Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Moonwalking is a stunning exploration of class, cross-racial friendships, and two boys' search for belonging in a city as tumultuous and beautiful as their hearts.

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The Girl in the Lake

India Hill Brown

For fans of Small Spaces, Doll Bones, and Mary Downing Hahn, a truly chilling (and historically inspired) ghost story from the award-winning author of The Forgotten Girl.

 

Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she's not.

Bugs, bad cell reception, and the dark waters of the lake... no thanks. On top of that, she just failed her swim test and hates being in the water--it's terrifying. But her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation at public pools.

And soon strange things start happening--the sound of footsteps overhead late at night. A flickering light in the attic window. And Celete's cousins start accusing her of pranking them when she's been no where near them!

Things at the old house only get spookier until one evening when Celeste looks in the steamy mirror after a shower and sees her face, but twisted, different...

Who is the girl in the mirror? And what does she want?

Past and present mingle in this spine-tingling ghost story by award-winning author India Hill Brown.

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More Than a Dream

Yohuru Williams

A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST SELECTION Hailed as “an essential reeducation on one of the most consequential events in US history” by Ibram X. Kendi, this gripping middle-grade account offers a fresh look at the groundbreaking 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom by spotlighting the protest’s radical roots and the underappreciated role of Black women—includes a wealth of contemporary black-and-white photos throughout.

Six decades ago, on August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom—a moment often revered as the culmination of this Black-led protest. But at its core, the March on Washington was not a beautiful dream of future integration; it was a mass outcry for jobs and freedom NOW—not at some undetermined point in the future. It was a revolutionary march with its own controversies and problems, the themes of which still resonate to this day.

Without diminishing the words of Dr. King, More Than a Dream looks at the march through a wider lens, using Black newspaper reports as a primary resource, recognizing the overlooked work of socialist organizers and Black women protesters, and repositioning this momentous day as radical in its roots, methods, demands, and results. From Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long, the acclaimed authors of Call Him Jack, comes a classic-in-the-making that will transform our modern understanding of this legendary event in the fight for racial justice and civil rights.

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Pigskins to Paintbrushes

Don Tate

From acclaimed author and illustrator Don Tate, the picture book Pigskins to Paintbrushes tells the rousing story of Ernie Barnes, an African American pro football player and fine artist.

He realized how football and art were one and the same. Both required rhythm. Both required technique. Passing, pulling, breaking down the field--that was an art.

Young Ernie Barnes wasn't like other boys his age. Bullied for being shy, overweight, and uninterested in sports like boys were "supposed" to be, he instead took refuge in his sketchbook, in vibrant colors, bold brushstrokes, and flowing lines. But growing up in a poor, Black neighborhood during the 1930s, opportunities to learn about art were rare, and art museums were off-limits because of segregation laws. Discouraged and tired of being teased, Ernie joined the school football team. Although reluctant at first, he would soon become a star.

But art remained in Ernie's heart and followed him through high school, college, and into the NFL. Ernie saw art all around him: in the dynamic energy of the game, the precision of plays, and the nimble movement of his teammates. He poured his passion into his game and his craft and became famous as both a professional athlete and as an artist, whose paintings reflected his love of the sport and celebrated Black bodies as graceful and beautiful.

He played for the Baltimore Colts (1959-60), Titans of New York (1960), San Diego Chargers (1960-62), and the Denver Broncos (1963-64). In 1965, Barnes signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Canada but fractured his right foot, which ended his professional football career. Soon after, he met New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin, who was impressed by Barnes and his art. In 1966, Barnes had a debut solo exhibition in New York City, sponsored by Werblin at the Grand Central Art Galleries; all the paintings were sold. Barnes became so well known as an artist that one of his paintings was featured in the opening credits of the TV show Good Times, and he was commissioned to create official posters for the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics.

From award-winning author and illustrator Don Tate, Pigskins to Paintbrushes is the inspiring story of Ernie Barnes, who defined himself on his own terms and pushed the boundaries of "possible," from the field to the canvas.

The back matter includes Barnes's photograph and his official Topps trading card. Also included are an author's note, endnotes, a bibliography, and a list of websites where Barnes's work can be seen.

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Do You Know Them?

Shana Keller

A moving and triumphant picture book inspired by the printed newspaper ads placed by African Americans who were separated from family members by the Civil War, enslavement, and emancipation.

After the war’s end, everyone is missing someone. Lettie’s missing her family. They had been sold and lost long before enslavement was abolished. Every week, she reads the advertisements in the newspapers to her congregation. “Do you know them? I would like to find my people. My mother’s name was Charlotte King, and when I was sold, I had five brothers.”

Lettie is determined to find her loved ones, too. She saves every penny she earns, but not to buy candy or toys. She saves for something better—something that could bring her whole family together.

Every ad depicted in this poignant tale is authentically historical, bringing the heart-wrenching past to life.

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The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides

**THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

"An unforgettable—and Hollywood-bound—new thriller... A mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy."
Entertainment Weekly

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

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The Quiet Tenant

Clemence Michallon

Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life. When Aidan’s wife dies, he and his thirteen-year-old daughter Cecilia are forced to move. Aidan has no choice but to bring Rachel along, introducing her to Cecilia as a “family friend” who needs a place to stay. Aidan is betting on Rachel, after five years of captivity, being too brainwashed and fearful to attempt to escape. But Rachel is a fighter and survivor, and recognizes Cecilia might just be the lifeline she has waited for all these years. As Rachel tests the boundaries of her new living situation, she begins to form a tenuous connection with Cecilia. And when Emily, a local restaurant owner, develops a crush on the handsome widower, she finds herself drawn into Rachel and Cecilia’s orbit, coming dangerously close to discovering Aidan’s secret.Told through the perspectives of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily, The Quiet Tenant explores the psychological impact of Aidan’s crimes on the women in his life—and the bonds between those women that give them the strength to fight back. Both a searing thriller and an astute study of trauma, survival, and the dynamics of power, The Quiet Tenant is an electrifying debut thriller by a major talent.

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Everyone Here Is Lying

Shari Lapena

Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

"The most addictive book I've read in ages--so slick and disquieting and clever. Just brilliant." --Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Family Remains

"Lapena is a master of manipulation." --USA Today

Welcome to Stanhope. A safe neighborhood. A place for families.

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he's been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter, Avery, unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Hours later, Avery's family declares her missing.

Suddenly Stanhope doesn't feel so safe. And William isn't the only one on his street who's hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery's neighbors become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Nothing will prepare you for the truth.

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The Only One Left

Riley Sager

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Named a summer book to watch by The Washington Post, Boston Globe, USA Today, Oprah, Paste, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and Nerd Daily


"Propulsive ... a dizzying Gothic whodunit."
New York Times Book Review

Bestselling author Riley Sager returns with a Gothic chiller about a young caregiver assigned to work for a woman accused of a Lizzie Borden-like massacre decades earlier.


At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope

Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.

Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life

It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.

“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead
 
As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought.

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The Housemaid

Freida McFadden

"Welcome to the family," Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I'll soon learn that the Winchesters' secrets are far more dangerous than my own...

 

Every day I clean the Winchesters' beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

 

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew's handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it's hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina's life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

 

I only try on one of Nina's pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it's like. But she soon finds out... and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it's far too late.

 

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don't know who I really am.

 

They don't know what I'm capable of...

 

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won't be able to put this down!

 

Read what everyone's saying about The Housemaid:

 

"I could NOT put it down!... An incredible roller-coaster ride... This book left me hungry for more and I could not believe the ending!!" Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

"One wild ride!... So many twists and turns... I was hooked right away - I even read my Kindle while waiting in my kid's school pick-up line so I wouldn't have to put this book down!... addictive... pure perfection!" Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

"Terrific! Finished The Housemaid in one night, totally compulsively readable... the ending packs a wallop!" NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

"Wow what an amazing book! I couldn't put this down until the very last page... a perfect five stars. This one is by far my favorite book by this author yet." Bookishfirst, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

"I've yet to read a book by Freida McFadden that didn't blow me away! I finished this in one sitting, couldn't tear my eyes away... I did not see the plot twist coming at all! The ending was so satisfying but left me wanting even more." @bookscoffeemorebooks, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Zero Days

Ruth Ware

'This is Ruth Ware like you've never read her before' DAVID BALDACCI

'She's done it again!' CLARE MACKINTOSH

Her husband has been murdered and she's the only suspect. What should she do?

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband Gabe are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead.

It soon becomes clear that the police have only one suspect in mind - her.

Jack must go on the run to try and clear her name and to find her husband's real killer. But who can she trust when everyone she knows could be a suspect? And with the police and the killer after her, can Jack get to the truth before her time runs out?

An adrenaline-fueled thriller from international bestseller and Richard & Judy pick, Ruth Ware, described as 'one of the best thriller writers around today' (Independent).

PRAISE FOR ZERO DAYS:

'A pulse-pounding opening launches you into a cat and mouse game of deadly intrigue that will push Jack Cross, Ware's new, superb heroine, to her absolute limits. A rocket ride that will satisfy the biggest thriller addicts out there' DAVID BALDACCI

'A breathless action thriller which packs an emotional punch, Zero Days is Ruth Ware's best yet' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Hits the ground running and doesn't let up till the last chapter. Ruth Ware's best book yet' ERIN KELLY

'Ruth Ware is in a league of her own. Zero Days is a breathless, pulse-pounding cat-and-mouse thriller that will have you racing through the pages as our heroine sets off on her deadly chase. Just don't forget to breathe . . .' JACK JORDAN

'The best thriller you'll read this year. From its explosive opening to that dizzying first twist, Zero Days is a fast-paced - but also very touching - ride' WILLIAM SHAW

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In the Dark

Loreth Anne White

A secluded mountain lodge. The perfect getaway. So remote no one will ever find you.

The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it's not a getaway. It's a trap.

Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear--including one another.

Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game.

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Choose Me

Tess Gerritsen

From New York Times bestseller Tess Gerritsen and acclaimed thriller writer Gary Braver comes a sexy murder mystery about a reckless affair and dangerous secrets.

Taryn Moore is young, beautiful, and brilliant...so why would she kill herself? When Detective Frankie Loomis arrives on the scene to investigate the girl's fatal plunge from her apartment balcony, she knows in her gut there's more to the story. Her instincts are confirmed when surprise information is revealed that could have been reason enough for Taryn's suicide--or a motive for her murder.

To English professor Jack Dorian, Taryn was the ultimate fantasy: intelligent, adoring, and completely off limits. But there was also a dark side to Taryn, a dangerous streak that threatened those she turned her affections to--including Jack. And now that she's dead, his problems are just beginning.

After Frankie uncovers a trove of sordid secrets, it becomes clear that Jack may know the truth. He is guilty of deception, but is he capable of cold-blooded murder?

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After That Night

Karin Slaughter

The No.1 Sunday Times bestseller!

Will Trent and Sara Linton are back! Don't miss the electrifying thriller featuring GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton from the international No.1 bestselling author Karin Slaughter.

Watch Will Trent on Disney+!

After that night, nothing was ever the same again ...

Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton's life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.

Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who's been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper's assault is uncannily linked to Sara's.

And it seems the past isn't going to stay buried forever ...

Love crime? Love Slaughter.

After That Night was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 26/6/22

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Obsessed

James Patterson

The fifteenth instalment in the globally bestselling Michael Bennett series.

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Detective Michael Bennett must discover who's murdering glamorous young women - before his eldest daughter is targeted. Detective Michael Bennett and the NYPD are aboard a police boat in the Hudson River searching for a murder victim - a young college student.

They find her tossed in the dark waves, dressed for a night out. The gruesome sight fills Bennett with dread only a father could fathom.

As the obsessive killer extends his spree, a pattern emerges. One that Bennett's eldest daughter fits to a harrowing degree.

Now NYPD's top detective must lure the murderer into the light of day before the next deadly strike lands closer to home than Bennett could ever bear - as a parent and a protector.

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Praise for James Patterson

'Nobody does it better.' Jeffery Deaver
'One of the greatest storytellers of all time.' Patricia Cornwell
'James Patterson is The Boss. End of.' Ian Rankin
'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades.' Lee Child

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Black Widow

Christopher Brookmyre

Winner of the 2016 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish crime book of the year

From Scottish crime master Christopher Brookmyre, Black Widow tells the potent story of a woman who thought she was too late for love, the man who falls for her ambition, and the secret selves that are poised, at any moment, to end everything.

Diana Jager is clever, strong, and successful, a skilled surgeon and fierce campaigner via her blog about sexism in medicine. Yet it takes only hours for her life to crumble when her personal details are released on the internet as revenge for her writing. Then she meets Peter. He is kind, generous, and knows nothing about her past--the second chance she's been waiting for. Within six months, they are married. Within six more, Peter is dead in a road accident, a nightmare end to their fairy-tale romance. But Peter's sister Lucy doesn't believe in fairy tales, and tasks rogue reporter Jack Parlabane with discovering the dark truth behind the woman the media is calling the Black Widow.

Still on the mend from a turbulent divorce, Jack's investigation into matters of the heart takes him to hidden places no one should ever have to go.

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You Can Run

Rebecca Zanetti

“I couldn’t put it down!” –Lisa Jackson, New York Times bestselling author

Fans of Laura Griffin and Jayne Ann Krentz won’t want to miss this brand new thriller series by New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti, as FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow, a rising star profiler, strives to stay one step ahead of the criminal mind—and discovers that her own demons may be the hardest to outrun…

“Be prepared to stay up all night…Rebecca Zanetti takes you on a thrill-ride, pitting characters you love against impossible odds.” –Christine Feehan, New York Times bestselling author

Laurel Snow wouldn’t call hunting a serial killer a vacation, but with a pile of dead bodies unearthed near her Genesis Valley, WA, hometown, she’ll take what she can get. Yet something about this case stirs her in unexpected ways. Like the startling connection she feels to Dr. Abigail Caine, a fiercely intelligent witness with a disturbing knack for making Laurel feel like she has something on her. Then there’s Laurel’s attraction to Huck Rivers, the fish and wildlife officer guiding her to the crime scene—and into the wilderness…

A former soldier and a trained sniper, Huck’s thirst for blood is rivaled only by his fierce pursuit of Laurel. He’s been burned by love, wounded by the government, and betrayed before, and to say he has trust issues is the ultimate understatement. Plus, he might be closer to this killer than anybody knows…

Once in the heart of darkness with Huck, Laurel must negotiate her distracting desire for him, her complex rapport with Abigail—and her mission to find a serial killer among a growing list of suspects and a danger that’s far too close to home. So close in fact, Laurel fears she will never find her way back to the woman she once was…

“Pitch-perfect…[a] deliciously intricate mystery. Readers will delight in this smart take on classic trope.” - Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

“Plot twists and red herrings abound in this fast-paced novel that will keep readers turning the pages.”Library Journal

“Zanetti is a master…A strong start to a new series.”— Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

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The Persuasion

Iris Johansen

When Eve Duncan's daughter, Jane MacGuire, becomes a madman's target, Jane must team up with longtime love interest Seth Caleb in this suspense novel from the #1 bestselling author of Smokescreen.

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Killer Cupid

Laurien Berenson

Melanie Travis is taking a much-needed break from the dog show circuit for a romantic Valentine's trip with her husband Sam, but when someone at their cozy Berkshires inn has an unexpected date with death, Melanie must slip into something sleuthier for the weekend . . .

Melanie is delighted at the prospect of three uninterrupted days alone with Sam (and, of course, her prize-winning Standard Poodle, Faith). They're booked at the White Birch Inn, a picturesque New England resort nestled at the foot of a snow-covered mountain. The inn has a full slate of couples activities planned for the busy Valentine's weekend, but the first night of festivities feature an event that isn't on the program: murder.

As a person of interest in the case, Melanie tries to sneak a little detective work into her romantic getaway. But with the resort nearly sold out for the holiday weekend, there's no shortage of suspects, and Melanie's secret sleuthing is already attracting the wrong kind of attention. Her Valentine's trip is heating up faster than the chocolate fondue . . . just not in the way Melanie hoped. But if she doesn't catch the cold-hearted killer soon, another innocent victim will get the kiss of death . . .

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A Step So Grave

Catriona McPherson

"puts a stylish spin on the traditional country house murder...an intricate plot worthy of Dorothy L. Sayers or Agatha Christie at her finest." --Publishers Weekly, (Starred Review)
"A sophisticated, elegantly written, intensely powerful mystery, the best of an excellent series." --Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)


1930s Scotland
Wedding bells are set to ring as Dandy Gilver with family in tow, arrives in windswept Wester Ross on Valentine's Day. They've come to celebrate Lady Lavinia's fiftieth birthday and to meet her daughter Mallory, a less-than-suitable bride-to-be for Dandy's son Donald.

But soon love is the last thing on Dandy's mind when the news breaks that Lady Lavinia has been found dead, brutally murdered in the middle of her famous knot garden.
Strange superstitions and folklore abound among the Gaelic-speaking locals. But, Dandy suspects that the tangled boughs and branches around Applecross House hide something much more earthly at work . . .

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After I'm Gone

Laura Lippman

When Felix Brewer meets nineteen year old Bernadette 'Bambi' Gottschalk at a Valentine's Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative if not always legal businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambis comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes. Though Bambi has no idea where her husband or his money might be, she suspects one woman does: his mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she is left to join her old lover until her remains are eventually found. Now, twenty six years after Julie went missing, Roberto Sandy Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web stretching over three decades that connects five intriguing women. And at the center is the missing man Felix Brewer. Somewhere between the secrets and lies connecting past and present, Sandy will find the truth. And when he does, no one will ever be the same.

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Chocolate Covered Murder

Leslie Meier

After the suspicious drowning of a local fisherman, and the murder of a sultry chocolate-store manager, Lucy Stone must track down a killer, all while navigating the craziness of Tinker's Cove's Valentine's Day tourist promotion. By the author of English Tea Murder.

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Five Strangers

E. V Adamson

Five strangers witness a brutal murder in broad daylight — but can they truly believe what they saw?

 

With its grassy hills and breathtaking city views, London’s Hampstead Heath is the perfect place to spend an afternoon with friends and loved ones—and on an unseasonably warm Valentine’s Day, the lawns are especially full. So when an aggressive lovers’ quarrel breaks out, there’s an audience of park goers nearby to hear the shouts traded back and forth, and to watch as the violence escalates suddenly to murder, then suicide. 

 

For the five strangers who observed the gruesome act, the memory of the gore is unshakable. But one of them—disgraced journalist Jen Hunter—is compelled to question the truth of what she thought she saw. Are the facts of the case plain as day, or were they obscured, in the moment, by the glaring sunlight?

As she mounts an obsessive investigation for a seemingly-impossible alternative, the lives of the other witnesses begin to unravel, each in its own particular way. Soon one thing becomes clear: the crime they witnessed was more terrible, more twisted, and more far-reaching than they ever could have imagined.

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Dollface

Renée Rosen

America in the 1920s was a country alive with the wild fun of jazz, speakeasies, and a new kind of woman—the flapper.

Vera Abramowitz is determined to leave her gritty childhood behind and live a more exciting life, one that her mother never dreamed of. Bobbing her hair and showing her knees, the lipsticked beauty dazzles, doing the Charleston in nightclubs and earning the nickname “Dollface.” 

As the ultimate flapper, Vera captures the attention of two high rollers, a handsome nightclub owner and a sexy gambler. On their arms, she gains entrée into a world filled with bootleg bourbon, wailing jazz, and money to burn.  She thinks her biggest problem is choosing between them until the truth comes out. Her two lovers are really mobsters from rival gangs during Chicago’s infamous Beer Wars, a battle Al Capone refuses to lose. 

The heady life she’s living is an illusion resting on a bedrock of crime and violence unlike anything the country has ever seen before. When the good times come to an end, Vera becomes entangled in everything from bootlegging to murder. And as men from both gangs fall around her, Vera must put together the pieces of her shattered life, as Chicago hurtles toward one of the most infamous days in its history, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. 

READERS GUIDE INCLUDED

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Valentine Murder

Leslie Meier

It's Valentine's Day in Tinker's Cove. And while the cupcakes Lucy Stone is baking for her children will have pink frosting and candy hearts, Lucy's thoughts aren't centered on sugary sentiments. She's barely arrived at her first board meeting of the newly-renovated library when Bitsy Howell, the new librarian, is found dead in the basement, shot only minutes before story hour was to start. The agitated board members assume that Bitsy was killed by an outsider, until Detective Lt. Horowitz arrives on the scene and announces that the killer is among them.

Lucy was already aware that Bitsy's uppity big city ways rubbed some people in Tinker's Cove the wrong way. But she has a hunch that motives for the librarian's violent death run a lot deeper. From Hayden Norcross's elegant antique shop to Corney Clark's chic kitchen, Lucy relentlessly snoops into the curious lifestyles and shocking secrets of Tinker's Cove's most solid citizens--secrets that will plunge her into a terrifying confrontation with a conniving killer. . .

"Meier includes domestic details that add charm to this lighthearted cozy." --Publishers Weekly

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Valentine

Elizabeth Wetmore

An instant New York Times Bestseller

Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!

"A thrilling debut that deserves your attention." -Ron Charles, the Washington Post

Written with the haunting emotional power of Elizabeth Strout and Barbara Kingsolver, an astonishing debut novel that explores the lingering effects of a brutal crime on the women of one small Texas oil town in the 1970s, longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the VCU Cabell First Novel Award.

Mercy is hard in a place like this . . .

It's February 1976, and Odessa, Texas, stands on the cusp of the next great oil boom. While the town's men embrace the coming prosperity, its women intimately know and fear the violence that always seems to follow.

In the early hours of the morning after Valentine's Day, fourteen-year-old Gloria Ramírez appears on the front porch of Mary Rose Whitehead's ranch house, broken and barely alive. The teenager had been viciously attacked in a nearby oil field--an act of brutality that is tried in the churches and barrooms of Odessa before it can reach a court of law. When justice is evasive, the stage is set for a showdown with potentially devastating consequences.

Valentine is a haunting exploration of the intersections of violence and race, class and region in a story that plumbs the depths of darkness and fear, yet offers a window into beauty and hope. Told through the alternating points of view of indelible characters who burrow deep in the reader's heart, this fierce, unflinching, and surprisingly tender novel illuminates women's strength and vulnerability, and reminds us that it is the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive.

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Press Here

Herve Tullet

Press the yellow dot on the cover of this book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising book instructs the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next! Children and adults alike will giggle with delight as the dots multiply, change direction, and grow in size! Especially remarkable because the adventure occurs on the flat surface of the simple, printed page, this unique picture book about the power of imagination and interactivity will provide read-aloud fun for all ages!

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That's Not My Sloth...

Fiona Watt

Babies and toddlers will love touching the textured patches as they meet sloths with rough noses and soft tummies. The bright pictures and textures to stroke are designed to help develop sensory and language awareness. Part of an internationally bestselling series, which includes over fifty titles and has sold over 5 million copies in the UK alone. 2019 saw the 20th anniversary of That's not my..., with an extensive Marketing and PR campaign throughout the year.

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The Odd One Out

Britta Teckentrup

Which bird has caught the worm? Where is the queasy monkey? And can you spot the scaredy-cat? Never has a search-and-find game been so pleasing to the eye. Each spread features fun rhyming couplets, beautiful and complexly patterned artwork, and a hidden surprise. A stylish title from the talented Britta Teckentrup, presented in an elegant format.

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The Cursed Temple

Alain Puysségur

Solve puzzles and riddles with your favorite Minecraft hero and other characters (including pirates and ghosts) in order to escape the book, in The Escape Book series!

Bring the excitement of the popular escape room activity with you everywhere you go in this new 4-book series. In this first book, The Cursed Temple, Runt, the hero of the best-selling series Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior, needs your help in this epic Minecraft adventure! During a village exploration with friends, you suddenly come across a ruthless warrior. Your sword is already in position to tussle when you realize that the opponent doesn't want to test your force, but your logic! Trapped in an unknown place, you will have to free yourself without fighting. Logic and observation will be your new allies!
 

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Where's the Unicorn? an Epic Adventure

Paul Moran

The unicorns of Rainbow Valley are off on another adventure. This time, Blossom, Leaf, Ruby and friends are looking for a distant, lost land, called Unicopolis, where an ancient civilization of unicorns used to live. It's believed to be home to countless beautiful artifacts, one of which will help restore the fading magic of their world. But they're not the only ones looking for its treasures.

The unicorns' quest takes them across the world, from a remote and crumbling, haunted Scottish castle and the deep-sea ruins of an ancient Greek city overrun with mermaids and sea sprites, to an enchanted Nordic forest full of magical creatures, mummy-ridden ancient Egyptian tombs, a remote Antarctic outpost crowded with out-of-this-world visitors and the majestic and glittering ruins of Unicopolis itself.

Use your spotting skills to not only find each of the seven unicorns on every page but the special 'epic finds' - maps, treasures, and more - that will help the unicorns on their way, all the while outrunning the baddies on their tails in this epic search adventure.

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The Lake Monster Mystery

Shannon Gilligan

The Lake Monster Mystery by Shannon Gilligan takes YOU on a fun, spooky, and magical adventure, as you and your sister search for Champ, the legendary lake monster who lives in Lake Champlain. Your 6-8 year old reader will be the very first explorer to snap photos of the mythical beast, maneuver choppy waters on board a wobbly canoe, and brave a haunted house!


Choose Your Own Adventure The Lake Monster Mystery is an interactive adventure book in which YOU decide what happens next. What do you do if you discover an old, mysterious box? Is it a clue to finding Champ? Or a trick to throw you off the case?

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Tap the Magic Tree

Christie Matheson

Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. Now that’s interactive—and magical!

It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. The collage-and-watercolor art evokes the bright simplicity of Lois Ehlert and Eric Carle and the interactive concept will delight fans of Pat the Bunny. Combining a playful spirit and a sense of wonder about nature, Christie Matheson has created a new modern classic that is a winner in every season—and every story time!

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A Year at a Construction Site

Nicholas Harris

Send in the cranes! Bulldozers! Earthmovers! Would you like to watch how a building goes up? During the next twelve months, these construction workers are building a school. Check out these eight action-packed scenes for a bird's-eye view of the whole process. See how the workers make the foundation, add the walls, and put on the roof. Keep your eye on the calendar too. By spending a whole year at the building site, you can watch events unfold until the school is ready for students and teachers.

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Build-a-Bug

Sara Ball

Mix and match heads, thoraxes, and abdomens to make 1,000 remarkable insects!

From the best-selling illustrator of Flip-a-Feather, Mix-a-Mutt, Flip-o-saurus, and Flip-o-storic comes another book with charming artwork and die-cut pages for flip-and-flop fun—this time with insects! Build-a-Bug lets you create wacky combinations of ten types of insects, including a curious beetle, a climbing caterpillar, and a buzzing honey bee. Each flap includes a fun fact about the pictured species, and inside the front cover is a chart showing the real-life sizes of the insects featured, from the ant to the praying mantis.

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I Spy Treasure Hunt

Jean Marzollo

Welcome to I SPY Harbour! With the help of a pirate's treasure map, you will find your way from one spectacular location to the next. The idyllic waterfall and creepy Skull Rock are captivating backdrops for a treasure hunt. Search the pictures to solve rhyming riddles and puzzles that help develop visual discrimination, reading, and vocabulary skills.

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The Empty Science Lab: Solve Your Way Out!

KEVIN. WOOD

An unlocked door to a secret science lab would be hard for any student to ignore! But what if you snuck in--and the door locked behind you? In this book, readers need to solve puzzles and find codes throughout the pictures and text in order to escape! Science terms and concepts, such as animal classification, the human body, and the pH scale, are described as part of the story. The problem-solving and critical thinking readers use to puzzle through this book are important components of any STEAM subject.

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Under the Sea: Find Your Way

Joanna McInerney

The Merps need your help! Explore their underwater world and help them finish building the castle. Navigate through the spooky shipwreck and watch out for the giant octopus, solving math problems and collecting objects along the way. This bright and busy mapping book provides a fun first look at co-ordinates and map skills. Math activities combined with an exciting mission make an entertaining and educational underwater adventure.

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Where's Waldo?

Martin Handford

Looking for Waldo? Search no more. The time has come and we’ re celebrating our favorite wanderer in style!

For over a quarter of a century, the bespectacled Waldo has held a place as a beloved cultural icon. Candlewick has reissued the classic Waldo adventure with special features worthy of a stalwart hero. This Where's Waldo? deluxe edition boasts:

— a striking jacketed cover

— an original poster on the underside of the jacket

— a spot-the-difference game between the jacket and self-cover designs

— a gatefold with a visual checklist on every spread

— a never-before-seen section of artwork revealed on every spread

— new things to search for!

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Napoleon and Josephine

Evangeline Bruce

Set against the pomp and splendor of prerevolutionary France, Napoleon and Josephine is an enthralling tale of desire, betrayal, and ambition. It chronicles Napoleon's rise to power and ascent to the imperial throne; the first meeting between Napoleon and Josephine; and the subsequent stormy marriage and Josephine's inability to produce an heir, their divorce...and wrenching separation.

Drawn from the lovers' private letters and journals, this biography brings to life a tumultuous era and two of history's most fascinating people in a story so compelling, romantic, and compulsively readable it could be fiction.

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Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of love and war won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to give rise to two authorized sequels and one of the most popular and celebrated movies of all time.

Many novels have been written about the Civil War and its aftermath. None take us into the burning fields and cities of the American South as Gone With the Wind does, creating haunting scenes and thrilling portraits of characters so vivid that we remember their words and feel their fear and hunger for the rest of our lives.

In the two main characters, the white-shouldered, irresistible Scarlett and the flashy, contemptuous Rhett, Margaret Mitchell not only conveyed a timeless story of survival under the harshest of circumstances, she also created two of the most famous lovers in the English-speaking world since Romeo and Juliet.

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The Remains of the Day

Kazuo Ishiguro

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, here is “an intricate and dazzling novel” (The New York Times) about the perfect butler and his fading, insular world in post-World War II England.
 
This is Kazuo Ishiguro's profoundly compelling portrait of a butler named Stevens. Stevens, at the end of three decades of service at Darlington Hall, spending a day on a country drive, embarks as well on a journey through the past in an effort to reassure himself that he has served humanity by serving the "great gentleman," Lord Darlington. But lurking in his memory are doubts about the true nature of Lord Darlington's "greatness," and much graver doubts about the nature of his own life.

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This Woven Kingdom

Tahereh Mafi

New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller! Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology.

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.

Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Tomi Adeyemi, and Sabaa Tahir, this is the explosive first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-nominated author Tahereh Mafi.

“In a tale as exquisitely crafted as one of Alizeh’s own garments, Mafi weaves a spell of destiny and danger, forbidden love and courtly intrigue, magic and revolution.”—Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Hours

“This Woven Kingdom is an exquisite fantasy. Rich with clever prose, delicious twists, and breathtaking world building. Prepare to be destroyed—this one will wrench at your heart and make it pound, and in the end it will leave you entirely speechless.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

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The Stolen Heir

Holly Black

An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller!



An Instant #1 Indie Bestseller!



Return to the opulent world of Elfhame, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and dangerous desires, with this first book of a captivating new duology from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black.




A runaway queen. A reluctant prince. And a quest that may destroy them both.



Eight years have passed since the Battle of the Serpent. But in the icy north, Lady Nore of the Court of Teeth has reclaimed the Ice Needle Citadel. There, she is using an ancient relic to create monsters of stick and snow who will do her bidding and exact her revenge.



Suren, child queen of the Court of Teeth, and the one person with power over her mother, fled to the human world. There, she lives feral in the woods. Lonely, and still haunted by the merciless torments she endured in the Court of Teeth, she bides her time by releasing mortals from foolish bargains. She believes herself forgotten until the storm hag, Bogdana chases her through the night streets. Suren is saved by none other than Prince Oak, heir to Elfhame, to whom she was once promised in marriage and who she has resented for years.



Now seventeen, Oak is charming, beautiful, and manipulative. He's on a mission that will lead him into the north, and he wants Suren's help. But if she agrees, it will mean guarding her heart against the boy she once knew and a prince she cannot trust, as well as confronting all the horrors she thought she left behind.
 

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Defy the Night

Brigid Kemmerer

Instant New York Times Bestseller!

From New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer comes an electrifying fantasy romance, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Victoria Aveyard.

A desperate prince.
A daring outlaw.
A dangerous flirtation.

In the Wilds of Kandala, apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade has been watching people suffer for too long. A mysterious sickness is ravaging the land and the cure, Moonflower Elixir, is only available for the wealthy. So every night, she defies the royal edicts and sneaks out, stealing Moonflower petals and leaving the elixir for those in need.

In the palace of Kandala, Prince Corrick serves as the King's Justice, meting out vicious punishments and striking fear into the hearts of agitators and outlaws. Corrick knows he must play this role convincingly--with a shortage of elixir and threats of rebellion looming ever closer, the King's grip on power is tenuous at best, and Corrick knows his brother is the kingdom's best hope for survival.

But when an act of unspeakable cruelty brings the royal and the outlaw face to face, the natural enemies are faced with an impossible choice--and a surprising spark. Will they follow their instincts to destroy each other? Or will they save the kingdom together . . . and let that spark ignite?

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Beasts of Prey

Ayana Gray

In this blockbuster fantasy series, perfect for fans of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Iron Widow, fate binds two Black teenagers together as they journey into a magical jungle to hunt down a vicious monster.

“Rich in magic and mythos, Beasts of Prey is a feast for all the senses.” —Renée Ahdieh, New York Times bestselling author of The Beautiful

An Instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller


There’s no such thing as magic in the broken city of Lkossa, especially for sixteen-year-old Koffi, who indentured to the notorious Night Zoo, knows the fearsome creatures in her care and paying off her family's debts to secure their eventual freedom can be her only focus. But the night those she loves are gravely threatened by the Zoo’s cruel master, Koffi unleashes a power she doesn’t fully understand, upending her life completely.

As the second son of a decorated hero, Ekon is all but destined to become a Son of the Six—an elite warrior—and uphold a family legacy. But on the night of his final rite of passage, Ekon encounters not only the Shetani—a vicious monster that has plagued the city for nearly a century and stalks his nightmares—but Koffi who seems to have the power to ward off the beast. Koffi’s power ultimately saves Ekon, but his choice to let her flee dooms his hopes of becoming a warrior.

Desperate to redeem himself, Ekon vows to hunt the Shetani and end its reign of terror, but he can’t do it alone. Koffi and Ekon form a tentative alliance and together enter the Greater Jungle, a world steeped in wild, frightening magic and untold dangers. The hunt begins. But it quickly becomes unclear whether they are the hunters or the hunted.

“The hunt for your next YA fantasy book trilogy obsession has ended.” —Entertainment Weekly

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Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

Amélie Wen Zhao

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In a fallen kingdom, one girl carries the key to discovering the secrets of her nation's past—and unleashing the demons that sleep at its heart. An epic fantasy series inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.

"Perfect for fans of The Untamed. I loved it!” —Shelley Parker-Chan, bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun


Once, Lan had a different name. Now she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people’s magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and her days scavenging for what she can find of the past. Anything to understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother in her last act before she died.

The mark is mysterious—an untranslatable Hin character—and no one but Lan can see it. Until the night a boy appears at her teahouse and saves her life.

Zen is a practitioner—one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom. Their magic was rumored to have been drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Now it must be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

When Zen comes across Lan, he recognizes what she is: a practitioner with a powerful ability hidden in the mark on her arm. He’s never seen anything like it—but he knows that if there are answers, they lie deep in the pine forests and misty mountains of the Last Kingdom, with an order of practitioning masters planning to overthrow the Elantian regime.

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within—secrets they must hide from others, and secrets that they themselves have yet to discover. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. And both hold the power to destroy the world.

Now the battle for the Last Kingdom begins.

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