Broken Flower by V.C. Andrews (2006)

**She was too grown-up for childish games. But too young to become a woman....** Living with her parents and brother in her Grandmother Emma's enormous mansion, Jordan March tries to be a good girl and follow her grandmother's strict rules. But one day, without warning, Jordan's body begins to change -- and everyone notices her in a way that seems dark, dangerous, and threatening. Suddenly the March family secrets are unleashed, and Jordan is ashamed and afraid that her soft curves are unwelcome indeed. Now Grandmother Emma sets out to make Jordan pay for her family's past mistakes, sending her world spinning wildly out of control...

Athena the Wise by Joan Holub (2011)

Principal Zeus asks Athena to help Heracles (aka Hercules in the Roman pantheon) complete his twelve labors. But when Heracles starts borrowing Athena's friends things without asking, will she be able to help him set things straight?

Shroud of Eternity by Terry Goodkind (2018)

The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz (2018)

"Jane Hawk--who dazzled readers in The Silent Corner and The Whispering Room--faces the fight of her life, against the threat of a lifetime in this electrifying new thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz. "I could be dead tomorrow. Or something worse than dead." Jane Hawk knows she may be living on borrowed time. But as long as she's breathing, she'll never cease her one-woman war against the terrifying conspiracy that threatens the freedom--and free will--of millions. Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane's husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive, relentlessly hunted not only by the government but by the secret cabal behind the plot. Deploying every resource their malign nexus of power and technology commands, Jane's enemies are determined to see her dead. or make her wish she was. Jane's ruthless pursuers can't stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call. Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will make her way from southern California to the snow-swept slopes of Lake Tahoe to confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her. But nothing can prepare her for the chilling truth that awaits when she descends the crooked staircase to the dark and dreadful place where her long nightmare was born. PRAISE FOR DEAN KOONTZ'S JANE HAWK NOVELS "Gripping. The paranoia and mystery increase as the story unfolds. Koontz has created such a wonderful character in Jane Hawk that. readers will clamor for more. Koontz rocks it again."--Associated Press "Vintage Dean Koontz: paranoia-fueled suspense. sleek and highly realized action, developed characters, and more twists and turns than any two ordinary novels combined. as relevant to current events as it is audacious. amongst Dean Koontz's finest contemporary work."--Mystery Scene "Perhaps Koontz's leanest, meanest thriller, [The Silent Corner] introduces a smart, appealing heroine who can outthink as well as outshoot the baddest of bad dudes."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"-- "In this riveting high-stakes novel, Jane Hawk tracks the powerful DOJ operative at the center of the murderous conspiracy that killed her husband, a decorated Marine, and now threatens others closest to her. Dark, ingenious, utterly relentless, the Jane Hawk thrillers are Dean Koontz at his celebrated best, a brilliant, deeply affecting synthesis of his singular gifts for heart-stopping suspense, unparalleled characterization and atmosphere, and twisting, chillingly topical storylines--all driven by an unforgettable, take-no-prisoners heroine"--

Adjustment day by Chuck Palahniuk (2018)

Politicians have brought the nation to the brink of a third world war in an effort to control the burgeoning population of young males. Working-class men dream of burying the elites. Professors propound theories that offer students only the bleakest future. Into this dyspeptic time, a blue-black book is launched carrying such wisdom as: Imagine there's no God; there is no Heaven or Hell; there is only your son and his son and his son and the world you leave for them -- The weak want you to forgo your destiny just as they've shirked theirs -- A smile is your best bulletproof vest. Are the directives in the Talbott book the secrets to surviving? Or are they something else entirely? When Adjustment Day arrives, it fearlessly makes real the logical conclusion of every separatist fantasy, alternative fact, and conspiracy theory lurking in the American psyche.

Ghost in the machine by Patrick Carman (2009)

Although forbidden to see each other, Ryan and Sarah continue their investigation of the mysterious happenings at the dredge by communicating through video clips, text messages, midnight meetings, and journaling. The reader may view videos on a website by using links and passwords found in the text.

The word collector by Peter H. Reynolds (2018)

Jerome enjoys collecting and using words that he hears, reads, or sees, and then decides to share his collection with others.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (2017)

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In some few children the old bloods show, gifting rare talents that can be honed to deadly or mystic effect. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls. A bloodstained child of nine falsely accused of murder, guilty of worse, Nona is stolen from the shadow of the noose. It takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist, but under Abbess Glass's care there is much more to learn than the arts of death. Among her class Nona finds a new family--and new enemies. Despite the security and isolation of the convent, Nona's secret and violent past finds her out, drawing with it the tangled politics of a crumbling empire. Her arrival sparks old feuds to life, igniting vicious struggles within the church and even drawing the eye of the emperor himself. Beneath a dying sun, Nona Grey must master her inner demons, then loose them on those who stand in her way.

An easy death by Charlaine Harris (2018)

"In this alternate history where the US has collapsed during WWII and been split into five different countries, including the southwestern territory of Texoma, Gunnie Lizbeth Rose is hired by two Russian magicians to find Alex Karkarov, and his family, as they need to bring them back to the New Russia-held west coast states for the blood of the Karkarov line is healing to the ruling family. Little do the magicians know that Lizbeth is Karkarov's daughter, and that she killed him"--

Yuvi's candy tree by Lesley Simpson (2010)

Fleeing famine in her native Ethiopia, five-year-old Yuvi is sure she will have a candy tree when she arrives in Jerusalem.

Iron house by John Hart (2011)

There was nothing but time at Iron House. Time to burn, time to kill, and time for Michael to emerge strong and unforgiving while his brother, Julian, became a tormented soul at the orphanage for boys. Two decades later Michael returns to North Carolina with a sentence on his head, the mob in hot pursuit, and his disturbed brother in trouble of a different kind. One man is destined to break the chains of his fate.

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar (2010)

From Louis Sachar, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Newbery Medal for HOLES, comes the young adult novel THE CARDTURNER, an exploration of the human condition.How are we supposed to be partners? He can't see the cards and I don't know the rules!The summer after junior year of high school looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to hook up with his best friend. He has no money and no job. His parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner--whatever that means. Alton's uncle is old, blind, very sick, and very rich.But Alton's parents aren't the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp's good graces. They're in competition with his longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family, who seem to have a mysterious influence over him.Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda. As the summer goes on, he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life.Through Alton's wry observations, Louis Sachar explores the disparity between what you know and what you think you know. With his incomparable flair and inventiveness, he examines the elusive differences between perception and reality--and inspires readers to think and think again.From the Hardcover edition.

The child by Fiona Barton (2017)

"The author of the stunning New York Times bestseller The Widow returns with a brand-new novel of twisting psychological suspense. As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it's a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby? As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss. But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn--house by house--into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women--and torn between what she can and cannot tell"--

The Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton (2008)

Many of Peter F. Hamilton's dazzling novels, which offer startling perspectives on tomorrow's technological and cultural trends, are epic in scope, spanning vast stretches of space and time. And yet they are grounded in characters--human, alien, and other--who, for all their strangeness, are still able to touch our hearts and fire our imaginations. Now Hamilton returns to the universe of his acclaimed Commonwealth saga with The Temporal Void, the second volume in the trilogy that began with The Dreaming Void.Long ago, a human astrophysicist, Inigo, began dreaming scenes from the life of a remarkable human being named Edeard, who lived within the Void, a self-contained microuniverse at the heart of the galaxy. There, under the beneficent gaze of mysterious godlike entities, humans possessed uncanny psychic abilities, and Edeard's were the strongest of all. Equally strong was his determination to bring justice and freedom to a world terrorized by criminal violence and corruption. Inigo's inspirational dreams, shared by hundreds of millions throughout the galaxy-spanning gaiafield, gave birth to a religion--Living Dream. But when the appearance of a Second Dreamer seemed to trigger the expansion of the Void--an expansion that is devouring everything in its path--the Intersolar Commonwealth was thrown into turmoil. With the adherents of Living Dream determined to set forth on a dangerous pilgrimage into the Void, interstellar war threatens to erupt. With time running out, the fate of humanity hinges on a handful of people. There is Araminta, only now awakening to the unwelcome fact that she is the mysterious Second Dreamer--and to the dire responsibilities that go with it; Inigo, whose private dreams hint at a darker truth behind Edeard's legendary life; Paula Myo, the ruthless field operative of the Commonwealth, whose search for Araminta and Inigo is about to yield a most unpleasant surprise; and Justine, whose desperate gamble places her within the Void, where the godlike Skylords hold the power to save the universe . . . or destroy it.From the Hardcover edition.

The Ninja Librarians by Jen Swann Downey (2014)

Dorrie and her brother Marcus accidentally open a portal to Petrarch's Library, where they discover a secret society of warrior librarians who travel in time, protecting the world's greatest thinkers from torture and death for sharing knowledge and ideas.

Heroes of the valley by Jonathan Stroud (2009)

Blood feuds, epic battles and a undersized hero come together in this brilliant new fantasy adventure from the author of the bestselling Bartimaeus trilogyListen then, and I'll tell you again of the Battle of the Rock. But none of your usual wriggling, or I'll stop before I've begun . . . Halli loves the old stories from when the valley was a wild and dangerous place - when the twelve legendary heroes stood together to defeat the ancient enemy, the bloodthirsty Trows.Halli longs for adventure but these days the most dangerous thing in the valley is boredom. He tries to liven things up by playing practical jokes. But when one of his jokes goes too far, he reawakens an old blood feud and finds himself on a hero's quest after all. Along the way he meets a ruthless thief, a murderous rival, and a girl who may just be as fearless as he is . . . Jonathan Stroud has created an epic saga with a funny, unique spin, and an unforgettable anti-hero.

The Columbus affair by Steve Berry (2012)

Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Tom Sagan has written hard-hitting articles from hot spots around the world. But when a controversial report from a war-torn region is exposed as a fraud, his professional reputation crashes and burns. Now he lives in virtual exile, haunted by bad decisions and the shocking truth he can never prove: that his downfall was a deliberate act of sabotage by an unknown enemy. But before Sagan can end his torment with the squeeze of a trigger, fate intervenes in the form of an enigmatic stranger with a request that cannot be ignored.

Abe Lincoln at last! by Mary Pope Osborne (2011)

The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie to Washington D.C. in the 1860s where they meet Abraham Lincoln and collect a feather that will help break a magic spell.

King Jack and the dragon by Peter Bently (2011)

Jack, Zack, and Caspar build a castle fort, then spend a day fighting dragons and beasts, but at day's end giants carry away first Sir Zack, then Caspar, and King Jack is left to face night creatures alone.

by George by Wesley Stace (2007)

In the illustrious history of the theatrical Fishers, there are two Georges. One is a peculiar but endearing 11-year-old, raised in the seedy world of '70s boarding houses and backstages, now packed off to school for the first time; the other, a garrulous ventriloquist's dummy who belonged to George's grandfather, a favorite traveling act of the British troops in World War II. The two Georges know nothing of each other--until events conspire to unite them in a search to uncover the family's deepest secrets.Weaving the boy's tale and the puppet's "memoirs," BY GEORGE unveils the fascinating Fisher family--its weak men, its dominant women, its disgruntled boys, and its shocking and dramatic secrets. At once bitingly funny and exquisitely tender, Stace's novel is the unforgettable journey of two young boys separated by years but driven by the same desires: to find a voice, and to be loved."By George is one of those rare works of fiction with an essential triple helix -- it's funny, it's clever and it's perfectly woven together with story. If writing is how we imagine not being lonely, as Wesley Stace suggests, then his conjuring trick as a writer is that he brings a large crowd along with him. This is a wonderful follow-up to his debut novel, Misfortune." -- Colum McCann, author of Zoli and Dancer