"Identify the weapon, and use it first." Such is the code of Captain James Hook, in this lyrical sequel to Hook & Jill. And this time, the turmoil begins not with 'The Boy' " but with a girl.Ten days out of Neverbay, Hook and Jill capture a ship's surgeon, pressing him to join the Roger. But Doctor Hanover is a gentleman, with a daughter to defend. When Red-Handed Jill shows him favor, his heart is taken prisoner, too. Hanover contrives to deliver Jill from the pirate king, and redeem her to society . . . as his wife.But Captain Hook is impossible to escape. Other rivals contend for Jill's red hand, and Hook fights for supremacy with his skill and brilliance. When the doctor's daughter draws Hook's eye, she emulates Jill, using feminine weapons to charm him.With no word of farewell, Hook vanishes, and Jill is a queen without a king. To hold Hook's power, she must come to terms with each of the dangerous men in her domain. When a challenger seizes command of the Roger " and over Jill " Hook and Jill's dominion will be overthrown unless, as Hook has taught Jill to do, she can identify the weapon . . . and wield it wickedly.Other Oceans is an unabashed study in loyalty, vibrant with the dynamics of power. From the pen of a masterful crafter, Book Two of the Hook & Jill Saga delivers all the exhilaration that a clash of wills, hearts, and fortune can arouse.Winner, Best Literary Fiction, USA Book News Best Books Awards 2012Winner, Best Cover Design, Fiction, USA Book News Best Books Awards 2012

A photograph, a necklace and a missing family . . . A new pupil, Nancy, arrives at Precious Ramotswe's school, and the two girls soon become firm friends. When Precious finds out that all Nancy has to remind her of her missing parents is a photograph and a necklace of beautifully carved zebras, she offers to help find them. This is the start of an exciting adventure that leads the two girls deep into the remotest parts of Botswana, where they meet an old lady who recognises the necklace and has some extraordinary news for Nancy. Find out what it is in the latest book to feature the girl who grew up to become one of the most famous detectives in the world: Precious Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

In Friend of My Youth, a novelist named Amit Chaudhuri visits his childhood home of Bombay. The city, reeling from the impact of the 2008 terrorist attacks, weighs heavily on Amit's mind, as does the unexpected absence of his childhood friend Ramu, a drifting, opaque figure who is Amit's last remaining connection to the city he once called home.

Little Grace is all grown up with a baby of her own on the way, but the fairy tale magic that follows her family is not done with them yet! A devastating loss has hit the Burkhearts, shaking the entire family to its very core. There is little time to grieve before evil witches, werewolves, vampires and a force that Grace can't even imagine try to ruin the family. Can Grace make everything right? Can the family band together and defeat the evil that threatens to destroy them? Read this third installment in the series and see if everything can be righted with just one wish.

The blistering, compulsively readable new novel from Herman Koch, author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Dinner.When a medical procedure goes horribly wrong and famous actor Ralph Meier winds up dead, Dr. Marc Schlosser needs to come up with some answers. After all, reputation is everything in this business. Personally, he's not exactly upset that Ralph is gone, but as a high profile doctor to the stars, Marc can't hide from the truth forever. It all started the previous summer. Marc, his wife, and their two beautiful teenage daughters agreed to spend a week at the Meier's extravagant summer home on the Mediterranean. Joined by Ralph and his striking wife Judith, her mother, and film director Stanley Forbes and his much younger girlfriend, the large group settles in for days of sunshine, wine tasting, and trips to the beach. But when a violent incident disrupts the idyll, darker motivations are revealed, and suddenly no one can...

For Birdie Jaworski, life as an Avon Lady was a bittersweet mix of embarking on gossip-worthy adventures, searching for Mr. Right, and making emergency lotion requests in the middle of the night... while managing as a single parent. Birdie hawks Avon at a strip club, a bowling alley on Men's League Night, and of course door-to-door. She meets customers who answer the door naked, who want to buy wrinkle cream for their pet monkey, or who are harboring dark - and funny - secrets. She even sells Avon to celebrities who want to keep their zits a secret! The book reveals a surprising and touching account of her personal life when Catholic Charities calls her and tells her the daughter she gave up for adoption is now an adult and wants to meet her. This book follows Birdie's journey during one summer while she decides whether to meet her daughter while selling Avon cosmetics door-to-door. A funny and beautifully touching read.Birdie's stories have appeared in many online and print journals as well as on National Public Radio. Birdie's blog on which this memoir is based, has been featured in the New York Times, Time Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and Positive Thinking magazine. Review"Her posts draw more than 1000 hits a day from readers fascinated by the woman who buys antiwrinkle cream for her pet monkey Hubert or by the wife who orders Bust-Sculpt Contouring ointment for her husband who ingests it as an alternative to Viagra." - Time Magazine"What Birdie discovered about people - and herself - went more than skin deep." - Positive Thinking MagazineAbout the AuthorBirdie is the author of the Avon Lady Memoir, "Don't Shoot! I'm Just the Avon Lady!" which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is also the author of several books about Las Vegas, New Mexico, including "My Tiny Vegas," a collection of stories about the strange and wonderful cowboys, santeros, and bad boys that call Las Vegas home.Birdie's life and stories have been profiled in the New York Times, Time Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. Her articles and stories have appeared in many national publications.

Not too long ago the children of Aberdeen struck a blow against the tyranny of their oppressors — an army of giant robot chickens. But the chickens were not defeated and now the city's warring factions have formed a council hoping to keep their chicken overlords at bay. But there's a new robot chicken on the block, the Chickenator! When the new chicken starts to target council members, pecking them up one by one, Rayna suspects fowl play. How are the chickens tracking council members down so precisely? Could there be a spy in the council? Meanwhile, Jesse tries to hatch a plan to crack the chickens and set the human captives, including his older brother, free. Who will have the last cluck? This is a spectacular sequel to the riotous pun-filled Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens, winner of a 2015 Scottish Children's Book Award.

The elves are back, and this time they have no interest in taking prisoners. Dodging guile and dark magic, the Voidhawk is thrust from bad to worse. Escape seems impossible until Dexter Silvercloud and his crew discovers an ancient secret long hidden by the elves. A secret so old even Jenna knows little about. Invoking the power of the elders is not for the weak of heart; it could leave them lost forever. Everything has a price in the void, and the cost the crew of the Voidhawk must face to survive is one they may not be willing to pay.About the AuthorJason Halstead works by day as an IT Director, developer, and database administator. From time to time he puts on a few other hats as well. In his spare time Jason enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, writing, and lifting the heaviest weights he can find. He enjoys reading and responding to fan mail as well, so if you liked Voidhawk or any of his other books, don't be shy! jasonhals@gmail.com

It's been approximately sixteen years since one of the most prolific and influentional novels of our time--Lois Lowry's The Giver--received the Newbery Medal in 1994. The story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community.   This gift edition celebrates this Houghton Mifflin touchstone and a Two-Time Newbery Medalist with twelve freshly brushed illustrations by acclaimed artist Bagram Ibatoulline. The Giver as a book stands on its own, of course, but the illustrations of Ibatoulline add to and amplify this work to make it a gift that is even easier to give. Who wouldn't want to give The Giver as a gift?   The Giver is the first in the trilogy of books that includes Gathering Blue and The Messenger.   This is not their first collaboration as Lowry's text met Ibatoulline's illustration in the picture book Crow Call published by Scholastic in Fall 2009.

When an agribusiness facility producing genetically engineered food releases a deadly toxin into the environment, seventeen-year-old Tempest Torres races to deliver the cure before time runs out.From the author of the acclaimed American Booksellers Association's Indies Introduce pick Salvage, which was called "Brilliant, feminist science fiction" by Stephanie Perkins, the internationally bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss. This stand-alone action-adventure story is perfect for fans of Oryx and Crake and The House of the Scorpion. Seventeen-year-old Tempest Torres has lived on the AgraStar farm north of Atlanta, Georgia, since she was found outside its gates at the age of five. Now she's part of the security force guarding the fence and watching for scavengers—people who would rather steal genetically engineered food from the Company than work for it. When a group of such rebels accidentally sets off an explosion in the research compound, it...

"Taking such an intimate trip through the recent past of Putin's Russia is fascinating, made more so by the presence of Andrei's lively, sorrowful, unpredictable grandmother." —Vanity Fair"A cause for celebration: big-hearted, witty, warm, compulsively readable, earnest, funny, full of that kind of joyful sadness I associate with Russia and its writers." —George Saunders, Man Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the BardoA literary triumph about Russia, family, love, and loyalty—the first novel in ten years from a founding editor of n+1 and author of All the Sad Young Literary MenWhen Andrei Kaplan's older brother Dima insists that Andrei return to Moscow to care for their ailing grandmother, Andrei must take stock of his life in New York. His girlfriend has stopped returning his text messages. His dissertation adviser is dubious about his job prospects. It's the summer of 2008, and his bank...

Meet Mallory Hayden, sixteen-year-old producer and creator of her own soap opera. Can she survive life with her backstabbing soap-star mother, keep her friends close and her enemies closer (and tell the difference between them), find true love (supersweet boyfriend-or the show's supercute male lead?), and make her show a hit in this world of high-stakes drama and sudsy sabotage?Originally published as separate hardcover novels, here are all three Likely Story novels in one sizzling volume!"A fresh, hip glimpse into the life of daytime soaps and everyday teens. . . . Soapdish meets Sweet Valley High. . . . If you are a soap fan, YA novel fan or simply looking for a good, dishy, well-written read, Likely Story is a must-have." -Daytime Confidential"More twists, turns, and intrigue than a daytime soap. . . . Sure to be a hit." -School Library JournalFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

One year after the zombie plague ravaged humanity in what would become known as The Fall, the survivors in Kentucky struggle on. They have faced swarms of undead and war with living men, but in the third collection of the story they face their most powerful enemy yet. Each other. Written in journal format (in this case, as a blog), Living With the Dead is the day-to-day story of life and living in the zombie apocalypse. Told in real time, you can join the narrator in the struggle to survive, to unite, and to build again while faced with danger, betrayal, and dwindling resources. In a world of the dead, the only option is to learn how to truly live.