Rodriguez spent time as an inmate of the California Youth Authority—a prison system for young lawbreakers. This book reflects on the happy and the miserable times of his childhood—growing up, maturing, and finally making a comfortable life for himself. Highly recommended reading for young adults, East Side Dreams has earned the distinctions of being named the "Best First Book of the Latino Literary Hall of Fame", and has been honored as one of 200 Best Teenage Books in the United States by the New York Public Library System.

    All this seems far removed from Kami, a boy who quietly goes about his everyday life in his farm village until one day he trips over the unconsious body of a warrior hidden in the long grass.That discovery will lead him on an adventure across the warring kingdoms, facing assassins and enemy soldiers as he journeys to the capital to face the new Shogun. Through his travels he aspires to become a samurai, and in his many challenges he eventually comes to understand what it means to be one.

    He is warned by night whispers to flee from his tiny mountain village of Dun Mare. The stolen egg of a dragon will pay his way, if he manages to live long enough to sell it. However there are forces against him far beyond his understanding. All he believes he knows about his life and home is false, but the egg of the black dragon is the key. Many believe black dragons do not exist or have gone extinct. Gareth finds himself alone in a strange world of tempest seas, flying dragons, and powerful foes vying for the mental powers he may possess, and for control of the egg. Telepathic teachers a secret sisterhood, and the king's armies willing to kill for a black dragon are only the beginning of Gareth's story. The second book of the series is expected to be published by October of 2015.

    In a massive change of lifestyle, former NYC fashion writer Catelyn Frank travels to Texas to start a doctorate in Catholic Thomistic philosophy and search for Truth, Beauty, and the Perfect Guy.

    I live with my dad who has a big tattoo that says Live to Ride. He is so strong he can lift up a car, but he can't tell me what he's thinking. Maybe he's thinking about my mother who shot through.Sugar Boy is my best friend. We hang around down at the river, in the bush tunnel, or beside the railway tracks riding our bikes fast enough to beat the train. There's only two of us, but we're the whole team.I don't know what would happen if I didn't have Sugar Boy . . .

    Since then, the recurring nightmares, creepy hallucinations and overpowering fear are gone. That's good, right? I mean, no one in their right minds wants to feel like that. I am starting to wonder if I'm in my right mind anymore...When a lady in my neighborhood died, I couldn't help but stick my nose in, to see what happened. I should just get on with things–I've got some new friends, and a cool boy named Chris has taken an interest in me. Everyone is telling me to just leave this weird murder alone.But I can't stop myself. The more I find out about her death, the more twisted everything is.I think there’s a predator in Narrowdale. And now it’s hunting me…What have I gotten myself into?

    Under a boundless starry sky, the unforgettable Sylvia Carr reconnects with the ancient past and discovers what it really means to be young in the world today.Sylvia, brave hearted and rebellious, moves into wild Northumberland from the city of Newcastle. She feels alien in this huge, silent, seemingly empty landscape, but then she meets Gabriel, a strange yet familiar boy. As they roam the forests and fells together, she sees nature with new eyes. She becomes aware that the past is all around her, and is deep inside herself. From the wing of a dead buzzard, they create a hollow bone - the kind of flute that was created and used in rituals in the distant past. This is a book of hope and joy - a book that celebrates humanity and explores the deep connections between ourselves and nature. It is timely and original. It speaks to young people about what it really is to be a human being alive today.

    "Special hands. Strong and sensitive. You can do anything you want with hands like these. So don't ever put them to bad use.""Luke has good hands. Everybody says so. Good for playing the piano -- just like his father did before he died. And good for climbing -- climbing trees, climbing toward the stars, in search of some peace away from family troubles.Now Skin and his gang want Luke to do some climbing for them. They want him to climb into Mrs. Little's house to look for something to steal. They want him to prove he's a real part of the gang.But nobody is ready for what Luke discovers when he does climb into the house. He encounters something so unexpected that it changes everything -- something that unlocks secrets and helps Luke find out exactly who he is and what it is that he's been searching for.

    The kids in 8th Grade Writer's Workshop are awestruck when their teacher announces that through her husband's cousin, she's met rock superstar Nick Thompson and has invited him to their class. He's come to talk about writing and he's even cooler than they imagined. Nick, known for his music as well as his lyrics, tells the kids his secret: A song is just a bowl of fruit-one must figure out how to paint it. Words are to a writer what paint is to a painter. How many ways can one arrange the fruit? An infinite number. There's style, voice, genre, and much more to consider. Nick gives the kids two weeks to complete the assignment using seven seemingly ordinary elements. Each student must tell an interesting story, reflecting his or her style. And so "The Fruit Bowl Project" begins. Rap, poetry, monologue, screenplay, haiku, fairy tale-and more.

    But mostly people call me Lula. So, my big news is...I've finally been kissed. Eeeee! I have an actual, factual boyfriend! At least, I thought I did. But things with the perfect boy aren't going to plan - thanks to his journo gal pal, Evil Jazz. And that's not all. Hoooo no. In a few days I've got to dance the hula in public, put a stop to some seriously serious criminal activity, win a race, and stop Dad from shaming me totally with his weirdiness. Frikkly frik! Where is my normal life? Huh? Where? Please, someone, tell me I'm not jinxed forever...Laugh-out-loud funny and gorgeously romantic, Lula Does the Hula is the perfect summer read.

    Name that Demon!!! Freaky boyfriends! Shouting Moms! Innocence betrayed! These are some of the pickled demons you'll meet as Lynda Barry mixes the true and the un-true into something she calls "autobificitionalography." From her nattering and intolerant/loving Filipina grandmother to the ex-boyfriend from hell who had lice, Lynda Barry's demons jump out of these pages and double-dare you to speak their names. Called by Time magazine "a work of art as well as literature," One Hundred Demons has been hailed for its shimmering watercolor images and unforgettable stories about life's little monsters.

    He might make fun of their meetings, but now to have this young man come-oh! She had not known what to say nor how to say anything indeed, but the young man who knelt across the room listening was amazed, and found himself wondering if it was really Lois Peters who was talking in that sweet voice, apparently to some One who stood close beside her, and in whom she seemed to have the utmost confidence. For the first time in his life he believed that there was something in religion which he did not understand, a power that reached into the heart-life as nothing else could do......

    But it's not just a guide to giggling at sleepovers--although that's included, of course! Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this book is every girl's invitation to adventure.

    Get books 5-8 in one boxed set. Great for collectors!

    In Namako: Sea Cucumber, Ellen, a 10-year-old multiracial girl, no longer a child, not quite a teenager, finds herself exploring an unfamiliar world of spirits and ancestors, ghost stories and secrets. Leaving the United States, Ellen and her family travel to Japan to care for an ailing grandmother Ellen has never met. In Tokyo, Ellen is sent to stay with and learn from her seemingly disapproving grandmother. When her father buys a house in northern rural Japan, Ellen and her grandmother rejoin the family. While there, Ellen's life changes rapidly - she discovers a talent for art, gains a best friend, and grows to love her grandmother. Honoring a last request, Ellen and her mother journey with her grandmother to their ancestral home. There, finally, Ellen begins to integrate her family's history with her own future.