But then she’s asked to show a new girl around school, and she begins to think her luck could finally be changing.Eccentric, talkative and just a little bit posh, Alberta is not at all how Frances imagined a best friend could be. But the two girls click immediately, and it’s not long before they are inseparable. Frances could not be happier.As the weeks go on, Frances finds out more about her new best friend – her past, her secrets, her plans for the future – and she starts to examine their friendship more closely.Is it, perhaps, just too good to be true?

    I managed not to crash into him. I tried to look calm, cool, unperturbed. I told myself not to laugh, especially not a snorting kind of laugh. "Wha . . . what did . . ."And then he kissed me.Charlotte (Charlie to her friends) finds herself falling for a boy who is off-limits. Her best friend is in love with him, and her mother and his father are dating. Still, Charlie can't help but wonder, what would happen if we kiss?

    At school he faces constant pressure and ridicule from the jocks and their girlfriends. Then he meets Daniel, a new kid who doesn't seem afraid of anything. All Travis is good at is drawing, and praise from Daniel leads to a combustible friendship—one where manipulation makes Travis go to violent extremes to get what he thinks he wants and deserves most. Though you know Travis brings a gun to school from the first chapter, the events leading up to that day unfold with gripping tension, making this powerful debut novel impossible to put down.

    Wave. Dominate. Presley loves the pageant world. She knows how to work the crowd and looks gorgeous in an evening gown. But really, she needs the pageant world -- for its scholarships and opportunities. The only thing standing in her way? Her archrival, Megan, who was practically born wearing a crown and sash. Megan may be the nastiest girl on the circuit, but she has one thing that Presley doesn't: connections. And she won't hesitate to use them. What happens when two girls will stop at nothing -- including scandalous Internet pictures, vicious message board rumors, or "accidentally" ruined hair -- to be crowned the winner? Strap on your stilettos and tuck in those shoulder pads...it's going to be a bumpy ride.

    The Summer of Passion, to be exact, when Jory Michaels plans to explore all the possibilities of the future—and, with any luck, score a boyfriend in the process. But Jory has a problem. A big problem. A curvy, honking, bumpy, problem in the form of her Super Schnozz, the one thing standing between Jory and happiness. And now, with the Summer of Passion stretched before her like an open road, she's determined for Super Schnozz to disappear. Jory takes a job delivering wedding cakes to save up for a nose job at the end of the summer; she even keeps a book filled with magazine cutouts of perfect noses to show the doctor. But nothing is ever easy for accident-prone Jory—and before she knows it, her Summer of Passion falls apart faster than the delivery van she crashes. In this hilarious and heartbreaking novel, Sydney Salter delivers a story about broadening your horizons, accepting yourself, and finding love right under your nose.

    Luxuriously illustrated with 92 watercolors, it's a wonderful introduction to Alice's adventures as well as a splendid volume for collectors. Available for sale in the United States only.

    At five months shy of eighteen, she’s become an expert in loneliness, heartache, and neglect. Her whole life she’s been cursed, used, and left behind. Swallowed a thousand tears and ignored a thousand deliberate cruelties. Sayre’s stuck by her mother through hell, tried to help her, be near her, be important to her even as her mother slipped away into a violent haze of addiction, destroying the only chance Sayre ever had for a real family.Now her mother is lying in a hospital bed, near death, ravaged by her own destructive behavior. And as Sayre fights her way to her mother’s bedside, she is terrified but determined to get the answer to a question no one should ever have to ask: Did my mother ever really love me? And what will Sayre do if the answer is yes?

    When Andie immerses herself in the crazy, colorful world of K-Pop, she never imagined it would change her life forever and lead her to finding the boy of her dreams.

    Teenagers are celebrating the first taste of freedom as they line their pockets with newly printed driver’s licenses and long-awaited paychecks. Days off are spent at the town’s only lake, nights under the yellow lights of the drive-in restaurant.But Billy Tupper’s life is a far cry from that of other teenagers. One mistake too many lands him in front of a judge who sentences him to a summer working for Old Lady Baxter, the victim of his latest carelessness…and the rumored child killer of Munroe, Kansas. As Billy sweats his way through endless months of mowing her lawn, weeding her garden, and painting her house, he also searches for the evidence to prove she’s guilty, but what he finds, and what he learns about himself, will change his life forever.I Know an Old Lady is a touching coming-of-age story of loss and redemption, of understanding and compassion, and of a family torn apart and slowly put back together.I Know an Old Lady is Billy Tupper’s story.

    The terrified young mother fears her life will soon end at the hand of her abductor. But Elle learns that her kidnapper, Jonathan Marsh, is a prominent Houston businessman who claims to be saving her from a life of middle-class monotony by taking her home to Texas, marrying her and molding her into the ultimate socialite. With a new identity, Elle is forced to play the role of Jonathan’s loving housewife, and it doesn’t take long for her to discover that her new husband is an incredibly powerful and cunning man. Elle is accepted by high society, and she slowly forms friendships, but soon secrets are uncovered that leave her wondering if her husband is truly the villain. Will Elle Holley ever be reunited with her daughter and with her life of middle-class monotony?

    Never been to a movie. Never played baseball with a real team. Never got over feeling guilty for the loss of his brother. But change is in the air. Billy discovers he has a natural talent for baseball, especially as a pitcher. Maybe, just maybe, there's more in store for him than life on the farm. But can Billy convince his father of that? Or is he destined to spend the rest of his life pitching nothing but hay?Teenager Billy Baggs is desperately needed on his family's struggling dairy farm, but he's also an extraordinarily gifted natural baseball player. How he struggles to reconcile his father's desire to keep him on the farm with his coach's interest in getting him on the field is at the heart of this ‘meaty story.… The complex characters grow and change in profoundly real ways.''K. ‘[With] flashes of humor, a wealth of lovingly recounted details evokes the difficult daily life on a small dairy farm.''Publishers Weekly. 1994 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)1994 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)1993 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)

    Gymnastics is Amalia’s life and she’s sacrificed everything to get this far, but she still has to prove she has what it takes to stand out in Rio. The competition is tough and nothing is guaranteed, not even for her teammates, recently-crowned national champion Ruby Spencer, who missed the 2012 Olympics after rupturing her Achilles a month before the Games, and world champion Emerson Bedford, whose personal drama is threatening her mental game when she needs it most. Picking up where "Finding Our Balance" left off, "When It Counts" follows Amalia, Ruby, and Emerson on the next steps in their journey to Rio.

    Eric is gentle, handsome, and Jena's falling deeply in love.But as their fabulous summer passes, Jena begins to wonder about Eric: why is he so mysterious? Where's his family, his friends?Then Jena learns the truth about Eric, and her beautiful summer of happiness and love is shattered.

    She's a successful marketing executive who still believes in sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

    It all starts the summer Christy vacations on a California beach and meets two friends who change her life forever. But after moving across the country with her family, Christy must begin her sophomore year of high school uncertain where she’ll fit in. A red-headed new best friend, a try at cheerleading, a job at a pet store, and expectations for the prom fill Christy’s high school years with a string of laughter-and-tears moments. Fireball Katie keeps everyone guessing what she’ll do next, and surfer Todd keeps showing up while popular Rick has determined to get her full attention! As these memorable years unfold, Christy and her God-loving friends find out what it means to be a “peculiar treasure.” Follow Christy Miller as she stays true to her identity in Christ, drawing closer to God for help in realizing her dreams and dealing with her disappointments.Book Details: Format: Box Set Publication Date: 12/22/2005 Pages: 496 Reading Level: Age 12 and Up