Book picks similar to
A Dance with Destiny by Bruce M. Smith


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paranormal-fantasy
young-adult
hmmm-definitely-readable

Vampire


Amy Mah - 2012
    They face the stresses of school, deciding whom to date, and the biggie of sex, just to name a few. Imagine all of those things ten times worse, and you might get an idea of what it's like being a living, breathing teenage vampire.

Phoenix Child


Alica McKenna-Johnson - 2012
    Fifteen-year-old Sara walks into the San Francisco Center for the Circus Arts determined to ignore the freaky things happening to her. As powers she doesn't want and can't control overwhelm her, Sara must decide if she can trust the strangers who say they are her family... descended from a common ancestor four thousand years ago.Sara clings to her contented and well-planned life as a foster kid, successfully working the system, as dreams, powers, and magical creatures drag her towards her destiny. When the ancient evil that killed her parents comes to San Francisco, Sara is forced to choose between her fears and her desire to protect those she loves. Sometimes great things are thrust upon us. Sara wishes this supposed 'greatness' didn't include a new name, unicorns, and catching on fire.Librarian Note: this is an alternate cover edition for ASIN B007AK6DRW.

Running for Water and Sky


Sandra Kring - 2016
    But what they don't say is that the same thing can happen when your soul mate is dying. After spending most of her 17 years being shuffled between families that don't want her, Bless Adler has no intention of opening her heart to anyone. And then she falls in love with Liam Reid. The closer Bless lets Liam get, the more fearful she becomes. Then her new friend, Maylee, convinces her to go see a local psychic and the woman's glimpse into the future is anything but reassuring: Bless's absent father, drunk and bitter. A frantic crowd gathered at the beach. Liam lying in a pool of blood, a gun at his side. Now Bless has 14 blocks to reach Liam on the shores of Lake Michigan. If he's still alive, she'll beg for him to fight for his life. If he's not, she'll say good-bye to the first person who made her want to fight for her own. Edgy, intense, and emotional, Running for Water and Sky is a story of the elation and angst that comes with love, and the challenge of learning to trust when betrayal is all you ve ever known.

Tethered


Brandi Leigh Hall - 2013
    But fate intervenes and forces Chloe to return home. As if being an in-the-closet-Seer wasn’t bad enough, now she has to spend summer break with the snarky sister who hates her—and the magical birthright she was hell-bent on denying for all eternity.Luckily, meeting Mr. Perfect takes the edge off her endless family drama. Hunter’s twenty-five, sometimes old-fashioned in a Jane Austen hero sort of way, and more delicious than molten-lava cake. But the more she tries to hide her family’s magical secrets from this ever-present stranger, the more quickly she realizes he’s hiding a few doozies of his own. Will the lies and betrayal destroy their relationship before it really begins? Or will learning of their tethered future create an unbreakable bond neither can deny? Either way, their hearts will be forever entwined by destiny.

Screw Friendship


R.G. Manse - 2014
    Frank is Rosy’s biological dad, a man Rosy’s been shielded from her entire life, a man so monstrous, his own mother has snipped his face from all the family photos.This summer, the summer Rosy thinks will be the start of her high-flying genetics career, she will set eyes on Frank, and genetics might well be her undoing. Because nothing has prepared her for the encounter, for the unfathomable urge to help Frank, or for the ungodly contents of her grandmother’s biscuit tin.Rosy’s determined digging is about to reveal that everybody in her circle of friends and family hides beastly secrets. Even Snuggy, the sausage dog.This self-contained, darkly fun novel tells a complete story with no cliffhanger ending, but it's also the start of an epic mystery, the story of a murder many years ago and of Frank Friendship, the murderer’s son.

Howl Series, Books 1-4


Jody Morse - 2012
    She finds herself caught in a web of family secrets and must decide between two fates: the one that was destined to be or the one that was chosen for her.From the bestselling authors of the Briar Creek Vampires series, the Howl series is a riveting tale of romance, friendship, and the true test of alliances.This is a collection of the first 4 books in the best-selling Howl series:1. Howl2. Blood Moon3. Wolfsbane4. Black Magic

The God of Sno Cone Blue


Marcia Coffey Turnquist - 2014
    Medallion.Story summary: Something is odd about Grace. She has mismatched eyes, one dark and one light. She thinks she's seen God. When her mother dies, she begins to get letters from her, as if from the grave. The letters tell of her mother's life before she married Grace's father, in time, confessing fiercely guarded family secrets. "I wasn't always a Preacher's Wife... I made mistakes along the way."Looking back, as a middle-aged woman, Grace relives those transformative years, coming of age in the 1960s as the daughter of The Reverend Thad Carsten and his much-younger wife, Sharon. When they move to a new neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, Sharon is healthy and Grace takes turmoil in stride: a new school, her backward neighbors, the simmering Vietnam War and political unrest. On the whole, life is sublime-until Sharon gets sick and dies. Then Grace's world turns upside down.Days after Sharon is gone, the letters to her daughter start coming, delivered mysteriously in the dark of night. Grace finds them-addressed to her-and devours every word, desperate to figure out who's delivering them. As she struggles with questions of loss and faith, she begins to butt heads with the preacher, increasingly focused on the mysterious messenger and her mother's letters. The handwritten pages arrive periodically as Grace matures, fostering a strange mother daughter relationship.Early on, the letters offer motherly advice, but increasingly they shift their focus to Sharon's early teens, eventually confessing a forbidden young adult romance. By then, Grace is desperate for the rest of the story, searching everywhere for her mother's writings, until finally there's a breakthrough. When she reads the last of the letters-and an astonishing truth-she embarks on a journey that changes her life and perspective forever.What did Sharon confess in the last letter to her daughter? How does it affect their unusual mother daughter relationship? As Grace runs away to trace her mother's past and teenage romance, what will she find?With its elements of romance and mystery, The God of Sno Cone Blue, sometimes searched as "Snow" Cone Blue is best described as contemporary women's fiction, though its strong central male character also appeals to men. The novel's storyline and mother daughter relationship are fitting Inspirational Fiction, and its passion and coming of age tale are appropriate for teenagers and young adults.* USA Today Bestselling Author Linda Needham on this inspirational fiction story: "The God of Sno Cone Blue is a joyous celebration of a young girl's journey to womanhood. Grace is a modern match for Tom Sawyer, with a grand spirit and enough spunk to weather the heartache of losing her mother at a tender age. Along the way, she gains the wisdom to recognize the breadth of her mother's love through a series of posthumous, sometimes shocking letters delivered in the years that follow. With a driving style and a colorful cast of eccentric characters, author Marcia Coffey Turnquist fiercely delivers equal parts laughter, sorrow and the kind of joy that will stay with you long after you've finished the book."*Author Rod Gramer on this novel fraught with family secrets: "Marcia has created a compelling character in Grace, one whose great personal loss is redeemed by a great personal discovery."*Portland Society Page editor Elisa Klein on the story's mystery and romance: "Surprises abound and the twists and turns kept me flipping pages late into the night as I curled up in my favorite chair to drink it all in."*Award-winning artist D.K. Lubarsky on this coming of age novel: "A masterful storyteller, Turnquist takes you on a magical journey of discovery in this poignant tale of innocence and growing up. The God of Sno Cone Blue is a delightful read."

A Ghostly Shade of Pale


Merle Temple - 2013
    History files on a bygone era are ripped open and rewritten in temporal games with eternal consequences at the intersection between heaven and hell, between the visible and the Invisible.Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Captain Michael Parker is an unlikely player in a struggle for the soul of America. A ghostly pale embodiment of evil becomes his obsession, and his tormentor leaves a trail of bodies across the South.As snipers ambush Michael and his agents on frozen fields of regret and the woman he loves is stalked by death, he learns that he is not alone as he has to fight for his life against enemies seen and unseen.

Wilder: The Complete Guardian Series


G.K. DeRosa - 2017
    One typical high school girl. A key that unlocks a family secret…All that Celeste Wilder ever wanted was to find someone who would sweep her off her feet like she had seen in countless romantic movies. When she meets the gorgeous and mysterious Constantin brothers her senior year of high school, she gets much more than what she had bargained for. As they introduce her to an exciting supernatural world that she never imagined existed, she makes a startling discovery about her own family legacy and is forced to make a decision that will change her life forever.

Scent of Murder


James O. Born - 2015
    Assigned to a special K-9 unit with the best partner in the world, a Belgian Malinois named Rocky, Hallett has finally learned to balance police work with his family life. But that all changes in the heat of a Florida sugarcane field.While searching for a kidnapper, Rocky locks onto the scent of a predator unlike anyone has ever seen. Or have they? The more Hallett digs, the closer he comes to his old issues when the case that ended his career as a detective appears to be the key to a series of kidnappings.When the trail turns to murder, Hallett risks everything to catch the killer, even if it means clearing the child molester who drove him to violence and ruined his career. Along the way, Hallett and his partners learn the true meaning of loyalty and courage as their canine companions take police work to a new level and show that instinct means more than training. Scent of Murder is a gritty police thriller from veteran law enforcement agent and author James O. Born

Dragon Orb


Shanlynn Walker - 2015
    They have settled in the city of Goldenspine and allowed the rest of the world to forget them. At 16 years old, Daxon knew he was too old to be chosen to be a dragonrider. On his way home one night he was surprised when a wild dragon's egg was left in his care by the largest dragon he had ever seen. Agreeing to raise and protect the as yet unhatched egg, his hopes to become a dragonrider once more blossom, but again, fate intervenes. When the young dragon hatches, Daxon's world is turned upside down and thrown into chaos. After learning of a mysterious orb and the possibility that it might hold all the dragonrider's dragons in thrall, he is determined to not let the same fate befall his young charge. He must find a way to protect the hatchling from the fate of the other dragons and a way off of Daegonlot before it's too late.

Opportunity Knocks: The Story of How Hope and Opportunity Can Change Everything


Tim Scott - 2020
    As the son of a single mother from North Charleston, South Carolina, he struggled to get through school and had his dreams of a college football career shattered by a car wreck. But thanks to his mother and a few mentors along the way, he learned that "failure isn't failure unless you quit." He also learned that it's hard work and perseverance, not a government handout, that will get you ahead in life.Today, Senator Scott is the only black Republican in the Senate, and he believes that investment and commerce are the best ways to rebuild our most impoverished communities. This is the idea behind his signature piece of legislation, the "opportunity zones" program, which President Trump has strongly endorsed. The program provides tax incentives for businesses that invest in low-income urban areas, seeking to replace things like welfare and government assistance. In Opportunity Knocks, Senator Scott will tell his life story with a focus on adversity and opportunity. He will teach readers about the principles of hard work and hope while addressing the dangers of veering too far toward socialist policies. The book will also not shy away from discussions of racism and racial inequality in the United States, and will recount some of Senator Scott's own brushes with racism as well as the many discussions he's had with people who want to help, including President Trump.

As the Ash Fell


A.J. Powers - 2015
     It’s been seven years since the ash billowed into the atmosphere, triggering some of the harshest winters in recorded history. Populations are thinning. Food is scarce. Despair overwhelming. With no way to sustain order, societies collapsed, leaving people to fend for themselves. Clay and his sister Megan have taken a handful of orphaned children into their home—a home soaring sixteen stories into the sky. With roughly six short months a year to gather enough food and supplies to last the long, brutal winter, Clay must spend most of his time away from his family to scavenge, hunt, and barter. When Clay rescues a young woman named Kelsey from a group of Screamers, his life is catapulted into a new direction, forcing him to make decisions he never thought he would have to make. Now, with winter rolling in earlier than ever, Clay’s divided attention is putting him, and his family, at risk.

The Distance Between: A Travel Memoir


Mike McIntyre - 2014
    Luckily, something remarkable happens wherever he roams. With his keen eye and original voice, he portrays evocative travel moments both big and small. In Sarajevo, he skis with soldiers at the height of the Bosnian War. Outside a Mexican bullring, two boys mistake him for their idol, a professional wrestler. And returning to a tropical paradise, he’s assigned the same hotel room where an older woman broke his heart five years earlier.Along the way, he challenges a rival to a goat race in Saudi Arabia, searches for his missing shoes with barefooted villagers in Honduras, plunges through the Himalayas in aviation’s most terrifying final approach, and joins the U.S. Navy—for one week, anyway. To top it off, he reveals his favorite travel tip gleaned from forty years of globetrotting.By turns hilarious, wistful, and dramatic, The Distance Between draws a captivating self-portrait of a lifelong vagabond and a writer critics call “a reader’s dream” (San Diego Union-Tribune).

The Wrath of the Orphans


Chris Philbrook - 2013
    In idyllic New Picknell nearly nothing happens, and when their day to day routine is interrupted by a skirmish between an invading patrol of the dead from The Amaranth Empire and a defending force from Varrland, their world begins to come undone.With international war looming on the horizon New Picknell becomes the center of quite unwanted attention, and the twins have their world shattered. With nothing left to lose, they set out on a mission of vengeance that will take them to places they'd never dreamed of visiting, discovering mystical powers in The Way that will change their lives forever, and revealing dark knowledges best left undiscovered.Written by the author of the internet phenomenon Adrian's Undead Diary, The Wrath of the Orphans is the first book in a sprawling dark fantasy epic trilogy that is sure to thrill, charm, and disturb.