John Sheppard gets that Reagan-era rage and humor just right. This novel is an ode to those kids at the dead-end jobs who knew that the Morning in America was really dusk at best, but had each other, a little weed, some beer, and gas.--Sam LipsyteTrapped in dreary Sarasota, Florida in the early 1980s—during Reagan’s “Morning in America,”—going to high school with junior fascists by day, working at Pizza Hut by night, his family a dysfunctional nightmare, 17-year old Buzz Pepper feels that nothing matters in life beyond drinking, drugs and punk rock.As the country around him is becoming more conservative and corporate, and adulthood seems like the ultimate corrupt existence, Buzz can only find solace within a close-knit group of fellow disillusioned teens, which includes his devoted younger sister, Sissy. As they drive around in Buzz’s beat-up van, encountering redneck cops, mocking the local “geezers,” and wondering if there is any meaning in what seems to be a meaningless world, Small Town Punk perfectly captures how it is to be young, yet feel that you have no future.In the tradition of Hairstyles of the Dammed and Perks of Being A Wallflower, Small Town Punk is a brutally funny and poignant coming of age story that brilliantly evokes the surging joy, confusion and rage of youth.

    Defending this system is idealistic security officer Leo Demidov, a war hero who believes in the iron fist of the law. But when a murderer kills at will and Leo dares to investigate, the State's obedient servant finds himself demoted and exiled. Now, with only his wife at his side, Leo must fight to uncover shocking truths about a killer--and a country where "crime" doesn't exist.THE SECRET SPEECH:Soviet Union, 1956. It is a period of wrenching change. Stalin is dead, and a regime once held together by fear is beginning to fracture, creating a lawless society where the police have become the criminals and the criminals take vengeance against them. A series of murders now has all of Moscow on edge, and no one--no matter how powerful or connected--seems safe. With his new and secretive homicide department, Leo Demidov investigates--only to find that he, his wife, and his two adopted daughters may be in grave danger. For Leo is a former state security officer who arrested and condemned many of his fellow citizens, and despite all his efforts to atone for his past, he cannot escape the long shadow of his former career. To save his family, Leo must make a desperate choice and face an impossible journey that may bring his redemption...or shatter their fragile future.

    Nearly two decades after he made the winning shot in the state championship basketball game, he remains much adored and the focal point of community pride. Hardly a day passes when someone doesn't want to talk about "the game." Now approaching forty, Duke no longer wants to be defined solely by something he did when he was eighteen. So he decides to parlay his local popularity into a successful restaurant--"Duke's Place."But no sooner does he get his restaurant up and running than disaster strikes. One day, "Little Tony" DeMarco, his brother-in-law and a known mob enforcer, comes into the restaurant and murders Duke's oldest friend. Now Duke faces the hardest decision of his life. DeMarco thinks he's untouchable, but Duke discovers a way to take him down, along with his mob superiors.To do so, however, means leaving Mingo Junction and sacrificing his treasured identity as the town legend. And if he follows through, what will remain of his life?

    TALKING WITH GODIn Don Camillo's Little World, where the Cold War is fought on the very doorstep of life, the hot-headed Catholic priest and the equally pugnacious Communist mayor, Peppone, confront one another in riotous and often hilarious manner.But when Don Camillo unburdens himself in the village church a voice from the cross above the high altar responds and his conversations with Il Cristo begin. We watch and listen, as with fascinating insights and gentle humour the prejudices of the stubborn priest are undermined, a resolution to conflict emerges, and the situation is transformed to the benefit of the community.It is then that we see that the ideas and values of Don Camillo's Little World are true for all times, the world over...Inimitable, delicious, full of pure fun THE OBSERVERIn this brand new, authorised edition of Giovanni Guareschi's enchanting classic, nineteen stories never before translated into English are published for the first time. Set in an isolated village amidst the sultry beauty of Italy s Lower Plain, The Little World of Don Camillo has been enjoyed by countless folk from 10 to 100, not only in book form, but also on film, TV and radio, and most recently as an audio-book.

    Their mother is too sad to take care of them; she left her happiness in the hospital last year, along with the first baby.Overwhelmed by grief, isolated from the other villagers, and pregnant again, Maman has withdrawn to a place where Pea cannot reach her, no matter how hard she tries.When Pea meets Claude, a neighbour who seems to love the meadow as she does, she wonders if he could be their new papa. But the villagers view their friendship with suspicion. What secret is Claude keeping in his strange, empty house?"Pea is a heroine you won't forget." (Maggie O'Farrell)Emotional and beautifully written, you’ll be on tenterhooks throughout (Stylist )An original, beguiling debut about the consequences of an imaginatively lived life (Marie Claire )“Perfect for reading groups.”

    How this happened. How that summer – the summer I was 16 – made me the person I am today.I want to share my memories with you: the happy memories are like sunbursts, sparkling on the sea. But then, like a current dragging me under, there's that summer of 1997.The summer my life exploded.The summer I had to grow up.The summer you came into my life.And so this is the story of you.

    '-means so much tay a man.'The crowd stamps and claps, a hundred and fifty thousand voices blending into one.In 2008 Glasgow Rangers FC reached a major European final. It was held in Manchester, a short hop from Scotland into England. Cue a colossal invasion: the largest movement of Scots over the border in history and the first time in hundreds of years that an English city was taken over. Chaos reigned.Pack Men is the fictional story of three pals and one child trapped inside this powderkeg. In a city rocking with beer, brotherhood and sectarianism, the boys struggle to hold onto their friendship, as they turn on each other and the police turn on them. And somehow one of them has to disclose a secret which he knows the others won't want to hear...With this novel, one of Scotland's leading young writers has created a scuffed comedy about male un-bonding and Britain unravelling.

    Description:- The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo Book 1) How do you punish an immortal? By making him human. After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour. The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo Book 2) The god Apollo, cast down to earth and trapped in the form of a gawky teenage boy as punishment, must set off on the second of his harrowing (and hilarious) trials. He and his companions seek the ancient oracles - restoring them is the only way for Apollo to reclaim his place on Mount Olympus - but this is easier said than done. Somewhere in the American Midwest is a haunted cave that may hold answers for Apollo in his quest to become a god again . . . if it doesn't kill him or drive him insane first. Standing in Apollo's way is the second member of the evil Triumvirate - a Roman emperor whose love of bloodshed and spectacle makes even Nero look tame.

    In The Date, an online dating match takes an unusual turn when the man who shows up to the restaurant has no face. In Ozk, a young girl longs to connect with her socially isolated mother, a professor of mathematics who makes a radical discovery.Uncanny, sometimes violent, achingly sad and always profound, these stories showcase a writer with skill and empathy, and draw us in with a steady, unyielding grip.

    Since their leader Petran died, the Guild of Dream Finders have been timid, and their ancient craft has fallen into disrepute. Petran's son Antyr, young, grief stricken and only part trained, could not begin to fill the vacuum left by his father. Increasingly he has become a bitter spectator, with neither the cynicism to become rich by pandering to the whims of the wealthy, nor the courage to offer them his skills honestly and without fear. His nightly visits to the alehouse have resulted in a dwindling of his customers, and the quarrels with his strange Companion have grown increasingly unpleasant. Then mysteriously one night, Antyr is taken to Duke Ibris of the City of Serenstadt, who has been troubled by mystifying and unsettling dreams. It is the beginning of a journey that leads inexorably to a terrible confrontation with a malevolent blind man possessed of a fearful otherworldly sight, and Ivaroth, a warrior chief determined to conquer the Duke's land and all beyond...

    She grew up in the house of one of the richest families in the world . . . in the servants’ quarters with her mother, the family cook. The life of luxury is all she knows, but it isn’t really her life. Unhappy in school, invisible at home, she lives inside her head, in a world made of books and movies. Outside, Manila is in turmoil: protest rallies, a bloodless revolution, coup attempts, and the Web hasn’t even arrived yet. When is Guada going to leave her imaginary shelter and get a life? Funny, caustic, and moving, The Age of Umbrage is the first novel from one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Filipino writing.

    The evil Shadow Lord is plotting to invade the land of Deltora and enslave its people. All that stands against him is the magic Belt of Deltora with its seven stones of great and mysterious power. When the stones are stolen and hidden in dark, terrible places throughout the kingdom, the Shadow Lord triumphs and Deltora is lost. Armed with only a hand-drawn map to guide them, two unlikely companions set out on a dangerous quest to find the lost stones and rid their land of the Shadow Lord. Here are the first five volumes in this fascinating series: The Forests of Silence; The Lake of Tears; City of the Rats; The Shifting Sands; and Dread Mountain.

    

    Wow. Too much energy. Wow. Too much anticipation. WOW. It’s the new memoir from the biggest star in gaming: Dr Disrespect.Dr Disrespect is a 6-foot-8 freak of nature with a 37-inch vertical, the two-time, back-to-back 1993-94 Blockbuster Video Game Champion, and in his factual opinion, the most dominant international gaming superstar in the history of the world. It was just a matter of time before Western civilization came begging Doc to save literature by writing a memoir that reads like a vicious, muscular lion clawing his way through the rocks, roaring in anger and dominance. Here you will find his deepest, most intimate secrets. The untold history of his mysterious, legendary origins and his rise to unparalleled dominance. And most of all, you will find out what, exactly, Doc’s a doctor of. Are you ready for a book with the rhythm of a sleazy ’70s muscleman and the ruthlessness of a ’90s serial killer? A journey that stares down the long, dark alley of your fears and never looks back? Does your warrior’s heart yearn to reach the tippity top of the mountain just to realize you’re still only halfway up? If so, firm handshakes, Champion: Welcome to the salvation of literature.

    Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Jo Jo Moyes.Daisy has lost her mum to breast cancer. She’s at rock bottom and doesn’t think she’ll ever get back up again. Her best friend Abi has other ideas – she tells it like it is and she’s determined to make Daisy remember the person she used to be.What Daisy doesn’t know is that, thanks to Abi, her life is about to take an unexpected turn, when she signs them up to do a charity walk. Added to which, someone is about to burst into Daisy’s world in a riot of colour reminding her that life can be full of surprises.