But as Lily grows into a toddler, Caroline notices that her daughter seems to live and act with a disconnect, and soon the perfect future Caroline had envisioned, along with her marriage, begin to crumble. Now she and Peter are no longer lovers, they're plaintiffs in the throes of divorce while still struggling to care for Lily. After years of blame and overwhelming despair, Caroline's chance encounter with a stranger at University Hospital opens her eyes to the prospect of accepting new support, new loves, and new dreams.From the acclaimed author of "The Final Piece" comes a story of a family broken and unable to cope with a daughter's disability. And a mother who finds that letting go of the life she imagined may be the only way to get to the life she was meant for.

    For Marjorie Glatt, being thirteen years old isn't quite the same as it is for everyone else. Responsible for running her family's laundromat while trying to survive middle school, Marjorie's daily struggles include persnickety customers, snippy classmates, agonizing swim lessons, and laundry... always, always laundry. Wendell is a bit different, too. Wendell is a ghost. His daily struggles include Dead Youth support groups and unavoidable stains. But when he escapes from the Land of Ghosts and bumbles into Marjorie's laundromat--the perfect ghost playground--his attempts at fun and friendship begin to harm the family business. Sheets is a powerful story about a young girl's perseverance, even when all the odds are stacked against her. It shows that forgiveness and second chances can result in unlikely friendships. Above all, it is an invitation into an unusual, haunted laundromat that brings family, friends, and--yes--sheets to life.

    I’ve tried hard to go straight, and this time I thought I’d got it, thought things would work out for a change. I didn’t reckon on Tony Rossi and his gang…. Why did I have to get myself involved with such low-life again? And then I saw her, and my life would never be the same again. I knew I wanted her there and then, even though I knew I was committing a crime against her. That’s the moment I knew it all had to change, that I had to change if I was ever going to deserve a woman like Janine. Her dad, on the other hand, has different plans for his daughter’s future, plans that don’t involve me. Times running out to save her, but I have no job, no money… no hope. Even if I did, what happens when the past catches up to me and she finds out all about me? It’s bound to happen… I can’t build a relationship on a web of lies. Can she ever love a man like me? Janine I’m scared, scared as hell of a future that dad has already planned for me, but what can I do? When I meet Ed, I wish things could be different, he’s everything I want in a man… even if he is older than me. He’s strong and handsome, and someone to protect me from men like Tony Rossi… but it all seems so hopeless. I hate Tony Rossi with a passion, I hate any form of violence, and could never love a man like him… a bully and a small-time gangster. I felt a strong attachment to Ed from our first meeting… maybe it’s love at first sight, I don’t know… but I know nothing about him. With my dad forever watching me, how will I ever meet up with Ed to find out? They say that love will find a way, but I don’t see how. Can Ed save me? Is he the one? *Taken By The Thief is a short, standalone romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.

    He's Anastasia's pesty but lovable younger brother.This is Sam's big chance to tell things exactly the way he sees them.  He has his own ideas about haircuts, nursery school, getting shots, and not eating broccoli.  Sam thinks a lot about being bigger and stronger, about secret codes and show-and-tell.Make way for your little brother, Anastasia.  Here for the first time is Sam Krupnik's life story.  What a life!

    Combine ingredients with one adorable puppy, add a strong but silent lobsterman with a hidden heart of gold and watch the sparks fly.

    But Lacey's problems are very real and they are exactly two: her breasts. Twelve years old and in eighth grade, Lacey has developed faster than everyone else around her. The other girls -- even her own best friend -- are jealous, and boys won't stop teasing her. Then Chad, a high school boy, starts talking to her at the mall, assuming she's older, and for the first time Lacey sees a positive side to her appearance. She keeps the flirtation -- and the lie -- going. Meanwhile, a childhood guy pal resurfaces and Lacey does all she can to hide her "developments" from him. Suddenly in every part of her life Lacey's torn between trying to look older and trying to look younger, trying to grow up and trying hard not to. How long will Lacey stay stuck in between?

    But now, Bianca needs a favour, and the only man she can turn to is her ex-husband. He's already broken her heart once. Can she trust him again? ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS The widowed Lady Elizabeth Sanderson is no longer interested in men. Her life is ordered, calm and boring: just the way she likes it. So why can't she stop thinking about billionaire bad boy Antonio Casacelli, and the way his body seems to call to hers? THE TYCOON'S CHRISTMAS CAPTIVE The last thing Marcos Casacelli needs is a ward to babysit, especially not one as spoiled and indulged as the Hollywood starlet Kat Van Buren.Kat's not just running from any scandal or heartbreak, though. Her life is at stake, and the one man who can protect her seems to hate her with a passion. THE SHEIKH'S CHRISTMAS MISTRESS Charlotte Faber falls head over heels with The Sheikh Malik Desara the moment she sees him. She thinks he loves her, too, until he propositions her... to be his mistress! How can she accept? How can she refuse?

    So when a poor, straight-A student goes missing in a small town outside Atlanta, Nola vows to bring her home. But in a case that already cuts close to her own wounded heart, she discovers the teenager is only the latest girl to vanish into gangland vice.Fearing for the naive victims, Nola channels her boiling rage into working alone. But as she pushes further into a shadowy conspiracy, even her lethal fists and deadly marksmanship may not be enough to save innocent lives.Can Nola free the captives before she is silenced?Surrender the Fear is the haunting first book in the Nola James crime fiction series. If you like powerful women, vigilante enforcement, and brutal hand-to-hand combat, then you'll love R.D. Brady's dark mystery.Buy Surrender the Fear to put evil in the crosshairs today!

    After all, she is twelve years old, barely five feet tall, and quite polite. (The minions are used to tall, demanding evil sorceresses with razor-sharp cheekbones.) But the castle desperately needs a master or else the Board of Magic will decommission it, leaving all the minions without the home they love. So when Molly assures them she is quite wicked indeed (So wicked! REALLY wicked!) and begins completing the tasks required by the Board of Magic for approval, everyone feels hopeful. Unfortunately, it turns out that Molly has quite a few secrets, including the biggest one of all: that she isn't who she says she is.This quirky, richly illustrated novel is filled with humor, magic, and an unforgettable all-star cast of castle characters.

    Scarlett and her friend, Ellie, go on a sometimes hilarious, sometimes scary, journey of discovery, following the clues and always remembering to ‘keep looking up’. Was Scarlett’s dad a thief? Was he a spy? And what does it mean to be his daughter?Fleur Hitchcock is a great new voice in children’s literature, and Dear Scarlett is a great book.

    Eliza is out on a first date, when the lights go out and someone other than the man she's out with takes advantage of the dark to kiss her more passionately than she’s ever been kissed before.Since the mystery kisser has to be one of the men sitting nearest to her, Eliza is now determined to kiss as many frogs as she needs to until she finds her prince.

    The sky is blue, the sun is blazing, and the days brim with possibility. But Leah feels. . . lost. She has been this way since one terrible afternoon a year ago, when everything changed. Since that day, her parents have become distant, her friends have fallen away, and Leah’s been adrift and alone.Then she meets Jasper, a girl unlike anyone she has ever known. There’s something mysterious about Jasper, almost magical. And Jasper, Leah discovers, is also lost. Together, the two girls carve out a place for themselves, a hideaway in the overgrown spaces of Atlanta, away from their parents and their hardships, somewhere only they can find.But as the days of this magical June start to draw to a close, and the darker realities of their lives intrude once more, Leah and Jasper have to decide how real their friendship is, and whether it can be enough to save them both.

    Last year he had a tumor removed from his leg. Though it's a struggle, Cody tries out for the Lions and makes the team as a "super sub" -- one of eleven players who jokingly named themselves that because they're never allowed to play. Secretly Cody is relieved, since he hasn't told anyone on the team that he had cancer. But then there's a shakeup in team management and suddenly Cody and the super subs are the only players left. Cody has no choice now but to play, even if his leg does begin to hurt. At an end-of-season tournament it becomes clear that he and another player, Paulo, are close to being the perfect scoring duo. Without being aware of it, Cody has been holding himself back, striking with his left leg instead of his right. When he finally comes clean to his teammates about his disease and injury from the year before, they encourage him to trust his leg and his skill.

    Scarlet is tall, pretty, and popular -- the star of the soccer team and the queen of the school. Lavender is . . . well, none of these things. Her friends aren't considered cool, her hair is considered less than uncool, and her performance at the recent talent show is something nobody will ever forget -- even though she really, really wants it to be forgotten. There's only one thing Lavender and Scarlet know for sure they have in common: the same birthday. They've never had parties together. They've never swapped presents. But this year, because of two wishes that turned all too true, they are about to swap something much bigger than presents. Because the morning after their birthdays, Lavender is going to wake up in Scarlet's body . . . and Scarlet is going to wake up in Lavender's. But in order to change back, they're going to have to figure out how to be someone completely opposite of who they ordinarily are...

    Questions like, is her Aunt Carol an undead fiend who drinks the blood of the living? Is she secretly lurking in the attic? And is Molly's friend Lowry a descendant of a long line of Kroglin werewolves?Serious young historian Molly suspects that the creepy legends about her tourist town of Howlfair are starting to come true. But when her mother bans her from doing any further research, bookworm Molly and her friends - Lowry and guardian-cat Gabriel - become covert monster-hunters to keep Howlfair safe. It seems that someone is secretly trying to summon Howlfair's mythical monsters, and with the election of a new town mayor looming, everything – and everyone – is becoming increasingly suspicious...