As England descends into economic chaos, sixteen-year-old Barry Mortimer's life turns upside down when his father moves the family from their cozy home in the city to a grim, brick mansion on the outskirts of town. Why isn't anyone allowed to visit the Mortimers' new home? What is Father doing in the cellar and why is he keeping it a secret? As rumors of skyrocketing prices and food shortages become reality, Barry's world begins to crumble. Can his family hold together as a nation collapses around them? Terrifying because it could happen tomorrow... SUMMARY Written by award-winning author John Rowe Townsend, Noah's Castle tells the story of a family trying to survive during a total collapse of the British economy. Money is worthless, unemployment skyrockets, and food and other goods become scarce. As conditions worsen and people begin to starve, how do people react? When does law-and-order break down and civilized behavior end? How do people balance the needs of their family against those of society? Noah's Castle examines these questions but doesn't provide easy answers, resulting in a unique and thought-provoking story of survival.

    

    She's adopted, but her new father can't warm to her, and her mother can't succeed in turning the plain, unresponsive child into the little princess she longs for. When her adoptive mother dies, her greedy aunt takes her in, but hers is not a happy home, and soon Rebecca's life is worse than ever. She longs to escape to the circus that visits her town, with its carefree life and freedom from her past - but will she ever find happiness?

    

    Like most other nineteen-year-olds, she enjoys life. And, oh, how she loves to dance! The only blot on her happiness is her dreadful boss in the office where she works... One rainy day, Poppy is delivering a letter when she fails to notice two people approaching and is knocked to the ground. The couple are full of apologies but Poppy brushes aside the young man's offer to replace her ruined raincoat. As she walks away with her head held high, Andrew Wilkie-Brook says to his sister Charlotte, 'I wish she'd let me help, but she wouldn't listen to me.' Someone is listening, however, and her name is Fate...

    If you haven't read it recently, though, you may not remember the sweeping force of the prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multilayered doppelgänger themes of Mary Shelley's masterpiece. As fantasy writer Jane Yolen writes of this (the reviewer's favorite) edition, "The strong black and whites of the main text [illustrations] are dark and brooding, with unremitting shadows and stark contrasts. But the central conversation with the monster--who owes nothing to the overused movie image … but is rather the novel's charnel-house composite--is where [Barry] Moser's illustrations show their greatest power ... The viewer can all but smell the powerful stench of the monster's breath as its words spill out across the page. Strong book-making for one of the world's strongest and most remarkable books." Includes an illuminating afterword by Joyce Carol Oates.

    Costello's spellbinding novel, The Rag Tree, breathes dark, vivid life into Ireland's passionate legends. Crisp and sharp-witted, Costello's tale probes a modern Ireland torn between letting go of time-honored dreams and embracing the promises of a prosperous New Ireland. Even as they struggle against one another, the Irish Special Branch, the British Army, Scotland Yard, and the I.R.A. find themselves forced to ally against a common foe: The Rag Man. Mattie Joe Treacy is the Rag Man. Engrossed in a desperate quest to find his missing father, Mattie Joe is cursed-by the playboy's life of drink and carousing, by his family's staunch adherence to Ireland's old folk ways, and by a family curse hurled at his clan generations ago. The Curse of the O'Neills, invoked by an angry cleric against Mattie Joe's great-grandfather, declares that, "the eldest son will not survive the father." No Treacy son has since outlived his father, and Mattie Joe is next in line to die. Or is he?

    Original.

    It falls to Rose to bring up her young sister and run the household, with little thanks from either of her parents. But just as Rose has almost given up hope, she realises she has a secret admirer of her own.

    But with the outbreak of World War II, the Flanagan family is torn apart, shaken from their crowded nest in London's East End. While the young ones are evacuated from the war-torn capital - the girls to Devon and the boys to a school in the Midlands - Joe is soon made a sergeant, fighting in France. Billy volunteers for the Army Transport, and young Dan fulfils his dreams and joins the RAF. The war brings tragedy - even the old home is in ruins, bombed and shell-splintered. It's Amy, with her fierce courage and determination, who must pull the family back together. But when a man full of wicked charm and Cockney banter walks into her life and wins her heart, more turbulent years are sure to follow.

    She'll never forget her handsome past lover... Up-and-coming actress, Trace Rutland, has had nightmares about a tragic past ever since she was a little girl. She struggles with her everyday life, finally seeking help from a hypnotherapist. While under hypnosis, she inadvertently experiences a tragic past life in Paris, in 1916, during the First World War. Later, while visiting a wealthy man's private Mata Hari collection, Trace is drawn to a glittering ring, once worn by the convicted spy. Trace is enthralled. When she's alone, she slips the ring on and is swiftly hurled into the past. There, she must face herself as she was in the past, while struggling to change the course of her destiny. When she meets the handsome Edward Kenyon Bishop, a World War I British flying ace, she falls in love. She is swept away into a journey of suspicion and treachery, and must fight for her life. Can she survive the past? Can she return to the present? Can true love endure for all time?

    But soon Josie realises she's made a mistake, and she and Suzy flee Liverpool and a man they now fear. But will they be safe from the past in Birkenhead?

    Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions. White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups. This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone--from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud--threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear... In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.

    Tris Prior and Tobias alternate the role of narrator in each chapter to give readers a refreshing perspective. The future society in a dystopian Chicago becomes unhinged as the faction structure fails. The main characters in Allegiant embark on a quest to go beyond the fence and discover a bigger world filled with genetically pure and genetically damaged people. Like her previous novels, Veronica Roth includes elements of science fiction, action adventure, teen romance, and dystopia in Allegiant. As you read this analysis alongside Allegiant, explore the main themes of sacrifice and individuality while taking a closer look at the main characters. Readers learn more about Tris' world, as genetic experiments are revealed at The Bureau of Genetic Welfare, which was previously O'Hare Airport. While the book covers some serious themes about societal roles, the romance between Tris and Tobias adds a light touch to the overall read. There are numerous thought-provoking, and sometimes confusing, topics in Allegiant, so use this expert analysis to help you understand the characters' changes, decisions, and actions for a more fulfilling and satisfying experience.

    Shifted to the equator, the continent, now known as Antarktos, has thawed and bloomed. Endless ice has given way to lush tropical jungles, and all the people now living here are protected and led by Solomon Ull Vincent, the Last Hunter and King of Antarktos. My father.I've been told that all the creatures of Antarktos, exotic and untamed, howled at the moment of my birth. If that wasn't intimidating enough, I've also been told that I was born to be a hunter, that the blood coursing through my veins destined me to fight mankind's most ancient enemy--the Nephilim, half-human, half-demon monsters determined to exterminate humanity.My older sister, Aquila, thinks it all sounds glorious, but I don't want it. Any of it. I prefer charcoals and a drawing pad to my Norse hammer. So I choose to ignore the stories. My heritage terrifies me. But when Aquila is kidnapped and dragged to the underworld to be broken and corrupted, our guardian, Zuh, is severely wounded and my father isn't there to save them--I'm the only one who can.From the monster-filled caves beneath Antarktos to the halls of Valhalla, I must embrace my heritage, face the fears that hold me hostage and save my sister before she kills our father. To save my family, and Antarktos, I must become a hunter, or perhaps something more...My name is Norah Kainda Vincent, the Last Valkyrie. This is how my story begins.International bestselling author, Jeremy Robinson, is joined by his youngest co-author ever, Tori Paquette, as they delve into the dark and mysterious world of Antarktos, hailed as the "new continent of terror," by New York Times bestselling author James Rollins. Praised by action-adventure and thriller greats such as Steve Berry, Jeff Long, Steve Alten, Stel Pavlou and Scott Sigler, the Antarktos Saga continues in The Last Valkyrie, uncovering dark secrets, sinister evils and the true strength of a young woman.