Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 22. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Giver is a 1993 soft science fiction novel by Lois Lowry. It is set in a future society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian; therefore, it could be considered anti-utopian. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth year of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness," a plan which has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of "Receiver of Memory," the person who stores all the memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. When Jonas meets the Giver, he is confused in many ways. The Giver is also able to break some rules, such as turning off the speaker and locking his door. As Jonas receives the memories from the previous receiverthe "Giver"he discovers the power of knowledge. The people in his community are happy because they don't know of a better life but with the knowledge of what they are missing out on it could create chaos. He faces a dilemma: Should he stay with the community, his family living a shallow life without love, color, sound and knowledge or should he run away to where he can live a full life? Despite controversy and criticism that the book's subject material is inappropriate for young children, The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold more than 5.3 million copies. In Australia, the United States and Canada, it is a part of many middle school reading lists, but it is also on many banned book lists and appeared on the American Library Association's list of the most challenged books of the 1990's....More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=19993

    Their mortal enemies the Gork, led by the vicious Redeye, grow ever stronger as the Light fades slowly away. And it is only a matter of time before the Stoop are utterly destroyed... But there is one Stoop, who will not accept defeat. For Brog has the brave heart needed to find the Source of Light, and restore it to its former glory. And as he sets off on his perilous question, the Stooplord, Klan the Golden, leads the Stoop in a final, and possibly fatal, battle against the Gork...

    But on the journey back to England he faces pirates and a terrible storm, before making the longed-for trip back up the river Thames. Finally reunited with his family in Norfolk, Sam realizes how much life at sea has become part of him. So when he hears that Napoleon plans to attack England, he is tempted to join the navy once more, and finds himself midshipman on none other than the Victory, preparing for one of the most epic battles in history: Trafalgar.

    Oh yes, and dead.Book 2: Vengeous. Dusk. Sanguine. Three of the deadliest killers alive are in town to resurrect an unstoppable creature of horrifying power… and only Skulduggery and Valkyrie stand in their way.Book 3: You’ve seen it all before: some bad guy wants to bring about the end of the world. A few people get hurt, sure, but everything’s all right in the end. Well… not this time.

    Craving something creepy? Explore the Cirque Du Freak, an underworld of grotesque creatures and bizarre beings--truly A Living Nightmare! Want another blood-curdling morsel? Uncover the gruesome untold history of Larten Crepsley, the Cirque's head vampire, and find out what led to the Birth of a Killer. Still have a taste for terror? In the Demonata's dark world, werewolves roam, and Lord Loss, a powerful demon, feeds on the pain and suffering of others. And stick around for dessert, because in a bonus sneak peak of Shan's next series, zombies invade. There's plenty of stomach-turning gore to go around!

    He'd much rather hang out there with his dog, Rosie, than go to middle school, where kids call him Sir Limps a Lot, McGimpster, or Uno — for his one good leg. What Zane doesn't know is that the volcano is a gateway to another world and he is at the center of a powerful prophecy. A new girl at school, Brooks, informs him that he's destined to release an evil god from the ancient Maya relic he is imprisoned in — unless she can find and remove it first. Together they return to the volcano, where all kinds of crazy happens. Brooks turns into a hawk, a demon attacks them in a cave, and Rosie gives her all while trying to protect Zane. When Zane decides to save his dog no matter the cost, he is thrust into an adventure full of surprising discoveries, dangerous secrets, and an all-out war between the gods, one of whom happens to be his father. To survive, Zane will have to become the Storm Runner. But how can he run when he can't even walk well without a cane?Feisty heroes, tricky gods, murderous demons, and spirited giants are just some of the pleasures that await in this fresh and funny take on Maya mythology, as rich and delicious as a mug of authentic hot chocolate.

    But returning home to Texas turns into an odyssey that would rival Homer’s original tale.With the supernatural aid of ghostly La Llorona via a magical earring, Odilia and her little sisters travel a road of tribulation to their long-lost grandmother’s house. Along the way, they must outsmart a witch and her Evil Trinity: a wily warlock, a coven of vicious half-human barn owls, and a bloodthirsty livestock-hunting chupacabras. Can these fantastic trials prepare Odilia and her sisters for what happens when they face their final test, returning home to the real world, where goddesses and ghosts can no longer help them? Summer of the Mariposas is not just a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey, it is a celebration of sisterhood and maternal love.

    As a cartographer’s daughter, she’s equipped with elaborate ink maps and knowledge of the stars, and is eager to navigate the island’s forgotten heart.But the world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland – and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a legendary fire demon is stirring from its sleep. Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself.

    The call is so powerful that no one can resist. The only way to stop the calling is to trek up the treacherous Drakken Peak to confront your destiny.Dima Marren is a simple peasant from the small village of Pithe in the Darkken Empire. Her life was never meant to amount to anything, until she hears the Call of the Dragons. Honor and wealth await, if she can survive what’s to come.If chosen, riders must attend the Legion Academy and take part in the deadly Dragon Games--a brutal competition designed to cull the weak.On her quest, Dima meets Arlen, a gorgeous, but infuriating Noble Rider who reveals the truth about the academy and games. Despite hating one another, they will need each other to survive what's to come.If she can trust him, the truth will change everything.

    Then in Olympus at War, Emily is living on Mt. Olympus, but her father is being held by the CRU—so she makes a plan to sneak back to New York to save him. In The New Olympians, Emily, Joel, Paelen, Pegasus, and the sphinx Alexis return to Earth to investigate strange rumors surrounding an amazing racehorse called Tornado Warning. And in The Origins of Olympus, a deadly plague has struck Olympus, and Pegasus is slipping away. Determined to save him, Emily embarks on an investigation that takes her back in time to the origins of Olympus—and to the deadly battle between the Olympians and the Titans.

    This isn’t most fairy tales.Princess Violet is plain, reckless, and quite possibly too clever for her own good. Particularly when it comes to telling stories. One day she and her best friend, Demetrius, stumble upon a hidden room and find a peculiar book. A forbidden book. It tells a story of an evil being—called the Nybbas—imprisoned in their world. The story cannot be true—not really. But then the whispers start. Violet and Demetrius, along with an ancient, scarred dragon, may hold the key to the Nybbas’s triumph . . . or its demise. It all depends on how they tell the story. After all, stories make their own rules.Iron Hearted Violet is a story of a princess unlike any other. It is a story of the last dragon in existence, deathly afraid of its own reflection. Above all, it is a story about the power of stories, our belief in them, and how one enchanted tale changed the course of an entire kingdom.

    How did he allow the other person to die? How did he help the other person to hang himself to death? He was terribly upset about this. The moment his eyes saw a rope in any form he used to remember everything.........

    Like in every culture, Chinese folktales too have been instrumental in passing on Chinese tradition, beliefs, customs and values from one generation to the next.Chinese folklore consists of fables, legends, mythology tales and historical accounts. Magical creatures, demons, mythical animals, malicious step-mothers and witty and valiant protagonists take you through the common themes of the triumph of cleverness and wisdom.This collection of Chinese folktales includes the well-known tale of the 'Valiant Shu Lang', the woman who dressed herself as a man to join the military, 'The Laughing Monks' who taught the path to a contentted life throguh the only language they knew - laughter, and 'The Great Discovery', the tale of how a phenix led a young couple to a treasure they later discover to be salt.

    Now she has to do her best to pick up the pieces, put her life back together, and move on, which is difficult when she's cut off from the demesne for the summer. Stuck with Aunt Agatha again, Celia quickly realizes that things still aren't what they seem, and while she's seeking answers and information, those are in short supply.Returning to the demesne doesn't bring the result she expected, but then everything shifts again with the discovery of a new puzzle, one that has Celia looking for pieces of a different sort. Her search brings her to new people and new places, but now she has to balance all the demands on her time and attention even as she struggles to master new abilities and keep up with her schoolwork. The stakes are higher than ever and Celia can't afford to fail, because now she's searching for more than just answers.