Meanwhile, Maisie experiences the village Christmas season vicariously through Sidney, and continues writing her Poe-inspired story with only Sidney aware of her secret novel. She soon learns, however, that criticism and praise go hand in hand when he takes issue with her latest chapters, which puts pressure on their friendship, too. But is that what's really the issue between them? Because handsome Gavin has more than ice sculpting in mind when it comes to Maisie's time, which comes as a surprise to no one who's seen them together. As Maisie faces this sudden romantic dilemma, she realizes what she wants most in her life ... and faces a question of what her heart wants most, too.

    A cryptic picture message from their mother leads them to a familiar gate in the woods, but comfortable sights quickly give way to a new world entirely—Down—one inhabited by talking birds and the evil Puppeteer queen. Summer and Bird are quickly separated, and their divided hearts lead them each in a very different direction in the quest to find their parents, vanquish the Puppeteer, lead the birds back to their Green Home, and discover the identity of the true bird queen.With breathtaking language and deliciously inventive details, Katherine Catmull has created a world unlike any other, skillfully blurring the lines between magic and reality and bringing to life a completely authentic cast of characters and creatures.

    She’d get highlights in her hair, a new wardrobe; she’d wear makeup. But nothing ever changes. The mean girls at school are still mean, and Windy’s best friend Elena is still more interested in making up words than talking about boys.And then one day, Windy gets the change she’s been looking for. New girl Nina—impossibly cool, confident, and not afraid of anyone—starts hanging out with Windy! Nina even wants to be “breath sisters.” Windy isn’t sure what that means, exactly, but she knows she wants to find out. It sounds even better than a BFF.Windy is right, at first. Being a breath sister gains her a whole new set of friends, girls she feels closer to and cooler with than anyone else. But her inclusion in the new crowd comes at a dangerous price. Windy wants to change everything about her life . . . but is she really willing to give up everything in the process?

    But when bossy Lindy Miller persuades her to join her older brother's secret society, Anna becomes uneasy. She knows that beneath the secret codes, strange rituals, and frightening masks, the society is just a game. But when Anna breaks the rules and is threatened with punishment, she finds the game has gotten seriously out of hand.

    But after he awakens one day to find a werefox sitting on his chest, Ethan learns he's ripe for a "fantastic destiny" in the Summerlands -- part of a connected, hidden world, where small American Indian-like ferishers play ball, and evil Coyote is thirsty to destroy the universe. Ethan agrees to the job, but when his father is kidnapped, his mission becomes more personal than he bargained for. With a team of ragtag players called Big Chief Cinquefoil's Traveling Shadowtails All-Star Baseball Club -- including the feisty pitcher Jennifer T., Thor Wignutt (a boy who's not quite a boy), a she-Sasquatch named Taffy, and the Anaheim Angels' Rodrigo Buendía -- Ethan treks through the Summerlands playing against incredible creatures and an impending time limit, hoping to reach his dad. Little does he know, however, that his abilities will be tested in the biggest baseball showdown of all time.Chabon successfully weaves an American-made fantasy, incorporating Native American lore, tall tales, and our nation's greatest pastime to make a modern-day tale of good versus evil.

    Decorated NYPD Officer John Coglin always thought his picture on the front page of the newspaper would be one for the scrapbook.That was before he had the bad luck to be forced into a witness-free, kill-or-be-killed confrontation with a drug-dealing thug. It's of no help to him that the incident took place during the run-up to a bitter mayoral election campaign, and that his adversary was sixteen years old and black.Now, instead of another commendation, Coglin is staring down the barrel of a media- and politics-stoked murder rap.But on the eve of his sure conviction arrives a fateful telephone call.It's not the governor, but his long-lost uncle, Aidan O'Connell.A veteran of the IRA and a recently released guest of San Quentin Penitentiary for armed-to-the-teeth robbery, Aidan offers his nephew a pardon that has nothing to do with lawyers.Coglin is about to find out that the type of amnesty Uncle Aidan is proposing is the kind that involves a beautiful but dangerous Mafia widow, a car trunk full of M-16s, and thirty million dollars in jewels smack dab in the middle of Rockefeller Center."Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is a highly entertaining, deliciously gritty, super-fast thriller that takes us on a cutthroat ride into an urban realm where criminal intent collides head-on with the vagaries of fate and the inscrutabilities of the human heart.

    Get a sneak peek inside four of the coolest chapter book series around in this special ebook sampler! Meet the zany characters of My Weird School #1: Miss Daisy Is Crazy by Dan Gutman; travel the world with Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures #1: The Mount Rushmore Calamity by Jeff Brown; laugh out loud with Roscoe Riley Rules #1: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate; and discover the magic with Fairy Blossoms #1: Daisy and the Magic Lesson by Suzanne Williams.

    Bulbasaur and Poliwhirl seem game. But independent Pikachu won't be so easy to win over! And watch out for Team Rocket, Red... They only want to be your enemy!Reads R to L (Japanese Style).