It's a skill that has come in handy for him all his life. Born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), Stuart has learned to run away from all kinds of trouble - at least if he can recognize it. Sometimes it's hard to know when a friend really is a friend or when he's just bad news.Sam is a basketball star destined to play on a university varsity team until he's sidelined by a dangerous heart condition. After losing the one thing that centres his world, Sam focuses his energy on helping his Best Buddy, Stuart, make the school track-and-field team. But first, both Stuart and Sam must come to understand that there is a time to run and a time to stay where they belong.

    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.

    Necilā Ortaki ciemā pie vienkāršas krogusmeitas Kimiko ierodas mags ar svarīgu vēsti – viņai jāpamet dzimtās mājas un jābēg. Kā saistīti abi notikumu? Kādi ir meitenes sabiedrotie un kādi ir pretinieki raibu raibajā un bīstamajā ceļojumā? Pie kādām atziņām nonāk romāna varoņi?------------------------------------------------------------------------After the massacre of the last dragons, the mythical land of Iridian has fallen into enemy hands. One day Kimiko, an ordinary innkeeper's daughter, is visited by a mage bearing an alarming message: she must flee from her hometown. What is the connection between her and the events of the past? Who will help her in her journey, filled with victory and bitter sacrifices?

    11 years later when seemingly ordinary 16-year-old Lincoln runs away from yet another foster home, heading to his favoured spot in New York City, he is attacked by a dog, a monstrous three headed dog the size of a truck. Becoming marked, a string of attacks follow, only ending when he is saved by El, Ben, and AJ, a group of enhanced people known as Ascendants. Discovering the world is not as it seems, with Sorcerers, Nature Spirits and demonic monsters all hiding in plain sight, he learns that he is a long-lost Ascendant himself; discovering that the chain his father left him was at the centre of a conspiracy that resulted in his abandonment and his father’s subsequent disappearance.

    This songbook includes 10 selections from the score penned by Howard Shore, arranged for easy piano solo: As Easy as Breathing * Compromise/Bella's Theme * Eclipse (All Yours) * First Kiss * Imprinting * Jacob's Theme * Jasper * The Kiss * Victoria * Wedding Plans. Includes fabulous color photos of Bella, Edward and Jacob!

    53 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Keeping Faith. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult.

    Young Kyle struggles to make it through the school day without being noticed, but others intend to make him the center of attention.

    In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the wall and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. Gaia has always believed it is her duty, with her mother, to hand over a small quota of babies to the Enclave. But when Gaia's mother and father are arrested by the very people they so dutifully serve, Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught to believe. Gaia's choice is now simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.

    Books 1, 2 & 3. Dive into a dragon filled adventure! When scruffy Seb and noble Thea are paired as dragon riders, they never imagined they'd be the Kingdom's last hope... Book One: Dragon Trials High-born Agathea Flamma intends to bring honor to her family by following in her brothers’ footsteps and taking her rightful place as a Dragon Rider. With her only other option being marriage, Thea will not accept failure. She’s not thrilled at her awkward, scruffy partner, Seb, but their dragon has chosen, and now the unlikely duo must learn to work as a team. Seventeen-year-old Sebastian has long been ashamed of his drunken father and poor upbringing, but then he’s chosen to train as a Dragon Rider at the prestigious academy. Thrust into a world where he doesn’t fit in, Seb finds a connection with his dragon that is even more powerful than he imagined. Soon, he’s doing all he can to succeed and not embarrass his new partner, Thea. When Seb hears rumors that an old danger is reemerging, he and Thea begin to investigate. Armed only with their determination and the dragon they both ride, Thea and Seb may be the only defense against the Darkening that threatens to sweep the land. Together, they will have to learn to work together to save their kingdom…or die trying. Book Two: Dragon Legends Ever since scruffy Sebastian Smith and Lady Thea Flamma were paired as Dragon Riders, their lives have been forever changed. The unlikely duo forged an unbreakable bond, but now with dark stirrings in the south their bond will be put to the ultimate test. Seb discovers Lord Vincent has returned and he wants to unleash an ancient evil that will destroy the lives of everyone in the kingdom – The Darkening. In order to defend the realm against unspeakable foes, Seb, Thea, and their shared dragon, Kalax, set out on an arduous journey to find the sacred Dragon Stones – before their dark power ends up in the wrong hands. But to conquer an old enemy, Thea must find a way to overcome her own inner demons, and Seb has to muster the courage to become the brave leader his kingdom needs . . . Book Three: Dragon Bonds The Darkening has risen... Agathea Flamma and Sebastian Smith now face an overwhelming enemy. The rapid spread of the Darkening, a threat arising from the mists of legend, looms over the entire land. With both their families torn apart by the conflict and betrayal lurking around every corner, one mistake could doom the kingdom. They'll have to decide where to put their faith: blood ties or newfound friends? After the destruction of the Dragon Academy, it’s up to Thea and Seb to gather their loyal comrades—and forge uneasy new alliances—to quell the ancient menace and face the evil Lord Vincent. With civil war raging, the Dragon Riders must race against time to find the legendary Dragon Stone, the only tool they have to fight against the endless darkness that threatens to swallow them all.

    She is a lifeguard at the pool at the Dunes hotel in Las Vegas, caught off guard by the new attention from men and boys, not quite sure of her own footing in the world. Her mother, Kathy, suddenly finds herself in a place equally uncertain: her children getting older, her stable marriage perhaps too stable, the slow days of summer leaving her adrift. When Kathy meets Helen’s boss, the manager at the pool, her life is on the brink of a different sort of change.Following Helen and Kathy through three summers, this novel is an intimate picture of two sexual awakenings under one roof and their aftershocks on a family. The Perfect Age is set in workaday Las Vegas, where people are married at drive-through chapels, and escort services are advertised alongside 99-cent shrimp cocktail. The novel takes the reader beyond the glitz of showgirls and Elvis impersonators and reveals the everyday life in homes and schools, and among the lukewarm waters of Lake Mead and the semi-cool of the surrounding mountains. In The Perfect Age, Heather Skyler explores the nature of beauty, sex, and class divisions in a society where things are at once normal and bizarre, showing us that the validity of life’s deepest experiences—love, betrayal, acceptance—is never compromised by age.

    Mired in debt, the elderly owners have transferred their beloved Bramley to a heritage trust. Alice must prepare it for opening to the public in the spring. But when the ghosts start appearing - the woman with the wounded hand and the boy in the burgundy hood - Alice realises why her predecessor might have left the isolated house so quickly. As she peels back the layers of the mystery, the secrets Alice uncovers haunting Bramley's heart will be dark - darker than she could ever have imagined...

    That is, until she meets an old man who entrusts her with a package containing a mysterious item that has unbelievable powers. It is a meeting that will change her life.

    She's the lone girl on the Ashton High wrestling team, grappling with opponents who refuse to compete against her, a few who want to crush her, and a coach who's less-than-pleased having a female in his practice room. At home, Mel's parents forbid her from seeing her new boyfriend, her grandmother insists she start preparing for her future by taking a dreary office internship, and her infuriating older brother, who's the varsity team captain, flirts with her best friend, Jade. Just when it seems things can't get any more complicated, an off-handed comment puts Mel at odds with her teammates, her brother, and, worst of all, her coach. But through a twist of tragedy and fate, Mel is given an unexpected opportunity to accomplish something no girl in her school's history has ever done--something that just may redeem her in the eyes of her detractors.

    As a patrician’s daughter, Liona enjoys the sparkling life of a noble family—although she would prefer to be tending to her flowers than practicing violin or standing around in a ball gown. But what Liona fails to realize is that Venice is a city of stone in a world of water. And ruling the dark waters are the Seleni—ageless, cold, and calculating.When she loses everything she relies on, Liona must set a new course that will shake the foundations of Venice itself.

    Meet Brandon:I was the king of the world. I had popularity, two state football championships, admittance to play ball at a top Division 1 school, and was ready for the best summer of my life. What I wasn’t ready for was Claire. From the moment I met her, she forced me to uncover parts of myself I didn’t know existed. The face I wore every day as the king of Parkdale was a façade. This girl was the sun that brightened my world, and I would always protect her. The problem was, how could I protect her from my own self destruction?Meet Claire:I liked my routine life. My best friends, Jackson and Ali, were by my side, I had a job lined up for the summer, and I was headed into my senior year. Things were steady. Things were good. Until Brandon. He came into my life like a whirlwind—strong, forceful, and just about knocked me over. I wasn’t the quintessential quarterback girlfriend type. I hated standing out in the crowd, being surrounded by people. And that was his entire life. Being with Brandon pulled me out of my shell. I handed him my heart, trusting him to protect it like he always protected me. The question was, would it be safe?