From the author of Sticks & Stones, a realistic middle-grade story with a dash of magic about a girl who sees other people's thoughts in bubbles above their heads. Twelve-year-old Sophie Mulvaney's world has been turned upside down after her mom loses her job and breaks up with Pratik, who Sophie adored. But then: Sophie starts seeing bubbles above people's heads that tell her what they are thinking. Seeing other people's thoughts should be cool, but it's actually just stressful-what does it mean that Pratik wishes she and mom were eating with him? What does Viv Carlson's school project have to do with her? And when she finds out through the thought bubbles that her best friend Kaya likes her other best friend, Rafael-the very same Rafael that Sophie has her own crush on-Sophie has to find a way to figure out how to deal with knowing more than she should.
Lauren DeStefano makes a stellar debut with this chilling tale. The first installment of a planned trilogy, Wither introduces listeners to a bleak world where a mysterious disease kills most women by the age of 20 and men by the age of 25. Like many girls her age, 16-year-old Rhine has been captured and forced into marriage in an effort to keep the population growing. But, despite her new husband's wealth, she wants nothing more than to escape her servitude and return home before time runs out.
Nobody wants to adopt the Shluffmuffin twins. Wally’s feet stink something awful, and Cheyenne is allergic to everything. Then why are the Mandible sisters so eager to take them home? And what sort of old maids would choose to live in a place called Dripping Fang Forest, where zombies wander the woods singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and ten-foot-long glowing slugs want to suck the feet right off your ankles?
Would it seem ungrateful of Wally to point out the Mandible sisters’ extra arms? Or to question their all-chocolate, all-the-time menu? Or, um, to venture into the cellar, where the twins have been told to NEVER, EVER, EVER go?
Yeah, perhaps that last bit was a mistake. Now there’s nothing left for the Shluffmuffins to do but run–run for their lives!
It’s not easy being the middle child, especially when your dad is a Navy Chief. Meet Piper Reed, a spunky nine-year-old who has moved more times than she can count on one hand. From Texas to Guam, wherever Piper goes, adventure follows, inspired by her active imagination, free-wheeling spirit, and a bit of sister magic.
Unlike her older sister, Piper loves being part of a Navy family, and unlike her younger sister, Piper is no prodigy genius. Piper is Piper–fearless and full of life!
House Jackson, age twelve, star pitcher and team captain of the Aurora County All-Stars, has a secret. For the past year, while sidelined with a broken elbow, he has spent every afternoon at the bedside of a mysterious old man the other kids call Mean-Man Boyd-and he doesn't want anyone to know. Now House is finally ready to play ball again, but his team's biggest (and ONLY) game of the year might be canceled, thanks to the very girl who caused his broken elbow. It's almost too much to bear. But in the standoff that ensues, House finds a courage he didn't know he possessed-and discovers that just about everyone in Aurora County, Mississippi, has a secret.
Jake is part of a very special family. A rowdy bunch of siblings and an incredible mom and dad. They have a life filled with art, music, long summer nights on the cape, and lots and lots of baseball. But no one is more special in Jake's mind than his younger brother Edward. From the moment he was born it seemed Edward was destined for greatness. He could make anyone laugh and everyone think. And he was the only kid in the whole town who could learn how to throw the perfect knuckleball. Jake looks back on one year in particular. It was a magical time, where everything seemed perfect--until the unimaginable happens and Edward dies. But looking back, Jake learns so much about himself by remembering his brother. He realizes what a gift Edward was to his family and those around him, and he sees firsthand the amazing gift Edward is able to give a stranger who is in desperate need of a miracle.
For Kirsten McKenna, the world is crumbling. Her parents are barely speaking to each other, and her best friend has come under the spell of the school’s queen bee, Brianna. Only Kirsten’s younger science-geek sister is on her side.
For Walker Jones, the goal is to survive at the new white private school his mom has sent him to because she thinks he’s going to screw up like his cousin. (Walk keeps telling her,“Don’t have to worry, Momma. Before I go bad I’ll let you know, send a Hallmark card ready-made for the occasion . ‘On the eve your son messes up.’”)
But Walk is a good kid. So is his new friend, Matteo, though no one knows why Matteo will do absolutely anything that hot blond Brianna asks of him.
Then Kirsten discovers something that shakes her and Walk to their cores. . . .
Without Mom, there are no more bedtime stories, no more answers carried on the wind, and no more magic gardens. Evie doesn’t believe in magic now. After all, if magic were real, her mom would still be alive.
But when Evie moves to Beaumont, New York, where her father has bought a withered apple orchard that the townspeople whisper is cursed, she learns about a lost girl, receives a mysterious seed, and meets a boy who claims to be dead.
Before long, Evie finds herself in the middle of a fairy tale. And this one is real.
There's only one way Shelby and her sisters can describe their mother: she's a sexpot. She collects men (and loans, spending money, and gifts of all kinds) from all over the country. Sure, she's atypical, but she's also more than a pretty face and nail polish -- she's confident and brave and lives lifeon her own terms. And her daughters adore her, and work together to keep the family grounded in a way their mother can't.
Then a late-night car crash shatters everything, including their mother's arm and face. Suddenly, the family is scattered across the country, each girl being sent to live with her respective father. While Helen undergoes surgery and post-surgery, the sisters try to adjust to a life without each other. The trouble is, they're NOT adjusting, and the youngest, Maddie, is so terrified of her father that she's withdrawing...from her sisters, and from herself. That's when Shelby realizes something must be done -- something drastic -- to reclaim her family. At turns wickedly funny and unflinchingly haunting, Outside Beauty showcases Cynthia Kadohata's unerring ability to explore the bonds that bind.
Meet the Beacon Street Girls... They're real, They're fun- They're just like you!
Can the Beacon Street Girls bring the house down at Abigail Adams Junior High's Talent Show? Or will the Queens of Mean steal the show? Maeve, Avery, Katani, Isabel, and Charlotte face their toughest challenges yet -- saving the show, keeping the Movie House from going out of business, and dealing with an out-of-control soccer mom. On top of it all, Maeve's relationship with Dillon is shaky and Marty, the dog, has a crush on a mysterious pink poodle owned by the very interesting Ms. Razzberry Pink.
Will the girls be able to show everyone that sometimes you have to take things out of bounds to put it all back together?
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is back with a brand-new bundle of wonderfully magical cures for any bad habit—from watching too much TV to picky eating to fear of trying new things. With a little help from her pets, Wag the dog, Lightfoot the cat, and Lester the pig—and a trunk full of magnificent powders and potions—she can solve any problem, big or small. And while Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is working her magic, the children are working some of their own, planning a boisterous birthday bash for everyone's favorite problem solver!
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
For out-starting upstarts of all ages, here is a wonderfully wise and blessedly brief graduation speech from the one and only Dr. Seuss. In his inimitable, humorous verse he addresses the Great Balancing Act (life itself, and the ups and downs it presents) while encouraging us to find the success that lies within us.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent...guaranteed.)
