Hardiguards are two-legged creatures, covered by layers of scales to protect them against severe conditions on the planet. To obey the Holy Mountain, they need to make the region green and grow their population. Ace is a young Hardiguard bound to his own vices causing a tragic accident and fails to gain his community's trust. He is the first person who receives the most severe punishment for his fault, leading him to leave his people and seek refuge near the Holy Mountain. Living near a mysterious mountain with absolute power not only influences Ace but also requires the residents to obey its commands. Ace's life takes a turn from the harsh experiences he encounters, overcoming his fears and doubts. He dares to unravel the mysteries of the mountain, only to discover his own disillusionment and save the one he loves. Hardiguards find that the summit is now a source of chaos and contradiction, as they meet their sophisticated creators face to face and discover the truth behind their creation...

Peace is shattered in the Village at the Edge of the Valley when the first child disappears in the night. Despite their best efforts to keep them safe, the villagers lose their children, one after another. Conor, an orphan in the village, is not affected by the disappearances until one of them touches his own life. He realizes that feelings of mistrust must be set aside, and people must rely on one another if they are ever to see the children again. With the gift of sight and travel, Granny Matilda is pulled into the past where secrets must be kept in order to protect the innocent. She and Conor travel to the mountains together in search of the children where they find old enemies, new allies, and dangerous secrets.

When 15 year old Yue lays her eyes on the Grim Reaper, her life transforms. Sephirah, the scythe-wielding messenger of Death, whisks Yue out of the troubled human world and into the afterlife, teaching her the wonders of magick as she goes. From the airborne cities of Hell to the misty graveyards of Heaven, Yue’s power expands. She soon engages in the conflict between the spirits in Hell and the demons of Heaven. Her fear of returning home intensifies and Yue must make her choice- to live and breathe in misery, or follow Sephirah and have her last bit of sanity scraped away...

Silver Medalist, 2020 Wishing Shelf Book Awards: Books for 6–8 Year Olds Winner, 2020 American Fiction Awards for Best Cover Design: Children's Books Finalist, 2020 American Fiction Awards for Children's Fiction The first day of school is coming... and I'm going to be in the noisy class. Any class but the noisy class will do! A young girl is about to enter the third grade, but this year she's put into Ms. Johnson's noisy class. Everything about the noisy class is odd. While all the other classes are quiet, Ms. Johnson sings and the kids chatter all day. The door is always closed, yet sounds from it can be heard in the hallway. With summer coming to an end and school starting, the girl realizes that soon she'll be going to the noisy class. What will school be like now? Featuring the honest and delightful humor of debut author Angela Shanté and the bold, graphic imagery of debut illustrator Alison Hawkins, The Noisy Classroom encourages those with first-day jitters to reevaluate a scary situation by looking at it from a different angle and to embrace how fun school can be, even in nontraditional ways.

A two-hundred-year-old curse. A tangled thread of mental illness. A growing list of Ross family women dying young. The house where it all began, Desolate Ridge, holds all the secrets. Nothing Hidden Ever Stays is HR Mason's debut gothic suspense.

A girl is dead. A boy is locked up. Can Debbie Bradley discover the truth before more lives are lost?maybe even her own?A series of deadly shootings. An outbreak of stolen cars. When journalist Debbie Bradley returns home to St. Louis, the summer crime wave has started. And she's in the center: A witness, a reporter, a target. Debbie's reasons for leaving behind her promising career in Washington D.C. were complicated. Her mother, a prominent lawyer, was diagnosed with cancer. Her engagement was cooling. When she got offered a job in St. Louis that she hadn't been looking for, Debbie recognized an opportunity. Or an escape. But she didn't expect to come home and see a girl die. Debbie never planned to investigate a boy behind bars. And she didn't anticipate colliding with hostile cops and wary politicians.As her work gains attention, Debbie gathers enemies. Will her assignment to cover the St. Louis crime beat be her last?

Once a promising young concert pianist, Camille Childs retreated to her mother’s Santa Barbara estate after an injury to her hand destroyed her hopes for a musical career. She now leads a solitary life teaching piano, and she has a star student: Graciela, the daughter of her mother’s Mexican housekeeper. Camille has been grooming the young Graciela for the career that she herself lost out on, and now Graciela, newly turned eighteen, has just won the grand prize in a piano competition, which means she gets to perform with the LA Philharmonic. Camille is ecstatic; if she can’t play herself, at least as Graciela’s teacher, she will finally get the recognition she deserves. But there are only two weeks left before the concert, and Graciela has disappeared—gone back to her family’s village in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. Desperate to bring Graciela back in time for the concert, Camille goes after her, but on the way there, a bus accident leaves her without any of her possessions. Alone and unable to speak the language, Camille is befriended by Alejandro, a Zapotec man who lives in LA but is from the same village as Graciela. Despite a contentious first meeting, Alejandro helps Camille navigate the rugged terrain and unfamiliar culture of Oaxaca, allowing her the opportunity to view the world in a different light—and perhaps find love in the process.