As development overturns the landscape of North Carolina, tenth-grader Chris Fuller knows he’ll end up fighting Brandon, a new kid who just moved into the housing development that destroyed Chris’s beloved pine forest. Brandon turns out to be a real runner, far better than Chris, shows no respect for locals, and when it comes to a school project that has Chris baffled, slams his hand down and says, “It’s as good as done!” Chris needs an idea for the project, but mostly he’s trying to find a way to be talking to violinist Muriel. She makes the crazy suggestion he try talking to someone from the past, anyone who might give him an idea. But he’s pretty sure he’s already been spoken to, maybe by a mythological night sky jaguar, who asks, “Do you know how fire burns in water?” When Chris’s first idea falters and he gets desperate, the jaguar makes a way for Brandon’s troubled past and Chris’s faithfulness as a friend to cross paths and carry them to a new place of standing and friendship.

Offers insight into crows' ability to make tools and respond to environmental challenges, explaining how they engage in human-like behaviors, from giving gifts and seeking revenge to playing and experiencing dreams.

Download the first two chapters of Six of Crows for free! Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price-and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone.... A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist.

A black teenage lesbian finds herself stranded in a dangerous and unfamiliar place: an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp.

Drawing on two decades of experience as a war correspondent and based on his numerous columns for Truthdig, Chris Hedges presents The World As It Is, a panorama of the American empire at home and abroad, from the coarsening effect of America's War on Terror to the front lines in the Middle East and South Asia and the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Underlying his reportage is a constant struggle with the nature of war and its impact on human civilization. "War is always about betrayal," Hedges notes. "It is about betrayal of the young by the old, of cynics by idealists, and of soldiers and Marines by politicians. Society's institutions, including our religious institutions, which mold us into compliant citizens, are unmasked."

The two-time Newbery medalist has crafted “a loving representation of a relationship between parent and child” in post-WWII America (Publishers Weekly, starred review). This is the story of young Liz, her father, and their strained relationship. Dad has been away at WWII for longer than she can remember, and they begin their journey of reconnection through a hunting shirt, cherry pie, tender conversation, and the crow call. This allegorical story shows how, like the birds gathering above, the relationship between the girl and her father is graced with the chance to fly. “The memory of a treasured day spent with a special person will resonate with readers everywhere.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “Beautifully written, the piece reads much like a traditional short story . . . the details of [Ibatoulline’s] renderings gracefully capture a moment in time that was lost. Relevant for families whose parents are returning from war, the text is also ripe for classroom discussion and for advanced readers.” —Kirkus Reviews

For college student Emily Sheppard, the thought of spending a summer alone in New York is much more preferable than spending it in France with her parents. Just completing her freshman year at Callister University, Emily faces a quiet summer in the city slums, supporting herself by working at the campus library. During one of her jogs through the nearby cemetery while visiting her brother Bills grave, Emily witnesses a brutal killingand then she blacks out. When Emily regains consciousness, she realizes shes been kidnapped by a young crime boss and his gang. She is hurled into a secret underworld, wondering why she is still alive and for how long. Held captive in rural Vermont, she tries to make sense of her situation and what it means. While uncovering secrets about her brother and his untimely death, Emily falls in love with her very rich and very dangerous captor, twenty-six-year-old Cameron. She understands its a forbidden love and one that wont allow her to return to her previous life. But love may not be enough to save Emily when no one even knows she is missing.