From the bestselling author of Sweetbitter, a memoir of growing up in a family shattered by lies and addiction, and of one woman's attempts to find a life beyond the limits of her past. After selling her first novel--a dream she'd worked long and hard for--Stephanie Danler knew she should be happy. Instead, she found herself driven to face the difficult past she'd left behind a decade ago: a mother disabled by years of alcoholism, further handicapped by a tragic brain aneurysm; a father who abandoned the family when she was three, now a meth addict in and out of recovery. After years in New York City she's pulled home to Southern California by forces she doesn't totally understand, haunted by questions of legacy and trauma. Here, she works toward answers, uncovering hard truths about her parents and herself as she explores whether it's possible to change the course of her history. Stray is a moving, sometimes devastating, brilliantly written and ultimately inspiring exploration of the landscapes of damage and survival.

Princess Aislynn has long dreamed about attending her Introduction Ball, about dancing with the handsome suitors her adviser has chosen for her, about meeting her true love and starting her happily ever after. When the night of the ball finally arrives and Nerine Academy is awash with roses and royalty, Aislynn wants nothing more than to dance the night away, dutifully following the Path that has been laid out for her. She does not intend to stray. But try as she might, Aislynn has never quite managed to control the magic that burns within her—magic brought on by wicked, terrible desires that threaten the Path she has vowed to take. After all, it is wrong to want what you do not need. Isn't it?

"Compelling and edgy, dark and evocative, Stray is a must read! I loved it from beginning to end." —New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter STRAY is New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent first book in her acclaimed Shifter series. I look like an allAmerican grad student. But I am a werecat, a shapeshifter, and I live in two worlds. Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked. I'd been warned about Strays—werecats without a Pride—constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared. This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back…for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever—and whoever—I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays—'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them… More Praise: "Well written, fresh, charming, great voice —Buffy meets Cat People. I loved it, and look forward to much more in the future from this talented author." —New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham "Rachel Vincent is a new author that I'm going to be watching." —New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison "A highoctane plot with characters you can really care about. Vincent is a welcome addition to the genre!" —Kelley Armstrong, author of the Women of the Otherworld series Previously Published.

Perfect for fans of Black Mirror and Warcross, a suspenseful novel that asks what it means to live a life that isn't your own. Lona Sixteen Always has spent most of her life as someone else. Part of a unique virtual reality experiment for troubled kids who have been "rescued" by the government, she spends twenty-three hours a day on the Path, reliving the decades-old, perfectly ordinary memories of a perfectly ordinary boy. Any other life is unimaginable -- until one day someone appears on Lona's screen who doesn't belong: Fenn, a boy from her past, has returned to set her free. Lona is wrenched brutally into an existence that is suddenly all her own, one that promises liberty and love, but also holds threatening secrets. And it turns out that there is a heavy price to pay for straying from her assigned path. In Stray, Edgar-award winning master of suspense Monica Hesse brings us a richly imagined speculative world where there are no easy answers--and no easy way out.

Clever, moving, imaginative and funny, this is both a wonderful adventure story, and a sly look at humans through the eyes of a cat. A cat of literary distinction - Naomi Lewis, Observer A.N. Wilson has written a classic... His episodic, quasi-picaresque story is deeply read-on, funny, moving and exciting ( Literary Review). Pufftail the tabby cat was a prince among strays. He was charming, adventurous, a gentleman of the road - not for him a life purring around the shins of a Two Footer. Now that he's old and grey-whiskered, he can laze in the sun, telling the story of his life to his admiring young grandkitten. Not all his memories are happy though. He's been thrown out of a moving car, been experimented on in a science lab and joined the violent Cat Brotherhood. Some Two Footers have been kind to him, but he'd rather be free. And he can't understand humans at all. Why do they live in giant cages? Why do they put smoking chimneys in their mouths? And why do they want their own animals?

After Quentin’s bike breaks down in a strange town, he and his friend become surrounded by feral cats.

A heartwarming and authentic immigration story about a stray dog, the power of music, and celebrating old traditions along with new beginnings, by Pura Belpre Award-winning author Yamile Saied Mendez. Maria Emilia's life turns upside-down when she and her family immigrate from Argentina to the US. How can she make new friends when simply speaking English all day is exhausting? Luckily, she has the company of a stray dog in the neighborhood, who happens to look and act just like her beloved pet cat back home. Eventually, it turns out the pup isn't a stray after all -- she belongs to Maria Emilia's new neighbor, Donovan. In order to spend more time with the dog (who totally isn't her reincarnated cat... right?), she agrees to sing in Donovan's band. But can Emilia find her new voice without losing herself?