It's the beginning of a new year and Petra is back after her breakdown with more questions than answers. She has been unable to find out who she is or who she was before she woke up in a hospital bed with amnesia or why she needs so many drugs to keep her alive. Why is there a second entity in her head and why did it try to turn her into a psychotic killer? For the moment though, Petra has more important things to worry about. One of her new friends is being abused and the discovery has disastrous consequences for Petra. A near death experience on holiday unexpectedly uncovers some of her past and results in a holiday romance. Her relationship with Jenny becomes more complicated. Inspector Fransson is still searching for his elusive serial killer. Why were two French Gentek scientists murdered and where is their daughter? Why did their German colleagues disappear, only to reappear in England as University Professors? Where is Petter Ulfson, his prime suspect, and who is Petra Connell?

In an ancient city carved from stone, one desperate young woman searches for peace—in the calm before the Romans attack. In AD 106, a single mother can be certain of one thing—destitution. So Cassia and her six-year-old son flee to Petra, seeking refuge in the loving arms of family. But the great stone city is not what Cassia imagined. And family cannot be trusted. When a secret reveals her son’s true bloodline, the boy becomes the target of a royal conspiracy. He’s snatched from Cassia’s grasp. In her darkest hours, Cassia finds herself surrounded by followers of the Way, a subversive new religious group whose disciples are frequently sentenced to arenas with starved lions and blood-soaked sand. Why would they seek out more danger by helping her? And what kind of religion gives freely and asks for nothing in return? Roman soldiers soon surround Petra, immersing the city in panic and further endangering Cassia’s son. She realizes he cannot be saved by human efforts alone. Her only hope lies with the followers of the Way . . . and her willingness to trust their One True God. Reading Group Guide Included “Higley’s meticulous research enhances readers’ understanding of the daring lives of the first Christians.” —RT Book Reviews, of City on Fire “If you liked Francine Rivers’ A Voice in the Wind, you’ll love Palace of Darkness! It grabbed me from page one and never let go.” —Colleen Coble, USA Today bestselling author

2022 Pura Belpré Honor Book NYPL Best Book of 2021 Texas Bluebonnet Master List Selection NPR Best Book of 2021 Based on a true story, the tale of one girl's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border and lead her family to safety during the Mexican Revolution. "Wrenching debut about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on."—Booklist, starred review "Blazes bright, gripping readers until the novel's last page."—Publishers Weekly, starred review "Vital and perilous and hopeful."—Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee It is 1913, and twelve-year-old Petra Luna's mama has died while the Revolution rages in Mexico. Before her papa is dragged away by soldiers, Petra vows to him that she will care for the family she has left—her abuelita, little sister Amelia, and baby brother Luisito—until they can be reunited. They flee north through the unforgiving desert as their town burns, searching for safe harbor in a world that offers none. Each night when Petra closes her eyes, she holds her dreams close, especially her long-held desire to learn to read. Abuelita calls these barefoot dreams: "They're like us barefoot peasants and indios—they're not meant to go far." But Petra refuses to listen. Through battlefields and deserts, hunger and fear, Petra will stop at nothing to keep her family safe and lead them to a better life across the U.S. border—a life where her barefoot dreams could finally become reality. "Dobbs' wrenching debut, about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on, illuminates the harsh realities of war, the heartbreaking disparities between the poor and the rich, and the racism faced by Petra and her family. Readers will love Petra, who is as strong as the black-coal rock she carries with her and as beautiful as the diamond hidden within it."—Booklist, starred review

Model Petra Nemcova's charmed life was changed forever when the tsunami swept her boyfriend away, and left her with a broken pelvis and clinging to a tree for nearly eight hours. All of her proceeds from this book will be donated to the Give2Asia/Happy Hearts Fund helping to rebuild the areas hardest hit.

An unforgettable journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human. The incredible Newbery Medal-winning novel from Donna Barba Higuera. "Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes - truly a beautiful cuento." - NEW YORK TIMES Había una vez . . . There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth will soon be destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

Petra is fifteen years old and it's her first day at school, any school. She is at least five years ahead of anyone her age academically, she can speak at least three languages, but has no memories before waking up in a hospital bed with terrible head injuries. She had been in a coma for three years after a tragic accident that killed her parents, or so she believes. Two years later she is making her first foray into the real world. In addition to the terrors of trying to make friends, dealing with her sexuality and the school bully, she has to fit into a world she does not understand. She needs a cocktail of drugs every day to keep her alive and there is the second consciousness in her head who invades her dreams and is slowly gaining a foothold in her waking state. All she wants is to be a normal teenager, but her alter ego has other ideas. Who was Petra? What is Gentek? What connection does Petra have to a serial killer being sought by the Swedish police? Her guardians know more than they are telling.

Petra's memories have returned. The realisation that she was once a little girl called Mireille who was murdered by a serial killer has tipped her over the edge. After trying to kill Jenny and blowing herself up, she is now lying in a coma she is unlikely to wake up from. The second entity in her head now has the upper hand and he is slowly erasing Petra's existence while she lies helpless. Jenny, Jackie and Sophie find Petra where her guardians have taken her. The Schumachers prepare the three friends for the worst, but the Musketeers do not give up on Petra that easily. They must confront the evil entity of Petter Ulfson and expel him from Petra's mind. But if they are successful, who will wake up? Petra Connell, who had finally admitted her feelings for Jenny, or Mireille Bouchard, Petter Ulfson's final victim? Chief Inspector Fransson still has no clue as to where his serial killer has disappeared to, or the body of Mireille Bouchard but he knows Petra is the key.