At 16, Madison has accepted herself for who she is: smart and witty, but overweight with thick glasses and the social life of a Tibetan monk. Everything changes the summer before her junior year of high school when her eyesight inexplicably corrects itself, and she begins to rapidly lose weight. However, her new look comes with an unexpectedly expensive price. Madison's first kiss with the boy she has had a crush on for years triggers powers she can't control, almost killing him.She discovers she is a Berserker, a powerful being chosen to guard the world from the Havocs, ancient creatures brought into our world by magic thousands of years ago. They cause destruction and death, but cannot be killed. Only the Berserkers' life-blood can bind - and free - the Havocs. One Havoc is free and wants Madison's blood to free another. Instead of enjoying her new look and popularity at school, Madison must now work with the Berserkers to master her powers and bind the Havoc before it kills her. Oh, and if that weren't bad enough, it turns out she is the first female Berserker since, well - ever.

Winner of the Bram Stoker Award: Tom can see ghosts—and that’s the least of his gifts. Now he must harness his newfound magic to save Chapel Hollow. A drifter trying to hide his extraordinary powers—and find a place where he belongs—Tom Renfield has recently settled in the small Oregon town of Arcadia. But when Laura Bolte gets into his cab, he’s plunged deep into a world of magic he didn’t even know existed. The pair is thrown together by supernatural forces, and Tom learns that Laura is the gifted daughter of an ancient family who lives in the nearby enclave of Chapel Hollow. But the mysterious clan has dark—and dangerous—secrets. If Tom is to have any hope of finding the kinship he’s been looking for, he and Laura must find a way to protect the home of her ancestors and the innocent citizens of Arcadia. The debut of a Philip K. Dick Award nominee who has been called “this generation’s Ray Bradbury,” The Thread That Binds the Bones is an extraordinary fantasy novel by the author of A Fistful of Sky and The Silent Strength of Stones (TheSunday Oregonian). The Thread That Binds the Bones is the 1st book in the Chapel Hollow Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order. This ebook includes the bonus stories “Lost Lives” and “Caretaking.”

Tabby is a dreamwalker, a witch who escapes into the stories of sleep to avoid a birth family that's never loved em enough. Amane is a cartomancer, a medium who speaks for the Unseen, but doesn't know her own needs. Rhiannon is a psychic, an archivist who can See into the past, but only has eyes on the future.??Their stories intertwine as they discover the secret of Illumination (a magical craft which creates immortal manuscripts), explore the Library's archives, and apprentice under their master mentors-the three of whom are competing to be the next Head Librarian and have a relationship history of their own. ??How do you know who's truly worth being part of your family? Sometimes we must forge connections in order to heal; other times, those bonds must be broken.

In today's chaotic world, most women feel like they're hanging on by a single, ever-fraying thread. But the gospel teaches us differently. As daughters of God, we're blessed with lifelines from above. All we have to do is reach up and grab hold of them. The author simply and beautifully illustrates which threads have the strength and power to carry women of virtue to safety, peace, and lasting happiness.This inspiring work will help you hold fast to the divinity within you, as you learn just how powerful a faithful woman can be.

In the wake of a tragedy and fueled by guilt from a secret she's kept for years, a woman discovers how delicate the thread that binds family is in this powerful novel by Lyn Liao Butler. Two days before Tam and Tony Kwan receive their letter of acceptance for the son they are adopting from China, Tony and his estranged cousin Mia are killed unexpectedly in an accident. A shell-shocked Tam learns she is named the guardian to Mia’s five-year-old daughter, Angela. With no other family around, Tam has no choice but to agree to take in the girl she hasn’t seen since the child was an infant. Overwhelmed by her life suddenly being upended, Tam must also decide if she will complete the adoption on her own and bring home the son waiting for her in a Chinese orphanage. But when a long-concealed secret comes to light just as she and Angela start to bond, their fragile family is threatened. As Tam begins to unravel the events of Tony and Mia’s past in China, she discovers the true meaning of love and the threads that bind her to the family she is fated to have.

Come into the world of Susan Masters - knick-named the Ice Maiden - and meet her elderly husband, her unambitious son, her misogynist boss and her quarrelling parents. Her life seems unlikely to change, when she suddenly discovers the secret her parents had kept from her all her life.

Don’t miss Ami Polonsky’s stunning new novel, World Made of Glass To Whom It May Concern: Please, we need help! The day twelve-year-old Clara finds a desperate note in a purse in Bellman's department store, she is still reeling from the death of her adopted sister, Lola. By that day, thirteen-year-old Yuming has lost hope that the note she stashed in the purse will ever be found. She may be stuck sewing in the pale pink factory outside of Beijing forever. Clara grows more and more convinced that she was meant to find Yuming's note. Lola would have wanted her to do something about it. But how can Clara talk her parents, who are also in mourning, into going on a trip to China? Finally the time comes when Yuming weighs the options, measures the risk, and attempts a daring escape. The lives of two girls -- one American, and one Chinese -- intersect like two soaring kites in this story about loss, hope, and recovery.