A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • A “furious and addictive new novel” (The New York Times) about mothers and daughters, and one woman's midlife reckoning as she flees her suburban life. “Exhilarating ... reads like a burning fever dream. A virtuosic, singular and very funny portrait of a woman seeking sanity and purpose in a world gone mad.” —The New York Times Book Review Samantha Raymond's life has begun to come apart: her mother is ill, her teenage daughter is increasingly remote, and at fifty-two she finds herself staring into "the Mids"—that hour of supreme wakefulness between three and four in the morning in which women of a certain age suddenly find themselves contemplating motherhood, mortality, and, in this case, the state of our unraveling nation. When she falls in love with a beautiful, decrepit house in a hardscrabble neighborhood in Syracuse, she buys it on a whim and flees her suburban life—and her family—as she grapples with how to be a wife, a mother, and a daughter, in a country that is coming apart at the seams. Dana Spiotta's Wayward is a stunning novel about aging, about the female body, and about female complexity in contemporary America. Probing and provocative, brainy and sensual, it is a testament to our weird times, to reforms and resistance and utopian wishes, and to the beauty of ruins.

Breathtaking photographs and deeply personal stories from a leading surfing and nature photographer, conservation advocate, and social media force Wayward is a collection of striking photographs and the revealing personal stories behind them by one of the leading surf, nature, and adventure photographers of our time. At remote beaches and locales in places like Russia, Norway, Iceland, and the Aleutian Islands, Chris Burkard suffered from hypothermia, destroyed thousands of dollars' worth of camera gear, and spent a few nights in jail. But in the process, he captured amazing and iconic images that have defined his life’s work. And while millions have seen his photographs in magazines, marketing campaigns for Patagonia, Sony, and others, and via his social media, Burkard has never given a full account of these journeys--until now. With never-before-seen images and the stories behind them, Burkard crafts an original narrative that combines the page-turning drama of a great explorer’s adventure story and the immediacy and power of unforgettable photographs. Chronicling both the failures and the successes he has experienced in building a career, Burkard shares an infectious passion for photography, surfing, and chasing dreams in some of the world’s most awe-inspiring places.

“If King had written a sequel to The Stand, it might look something like this monumental epic of a story.”—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Kingdom of Bones “As great as Wanderers was, Wayward is better.”—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones Five years ago, ordinary Americans fell under the grip of a strange new malady that caused them to sleepwalk across the country to a destination only they knew. They were followed on their quest by the shepherds: friends and family who gave up everything to protect them. Their secret destination: Ouray, a small town in Colorado that would become one of the last outposts of civilization. Because the sleepwalking epidemic was only the first in a chain of events that led to the end of the world—and the birth of a new one. The survivors, sleepwalkers and shepherds alike, have a dream of rebuilding human society. Among them are Benji, the scientist struggling through grief to lead the town; Marcy, the former police officer who wants only to look after the people she loves; and Shana, the teenage girl who became the first shepherd—and an unlikely hero whose courage will be needed again. Because the people of Ouray are not the only survivors, and the world they are building is fragile. The forces of cruelty and brutality are amassing under the leadership of self-proclaimed president Ed Creel. And in the very heart of Ouray, the most powerful survivor of all is plotting its own vision for the new world: Black Swan, the A.I. who imagined the apocalypse. Against these threats, Benji, Marcy, Shana, and the rest have only one hope: one another. Because the only way to survive the end of the world is together.

The second book of the smash-hit Wayward Pines trilogy, from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade It’s the perfect town . . . as long as you don’t try to leave. Nestled amid picture-perfect mountains, the idyllic town of Wayward Pines is a modern-day Eden – at least at first glance. Except that within its fences, the residents are told where to work, how to live, and who to marry. None of them know how they got here. Some believe they are dead. Others think they’re trapped in an unfathomable experiment. Everyone secretly dreams of leaving, but those who dare face a terrifying surprise. As sheriff, Ethan Burke is tasked with enforcing the town’s laws, and he’s one of the few entrusted with the truth – even though, for all his knowledge, he’s as much a prisoner of Wayward Pines as anyone else. But when a murder investigation draws him deeper into the town’s inner workings, Ethan learns that its past is darker than even he suspected – and finds himself faced with an impossible choice. The second novel in Blake Crouch’s blockbuster trilogy, Wayward delves deeper into the irresistible mysteries and horrors of this perfect little town, even as it asks what it means to live with secrets – and what price we’ll pay for the truth.

THE HOTLY ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER CARRY ON Simon Snow is back and he's coming to America! The story is supposed to be over. Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after... So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch? What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light. That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West. They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place. With Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell has written a book for everyone who ever wondered what happened to the Chosen One after he saved the day. And a book for everyone who was ever more curious about the second kiss than the first. It’s another helping of sour cherry scones with an absolutely decadent amount of butter. Come on, Simon Snow. Your hero’s journey might be over – but your life has just begun.

The first book of the smash-hit Wayward Pines trilogy, from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade. Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a mission: locate two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation turns up more questions than answers: Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out? Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan farther from the world he knew, from the man he was, until he must face a horrifying fact – he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive. The nail-bitingly suspenseful opening installment in Blake Crouch’s blockbuster Wayward Pines trilogy, Pines is at once a brilliant mystery tale and the first step into a genre-bending saga of suspense, science fiction, and horror.

Age range 14+ Six opposing factions run the city, each with their own particular powers, peace is held only by fragile accords, and the magic-wielding sorcerers have problems in their own faction that threaten to tear them apart. In a London not like our own, as granddaughter of the High Sorcerer, Cassia Sims should be a powerful magician, but she's never been able to make her magic work properly, and is therefore denied entry to The Society of Young Gifted Sorcerers. Desperate to prove herself, she's drawn into a plot by her brother, Ollivan, to make himself head of the society, and on the way she finds a trap he set for his enemies: a cursed doll that absorbs any magic that is thrown at it. The doll escapes, rampaging through the streets of London, and Cassia must learn to work with her magic and her brother to prevent the destruction of the city.