Growing up in a town filled with valleys, curvy roads and tiny houses has given Radhika innumerable wild adventures and memories to remember. After moving to a new city and facing the loss of a loved one, her life turns upside down. These changes drift her apart from her first love and the people she loves, but also bring new people and opportunities in her life. Alas, only to let her know that life doesn’t like to grant happiness that easily. A story of losses, mistakes and lessons learned. A story of two families. A story of undying love, love between friends, siblings, lovers, and between people and a place we call home. A story that teaches us that sacrifices aren’t always bad...that sometimes, they are just free coupons of future happiness that awaits us.

From the celebrated author of Rubyfruit Jungle and Bingo comes a stirring novel of the Civil War, a tale of true love and mistaken identity. Brimming with colorful characters and vivid settings, High Hearts is Rita Mae Brown at her most ambitious and entertaining. April 12, 1861. Bright, gutsy and young, Geneva Chatfield marries Nash Hart in Albemarle County, Virginia, the same day Fort Sumter's guns fire the start of the Civil War. Five days later she loses him as Nash joins the Confederate Army. Geneva, who is known as the best rider since Light Horse Harry Lee, cuts her hair, dons a uniform, enlists as "Jimmy Chatfield," then rides off to be with her beloved Nash. But sensitive Nash recoils in horror from the violence of war, while Geneva is invigorated by the chase and the fight. Can she be all the man her husband isn't? She'll sure as hell try. But there is a complication, and his name is Major "Mars" Vickers. This macho major, to his own shock and amazement, finds himself inexplicably attracted to the young soldier named "Jimmy." And this is only the beginning of a novel that moves with sureness and grace from the ferocity of battle to the struggle on the homefront, and brings passion and sly humor to a story of dawning love. High Hearts is a penetrating, delightful and sweeping tale that gives fresh life to a fascinating time.

New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school — and first love. When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students — especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou’s little brother, who’s playing the Tin Man. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey — but as she’s learned, “dating while Native” can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s?

When bearing the burden becomes too much, the vile truth is all that is left.They see my smiles. Fake!They see my confidence. It's an act!They see my control. It's the mask I wear!I have secrets. BIG secrets that not even my best friend knows about.I can never tell anyone about my vile truth, but the shame and disgust I carry are becoming too much to bear. I'm struggling to hold it all together, to maintain the image I've worked so hard to build. While I still seem to be fooling my friends, there's one person that notices my world imploding.He's the new boy, and he has all the girls fanning themselves over his panty-melting looks. I won't fall for it, though, working hard to hide the real me. When the cracks in my façade grow thick and jagged, the new boy manages to push his way past my iron-clad walls seeing right into my dark, cold heart.Why had I thought I could hide my sick twisted truth? It was only a matter of time before my control would end, and the people I should be able to trust become the people I have to run from.I am Lexi West, and this is my nightmare!

Centered around multi–million dollar stakes and a series of nationally televised poker tournaments, Fading Hearts on the River offers a story of odds—the odds of a newborn surviving severe jaundice, the odds of Congress passing a law that renders one's online gambling income inaccessible, the odds of drawing the right card on the turn or the river. In this tale of fatherhood and worldy success, Haxton follows his son Isaac's unlikely career as a poker player, the nervous father often sitting on the sidelines with his fingers crossed or staring at a casino monitor while Isaac wins more in one hand of play than Haxton has earned from all his books of poetry combined. In this deftly crafted story Haxton explores the propensity for abstraction, logic, and memory all good poets and poker players share, all the while taking readers on a rollicking tour of complex, intertwined topics, ranging from game theory and financial strategies, to medical mysteries and lost love, to chess, Magic cards, and Texas Hold ‘em. Guided by the through–line of a father's love and admiration for his talented son, Fading Hearts delivers a unique perspective on professional gambling and one family's experience playing the odds.

Welcome to their kingdom...I never thought I'd step foot in Royal Manor again. But four years later, here I am...back to finish my senior year at Royal Hearts Academy.And forced to face Jace Covington. My first friend. First crush. First kiss. The one I left behind.Only-he isn't the same boy I gave my heart to.This new Jace is as cruel as he is gorgeous.And he's determined to make my life a living hell. Along with the rest of his glorified family and crew of tyrants.They expect me to worship the ground they walk on like everyone else, but I'd rather eat dirt.If Jace Covington wants me gone...he'll have to try harder. Because I've never been the kind of girl to play by the rules.WARNING: Royal Hearts Academy is a New Adult/High School series of standalones filled with drama, a touch of angst, and boys who are bad to the bone.This series is recommended for mature readers due to graphic language and sexual content.

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.