When fourteen-year-old Nicholas Dane's mother dies, social services sends him to a home for boys where intimidation and violence keep order. After a number of fights and brutal punishments, Nick thinks that life can't possibly get any worse . . . until he realizes that the home's respected deputy head, who has been grooming him with sweets and solace, has something more frightening in mind. Acclaimed writer and truth-teller Melvin Burgess brings us, with Dickensian scope and compelling narrative drive, his most ambitious book yet.

After hours. Underground. Trapped. With real zombies. Humble garbageman Vance Campbell doesn't care very much for comic books, superheros, or pop culture in general, but his wife does, so he has volunteered to work at the local convention to get tickets for her and their daughter. But when a freak earthquake literally shakes things up, the festive weekend takes a turn for the worse. Now, Vance finds himself trapped by a broken elevator on the mezzanine level with a motley crew of other volunteers, vendors, and celebrities. To get out they'll have to make their way around to the other elevator—and straight through a hungry horde of undead spawned by the earthquake—before the horror envelops the rest of Comicon, and his family. If you like campy apocalyptic adventures that don't sacrifice scientific plausibility for great fun, where the characters are locked in a desperate battle against unknown forces, with neither the skills nor the equipment to handle the violent task, and you like turning blood-soaked pages as fast as you can, laughing with your heart pounding all the while, you'll love Zombies Versus Comicon. Fans of realistic, plausible, funny science fiction stories will enjoy the Con Chaos series of campy but realistic pop-culture monster novels, which can be enjoyed in any order, but which may be best without spoilers when read in order. The Con Chaos books contain graphic violence, strong language, intense situations, and frequent absurd humor. Movies based on these books would likely be rated R.

When a plane mysteriously crashes, sole survivor Nicholas Dane discovers he can channel his fellow dead passengers' talents. Chased by the killers who destroyed the plane, Dane fights to stay a step ahead of death, while piecing together the puzzle of his life.

Melvin Burgess has made a powerful name for himself in the world of children's and young adult literature, emerging in the 1990s as the author of over twenty critically acclaimed novels. This collection of original essays by a team of established and new scholars introduces readers to the key debates surrounding Burgess's most challenging work, including controversial young adult novels Junk and Doing It. Covering a variety of critical and theoretical perspectives, the volume also presents exciting new readings of some of his less familiar fiction for children, and features an interview with the author.

At 29, Julie Barenson is too young to give up on love. Four years after her husband's tragic death, she is finally ready to risk giving her heart to someone again. But to whom? Should it be Richard Franklin, who is handsome and sophisticated and treats her like a queen, or Mike Harris, who is Julie's best friend in the world, though not as debonair? Now, with a decision that should bring her more happiness than she's had in years, Julie's life is about to become a living nightmare, as one man's jealousy spins into a deadly obsession.

Everyone says fourteen-year-old BILLIE is nothing but trouble. A fighter. A danger to her family and friends. But her care worker sees someone different. Her classmate ROB is big, strong; he can take care of himself and his brother. But his violent stepdad sees someone to humiliate. And CHRIS is struggling at school; he just doesn't want to be there. But his dad sees a useless no-hoper. Billie, Rob and Chris each have a story to tell. But there are two sides to every story, and the question is . . . who do you believe?