FROM A PECK ON THE CHEEK… Maddie Jackson's bruised heart leaped at the casual brush to her cheek. Evidently men in this town found her attractive! But wasn't this handsome stranger being a little forward? And then she discovered that Patrick O'Rourke thought Maddie was his sister-in-law, and her heart leaped again—this time with hope…. TO A TINGLE IN HER TOES! Because Maddie had come to town searching for family—and now she might have found a sister. Yet should she risk turmoil by getting involved with the infamous O'Rourke bachelor? Though Patrick offered his support, he also stirred her vulnerable passions. Would loving him lead to heartbreak or the love and family she longed for? There was only one way to find out…

With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.

A series of whimsical essays by the New York Times "Social Q's" columnist provides modern advice on navigating today's murky moral waters, sharing recommendations for such everyday situations as texting on the bus to splitting a dinner check.

Double Trouble! It's a beautiful Texas summer, and Shelby Bell's idyllic lakeside resort is tailor-made for romance. So when Shelby suggests that Aaron Walker be her pretend boyfriend to help her catch a resort thief, she is sure it's the perfect plan. Aaron is handsome, smart and understanding—everything a woman could want in a beau. So what if her perfect boyfriend is a fake? Having grown up in the shadow of his twin brother, Aaron is enjoying being the hero for a change. Shelby looks at him as if he is number one. But the more time Aaron spends with his quirky "sweetheart," the more their charade becomes all too real. Can Aaron convince Shelby that when it comes to romance, he is exactly the right man for the job?

Double Trouble! It's a beautiful Texas summer, and Shelby Bell's idyllic lakeside resort is tailor-made for romance. So when Shelby suggests that Aaron Walker be her pretend boyfriend to help her catch a resort thief, she is sure it's the perfect plan. Aaron is handsome, smart and understanding—everything a woman could want in a beau. So what if her perfect boyfriend is a fake? Having grown up in the shadow of his twin brother, Aaron is enjoying being the hero for a change. Shelby looks at him as if he is number one. But the more time Aaron spends with his quirky "sweetheart," the more their charade becomes all too real. Can Aaron convince Shelby that when it comes to romance, he is exactly the right man for the job?

Beneath their perfect family façade, twin sisters struggle alone with impossible circumstances and their own demons until they finally learn to fight for each other in this poignant tour de force from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins. Sixteen-year-old Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family…on the surface. Underneath run very deep and damaging secrets. What really happened in the car accident that Daddy caused? And why is Mom never home, always running far away to pursue some new dream? The girls themselves have become hopelessly divided over the years. Sick of losing Daddy’s game of favorites, Raeanne turns to painkillers, alcohol, and sex to dull her pain her anger. Kaeleigh tries to be her father’s perfect little flower, but being the misplaced focus of his sexual attention has her seeking control anywhere she can—even if it means cutting herself and unhealthy binge and purge eating. Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept—from each other or anyone else. Before long, it's obvious that neither sister can handle their problems alone, and one must step up to save the other, but the question is…who?

I have a crush on Brennan Lopez. The only problem is I keep getting him mixed up with his identical twin brother. Not to mention, the most powerful girl in my school is out to get me. Why? Let's just say we haven't ever been besties. And we both like the same guy. But I'm not going to let her get to me. I'm going to get Brennan Lopez's attention if it is the last thing I do. Even if it means talking to his identical twin brother until he notices me.