During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.]]>
author: Veronica Roth
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2016/05/28
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author: Penny Hancock
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/02/28
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Shadow spent three years in prison, keeping his head down, doing his time. All he wanted was to get back to the loving arms of his wife and to stay out of trouble for the rest of his life. But days before his scheduled release, he learns that his wife has been killed in an accident, and his world becomes a colder place.
On the plane ride home to the funeral, Shadow meets a grizzled man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A self-styled grifter and rogue, Wednesday offers Shadow a job. And Shadow, a man with nothing to lose, accepts.
But working for the enigmatic Wednesday is not without its price, and Shadow soon learns that his role in Wednesday's schemes will be far more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Entangled in a world of secrets, he embarks on a wild road trip and encounters, among others, the murderous Czernobog, the impish Mr. Nancy, and the beautiful Easter -- all of whom seem to know more about Shadow than he himself does.
Shadow will learn that the past does not die, that everyone, including his late wife, had secrets, and that the stakes are higher than anyone could have imagined.
All around them a storm of epic proportions threatens to break. Soon Shadow and Wednesday will be swept up into a conflict as old as humanity itself. For beneath the placid surface of everyday life a war is being fought -- and the prize is the very soul of America.
As unsettling as it is exhilarating, American Gods is a dark and kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an America at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. Magnificently told, this work of literary magic will haunt the reader far beyond the final page.
Source: harpercollins.com]]>
author: Neil Gaiman
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2001
rating: 0
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date added: 2015/09/23
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Nineteen year old Daniel Colton is the guy all the girls want to date, and the man all the guys want to be. Moody, with an explosive temper, closed off and sullen, he’s also beautiful, tatted in delicious ways, with a pierced eyebrow and spiky black hair. It’s rumoured he has piercings in other places, too. Is he really mad, bad and dangerous to know?
Daniel lives with his older brother, Zef, and their home is party central. You want drugs, a good time, liquor, no questions asked? Colton’s is the place to go.
When Daniel and good girl Lisanne Maclaine have to work together on an assignment, Lisanne finds there’s a lot more to the college’s bad boy than his reputation. He’s intelligent and funny and good company. And then she discovers his secret, why he’s so closed off to everyone, and determined to keep people at arms� length. But being his secret-keeper is harder than she ever dreamed.
Recommended for readers 18+ due to sexual references and sex scenes, some coarse language, drug references and drug use.
Word Count: 154,726]]>
author: Jane Harvey-Berrick
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2013
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/06/24
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The Resurrectionist offers two extraordinary books in one. The first is a fictional biography of Dr. Spencer Black, from a childhood spent exhuming corpses through his medical training, his travels with carnivals, and the mysterious disappearance at the end of his life. The second book is Black’s magnum opus: The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomy for mythological beasts—dragons, centaurs, Pegasus, Cerberus—all rendered in meticulously detailed anatomical illustrations. You need only look at these images to realize they are the work of a madman. The Resurrectionist tells his story.]]>
author: E.B. Hudspeth
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/06/13
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There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby's new condition; even his dad the physicist can't figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. He's a missing person. Then he meets Alicia. She's blind, and Bobby can't resist talking to her, trusting her. But people are starting to wonder where Bobby is. Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous consequences for his family and that time is running out. He has to find out how to be seen again before it's too late.]]>
author: Andrew Clements
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2002
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/22
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author: Mark Shulman
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/22
shelves: to-read
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Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for: youth and beauty, plenty of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up.
Naturally Veronika is stunned when she does wake up at Villete, a local mental hospital, where the staff informs her that she has, in fact, partially succeeded in achieving her goal. While the overdose didn't kill Veronika immediately, the medication has damaged her heart so severely that she has only days to live.
The story follows Veronika through the intense week of self-discovery that ensues. To her surprise, Veronika finds herself drawn to the confinement of Villete and its patients, who, each in his or her individual way, reflect the heart of human experience. In the heightened state of life's final moments, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before: hatred, fear, curiosity, love, and sexual awakening. She finds that every second of her existence is a choice between living and dying, and at the eleventh hour emerges more open to life than ever before.
In Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho takes the reader on a distinctly modern quest to find meaning in a culture overshadowed by angst, soulless routine, and pervasive conformity. Based on events in Coelho's own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Poignant and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.
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author: Paulo Coelho
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1998
rating: 2
read at: 2013/03/18
date added: 2013/03/18
shelves: abandoned
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It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them � not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He has it all � family money, good looks, devoted friends � but he's looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.
From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we've never been before.]]>
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2013/03/18
date added: 2013/03/18
shelves: abandoned
review:
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Are you an introvert? Psychologist and introvert Laurie Helgoe reveals that more than half of all Americans are. Introverts gain energy and power through reflection and solitude. Our culture, however, is geared toward the extrovert. The pressure to enjoy parties, chatter, and interactions can lead people to think that an inward orientation is a problem instead of an opportunity.
Helgoe shows that the exact opposite is true: Introverts can capitalize on this inner source of power. INTROVERT POWER is a groundbreaking call for an introvert renaissance, a blueprint for how introverts can take full advantage of this hidden strength in daily life. Supplemented by the voices of several introverts, Helgoe presents a startling look at introvert numbers, influence, and economic might.
Revolutionary and invaluable, INTROVERT POWER includes ideas for how introverts can learn to:
Claim private spaceCarve out time to think
Bring a slower tempo into daily life
Create breaks in conversation and relationships
Deal effectively with parties, interruptions, and crowds
QUIET IS MIGHT. SOLITUDE IS STRENGTH. INTROVERSION IS POWER.
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author: Laurie A. Helgoe
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/18
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author: Toni Maguire
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/18
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I have it in my head that when we're born, God writes things down on our hearts. See, on some people's hearts he writes Happy and on some people's hearts he writes Sad and on some people's hearts he writes Crazy on some people's hearts he writes Genius and on some people's hearts he writes Angry and on some people's hearts he writes Winner and on some people's hearts he writes Loser. It's all like a game to him. Him. God. And it's all pretty much random. He takes out his pen and starts writing on our blank hearts. When it came to my turn, he wrote Sad. I don't like God very much. Apparently he doesn't like me very much either.]]>
author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/18
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Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?
Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.]]>
author: Christa Desir
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/18
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Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.]]>
author: Jamie McGuire
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/08
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author: M.A. Evereaux
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2005
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/03/08
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Caden Grayson is amused when a redhead literally falls at his feet. His amusement turns to panic when the power fails. Despite his piercings, tats, and vicious scar, he's terrified of the dark and confined spaces. Now, he's trapped in his own worst nightmare.
To fight fear, they must both reach out and open up. With no preconceived notions based on looks to hold them back, they discover just how much they have in common. In the warming darkness, attraction grows and sparks fly, but will they feel the same when the lights come back on?]]>
author: Laura Kaye
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/03/08
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Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadn't been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude, Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feelings that he is hiding something.
If that weren't enough, Nora is haunted by images of her murdered father, and comes to question whether her Nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death. Desperate to figure out what happened, she puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations to get the answer. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.]]>
author: Becca Fitzpatrick
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/08
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A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE
Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.
But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.]]>
author: Becca Fitzpatrick
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/08
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A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.]]>
author: Ransom Riggs
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/03/08
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what it looks like from the dance floor.
This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being A WALLFLOWER
This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.
Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.
(back cover)]]>
author: Stephen Chbosky
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at: 2013/03/08
date added: 2013/03/08
shelves: abandoned
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When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a sophomore year breakup. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.
Grief becomes nightmare when Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night.
But her attacker turns stalker, and Jacqueline has a choice to make: crumple in defeat or fight back. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to tell and who to trust is anything but easy.]]>
author: Tammara Webber
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/02/20
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Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future.ĚýBut Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate.ĚýAna must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.
Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana’s deepest fears turn to reality.
This book is intended for mature audiences.]]>
author: E.L. James
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2012
rating: 2
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date added: 2013/02/08
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author: E.L. James
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/02/08
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Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
This book is intended for mature audiences.]]>
author: E.L. James
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2011
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/02/08
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author: Jenny Downham
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/01/27
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author: Koushun Takami
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/01/27
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Following the success of Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby was hailed as a comic triumph and firmly established Dickens as a 'literary gentleman'. It has a full supporting cast of delectable characters that range from the iniquitous Wackford Squeers and his family, to the delightful Mrs Nickleby, taking in the eccentric Crummles and his travelling players, the Mantalinis, the Kenwigs and many more.
Combining these with typically Dickensian elements of burlesque and farce, the novel is eminently suited to dramatic adaptation. So great was the impact as it left Dickens' pen that many pirated versions appeared in print before the original was even finished.
Often neglected by critics, Nicholas Nickleby has never ceased to delight readers and is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic masterpieces of nineteenth-centure literature.
Introduction and notes by Tim Cook added to 2000 revision]]>
author: Charles Dickens
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1839
rating: 3
read at: 2013/01/27
date added: 2013/01/27
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An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion—his sense of smell—leads to murder.
In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift—an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"—the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brilliance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.]]>
author: Patrick SĂĽskind
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/27
date added: 2013/01/27
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Blueyedboy is the brilliant new novel from Joanne Harris: a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. Told through posts on [email protected], this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the disguise, deception and mind games that are offered by playing out one's life on the internet.]]>
author: Joanne Harris
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.29
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/01/27
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After years of societal breakdown, wars and quakes and rising tides, humanity was already near the edge. Then came a final blow no one could have expected: all the world’s corpses rising up to make more.
Born into this bleak and bloody landscape, twelve-year-old Julie struggles to hold on to hope as she and her parents drive across the wastelands of America, a nightmarish road trip in search of a new home.
Hungry, lost, and scared, sixteen-year-old Nora finds herself her brother’s sole guardian after her parents abandon them in the not-quite-empty ruins of Seattle.
And in the darkness of a forest, a dead man opens his eyes. Who is he? What is he? With no clues beyond a red tie and the letter “R,� he must unravel the mystery of his existence–right after he learns how to think, how to walk, and how to satisfy the monster howling in his belly...]]>
author: Isaac Marion
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/01/27
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Fighting is all she knows.
By day, she is a normal denizen of the oppressive Regency, but by night, she is wracked by terrible nightmares that hint at a past she can no longer remember. She suspects she might have killed someone—and she's afraid that she might do it again.
At the same time, the games she's playing are growing steadily more violent. Someone is hacking into the system and creating bootlegged games. Dangerous games. Deadly games. Games that tell a story of profound corruption and massive-scale government conspiracies, warping the lines between fact and fiction.
The only clue she has comes in the form of an exceedingly frustrating and potentially dangerous man named Catan Vareth. But, like everything else in her world, his help will cost her...
Cover design by Louisa.]]>
author: Nenia Campbell
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/01/08
shelves: to-read
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Fortgeschrittenen Spielern stellt das Erebos Aufgaben, und die werden nicht in der virtuellen, sondern in der tatsächlichen Realität erledigt, und so verschwimmen die Fiktion des Spiels und die Realität mit zunehmender "Verweildauer" im Spiel.
Nick ist einer der Schüler an der Londoner Schule; auch er gerät in die virtuelle Welt von Erebos, und auch er wird süchtig danach, aber dann befiehlt ihm das Spiel einen sehr realen Mord...
(Laufzeit: 7h 38)]]>
author: Ursula Poznanski
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/01/08
shelves: to-read
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Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.
That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in a horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.
Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!
Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.
Literally.]]>
author: Diana Rowland
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/12/29
shelves: to-read
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author: Rusty Fischer
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/12/29
shelves: to-read
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When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created "perfect" life is about to unravel before her eyes. She's forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for―her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.
In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.]]>
author: Simone Elkeles
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/12/29
shelves: to-read
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author: Matsuri Hino
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2005
rating: 4
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date added: 2012/12/29
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Enter Hellsing, an agency, long in tooth, with the experience, know-how, and... er... equipment to handle the problems that arise when vampires, ghouls take on these dark forces.
"What equipment?" you may say. How about another vampire, and a big pistol loaded with special silver bullets? That oughta do the trick.
Hellsing, the long-awaited manga, is finally in America � thanks to Dark Horse Comics and the folks at Digital Manga, and you're gonna love it. Come get some smart-ass gore and action as only Japan seems to produce, in that crazy "non-Western" formats the kids seem to love. And nice and thick at over 200 pages!
Collects Chapters #1-6]]>
author: Kohta Hirano
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1998
rating: 3
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Like all vampires, Tommy must do one thing: survive. With no memory of his life before death, his only connection to humanity is his twin brother. When Tommy rescues a young girl, he learns not all monsters are undead. After returning her to her family, Tommy struggles to understand why he felt so protective of her when she has no connection to him.
As the years pass, and with his twin’s help, Tommy moves on with his â€lifeâ€� but never forgets the young girl or the monster who hurt her. When she re-enters his life as a teenager, Tommy struggles with his vampire need to survive and his desire to protect her. He will be forced to decide which part of him is stronger: The vampire? Or the human? The answer may destroy him.]]>
author: Patricia Josephine Lynne
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/12/29
shelves: to-read
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author: Octavia E. Butler
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/12/29
shelves: to-read
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Alex Connolly is ten years old, likes onions on toast, and can balance on the back legs of his chair for fourteen minutes. His best friend is a 9000-year-old demon called Ruen. When his depressive mother attempts suicide yet again, Alex meets child psychiatrist Anya. Still bearing the scars of her own daughter's battle with schizophrenia, Anya fears for Alex's mental health and attempts to convince him that Ruen doesn't exist. But as she runs out of medical proof for many of Alex's claims, she is faced with a question: does Alex suffer from schizophrenia, or can he really see demons?]]>
author: Carolyn Jess-Cooke
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/12/29
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Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.
Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating--a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.
- from the back cover]]>
author: Emma Donoghue
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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In this rediscovered modern classic from "one of France's best-loved temporary writers" (Time), Howard Buten renders with astounding insight and wry language the tale of a troubled -- or perhaps just perfectly normal -- young boy testing the boundaries of love and life.]]>
author: Howard Buten
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1981
rating: 0
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But despite her feelings for Beck, Bea can’t stop thinking about someone else: a guy who is gorgeous and magnetic... and has no idea Bea even exists. But Bea knows a lot about him. She spends a lot of time watching him. She has a journal full of notes. Some might even say she’s obsessed.
Bea tells herself she’s got it all under control. But this isn’t a choice, it’s a compulsion. The truth is, she’s breaking down...and she might end up breaking her own heart.]]>
author: Corey Ann Haydu
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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I look at the clock.
10:14 AM. Ten fourteen. One plus one is two plus four is six plus ten is sixteen minus one is fifteen minus two is thirteen. OK. I turn from the clock and walk into the hallway. "Ready." Saturday will be the third state soccer championÂship in a row for Jake Martin. Three . A good number. Prime . With Jake on the field, Carson City High can't lose because Jake has the magic : a self-created protection generated by his obsession with prime numbers. It's the magic that has every top soccer university recruiting Jake, the magic that keeps his family safe, and the magic that suppresses his anxiety attacks. But the magic is Jake's prison, because sustaining it means his compulsions take over nearly every aspect of his life. Jake's convinced the magic will be permanent after Saturday, the perfect day, when every prime has converged. Once the game is over, he won't have to rely on his sister to concoct excuses for his odd rituals. His dad will stop treating him like he is some freak. Maybe he'll even make a friend other than Luc. But what if the magic doesn't stay? What if the numbers never leave? Acclaimed author Heidi Ayarbe has created an honest and riveting portrait of a teen struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder in this breathtaking and courageous novel.]]>
author: Heidi Ayarbe
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.
In Dracula, Bram Stoker created one of the great masterpieces of the horror genre, brilliantly evoking a nightmare world of vampires and vampire hunters and also illuminating the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.
This Norton Critical Edition includes a rich selection of background and source materials in three areas: Contexts includes probable inspirations for Dracula in the earlier works of James Malcolm Rymer and Emily Gerard. Also included are a discussion of Stoker's working notes for the novel and "Dracula's Guest," the original opening chapter to Dracula. Reviews and Reactions reprints five early reviews of the novel. "Dramatic and Film Variations" focuses on theater and film adaptations of Dracula, two indications of the novel's unwavering appeal. David J. Skal, Gregory A. Waller, and Nina Auerbach offer their varied perspectives. Checklists of both dramatic and film adaptations are included.
Criticism collects seven theoretical interpretations of Dracula by Phyllis A. Roth, Carol A. Senf, Franco Moretti, Christopher Craft, Bram Dijkstra, Stephen D. Arata, and Talia Schaffer.
A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography are included.]]>
author: Bram Stoker
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1897
rating: 3
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author: David Seltzer
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1976
rating: 3
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author: William Peter Blatty
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1983
rating: 0
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author: Robin Reardon
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/12/10
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author: Jonathan Maberry
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/12/10
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Finally, after centuries of these abusive tales, which have been handed down--unknowingly--from one male-biased generation to the next, James Finn Garner has taken it upon himself (that's right, yet another man) to enlighten and liberate these classic bedtime stories and retell them in a way that is much more in keeping with the society in which we live today.
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, then is the fruit of Garner's labors. We'd like to think that future generations of fairy-tale fans will see this as a worthy attempt to develop meaningful literature that is totally free from bias and purged from the influences of a flawed cultural past.]]>
author: James Finn Garner
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/11/23
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The zombie plague unleashes its horrors on the suburbs of Atlanta without warning, pitting the living against the dead. Caught in the mass exodus, Lilly Caul struggles to survive in a series of ragtag encampments and improvised shelters. But the Walkers are multiplying. Dogged by their feral hunger for flesh and crippled by fear, Lilly relies on the protection of good Samaritans by seeking refuge in a walled-in town once known as Woodbury, Georgia.
At first, Woodbury seems like a perfect sanctuary. Squatters barter services for food, people have roofs over their heads, and the barricade expands, growing stronger every day. Best of all, a mysterious self-proclaimed leader named Philip Blake keeps the citizens in line. But Lilly begins to suspect that all is not as it seems� Blake, who has recently begun to call himself The Governor, has disturbing ideas about law and order.
Ultimately, Lilly and a band of rebels open up a Pandora's box of mayhem and destruction when they challenge The Governor's reign� and the road to Woodbury becomes the highway to hell in this riveting follow-up to Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga's New York Times bestselling The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.]]>
author: Robert Kirkman
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/11/19
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A classmate's body floats to the surface of Alaska’s Birch River six months after the night she disappeared. The night Roz Hart had a fight with her. The night Roz can’t remember. Now only Roz's ability to piece together what she missed that fateful night can clear her name.]]>
author: Laura Ellen
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/11/01
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But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?]]>
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/11/01
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Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian DIVERGENT series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.]]>
author: Veronica Roth
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/09/26
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author: Brené Brown
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/09/06
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Abby is starting high school--it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself?
Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke--he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does.
But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.]]>
author: Sarah Darer Littman
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/09/04
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author: Bob Fingerman
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/08/29
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The family hides the child � whom they name Stony � rather than turn him over to authorities that would destroy him. Against all scientific reason, the undead boy begins to grow. For years his adoptive mother and sisters manage to keep his existence a secret � until one terrifying night when Stony is forced to run and he learns that he is not the only living dead boy left in the world.]]>
author: Daryl Gregory
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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author: Read Mercer Schuchardt
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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On that fateful day, Marines came across the burned-out remains of a U.S. Army convoy that had been ambushed by Saddam Hussein’s forces outside Nasiriyah. In an attempt to rescue the missing soldiers and seize the bridges before the Iraqis could destroy them, the Marines decided to advance their attack on the city by twenty-four hours. What happened next is a gripping and gruesome tale of military blunders, tragedy, and heroism.
Huge M1 tanks leading the attack were rendered ineffective when they became mired in an open sewer. Then a company of Marines took a wrong turn and ended up on a deadly stretch of road where their armored personal carriers were hit by devastating rocket-propelled grenade fire. USAF planes called in for fire support play their own part in the unfolding cataclysm when they accidentally strafed the vehicles. The attempt to rescue the dead and dying stranded in “ambush alley� only drew more Marines into the slaughter.
This was not a battle of modern technology, but a brutal close-quarter urban knife fight that tested the Marines� resolve and training to the limit. At the heart of the drama were the fifty or so young Marines, most of whom had never been to war, who were embroiled in a battle of epic proportions from which neither their commanders nor the technological might of the U.S. military could save them.
With a novelist’s gift for pace and tension, Tim Pritchard brilliantly captures the chaos, panic, and courage of the fight for Nasiriyah, bringing back in full force the day that a perfunctory task turned into a battle for survival.
"Ambush Alley" is a gut-wrenching account of unadulterated terror that's hard to read yet impossible to put down. London-based journalist and filmmaker Tim Pritchard, who was embedded with US troops during the initial stages of the American-led invasion of Iraq, paints a compelling picture of one of the costliest battles of the Iraq war that will at turns anger, horrify, and sadden, regardless of one's political views."
--The Boston Globe
From the Hardcover edition.]]>
author: Tim Pritchard
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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As commander of a forty-man infantry platoon called Joker One, Campbell had just months to train and transform a ragtag group of brand-new Marines into a first-rate cohesive fighting unit, men who would become his family: Sergeant Leza, the house intellectual who read Che Guevara; Sergeant Mariano Noriel, the “Filipino ball of fire� who would become Campbell’s closest confidant and friend; Lance Corporal William Feldmeir, a narcoleptic who fell asleep during battle; and a lieutenant known simply as “the Ox,� whose stubborn aggressiveness would be more curse than blessing.
Campbell and his men were assigned to Ramadi, that capital of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province that was an explosion just waiting to happen. And when it did happen–with the chilling cries of “Jihad, Jihad, Jihad!� echoing from minaret to minaret–Campbell and company were there to protect the innocent, battle the insurgents, and pick up the pieces. After seven months of day-to-day, house-to-house combat, nearly half of Campbell’s platoon had been wounded, a casualty rate that went beyond that of any Marine or Army unit since Vietnam. Yet unlike Fallujah, Ramadi never fell to the enemy.
Told by the man who led the unit of hard-pressed Marines, Joker One is a gripping tale of a leadership, loyalty, faith, and camaraderie throughout the best and worst of times.]]>
author: Donovan Campbell
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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The United States Marine Corps, with its proud tradition of excellence in combat, its hallowed rituals, and its unbending code of honor, is part of the fabric of American myth. Making the Corps visits the front lines of boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina. Here, old values are stripped away and new Marine Corps values are forged. Bestselling author Thomas E. Ricks follows these men from their hometowns, through boot camp, and into their first year as Marines. As three fierce drill instructors fight a battle for the hearts and minds of this unforgettable group of young men, a larger picture emerges, brilliantly painted, of the growing gulf that divides the military from the rest of America.]]>
author: Thomas E. Ricks
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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In this deeply thoughtful account of what it’s like to fight on today’s front lines, Fick reveals the crushing pressure on young leaders in combat. Split-second decisions might have national consequences or horrible immediate repercussions, but hesitation isn’t an option. One Bullet Away never shrinks from blunt truths, but ultimately it is an inspiring account of mastering the art of war.]]>
author: Nathaniel Fick
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.
Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1 - ACE #2 ]]>
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2008
rating: 1
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All seven eBooks in the multi-award winning, internationally bestselling Harry Potter series, available as one download with stunning cover art by Olly Moss. Enjoy the stories that have captured the imagination of millions worldwide.]]>
author: J.K. Rowling
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.72
book published: 2007
rating: 3
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This short novel, already a modern classic, is the superbly told, tragic story of a Cuban fisherman in the Gulf Stream and the giant Marlin he kills and loses—specifically referred to in the citation accompanying the author's Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.]]>
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1952
rating: 3
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author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2004
rating: 3
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As far as she can tell, Nell Harris is either going insane or she is in love. Nell thought she had been summoned to Prague to work on an inscription in a rare fourteenth-century breastplate. Instead, she is immersed in the world of the Moravian Dark Ones (think vampires) when she is swept up in the search for a boy held captive by the demon lord Asmodeus. Although Nell would like nothing better than to use her powers as a "Charmer" to help find the missing boy, the last time she dabbled in magic the consequences were dire. Then Nell meets Adrian Tomas. Bound to serve Asmodeus and forced to betray his fellow Dark Ones, Adrian desperately needs Nell to charm away his curse. One look into Adrian's haunted eyes, and Nell discovers she will do just about anything to save the soul of her new beloved.]]>
author: Katie MacAlister
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2005
rating: 1
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author: Katie MacAlister
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2005
rating: 2
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date added: 2012/08/29
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The central figures in this enthralling story are the indomitable Meggie, the only Cleary daughter, and the one man she truly loves, the stunningly handsome and ambitious priest Ralph de Bricassart. Ralph's course moves him a long way indeed, from a remote Outback parish to the halls of the Vatican; and Meggie's except for a brief and miserable marriage elsewhere, is fixed to the Drogheda that is part of her bones - but distance does not dim their feelings though it shapes their lives.
Wonderful characters people this book; strong and gentle, Paddy, hiding a private memory; dutiful Fiona, holding back love because it once betrayed her, violent, tormented Frank, and the other hardworking Cleary sons who give the boundless lands of Drogheda the energy and devotion most men save for women; Meggie; Ralph; and Meggie's children, Justine and Dane. And the land itself; stark, relentless in its demands, brilliant in its flowering, prey to gigantic cycles of drought and flood, rich when nature is bountiful, surreal like no other place on earth.
Alternate Cover Edition ISBN 0380018179 (ISBN13: 9780380018178)]]>
author: Colleen McCullough
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1977
rating: 5
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First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite.]]>
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2005
rating: 1
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date added: 2012/08/29
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BookBrowse Note: January 9th 2006: An article in the Smoking Gun claimed that James Frey (author of A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard) fabricated key parts of his books. They cited police records, court documents and interviews with law enforcement agents which belie a number of Frey's claims regarding criminal charges against him, jail terms and his fugitive status.
In an interview with the Smoking Gun, Frey admitted that he had 'embellished central details' in A Million Little Pieces and backtracked on claims he made in the book.
January 26th 2006. Frey's publisher stated that while it initially stood by him, after further questioning of the author, the house has "sadly come to the realization that a number of facts have been altered and incidents embellished." It will be adding a a publisher's note and author's note to all future editions of A Million Little Pieces.]]>
author: James Frey
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/08/22
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If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting for a cab, she would still be living the beautiful lie she used to call her life. She would still be the privileged daughter of a doting father and a loving mother. Her life would still be perfect � with only the tiny cracks of an angry junkie for a brother and a charming drunk with shady underworld connections for an uncle to mar the otherwise flawless whole.
But that’s not what happened. Instead, those inconsequential decisions lead her to perform a good deed that puts her in the right place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that brings a mysterious package to her door � a package which informs her that her entire world is a lie.
Suddenly forced to question everything she knows about herself and her family, Ridley wanders into dark territory she never knew existed, where everyone in her life seems like a stranger. She has no idea who’s on her side and who has something to hide—even, and maybe especially, her new lover, Jake, who appears to have secrets of his own.
Sexy and fast-paced, Beautiful Lies is a true literary thriller with one of the freshest voices and heroines to arrive in years. Lisa Unger takes us on a breathtaking ride in which every choice Ridley makes creates a whirlwind of consequences that are impossible to imagine . . . .]]>
author: Lisa Unger
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/08/22
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But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful?
Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.� Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.
That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.Ěý
For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.
A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire.]]>
author: Melanie Benjamin
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/08/22
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Bellwether Prize Winner Hillary Jordan's provocative new novel is the fiercely imagined story of a woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed -- their skin color is genetically altered to match the class of their crime -- and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.]]>
author: Hillary Jordan
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/08/22
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In a private journal, the woman records her growing obsession with the “horrid� wallpaper. Its strange pattern mutates in the moonlight, revealing what appears to be a human figure in the design. With nothing else to occupy her mind, the woman resolves to unlock the mystery of the wallpaper. Her quest, however, leads not to the truth, but into the darkest depths of madness.
A condemnation of the patriarchy, The Yellow Wallpaper explores with terrifying economy the oppression, grave misunderstanding, and willful dismissal of women in late nineteenth-century society.
First published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine.
Excerpt:
Out of another I get a lovely view of the bay and a little private wharf belonging to the estate. There is a beautiful shaded lane that runs down there from the house. I always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least. He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency. So I try.]]>
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1892
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/08/22
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author: Isaac Marion
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/08/19
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"It was the dog who found me."
Such is the stark confession launching the harrowing scene that begins The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls as Emilie Autumn, a young musician on the verge of a bright career, attempts suicide by overdosing on the antipsychotics prescribed to treat her bipolar disorder. Upon being discovered, Emilie is revived and immediately incarcerated in a maximum-security psych ward, despite her protestations that she is not crazy, and can provide valid reasons for her actions if someone would only listen.
Treated as a criminal, heavily medicated, and stripped of all freedoms, Emilie is denied communication with the outside world, and falls prey to the unwelcome attentions of Dr. Sharp, head of the hospital's psychiatry department. As Dr. Sharp grows more predatory by the day, Emilie begins a secret diary to document her terrifying experience, and to maintain her sanity in this environment that could surely drive anyone mad. But when Emilie opens her notebook to find a desperate letter from a young woman imprisoned within an insane asylum in Victorian England, and bearing her own name and description, a portal to another world is blasted wide open.
As these letters from the past continue to appear, Emilie escapes further into this mysterious alternate reality where sisterhoods are formed, romance between female inmates blossoms, striped wallpaper writhes with ghosts, and highly intellectual rats speak the Queen's English.
But is it real? Or is Emilie truly as mad as she is constantly told she is?
The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls blurs harsh reality and magical historical fantasy whilst issuing a scathing critique of society's treatment of women and the mental health care industry's treatment of its patients, showing in the process that little has changed throughout the ages.
Welcome to the Asylum. Are you committed?]]>
author: Emilie Autumn
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/07/27
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Sammy’s mother, Beth, already coping with the overwhelming responsibility of raising three sons alone, watched helplessly as her middle child descended into madness. Sammy was soon diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and later with Tourette syndrome. Unwilling to accept the doctors� prognoses for lifelong mental illness and repeated hospitalizations, Beth fought to uncover what was causing this decline. Racing against time as Sammy slipped further from reality, Beth’s quest took her to the center of the medical community’s raging debate about whether mental illness can be caused by infection. With the battle lines firmly drawn, Beth searched until she found two cutting-edge doctors who answered that question with a definitive yes. Together, they cured Sammy. Five years later, he remains symptom free.
Driven by her desire to help others, Beth Maloney has infused every page of this triumphant journey with heart and passion. An important story, Saving Sammy is part manifesto, part medical mystery, but is at its heart the empowering and inspiring story of a mother’s determination to save her son, take on the medical establishment–and win.]]>
author: Beth Alison Maloney
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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“Affecting, gripping—no matter whatĚýform the reader’s own strugglesĚýforĚýacceptance may have taken.”â€� Elle
I am crazy. But maybe I am not.
Ěý
ForĚýmost of her life, these thoughts plagued Amy Wilensky as her mind lurched and veered in ways she didn’t understand and her body did things she couldn’t control. While she excelled in school and led an otherwise “normalâ€� life, she worried that beneath the surface she was a freak, that there was something irrevocably wrong with her.Ěý
Ěý
A powerful witness to her own dysfunction, Wilensky describes the strain it bore on her relationships with the people she thought she knew her family, her friends, and herself. Confronting the labels we apply to ourselves and others—compulsive, crazy, out of control—Amy describes her symptoms, diagnosis, and her treatment with courage and a healthy dose of humor, gradually coming to terms with the absurdities of a life beset by irrational behavior. This compelling narrative, by turns tragic and comic, broadly extends our understanding of the wondrously complex human mind, and, with subtlety and grace, challenges our notion of what it is to be “normal.”]]>
author: Amy S. Wilensky
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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Johnny Smith, the small-town schoolteacher who spun the wheel of fortune and won a four-and-a-half-year trip into The Dead Zone.
John Smith, who awakened from an interminable coma with an accursed power—the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in The Dead Zone.
~]]>
author: Stephen King
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1979
rating: 0
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Make a date with terror and live the nightmare that is...Carrie
--back cover]]>
author: Stephen King
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1974
rating: 0
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Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate. This edition features a new introduction by Jonathan Lethem.]]>
author: Shirley Jackson
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1962
rating: 0
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author: Cathy Glass
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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AT LAST THE EVOLUTION OF HIS EVIL
IS REVEALED.
Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck.
He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him.
Hannibal’s uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and brings him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle’s beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki.
Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to heal. With her help he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France.
But Hannibal’s demons visit him and torment him. When he is old enough, he visits them in turn.
He discovers he has gifts beyond the academic, and in that epiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomes death’s prodigy.]]>
author: Thomas Harris
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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What do they want?
Why do they kill?
Can they be stopped?
You know who they are . . . if you've ever known fear.
In Palmerston, Pennsylvania, two men in long coats walk calmly into a crowded fast-food restaurant--then, slowly and methodically, gun down sixty-eight people. They take time to reload.
On the Promenade of Santa Monica, California, a teenage girl gives sightseeing tips to a distinguished English tourist. She won't be going home tonight.
In Dyersburg, Montana, a grief-stricken son tries to make sense of the accident that killed his parents--then finds a note stuffed in his father's favorite chair. It reads, "We're not dead."
Three seemingly unrelated events, these are the first signs of an unimaginable network of fear that will lead one unlikely hero to a chilling confrontation with The Straw Men. No one knows who they are--or why they kill. But they must be stopped. Michael Marshall's electrifying debut novel is an instant masterpiece of modern suspense. An epic thriller for anyone who has feared that someone is watching us.
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author: Michael Marshall
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2002
rating: 0
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author: Joyce Carol Oates
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.35
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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author: Kristin Butcher
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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His friends and family want to save him.
And Alexa Vallencourt wants nothing less than his soul.
Overnight, Brendan's quiet and solitary life becomes anything but when just as he suspects his love interest Cara, might be falling for him, he finds himself framed for manslaughter, hated by the town in which he lives and the victim of Alexa, an obsessive woman he has met online.
When he learns of Alexa's death, Brendan breathes a sad sigh of relief, but the respite is short lived. Alexa is back and every bit as eager for him as before. Brendan realizes that Cara's life is in danger and calls on his friends, new and old, to join forces. There is Maggie, his ex-wife and her rock star friend Dr. Death, Chapman Carter, the Police Chief of Crescent Bay and Cara herself, all standing behind their new hero in this fight against madness, death and beyond.
"Seth Blackburn knows how to make you laugh and cry. And when he wants, he knows how to scare the hell out of you!"
-- Stefan Bourque, author of "Juggler"
"With a colorful cast of characters and gripping suspense, Blackburn unrolls this epic novel of good versus evil. Not since the old days of Stephen King has a book been such a delight to read!"
-- White Street Reviews]]>
author: Seth Blackburn
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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Tristan Edmund may be hot, but he doesn't want Amy's help. Or so he thinks. After being blinded in a horse show-jumping competition, Tristan spends his days in the dark, refusing to accept his disability. Much to his annoyance, Amy bursts into his life and drags him into the light. But just as the two begin to see something in each other, Tristan's beautiful ex-girlfriend shows up. Will the temptation be too much, or will Tristan choose the girl who really sees him?]]>
author: Renee Carter
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2009
rating: 4
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"Hola, Jeni."
J spun. His stomach clenched hard, as though he'd been hit. It was just the neighbor lady, Mercedes. J couldn't muster a hello back, not now; he didn't care that she'd tell his mom he'd been rude. She should know better. Nobody calls me Jeni anymore.
J always felt different. He was certain that eventually everyone would understand who he really was: a boy mistakenly born as a girl. Yet as he grew up, his body began to betray him; eventually J stopped praying to wake up a "real boy" and started covering up his body, keeping himself invisible - from his family, from his friends...from the world. But after being deserted by the best friend he thought would always be by his side, J decides that he's done hiding - it's time to be who he really is. And this time he is determined not to give up, no matter the cost.
An inspiring story of self-discovery, of choosing to stand up for yourself, and of finding your own path - readers will recognize a part of themselves in J's struggle to love his true self.]]>
author: Cris Beam
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn’t want them.
The administration at Oakvale High attempts to be more welcoming of the “differently biotic." But the students don’t want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn’t breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the “living impaired� from the people who want them to disappear—for good.
When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it; not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has feelings for Phoebe that run much deeper than just friendship; he would do anything for her. But what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?]]>
author: Daniel Waters
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends. Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie -- her Homecoming date Tommy Williams -- her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her . Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave. Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can't seem to live without.]]>
author: Daniel Waters
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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Discover how Lauren Kate transformed the feeling of that one mean girl getting under her skin into her first novel, how Lauren Oliver learned to celebrate ambiguity in her classmates and in herself, and how R.L. Stine turned being the "funny guy" into the best defense against the bullies in his class.
Today's top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying—as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators—in a collection at turns moving and self-effacing, but always deeply personal.]]>
author: Megan Kelley Hall
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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Seventeen year old Samantha has been best friends with seventeen year old Jesse since she moved into the New York high-rise apartment next door to his thirteen years ago. Jesse is their school's poster child for popularity: good-looking, a star athlete, even Romeo in the school play. On opening night he collapses on stage. That's when doctors discover the unthinkable: a tumor on his spine. His type of cancer is virtually incurable � 97% of those diagnosed die within ten months.
Jesse shuts down, refusing to see most of his friends. He submits to treatments of chemo and radiation, but he doesn't possess hope. Sam is the one person he’ll talk to. He convinces his mom to let her sleep in another bed in his room, saying he's afraid to die alone.
That’s when Jess and Sam make a startling, bittersweet discovery: they’ve been in love all along.
The Girl Next Door addresses the universal question: In an unpredictable world, how can we possibly feel safe?]]>
author: Selene Castrovilla
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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author: Robert Cormier
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1977
rating: 0
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But all that is about to change when he goes out with his one friend, Randall, to meet some of Randall’s crew hanging out at Riverside Park. Because in addition to meeting his kindred spirit, Casey—who has his own problems with his own kind of venom—Locke meets the spikey blue fairy-haircut Goth girl of his dreams. And if their relationship is going to work, he knows he has to rid himself of the venom once and for all.
Interspersed with comic book adventures of the fantasy anti-hero alter-ego Locke has invented for himself, Venomous is a fast-paced, funny, and ferocious read about one teenage boy’s struggle with his inner demons.]]>
author: Christopher Krovatin
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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He can't remember the right words to have a real conversation. And he can't remember why he tried to shoot his own head off.
Broken in both mind and body, Jersey must piece his life back together, step by painful step. He must re-learn to tie his own shoelaces. He must somehow pass Algebra and graduate high school. And he must try to repair old friendships as severed as the connection between his brain and his once-athletic body.
Ěý
With a compelling and unique literary voice Susan Vaught thrusts readers directly into the bitterly funny head of Jersey Hatch as he navigates his own damaged existence, and as he tries to answer the question not just why he wanted to end his very good life, but whether he can stop himself from trying to end it again.
Ěý
An eye-opening story that expertly navigates the triumph of family, the depths of despair, and the humor of the most mundane details of life.]]>
author: Susan Vaught
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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author: Todd Strasser
name: twenty-third
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2000
rating: 0
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author: Gail Giles
name: twenty-third
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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