This thrilling digital prequel novella to Endgame: The Calling follows the lives of four of the twelve Players before they were chosen as the one to save their ancient bloodline—and win Endgame.Before the Calling . . .Marcus must choose between friendship and destiny. Chiyoko fights for what's hers. Kala learns the price of love. And Alice finally understands what she's Playing for.They must shed their normal lives and transform into the Players they were meant to be.They must train, learn, prepare.To Play, survive, and solve.To kill or be killed.Endgame is real.Endgame is coming.And only one can win.

He was my best friend until...he kissed me.OliviaTo say that I'm excited to have my best friend come live with me is an understatement. Even though he's not my boyfriend and I would never look at him as such, I'm excited that with him around, I'm no longer the ninth wheel.Plus, having a movie buddy to watch my favorite movie Dirty Dancing is a plus. Even if he rolls his eyes everytime we watch it.DerekI have one semester of freedom until my parents force me to persure a relationship with a girl who is beneficial to our family. Sure, I come from a rich family with loads of connections, but I'm trapped. I want to love who I want to love and not who my parents want me to marry.I want to love Olivia.But I'll settle for being her friend and spending the rest of my senior year feeling free.And I was fine, until my feeligs became to hard to ignore.She's the one girl who can make me smile. The one girl who...

Five killer outlaws, one killer beauty, and a night Longarm will never forget...Longarm's trapped up in the Ruby Mountains with a bad spell of amnesia—and a woman too wild to ever forget. And until Longarm gets his senses back, he's got no choice but to trust her—before the Haskill Gang gives him a new memory...his last.

From the bestselling author of Tenth of December comes a splendid new edition of his acclaimed collaboration with the illustrator behind The Stinky Cheese Man and James and the Giant Peach! Featuring fifty-two haunting and hilarious images, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip is a modern fable for people of all ages that touches on the power of kindness, generosity, compassion, and community. In the seaside village of Frip live three families: the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her father. The economy of Frip is based solely on goat’s milk, and this is a problem because the village is plagued by gappers: bright orange, many-eyed creatures the size of softballs that love to attach themselves to goats. When a gapper gets near a goat, it lets out a high-pitched shriek of joy that puts the goats off giving milk, which means that every few hours the children of Frip have to go outside, brush the gappers off their goats, and toss them into the sea. The gappers have always been everyone’s problem, until one day they get a little smarter, and instead of spreading out, they gang up: on Capable’s goats. Free at last of the tyranny of the gappers, will her neighbors rally to help her? Or will they turn their backs, forcing Capable to bear the misfortune alone? Featuring fifty-two haunting and hilarious illustrations by Lane Smith and a brilliant story by George Saunders that explores universal themes of community and kindness, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip is a rich and resonant story for those that have all and those that have not. Praise for The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip “In a perfect world, every child would own a copy of this profound, funny fable. . . . Every adult would own a copy too, and would marvel at how this smart, subversive little book is even deeper and more hilarious than any child could know.”—Entertainment Weekly “Saunders’s idiosyncratic voice makes an almost perfect accompaniment to children’s book illustrator Smith’s heightened characterizations and slightly surreal backdrops.”—Publishers Weekly “A riveting, funny, and sly new fairy tale.”—Miami Herald

The 'Black Queen' is what Billy calls his shadowy next-door neighbour. She always wears a black cloak and a wide-brimmed black hat. She lurks about her garden, alone except for her black cat. Scarily for Billy, the Black Queen befriends him and asks him to look after her cat while she's away. Billy can't resist the opportunity to peek inside her house. There are chessboards scattered everywhere. Who is the Black Queen and what sort of game is she playing? Billy thinks he knows...

Amazon.com ReviewJack Whyte continues his long, thoughtful exploration of one of our most resonant myths, the legend of Camelot. The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis is the sixth book in his Camulod Chronicles, and it takes up the story just as Arthur makes the transition from boy to man. Whyte's focus, however, is on Caius Merlyn Britannicus. Merlyn, descended from Britain's Roman rulers, is one of the co-rulers of Camulod, a stronghold of civilization under perpetual threat from invading Saxons and Danes. Merlyn leads an eventful yet happy life: he has a loving fiancjée, Tressa; a fine ward, Arthur; a magnificent black horse, Germanicus; many allies; and grand plans for Camulod's expansion and Britain's safety. Merlyn's reflections on one campaign sum up his easy victories throughout the first half of the book: "It was slaughter--nothing less. One pass we made, from west to east, and scarce a living man was left to face us."But even the mightiest ship must one day be tested on the shoals. The suspense gains momentum when Whyte breaks Merlyn free of his brooding, reactive role and propels him and his companions into danger. In despair, Merlyn takes a new, subtler tack against his archenemies Ironhair and Carthac ("And then I truly saw the size of him. He towered over everyone about him, hulking and huge, his shoulders leviathan and his great, deep, hairless chest unarmoured"). Whyte shines at interpreting the mythos of Camelot in a surprising yet believable way. He can squeeze a sword out of a stone without opting for the glib explanations of fantasy-land magic. The Camulod Chronicles, and The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis in particular, provide an engaging take on the chivalric world of knights and High Kings. --Blaise SelbyFrom Library JournalAs the forces of Peter Ironhair threaten the land of Camulod, Merlyn Britannicus realizes that the time has come for his ward, Arthur Pendragon, to claim the skystone sword Excalibur and take his rightful place as High King of Britain. The latest volume of Whyte's epic retelling of the Arthurian cycle marks the end of Arthur's childhood training and the beginning of the legend that surrounds his career. Whyte firmly grounds his tale in historical detail, personal drama, and political intrigue, combining realism and wonder in a fortuitous blend. Compellingly told, this addition to Arthurian-based fiction belongs in most libraries. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

SUMMARY: Murder in the holiday spiritIt was Christmas in Lickin Creek, and all through the town something was stirring..The borough council was quarreling about the color of the Christmas lights. A social worker wouldn't let a living baby be part of the town's living crèche. And some ladies were stretching the limits of their leotards in a pageant called the Nutcracker. All in all, former New Yorker Tori Miracle was basking in the quaint glow of her adopted Pennsylvania town, when suddenly the season went sour. A boy was missing. A thirty-year-old mystery resurfaced. And now two people have been murdered. With her boyfriend--the town police chief--out of town, Tori must help his befuddled replacement. And what she finds out, or should be finding out, is making Tori the next target--of someone only in the mood for murder....

This rollicking, raunchy, and romantic coming-of-age tale centers on new kid Blondie Reimer's senior year at Fenton High School in the early 1960s. Blondie is struggling with his adolescent demons—not the least of which is his pursuit of the elusive Tammy Hollander—when he's recruited into a group of misfits trying to establish their own "club." Chief among them is the Grouper, an odd-shaped fellow with a large head who, like the fish of the same name, lives in depths Blondie only begins to discover during the course of his senior year. Grouper's apparent function in the club is to observe the behaviors of his classmates and enunciate laws that explain them. As Blondie pursues Tammy, eventually learning the downside of a romantic approach to life, the other members of the group suffer their own misfortunes, from mangling famous quotes in class to an encounter with the mythical Hook Man. High school is never easy, but with Grouper's Laws helping...

The six stories in Haruki Murakami’s mesmerizing collection are set at the time of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, when Japan became brutally aware of the fragility of its daily existence. But the upheavals that afflict Murakami’s characters are even deeper and more mysterious, emanating from a place where the human meets the inhuman. An electronics salesman who has been abruptly deserted by his wife agrees to deliver an enigmatic package—and is rewarded with a glimpse of his true nature. A man who has been raised to view himself as the son of God pursues a stranger who may or may not be his human father. A mild-mannered collection agent receives a visit from a giant talking frog who enlists his help in saving Tokyo from destruction. As haunting as dreams, as potent as oracles, the stories in After the Quake are further proof that Murakami is one of the most visionary writers at work today.

Ross has his pride...Ross McCain is determined to bring a schoolteacher to town, even if he has to carry her all the way out West. But he's not anticipated Miss Grimes being so hard to live with--or that he'd wind up proposing to her just to keep her from leaving!Jessica has a secret...Forced to flee Sacramento, posing as a schoolteacher, Jessica Tierney is out of her depth. She knows nothing of country living, let alone children! And now rancher Ross McCain is insisting that they marry. But how can she let their marriage be based on a lie--especially when she discovers she's falling in love with him?

Will the perfect senior prank turn out to be Emlyn’s last? Emlyn is a good girl. She is the perfect studious and athletic daughter and sister. She studies hard, paints watercolors, and especially loves rowing crew. She doesn’t gossip. She is every parent and teacher’s dream. But Emlyn has a secret. She has an entire library in her head filled with terrifically terrible plots and schemes: jewel heists, corporate espionage, and other mischief. She successfully hides her desire to be bad from the world. That is, until Jack, Mavis, Lovell, and Donovan approach her with their idea for a senior class prank: to steal the famous mummy, Amaral-Re, from their local museum. Now Emlyn’s “mental library of Bad” will come in handy. But when the harmless heist turns out to be filled with real-life danger, will Emlyn’s mental bag of tricks be enough to save the mummy . . . and herself? This ebook features an illustrated biography of Caroline B. Cooney including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Boone's Lick is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry's return to the kind of story that made him famous -- an enthralling tale of the nineteenth-century west. Like his bestsellers Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo, Comanche Moon, and Dead Man's Walk, Boone's Lick transports the reader to the era about which McMurtry writes better and more shrewdly than anyone else. Told with McMurtry's unique blend of historical fact and sheer storytelling genius, the novel follows the Cecil family's arduous journey by riverboat and wagon from Boone's Lick, Missouri, to Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming. Fifteen-year-old Shay narrates, describing the journey that begins when his Ma, Mary Margaret, decides to hunt down her elusive husband, Dick, to tell him she's leaving him. Without knowing precisely where he is, they set out across the plains in search of him, encountering grizzly bears, stormy weather, and hostile Indians as they go. With them are Shay's siblings, G.T., Neva, and baby Marcy; Shay's uncle, Seth; his Granpa Crackenthorpe; and Mary Margaret's beautiful half-sister, Rose. During their journey they pick up a barefooted priest named Father Villy, and a Snake Indian named Charlie Seven Days, and persuade them to join in their travels. At the heart of the novel, and the adventure, is Mary Margaret, whom we first meet shooting a sheriff's horse out from underneath him in order to feed her family. Forceful, interesting, and determined, she is written with McMurtry's trademark deftness and sympathy for women, and is in every way a match for the worst the west can muster. Boone's Lick abounds with the incidents, the excitements, and the dangers of life on the plains. Its huge cast of characters includes such historical figures as Wild Bill Hickok and the unfortunate Colonel Fetterman (whose arrogance and ineptitude led to one of the U.S. Army's worst and bloodiest defeats at the hands of the Cheyenne and Sioux) as well as the Cecil family (itself based on a real family of nineteenth-century traders and haulers). The story of their trek in pursuit of Dick, and the discovery of his second and third families, is told with brilliance, humor, and overwhelming joie de vivre in a novel that is at once high adventure, a perfect western tale, and a moving love story -- it is, in short, vintage McMurtry, combining his brilliant character portraits, his unerring sense of the west, and his unrivaled eye for the telling detail. Boone's Lick is one of McMurtry's richest works of fiction to date.

The charming town of Glenbrooke, Oregon, welcomes readers once more to delight in a contemporary love story. In this all-new offering in the heartwarming Glenbrooke series, bestselling author Robin Jones Gunn's characters get two lessons on love: it's not based on performance and its motives must be pure. When Leah Hudson, the "ugly duckling" among beautiful sisters, meets mysterious newcomer Seth Edwards, she thinks someone could love her after all. Their friendship grows, but Seth has things he must work through before he can open himself to anyone. An unexpected inheritance serves to complicate matters that strike to the core of Seth's and Leah's hearts and faith. Leah Hudson loves to give. But when others want to give back? Well, that’s another story entirely! After years of pouring herself out for others, Leah, an average twenty-seven-year-old woman, finally finds herself receiving. She has her own cottage in Glenbrooke, wonderful friends, a great job at the hospital, and the attention of Seth Edwards, the new guy in town. She even wins a cruise to Alaska when she accidentally dials the number of a radio station! So why can’t Leah relax and enjoy this new season of her life? When an inheritance of fifty acres of prime Oregon woodlands is left to her—with a certain condition attached—Glenbrooke’s town lawyer, Collin Radcliffe, prompts Leah to question Seth’s motives for his interest in her. Only by turning her affections in a new direction will Leah be able to hear the true song of this springtime of her life.

What’s a single mother do when she’s run out of options?After her father kicked her off the family farm because she was pregnant, seventeen-year-old Libby Bateson swore she’d never go back. She and her daughter, Nicole, have scraped by in the city for the past eight years, but when Libby finds out Nicole is being bullied and under-performing at school, she decides it’s time to swallow her pride.Going home isn’t easy. Libby finds the farmhouse neglected and filthy. Her father is a cantankerous hermit who won’t speak to her. Even Gibson Browning, the farmer next door whom she’d once had a crush on, is making her life complicated.Gibson’s wife died two years ago and now he’s a single parent too—raising a daughter the same age as Nicole. The hard working, good looking Gibson is a loyal friend and a loving father. Libby knows she could easily fall for him—which would be a...