Doglands

Doglands

Tim Willocks

Historical / Historical Fiction / Fiction

Furgul is a puppy born in a slave camp for racing greyhounds, and he has a terrible secret--he is himself only part greyhound. When the cruel owner of the camp recognizes Furgul's impure origins he takes Furgul to be killed, but Furgal manages a spectacular escape. Now Furgul must confront the indifference, complexity, warmth, and ferocity of the greater world, a world in which there seem to be two choices: live the comfortable life of a pet and sacrifice freedom or live the life of a free dog, glorious but also dangerous, in which every man will turn his hand against you. In the best tradition of The Call of the Wild and Watership Down, novelist Tim Willocks offers his first tale for young adults, an allegorical examination of human life through a dog's eyes, infused with heart, heroism, and the mysteries of the spirit. From the Hardcover edition.
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Loving Frank

Loving Frank

Nancy Horan

Historical / Historical Fiction / Fiction

I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current. So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives. In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America’s greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney’s profound influence on Wright. Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan’s Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamah’s is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel’s stunning conclusion. Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Nancy Horan's Under the Wide and Starry Sky. Advance praise for Loving Frank: “Loving Frank is one of those novels that takes over your life. It’s mesmerizing and fascinating–filled with complex characters, deep passions, tactile descriptions of astonishing architecture, and the colorful immediacy of daily life a hundred years ago–all gathered into a story that unfolds with riveting urgency.” –Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light “This graceful, assured first novel tells the remarkable story of the long-lived affair between Frank Lloyd Wright, a passionate and impossible figure, and Mamah Cheney, a married woman whom Wright beguiled and led beyond the restraint of convention. It is engrossing, provocative reading.” ——Scott Turow “It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright’s love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate.” ——Jane Hamilton “I admire this novel, adore this novel, for so many reasons: The intelligence and lyricism of the prose. The attention to period detail. The epic proportions of this most fascinating love story. Mamah Cheney has been in my head and heart and soul since reading this book; I doubt she’ ll ever leave.” –Elizabeth Berg
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Heroes

Heroes

Leigh Barker

Historical / Historical Fiction

The first Episode of ALL 7 rip-roaring adventure Series. Each one a 1-hour Bitesize Read.Episode 1 from:ClanSoldiersThe Hellfire LegacyFirst ResponderThe Orpheus DirectiveRequiem for EdenChecking InThe first Episode of ALL 7 rip-roaring adventure Series. Each one a 1-hour Bitesize Read.Episodes…ClanCalum Maclean is a sword-for-hire and a thorn in the side of anyone who sets himself up as Authority. He returns to the Highlands from the war in Flanders where he fought for the English, for a price, to find Bonnie Prince Charlie has arrived and war with the English is inevitable. Everyone thinks Calum will obey the Pretender. Everyone is wrong. Calum Maclean tips his hat to no man. SoldiersRegret is a soldier with fierce independence that gets him into trouble, and a sharp mind that gets him out of it. His skill with the Lee-Enfield rifle comes from long nights poaching in Ashdown Forest with his brother. That skill will save his life and the lives of his squad many times during the coming days and weeks of gut-wrenching tension.The Hellfire LegacyMarine Sergeant Ethan Gill is a hero — the real thing. A battle-hardened veteran of wars across the globe, with a sense of humour that would cut glass.He’d retired to the ‘good life’ but now he’s working with the FBI – there will be trouble! When terrorists start killing US generals, SecNav recalls him to duty. To the toughest and most perilous mission of his life. First ResponderNew York Fire Marshal Elmore James is one of our heroes who run into a burning building when everyone else is running out.A bomber has blown up a bank in Manhattan. Lots of people want to blow up banks, but few ever do….The Orpheus DirectiveMarine Master Sergeant Ethan Gill is a rare breed: a true hero. With skills honed in the bloodiest hellholes on the planet.He’d retired but SecNav has called his squad back to active duty, to go where Special Forces can’t, or won’t. To make the impossible look easy. Requiem for EdenWith Lucid’s invasion driven back to the Dark Continent and his attempt to take over The Other Place thwarted, Eden should be the tranquil haven it was meant to be. If only…Checking InIt's another mind-numbing day for the check-in staff at Global Airlines Lite, until the anarchist Rob discovers the suspect package…
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Animals

Animals

Kate Leonard And Jessica Teixeira

Historical / Historical Fiction / Fiction

Do you love animals? Want to know more than the ordinary book tells you? Well read on, and find out about record breakers, ordinary facts and weird,wacky facts!Chris Heron is a witch who loathes the holiday season. What’s even worse is getting expelled from private coven school on Halloween and having to attend public magic school, where Santa’s son is visiting and has all the girls in a frenzy. Fairies, mermaids, elves, even the trolls are swooning over Kris Kringle Jr. All except for one girl, and she’s a North Pole mystery that has Chris intrigued. Will he be able to put his prejudices aside in time to see the true magic all around him?
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Trees of Magic

Trees of Magic

Kate Leonard And Jessica Teixeira

Historical / Historical Fiction / Fiction

Sam, Tim, Lucy and Molly have a lovely time in this funny 'Moving house' story1 Read on to find out more!An epidemic that's turning humans into zombies has swept over the eastern United States and quite possibly the world, and Flex Sheridan doesn't like it one bit. In an effort to save his younger sister, Flex re-connects with perhaps the strongest woman he knows - Gem Cardoza, his former girlfriend. Together they take his six-year-old niece Trina, the only uninfected survivor of his sister's famiy, and his infected sister Jamie, and make a run from central Florida back to his isolated home in Lula, Georgia.As they head north, they encounter another uninfected, Hemphill "Hemp" Chatsworth. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Hemp is British, and extremely smart. He holds multiple degrees, most significantly in Epidemiology and Mechanical Engineering, both of which this group will need in this terrifying new world.Along with the crossbow-wielding Charlene "Charlie" Sanders and a pregnant Great Pyrenees, this small group uses street smarts, book smarts, and technology to defend against the new "Abnormals" that walk the earth. But Hemp is also compelled to learn how they got this way, and if possible, how to reverse the condition and save Flex's sister.So grab your machine gun and take a ride in their fortified vehicles and mobile lab; you're going to want these people on your side when the Dead Hunger . . .
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The Black Scarab in "The Sad, Strange Fate of Evil Eye"

The Black Scarab in "The Sad, Strange Fate of Evil Eye"

James Pratt

Romance / Fiction / Historical

Written in the style of a pulp superhero tale, this short story describes the final encounter between an aging superhero trying to take care of unfinished business and his arch-nemesis who is dealing with some issues of his own.Pat has been exploring the South Sea island of Vitua when he gets a day off. He goes fishing with his girlfriend, the lovely Hinatea from another island, who is an expert at all kinds of fishing. She decides he is the perfect bait to catch a giant octopus. Pat disagrees.A short story with some of the heroes from In Search of Spice, with the Princess Asmara in charge.Culture clash is explored, not just between East and West, but between East and East. This story takes you back five hundred years to the lives and beliefs of the people who lived in the South Seas.
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The Trouble With Tuck the Trouble With Tuck

The Trouble With Tuck the Trouble With Tuck

Theodore Taylor

Fiction / Young Adult / Historical

Available for the first time in a Yearling edition, the classic, inspiring story of a dog who triumphs against all odds, by the bestselling author of "The Cay." Helen adored herbeautiful golden Labrador from the first moment he was placed in her arms, a squirming fat sausage of creamy yellow fur. As her best friend, Friar Tuck waited daily for Helen to come home from school and play. He guardedher through the long, scary hours of the dark night. Twice he even saved her life. Now it's Helen's turn. No one can say exactly when Tuck began to go blind. Probably the light began to fail for him longbefore the alarming day when he raced after some cats and crashed through the screen door, apparently never seeing it. But from that day on, Tuck's trouble--and how to cope with it--becomes the focus of Helen's life.Together they fight the chain that holds him and threatens to break his spirit, until Helen comes up with a solution so new, so daring, there's no way it can fail. "From the TradePaperback edition."
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Lady Thief

Lady Thief

A. C. Gaughen

Young Adult / Historical / Historical Fiction

Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again.
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Speak 2 U Soon

Speak 2 U Soon

Van Thomas

Fiction / Art / Historical

What if someone had a secret so damning he’d kill his own nephew to protect it? Speak 2 U Soon brings four teens together in a psychological thriller as they search for the truth to Davey’s “accidental” drowning.In Speak 2 U Soon, Julie Price’s big brother drowns under mysterious circumstances: Uncle Eric takes Davey out in a boat knowing full well Davey is not only terrified of water, but he also can’t swim. It is her brother’s death that is Julie’s psychological undoing. Two other teens, Raven and Jorge, each suffering from their own losses, meet Julie in group therapy. Fast friends, they uncover discrepancies in Eric’s story. After enlisting Davey’s friend, Vince, who was on the boat the night Davey died, the four make a final climatic discovery.
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The Tenderness of Wolves

The Tenderness of Wolves

Stef Penney

Fiction / Historical / Historical Fiction

A brilliant and breathtaking debut that captivated readers and garnered critical acclaim in the United Kingdom, The Tenderness of Wolves was long-listed for the Orange Prize in fiction and won the Costa Award (formerly Whitbread) Book of the Year. The year is 1867. Winter has just tightened its grip on Dove River, a tiny isolated settlement in the Northern Territory, when a man is brutally murdered. Laurent Jammett had been a voyageur for the Hudson Bay Company before an accident lamed him four years earlier. The same accident afforded him the little parcel of land in Dove River, land that the locals called unlucky due to the untimely death of the previous owner. A local woman, Mrs. Ross, stumbles upon the crime scene and sees the tracks leading from the dead man's cabin north toward the forest and the tundra beyond. It is Mrs. Ross's knock on the door of the largest house in Caulfield that launches the investigation. Within hours she will regret that knock with a mother's love -- for soon she makes another discovery: her seventeen-year-old son Francis has disappeared and is now considered a prime suspect. In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the crime and to the township -- Andrew Knox, Dove River's elder statesman; Thomas Sturrock, a wily American itinerant trader; Donald Moody, the clumsy young Company representative; William Parker, a half-breed Native American and trapper who was briefly detained for Jammett's murder before becoming Mrs. Ross's guide. But the question remains: do these men want to solve the crime or exploit it? One by one, the searchers set out from Dove River following the tracks across a desolate landscape -- home to only wild animals, madmen, and fugitives -- variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for seventeen years, and a forgotten Native American culture before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good. In an astonishingly assured debut, Stef Penney deftly weaves adventure, suspense, revelation, and humor into an exhilarating thriller; a panoramic historical romance; a gripping murder mystery; and, ultimately, with the sheer scope and quality of her storytelling, an epic for the ages.
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The Face of Another

The Face of Another

Kōbō Abe

Historical / Historical Fiction / Fiction

Like an elegantly chilling postscript to The Metamorphosis, this classic of postwar Japanese literature describes a bizarre physical transformation that exposes the duplicities of an entire world. The narrator is a scientist hideously deformed in a laboratory accident–a man who has lost his face and, with it, his connection to other people. Even his wife is now repulsed by him. His only entry back into the world is to create a mask so perfect as to be undetectable. But soon he finds that such a mask is more than a disguise: it is an alternate self–a self that is capable of anything. A remorseless meditation on nature, identity and the social contract,* *The Face of Another is an intellectual horror story of the highest order.
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Costumes and Filigree: A Novel of the Phantom of the Opera

Costumes and Filigree: A Novel of the Phantom of the Opera

Dayna Stevenson

Historical / Historical Fiction / Fiction

In this not-so-serious retelling of the Phantom of the Opera, Christine Daaé, a rather bratty girl who lives to become a diva, is horrified to discover that her mentor, whom she believed to be an angel, is really a monstrously-disfigured man. But as she works to accomplish her goals of fame and fortune, she realizes that it is really her genteel fiancé, Raoul de Chagny, who is the true monster.Christine Daae's sole goal in life is to fulfill her late father's dream by becoming a famous singer, and attaining wealth, power, and glory for herself. But she isn't a very good singer, and her career as a ballerina at the Opera Garnier isn't going anywhere. That is, until she meets the Angel of Music, who agrees to teach her to sing.Erik, the self-styled Phantom of the Opera, cursed his lonely and pointless life until he found Christine, who desperately needed a musical instructor. Despite her bratty and demanding nature, he is overjoyed that his years of study in the musical arts will finally be useful to someone.Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny is a foppish nobleman trying to cram as many seductions as possible into the three months before his wedding. After seeing one of Christine’s performances, he decides that she will be the perfect final seduction of his bachelor career.As Christine works to achieve her dreams, her struggle between love and greed, beauty and ugliness, kindness and hauteur, sets Paris ablaze.
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