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Children's Reads
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Batcat
First in a full-color graphic novel series for emerging readers about accepting yourself and others from up-and-coming author-illustrator Meggie Ramm, creator of the comic strip The Littlest Dungeon Guard and cohost of the Pop! Whiz! Bang! comics podcast.
Batcat loves being all alone in their home on Spooky Island. Up in their tree house, they pass the time playing video games and watching TV. But when Batcat suddenly finds themself haunted by an annoying, ice cream–stealing ghost, they visit the local Island Witch for a spell to remove their ghastly guest permanently!
With their Ghost-B-Gone spell in hand, Batcat travels across Spooky Island to gather ingredients—to the Cavernous Caves where the bats tell them they’re too round to be a bat, and to the Whispering Cemetery where the cats will help only if they commit to being a true cat. But Batcat is neither and that’s what makes them special, right?
From up-and-coming author Meggie Ramm comes a sweet and fun story about accepting yourself when you’re perfectly in between here and there. -
Juniper Mae: Knight of Tykotech City
An action-packed sci-fi story for middle grade readers aging out of Hilda.
Tykotech City is a marvellous and peaceful place, filled with technology beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. But as power cuts begin to plague the residents, and a sinister force infiltrates the city, the lives of the cityfolk are in terrible danger…
It falls to Juniper Mae, a tiny, brave inventor, obsessed with the legends of the Guardian Knights, to overcome her fears and save her city. Can she embody the bravery of the Guardian Knights and invent some cool gadgets to save Tykotech City in time? -
Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt (A Narwhal and Jelly Book #2)
A New York Times Bestselling series
“Hilarious and charming. The most lovable duo since Frog and Toad.” —NYT-bestselling creator of the Dog Man and Captain Underpants series, Dav Pilkey
Narwhal and Jelly are back in action for a SUPER adventure! Join Super Narwhal and sidekick Jelly Jolt as they take on three SUPER new stories in this early graphic novel series.
Happy-go-lucky Narwhal and no-nonsense Jelly find their inner superheroes in three new under-the-sea adventures. In the first story, Narwhal’s superhero alter-ego is revealed, and Narwhal enlists Jelly to help figure out what their superpower is. Next, Narwhal helps a friend find his way back home. In the third story, Jelly is feeling blue and Narwhal comes to the rescue. Ben Clanton showcases the joys of friendship and the power of believing in yourself and others through this irresistible duo. -
Change Sings
A lyrical picture book debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman and #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long
"I can hear change humming
In its loudest, proudest song.
I don't fear change coming,
And so I sing along."
In this stirring, much-anticipated picture book by presidential inaugural poet and activist Amanda Gorman, anything is possible when our voices join together. As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes—big or small—in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves.
With lyrical text and rhythmic illustrations that build to a dazzling crescendo by #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long, Change Sings is a triumphant call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference. -
Because
Mo Willems, a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, composes a powerful symphony of chance, discovery, persistence, and magic in this moving tale of a young girl's journey to center stage. Illustrator Amber Ren brings Willems' music to life, conducting a stunning picture-book debut.
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Be Kind
A New York Times bestseller!
“These days, it seems more important than ever for books to show young people how to act with thoughtfulness, civility, and kindness.” —The New York Times Book Review
When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate wants to make her feel better, wondering: What does it mean to be kind?
From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving story explores what kindness is, and how any act, big or small, can make a difference—or at least help a friend.
With a gentle text from the award-winning author of Sophie's Squash, Pat Zietlow Miller, and irresistible art from Jen Hill, Be Kind is an unforgettable story about how two simple words can change the world.
One of Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best Books 2018" -
Just Ask!
Justice Sonia Sotomayor and award-winning artist Rafael Lopez create a kind and caring book about the differences that make each of us unique.
A #1 New York Times bestseller!
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award!
Feeling different, especially as a kid, can be tough. But in the same way that different types of plants and flowers make a garden more beautiful and enjoyable, different types of people make our world more vibrant and wonderful.
In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges--and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. As the kids work together to build a community garden, asking questions of each other along the way, this book encourages readers to do the same: When we come across someone who is different from us but we're not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask.
Praise for Just Ask:
* "Addressing topics too often ignored, this picture book presents information in a direct and wonderfully child-friendly way." --Booklist, *STARRED REVIEW*
"An affirmative, delightfully diverse overview of disabilities." --Kirkus Reviews
"A hopeful and sunny exploration of the many things that make us unique [with] dynamic and vibrant illustrations [that] emphasize each character’s unique abilities. . . . A thoughtful and empathetic story of inclusion." --SLJ -
How Do You Dance?
A playful picture book that urges readers to bop, bounce, and shake, from the award-winning author of Alfie and Fraidyzoo
There are so many ways to dance! You can jiggle or wiggle or stomp. You can bop or bounce or go completely nuts. You can dance at the market or the bus stop, with your fingers or your face. You can dance because you're happy or even because you're sad.
But, what's the best way to dance? Exactly how you want to!
In How Do You Dance?, award-wining author-illustrator Thyra Heder explores dance in all of its creativity, humor, and--most of all--joy, in a picture-book celebration of personal expression that will inspire young and old readers alike to get up and get moving.
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Punk Farm
From the author of National Book Award finalist Hey, Kiddo.
After a long day of work, Farmer Joe goes home to bed.
But meanwhile, back at the barn . . .
Cow sets up her drums.
Pig plugs in his amp.
Goat tunes his bass.
Chicken sets up her keyboards.
And Sheep checks the microphone.
They are Punk Farm and tonight they're ready to ROCK!
With adorable farm animals - and a surprise tribute to Old MacDonald - this rollicking tale is sure to have kids cheering--and singing--along. -
A Little Bit Brave
Logan is a stay-at-home bunny -- but he's about to discover how brave he really is.
It's time for his first adventure, and he doesn't want to go. But there's an amazing world outside, if he can just pluck up the courage to look...
A Little Bit Brave is a funny, reassuring picture book that shows that we're all a lot braver than we think.
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Wild Symphony
#1 New York Times bestselling author Dan Brown makes his picture book debut with this mindful, humorous, musical, and uniquely entertaining book! The author will be donating all US royalties due to him to support music education for children worldwide, through the New Hampshire Charitable foundation.
Travel through the trees and across the seas with Maestro Mouse and his musical friends! Young readers will meet a big blue whale and speedy cheetahs, tiny beetles and graceful swans. Each has a special secret to share.
Along the way, you might spot the surprises Maestro Mouse has left for you- a hiding buzzy bee, jumbled letters that spell out clues, and even a coded message to solve!
Children and adults can enjoy this timeless picture book as a traditional read-along, or can choose to listen to original musical compositions as they read--one for each animal--with a free interactive smartphone app, which uses augmented reality to play the appropriate song for each page when a phone's camera is held over it. -
You Matter
For fans of Jon Klassen, this sensitive and impactful picture book from award-winning author-illustrator Christian Robinson is all about seeing the world from different points of view, and the perfect entry point for parents to help teach their little people about empathy and community.
The small stuff too small to see.
Those who swim with the tide and those who don't.
The first to go and the last.
You matter.
In this bright and beautiful picture book, many different perspectives around the world are deftly and empathetically explored - from a pair of bird-watchers to the pigeons they're feeding, from the hugest dinosaur to the tiniest fly.
Young readers will be drawn into the luminous illustrations inviting them to engage with the world in a new way and see how everyone is connected and that everyone matters. -
The Peace Book
Peace is making new friends.Peace is helping your neighbor.
Peace is a growing a garden.
Peace is being who you are.
The Peace Book delivers positive and hopeful messages of peace in an accessible, child-friendly format featuring Todd Parr's trademark bold, bright colors and silly scenes. Perfect for the youngest readers, this book delivers a timely and timeless message about the importance of friendship, caring, and acceptance. -
Crunch the Shy Dinosaur
From Cirocco Dunlap (This Book Will Not Be Fun) and Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner Greg Pizzoli (The Watermelon Seed) comes a charming, giggly read-aloud that illustrates the particular art of making a friend!
Crunch is a lovely and quiet brontosaurus who has hidden himself in some shubbery and is rather shy. He would like to play, but it will require some gentle coaxing from you! If you are patient and encouraging, you will find yourself with a new friend!
This picture book is a warm, funny example of how to engage with someone new, who is perhaps a bit different from you. Lessons in friend-making (such as minding personal space and demonstrating interest in another's hobbies) are delivered so subtly that children will absorb them unconsciously as they delight in Crunch's silly hat and dance moves!
Cirocco Dunlap (This Book Will Not Be Fun) and Greg Pizzoli (The Watermelon Seed) enchant and surprise us with their first collaboration.
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2018! -
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Dr. Seuss’s wonderfully wise Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is the perfect gift to celebrate all of our special milestones—from graduations to birthdays and beyond!
From soaring to high heights and seeing great sights to being left in a Lurch on a prickle-ly perch, Dr. Seuss addresses life’s ups and downs with his trademark humorous verse and whimsical illustrations.
The inspiring and timeless message encourages readers to find the success that lies within, no matter what challenges they face. A perennial favorite and a perfect gift for anyone starting a new phase in their life!
Teen Reads
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The Duke Steals Hearts & Other Body Parts
A trans teen who steals and ransoms body parts with magic investigates a string of missing girls—falling in love with one of them from afar.
Wielding a magic that allows him to pop off limbs, con artist Phyllis steals body parts and his partner Lucent ransoms them. Everyone who knows about Phyllis’s magic is afraid of him—except for Lucent. But his partner’s love comes with one condition: Phyllis must keep stealing. But when a mark can’t afford ransom for his missing nose, Phyllis loses his resolve. The man claims his sister, Adeline, was taken, and without her money he can’t pay until she’s found.
Intrigued, Phyllis investigates Adeline’s disappearance, but she is not the only missing girl in their seedy city. To gain answers from the nobility, Phyllis masquerades as a duke—Lord Phillip of Rabbiton—and begins to fall in love with both stories of Adeline and the man he’s becoming to try and find her. Soon, he’s not sure he ever wants to return to Lucent and their life of crime together.
When he finally finds Adeline with another missing girl, it turns out they’re not dead—but undead.
To win Adeline’s heart and break from his toxic past, Phillip will have to scheme to keep his title and master his evolving magic. -
These Vengeful Gods
ALL GODS MUST DIE in this searingly relevant YA dystopian from award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Bargain and Most Ardently. In a world bound by violence, a teen descended from the god of Death must keep their true identity a secret as they fight their way through a gladiator-style competition towards victory and rebellion against the gods who murdered their family.
Years ago, the descendants of the god of Death were murdered. The few that remain are in hiding, including Crow, a teen who survived the genocide and hides their magic to stay alive. After fleeing their village, Crow now lives with their uncles in the lowest part of the city: the Shallows.
Life in the Shallows is tough, but Crow’s even tougher. Hiding their magic has made Crow resourceful, cunning, and unbeatable -- which comes in handy as a fighter in the city's lucrative underground fighting ring.
Then, Crow's uncles are arrested for harboring Deathchildren.
With fists tightly clenched, Crow vows to set their uncles free. But to do that, they’re going to need to enter a world that threatens Crow’s very existence. Carefully navigating the politics of the wealthy and powerful, they enter the Tournament of the Gods -- a gladiator-style competition where the winner is granted a favor. As they battle their way towards the winner’s circle, Crow plans to ask the gods for their uncles’ freedom as their reward.
But in a city of gods and magic, you don’t ask for what you want.
You take it.
Action. Adventure. Romance. Find it all in Gabe Cole Novoa's novels:
- The Wicked Bargain
- The Diablo's Curse
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Clown in a Cornfield Movie Tie-In Edition
Read it before you see it! Now a major motion picture from the teams behind Smile and Tucker & Dale vs. Evil.
In Adam Cesare's terrifying young adult debut, Quinn Maybrook finds herself caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress--that just may cost her life.
Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start. But what they don't know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half.
On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.
Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It's a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.
Don't miss this Bram Stoker Award-winning novel from rising star Adam Cesare.
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Maya in Multicolor
Fans of When Dimple Met Rishi will love this charming, slow-burn YA romance about all the ways you can honor tradition while still giving it a modern flair.
When it comes to romance, Maya still believes in meet-cutes, but she's done with boys wasting her time. After her freshman romance refuses to put a label on their relationship, Maya decides to reclaim her life and completely turnaround her college experience. She's got big plans to throw the most spectacular Holi-a colorful Hindu festival symbolizing rebirth, which Maya feels she desperately needs.
Enter college heartthrob Nishant Rai, an upperclassman, notorious playboy, and well-connected DJ. After the student council makes him Maya's co-planner, she finds herself working closely with the one guy on campus she can't have and definitely doesn't want. He plans to turn the event into #HoliFest, a flashy EDM festival blending old traditions with the fresh new twist of a music festival. As the two grow closer, Maya realizes Nishant is so much more than a pretty face. Is he just wasting her time, or has she finally found her meet-cute? -
They Bloom at Night
The author of the New York Times bestselling horror phenomenon She Is a Haunting is back with a novel about the monsters that swim beneath us . . . and live within us.
Since the hurricane, the town of Mercy, Louisiana has been overtaken by a strange red algae bloom. Noon and her mother have carved out a life in the wreckage, trawling for the mutated wildlife that lurks in the water and trading it to the corrupt harbormaster. When she's focused on survival, Noon doesn't have to cope with what happened to her at the Cove or the monster itching at her skin.
Mercy has never been a safe place, but it's getting worse. People are disappearing, and the only clues as to why are whispers of underwater shadows and warnings to never answer the knocks at night. When the harbormaster demands she capture the creature that's been drowning residents, Noon finds a reluctant ally in his daughter Covey. And as the next storm approaches, the two set off to find what's haunting Mercy. After all, Noon is no stranger to monsters . . . -
His Face Is the Sun
A new reign is coming...Romance, magic, adventure, and horror collide in the start to this lush, epic, Ancient Egyptian inspired trilogy perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas.
Princess. Priestess. Rebel. Thief.
Tensions run as hot as the Khamsin winds in the great kingdom of Khetara. Rumors of the pharaoh's mysterious illness abound, and with them, murmurs of rebellion grow. Meanwhile, in the quiet desert, a forgotten oracle begins to unfold, setting a dark prophecy into action and drawing together four strangers...
Princess SITA lives in the abundance of the palace, and in a moment of passion, she unmasks a betrayal that will put her life--and the entire royal court--in grave danger.
A priestess-in-training, NEFF strives to understand her intense visions from the gods, except theirs is not the only magic at play in the grand temple.
As a farmer's daughter, RAE knows how much the pharaoh's men have taken from her land, her people. Still, who will step forward to confront the king?
KARIM was raised among the pyramids of the Red Lands and survives on the wealth of the dead as a tomb robber. But amid the spoils, an ancient evil awakens...
Bloodshed is coming. Only together do these four have the potential to save the kingdom from destruction. But when the dust has settled, who will sit on the throne of Khetara?
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The Lost Queen
“Lyrical, magical, and haunting.”—Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author
A heroine like no other, ancient magic unleashed, a fated epic battle--the first book in an enchanting YA fantasy duology inspired by Vietnamese lore, weaving magic, sisterhood, and self-discovery.
Jolie Lam, a high school sophomore in San Jose, is known for two things: her bizarre freakout at last year’s swim meet and her fortuneteller grandfather with visions of dragons and earthquakes. Friendless and ostracized, Jolie's life takes a dramatic turn for the better when she saves the school's it-girl, Huong Pham, during a haunting vision of her own. Taken under Huong's wing, Jolie's world transforms, in more ways than one.
As Jolie and Huong's bond deepens, they unlock long lost powers: telepathic abilities, fluency in Vietnamese, and eerie premonitions. This leads them to a shocking revelation: they have ties to legendary queens and goddesses of ancient Vietnam. While a thrilling discovery, it also sets them on a perilous journey.
The girls must navigate dreams and portals to piece together their past lives and reclaim their immortal elements before their ancient enemies strike again. But all is not what it seems, and Jolie must determine friend from foe, truth from lie, and ultimately right from wrong in this battle for all she loves and the fate of the world. -
(S)Kin
SIX STARRED REVIEWS!
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut--a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore--about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.
"Our new home with its
thick walls and locked doors
wants me to stay trapped in my skin--
but I am fury and flame."
Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.... While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past--her mother.
Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies' constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn't even thought to ask.
But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.
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Run Away with Me
From #1 New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Brian Selznick, a profoundly romantic YA novel about two boys finding each other and falling in love over one summer in Rome.
"I'm going to call you Danny. What are you going to name me?"
"Angelo."
Danny is spending his sixteenth summer in Rome. As his mother spends the day at work in a mysterious museum, he wanders the ancient sites and streets. Soon after his arrival, he encounters a shadow... who becomes a voice... who becomes a boy his age. Angelo.
Soon Danny and Angelo are spending as much time as they can together, piecing together stories of the city while only gradually letting their own histories be shared. Attraction leads to affection, and affection leads to both an intimate closeness and a profound fear of what happens next. Danny has never really had a home, or known the love of another boy. Angelo seems to have more experience... but he also has secrets just out of Danny's reach.
Run Away With Me is a stunning creation, weaving words and illustration to tell the story of a transformative love over the course of one Roman summer.
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Meet Me at Blue Hour
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Past Lives in this gripping, emotional story of two childhood friends navigating the fallout of one erasing their memory of the other, from acclaimed author Sarah Suk.
Seventeen-year-old Yena Bae is spending the summer in Busan, South Korea, working at her mom's memory-erasing clinic. She feels lost and disconnected from people, something she's felt ever since her best friend, Lucas, moved away four years ago without a word, leaving her in limbo.
Eighteen-year-old Lucas Pak is also in Busan for the summer, visiting his grandpa, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. But he isn't just here for a regular visit--he's determined to get his beloved grandpa into the new study running at the clinic, a trial program seeking to restore lost memories.
When Yena runs into Lucas again, she's shocked to see him and even more shocked to discover that he doesn't remember a thing about her. He's completely erased her from his memories, and she has no idea why.
As the two reconnect, they unravel the mystery and heartache of what happened between them all those years ago--and must now reckon with whether they can forge a new beginning together.
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Love in 280 Characters Or Less
Black college student Sydney Ciara navigates academics, love, and the online space, in this coming-of-age romance told through her blog posts, messages, and more!
Sydney Ciara Warren is excited as she starts her first year of college, but also nervous. Despite her interests in writing and fashion, she has no idea what path will ultimately be right for her. As she tries to figure out her place on campus and in the world, she finds solace in blogging about her life, putting together outfits with meaning, and spending time online.
It’s within the digital space that she connects with someone who goes by YoungPrinceX. She may not know “X” in real life, but that doesn’t stop her from developing a crush on him. Except she's also navigating her first romantic relationship, with a sweet boy on campus named Xavier (who maybe could be X???).
Can Sydney Ciara not only make it through her first semester, but thrive in real life, as much as she seems to be thriving online?
Perfect read for those looking for:
*Coming-of-age romances
*New Adult stories
*Black love stories
*Novels told in nontraditional formats
*Main characters who love fashion
*Chronically online characters like in Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao
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Watch Me
Lose yourself in this exhilarating return to the #1 global bestselling Shatter Me universe, the first book in a new series set ten years after the fall of The Reestablishment.
James Anderson had a plan. Or half of one. All that matters is that he managed to do what his older brother, the famous Aaron Warner Anderson, never did: infiltrate Ark Island, the last refuge of The Reestablishment. In the past decade no outsider has breached the stronghold of the authoritarian regime, but James is in. In a prison cell, sure, but as far as James is concerned, a win is a win.
It's been ten years since the fall of The Reestablishment. Ten years since the notorious duo--Juliette Ferrars and Aaron Warner Anderson--led a worldwide rebellion and established the New Republic of the West. But after a decade of unsettling quiet, The Reestablishment is ready to make a devastating move, and they have the perfect person for the job.
Rosabelle Wolff had a plan. She always has a plan. On Ark Island, where constant surveillance is packaged as security, even emotions must be experienced with caution. A trained assassin, her every movement is monitored by synthetic intelligence--and when she's given an order to kill, she never hesitates.
Brimming with pulse-pounding action and torturous romance, Watch Me is an explosive journey through a dystopian landscape where enemies-to-lovers has never felt more impossible. Step into a beloved and breathtaking world that demands an answer to a desperate question--
Who are we when no one is watching?
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Everything Is Tuberculosis
John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious disease.
Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.
In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.
In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis. -
A Greater Goal
YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist
More than 250 women have played on the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, and most contributed to the battle for equal pay. This narrative nonfiction book by the award-winning author and journalist Elizabeth Rusch traces the evolution of that fight, bringing this important rights issue in sports and in our culture to the attention of young readers. Features extensive back matter.
With the passage of Title IX in 1972, the doors opened for young women to play sports at a higher level. But for the women on the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, being able to compete at an international level didn't mean fair treatment and fair compensation.
From economy-class airplane seats and inadequate lodging to minimal marketing and slashed wages, the women representing the United States at the Olympics, the World Cup, and other tournaments had reason to be fed up. They were expected to--and did--win, but they weren't compensated for their talent and dedication. With the help of their union and in collaboration with the men's team, they secured an equitable contract in 2022 that ultimately benefited both national teams as well as athletes of the future.
Elizabeth Rusch's A Greater Goal chronicles how members of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team fought to receive fair treatment and equal pay despite the intense pushback they received from U.S. Soccer, the governing body of soccer in the United States. With a narrative that includes player profiles and vignettes framed from team member perspectives, A Greater Goal illuminates the work, support, and grit needed to be treated with equality in a world that often undervalues the contributions of women.
Features extensive back matter, including a call to action, additional resources, and an index.
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The Dead Cat Tail Assassins
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats.
Nor do they have tails.
But they are most assuredly dead.
Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins.
An NPR "Books We Love" choice of 2024, Indie Next Pick, LibraryReads Top Ten Selection, Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Selection, and Best-Of Book according to BookRiot
Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins—resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories—have only three unbreakable vows.
First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade.
Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark.
The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget.
Teen Reads (Graphic Novels)
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Leviathan Volume 1
In the depths of space, a group of students is pitted against each other in a brutal battle for survival--a gripping sci-fi survival horror from rising star manga artist Shiro Kuroi perfect for fans of Battle Royale and Attack on Titan
Monster or human . . . What sleeps deep in the darkness?
The Leviathan, an enormous spaceship, drifts in spaces, abandoned in a galaxy far, far away. When looters break into the abandoned ship, they discover the diary of a middle-schooler, Kazuma, who documented the horrific fate of its passengers. Shocked, the looters read on, but as they do, they reach a chilling realization--there is still one survivor somewhere inside!
Along with the looters, the reader will piece together the decades-old tale of an innocent school trip to Earth with a tragic and brutal ending, as sudden explosions destroy the hull of the Leviathan. Trapped in space without enough oxygen left to wait for rescue, Kazuma documents the mental collapse and treachery of his teacher and classmates as they realize that the only hope for survival is the cryopreservation unit at the heart of the ship . . . which can only fit one person. A bloody battle for survival ensues as friend turns against friend, teacher against student, and each survivor is forced to confront the value of their own life.
Is it possible to keep one's humanity when lost in the darkness of space? And moreover, what kind of survivor of that vicious struggle do looters find themselves alone with, decades after the dust has settled?
One of the top bestselling new manga titles in Japan, Leviathan's incredible, brutal illustrations and tightly paced plot will leave readers at the edge of their seats, and linger in their minds long after the last page of each volume. Perfect for fans of Moebius, Star Wars, and Katsuhiro Otomo, Leviathan is sure to be an instant hit. -
I Feel Awful, Thanks
2025 Alex Award Winner
"Written from the heart and personal experience, Pickle’s debut is a compelling effort to help young adults feel seen through an imaginative delve into familiar psychological challenges." —Library Journal
"[T]he charming art and worldbuilding bolster the reassuring message that 'it’s okay to not be okay.' Readers will be won over." —Publishers Weekly
A lushly illustrated debut graphic novel that explores the hardfought journey of self-acceptance in a complex world of swirling emotions and powerful potions.
Joana has dragons inside her. Can she tame them before they burn her life down?
Joana is a young witch who secured her dream job with a coven in London, her favorite city, where she can dedicate herself to creating potions, her favorite activity! However, she will soon discover the reality of city life is not so idyllic. Finding a flat is an ordeal, her “dream job” is stressful, and she’s totally alone. Little by little, she makes her place, but fatigue, sadness, and doubts threaten to topple her hard-earned success . . . until she starts talking to a professional who helps her realize in order to take care of herself, she must know herself. -
A Song for You and I
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Being a ranger means adventure, action, and protecting the weak. But who protects the ranger when they lose their way? From the bestselling author of The Moth Keeper and the Tea Dragon Society comes a must read MG graphic novel for fans of soft sweeping fantasy romances.
Rowan knows exactly what they want: to be a ranger, protecting their village alongside their trusted flying horse Kes. But when Rowan's eagerness to show off their worth gets Kes injured, Rowan is suddenly unsure if they're capable of being the protector they've always dreamed of becoming.
With Kes needing to heal, Rowan is assigned a slow and winding expedition across the outlying lands. Paired with a lackadasical sheep hearder Leone, Rowan only finds frustration as they seem to fail even the simplest tasks. But Leone's own struggles, and endless support brings a new possibility to Rowan. Could their unlikely friendship be something more? And if it is, will Rowan be able to leave Leone behind to pursue being a ranger once Kes is healed? -
Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance—Premonition
A massive, interconnected cross-publisher initiative focused on an all-new era of Star Wars storytelling.
The galaxy has been plunged into darkness as the fearsome Nihil continue their destructive advance from the Outer Rim!
As brave Jedi Knights fight to protect the Jedi Temple on Banchii in the battle against the Nihil, Jedi Master Yoda must find a way to protect the younglings who call the planet home. But the fearsome Marchion Ro, the Eye of the Nihil, has other plans for the Jedi Master, as he unleashes his most terrifying weapon against the champions of justice yet… -
ZomCom'ics
Zom is just your average everyday zombie girl. Enjoy Zom's daily adventures and slice-of-life stories with her spooky roommates and friends in this wordless popular Webtoon turned graphic novel, ZomCom'ics.
ZomCom'ics is a laugh-out-loud, wordless comic collection that follows the everyday adventures of Zom, a zombie girl; Ari, resident vampire; and Theo, loveable werewolf.
Zom and her fantastical friends navigate everything from dating to beach trips to roommate spats in a colorful, engaging world full of ghouls, skeletons, and ghosts. This silent graphic novel takes full advantage of the illustrated format and shows the hearts (literally, in some cases) at the core of even the spookiest monsters. It's great for anyone who likes spooky, funny, and relatable stories. -
Hi, Earth
This bittersweet but lighthearted book from one of the funniest duos in webcomics roasts our human folly while also creating moments of wonder and appreciation for our beautiful, fragile, messed-up planet.
The webcomics duo War and Peas presents a hilariously irreverent book of comics paying tribute to a subject near and dear to all of us: Planet Earth. Utilizing underrepresented points of view including those of animals, icebergs, anthropomorphized recyclables, the ghosts of trees, aliens, a horny flower, and a teenage praying mantis named Timmy who is understandably terrified of his species' mating process, Hi, Earth packs a Noah's Ark-size cast into just over 100 delightful pages. These sweet and apocalyptic comics celebrate the wonders and weirdness of Earth even as we hurtle toward an uncertain future. -
Raised by Ghosts
Set in the author's own teenage years, Raised By Ghosts begins in 1991 with semi autobiographical Briana in middle school. Classes are a bummer, but lunches are worse; either spent alone, or being teased. Traditionally a good student, Briana is not doing well in her academics, but keeps it a secret. Her parents (divorced) are a mess, and largely absent. She spends a lot of time by herself. By high school, she makes friends, and those connections are her only source of happiness as they help each other navigate adolescence. But life at home with each parent remains fraught. When her relationships at school begin to falter, she has no one to turn to, forcing Briana to grapple with her sense of self-worth, her longing for belonging, and her desire for authenticity in her relationships.
Raised By Ghosts is a powerful, affecting graphic novel for young adult readers. The story is told by shifting between Briana's first-person class notes and diary entries. In her understated yet masterful approach to comics storytelling, Loewinsohn eschews dramatic confrontations and overt sentimentality, preferring instead to underscore the idea that sometimes acceptance and love can be communicated through quiet, everyday moments and close family bonds.
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Halfway to Somewhere
New school, new country, but only half a family?! Embark on a coming of age journey with a middle school teen navigating their parent’s divorce while moving to a new country in this stunning graphic novel.
Ave thought moving to Kansas would be boring and flat after enjoying the mountains and trails in Mexico, but at least they would have their family with them. Unfortunately, while Ave, their mom, and their younger brother are relocating to the US, Ave's father and older sister will be staying in Mexico...permanently. Their parents are getting a divorce.
As if learning a whole new language wasn't hard enough, and now a Middle-Schooler has to figure out a new family dynamic...and what this means for them as they start middle school with no friends.
Jose Pimienta's stunningly illustrated and thought provoking middle graphic novel is about exploring identity, understanding family, making friends with a language barrier, and above all else, learning what truly makes a place a home. -
Ephemera
Ephemera is a poetic and dreamlike take on a graphic memoir set in a garden, a forest, and a greenhouse. The story drifts among a grown woman, her early memories as a child, and the gossamer existence of her mother. A lyrical entry in the field of graphic medicine, Ephemera is a story about a daughter trying to relate to a parent who struggles with mental illness. Gorgeously illustrated in a painted palette of warmy, earthy tones, it is a quiet book of isolation, plants, confusion, acceptance, and the fog of childhood. Loewinsohn's debut book is an aching, meditative twist on autobiography, infusing the genre with an ethereal fusion of memory and imagination.
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Low Orbit
An atmospheric and profound coming-of-age graphic novel about a Malaysian American teen carving out her own identity in the uneasy space between friends and family.
Fifteen-year-old Azar feels stuck. Her mom's job forced them to move to Vermont, where Azar doesn't know anyone. Her only friends are the next-door neighbors- an aging sci-fi writer and his nonbinary teen, Tristan, fellow misfits in the small-town community. For a while, Azar can escape her troubles by disappearing into the pages of her kindly neighbor's epic novel, The Exiles of Overworld. But when her queerness throws her life out of balance, Azar realizes some secrets can't be escaped forever. Somewhere in the abandoned malls, lakes, and comic conventions that fill her new life, Azar fights to find herself. What else will she discover? -
My Adventures with Superman
Flying from the screen to the page, it's Superman! The hit Adult Swim animated series gets an all-new comic book adventure--bridging the gap between seasons one and two, and told by the head writer of the show!
In 2023, My Adventures with Superman debuted on Adult Swim, dazzling viewers with a fresh, anime-inspired take on the Superman mythos--while retaining the enduring qualities of the Man of Steel, and his friends and enemies!
Picking up from the explosive end of season one, Clark's about to spend Christmas alone in Metropolis. Though he's feeling a bit down and out, a tip about a monster in the sewers sends Superman, Lois, and Jimmy into action! But what is this monster that can absorb anything it touches, and why is it here in Metropolis? And when a mysterious android is captured by a covert military group, Superman realizes he can't just bust through a government facility and take what he wants--this is a job for mild-mannered journalist Clark Kent!
Written by the head writer of My Adventures with Superman, Josie Campbell, and drawn by Pablo M. Collar, this collection brings the hit show to comics for the first time!
This volume collects My Adventures with Superman #1-6. -
Surrounded
In 1832, in Canterbury, Connecticut, a " charming and picturesque" little school for young girls opens to accommodate around twenty residents. Educating girls is a bit ridiculous and useless, they think in the area, but harmless enough. Until the day when the " charming school", led by Prudence Crandall, announces that it will now welcome Black girls... . Thirty years before the abolition of slavery, some fifteen young people in the Crandall school are greeted by a wave of hostility of insane proportion. White America is afraid of some of its children. The story of this school and its legal legacy for civil rights cannot be understated. Crandall v. State (of Connecticut) was the first full-throated civil rights case in U.S. history. The arguments by attorneys in the Crandall case played a role in two of the most fateful Supreme Court decisions, Dred Scott v. Sandford, and the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education. It catapulted Ms. Crandall into a Civil Rights pioneer.
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We Are Big Time
SWISH! Cheer courtside for a Muslim teen in this graphic novel—inspired by a true story—as she joins an all-girls, hijab-wearing basketball team and learns that she’s much more than a score.
Aliya is new to Wisconsin, and everything feels different than Florida. The Islamic school is bigger, the city is colder, and her new basketball team is… well, they stink.
Aliya’s still excited to have teammates (although Noura's not really Aliya's biggest fan) and their new coach really understands basketball (even if she doesn't know much about being Muslim.) This season should be a blast...if they could just start to win.
Join Aliya and the Peace Academy on a headline-making season where they strengthen their skills and their Muslim identities--all while discovering that it takes more than talent to be great, and that teamwork and self-confidence can define true success.
For fans of The Crossover and Roller Girl, this graphic novel goes big with humor and heart as it explores culture and perceptions, fitting in and standing out, and finding yourself, both on and off the court. -
March Comes in Like a Lion, Volume 1
Rei Kiriyama is a child prodigy. Rei Kiriyama is also an orphan who lives alone in an empty apartment. Rei Kiriyama is a teen working in an adult's world. Life is complicated for Rei. He's an up-and-coming shogi (Japanese chess) player on the verge of turning pro but he has no homelife or much of a life period outside his board game but thankfully with the help of some life-long friends he has an opportunity start all over again.
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Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison -- And How We Stayed Connected
A stunning graphic novel memoir about growing up with an incarcerated parent.
" ...Your dad is coming back home."
As far back as nine-year-old Jay Jay Patton can remember, her dad, Antoine has been in prison. Growing up in Buffalo, New York with her mom and younger brother, she's only been to visit him twice. Instead, the two have sent each other numerous letters -- Jay Jay's letters can take weeks or months to reach her dad, and some never even get delivered. What's it going to be like having Dad home?
This powerful coming-of-age graphic novel memoir tells Jay Jay Patton's life of growing up with a dad in -- and out of -- prison. How she and her dad were able to develop a powerful father/daughter bond and create Photo Patch -- a life-changing application that connects children to incarcerated parents. Because no child should have to grow up unable to engage with their parents. As Jay Jay says: "it's not a privilege for a kid to be able to talk to their parent. It's a right."
Adult Reads - National Pet Month
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The Friend
When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building.
While others worry that grief has made her a victim of magical thinking, the woman refuses to be separated from the dog except for brief periods of time. Isolated from the rest of the world, increasingly obsessed with the dog's care, determined to read its mind and fathom its heart, she comes dangerously close to unraveling. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them.
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A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch Vol. 1
A sweet tale starring a gigantic cat who's summoned to a fantasy world by a lonely, elderly witch.
In her youth, Jeanne was a powerful witch who vanquished the evil Demon King and saved the world - but over time, the people she rescued have forgotten her. Now she is a lonely old woman living in a secluded forest...until she accidentally summons a cat from Earth to her home! The former city kitty is now gigantic and must acclimate to this new world. Can a cat from another world soothe the loneliness of the forgotten witch?
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Dog Days
After attending a family wedding in Chicago, young widow Bella Jordan is returning to the guesthouse she runs in Lily Dale - the quirky upstate New York lakeside village famous for its spiritual mediums - when she catches a glimpse of the impossible at the airport: her late husband Sam.
A former science teacher, Bella is grounded in facts and logic. She doesn't believe in ghosts. But even when she's back home with the competing distractions of her quirky guests, small son Max, resident pet cats and a very unexpected litter of puppies, Bella can't find a good explanation for what she's seen.
The situation gets even stranger when her psychic friend Odelia tells her that she made contact with Sam's spirit and he shared a significant name: Kevin . . . Bacon!
Bella doesn't know what to think, but when she glimpses Sam again and things start to vanish around her, she knows she has to get to the bottom of the strange happenings - even if that means letting go for good.
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Cat + Gamer Volume 1
Riko, a twenty-nine-year-old office worker with an obsession for video games, finds her quiet life upended when she takes in a stray cat in this adorable manga series!
Her coworkers can’t quite figure her out - she never talks about her personal life, she never works overtime, and she never joins them for happy hour. Is she antisocial? Nope, she’s rushing home to play video games! One day, a stray cat is found in the office parking lot, and before Riko knows it, the cat has moved in with her! Having no experience with pets, Riko uses lessons drawn from video games to guide her in cat care, while her cute companion tries to understand her behavior through a cat's worldview.
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Kafka on the Shore
Here we meet fifteen-year-old runaway Kafka Tamura and the elderly Nakata, who is drawn to Kafka for reasons that he cannot fathom. As their paths converge, acclaimed author Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder, in what is a truly remarkable journey.
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The Blanket Cats
A peculiar pet shop in Tokyo has been known to offer customers the unique opportunity to take home one of seven special cats, whose "magic" is never promised, but always received. But there are rules: these cats must be returned after three days. They must eat only the food supplied by the owner, and they must travel to their new homes with a distinctive blanket.
In The Blanket Cats, we meet seven customers, each of whom is hoping a temporary feline companion will help them escape a certain reality, including a couple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from the police, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy.
But like all their kind, the "blanket cats" are mysterious creatures with unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn't really what they need. Three days may not be enough to change a life. But it might just change how you see it.
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The Cat who Saved Books
Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for - or rather, demands - the teenager's help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.
Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, the cat and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge - the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter...
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It Started with a Dog
All Harper Thompson wants for Christmas is the huge promotion she's worked so hard for—which she should get, as long as her launch of the hip new coffeehouse, Deja Brew, goes according to plan. Jonah Rogers is trying to save his family's coffee shop, Lucky Star, from going out of business, which will be tough with the brand-new Deja Brew opening across the street.
When Jonah and Harper meet for the first time after accidentally swapping phones, their chemistry is as electric as a strand of Christmas lights. He's a tall, handsome, compassionate hunk of engineer, and she's an entrepreneur whose zest for life is very sexy. They love all the same things, like scary movies, greasy food—and most of all, dogs. It's a match made in heaven...until Jonah finds out that Harper's the one about to put him out of business.
Only one coffee shop likely can survive, and a competition of one-upmanship ensues in a battle of the brews. The paws really come out when the local rescue shelter has a fundraiser where local businesses foster dogs, and patrons vote with their dollars for their favorite pup. Harper takes in an adorable old bulldog on behalf of Deja Brew, while Jonah fosters a perky three-legged dachshund for Lucky Star. As the excitement builds for who will be crowned King Mutt and king of the coffee hill, Harper and Jonah must decide if their connection was all steam or if they are the perfect blend.
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Brood
Over the course of a single year, our nameless narrator heroically tries to keep her small brood of four chickens alive despite the seemingly endless challenges that caring for another creature entails. From the forty-below nights of a brutal Minnesota winter to a sweltering summer which brings a surprise tornado, she battles predators, bad luck, and the uncertainty of a future that may not look anything like the one she always imagined.
Intimate and startlingly original, this slender novel is filled with wisdom, sorrow and joy. As the year unfolds, we come to know the small band of loved ones who comprise the narrator's circumscribed life at this moment. Her mother, a flinty former home-ec teacher who may have to take over the chickens; her best friend, a real estate agent with a burgeoning family of her own; and her husband whose own coping mechanisms for dealing with the miscarriage that haunts his wife are more than a little unfathomable to her.
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The Travelling Cat Chronicles
We take journeys to explore exotic new places and to return to the comforts of home, to visit old acquaintances and to make new friends. But the most important journey is the one that shows us how to follow our hearts...
An instant international bestseller and indie bestseller, The Travelling Cat Chronicles has charmed readers around the world. With simple yet descriptive prose, this novel gives voice to Nana the cat and his owner, Satoru, as they take to the road on a journey with no other purpose than to visit three of Satoru's longtime friends. Or so Nana is led to believe...
With his crooked tail—a sign of good fortune—and adventurous spirit, Nana is the perfect companion for the man who took him in as a stray. And as they travel in a silver van across Japan, with its ever-changing scenery and seasons, they will learn the true meaning of courage and gratitude, of loyalty and love.
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Other People's Pets
La La’s world stops being whole when her mother, who never wanted a child, abandons her twice. First, when La La falls through thin ice on a skating trip, and again when the accusations of “unfit mother” feel too close to true. Left alone with her father—a locksmith by trade, and a thief in reality—La La is denied a regular life. She becomes her father’s accomplice, calming the watchdog while he strips families of their most precious belongings.
When her father’s luck runs out and he is arrested for burglary, everything La La has painstakingly built unravels. In her fourth year of veterinary school, she is forced to drop out, leaving school to pay for her father’s legal fees the only way she knows how—robbing homes once again.
As an animal empath, she rationalizes her theft by focusing on houses with pets whose maladies only she can sense and caring for them before leaving with the family’s valuables. The news reports a puzzled police force—searching for a thief who left behind medicine for the dog, water for the parrot, or food for the hamster.
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The Guest Cat
A bestseller in France and winner of Japan’s Kiyama Shohei Literary Award, The Guest Cat, by the acclaimed poet Takashi Hiraide, is a subtly moving and exceptionally beautiful novel about the transient nature of life and idiosyncratic but deeply felt ways of living. A couple in their thirties live in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo; they work at home, freelance copy-editing; they no longer have very much to say to one another. But one day a cat invites itself into their small kitchen. It leaves, but the next day comes again, and then again and again. Soon they are buying treats for the cat and enjoying talks about the animal and all its little ways. Life suddenly seems to have more promise for the husband and wife — the days have more light and color. The novel brims with new small joys and many moments of staggering poetic beauty, but then something happens….
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Who Rescued Who
The plan was simple: Elizabeth would ignore the fact that she was unjustly fired from her dream job, fly across the pond to settle an unexpected inheritance in her father’s home country and quickly return to reclaim her position among the Silicon Valley elite.
But when Elizabeth stumbles upon an abandoned puppy, she’s shocked to realize that her brief trip to England might turn into an extended stay. Her strict itinerary is upended completely by the pup’s dogged devotion, and soon the loveable puppy helps her to connect with a tight-knit community of new friends on two legs and four, from the aunt and uncle she didn't know existed, to a grumpy coffee shop owner to two very opinionated sheep. Along the way Elizabeth is confronted by long-kept family secrets, hard truths about her former life and a new romance that might lead her to question everything she knows about love. Because sometimes rescue magic happens on both ends of the leash.
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Mimi Lee Gets a Clue
Mimi Lee hoped to give Los Angeles animal lovers something to talk about with her pet grooming shop, Hollywoof. She never imagined that the first cat she said hello to would talk back or be quite so, well, catty—especially about those disastrous dates Mimi's mother keeps setting up.
When Marshmallow exposes local breeder Russ Nolan for mistreating Chihuahuas, Mimi steals some of her cat's attitude to tell Russ off. The next day the police show up at Hollywoof. Russ has been found dead, and Mimi's shouting match with him has secured her top billing as the main suspect.
Hoping to clear her name and save the pups Russ left behind, Mimi enlists help from her dreamy lawyer neighbor Josh. But even with Josh on board, it'll take Mimi and Marshmallow a lot of sleuthing and more than a little sass to get back to the pet-grooming life—and off the murder scene.
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What a Dog Knows
Ruby Heartwood has spent her life running away. Away from the orphanage where she was left as a newborn, away from those who exploited her, and away from the man who raped her. She ran from child welfare authorities as a runaway and teenage mother. She’s never stayed put. She’s never felt connected. Until now.
Ruby is a psychic, a fortune teller. She has spent most of her life working at street fairs, carnivals, and the odd Renaissance Faire. Of late, her abilities to tell a person’s fortune have been declining. One night she pulls off the road during a violent thunderstorm, sheltering in her Volkswagen Westfalia. At the storm’s height, a bolt of lightning leaves Ruby shaken––and changes her life. As the storm clears, Ruby finds a visitor sitting outside her van door: a little dog who says, quite distinctly, Let me in. Ruby has woken up able to hear the thoughts of animals, so she adds that to her list of psychic offerings and signs up for the Harmony Farms Farmers’ Market and Makers Faire.
With the little Hitchhiker, her fast friend and her familiar, Ruby finds herself lingering in Harmony Farms. At the same time, she is haunted by dreams that lead her to wonder if she hasn’t been running away all this time, but running toward something––or someone.
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