Poetic memoir by the author of Speak

Shout! by Laurie Halse Anderson

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society's failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #MeToo and #TimesUp, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. SHOUT speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice-- and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

★ "In this powerful memoir told in free verse, Anderson delves into her past. . .Her potent words and willingness to shout her message are proof of the soundness of that advice." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "A captivating, powerful read about clawing your way out of trauma, reclaiming your body,and undoing lifetimes of lessons in order to use your voice as the weapon it is. Fervent and deafening." —Booklist, starred review

Murder Mystery - The Girl Who Lived

The Girl Who Lived by Christopher Greyson

(Amazon Reviews)

Ten years ago, four people were brutally murdered. One girl lived.

No one believes her story.
The police think she's crazy.
Her therapist thinks she's suicidal.
Everyone else thinks she's a dangerous drunk.
They're all right--but did she see the killer?

Gold Medal Winner -- Best Mystery/Thriller eBook of the Year -- Independent Publisher Book Awards

Winner Best Thriller -- National Indie Excellence Awards

Winner Best Thriller -- Silver Falchion Award

Finalist eBook Fiction -- Indie Book Awards

Silver Medal Suspense -- Reader's Favorite Book Awards

Voted Most Loved Cover -- NetGalley Readers

As the anniversary of the murders approaches, Faith Winters is released from the psychiatric hospital and yanked back to the last spot on earth she wants to be--her hometown where the slayings took place. Wracked by the lingering echoes of survivor's guilt, Faith spirals into a black hole of alcoholism and wanton self-destruction. Finding no solace at the bottom of a bottle, Faith decides to track down her sister's killer--only to discover that she's the one being hunted.

How can one woman uncover the truth when everyone's a suspect--including herself?

From the mind of Wall Street Journal bestselling author Christopher Greyson comes a story with twists and turns that take the reader to the edge of madness. The Girl Who Lived should come with a warning label: once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. Not since Girl on the Train and Gone Girl has a psychological thriller kept readers so addicted--and guessing right until the last page.

Morgan Dane Series

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Say You're Sorry (Morgan Dane #1) by Melinda Leigh

A #1 Amazon Charts bestseller and Prime Reading’s most read book of 2018.

After the devastating loss of her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane returns to Scarlet Falls, seeking the comfort of her hometown. Now, surrounded by family, she’s finally found peace and a promising career opportunity—until her babysitter is killed and her neighbor asks her to defend his son, Nick, who stands accused of the murder.

Tessa was the ultimate girl next door, and the community is outraged by her death. But Morgan has known Nick for years and can’t believe he’s guilty, despite the damning evidence stacked against him. She asks her friend Lance Kruger, an ex-cop turned private eye, for help. Taking on the town, the police, and a zealous DA, Morgan and Lance plunge into the investigation, determined to find the real killer. But as they uncover secrets that rock the community, they become targets for the madman hiding in plain sight.

“Another winner from Melinda Leigh! Say You're Sorry showcases Leigh’s talent for blending mystery, romance, and nail-biting suspense.” —Laura Griffin, New York Times bestselling author

Four Dead Queens

Fantasy/Mystery/Suspense

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Four dead queens. Three days to catch a killer. Two forbidden romances.
One shocking twist you won’t see coming.

Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but she’s, in fact, one of Quadara’s most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara’s most enlightened region, Eonia. He runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie both find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara’s queens dead. 

With no other choices and on the run from Keralie’s former employer, the two decide to join forces, endeavoring to discover who has killed the queens and save their own lives in the process. When their reluctant partnership blooms into a tenuous romance, they must overcome their own dark secrets in hopes of a future together that seemed impossible just days before. But first they have to stay alive and untangle the secrets behind the nation’s four dead queens. 


Reviews:

“A good, devious mix of some of the best fantasy and murder mystery that YA has had to offer recently.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Four Dead Queens is a darkly delicious tale that keeps you in constant suspense. A thrilling, genre-blending book perfect for fans of both fantasy and murder mysteries. I just might be the fifth dead queen because this story—with its labyrinthine twists and turns—slayed me in every possible way.” —Kerri Maniscalco, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series

3/8/2019 New Book Spotlight

Paranormal Fantasy

A Shadow Bright and Burning (Kingdom on Fire, Book One) 

by Jessica Cluess

(Amazon Reviews)

When Henrietta Howel is forced to reveal her unique power—the ability to control flames—to save a friend, she fears she will be executed. Instead, she’s invited to train as one of Her Majesty’s royal sorcerers and declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her.

But Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one.

As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?

Exhilarating and gripping, Jessica Cluess’s spellbinding fantasy introduces a powerful, unforgettable heroine and a world filled with magic, romance, and betrayal. Hand to fans of Victoria Aveyard, Sarah J. Maas, and Kiersten White.

“Vivid characters, terrifying monsters, and world building as deep and dark as the ocean.” —Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen

“Is it clear that Cluess adores the Harry Potter series and Jane Eyre? Yes. So do you. So does everyone. What matters is that her voice is her own.” —The New York Times

Religious Fiction / Contemporary Romance

Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

(Amazon Reviews)

Seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and pursuing a boy she’s known from afarsince grade school. 
But in the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.

" This intriguing coming-of-age debut will rival Thomas’s The Hate U Give with its sensitive and must-read tale of an Indian-American Muslim teen and her battle with Islamophobia. " 
—HuffPost  

Magical Realism

The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnitok by David Arnold

(Amazon Reviews)

This is Noah Oakman → sixteen, Bowie believer, concise historian, disillusioned swimmer, son, brother, friend.
 
Then Noah → gets hypnotized.
 
Now Noah → sees changes: his mother has a scar on her face that wasn’t there before; his old dog, who once walked with a limp, is suddenly lithe; his best friend, a lifelong DC Comics disciple, now rotates in the Marvel universe. Subtle behaviors, bits of history, plans for the future—everything in Noah’s world has been rewritten. Everything except his Strange Fascinations . . . 

A stunning surrealist portrait, The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is a story about all the ways we hurt our friends without knowing it, and all the ways they stick around to save us.

"As he did in his fantastic debut Mosquitoland, David Arnold again shows a knack for getting into the mind of an eccentric teenager in clever, poignant fashion . . . An artfully crafted tale about a boy finding his groove amid the cacophony of adolescence." —USA Today

Dystopian Science Fiction

One Second After by William R. Forstchen

(Amazon Reviews)

A story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.

Months before publication, One Second After has already been cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read, a book already being discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a truly realistic look at a weapon and its awesome power to destroy the entire United States, literally within one second. It is a weapon that the Wall Street Journal warns could shatter America. In the tradition of On the Beach, Fail Safe and Testament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future...and our end.

Realistic Fiction

What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee

(Amazon Reviews)

Sixteen-year-old Will spends most of his days the same way: Working at the Dollar Only store, trying to replicate his late father’s famous cornbread recipe, and walking the streets of Los Angeles. Will started walking after his father committed suicide, and three years later he hasn’t stopped. But there are some places Will can’t walk by: The blessings store with the chest of 100 Chinese blessings in the back, the bridge on Fourth Street where his father died, and his childhood friend Playa’s house.

When Will learns Playa was raped at a party—a party he was at, where he saw Playa, and where he believes he could have stopped the worst from happening if he hadn’t left early—it spurs Will to stop being complacent in his own sadness and do some good in the world. He begins to leave small gifts for everyone in his life, from Superman the homeless guy he passes on his way to work, to the Little Butterfly Dude he walks by on the way home, to Playa herself. And it is through those acts of kindness that Will is finally able to push past his own trauma and truly begin to live his life again. Oh, and discover the truth about that cornbread.

Science Fiction

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton

(Amazon Reviews)

This “powerful, poignant, and action-packed” (Bustle) novel is a twisted look into the future, exploring the lengths we'll go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimen and what it means to be human at all.

The future is curious.

STRONGER

Today our bodies define us. We color our hair; tattoo our skin; pierce our ears, brows, noses. We lift weights, run miles, break records. We are flesh and blood and bone.

FASTER

Tomorrow has different rules. The future is no longer about who we are--it's about who we want to be. If you can dream it, you can be it. Science will make us smarter, healthier, flawless in every way. Our future is boundless.

MORE BEAUTIFUL

This is a story that begins tomorrow. It's a story about us. It's a story about who comes after us. And it's a story about perfection. Because perfection has a way of getting ugly.
 
A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST SCIENCE FICTION BOOK OF 2018
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF 2018

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