The Houdini Girl (Modern Erotic Classics)


Book Description

Fletcher 'Red' Brandon is a conjurer, an illusionist, a master of deception who uses his talents to seduce wild, impulsive Irish rose, Rosa, into his life with a simple sleight of hand. But when Rosa is killed, Red is pitched into a new world where betrayal, exploitation and violence are no act. The deeper Red delves into the life and death of the woman with who he shared one sexy, freewheeling year, the closer he comes to a painful realization: even the trickster can be tricked.




Whisper to Me


Book Description

"Raw and lovely, dark and light, heartbreaking and human." - Jennifer Niven, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places Printz winner Nick Lake delivers an emotionally gut-wrenching love story told in reverse--starting with the post-break up apology letter--in this riveting, choices-of-the-heart summer romance. Cassie is writing a letter to the boy whose heart she broke. She's trying to explain why. Why she pushed him away. Why her father got so angry when he saw them together. Why she disappears some nights. Why she won't let herself remember what happened that long-ago night on the boardwalk. Why she fell apart so completely. Desperate for his forgiveness, she's telling the whole story of the summer she nearly lost herself. She's hoping that love-love for your family, love for that person who makes your heart beat faster, and love for yourself-can save both of them after all. Awards for There Will Be Lies A Boston Globe Best YA Book of 2015 A Texas TAYSHAS Pick




Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man


Book Description

A remarkable new work from one of our premier historians In his exciting new book, John F. Kasson examines the signs of crisis in American life a century ago, signs that new forces of modernity were affecting men's sense of who and what they really were. When the Prussian-born Eugene Sandow, an international vaudeville star and bodybuilder, toured the United States in the 1890s, Florenz Ziegfeld cannily presented him as the "Perfect Man," representing both an ancient ideal of manhood and a modern commodity extolling self-development and self-fulfillment. Then, when Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan swung down a vine into the public eye in 1912, the fantasy of a perfect white Anglo-Saxon male was taken further, escaping the confines of civilization but reasserting its values, beating his chest and bellowing his triumph to the world. With Harry Houdini, the dream of escape was literally embodied in spectacular performances in which he triumphed over every kind of threat to masculine integrity -- bondage, imprisonment, insanity, and death. Kasson's liberally illustrated and persuasively argued study analyzes the themes linking these figures and places them in their rich historical and cultural context. Concern with the white male body -- with exhibiting it and with the perils to it --reached a climax in World War I, he suggests, and continues with us today.




Marketing Literature


Book Description

This is an important study of the publishing of contemporary writing in Britain. It analyzes the changing social, economic and cultural environment of the publishing industry in the 1990s-2000s, and investigates its impact on genre, authorship and reading. It includes case studies of Trainspotting and the His Dark Materials trilogy.




Weetzie Bat


Book Description

“Transcendent.” —New York Times Book Review “Magnificent.” —Village Voice “Sparkling.” —Publishers Weekly Francesca Lia Block’s dazzling debut novel, Weetzie Bat, is not only a genre-shattering, critically acclaimed gem, it's also widely recognized as a classic of young adult literature, having captivated readers for generations. This coming-of-age novel follows the eponymous Weetzie Bat and her best friend Dirk as they navigate life and love in a timeless, dreamlike version of Los Angeles. When Weetzie is granted three wishes by a genie, she discovers that there are unexpected ramifications…. Winner of the prestigious Phoenix Award, Weetzie Bat is a beautiful, poetic work of magical realism that is perfect for fans of Laura Ruby, Neil Gaiman, and Kelly Link.




Harry Houdini


Book Description

The life of Harry Houdini and his less famous partner, his brother Dash, includes details of his well-known career as a magician, as well as his interest in exposing fake mediums and other frauds. Sidebars highlight topics related to the early 20th century, such as child labor, the dime museums, and early aviation, an interest of Houdini's.




Tithe


Book Description

Discover the dark and seductive realm of faerie in the first book of New York Times bestseller Holly Black’s critically acclaimed Modern Faerie Tales series, where one girl must save herself from the sinister magic of the fey courts, and protect her heart in the process. Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she drifts from place to place with her mother’s rock band until an ominous attack forces them back to Kaye’s childhood home. But Kaye’s life takes another turn when she stumbles upon an injured faerie knight in the woods. Kaye has always been able to see faeries where others could not, and she chooses to save the strange young man instead of leaving him to die. But this fateful choice will have more dire consequences than she could ever predict, as Kaye soon finds herself the unwilling pawn in an ancient and violent power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms—a struggle that could very well mean her death.




Never Ending


Book Description

A deeply affecting new novel by the award-winning author of Flip! When a family holiday ends in the tragic death of their young son, the grieving parents struggle to cope, and Shiv, their fifteen-year-old daughter, must come to terms with what happened . . . and her part in it. Off the rails and tormented by guilt, she is sent away to an exclusive clinic that claims to "cure" people like her. But this is no ordinary psychiatric institution, and Shiv discovers that her release--from her demons, and from the clinic itself--will come at a bizarre and terrible price.




Flip


Book Description

What does it mean to have a soul whose will to live knows no limits? This gripping psychological thriller establishes Martyn Bedford as a hot new literary talent for young adults. Friday, December 14th. Fourteen-year-old Alex rushes home that night to beat his curfew. The next morning, he wakes up in an unfamiliar house, in a different part of the country, and it's the middle of June. Six months seem to have disappeared overnight. The family at the breakfast table? Total strangers. And when Alex looks in the mirror, another boy — called Philip, or Flip — stares back. The race against the clock is on, and unless Alex finds out what's happened and how to get back to his own life, he'll be forever trapped in someone else's body and life.




Twenty Questions for Gloria


Book Description

At 15, Gloria longs for adventure, something beyond her ordinary suburban life. When a mysterious new boy strolls into school, bent on breaking all the rules, Gloria is ready to fall under his spell. Uman is funny, confident, and smart. He does what he wants without a care for what anyone thinks. The only people for him, he says, are the mad ones, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn. He is everything Gloria wants to be. He can whisk her away and show her a more daring, more exciting life in which the only limits are the boundaries of her own boldness. But Uman is not all he seems. And by the time she learns the truth about him, she’s a long way from home . . . and the whole country wants to know: Where’s Gloria? For fans of Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Stolen by Lucy Christopher, and the Mara Dyer books by Michelle Hodkin. Praise for Twenty Questions for Gloria “The witty banter . . . will appeal to teens who love books with quirky dialogue and zingy one-liners, which also provide a refreshing and authentic counterpoint to the darker themes that run through the story. . . . For fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park.”—SLJ “Bedford’s (Never Ending, 2014) skillful writing and unusual format will draw in teens who identify with the urge to cast off the mundane and find their place in the world.”—Booklist “Dropping clues with absolute control over the novel’s trajectory, Bedford builds tension from the initial interview to the surprising final scene.”—Horn Book “Feels like it should be a Sherlock Holmes style novel and I mean that in the best way possible because it has that allure and mystery, and yet still keeps it humble with its quirky characters, romance-on-the-side . . . it’s an amazing novel to read.”—The Guardian, UK “A gripping tale . . . should definitely be on your reading list.”—Escapades of a Bookworm (UK) “An outstanding novel which poses big questions while immersing the reader in a fast-moving narrative.”—The School Librarian (UK)