"Is it a crime to liveTo create happiness for yourself through your own work?"How do writers and painters get their ideasAnd what are the hard realities of such seemingly glamorous and romantic livesIn her groundbreaking new novel, New York Times bestselling author Sena Jeter Naslund explores the transformative power of art, history, and love in the lives of creative women.It's midnight on St. James Court, at the heart of which is a beautiful fountain sculpture of Venus rising from the sea. Kathryn Callaghan has just finished the first draft of her novel about renowned painter ?lisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, a survivor of the French Revolution who was hated for her sympathetic portraits of Marie Antoinette. Although the manu* is complete, its author remains haunted by ?lisabeth's experiences, which are revealed in Sena Jeter Naslund's ingenious novel-within-a-novel interleaved with the chronicle of a day in the life of Kathryn Callaghan. Despite being separated by time, place, and culture, Kathryn and ?lisabeth possess similar gifts and burdens: uncompromising aesthetic codes, fierce pride in their artistic expression, and unwavering love and sacrifice for their children. And before the next midnight rolls around, Kathryn will have confronted personal danger as frightening as the butchery that ?lisabeth faced during the Reign of Terror. Each woman will be called upon and tested; each will, like Venus, rise triumphantly above the expectations of her world.In this, her compelling and intimate ninth book, Sena Jeter Naslund presents the reader with an eye-opening alternate vision of The Artist: not an angry young man but a woman of age and hard-won experience who has created for herself, against enormous odds, a fulfilling life of thoroughly realized achievement.

Matt Beaulieu was two years old the first time he held Elle McClure in his arms, seventeen when he first kissed her under a sky filled with shooting stars, and thirty-three when they wed. Now in their late thirties, the deeply devoted couple has everything—except the baby they've always wanted.When a tragic accident leaves Elle brain-dead, Matt is devastated. Though he cannot bear losing her, he knows his wife, a thoughtful and adventurous scientist, feared only one thing—a slow death. Just before Matt agrees to remove Elle from life support, the doctors discover that she is pregnant. Now what was once a clear-cut decision becomes an impossible choice. Matt knows how much this child would have meant to Elle. While there is no certainty her body can sustain the pregnancy, he is sure Elle would want the baby to have a chance. Linney, Matt's mother, believes her son is blind with denial. She loves Elle, too, and insists that Elle would never want to be kept alive by artificial means, no matter what the situation.Divided by the love they share, driven by principle, Matt and Linney fight for what each believes is right, and the result is a disagreement that escalates into a controversial legal battle, ultimately going beyond one family and one single life.Told with sensitivity and compassion, The Promise of Stardust is an emotionally resonant and thought-provoking tale that raises profound questions about life and death, faith and medicine—and illuminates, with beauty and grace, the power of love to wound . . . and to heal.

Amanda will be found only if she wants to be.When Hal, Callie, and Nia first met Amanda Valentino, they had no idea their lives were about to change. But Zoe did. Zoe knew exactly the kind of effect Amanda would have on Endeavor High because, a long time ago and far away, Zoe and Amanda had been friends.As Zoe and the other guides follow Amanda's trail on a wild scavenger hunt, they learn that the real reason Amanda chose them is rooted in their pasts, tied up with a sinister program their parents went through. They've each developed strange abilities as a result, but even as they master these powers, the same people who are searching for Amanda are circling closer and closer. . . .Now it is a race against time to find Amanda—before their pursuers find them.

I have a flower name . . . but it is long and hard to spell and terrible. I'll never tell anyone what it is. Mom and Dad sometimes call me by my real name when I'm in big trouble, but otherwise I'm just called Bean.Bean Gibson is so excited about the first day of third grade, not even her m-e-a-n mean older sisters, Rose and Gardenia, can bring her down.But Bean's year gets off to a bad start—her best friend, Carla, has made a new best friend, and Bean has to begin music lessons. Bean picks the violin (the cello is too big) and tries to find new friends, but music lessons are a lot of work, Goody Two-Shoes Gabrielle is prissy, and Terrible Tanisha is a bully. And Bean's mom is always at work. Bean h-a-t-e-s hates third grade!Lone Bean is an entertaining read about spunky Bean Gibson and how she learns what it means to be a good friend. And that it's possible to have more than one.

Sam has made it most of the way through sixth grade, barely able to read and write, but now Sam's family have moved again and he is faced with the prospect of attending a new school. How long will he be able to keep his problem secret?

A beautiful debut, Ballroom follows a group of strangers, united by a desire to escape their complicated lives (if only for a few hours each week) at a New York City dance hall that's about to close its doors for good.The Ballroom used to be a place to see and be seen, but the years have taken their toll, and by the end of the 1990s this Manhattan dance hall, just off Union Square, is a husk of its former self. A small crowd of loyal patrons still makes its way to the worn parquet floor every Sunday evening: although they each have their private reasons for returning again and again to the Ballroom, they are united by a shared desire to seek solace from reality, if only for a few hours, within its walls—and in the magic of dance.Nearly forty and still single, Sarah Dreyfus is desperate for love and sure she'll find it with debonair Gabriel Katz, who seduces the women he meets at the Ballroom to distract himself from his crumbling marriage. Lonely bachelor Joseph believes that his yearning for a wife and family will be fulfilled—if he can only get Sarah to notice him and see that he is in love with her. Obsessed with his building superintendent's beautiful daughter, Maria Rodriguez, elderly dance instructor Harry Korn is convinced that together they will find the happiness that has eluded him throughout his life. And Maria, who—thanks in part to Harry's instruction and encouragement—is one of the stars of Sunday nights at the Ballroom along with her partner, Angel Morez, has a dream of her own that her brokenhearted father refuses to accept or understand.In this deeply felt debut, Alice Simpson deftly unfolds the lives of these men and women, entwining their stories into a profoundly human narrative about our instinc-tual longing to love and to be loved. As the rhythms of the Ballroom ebb and flow through her characters' hearts, their fates weave together both on and off the dance floor in touching, unexpected ways.

Black Sun is a bittersweet love story involving an iconoclastic forest ranger and a freckle-faced "American princess" half his age. Like Lady Chatterley's lover, he initiates her into the rites of sex and the stark, secret harmonies of his wilderness. She, in turn, awakens in him the pleasure of love. Then she mysteriously disappears, plunging him into desolation. Black Sun is a singular novel in Abbey's repertoire, a romantic story of a solitary man's passion for the outdoors and for a woman who is seeing the natural world's true colors for the first time. "Like most honest novels, Black Sun is partly autobiographical, mostly invention, and entirely true. The voice that speaks in this book is the passionate voice of the forest," Abbey writes, "the madness of desire, and the joy of love, and the anguish of final loss."Edward Abbey spent most of his life in the American Southwest. He was the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including the celebrated Desert Solitaire, which decried the waste of America's wilderness, and the novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, the title of which is still in use today to describe groups that purposefully sabotage projects and entities that degrade the environment. Abbey was also one of the country's foremost defenders of the natural environment. He died in 1989.

In this intricate novel of psychological suspense, a chilling discovery near the high school ignites a witch hunt in a southeast texas refinery town, unearthing communal and family secrets that threaten the lives of the town's girls.In Port Sabine, the air is thick with oil, superstition reigns, and dreams hang on making a winning play. All eyes are on Mercy Louis, the star of the championship girls' basketball team. Mercy seems destined for greatness, but the road out of town is riddled with obstacles. There is her grandmother Evelia, a strict evangelical who has visions of an imminent Rapture and sees herself as the keeper of Mercy's virtue. And then there are the cryptic letters from Charmaine, the mother who abandoned Mercy at birth.At the periphery of Mercy's world floats team manager Illa Stark, a lonely wallflower. Like the rest of the town, Illa is spellbound by Mercy's beauty and talent, but a note discovered in a gym locker reveals that Mercy's life may not be as perfect as it appears.The last day of school brings the disturbing find, and as summer unfolds and the police investigate, every girl becomes a suspect. At the opening game of the season, Mercy collapses—and Evelia prophesies that she is only the first to fall. Soon other girls are afflicted by the same mysterious condition, sending the town into a tailspin and bringing Illa and Mercy together in an unexpected way.Evocative and unsettling, The Unraveling of Mercy Louis charts the downfall of one town's golden girl while exploring the brutality and anxieties of girlhood in America.

An abandoned baby, a glorious old Newport mansion, and awakening romance swirl the glittering waters of Breakwater Bay . . . Preservationist Meri Hollis loves her latest project, restoring one of Newport's forgotten Gilded Age mansions. And with summer approaching, she'll be able to spend more time with her grandmother on the Rhode Island shore. She has a great job, a loving family, and she's pretty sure her boyfriend is going to propose on her thirtieth birthday.But everything Meri believes about family, happiness, truth, and love is shattered when her family's darkest secret is exposed. Thirty years before, Meri's neighbor and friend, Alden Corrigan, took his father's dinghy out to fish. In a sudden storm, he rushed to help a woman stranded on the breakwater. She was just a girl . . . a very pregnant girl who disappeared soon after they reached safety—but not before she left behind a special gift. Now that the truth is out, life will change for everyone in Breakwater Bay, and Meri and Alden will have to make decisions that could ensure their future together . . . or separate them for good.

When a group of friends reunite in the idyllic beach town where they grew up, they must reevaluate their loyalty to one another or lose their friendship foreverTwelve years ago, Vanessa "Van" Moran fell in love and lost her virginity—but not to the same boy. She fled Whisper Beach desperate and pregnant, never telling a soul about her secret. Now a professional Manhattan organizer, she must return home for the first time to attend the funeral of her best friend's husband. Van intends to only stay for a weekend, but her plans fall by the wayside as the troubles of this coastal town draw her in.Dorie, the owner of the pier's infamous Blue Crab Restaurant where Van and her friends worked as teenagers, enlists Van's help to save the nearly bankrupt eatery. While Van throws herself into this new task, the man she once loved reenters her life, willing to pick up where they left off.As the restaurant begins to thrive and Van reconnects with old friends, trouble comes from an unexpected source and she realizes she must face the decisions of her past or sacrifice this new life she has so carefully built.For Van, this summer will test the meaning of friendship and trust—and how far love can bend before it breaks.

Private eye V.I. Warshawski knows her friend Consuelo's pregnancy is already risky-she's sixteen and diabetic. Despite V.I.'s efforts to provide Consuelo with proper care, both mother and daughter die in the local hospital. Suspecting malpractice, V.I. begins an investigation- and a reluctant romance with an ER doctor. But deadly complications arise when a series of vicious murders and an attack on a women's clinic lead her to suspect a cold-blooded cover-up. And if V.I. isn't careful, she just might have delivered her final case...

Lilly Cleary is an attorney for a prestigious Sarasota law firm. But her killer cross-examination technique and take-no-prisoners courtroom attitude haven't stopped the senior partners from dumping one stink bomb after another on her desk—like the kayak-whiplash case she's currently saddled with. And problems at home, specifically with her ex–boyfriend, aren't making her disposition any sunnier. But it isn't until she's mugged outside her office that her troubles really begin. And when someone puts a bullet hole in her favorite suit, Lilly realizes things are getting a bit too personal. Perhaps it has something to do with a malpractice lawsuit she's inherited, and her recently and suspiciously deceased doctor client. Lilly's not going to take the insult lying down—even if tracking a killer leads her into dangerously deep water.

One of the most memorable and irresistible characters in all of literature—the Wizard Howl—is introduced in Diana Wynne Jones's classic fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle and makes guest appearances in two stand-alone sequel novels, Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways. Howl's Moving Castle was adapted into an acclaimed and Academy Award-nominated film of the same name, produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.Sophie Hatter never intended to set out and seek her fortune. The eldest of three sisters, Sophie thought she was destined to fail. That all changed the day the Witch of the Waste turned her into an old woman. In order to lift the spell, Sophie barges into Wizard Howl's moving castle and strikes a bargain with Calcifer, his fire demon. But Howl is outrunning a curse of his own, and soon Sophie realizes that nothing is as it appears. . . . Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer return in both Castle in the Air and The House of Many Ways, two stand-alone sequels full of mayhem, secrets, and magic.

This collection includes all four Tiffany Aching novels in Terry Pratchett's beloved and bestselling Discworld series.The Wee Free Men: Armed with only a frying pan and her common sense, young witch-to-be Tiffany Aching must defend her home against the monsters of Fairyland. Luckily she has some very unusual help: the local Nac Mac Feegle—aka the Wee Free Men—a clan of fierce, sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men. Together they must face headless horsemen, ferocious grimhounds, terrifying dreams come true, and ultimately the sinister Queen of the Elves herself. . . .A Hat Full of Sky: Tiffany Aching is ready to begin her apprenticeship in magic. She expects spells and magic—not chores and ill-tempered nanny goats! Surely there must be more to witchcraft than this!What Tiffany doesn't know is that an insidious, disembodied creature is pursuing her. In the end, it will take all of Tiffany's inner strength to save herself ... if it can be done at all.Wintersmith: When the Spirit of Winter takes a fancy to Tiffany Aching, he wants her to stay in his gleaming, frozen world. Forever. It will take the young witch's skill and cunning, as well as help from the legendary Granny Weatherwax and the irrepressible Wee Free Men, to survive until Spring. Because if Tiffany doesn't make it to Spring—Spring won't come.I Shall Wear Midnight: As the witch of the Chalk, Tiffany Aching performs the distinctly unglamorous work of caring for the needy. But someone—or something—is inciting fear, generating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. Tiffany must find the source of unrest and defeat the evil at its root. Aided by the tiny-but-tough Wee Free Men, Tiffany faces a dire challenge, for if she falls, the whole Chalk falls with her. . . .

New York Times bestselling author and former NFL defensive end Tim Green's football stories are packed with sports action and emotional heart that will keep kids on the edge of their seats. This collection contains four bestselling novels in the series.The Big Time: Things couldn't be going better for Troy White. The Atlanta Falcons' football genius is at the top of his game, helping the team get to the playoffs. Agents and lawyers are knocking on his door with big-money offers for the upcoming season. And his own football team has just won the Georgia State Championship! Troy's celebrating with his friends at linebacker Seth Halloway's mansion when another lawyer comes knocking—and he says, "I think I'm your father." In that instant, Troy's life is changed.Deep Zone: From the moment two football champs cross paths, Troy White and Ty Lewis begin to size each other up. But when the two rivals find themselves somehow tangled in the same dangerous web of deceit, they discover that they have more in common than their skill at football. Uniting Troy, first seen in the New York Times bestselling Football Genius, and Ty, who was chased by the Mafia in Football Hero, this fourth book in the Football Genius series delivers high-stakes action on and off the field.Perfect Season: Troy's dreams of the big time have backfired. Sure, he's moved to New Jersey to start his new job as "genius" for the New York Jets, but his dad has taken his entire salary, leaving Troy and his mom broke. Now Troy has no hope of going to private school and playing for a football powerhouse with his cousin Ty. But when he gets Seth to coach his public school team, Troy feels ready for a perfect season. He doesn't guess that he'll be struggling against those who want him to lose. When Troy's talent for calling plays slips and his abilities as a quarterback are threatened, he's got to dig deep.Unstoppable: If anyone understands the phrase "tough luck," it's Harrison. As a foster kid in a cruel home, he knows his dream of one day playing in the NFL is a longshot. Then Harrison is brought into a new home with kind, loving parents—his new dad is even a football coach. But Harrison's good luck can't last forever. When a routine sports injury leads to a devastating diagnosis, it will take every ounce of Harrison's determination not to give up for good. Inspired by interviews with real-life cancer survivors and insider sports experience, this unforgettable New York Times bestseller shows a brave boy who learns what it truly means to be unstoppable. As National Ambassador for Young People's Literature emeritus Jon Scieszka said, Unstoppable is "absolutely heroic, and something every guy should read."

Meg Cabot's bestselling Princess Diaries series has delighted millions of middle grade and teen readers, and it was turned into the wildly popular Disney movies of the same name, starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. This collection contains all ten of the novels following Mia as she attempts to navigate high school, boys, and…princess training.Includes:The Princess DiariesThe Princess Diaries, Volume II: Princess in the SpotlightThe Princess Diaries, Volume III: Princess in LoveThe Princess Diaries, Volume IV: Princess in WaitingThe Princess Diaries, Volume V: Princess in PinkThe Princess Diaries, Volume VI: Princess in TrainingThe Princess Diaries, Volume VII: Party PrincessThe Princess Diaries, Volume VIII: Princess on the BrinkThe Princess Diaries, Volume IX: Princess MiaThe Princess Diaries, Volume X: Forever Princess

Set during the Civil War against a backdrop of grand estates, unimaginable riches, and deadly secrets, the Stefan's Diaries books follow three teenagers in Mystic Falls, Virginia, as they enter a torrid love triangle that will span eternity. Based on the popular CW TV show inspired by the bestselling novels, Stefan's Diaries reveals the truth about what really happened between Stefan, Damon, and Katherine—and how the Vampire Diaries love triangle began.Includes the six books in the series:The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #1: OriginsThe Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #2: BloodlustThe Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #3: The CravingThe Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #4: The RipperThe Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #5: The AsylumThe Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #6: The Compelled

The Familiars series is a thrilling tale of magic and adventure perfect for fans of Erin Hunter's Warriors series. A wizard-in-training is nothing without a familiar, so it's lucky that Jack finds Aldwyn, a cat with a past but without a lot of magical experience. They'll have to learn fast and work together to save themselves, their friends, and the entire queendom of Vastia. An Indie New Voices Pick, The Familiars is soon to be a major motion picture directed by Sam Raimi of Spider-Man.Together for the first time, this collection includes:The Familiars The Familiars #2: Secrets of the Crown The Familiars #3: Circle of Heroes The Familiars #4: Palace of Dreams

Bestselling novelist James Rollins brings to life the adventures of Jake Ransom, who became an orphan when his archaeologist parents disappeared on a dig three years ago. They left behind tokens—half of an ancient coin for Jake, and the other half for his sister Kady—that fit perfectly into one of their famous discoveries. When everything falls into place, Jake and Kady find themselves in the mysterious, bizarre world of Pangea—home of vicious raptors, bloodthirsty plants, and dark Mayan and Egyptian rituals. And whatever caught their parents is still hungry.The books described as "Indiana Jones for tweens" are perfect for fans of Alex Rider, Percy Jackson, and National Treasure. Includes Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow and Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx.

"I'm homeless, but in first class."Stathis Rakis has abandoned his small Greek village for a more worldly life, first in San Francisco, where the dot-com bubble had already burst, and then in Paris, France, at a top business school. After falling in love with a liberal New England journalist with a good conscience (but with some scores to settle), Stathis moves to the United States to work as a management consultant for a high-octane company called Command. He spends the very few hours of the day that aren't consumed by work draining the minibar of whichever five-star hotel he's currently calling home, battling insomnia, and bingeing on more than room service. Luxury is a given; happiness is not.As the economy recovers and a new bubble expands in a post-9/11 world, Stathis drifts upward, bearing witness to the criminal decadence that will become the 2008 financial crisis while developing his own habits of indulgence—drugs, sex, and insider trading. In a world of insatiability that features both corporate suits and Hollywood hedonism, Stathis remains the outsider: too foreign to be one of them, too cynical to turn back.

“Excellent.” ?—The Times (London)Growing up in Texas, Ben experienced basketball as a mostly solitary pursuit, one he gave up after riding the bench in high school. But as his college classmates prepare for the real world, Ben is seized by an idea. All he needs is a video camera, an empty court, and his mother’s German citizenship.Improbably, he lands a roster spot on a lower division pro team in Landshut, forty-five minutes outside Munich. It’s Ben’s first taste of competition in years, not to mention his first job. And like most jobs, it’s defined by repetition, boredom, and gossip. There’s Charlie, the trash-talking mercenary from Chicago; the coach, Herr Henkel, a recently retired player anxious to justify his paycheck; and Karl (based on the author’s real life encounters with Dirk Nowitzki), a gangly teenage prodigy flashing the raw talent that will make him an NBA star. As a group of men learn how to navigate one another, Ben falls in love with the young mother of a teammate’s child, and begins an affair that will change his life.“Markovits draws [himself] with exceptional delicacy. . . . This is the territory of the rites-of-passage novel, but it is territory that the author navigates with subtlety and poignancy.”—The Guardian (London)