Ernest is annoying. Ernest is awkward. Ernest is…Ernest. And Dean wants nothing to do with him, until Ernest wins the most spectacular trip in the history of America – and is allowed to bring one friend. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

The whole school is getting in on the action when a contest is announced: The student who creates the best project on New Cairo’s history will win a trip to the cool new water park in town. Charlie has a plan that can’t lose—as long as he doesn’t lose his life in the process. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Joe’s got a problem. He has to write to an author for a school assignment and get her to answer a bunch of questions. But the author he’s chosen, Maureen O’Toople, just doesn’t want to play along. Jon Scieszka and Kate DiCamillo collaborate on a hilarious and heartfelt short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

This all started when Steve wouldn’t take out the trash. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Two fake psychics, one real haunted house—what could go wrongA short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Abdullah Syed Hari is fourteen years old. He loves his family and his friends. And he is a Somali pirate. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

There’s nothing better than taking your timid little cousin Thad to one of those sweet haunted houses the 4-H Club decorates for Halloween. Except, of course, if the house turns out to actually be haunted. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

River and Niko find their dad is missing, and they have no choice but to track him down. But when they discover the clues lead to a shady reptile dealer, they start to think they might have gotten in over their heads. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

For more than three decades Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City has blazed its own trail through popular culture—from a groundbreaking newspaper serial to a classic novel, to a television event that entranced millions around the world. The first of six novels about the denizens of the mythic apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane, Tales is both a sparkling comedy of manners and an indelible portrait of an era that changed forever the way we live.

How scared can you get in only 30 secondsDare to find out with Half-Minute Horrors, a collection of deliciously terrifying short short tales and creepy illustrations by an exceptional selection of writers and illustrators, including bestselling talents Lemony Snicket, James Patterson, Neil Gaiman, R.L.Stine, Faye Kellerman, Holly Black, Melissa Marr, Margaret Atwood, Jon Scieszka, Brett Helquist, and many more. With royalties benefiting First Book, a not-for-profit organization that brings books to children in need, this is an anthology worth devouring. So grab a flashlight, set the timer, and get ready for instant chills!

The Rev. Jonah Dove is the son of a legendary Harlem minister, and a man troubled in both mind and spirit. He feels himself unworthy and incapable of taking up the burden of running his church from the larger–than–life figure who is his father. He is haunted both by his own, shameful history of "passing" as a white man in college, and by the prospects for his people in the harsh, new, racist age he fears the world is entering. Malcolm Little –– better known as Malcom X –– is a teenage hustler from Lansing, Michigan by way of Boston, a young man on the make, trying always to be something bigger, tougher, savvier, and more confident than he really is. On his way to New York, Malcolm happens to come to the rescue of Jonah and his wife, Amanda, when they are attacked by some drunken soldiers on the train. From then on, their paths cross repeatedly as they each go about trying to find what they really want out of the roiling, wartime city, until the moment when Harlem finally erupts around them, as a people driven beyond endurance strikes out blindly at all the forces keeping it entrapped in misery and hopelessness. Stranded on the streets of a rioting city, Jonah and Malcolm meet each other once more, as they come to grips with what they are and what the future will hold for them.

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.

Is it really possible to reverse the painful, debilitating symptoms of asthma and to reduce your dependence on doctors and medication--in Just 21 days?Conventional medicine offers no real solution to the seventeen million Americans suffering from this disease. But in this remarkable book, Kathryn Shafer, Ph.D., and Fran Greenfield, M.A., share their natural alternative, the FUN program (Focus, Undo, Now Act!), that can help you break the bonds of asthma forever in only minutes a day!Kathryn Shafer's triumph over life-long asthmais a testament to the power of mind body healing. This approach allowed her to successfully run the entirety of the New York City Marathon without medication. Her astounding victory became the seed for the FUN program. Together,Fran Greenfield and Kathryn Shafer reveal the intimate relationship between asthma and personal freedom in this self-guided, breakthrough method, which many of their clients have used with miraculous results.This "masterful, innovative, and successful program for the treatment of asthma" (from the foreword by Gerald Epstein, M.D.) introduces:Over forty exercises, including visualizations, for immediate symptom reliefA blueprint that redefines your relationship with asthmaThree twenty-one-day healing plans that can be tailored to your own needsA unique mind body perspective on exercise-induced asthma, nutrition, and environmentA fun guide developed especially for kids!Along with a wealth of real-life success stories, these strategies can prevent panic, clarify the meaning of symptoms, increase energy levels, and achieve a deeper healing than you ever thought possible. Whether used as a complement to conventional medicine or as a medication reducing alternative, this program empowers people of all ages to live more active, fulfilling lives.

Defiance by C. J. Redwine is rich postapocalyptic YA fantasy perfect for fans of Graceling and Tamora Pierce.While the other girls in the walled city-state of Baalboden learn to sew and dance, Rachel Adams learns to track and hunt. While they bend like reeds to the will of their male Protectors, she uses hers for sparring practice.When Rachel's father fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the city's brutal Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector: her father's apprentice, Logan—the boy she declared her love to and who turned her down two years before. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself.As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

A rich postapocalyptic YA fantasy perfect for fans of Graceling and Tamora Pierce, this sequel to C. J. Redwine's Defiance continues the story of warrior Rachel Adams and her love, Logan McEntire. With their city-state ravaged, their lives threatened by rival armies, and a band of survivors looking to them for leadership—Rachel and Logan must work to forge a new future for them all. Abandoning the ruins of their home to take their chances in the Wasteland, the group soon realizes their problems have only begun: an unknown killer —possibly inside their ranks—has begun picking off the survivors one by one. And Rachel and Logan must question whether the price of freedom may be too great—and whether they can make it out of the Wasteland alive.

New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu called Taken, Erin Bowman's debut novel, "an action-packed thrill ride from beginning to end." The action and suspense rise to explosive new heights in Forged, the epic conclusion to the Taken trilogy—and the perfect next read for fans of The Maze Runner and Gone.Gray Weathersby knows the truth about the Laicos Project, the Order, and the Forgeries—and he knows they must be stopped. But each generation of Forgeries is deadlier than the one before, and now even the most familiar faces—including the girl Gray loves—can't be trusted. To make a stand against the Order, Gray will have to risk it all.

See the #1 New York Times bestselling story Beastly through Lindy's eyes! This is her diary, kept while living in captivity with the beast. Lindy's Diary captures all the romance and edgy mystery of the original!Diary,I am locked away . . . with no one to confide in but you . . . and him. His fur, those claws—they caught me off guard at first, but now I'm noticing something else about him—something deeper. It's the look in his eye. It tells me he's got a secret to keep. That's okay—I've got one, too. I think I'm falling in love with him. . . .Lindy

In this darkly beautiful and hauntingly vivid novel, Michelle Lovric, acclaimed author of The Floating Book, embarks on an unforgettable journey through the winding alleys and shadowy streets of eighteenth-century Venice and London. With vibrant prose, she weaves together the stories of three disparate yet intertwined characters who find themselves embroiled in a world of murder and secrets. There is Mimosina Dolcezza, the Venetian actress employed as an agente provocatrice by surreptitious European power brokers. By fortune and circumstance, she begins an affair with the elusive Valentine Greatrakes, a roguish fixture within London's medical underworld. Complicating matters for the pair is the presence of the eccentric and strange child-woman Pevenche, a figure whose fate and identity lie at the heart of the book's mystery.Following this shadowy group from the dark environs of London's Bankside to the lively streets of Venice, The Remedy guides us through playhouses, brothels, and convents with luscious details that breathe intoxicating life into the era. Long-listed for the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction, The Remedy is a seductive and suspenseful tale that stays with you long after you've turned the final page.

No matter what your age or your family and medicalhistory, you can take steps to prevent debilitatingstrokes. And you can start today.No one plans to have a stroke, but too many people think that avoiding them is impossible. Written by the director of the Stroke Research Center at Mayo Clinic, this book helps you determine your risk for stroke and offers you a personalized prevention program based on your own risk profile.This book is the first of its kind to offer such thorough information about our nation's #1 disabler and #3 killer. Based on decades of research, Dr. Wiebers shares crucial information you need to know, including: The six different types of stroke Simple dietary changes that can help prevent stroke Common heart conditions that are little-known stroke risk factors Where to get the best treatment during a strokeYou and your loved ones don't have to live in fear of suffering strokes. This book gives you specific, positive steps to reduce the risk of stroke and to help you lead a more healthy, balanced, and enjoyable life.

What happened to Eden?The New York Times bestselling author of Ahab's Wife, Four Spirits, and Abundance returns with an audacious and provocative novel that envisions a world where science and faith contend for the allegiance of a new Adam & EveHer books have been hailed as "exceptional" (People); "enchanting" (Entertainment Weekly); "of great cultural and historical importance" (New York Times Book Review); and "original and affecting" (Los Angeles Times). One of the most imaginative and inspired writers of our time, Sena Jeter Naslund masterfully uses her craft to lay bare the poignant complexity of humanity—the passion and despair, the ignorance and frailty, the genius and resilience that define us. From Victorian London to civil-rights-era Alabama, from nineteenth-century New England to revolutionary Paris, her novels offer profound insight and startling truths about human experience. Now, with Adam & Eve, she delivers her most ambitious and encompassing tale to date.Hours before his untimely—and highly suspicious—death, world-renowned astrophysicist Thom Bergmann shares his discovery of extraterrestrial life with his wife, Lucy. Feeling that the warring world is not ready to learn of—or accept—proof of life elsewhere in the universe, Thom entrusts Lucy with his computer flash drive, which holds the keys to his secret work.Devastated by Thom's death, Lucy keeps the secret, but Thom's friend, anthropologist Pierre Saad, contacts Lucy with an unusual and dangerous request about another sensitive matter. Pierre needs Lucy to help him smuggle a newly discovered artifact out of Egypt: an ancient codex concerning the human authorship of the Book of Genesis. Offering a reinterpretation of the creation story, the document is sure to threaten the foundation of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions . . . and there are those who will stop at nothing to suppress it. Midway through the daring journey, Lucy's small plane goes down on a slip of verdant land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East. Burned in the crash landing, she is rescued by Adam, a delusional American soldier whose search for both spiritual and carnal knowledge has led to madness. Blessed with youth, beauty, and an unsettling innocence, Adam gently tends to Lucy's wounds, and in this quiet, solitary paradise, a bond between the unlikely pair grows. Ultimately, Lucy and Adam forsake their half-mythical Eden and make their way back toward civilization, where members of an ultraconservative religious cult are determined to deprive the world of the knowledge Lucy carries.Set against the searing debate between evolutionists and creationists, Adam & Eve expands the definition of a "sacred book," and suggests that true madness lies in wars and violence fueled by all religious literalism and intolerance. A thriller, a romance, an adventure, and an idyll, Adam & Eve is a tour de force by a master contemporary storyteller.

While the major fighting of the war moves to the south in the summer of 1779, a British force of fewer than a thousand Scottish infantry, backed by three sloops-of-war, sails to the desolate and fog-bound coast of New England. Establishing a garrison and naval base at Penobscot Bay, in the eastern province of Massachusetts that would become Maine, the Scots—the only British troops between Canada and New York—harry rebel privateers and give shelter to American loyalists. In response, Massachusetts sends a fleet of more than forty vessels and some one thousand infantrymen to “captivate, kill or destroy” the foreign invaders. Second in command is Peleg Wadsworth, a veteran of the battles at Lexington and Long Island, once aide to General Washington, and a man who sees clearly what must be done to expel the invaders. But ineptitude and irresolution lead to a mortifying defeat—and have stunning repercussions for two men on opposite sides: an untested eighteen-year-old Scottish lieutenant named John Moore, who will begin an illustrious military career; and a Boston silversmith and patriot named Paul Revere, who will face court-martial for disobedience and cowardice.Grounded firmly in history, inimitably told in Cornwell's thrilling narrative style, The Fort is the extraordinary novel of this fascinating clash between a superpower and a nation in the making.