Miranda and her mama have always agreed about everything. So when Mama is offered a job with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show painting scenery, she and Miranda certainly agree that it is time to get out of Fort Lincoln, where they've been doing soldiers' laundry for as long as Miranda can remember.But while Miranda blossoms on the road--meeting Annie Oakley, making friends with an Indian girl, and even participating in the show herself--Mama stews in her hatred of the Indians; she blames them all for her husband's death. And when Chief Sitting Bull joins the troupe, Miranda begins to see that there are two sides to every battle, a vision Mama won't share.Gloria Whelan combines expert storytelling and meticulous historical detail to create a provocative tale that shimmers with remarkable insight into the heart of American history.Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council

Tamara Contreras will never again settle for unmemorable sex. Her long-time boyfriend may look perfect to her traditional Mexican-American parents -- something Tamara has never been -- but at twenty-six she wants more from life than marriage and motherhood. So in front of everyone, Tamara does the unthinkable: She turns down her boyfriend's unexpected marriage proposal and leaves home for L.A.Tamara thinks she's got the single-girl-in-the-city thing down, until she runs into Will Benavides, the former high school bad boy turned firefighter. If Tamara's parents had known how Will lit up her teenage fantasies, she'd have been shipped off to the nuns for sure! Now Will wants to make those fantasies come true permanently.When an unexpected opportunity lands in her lap and Tamara has to choose between the career and the man of her dreams, she wonders if maybe la familia was right after all . . .

Sidney Sheldon returns with a tale of two equally determined people headed on a collision course. One the governor of a small southern state, Oliver Russell is a man with a strategy to win the White House. The other is the beautiful and ambitious Leslie Stewart, a woman intent on seeing him lose everything. Soon they will both discover that even the best laid plans can go dangerously astray--with deadly consequences.

With the planet's fighting men and women deployed across the galaxy—battling in the noble cause of enslaved humanity—the insidious Xul have reached across space to devastate the unsuspecting Earth with asteroid fire. Without warning, a once majestic world is reduced to near-rubble—and the very future of humankind is in dire jeopardy. Interplanetary leaders are on the brink of abandoning Earth and its colonies to an overwhelming enemy. But Brigadier General Garroway of the Marine Interstellar Expeditionary Unit is unwilling to concede defeat—not as long as there's a single marine willing to give his or her life in defense of their embattled homeworld. The ultimate battle is about to be waged—with breathtaking new attack technology, an ancient code of courage, and the help of an ally race that once inhabited the Earth—in a war that will alter the universe forever . . .

Ever since contact was first made between humans and the alien idomeni, tensions between the two races have been frequent and bloody. As the first genetically altered human-idomeni hybrid, former Captain Jani Kilian serves as a lightning rod for the anger, outrage, and hatreds of both sides. And now the ex-soldier finds herself in the unwanted role of diplomat—serving the interests of her hybrid enclave, Thalassa, the only place in the universe that welcomes renegade humans, hybrids, and aliens alike.But the all-powerful Commonwealth intends to bring Thalassa to its knees, and the time for diplomacy is at an end. With death surrounding her, Jani Kilian must return to where her nightmare began and once again take on her most powerful persona: warrior. For as the game approaches its inevitable conclusion, she knows only two options remain: victory . . . or extermination.

Bestselling author James Grippando is back with another innovative and action-packed thriller featuring his ever-popular hero. Jack Swyteck gets caught in a dangerous web of intrigue and murder at the top levels of the United States government in his most high-profile and disturbing case yet.Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck guards his own family secrets closely, after his father's two terms as Florida's governor made some personal rifts public. Things between the two men are finally better, and whenever Harry Swyteck asks for Jack's help he gets it. Suddenly, Harry needs it more than ever before.When Harry's friend, the vice president of the United States, goes hunting for alligators in the Everglades and winds up dead, the president positions Harry to be his new VP. Harry immediately asks Jack to be his lawyer. The prestige that comes from the job turns lethal, however, when Jack finds himself at the heart of a complicated cover-up that spans nearly fifty years and the globe. Before hostages can be released, an old secret must be revealed, one that could threaten the life of the president of the United States himself.

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.Powerfully charged from start to finish, this is an amazing portrayal of Troy's struggle to make his lifetime dreams of being with his father come true. Filled with page-turning excitement as a high-stakes deal increases the clash of family tension, The Big Time is an unforgettable experience.

Mack and Jodie have no idea how much their lives are going to change when they decide to give up farming. Mack is hospitalized with depression, Jodie finds herself tempted by the affections of another man, and their teenage children begin looking for answers outside the family—Kenzie turns to fundamentalist Christianity, and Taylor starts cavorting with Goths. Told in the unforgettable voices of each family member, this powerful story of family life reveals the stubborn resilience of love and how sometimes the very thing we're looking for has been waiting at home all along.

In the era before he created moody private investigator Matthew Scudder, burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, sleepless spy Evan Tanner, and the amiable hit man Keller—and years before his first Edgar Award—a young writer named Lawrence Block submitted a story titled "You Can't Lose" to Manhunt magazine. It was published, and the rest is history.One Night Stands and Lost Weekends is a sterling collection of short crime fiction and suspense novelettes penned between 1958 and 1962 by a budding young master and soon-to-be Grand Master—an essential slice of genre history, and more fun than a high-speed police chase following a bank job gone bad.

When high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his wife, Maureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, while Caelum is away, Maureen finds herself in the library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed. Miraculously, she survives, but at a cost: she is unable to recover from the trauma. When Caelum and Maureen flee to an illusion of safety on the Quirk family's Connecticut farm, they discover that the effects of chaos are not easily put right, and further tragedy ensues.

War is foreverThe people on Earth no longer remember how the human race was nearly obliterated centuries earlier during the terror visited upon them by the merciless Xul. But the Star Marines, thirty thousand light years from home, know all too well the horror that still lives.In the year 2886, in the midst of the intergalactic war that has been raging nonstop for nearly a decade, the unthinkable has occurred. Intelligence has located the gargantuan hidden homeworld of humankind's dedicated foe, the brutal, unstoppable Xul. The time has come for the courageous men and women of the 1st Marine Interstellar Expeditionary Force to strike the killing blow. But misguided politics on an Earth that no longer supports their mission could prove the Marine's greatest enemy—as they plunge bravely into the maelstrom of conflict . . . and into the heart of a million-year-old mystery.

Between your full-length mirror and high-school biology class, you probably think you know a lot about the human body. While it's true that we live in an age when we're as obsessed with our bodies as we are with celebrity hairstyles, the reality is that most of us know very little about what chugs, churns, and thumps throughout this miraculous, scientific, and artistic system of anatomy. Yes, you've owned your skin-covered shell for decades, but you probably know more about your cell-phone plan than you do about your own body. When it comes to your longevity and quality of life, understanding your internal systems gives you the power, authority, and ability to live a healthier, younger, and better life.The flagship book of the YOU series, which spawned three subsequent New York Times bestsellers, has now been expanded and updated to make you understand your body even better—perhaps too well.YOU: The Owner's Manual, Updated and Expanded Edition challenges your preconceived notions about how the human body works and ages, then takes you on a tour through all of the highways, back roads, and landmarks inside of you. In this update, the doctors have included a new chapter on the liver and pancreas, which will finally demystify the most exotic parts of our bodies; a new workout chapter that will finally get you moving; and nearly one hundred Q&As asked by you, the reader. It has also been updated throughout to give you up-to-the-minute know-how to not just understand what to do to keep fit, but also why and how. The book opens with a quiz, "How Well Do You Know Your Body?," which sets the stage for the following chapters. After taking the quiz, you'll learn about all of your blood-pumping, food-digesting, and keys-remembering systems and organs, including the heart, brain, lungs, immune system, bones, and sensory organs. Each chapter also contains common myths of the particular body part that the authors will debunk.Just as important, you'll get the facts and advice you need to keep your body running long and strong. You'll find out how diseases start and how they affect your body—as well as advice on how to prevent and beat conditions that threaten your quality of life. Complete with exercise tips, nutritional guidelines, simple lifestyle changes, and alternative approaches, YOU: The Owner's Manual, Updated and Expanded Edition gives you an easy, comprehensive, and life-changing how-to plan for fending off the gremlins of aging. To top it off, this new edition includes even more great-tasting and calorie-saving recipes as part of the Owner's Manual Diet—an eating plan that is designed with only one goal in mind: to help you live a younger life.Welcome to your body. Why don't you come on in and take a look around?

Peter Straker lives in a converted lighthouse on the Devon coast with a fine view of the sea, two cats, and no neighbors. That's just the way he likes it. He speaks to no one except in his dreams, where he converses with some of the seventy-eight people he believes he killed nearly a quarter-century earlier -- though he can't quite remember how it happened. But Straker's carefully preserved solitude is about to be invaded by Imogen Doody, a prickly and unapproachable school caretaker with a painful history herself. Against his will -- and hers -- Straker soon finds himself helping Imogen repair the run-down cottage she's inherited. There are forces gathering, however, as the twenty-fifth anniversary of Straker's crime approaches, and they're intent upon disturbing his precarious peace.

Full-time hairdressers and part-time private detectives, Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin—the Domestic Equalizers—have dealt with cheating spouses, shady business deals, Elvis-obsessed shoe thieves, even murder. But ghostsThat's a whole new rodeo!Justin Sadler's just coming to terms with the absence of his dear departed Rachel—but now he's not so sure she's departed! Every time he goes home he knows someone's been there—and if it's not Rachel trying to communicate from beyond, it's someone else who's trying to drive him stark raving bonkers. So the Equalizers are on the case, with the help of an El Paso psychic who's so dead-on, it's scary. It's enough to make any good ol' gal's big hair stand on end!The investigation leads them toward one of their tiny West Texas town's more unsavory characters—and, all things considered, Debbie Sue would much rather be cuddling in the arms of her hubby, the sexiest cop in the whole nation of Texas. But the Equalizers will never say die . . . even when dealing with the restless dead.

The president's retreat, Camp David, is one of the safest places in the United States. So why can't the President's son, Luke, and his friends Theo and Callie stay there without Secret Service agents constantly hovering over them, watching their every moveAnd yet, when an earthquake sets off a raging wildfire, causing a chain reaction that wreaks havoc at Camp David, they are suddenly on their own.Now Luke needs a plan:To override the security systemsTo save those who were supposed to save himTo get through an impassable gateTo escape Camp DavidDebut author Dee Garretson delivers a heart-pounding tween thriller—an action-packed adventure with undeniable suspense.

Is the kingdom's fate in the hands of an orphan cat?Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magicalJack thinks so—and Aldwyn is happy to play along.He just has to convince the other familiars—the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert—that he's the powerful cat he claims to be.Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia.On a thrilling quest to save their loyals, the familiars face dangerous foes, unearth a shocking centuries-old secret, and discover a destiny that will change Vastia forever. Their magical adventure—an irresistible blend of real heart, edge-of-your-seat action, and laugh-out-loud humor—is an unforgettable celebration of fantasy and friendship.

Congratulations! You have been admitted to the most prestigious university in the world. Now what are you going to do?Callie Andrews may not have money or connections or the right clothes, and she may have way too many complications in her love life, what with—Gregory the guy she loves to hate Evan the guy she'd love to forgetClintthe guy she'd love to love and Mattthe guy she really should love—all vying for her attention. But she has three fantastic roommates (best friends or her worst nightmare?) and a wholesome California-girl reputation (oops) and brains and beauty and big, big dreams.Will it be enough to help her survive freshman year at Harvard?

One of the most acclaimed modern American novelists, Scott Spencer captures the intensity of human passion—and its capacity to both destroy and redeem—with unparalleled precision and insight. Now, in his most stunning novel yet, this wry, witty, and deeply sensitive writer returns to the territory of his New York Times bestseller A Ship Made of Paper, in a gripping and provocative psychological thriller of morality and manhood, choice and fate.Paul has been on his own since he was a teenager, leading a life of freedom and independence, beholden to no one and nothing. Fearless, resolute, and guided by his own private moral code, he has hunted for food in Alaska, fought forest fires, and been deputized in a manhunt for a kidnapper in South Dakota.Once he thought his life would have no particular rhyme or reason, touched only by transient strangers. Then he meets the beautiful, intelligent, loving Kate Ellis and her daughter, Ruby, who offer order and constancy. But Paul is a man of deep convictions, and the compromises we all make to get along in the world elude him.On his way home after rejecting a job remodeling a luxurious Manhattan apartment, Paul stops to gather his thoughts at a state park just off the highway. Instead of peace, he finds a man savagely beating a dog, and in a few fateful moments Paul is plunged into a world of violence and onto a tumultuous journey of self-knowledge, guilt, and redemption.With the psychological acuity and razor-sharp prose for which he has been celebrated, award-winning, bestselling novelist Scott Spencer once again takes us on an unforgettable journey of manhood lost and found.

A dazzling, remarkably original dark comedy about a young New Yorker's failed attempts to isolate himself in a city that won't take solitude for an answerFor years it's been Andy Green's job to stump students nationwide by coming up with the wrong answers for their multiple-choice tests. Recently, however, his own life has become overwhelmed by wrong choices. When a love affair is mysteriously ended by a Post-it note and followed up by a random street assault, Andy locks himself in his Hell's Kitchen apartment. In solitude, he thinks, he might be able to get a grip on his life. But when he is forced to reemerge six months after the attacks of September 11, the city awaiting him is more bewildering than ever and all the people in his world seem to be part of a vast conspiracy.Equal parts noir, French farce, and homage to New York, Suspension is a surprisingly heartfelt novel about learning to live in a world where nearly everything is decided behind our backs.

She's no ordinary bird. . . .For stepsiblings Milly, Michael, Jason, and Jess, life has never been trickier. Milly's worried about her singing audition, Michael's losing his friends, Jason's never going to get picked for any sports teams, and as Jess's exams loom closer, she can't seem to remember anything. But then Fenella, the only living phoenix in the world, swoops into their lives looking for help—and their problems really begin!Fenella has laid a magical egg, but if she wants it to hatch she needs four very special ingredients, scattered throughout time to the far corners of the world. So the children embark on a hair-raising hunt across the world, through the past, present, and future. And with a crazed phoenix-worshipping cult on their tail, a grumpy gryphon to soothe, and time paradoxes to avoid, Milly, Michael, Jason, and Jess will need all their wits and bravery if they hope to succeed.

What better way to welcome friends and family than with a steaming cup of coffee and some delectable cake?In Coffee and Cake, acclaimed cookbook author Rick Rodgers presents dozens of recipe pairings for these classic and inseparable components. Rodgers starts with coffee, teaching the basics, from choosing the perfect beans to brewing a fabulous cup or pot. And he offers a selection of delicious international treats, both hot and iced, that can be whipped up at home—from Spiced Mocha and Thai Iced Coffee to a Coffee Frappe and even an Espresso Martini. Rodgers then provides an array of recipes for delicious cakes designed to be savored with coffee, whether it's for a special after-dinner dessert or a get-together with family, neighbors, or friends. Whip up a simple and rustic treat like Apple-Cranberry Ginger Loaf for a coffee klatsch. Indulge the young and the young at heart with Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Ganache. Here, too, are American-style cakes sure to bring back wonderful childhood memories, including Angel Food Cake with Coffee Cream, as well as Chocolate-Strawberry Sachertorte and more elaborate creations worthy of a European café.So make that next cup special—serve up a wonderful helping from Coffee and Cake.