Texting the Underworld

Texting the Underworld
Author: Ellen Booraem
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2013-08-15
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1101593350

Perpetual scaredy-cat Conor O'Neill has the fright of his life when a banshee girl named Ashling shows up in his bedroom. Ashling is--as all banshees are--a harbinger of death, but she's new at this banshee business, and first she insists on going to middle school. As Conor attempts to hide her identity from his teachers, he realizes he's going to have to pay a visit to the underworld if he wants to keep his family safe. "Got your cell?" "Yeah . . . . Don't see what good it'll do me." "I'll text you if anything happens that you should know." "Text me? Javier, we'll be in the afterlife." "You never know. Maybe they get a signal." Discover why Kirkus has called Booraem's work "utterly original American fantasy . . . frequently hysterical." This totally fresh take on the afterlife combines the kid next door appeal of Percy Jackson with the snark of Artemis Fowl and the heart of a true middle grade classic.

Small Persons with Wings

Small Persons with Wings
Author: Ellen Booraem
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2011-01-20
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 110147551X

An irreverent take on fairies for fans of Savvy and Ella Enchanted! Mellie has been trying, unsuccessfully, to live down the day she told her kindergarten class she had a fairy living in her bedroom. Years later, she is still teased. So when her parents inherit her grandfather's inn and their family moves to a new town, Mellie believes she'll leave all that fairy nonsense behind - only to discover that her family members have been fairy guardians for generations and the inn is overrun with small persons with wings (they hate to be called fairies). Before she knows it, the family and fairies are all facing an evil temptress in disguise who wants the fairy magic all for her own. Can Mellie set things right and save the day?

The Unnameables

The Unnameables
Author: Ellen Booraem
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2008
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0152063684

A boy and a goatman defy the establishment in a whimsical fantasy about belonging, the dangers of forgetting history, the Usefulness of art, and the importance of wind control.

The Fixer

The Fixer
Author: Ellie Isaacson
Publisher: Write Me, LLC
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2021-11-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1952606144

When Eliza Westbrook stumbled into my arms at her father’s funeral, I wanted nothing more than to help the beautiful, broken girl. I wanted to take away the pain in her eyes and heal her fractured, lonely heart. My presence was the last thing she needed, yet I couldn’t stay away. What started out as a mild obsession quickly turned into a game of survival. Unexplainable events threatened us at every turn, but was it because of my dark past, or the man intent on taking her life? I wanted to keep her safe, to give into the pull I felt tugging me toward her from the moment we first met. But would I be able to push my demons aside to save her, or will she have to fix me first?

Hades

Hades
Author: Candice Fox
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2017-01-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 078604070X

In this award-winning crime series debut, a Sydney detective must catch a brilliant serial killer while keeping an eye on his mysterious new partner. Sydney homicide detective Frank Bennett has a new partner—dark, beautiful, coldly efficient Eden Archer. Frank doesn’t know what to make of her, or her brother Eric, who’s also on the police force. Their methods are . . . unusual. But when a graveyard full of large steel toolboxes filled with body parts is found at the bottom of Sydney harbor, unusual is the least of their worries. For Eden and Eric, the case holds chilling links to a scarred childhood—and the murderer who raised them. For Frank, each clue brings him closer to something he’s not sure he wants to face. But true evil goes beyond the bloody handiwork of a serial killer—and no one is truly innocent . . . “Compelling . . . A chilling read.” —Sydney Morning Herald Winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Novel

Chosen by the Devil

Chosen by the Devil
Author: Kala Aster
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2021-09-20
Genre:
ISBN:

Book 2 of the Unruly Gods series When three gods escaped Olympus, they had no idea how much trouble would come from it. Daphne is more comfortable with research than magic. The youngest Fate guarding the Gates of Crossing came into her powers late and the only way she can compete with the others is through knowledge. Is it any wonder why she'd fall for the thoughtful and intellectual Hades? Too bad that retreating into her scrolls isn't helping to snuff out the desires raging inside her for the god. Hades is desperate to resist his new and unsettling feelings toward the quietest Fate, especially when they're thrown together on a journey to uncover new information. The bookish Fate is a glowing light in his otherwise dark existence, and he sees that there is more to the raven-haired beauty than she knows. He's determined to help her harness the full potential of her powers... though he's losing his heart to her in the process. When they learn that Zeus has declared the unruly gods and their accomplice Fates as enemies-with their punishment being death-the gods and Fates must band together to come up with a plan. Can Daphne and Hades survive the wrath of the most powerful god? Or will their love be extinguished before it even begins?

Texts from Jane Eyre

Texts from Jane Eyre
Author: Daniel Mallory Ortberg
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2015-11-05
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 1472150740

Mallory Ortberg presents... Texts from Jane Eyre is a whimsical collection of sharp, satirical and side-splittingly funny text message conversations from your favourite literary characters. Of course if Scarlett O'Hara had an unlimited data plan, she'd be sexting Ashley Wilkes at all hours; and if Mr Rochester could text Jane Eyre, his ARDENT MISSIVES would be in ALL-CAPS; and Daisy Buchanan would text you from behind the wheel - and then text you to come pick her up after the car crash. Texts from Jane Eyre is a witty, original and very clever kind of mashup that brings your favourite authors and literary characters right into the twenty-first century. Mallory Ortberg is a genius.

Reaching Reluctant Young Readers

Reaching Reluctant Young Readers
Author: Rob Reid
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2017-03-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1442274425

Reaching Reluctant Young Readers features 150 middle-grade books. Each profiled title has the potential to hook the reluctant reader and lure them to read the entire book. To specifically encourage elementary and middle-school-age reluctant children to read, there is first a pitch to get the reader’s attention. That is followed by a short reading passage to “set the hook” and encourage the young person to read the rest of the book on their own. Further, the book contains several hundred additional recommended titles. The books selected for this collection were chosen following the criteria of reluctant reader books created by the Quick Picks committee sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association. While these guidelines were designed for young adult books, they also work well for middle-grade books. The criteria include: clear writing (no convoluted long sentences with sophisticated vocabulary), high interest “hook” in the first few pages, well-defined characters, interesting plot, and familiar themes.

Into Hell I Rode

Into Hell I Rode
Author: Ii Atwood
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2011-04-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1257379941

In his revealing and frank autobiography, David G. Atwood, II takes us into a world of government corruption, back-stabbing politicians and an all too familiar tour of the criminal justice system. Persecuted by a corrupt sheriff's department for exposing a cabal of local corruption that reached into the upper echelon of international politics; prosecuted and sent to federal prison for a crime he didn't commit; and discriminated against for being gay, David leads us on a journey through the life of a prisoner that only an insider could tell and captivates us with a story of courage that will inspire everyone who reads it. Whether revealing the drug connections that for years have padded the pockets of the local cops and exposing how government-sanctioned drug deals in Vicksburg, Mississippi helped illegally fund the Nicaraguan Contras in the 1980's, David leaves no hole's barred as he takes aim at those who would misuse their political power for personal gain.