“Thick. Heavy. Big boned. Plump. Full figured. Chunky. Womanly.” Living on a Southern California beach with her workout fiend dad, underwear model sister, and former Laker Girl mother, Emery Jackson is surrounded by euphemisms for the big “F” word of “fat.” Her family’s logical solution: signing her up for a reality show in which Emery will have to lose fifty pounds in fifty days in order to win a million dollars. When the pounds start to come off and the ratings skyrocket, Emery can see the end prize in sight. However, no show is complete without a few twists, and Emery is determined for all the important ones to be of her own making.
Archives
Swim That Rock
When his dad goes missing in a fishing-boat accident, fourteen-year-old Jake refuses to think he may have lost his father forever. But suddenly, nothing seems certain in Jake’s future, and now his family’s diner may be repossessed by loan sharks. In Narragansett Bay, scrabbling out a living as a quahogger isn’t easy, but with the help of some local clammers, Jake is determined to work hard and earn enough money to ensure his family’s security and save the diner in time. Told with cinematic suspense and a true compassion for the characters, Swim That Rock is a fast-paced coming-of-age story that beautifully and evocatively captures the essence of coastal Rhode Island life, the struggles of blue-collar family dynamics, and the dreams of one boy to come into his own.
The Here and Now
A twenty-first-century take on an impossible romance in this unforgettable epic thriller.
Ann Brashares’ first novel for teens since The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to. Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love. Meet seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.
Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth. But everything changes when she falls for Ethan Jarves.
Dorothy Must Die
When Amy Gumm, a modern-day teen from Kansas, is spirited away to Oz, she’s thrilled to be done with her tragic trailer park life. But instead of the land where troubles melt like lemon drops that she’s come to expect from books and movies, she discovers the place has been destroyed. And it’s all Dorothy’s fault. Amy soon joins up with the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked—a group of deposed witches and warlocks who are just as determined to end Dorothy’s oppressive reign. They teach her the secrets of witchcraft and combat and then give her an impossible mission: steal back the Scarecrow’s brain, the Tin Man’s heart, and the Lion’s courage. And when she’s done, Dorothy must die.
File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents
Match wits with Lemony Snicket to solve thirteen mini-mysteries.
Paintings have been falling off of walls, a loud and loyal dog has gone missing, a specter has been seen walking the pier at midnight—strange things are happening all over the town of Stain’d-By-The-Sea. Called upon to investigate thirteen suspicious incidents, young Lemony Snicket collects clues, questions witnesses, and cracks every case. Join the investigation and tackle the mysteries alongside Snicket, then turn to the back of the book to see the solution revealed.
A delicious read that welcomes readers into Lemony Snicket’s world of deep mystery, mysterious depth, deductive reasoning, and reasonable deductions.
Half Bad
In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and sixteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his seventeenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves? In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page.
Ava and Pip
Outgoing Ava loves her older sister, Pip, but can’t understand why Pip is so reserved and never seems to make friends with others. When Ava uses her writing talents to help her sister overcome her shyness, both girls learn the impact their words and stories can have on the world around them.
Buzz Kill
When seventeen-year-old Millie Ostermeyer makes a list of all the people who would want the football team’s notorious Coach Killdare dead, she never dreams someone would actually murder him. As if one mystery weren’t enough for this Nancy Drew–obsessed school reporter to solve, enter the divinely gorgeous Chase Albright, star quarterback. Who is this mysterious jock who speaks excellent French and casually uses words like “tirade”? And why is he giving geeky Millie the time of day when the supermodel-pretty cheerleader Vivienne Fitch is clearly throwing herself at him? Mystery and romance collide in this fun, witty murder mystery.
A Death-Struck Year
For Cleo Berry, the Spanish influenza devastating the East Coast feels far from the safety of Portland, Oregon. But then the disease comes west. Headstrong and foolish, seventeen-year-old Cleo is determined to ride out the pandemic at home rather than in her quarantined boarding school. But when the Red Cross pleads for volunteers, she can’t ignore the call. In the grueling days that follow her decision, she risks everything for near strangers. Strangers like Edmund, a handsome medical student. Strangers who could be gone tomorrow. And as the bodies pile up, Cleo can’t help but wonder when her own luck will run out.