Undead and Unpopular

Undead and Unpopular
Author: MaryJanice Davidson
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2006-06-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101158832

As Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor approaches the big 3-1 (in human years, that is), she has a lot on her plate. There are wedding plans to finalize, with no help from her fiancé Eric. And Betsy’s decided to stop drinking blood, something Eric, the vampire king, may not understand… So when some guests show up uninvited, and they happen to be the powerful European vampires who have finally come to pay their respects the week before her birthday, Betsy gets really cranky…

The Companion

The Companion
Author: Katie Alender
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2021-08-24
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0399545921

Winner of the Edgar Award for Young Adult Fiction! The other orphans say Margot is lucky. Lucky to survive the horrible accident that killed her family. Lucky to have her own room because she wakes up screaming every night. And finally, lucky to be chosen by a prestigious family to live at their remote country estate. But it wasn't luck that made the Suttons rescue Margot from her bleak existence at the group home. Margot was handpicked to be a companion to their silent, mysterious daughter, Agatha. At first, helping with Agatha--and getting to know her handsome younger brother--seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated house begins playing tricks on Margot’s mind, making her question everything she believes about the Suttons . . . and herself. Margot’s bad dreams may have stopped when she came to live with Agatha – but the real nightmare has just begun.

Unpopular Culture

Unpopular Culture
Author: Guvna B
Publisher: SPCK
Total Pages: 98
Release: 2017-06-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0281076324

Money is the key to happiness. Work hard, play hard. Look out for number one. Popular culture is full of phrases like these, telling us the best way to live, the right things to buy, the right body shape to have, the right people to hang out with. These messages are everywhere we look, 24 hours a day. But what if there was another way to live? What if we chose to live differently: to stand against injustice, to live life for more than just ourselves, to dare to be unpopular? Guvna B is rebelling against the status quo, and he's calling you to join him. It's time to flip the script, to demonstrate another way to live, to find freedom in going against the grain. It's time for unpopular culture to take the stage.

Lies My Memory Told Me

Lies My Memory Told Me
Author: Sacha Wunsch
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2021-10-19
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1488056935

From the thrilling voice of Sacha Wunsch comes a heart-stopping psychological mystery in a world where memories can be shared—and one girl can’t trust any of them. Enhanced Memory changed everything. By sharing someone else’s memory, you can experience anything and everything with no risk at all: learn any skill instantly, travel the world from home, and safeguard all your most treasured secrets forever. Nova’s parents invented this technology, and it’s slowly taking over their lives. Nova doesn’t mind—mostly. She knows Enhanced Memory is a gift. But Kade says Nova doesn’t know the costs of this technology that’s taken the world by storm. Kade runs a secret vlog cataloging real experiences, is always on the move, and is strangely afraid of Nova—even though she feels more comfortable with him than she ever has with anyone. Suddenly there are things Nova can’t stop noticing: the way her parents don’t meet her eyes anymore, the questions no one wants her to ask, and the relentless feeling that there’s something she’s forgotten…

Credence

Credence
Author: Penelope Douglas
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 561
Release: 2024-02-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593641973

Three of them, one of her, and a remote cabin in the woods. Let the hot, winter nights ensue in this steamy dark romance from New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas, now with bonus material. Tiernan de Haas doesn't care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she's grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. And when her parents suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But she's always been alone, hasn't she? Jake Van der Berg, her father's stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan. Sent to live in the mountains of Colorado with Jake and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, Tiernan quickly learns that these men now have a say in what she chooses to care and not care about anymore. As the men take Tiernan under their wing, she slowly finds her place among them. Because lines blur and rules become easy to break when no one else is watching. One of them has her. The other one wants her. But he's going to keep her.

Show Us Who You Are

Show Us Who You Are
Author: Elle McNicoll
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2023-10-10
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0593563026

A neurodiverse twelve-year-old girl is shown an amazing new technology that gives her another chance to talk to the best friend she lost. But she soon discovers the corporation behind the science hides dark secrets that only she can expose in this heartwarming and heroic sophomore novel from the award-winning author of A Kind of Spark. A CILIP Carnegie Medal nominee! "A touching, perceptive take on grief, technology, and self-acceptance.” –Kirkus Reviews It has never been easy for Cora to make friends. Cora is autistic, and sometimes she gets overwhelmed and stims to soothe her nerves. Adrien has ADHD and knows what it is like to navigate a world that isn’t always built for the neurodiverse. The two are fast friends until an accident puts Adrien in a coma. Cora is devastated until Dr. Gold, the CEO of Pomegranate Institute, offers to let Cora talk to Adrien again, as a hologram her company develops. While at first enchanted, Cora soon discovers that the hologram of Adrien doesn’t capture who he was in life. And the deeper Cora dives into the mystery, the more she sees Pomegranate has secrets to hide. Can Cora uncover Pomegranate's dark truth before their technologies rewrite history forever?

History Is All You Left Me

History Is All You Left Me
Author: Adam Silvera
Publisher: Soho Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2017-01-17
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1616956933

"This book will make you cry, think, and then cry some more." —Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything From the New York Times bestselling author of More Happy Than Not comes an explosive examination of grief, mental illness, and the devastating consequences of refusing to let go of the past. When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course. To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart. If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.

Robin

Robin
Author: Dave Itzkoff
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Total Pages: 545
Release: 2018-05-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1627794255

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE A SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A VULTURE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR "A generous, appreciative biography of Robin Williams by a New York Times culture reporter. The author, who had access to Williams and members of the comedian’s family, is an unabashed fan but doesn’t shy away from the abundant messiness in his subject’s personal life."—The New York Times Book Review From New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff, the definitive biography of Robin Williams – a compelling portrait of one of America’s most beloved and misunderstood entertainers. From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations – all with mercurial, tongue-twisting intensity as he inhabited and shed one character after another with lightning speed. But as Dave Itzkoff shows in this revelatory biography, Williams’s comic brilliance masked a deep well of conflicting emotions and self-doubt, which he drew upon in his comedy and in celebrated films like Dead Poets Society; Good Morning, Vietnam; The Fisher King; Aladdin; and Mrs. Doubtfire, where he showcased his limitless gift for improvisation to bring to life a wide range of characters. And in Good Will Hunting he gave an intense and controlled performance that revealed the true range of his talent. Itzkoff also shows how Williams struggled mightily with addiction and depression – topics he discussed openly while performing and during interviews – and with a debilitating condition at the end of his life that affected him in ways his fans never knew. Drawing on more than a hundred original interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, as well as extensive archival research, Robin is a fresh and original look at a man whose work touched so many lives.

The (Un)Popular Vote

The (Un)Popular Vote
Author: Jasper Sanchez
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2021-06-01
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0063025809

Red, White, & Royal Blue meets The West Wing in Jasper Sanchez’s electric and insightful #ownvoices YA debut, chronicling a transmasculine student’s foray into a no-holds-barred student body president election against the wishes of his politician father. Optics can make or break an election. Everything Mark knows about politics, he learned from his father, the Congressman who still pretends he has a daughter and not a son. Mark has promised to keep his past hidden and pretend to be the cis guy everyone assumes he is. But when he sees a manipulatively charming candidate for student body president inflame dangerous rhetoric, Mark risks his low profile to become a political challenger. The problem? No one really knows Mark. He didn’t grow up in this town, and his few friends are all nerds. Still, thanks to Scandal and The West Wing, they know where to start: from campaign stops to voter polling to a fashion makeover. Soon Mark feels emboldened to engage with voters—and even start a new romance. But with an investigative journalist digging into his past, a father trying to silence him, and the bully frontrunner standing in his way, Mark will have to decide which matters most: perception or truth, when both are just as dangerous. “Mind-bogglingly good. This is a novel that every teen needs.” —Kacen Callender, author of Felix Ever After "Charming, stunning, and unapologetically queer." —Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best and The Ghosts We Keep