Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea. Her kingdom has finally escaped the terrible reign of her father, a violent psychopath able to control minds. But his influence has had lasting effects on the hearts and minds of the people. Her advisors plan to pardon everyone who worked for the former king, and forget every bad thing that happened. Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, and only once Bitterblue begins sneaking out of the castle at night does she begin to learn the truth.
Fire is the last remaining human monster. She has the ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of the innocent people around her. One day, the prince summons her to the castle. The royal family needs her to help them uncover a plot to undermine the king. Soon she begins to discover there is more to her power than she ever realized, it could save the kingdom. If only she wasn't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.
My head hurts from crying but other than that, so very good! Loved this book!
At 18, Andi Alpers has lost her will to live. Her brother Truman has died, her father has deserted the family and is putting her mother in a mental hospital. In Paris, where her father is working on a project on King Louis-Charles, Andi vows to make their three-week visit a misery. But when she finds a journal that might hold the missing key to Louis-Charles history, she completely forgets about everything, including her senior thesis, and focuses instead on solving the mystery of his death.
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a historical fiction set mainly in 1996 and 2004. The novel opens with Dokka, a villager in the town of Eldar in Chechnya is kidnapped by the Feds, leaving behind his daughter Havaa. A kind neighbor, Akhmed takes it upon himself to care for her and brings her to a local hospital where he hopes she can find refuge. This novel is beautifully written with gorgeous intertwining storylines.
Everyone (literally) in the small town (pop. 3,000) of Healey, Texas, knows the truth about Alice Franklin. Well, they know what's been determined by the collective consciousness of the town's population as the truth, which is virtually the same thing. Everyone believes it, so it must be so. Everyone treats Alice as if it's true, so the end result is the same.
Calvin was born on the day the final Calvin and Hobbes comic strip was published. His parents claim that they didn’t name him after it, that’s it’s just a fluke. They don’t understand what’s the big deal about his grandfather putting a stuffed tiger named Hobbes into baby Calvin’s crib, either. Calvin understands the significance. He is special: eternally bound to Bill Watterson, the creator of the beloved comic strip.
Then his mom accidentally washes Hobbes to death and everything changes.
A boy named Pip lives on the English marshes as an apprentice for a Blacksmith named Joe (his sister's husband). Pip is supposed to be a common boy just like his family, but he gets the opportunity to meet a family of higher class. Pip's ideology of being common changes into shame for his social class, and he is stuck between family and image. He soon has the opportunity to embark on his Great Expectations without knowing who his benefactor is, and is struck by the harsh society of London.
It’s just a simple game of dice between Love and Death. Love is personified as a man and Death is personified by a woman. They each pick a player and roll the dice, the players have to choose each other over everything else or Death will take her player. Death has always won the game, since the beginning.
Lillith Shadow has become the new ruler of Gehenna following the murders of her family. Her country is surrounded by enemies and the only way to save it is to practice the magic of the undead, but it forbidden to women. A sudden death brings her and the executioner’s servant together and inspires them to break the rules and save her home.
Ana is the perfect daughter, student and big sister. Over the course of her high school career she has built the perfect resume through test scores, an exemplary GPA and a host of extracurricular activities and volunteer opportunities including being the captain of her school’s quiz bowl team.
