Books by Wendelin Van Draanen
How I Survived Being a Girl
Carolyn's tips for survival:
Keep your hair too short for ribbons.
Get a great dog.
Avoid girls who wear Mary Janes.
Spy on the neighbors.
Play in the mud.
Carolyn likes to break the rules. To her great surprise, it turns out that's what being a girl is all about.
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Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception
Sammy Keyes has a lot of nerve. Wearing high-tops to a fancy reception at an art gallery. Asking why a framed orange splot is worth $10,000. Eyebrows rise. Noses turn up.
But then Sammy tackles a thief who tries to break up the soiree with a stickup. Now
the patrons of the arts are glad she has a lot of nerve. Or are they? Sammy may have stopped a criminal, but the real crime has yet to be discovered. The real crime is more subtle, more artful, than anything Sammy’s ever seen. She had no idea art could be so dangerous. . . .
This edition also includes a free cd including an interview with Wendelin, a reading from Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes, and "The Sammy Keyes Song".
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Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception
“The hottest sleuth to appear in children’s books since Nancy Drew” (The Boston Globe) is back! Don’t miss the eighth book in the series that’s been described as “a combination of Carl Hiaasen’s Flush and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books” (School Library Journal) and hailed as “nonstop whodunits” (Kirkus Reviews)!
The artsy crowd thinks Sammy Keyes has a lot of nerve showing up at a fancy reception in high-tops. But when she tackles a robber who’s brandishing a gun with one hand and pulling paintings from the wall with the other, they’re glad she has nerve. Or are they?
Sammy may have stopped one criminal, but the real crime at this show has yet to be discovered. The real crime is more subtle, more artful, than anything Sammy’s ever seen. Who knew art could be so dangerous?
Praise for the Sammy Keyes series:
“If Kinsey Millhone ever hires a junior partner, Sammy Keyes will be the first candidate on the list. She’s feisty, fearless, and funny. A top-notch investigator!” —New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton
“The sleuth delights from start to finish. Keep your binoculars trained on Sammy Keyes.” —Publishers Weekly
“The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)” —Midwest Children’s Book Review
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Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man
This Halloween is more than just tricks and treats--it's deadly serious.
It was supposed to be a simple ding-dong ditch. A dare to give them bragging rights. But as Sammy and her friends sneak up to the spookiest house in town, they get scared witless by a skeleton, and then witness something frightening enough to make even Sammy scream.
Things have taken a scary turn at school, too, with horrible Heather spreading embarrassing rumors about Sammy. Sammy devises a plan to expose her, but it's going to take a deceptive disguise, some good friends, and a lot of guts to pull it off...
Praise for the Sammy Keyes series:
“If Kinsey Millhone ever hires a junior partner, Sammy Keyes will be the first candidate on the list. She’s feisty, fearless, and funny. A top-notch investigator!” —New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton
“The sleuth delights from start to finish. Keep your binoculars trained on Sammy Keyes.” —Publishers Weekly
“The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)” —Midwest Children’s Book Review
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Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy
Sometimes it's hard to tell the saints from the sinners...
Sammy was supposed to be in church to get out of trouble, not into more. But while she's at St. Mary's working off some school detention time, a valuable cross goes missing and Sammy becomes the prime suspect.
She knows she's innocent, and also what it feels like to lose something important. Her treasured catcher's mitt has been stolen--heartless Heather must have taken it to throw Sammy off her game in the upcoming softball play-offs. Trouble is, it's working. Sammy needs that glove back.
Throw in nuns in feather boas, a homeless girl in high-tops, a carrot-chomping dog, and a safe that needs cracking, and you've got just another week in the life of Sammy Keyes.
Praise for the Sammy Keyes series:
“Sammy Keyes is feisty, fearless, and funny. A top-notch investigator!” —New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton
“The sleuth delights from start to finish. Keep your binoculars trained on Sammy Keyes.” —Publishers Weekly
“Sammy Keyes is the hottest sleuth to appear in children’s books since Nancy Drew.”—The Boston Globe
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Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf
"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)"—Midwest Children's Book Review
The Christmas parade gets furry in a hurry when three pranksters dressed as wise men toss some cats onto Sammy's float. Dogs shoot off in all directions, and the prize Pomeranian Sammy's supposed to be watching disappears. Turns out the darn fuzzball's been kidnapped. The owner is demanding that Sammy find her doggone dog . . . and she's a woman who knows how to get what she wants.
But Sammy's a pretty tough cookie herself. Dognappers, blackmailers, and wise men be warned!
The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.
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Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway
The bad news: Sammy’s made a deadly mistake.
The good news: No one knows she did it.
The delicious dilemma: Everyone thinks her archenemy Heather is to blame.
Now Heather’s in a major jam, and in some ways it’s only fair–Heather’s pinned more than a few crimes on Sammy. Besides, there are distractions galore to keep Sammy from confessing. Like the end of the school year. And the Farewell Dance. Especially the dance, because she’s going with Heather’s brother, Casey. But Sammy knows that the truth has an uncanny way of resurfacing, and when it does, the stench can be more vile than the junior high cafeteria. . . .
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Shredderman: Secret Identity
Alvin Bixby: Hulking, knuckles of steel, hideous breath, foul temper. Kids call him: Bubba.
Nolan Byrd: Puny, power walker, math genius, can’t keep shoes tied. Kids call him: Nerd.
Bubba has been the bane of Nolan’s existence for five long years. So when Mr. Green asks the class to become reporters, Nolan decides he’ll write an exposé—on Bubba. He doesn’t want to sign his name to it (that’d be suicidal), so Nolan creates a secret identity for himself—on the Internet. He launches Shredderman.com as a place where truth and justice prevail—and bullies get what’s coming to them.
This hilariously triumphant story is for any kid who’s ever dreamed of unleashing their own inner superhero!
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Shredderman: Secret Identity
Alvin Bixby: Hulking, knuckles of steel, hideous breath, foul temper. Kids call him: Bubba.
Nolan Byrd: Puny, power walker, math genius, can’t keep shoes tied. Kids call him: Nerd.
Bubba has been the bane of Nolan’s existence for five long years. So when Mr. Green asks the class to become reporters, Nolan decides he’ll write an exposé—on Bubba. He doesn’t want to sign his name to it (that’d be suicidal), so Nolan creates a secret identity for himself—on the Internet. He launches Shredderman.com as a place where truth and justice prevail—and bullies get what’s coming to them.
This hilariously triumphant story is for any kid who’s ever dreamed of unleashing their own inner superhero!
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Shredderman: Meet the Gecko
Even superheroes have problems. That’s what Nolan discovers when he meets Chase Morton, the boy who plays his favorite TV superhero on The Gecko and Sticky. Chase is being hounded by a sleazy tabloid reporter who is evil! Sneaky! A liar! So Nolan vows to expose the truth on Shredderman.com. After all, superheroes have to stick together in the fight for truth and justice. Oh, yeah!
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Shredderman: Meet the Gecko
Even superheroes have problems. That’s what Nolan discovers when he meets Chase Morton, the boy who plays his favorite TV superhero on The Gecko and Sticky. Chase is being hounded by a sleazy tabloid reporter who is evil! Sneaky! A liar! So Nolan vows to expose the truth on Shredderman.com. After all, superheroes have to stick together in the fight for truth and justice. Oh, yeah!
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Shredderman: Attack of the Tagger (Shredderman)
Nolan Byrd single-handedly saved his school from the bullydom of Alvin “Bubba” Bixby. He posted proof of Bubba’s exploits on the Web at Shredderman.com. Now Shredderman is the school hero! But since Shredderman’s identity is a secret, everyone still treats Nolan like . . . a nerd.
But inside this nerd beats a superhero’s heart—one dedicated to truth and justice. So when a vandal spray-paints graffiti around town—and even on his teacher’s van!—Nolan decides that tracking down the tagger is a job for Shredderman.
But while he’s trying to trap the tagger, the tagger is trying to pin the blame on Shredderman! Can Nolan turn the tables back around before his secret identity is revealed?
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Flipped
A classic he-said-she-said romantic comedy! This updated anniversary edition offers story-behind-the-story revelations from author Wendelin Van Draanen.
The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. Juli says: “My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss.” He says: “It’s been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.” But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down: just as Bryce is thinking that there’s maybe more to Juli than meets the eye, she’s thinking that he’s not quite all he seemed.
This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny voices.
The updated anniversary edition contains 32 pages of extra backmatter: essays from Wendelin Van Draanen on her sources of inspiration, on the making of the movie of Flipped, on why she’ll never write a sequel, and a selection of the amazing fan mail she’s received.
Awards and accolades for Flipped:
SLJ Top 100 Children’s Novels of all time
IRA-CBC Children’s Choice
IRA Teacher’s Choice
Honor winner, Judy Lopez Memorial Award/WNBA
Winner of the California Young Reader Medal
“We flipped over this fantastic book, its gutsy girl Juli and its wise, wonderful ending.” — The Chicago Tribune
“Van Draanen has another winner in this eighth-grade ‘he-said, she-said’ romance. A fast, funny, egg-cellent winner.” — SLJ, Starred review
“With a charismatic leading lady kids will flip over, a compelling dynamic between the two narrators and a resonant ending, this novel is a great deal larger than the sum of its parts.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred review
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Flipped
The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. She says: “My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss.” He says: “It’s been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.” But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down. And just as he’s thinking there’s more to her than meets the eye, she’ s thinking that he’s not quite all he seemed.
This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny voices. Wendelin Van Draanen is at her best here with a knockout cast of quirky characters and a hilarious series of misunderstandings and missed opportunities. But underlying the humor are two teens in transition. They are each learning to look beyond the surface of people, both figuring out who they are, who they want to be, and who they want to be with.
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Flipped
Wendelin Van Draanen’s highly acclaimed he-said, she-said teen romance is going to be a major motion picture. Written and directed by Rob Reiner, the film features a stellar cast, including Madeline Carroll and Callan McAuliffe as Juli and Bryce, and Aidan Quinn, Rebecca De Mornay, Anthony Edwards, Penelope Ann Miller, and John Mahoney.
This movie tie-in edition will feature full-color movie stills, an interview with the author, and a preview of her next romantic comedy, Confessions of a Serial Kisser.
Flipped is a romance told in two voices. The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw Juli, he ran. That’s pretty much the pattern for these two neighbors until the eighth grade, when, just as Juli is realizing Bryce isn’t as wonderful as she thought, Bryce is starting to see that Juli is pretty amazing. How these two teens manage to see beyond the surface of things and come together makes for a comic and poignant romance.
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Shredderman: Enemy Spy
Shredderman.com just made the national news! Everyone is talking about the new cyber-superhero. Oh yeah!
But now people are dying to know who is behind Shredderman.com. Reporters are snooping all over Cedar Valley! Oh no!
Nolan's parents and even his sidekick, Mr. Green, think he should lay low for a while. But being Shredderman is the best thing that's ever happened to Nolan. It's so much better than being Byrd-the-Nerd. Plus, Nolan's just stumbled across what might be a real spy-ring! How can Shredderman not try to fight it?
But some problems are too big for even a superhero to handle. Sometimes the mask gets in the way. Will Nolan's quest for truth and justice mean he has to give up his secret identity? Can he become a superhero in real life?
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Shredderman: Enemy Spy
Shredderman.com just made the national news! Everyone is talking about the new cyber-superhero. Oh yeah!
But now people are dying to know who is behind Shredderman.com. Reporters are snooping all over Cedar Valley! Oh no!
Nolan's parents and even his sidekick, Mr. Green, think he should lay low for a while. But being Shredderman is the best thing that's ever happened to Nolan. It's so much better than being Byrd-the-Nerd. Plus, Nolan's just stumbled across what might be a real spy-ring! How can Shredderman not try to fight it?
But some problems are too big for even a superhero to handle. Sometimes the mask gets in the way. Will Nolan's quest for truth and justice mean he has to give up his secret identity? Can he become a superhero in real life?
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Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary
"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)"—Midwest Children's Book Review
When Sammy and her friends meet Lucinda Huntley walking her 200-pound pig down the middle of the road, their quiet weekend in the country quickly becomes an adventure. Lucinda tells them a true tale of the Wild West, her great-grandma Moustache Mary, and a century-old family feud.
But this feud is hardly ancient history. Past and present collide—and combust!—when Mary's pioneer cabin burns to the ground. Sammy thinks the cause of the fire may be a hundred years old, but still, the gas can she finds near the scene of the crime is shiny and new. . . .
The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.
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Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes
"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)"—Midwest Children's Book Review
Sammy's softball team is in contention for the Junior Slugger's Cup, and all she wants to do is hunker down behind the home plate and catch strikes. But Heather Acosta brings new meaning to the term "foul ball" as she schemes to get Sammy kicked off the team.
Then Sammy is thrown a wild pitch by a frantic girl at the mall. The girl asks Sammy to watch her bag and dashes off before Sammy discovers that the bag she's left holding contains a baby! When the girl doesn't return, Sammy decides to go find her. A heart-pounding search ensues, and leads to some situations that are definitely not covered in the softball playbook.
The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.
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Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes
Sammy’s softball team is in contention for the Junior Slugger’s Cup, and all she wants to do is hunker down behind home plate and catch strikes. But Heather Acosta brings new meaning to the term “foul ball” as she schemes to get Sammy kicked off the team. And Sammy is thrown a wild pitch by a frantic girl in the mall. She begs Sammy to watch something for her and then dashes off before Sammy realizes that the bag she’s left holding contains a baby! Now there are some pitches that you shouldn’t even try to catch, but Sammy’s a take-it-in-the-chest-protector kind of player. So when the girl doesn’t return for her baby, Sammy decides to go find her. And her search leads her into situations that are just not covered in a softball playbook.
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Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy
"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)"—Midwest Children's Book Review
When Sammy finds out that her mother has changed her name, dyed her hair, and shaved ten years off her age, she knows it's time for Lady Lana to get reacquainted with reality.
Sammy hops a bus to Hollywood and finds her mother in deeper trouble than she imagined. Lana's phony persona is crumbling just as she is being considered for the part of a lifetime. So when one of Lana's competitors for the big role is found dead in the room next door, Sammy can't help wondering: Is her mother the next likely victim . . . or the prime suspect?
The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.
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Swear to Howdy
A funny friendship turns serious in this haunting book about secrets, lies, and what it means to be a true friend.
Joey Banks is a walking adventure. He’s funny, daring, mischievous—and frequently in trouble. Or he would be if anyone found out about half the stuff he’s done. Luckily, Rusty Cooper knows how to keep a secret. Joey is the best friend Rusty’s ever had, and he’s not going to mess with that. But then comes a secret that is at once too terrible to tell and too terrible to keep. A secret so big it threatens to eat them alive. What would a true friend do now?
Wendelin Van Draanen has written a richly layered book that offers a thought-provoking look at the boundaries of friendship and what it really means to be true.
“Triumph and tragedy mix in a compelling country tale of boys being boys.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A poignant, thought-provoking novel that will strike a chord with young readers hooked by the boyish antics of the early chapters, later to be emotionally drawn to the honest portrayal of characters struggling with the consequences that follow every action.” —Midwest Book Review
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Swear to Howdy
Joey Banks is a walking adventure. He’s funny, daring, mischievous—and frequently in trouble. Or he would be if anyone found out about half the stuff he’s done. But Rusty Cooper knows how to keep a secret. And Joey’s the best friend he’s ever had. But then comes a secret that is at once too terrible to tell and too terrible to keep. A secret so big it threatens to eat them alive. What would a true friend do now?
Wendelin Van Draanen has written her most compelling, richly layered book yet. It’s a thought-provoking look at the boundaries of friendship and what it really means to be true.
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Collection of Series of Sammy Keyes Books (Series Collection of Sammy Keyes Books)
Sammy Keyes must be a magnet for trouble...
I mean it's bad enough that she has to live illegally in a seniors-only building with her grandmother while her mother tries to make it as a move star. And worse that she witnessed a burglary in progress--and that the thief saw her. And worse still that nosy neighbor Mrs. Graybill is onto her, and that the thief is after her. But on top of all that, she also manages to make an enemy of the queen of mean at her new school and get suspended on the first day.
Welcome to the wild world of Sammy Keyes!
Praise for the Sammy Keyes series:
“Sammy Keyes is feisty, fearless, and funny. A top-notch investigator!” —New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton
“The sleuth delights from start to finish. Keep your binoculars trained on Sammy Keyes.” —Publishers Weekly
“Sammy Keyes is the hottest sleuth to appear in children’s books since Nancy Drew.”—The Boston Globe
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Runaway
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Alice Munro, Peter May
In Alice Munro’s superb new collection, we find stories about women of all ages and circumstances, their lives made palpable by the subtlety and empathy of this incomparable writer.
The runaway of the title story is a young woman who, though she thinks she wants to, is incapable of leaving her husband. In “Passion,” a country girl emerging into the larger world via a job in a resort hotel discovers in a single moment of stunning insight the limits and lies of that mysterious emotion. Three stories are about a woman named Juliet–in the first, she escapes from teaching at a girls’ school into a wild and irresistible love match; in the second she returns with her child to the home of her parents, whose life and marriage she finally begins to examine; and in the last, her child, caught, she mistakenly thinks, in the grip of a religious cult, vanishes into an unexplained and profound silence. In the final story, “Powers,” a young woman with the ability to read the future sets off a chain of events that involves her husband-to-be and a friend in a lifelong pursuit of what such a gift really means, and who really has it.
Throughout this compelling collection, Alice Munro’s understanding of the people about whom she writes makes them as vivid as our own neighbors. Here are the infinite betrayals and surprises of love–between men and women, between friends, between parents and children–that are the stuff of all our lives. It is Alice Munro’s special gift to make these stories as vivid and real as our own.
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Runaway
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Alice Munro, Peter May
"It's a cold, hard, cruel fact that my mother loved heroin more than she loved me."
Holly is in her fifth foster home in two years and she's had enough. She's run away before and always been caught quickly. But she's older and wiser now--she's twelve--and this time she gets away clean.
Through tough and tender and angry and funny journal entries, Holly spills out her story. We travel with her across the country--hopping trains, scamming food, sleeping in parks or homeless encampments. And we also travel with her across the gaping holes in her heart--as she finally comes to terms with her mother's addiction and death.
Runaway is a remarkably uplifting portrait of a girl still young and stubborn and naive enough to hold out hope for finding a better place in the world, and within herself, to be.
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Runaway
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Alice Munro, Peter May
"It's a cold, hard, cruel fact that my mother loved heroin more than she loved me."
Holly is in her fifth foster home in two years and she's had enough. She's run away before and always been caught quickly. But she's older and wiser now--she's twelve--and this time she gets away clean.
Through tough and tender and angry and funny journal entries, Holly spills out her story. We travel with her across the country--hopping trains, scamming food, sleeping in parks or homeless encampments. And we also travel with her across the gaping holes in her heart--as she finally comes to terms with her mother's addiction and death.
Runaway is a remarkably uplifting portrait of a girl still young and stubborn and naive enough to hold out hope for finding a better place in the world, and within herself, to be.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Runaway
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Alice Munro, Peter May
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Eight “sparkling [and] beautifully drawn” (Entertainment Weekly) stories about love and its infinite betrayals and surprises, from Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro
“Each of the stories in Runaway contains enough lived life to fill a typical novel.”—The Boston Globe
WINNER OF THE GILLER PRIZE • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Atlantic Monthly, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, San Jose Mercury News, Kansas City Star
The runaway of the title story is a young woman who, though she thinks she wants to, is incapable of leaving her husband. In “Passion,” a country girl emerging into the larger world via a job in a resort hotel discovers a single moment of stunning insight and the limits and lies of that mysterious emotion. Three stories, the inspiration for the award–winning movie Julieta, are about a woman named Juliet—in the first, she escapes from teaching at a girls’ school into a wild and irresistible love match; in the second she returns with her child to the home of her parents, whose life and marriage she finally begins to examine; and in the last, her child, caught, she mistakenly thinks, in the grip of a religious cult, vanishes into an unexplained and profound silence. In the final story, “Powers,” a young woman with the ability to read the future sets off a chain of events that involves her husband-to-be and a friend in a lifelong pursuit of what such a gift really means, and who really has it.
In Munro’s hands, the people she writes about—women of all ages and circumstances, and their friends, lovers, parents, and children—become as vivid as our own neighbors. It is her miraculous gift to make these stories as real and unforgettable as our own.
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Runaway
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Alice Munro, Peter May
"MAY IS GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH... A WONDERFUL EXHIBITION OF JUST HOW GOOD MAY CAN BE." --The Daily Mail
"Five of us had run away that fateful night just over a month before. Only three of us would be going home. And nothing, nothing would ever be the same again."
Glasgow, 1965. Headstrong teenager Jack Mackay has just one destination on his mind--London--and successfully convinces his four friends, and fellow bandmates, to join him in abandoning their homes to pursue a goal of musical stardom.
Glasgow, 2015. Jack Mackay, heavy-hearted sixty-seven-year-old is still haunted by what might have been. His recollections of the terrible events that befell him and his friends some fifty years earlier, and how he did not act when it mattered most is a memory he has tried to escape his entire adult life.
London, 2015. A man lies dead in a one-room flat. His killer looks on, remorseless.
What started with five teenagers following a dream five decades before has been transformed over the intervening decades into a waking nightmare that might just consume them all.
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Runaway
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Alice Munro, Peter May
This diary of a runaway girl and her search for a home celebrates hope, resilience, and happy endings as only Wendelin Van Draanen, the author of Flipped and other acclaimed novels, can.
Holly has run away before, but this time she actually gets away—and what at first felt like an escape soon becomes a daily struggle for survival. She is smart and resourceful, and she manages to make it across the country on her own. But how long can this go on? It’s getting harder to avoid the truth—Holly is now homeless.
Runaway is a remarkably uplifting portrait of a girl still young and stubborn and naive enough to believe there’s a better place for her in the world.
“Will grab readers from the first entry.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Holly’s lively self lingers in the way the best characters do. Runaway is certainly one of the best young adult books of the year.” —The Sacramento Bee
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Runaway
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Alice Munro, Peter May
"MAY IS GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH... A WONDERFUL EXHIBITION OF JUST HOW GOOD MAY CAN BE." --The Daily Mail
"Five of us had run away that fateful night just over a month before. Only three of us would be going home. And nothing, nothing would ever be the same again."
Glasgow, 1965. Headstrong teenager Jack Mackay has just one destination on his mind--London--and successfully convinces his four friends, and fellow bandmates, to join him in abandoning their homes to pursue a goal of musical stardom.
Glasgow, 2015. Jack Mackay, heavy-hearted sixty-seven-year-old is still haunted by what might have been. His recollections of the terrible events that befell him and his friends some fifty years earlier, and how he did not act when it mattered most is a memory he has tried to escape his entire adult life.
London, 2015. A man lies dead in a one-room flat. His killer looks on, remorseless.
What started with five teenagers following a dream five decades before has been transformed over the intervening decades into a waking nightmare that might just consume them all.
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Confessions of a Serial Kisser
Does the perfect kiss exist?
This smart and funny modern romance explores the pleasures and perils of love. A great book for fans of romantic reads like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.
Evangeline Logan wants a kiss. Not just any kiss—a “crimson kiss,” like the one in a romance novel she's become obsessed with. But the path to perfection is paved with many bad kisses—the smash mouth, the ear licker, the “misser,” the tentative tight lipper.
The phrase 'I don't kiss and tell' means nothing to the boys in her school. And worse: someone starts writing her name and number on bathroom walls. And worst of all: the boy she's just kissed turns out to be her best friend's new crush.
Kissing turns out to be way more complicated than the romance novels would have you believe . . .
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Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher
Sammy takes off her high-tops, puts on some party shoes, and steps into a whole lot of trouble.
"Sammy's investigation, friendships, family life, and wiseacre narration make this another rollicking addition to the series." --Booklist
Sammy should have known better than to think 8th grade would be easier than 7th. It's only September and already the history teacher is receiving death threats. Naturally, Sammy is the prime suspect.
To make matters worse, officer Borsch has asked Sammy to help out at his wedding. If she doesn't find the real prankster fast, Sammy will be wearing prison stripes instead of a poofy pastel bridesmaid dress.
This Sammy Keyes adventure blends mystery, comedy, and a dusting of fairy tale magic.
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The Running Dream
The acclaimed author of Flipped delivers a powerful and healing story that’s perfect for anyone who’s ever thought that something was impossible. Readers will revel in the story of a girl who puts herself back together—and learns to dream bigger than ever before—after she’s told she’ll never run again.
Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?
As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.
With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
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The Running Dream (Schneider Family Book Award - Teen Book Winner)
When Jessica is told she’ll never run again, she puts herself back together—and learns to dream bigger than ever before. The acclaimed author of Flipped delivers a powerful and healing story.
Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She’s not comforted by the news that she’ll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?
As she struggles to cope, Jessica feels that she’s both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don’t know what to say act like she’s not there. Jessica’s embarrassed to realize that she’s done the same to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she’s missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.
With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that’s not enough for her now. She doesn’t just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.
“Inspirational. The pace of Van Draanen’s prose matches Jessica’s at her swiftest. Readers will zoom through the book just as Jessica blazes around the track. A lively and lovely story.” —Kirkus Reviews
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Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen
Sammy's mom comes to town with a birthday bombshell...
"A strong female character looking for more than just a boyfriend. Highly recommended." --Children's Literature
It's Sammy's birthday, which should be a good thing, right? Not when her mom lets her cat out and now he's missing. Not when Sammy finds three dead cats while she's looking for him. And not when a psycho cat lady blames Sammy because one of the dead cats belonged to her.
Add a suspicious pro-wrestler named El Gato, a public cat-fight with her arch-enemy Heather, and a bombshell of a secret from her mom, and you've got a recipe for Sammy's worst birthday ever.
Better luck next year, Sammy.
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Shredderman: Attack of the Tagger
Nolan Byrd single-handedly saved his school from the bullydom of Alvin “Bubba” Bixby. He posted proof of Bubba’s exploits on the Web at Shredderman.com. Now Shredderman is the school hero! But since Shredderman’s identity is a secret, everyone still treats Nolan like . . . a nerd.
But inside this nerd beats a superhero’s heart—one dedicated to truth and justice. So when a vandal spray-paints graffiti around town—and even on his teacher’s van!—Nolan decides that tracking down the tagger is a job for Shredderman.
But while he’s trying to trap the tagger, the tagger is trying to pin the blame on Shredderman! Can Nolan turn the tables back around before his secret identity is revealed?
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Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things
With desperate poachers on their trail, Sammy and her fellow campers have just been added to the endangered species list.
"Think a combination of Carl Hiaasen's Flush and Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" and you'll be right on target" --School Library Journal
This is not the summer camping trip of Sammy's dreams. Instead of shady glades and meandering streams, she gets scrubby shrubs, blazing sun, and rattlesnakes. Her fellow campers are desperate to catch a rare glimpse of an endangered condor. To Sammy, the trip feels like the painful in pursuit of the unspeakably ugly.
But when she and two other girls find an injured condor, Sammy's intrigued at last. As they track down a clue, they stumble onto two classmates and promptly get lost. Which leaves three girls and two boys in a canyon with one tent a sick condor and six billion biting flies. Oh--and an armed and dangerous highstakes poacher.
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Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash
A stash of easy money makes for some hard choices for Sammy Keyes.
"An exceptionally good entry in an already remarkable series."--Booklist
Sammy Keyes has three wads of cold hard cash in her hot little hands. An old guy gave them to her. Well, actually, he told her to throw them away. With his last dying breath. Which he was taking because Sammy had just scared the life right out of him. So . . . she's got to get this man some help. She's got to do it without being seen herself. And she's got to figure out how to stash that cash. (Aw, c'mon! You'd keep the money too, right?) But it turns out other people are after that money--and now they're after her.
Crooks Sammy can handle. The thing that's scaring her to death is Brandon's pool party--and the thought that her crush Casey will be there...
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The Peach Rebellion
From the author of The Running Dream comes a heart-swelling historical tale of friendship, family, and the power of sisterhood to help heal the wounds of the past and step boldly into the future.
Ginny Rose and Peggy were best friends at seven, picking peaches on hot summer days. Peggy’s family owned the farm, and Ginny Rose’s were pickers, escaping the Oklahoma dust storms. That didn’t matter to them then, but now, ten years, hard miles, and a world war later, Ginny Rose’s family is back in town and their differences feel somehow starker. Especially since Peggy’s new best friend, Lisette, is a wealthy banker’s daughter.
Still, there's no denying what all three girls have in common: Families with great fissures that are about to break wide open. And a determination to not just accept things as they are anymore.
This summer they will each make a stand. It’s a season of secrets revealed. Of daring plans to heal old wounds. Of hearts won and hearts broken. A summer when everything changes because you’re seventeen, and it’s time to be bold. And because it’s easier to be brave with a true friend by your side.
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Mr. Whiskers and the Shenanigan Sisters
Mr. Whiskers is a paw-some new dog detective from an Edgar Award winning author. He's on the trail of a kidnapped dad, pirate treasure, and a place to call home...
Mr. Whiskers is a street-wise stray dog with a nose for trouble and a fondness for two girls he calls the Shenanigan Sisters. So when Misty and Zelda’s professor father is kidnapped, Mr. Whiskers follows that car, picking up vital clues.
Then the two intrepid girls and one great dog follow the trail through the streets of San Francisco, discovering hidden passageways, buried secrets, and even pirate treasure.
But will they be able to rescue Dad? You bet your best biscuit, they will!
Wendelin Van Draanen's new mystery is the ulti-mutt kid-pleasing caper.
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$16.99
Mr. Whiskers and the Shenanigan Sisters
Now in paperback! A paw-some new dog detective from an Edgar Award winning author. Mr. Whiskers is on the trail of a kidnapped dad, pirate treasure, and a place to call home...
Mr. Whiskers is a street-wise stray dog with a nose for trouble and a fondness for two girls he calls the Shenanigan Sisters. So when Misty and Zelda’s professor father is kidnapped, Mr. Whiskers follows that car, picking up vital clues.
Then the two intrepid girls and one great dog follow the trail through the streets of San Francisco, discovering hidden passageways, buried secrets, and even pirate treasure.
But will they be able to rescue Dad? You bet your best biscuit, they will!
Wendelin Van Draanen's new mystery is the ulti-mutt kid-pleasing caper.
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Wild Bird
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Diane Zahler
From the award-winning author of The Running Dream and Flipped comes a remarkable portrait of a girl who has hit rock bottom but begins a climb back to herself at a wilderness survival camp.
3:47 a.m. That’s when they come for Wren Clemmens. She’s hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who’ve gone so far off the rails, their parents don’t know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right.
The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can’t put up a tent. And bitter won’t start a fire. Wren’s going to have to admit she needs help if she’s going to survive.
"I read Wild Bird in one long mesmerized gulp. Wren will break your heart—and then mend it." —Nancy Werlin, National Book Award finalist for The Rules of Survival
"Van Draanen’s Wren is real and relatable, and readers will root for her." —VOYA, starred review
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Wild Bird
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Diane Zahler
Get lost in a sweeping middle-grade adventure following Rype, an abandoned girl in fourteenth-century Europe, as she walks from Norway to England looking for safety from the plague.
Her name was Rype. That wasn’t really her name. It was what the strangers called her. She didn’t remember her real name. She didn’t remember anything at all.
Rype was hiding in the hollow of a tree trunk when they found her. She was hungry, small, cold, alone. She did not speak their language, or understand their mannerisms. But she knew this: To survive, she would have to go with them.
In fourteenth-century Norway, the plague has destroyed the entire village of Skeviga. To stay alive, Rype, the only one left, must embark on a sweeping adventure across Europe with the son of an English ship captain and a band of troubadours in search of a brighter future and a new home.
Expertly crafted, beautifully written, and completely unique, Diane Zahler has created a historically rich, stunning story of survival and hope in the face of tragedy.
Praise for Wild Bird
*A Junior Library Guild Selection*
"Something special. Don’t miss it." - Karen Cushman, Newbery Medal-winning author of The Midwife's Apprentice and Newbery Honor-winning Catherine, Called Birdy
"A quick-paced treasure." - Donna Jo Napoli, author of In a Flash
"A deeply moving tribute to the power of art and memory." - Laurel Snyder, author of My Jasper June and National Book Award longlist Orphan Island
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$8.99
Wild Bird
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Diane Zahler
Get lost in a sweeping middle-grade adventure following Rype, an abandoned girl in fourteenth-century Europe, as she walks from Norway to England looking for safety from the plague.
Her name was Rype. That wasn’t really her name. It was what the strangers called her. She didn’t remember her real name. She didn’t remember anything at all.
Rype was hiding in the hollow of a tree trunk when they found her. She was hungry, small, cold, alone. She did not speak their language, or understand their mannerisms. But she knew this: To survive, she would have to go with them.
In fourteenth-century Norway, the plague has destroyed the entire village of Skeviga. To stay alive, Rype, the only one left, must embark on a sweeping adventure across Europe with the son of an English ship captain and a band of troubadours in search of a brighter future and a new home.
Expertly crafted, beautifully written, and completely unique, Diane Zahler has created a historically rich, stunning story of survival and hope in the face of tragedy.
Praise for Wild Bird
*A Junior Library Guild Selection*
"Something special. Don’t miss it." - Karen Cushman, Newbery Medal-winning author of The Midwife's Apprentice and Newbery Honor-winning Catherine, Called Birdy
"A quick-paced treasure." - Donna Jo Napoli, author of In a Flash
"A deeply moving tribute to the power of art and memory." - Laurel Snyder, author of My Jasper June and National Book Award longlist Orphan Island
Copies
-
$18.99
Wild Bird
by Wendelin Van Draanen, Diane Zahler
From the award-winning author of The Running Dream and Flipped comes a remarkable portrait of a girl who has hit rock bottom but begins a climb back to herself at a wilderness survival camp.
3:47 a.m. That’s when they come for Wren Clemmens. She’s hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who’ve gone so far off the rails, their parents don’t know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right.
The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can’t put up a tent. And bitter won’t start a fire. Wren’s going to have to admit she needs help if she’s going to survive.
"I read Wild Bird in one long, mesmerized gulp. Wren will break your heart—and then mend it." —Nancy Werlin, National Book Award finalist for The Rules of Survival
"Van Draanen’s Wren is real and relatable, and readers will root for her." —VOYA, starred review
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The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones
A fresh and funny story about a boy learning to become the brave hero of his own life, perfect for fans of Counting by 7s and The Fourteenth Goldfish.
My secret life is filled with psychic vampires, wheelchair zombies, chain-rattlin’ ghosts, and a one-eyed cat. But they’re nothing compared to my real-life stalker: a sixth-grade girl named Kandi Kain. . . .
Lincoln Jones is always working on the latest story he’s got going in his notebook. Those stories are his refuge. A place where the hero always prevails and the bad guy goes to jail. Real life is messy and complicated, so Lincoln sticks to fiction and keeps to himself. Which works fine until a nosy girl at his new school starts prying into his private business. She wants to know what he’s writing, where he disappears to after school, and why he never talks to anybody. . . .
The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones is a terrifically funny and poignant story about a boy finding the courage to get to know the real characters all around him—and to let them know him.
Praise for The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones:
Winner of the Josette Frank Award
"Van Draanen's engaging story is characterized by clever writing, a palpable affection for her characters, and a deep understanding of what's important about life. Readers will love Lincoln Jones."—Kirkus Reviews
"Van Draanen skillfully wraps up her tale, offering a realistically happy ending. A story with a perfect balance of mirth and poignancy." -- School Library Journal
"Lincoln is a delightful narrator." -- Booklist
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The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones
A fresh and funny story about a boy learning to become the brave hero of his own life, perfect for fans of Counting by 7s and The Fourteenth Goldfish.
My secret life is filled with psychic vampires, wheelchair zombies, chain-rattlin’ ghosts, and a one-eyed cat. But they’re nothing compared to my real-life stalker: a sixth-grade girl named Kandi Kain. . . .
Lincoln Jones is always working on the latest story he’s got going in his notebook. Those stories are his refuge. A place where the hero always prevails and the bad guy goes to jail. Real life is messy and complicated, so Lincoln sticks to fiction and keeps to himself. Which works fine until a nosy girl at his new school starts prying into his private business. She wants to know what he’s writing, where he disappears to after school, and why he never talks to anybody. . . .
The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones is a terrifically funny and poignant story about a boy finding the courage to get to know the real characters all around him—and to let them know him.
Praise for The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones:
Winner of the Josette Frank Award
"Van Draanen's engaging story is characterized by clever writing, a palpable affection for her characters, and a deep understanding of what's important about life. Readers will love Lincoln Jones."—Kirkus Reviews
"Van Draanen skillfully wraps up her tale, offering a realistically happy ending. A story with a perfect balance of mirth and poignancy." -- School Library Journal
"Lincoln is a delightful narrator." -- Booklist
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The Gecko and Sticky: Villain's Lair
The Gecko & Sticky are a fabulous crime-fighting duo! This quartet of funny adventures will appeal to fans of superheroes both young and old, and would make terrific all-family read-alouds.
Dave Sanchez is an average boy with an after-school job and a pet gecko named Sticky. All very normal—until the day Sticky talks!
Sticky tells Dave a wild tale of a former life of crime, searching for Aztec gold with a treasure hunter named Damien Black, and of a magical Aztec wristband with shiny gold power ingots that will give the wearer super powers. Dave doesn’t believe a word—until Sticky shows him the wristband.
But while Sticky managed to escape with the wristband, Damien Black has the power ingots. So the lizard and treasure hunter each have something the other wants . . . very badly.
Filled with wild adventures, larger-than-life characters, and snappy-funny dialogue, The Gecko and Sticky books are perfect for young superheroes everywhere.
Don't miss the other Gecko & Sticky adventures:
1. The Villain's Lair,
2. The Greatest Power,
3. Sinister Substitute, and
4. The Power Potion.
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Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise
"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)"—Midwest Children's Book Review
Sammy knew that getting to know her new rockstar dad on a cruise would be a little uncomfortable. . . . But when the heiress to a perfume empire disappears from the ship, it turns out everyone's in for a rocky ride.
In this penultimate book in the Sammy Keyes mystery series, Wendelin Van Draanen pays homage to the mystery genre. This book is a classic locked-room whodunnit—Sammy Keyes style.
The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.
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The Steps
Riverdale meets The Queen's Gambit in this fun, twisty thriller by an Edgar Award-winning author, featuring a deliciously dysfunctional family with dark secrets and shifting alliances.
Fourteen-year-old chess whiz Ruby Vossen tries to keep to herself. She refuses to be a pawn in her wealthy family's web of deception.
But ever since Ruby's mother and aunt died in a car wreck, the battle lines drawn within the Vossen clan have ruled her life. Ruby's father and uncle became irreparably estranged, and within months, Ruby's cousin/BFF was banished from her life, her father remarried, and she wound up with a gold-digging stepmom who has two teens of her own--The Steps.
So when strange and dangerous things begin happening on the Vossen estate, Ruby sees only one logical explanation: The Steps are scheming to inherit the Vossen fortune. And as things get more and more intense, it seems like killing is in their playbook.
Luckily, Ruby has her own playbook, and she's not about to go down without a fight. She'll even break her dad's rules to get her cousin back on her side of the chessboard . . . It's time to check-mate The Steps before they can finish the Vossens off.
Secrets, lies, and lethal threats abound in this clever, quirky thriller by the award-winning, bestselling author of Flipped and the Sammy Keyes mysteries.
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