Isolated on a beach at the southern tip of Hong Kong island, a building of unknown origin stands, slightly buried to an unknowable depth. Its girth is massive; twenty feet cubed— same in length, width, and height. Solid stone. A place for hiding things? A place that eventually proved, not everything of value could be seen or touched.From what little history had been learned, there was nothing to indicate other worldly connections. It was of this earth, man-made, constr...

1967At fifteen, traveling alone, scrambling to stay ahead of a nationwide manhunt, Jake Garrity is forced to temporarily suppress the pain of his father’s recent death. He has no other family. The Commandant at the military school where his father had him enrolled was succinct: The mine exploded, his death was instantaneous, he never knew what hit him. Sorry for your loss. Vietfuckingnam. Jake has no alternative. He has to run, run like hell.After three mon...

When 13-year-old Ben Caplan comes apart at school once again, he is given a choice—expulsion, military school, or what's behind door number three. Who would have guessed—a rolling rubber room, in the cab of a 70-semi truck, at 70 mph? To top it off, he's thrown in with the two guys he loves the most—who happen to be the guys who have brought him to the brink. Then Voilà, a Hail Mary intervention never tried in a school counselor's grab bag of desperate measures.The trip to Las Vega...

Between these pages: the scintillating, sometimes hysterical, life of Bob Jonas—traveler, trucker, librarian, and storyteller. From his earliest memories, all Bob ever wanted to do was put as much distance between himself and wherever he was. Inspired by Thor Heyerdahl, his early adulthood started him off in a semi-truck, where he logged over a million miles in eleven western states, then continuing his journey overseas in forty-seven countries. His lust for adventure was more than a call ...

Charlie Evers is a tenth grade student at an international school in Shanghai, China. He will never finish his last research assignment. Ignoring all warnings about Chinese Internet censors, he navigates to sites that look informative, but shred the government on politically sensitive issues. As a teenage American student he thinks he is safe. The illusion of safety is ripped away when Charlie is taken. Imprisoned onboard an old river boat, a seven-day journey up the Yangtze River catapult...

In a more tolerant world, Zane Walker's charade would have been ignored. In Saudi Arabia, a sixteen-year-old boy masquerading as an online cleric, cannot be ignored. Ina media studies class he is taking at an international school he is to create media personae, an online presence using social media. One student creates a new product. One creates a service. Another creates a non-profit to raise money and awareness. Zane Walker creates an international incident.His interpretat...

Sixteen-year-old Zane Walker was lucky the first time: hero, reformer, media sensation, escape artist—and blasphemer. His survival of numerous near death experiences was chalked up to a Teflon coating, bestowed by some sympathetic benefactor. Casting online religious edicts to a worldwide Islamic audience was not a typical high school media project, especially from an American school in Saudi Arabia. When he was found out, he thought his life was over. Miraculously, authorities discovered ...

**In this New York Times bestselling memoir, Malala Yousafzai—the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize—inspires young readers with her stunning story of resilience and power.I Am Malala. This is my story.**Malala Yousafzai was only ten years old when the Taliban took control of her region. They said music was a crime. They said women weren't allowed to go to the market. They said girls couldn't go to school.Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan tra...

An endangered Giant Panda has been kidnapped from the Wolong Nature Reserve in China. Can Secret Agent Jack Stalwart find the panda and rescue it before the evil Scorpion Gang sells it for profit?Time is running out . . .

On Israel's West Bank, a cat sneaks into a small Palestinian house that has just been commandeered by two Israeli soldiers. The house seems empty, until the cat realises that a little boy is hiding beneath the floorboards.Should she help him?After all, she's just a cat.Or is she?It turns out that this particular cat is not used to thinking about anyone but herself. She was once a regular North American girl who only had to deal with normal middle-school prob...

Seventeen-year-old Danny Usborne is killed on his motorbike when a race against his mate's car goes wrong. Danny then finds himself in the School for Lost Angels. Here he meets teacher, Richard, who sends him back to Earth to stop teenager Cassandra from crashing her mum's car on a joyride, and possible causing injury or worse. With persuasion and newly found magical abilities, Danny manages to prevent Cassandra from doing anything stupid. Back at the School, Danny is told he has passed hi...

NY Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and SharingA young American girl grapples with her Japanese heritage in this “quiet, beautifully moving portrayal of a multicultural family” for middle grade readers (School Library Journal)American-born Skye is a good student and a star soccer player who never really gives any thought to the fact that her father is Japanese. Her cousin, Hiroshi, lives in Japan, and never really gives a th...