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SPARE THE ROD

The story charts the disappearance and death of 7-year-old Jacob Hawkins and the subsequent accusation of his 13-year-old brother, Dominic. Readers follow the case chronologically, beginning in the frantic early hours when sheriff Tommy Blumhagen mobilizes a community search. Later, dark revelations regarding the seemingly upright Hawkins household emerge. Attorney Mason Mitchell, reluctantly drawn into […]

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UNDERSTANDING MANGA

This compact volume filled with ample color photographs supports readers with the context they need to appreciate manga and develop deeper knowledge of it. Bolte begins by offering historical and cultural information, diving right into manga’s origins, the growth in the market, and its recent boom in popularity. She explains that reading manga engages the […]

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TIDESPEAKER

There are four kinds of Orha in the Queendom of Nenamor: Mudmouths, Sparkmouths, Gustmouths, and Floodmouths, like Corith and her best friend, Zennia. They’re wards of the state, destined at age 18 for a mandatory service placement. A month ago, Zennia was sent to be the Floodmouth at House Shearwater, which like all noble houses […]

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THE OAK AND THE LARCH

Pinkham, a Cornell University scholar, writes that trees in Russia, which make up roughly one-fifth of the world’s forests, lie at the heart of Russian culture—“a symbol of what is good and what must be preserved, the last bulwark against annihilation.” Most Russian histories begin with medieval Kiev, the first Slavic state, and move north […]

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CROSS AND SAMPSON

As Sampson reflects in a pardonable understatement, “Bad things have happened to the Cross family before.” So what’s left to suffer now that Sampson has rescued Cross from a near-fatal bullet wound? Glad you asked. When his son Damon’s academic advisor phones from Chapel Hill to report that nobody’s seen Damon for three days, Cross […]

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FROM VISION TO VITALITY

This exploration of Canada’s health network is also part leadership manual, blending the personal reflections of the author with stories of his hands-on expertise. Those stories are taken from Rosenberg’s decades in medical practice, study, and executive positions. The book opens with the author’s career at a crossroads when he was let go as CEO […]

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A KINGDOM OF SHADOWS

Ever since the Great Betrayal, light in the Kingdom of Wildfel has slowly been consumed by shadow and darkness. Twelve-year-old master thief Finn, who was orphaned at a young age, wants to flee with his younger sister, Lydia, before the light disappears completely. He and his best friend, Adrion, have an idea: They’ll catch and […]

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THESE SHATTERED SPIRES

In Fourspires, familiars exist to serve their arcanists, wresting power from bone, botanicals, blood, and stone until overexertion kills them. Taro, a bone familiar with an “unhealthy obsession with black eye liner” and an “attitude problem,” dreams of running away with Nixie, the love of her life. Nixie, familiar to the head botanic arcanist, despises […]

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SEE ONE, DO ONE, TEACH ONE

To date, Farris has largely published work about being a parent, with easygoing humor, relatable, scribbly characters and a dash of cuteness. This graphic memoir of her time in medical school and residency explores an entirely different world, dissecting cadavers, and attending in operating rooms, but Farris’ gentle, pointed comedic sense still suffuses every page. […]

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ALL THAT CHANDNI KNOWS

The Indian government has a family-planning slogan: “Hum do hamare do”—literally “two of us, two of ours,” or “[Mom + Dad] + [Kid 1 + Kid 2].” So why does 12-year-old Chandni’s household number five, with Diya Masi, her maternal aunt, living under the same roof? Neither Chandni nor her older brother, Suraj, ever asks; […]