"A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret. Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel...

The irascible A. J. Fikry, owner of Island Books, has already lost his wife. Now his most prized possession, a rare book, has been stolen from right under his nose. One night upon closing, he discovers a toddler in his children's section with a note from her mother saying she can no longer raise her. It doesn't take long for the locals to notice the transformation of both bookstore and owner, especially to the lovely yet eccentric sales rep, Amelia...

This much-anticipated second collection of stories is signature Ted Chiang, full of revelatory ideas and deeply sympathetic characters. In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and the temptation of second chances. In the epistolary "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people, but for all of...

Extraordinary things happen when we harness the power of both the brain and the heart.Growing up in the high desert of California, Jim Doty was poor, living with an alcoholic father and a mother chronically depressed and paralyzed by a stroke. Today he is the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, of which the Dalai Lama is a founding benefactor. But back then his life was at a dead end—until...

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

In alternate chapters, Amanda faces family pressure to marry Carter, knowing he cheats, and Paulina pretends to date Carter to alleviate family and church pressure about being a lesbian.

"When Madi and her two best friends, Aaron and Jack, rescue beaver kits whose mother was killed, they find themselves at the center of a local conspiracy that's putting the beavers and their habitats in danger. As Madi and her friends race to uncover thethreat targeting the beavers, Madi must put her animal whisperer skills to the test in both raising the orphaned beaver kits and staying out of trouble long enough"--

Over the course of four seasons, Kit comes of age in the forest. In spring, she gambols. In summer, she sneaks and slinks. IN autumn, she races. But with her mama, she will always be little kit.

"Two brothers--one good, one evil--choose the students for the School for Good and Evil where they train, teach and prepare them for their fate until something unexpected and powerful happens that changes everything"--

Working as a nanny in the Hamptons before starting college, Anna learns of her weird connection to a missing girl, but after she confesses to manslaughter a podcast producer helps reveal life-changing truths.