Four archangels discuss how a simple assignment went so terribly wrong. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are coming and so the Archangels found the perfect champions to save the world: fighters, warriors, and soldiers. These chosen champions must drink a shooter that will imbue them with divine powers to battle the Four Horsemen. A mistake is made when four random women drink the divine concoction. Alexandra Carlton, Julia Wolfe, Emily Keller and Dinah Medrano must all take up the mantles of champions. Alexandra Carlton, a waitress at a sports bar, inadvertently becomes the champion destined to take on the First Horseman of the Apocalypse by drinking a shooter given to her as a tip. Shortly thereafter, she meets the Archangel Raphael, who has been charged with preparing Alexandra for her quest. The story focuses on Alexandra''s attempts to learn “the ways of the Horseman” in order to stop him, as increasingly erotic visions of that Horseman and Raphael''s apparent reluctance to give her any useful information thwart her. A refugee lawyer, Dinah Medrano, is approached by the Archangel Michael to be a champion to defend the Earth from the Apocalypse, specifically the Horseman of War. At first, Dinah is resistant to the presented challenge because she is convinced that Michael is not sane. However, when she realizes she has been gifted with powers to manipulate water and heal people, Dinah accepts Archangel Michael’s challenge in order to save her sister, Fatima, who is suffering from cancer. The story focuses on Dinah’s attempts to cease the progress of the Horseman of War, despite the complications that arise when she discovers the Horseman of War is a former angel. After missing a day of work because of a severe hangover, Emily Keller returns to find an elderly man assigned as a trainee to the concrete truck she drives for her father’s company. Arthur Capella is the name adopted by Urial, the Archangel of Music, who is tasked with persuading Emily that she is the champion who must confront and defeat the Apocalyptic Horseman, Famine. Emily, a modern young woman, living in a world of online social networking, is not easily persuaded, until she finds out that her good friend Donald, not only is the Horseman Famine, he is also responsible for killing both her mother and her mentor, Twinkie. Famine, in this story, seeks to destroy the populations of the developed world by a devious kind of starvation caused by the dwindling nutrition in refined and convenience food. Julia Wolfe is a particle scientist involved in a secret fusion project located two miles beneath the surface. The project, dubbed Eden by the members of the scientific team, is working on achieving positive fusion, a goal that could spell the end of the world''s energy problems. As the project nears completion, Julia finds her personal life unraveling. From troubling dreams to dissatisfaction with her marriage, she begins question her place within Eden and wonders if she needs to leave. However, when the fusion reactor malfunctions throwing Eden into darkness and chaos, Julia realizes they are not alone in the deep. It is up to Julia to protect them against the horsemen Death. More than their lives hang in the balance. If she fails, Death will escape from Eden and wash over the surface world.

Women of the apocalypse

The novel begins on the fifth birthday of Jack, who lives with his Ma in Room, a small enclosed space containing a small kitchen, a bathtub, a wardrobe, a bed and a TV set. Since it is all he has ever known, Jack likes living in Room and believes that it constitutes the real world, while everything he sees on TV is completely separate and not real. Jack and his Ma are "looked after" by Old Nick (so called for his satanic traits). He visits Room on most nights (via a door secured with an electric combination lock) to bring food and to go to bed with Ma while Jack sleeps in the wardrobe. Ma tries her best to keep Jack healthy via both physical and mental exercises, keeping a healthy diet, limiting TV watching time, and strict body and oral hygiene. She herself suffers from severe toothaches and has to take painkillers regularly. A week after Jack''s birthday, Ma learns that Old Nick has been unemployed for six months. Combined with an incident in which Jack startles Old Nick during the night, causing him to behave violently towards Ma and cut the power in Room for several days, this prompts her to decide that maintaining the status quo is too dangerous. She tells Jack that much of what he sees on TV is part of the real world outside Room, which Jack finds conceptually hard to believe. Ma recalls how she was abducted from college at the age of 19, had another child before Jack (a baby girl), who died at birth because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, and how Old Nick broke Ma''s wrist during an unsuccessful escape attempt. She decides that she and Jack have to escape as soon as possible, and that the only workable plan is to simulate Jack''s death, that night she demands that Old Nick take Jack to a hospital, because he is "sick", Old Nick refuses, afraid that the boy will inform the authorities about Room, so he leaves, the next night, Ma wraps Jack in their rug, and she convinces Old Nick to dispose of the wrapped body in a remote location, and on the way there have Jack escape and alert the authorities. The plan is executed and works out okay. Jack jumps off the truck a few blocks away from "Room", but Old Nick hears him and chases him up the street, Jack runs to a man named Ajeet,and his dog Raja bites Jack on the finger, Then old Nick catches up to Jack and grabs him by the waist, Ajeet is afraid for Jack so he pretends to call the police, Old Nick releases Jack and runs to his truck and drives away. Then Ajeet really calls the police. The officers quickly realize the seriousness of the case and, despite communication problems, Jack manages to give them enough information to locate Room and free Ma. The two were taken to a mental hospital, where they get medical care and Ma is reunited with her family, not entirely without conflicts. It is revealed that since Ma''s abduction, her parents are now divorced, and her older brother is married with a three year-old daughter. Old Nick is found and faces several charges of abduction, rape, and child-endangerment that will likely lead to twenty-five years to life in jail. Jack however, has problems coping with the suddenly much larger world and wants to return to Room. Meanwhile, the case has attracted much attention from the public and the mass media, making it even harder for Jack and his mother to start leading a normal life. After a television interview that ends badly, Ma suffers a mental breakdown and Jack lives with his grandmother for some days. During this time Jack becomes even more confused by his surroundings, including his new extended family. Being separated from Ma is hard on Jack, but he slowly starts to adjust to the many changes in his life. Eventually, Ma and Jack move into an Independent Living residence. Jack gets his own room, and comes to accept the drastic changes in young life. At Jack''s request, they go on a last visit to Room where Jack says goodbye to the items that used to make up his world, ending the book on a happy note.

Room

Dred is the story of Nina Gordon, an impetuous young heiress to a large southern plantation, whose land is rapidly becoming worthless. It is run competently by one of Nina''s slaves, Harry, who endures a murderous rivalry with Nina''s brother Tom Gordon, a drunken, cruel slaveowner. Nina is a flighty young girl, and maintains several suitors, before finally settling down with a man named Clayton. Clayton is socially and religiously liberal, and very idealistic, and has a down-to-earth perpetual-virgin sister, Anne. In addition to Harry (who, as well as being the administrator of Nina''s estate, is secretly also her and Tom''s half-brother), the slave characters include the devoutly Christian Milly (actually the property of Nina''s Aunt Nesbit), and Tomtit, a joker-type character. There is also a family of poor whites, who have but a single, devoted slave, Old Tiff. Dred, the titular character, is one of the Great Dismal Swamp maroons, escaped slaves living in the Great Dismal Swamp, preaching angry and violent retribution for the evils of slavery and rescuing escapees from the dog of the slavecatchers.

Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp

The novel begins with Ben Holiday, a trial lawyer from Chicago, lamenting the loss of his wife and unborn child in a car accident. He finds an advertisement in an upscale Christmas catalog claiming to offer a magical kingdom for one million dollars by a man named Mr. Meeks. Although skeptical, Ben pursues the offer out of a desperate need to start a new life. Ben receives a magical medallion and is transported through a swirling mist to the kingdom of Landover. He learns that Landover is a world that connects many other worlds such as Earth. It is surrounded by the Fairy Mist wherein reside creatures of Fairy that created Landover and guard the passages to these worlds. Unfortunately, he finds it not exactly as described. He soon finds that Landover has not had a true king in twenty years. The son of the last king did not wish to take up the throne and escaped with the court wizard, Meeks, to Earth. They have been selling the throne to dozens of people in the past two decades, but no one has been able to face the challenge and successfully complete so much as a few months as king. Further, kings of Landover used to be protected by a magical knight called the Paladin, but he has not been seen since the last king''s death. Further, Ben has only four loyal subjects. The court wizard is a hack named Questor Thews, who is also Meeks'' half-brother. Abernathy is the court scribe, who was unfortunately transformed into a large dog by one of Questor''s spells gone awry. Finally, two creatures called Kobolds, Bunion and Parsnip, serve Ben as caretakers of the castle and as protection against the wild creatures of the kingdom. Ben''s coronation is barely attended, so he decides to travel the land to gain the pledges of the local rulers. He travels first to meet with the Lords of the Greensward, the most prominent landowners in the kingdom. They agree to serve Ben only on the condition that he rid them of Strabo, a dragon that ravages their countryside. Next Ben visits the River Master and the Fairy fold of Elderew, a city of outcasts from the Fairy Mists. The River Master also places conditions on his pledge, requiring Ben to stop the Lords of the Greensward from polluting their rivers. In the river country Ben stumbles upon a sylph named Willow. She is also a fairy creature who turns into a tree some evenings. She claims that the Fairies have foretold that she will marry Ben. Though he initially rebuffs her, he finds himself falling in love with her over time. Ben is entreated by Fillip and Sot, two of a race of thievish "G''Home Gnomes" to rescue some of their people from a clan of trolls. They manage to do so, but barely escape with their lives. They finally decide to ask for the help of the witch Nightshade, and travel to her home in the marshes known as the Deep Fell. She tells Ben to enter the Fairy Mists, where he may be able to obtain mind-controlling Io Powder to use on Strabo. Ben does so and endures a series of frightening trials by the Fairy creatures to obtain the powder. Emerging from the mists, he finds that Nightshade has used her magic to banish all of his companions to Abbadon, Landover''s underworld. Nightshade attempts to trick Ben out of his Io Powder, but Ben uses some of the substance on the witch and sends her to an uncertain fate in the Fairy Mists. Ben travels to the Fire Springs to confront Strabo, and is surprised to find the dragon to be sentient and rather well-spoken, if still vicious. Ben uses the Io Powder on Strabo, and rides him to Abaddon to rescue his friends. He also extracts a promise from the dragon to stay out of the Greensward. Finally, Ben is challenged by the Mark, lord of Abaddon, to a duel for the throne. Ben''s medallion responds during the fight and transforms Ben into the Paladin, allowing him to subdue the demon. The challenge is witnessed by the leaders from the Greensward, Elderew, and the Troll tribes, who then swear their allegiance. Ben Holiday, King of Landover, then sets about to restore Landover to its former glory.

Magic Kingdom for Sale -- Sold!

Meg Finn is in trouble. Her mother is dead and her only family is an abusive stepfather who does nothing but watch TV all day. Her stepfather is forced to resign from his job when Meg embarrassed him by showing his work colleagues a video of herself smashing his brand new television that he bought with Meg''s mother''s engagement ring and all of Meg''s life saving . When she is forced to help Belch Brennan, a dim-witted criminal, rob the elderly Lowrie McCall, the attempted burglary ends in disaster. In an attempt to scare Meg, Belch shoots by a gas tank which explodes, killing them both. While Belch is sent straight to hell (his soul merged with that of his vicious dog Raptor by the explosion, making him a half-boy half-dog creature,) Meg''s perfect balance between good and evil earns her a chance to redeem herself and get blue in her Aura. She is sent back to earth in order to help Lowrie complete the items on his "wish list": a list of things that he feels will correct the many mistakes he made in his life. Meanwhile, Satan has decided that he wants Meg''s soul in Hell and Beelzebub is forced to send Belch to recapture Meg and "make her bad", making Belch and Elph, the hologram with which he has been equipped, the chief antagonists in the story. The Wish List: 1) Kissy Sissy - Kiss Cicely Ward, (aka Sissy) a popular talk-show granny and one-date girlfriend of Lowrie. 2) Kick a ball over the bar in Croke Park. 3) Burst Ball - Punch a man who bullied Lowrie at school, Punch Brendan Ball. 4) Spit over the Cliffs of Moher. Ultimately, following a confrontation on the edge of the Cliffs of Moher, Belch is destroyed and Meg''s final act of holiness - giving her stepfather a new life - gains her entry to Heaven, where she meets her mother again.

The Wish List

The story is set simultaneously during the events of Tiberium Wars. Many game characters are either featured or mentioned such as Kane, Lieutenant Sandra Telfair, Gen. Jack Granger, and W3N reporter Cassandra Blair. The first chapter of the story involves a summit at the Philadelphia space station, with almost all of the top GDI directors and officials aboard, as well as Dr. Mobius, GDI''s top scientist from the first Command & Conquer game. Nod annihilates the station, killing all of those on board, by firing a nuclear missile after disabling their defenses at Goddard Space Center. Part of the dialogue when Kane transmissions is broadcast to the world is also the end of the chapter. "Rejoice, children of Nod, the blood of your oppressors will flow..." The novel describes the actions of GDI''s 22nd Infantry Division, led by Michael McNeil, who are decorated as heroes for their adventures, as well as describing the effects of Tiberium on the world with a trip to Atlanta by W3N reporter Annabella Wu. Atlanta is a "Yellow Zone" partially infested with Tiberium but still under GDI control. The story alternates between the experiences of Ricardo Vega and Annabella Wu during the conflict.

Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars

When Mia bankrupts the student government buying high-tech recycling bins, she needs to raise $5000 soon, so that she can pay for the seniors'' commencement ceremony. All her friends (including Michael, her long-time boyfriend and so-called love of her life) mention selling candles, but Mia absolutely refuses, so Grandmere comes up with a solution: a musical, written and directed by Grandmere, starring Mia and her friends, portraying the achievements of Mia''s famous Genovian ancestor, Rosagunde. Mia is thrilled, yet quite worried to be cast as the lead. She attempts to drop out, but Grandmere threatens to tell the seniors that Mia had bankrupted the student government (making them angry that she had not saved money for the commencement ceremony). ''Braid!'' also results in a new-found friendship, between Mia and ''The Guy Who Hates It When They Put Corn In The Chili'', aka J.P. - Mia''s on-stage love interest, who turns out to be an aspiring screenwriter. Another drama in her life enters the story when Michael mentions his parents are going away for the weekend and he plans on having a party. Mia starts to worry she isn''t enough of a party girl. She even (as a last resort, of course) asks her archenemy, Lana Weinberger, how to act like a "Party Girl". Mia does what Lana says and it all ends in tragedy. After she drinks and ''sexy dances'' with J.P., her relationship with Michael seems to be on rocky ground, especially as Michael''s parents are splitting up and he is being an absent boyfriend. Her friendship with J.P. seems to be going the same way thanks to Lilly''s new literary magazine, ''Fat Louie''s Pink Butthole'', which includes ''No More Corn!'' a story Mia wrote (before meeting him) about J.P. killing himself. However, Principal Gupta immediately bans the magazine and confiscates all the copies, as Lilly has submitted five explicit stories to it, meaning that J.P. never sees Mia''s story. The play is performed at the Aide de Ferme, a benefit for Genovian olive oil farmers that Grandmere puts on. Everyone who is anyone attends, but, before the last scene, Mia is worried about her on-stage kiss with J.P. But then Michael shows up in J.P.''s costume and gives her a perfect kiss and they talk about their problems, and, once again, their relationship appears to be strong. Grandmere also raises enough money to help the Genovian farmers and Mia, solving her problems.

The Princess Diaries, Volume VII: Party Princess

The Art of Dreaming describes the steps needed to master control and consciousness of dreams. The Toltecs of Don Juan Matus'' lineage believed that there are seven barriers to awareness, which they termed The Seven Gates of Dreaming. In The Art of Dreaming Castaneda describes extensively how a state called Total Awareness can be achieved by means of dreaming. According to Castaneda there are 7 Gates of Dreaming, or obstacles to awareness, which when overcome yield total awareness. Four of the Gates of Dreaming are discussed in The Art of Dreaming. What follows is not so much a technique in achieving lucidity, but rather the practical application of lucid dreaming. By acting a certain way while dreaming, one can cause psychosomatic changes in one''s being, including an alternate way of dying. What follows is a point-form summary of the philosophy surrounding Toltec dreaming as a way of "Sorcery that is a return to Paradise". * 1st Gate of Dreaming (stabilization of the dreaming body): Arrived at when one perceives one''s hands in a dream. Solved when one is able to shift the focus from the hands to another dream object and return it to the hands, all repeated a few times. Crossed when one is able to induce a state of darkness and a feeling of increased weight while falling asleep. Location in the body – in the area at the base of the V formed by pulling the big and second toes of one foot to the sides. * 2nd Gate of Dreaming (utilizing the dreaming body): Arrived at when one''s dream objects start changing into something else. Solved when one is able to isolate a Scout and follow it to the realm of Inorganic Beings. Crossed when one is able to fall asleep without losing consciousness. It is also referred to the activity of dreaming together with other practitioners. Location in the body – in the inside area of the calf. * 3rd Gate of Dreaming (traveling): Arrived at when one dreams of looking at oneself. Solved when the dreaming and physical bodies become one. Crossed when one is able to control the Dreaming Emissary. Location in the body – at the lowest part of the spinal column. * 4th Gate of Dreaming (seeing): Arrived at when one is able to perceive the energetic essence of every dream item. Solved when one falls asleep in a dream, in the same position in which one has gone to sleep. Crossed when one wakes up in this reality, located not only in the physical but in the energy body.

The Art of Dreaming

Jackie Rhodes is the daughter of a respected gamekeeper, known as "Trapper" Rhodes, in Kenya. She has lived there all of her life, so she is astounded and saddened when she learns from Tembo, her father''s African servant, that her family will soon be abandoning the continent. Her biggest concern immediately becomes her pet bushbaby Kamau, which had been a Christmas gift from her father; she fears the creature is too young to fend for itself and will perish if left behind. During a family picnic, Trapper Rhodes comforts Jackie by assuring her that he''ll obtain an official export permit that will allow her to take the bushbaby along. When the time comes for their departure, Jackie realizes that she has lost the export permit and grows very concerned. She learns from a steward that the ship''s captain is not fond of animals, which makes matters worse. She realizes she cannot possibly hide Kamau as a stowaway or face export officials upon arrival. As her family sleeps, she abandons the ship hoping to set Kamau lose in the docks of Mombasa. Thoughts of the bushbaby''s many natural predators immediately make Jackie have a change of heart and decide that Kamau must be returned to his natural habitat if he''s to have a chance at survival. Jackie is horror-stricken when she realizes the ship has set sail leaving her and Kamau behind. She is comforted by the sound of a harmonica, realizing that it is being played by Tembo. She explains the situation to him and asks for his help. The African, moved by his loyalty to the Rhodes and a desire to be of service, unenthusiastically agrees to do so. The trio head by bus and foot towards the village of Vipingo. At her father''s cottage Jackie and Tembo plan their next move while becoming increasingly acquainted with one another, which soothes the girl''s fears. Meanwhile, Kamau encounters a praying mantis and Jackie observes the bushbaby''s hunting abilities, growing less concerned about its ability to survive on its own. Unfortunately, the area is affected by a drought and an unexpected encounter with a rat snake foreshadows the dangers that they''ll face in their journey. Jackie, who had hoped to be helped by Major Bob, a friend of the family, is astounded to learn that he''s abandoned his home. When she approaches the Vipingo post office, she overhears the Hadj speaking to a gathering of villagers. He shows them the police''s official order for the arrest of the black man who is believed to have kidnapped the white Rhodes girl. Horror-stricken, Jackie returns to Tembo and tells him that they must leave the place immediately. Back aboard the ship, Jackie''s family discover her absence and request that the ship be turned around, a suggestion that coincides with Captain MacRae''s plans to avoid a threatening sea storm brewing in the Indian Ocean. A prolongued drought is upsetting the many animals of the African savanahs as they follow the trails of the elephants in search of water. This complicates Tembo and Jackie''s journey across the grasslands as they face dangerous creatures. The most dangerous encounter, however, is with an elephant poacher sent out to kill Tembo. Tembo manages to wrestle the man and send him running, but not before one of his poisoned arrowheads strikes Jackie''s upper arm.

The Bushbabies

Farmer Giles (Ægidius Ahenobarbus Julius Agricola de Hammo, "Giles Bronze-beard Julius Farmer of Ham") is not a hero. He is fat and red-bearded and enjoys a slow, comfortable life. But a rather deaf and short-sighted giant blunders on to his land, and Giles manages to ward him away with a blunderbuss shot in his general direction. The people of the village cheer: Farmer Giles has become a hero. His reputation spreads across the kingdom, and he is rewarded by the King with a sword named Caudimordax ("Tailbiter")—which turns out to be a powerful weapon against dragons. The giant, on returning home, relates to his friends that there are no more knights in the Middle Kingdom, just stinging flies—actually the scrap metal shot from the blunderbuss—and this entices a dragon, Chrysophylax Dives, to investigate the area. The terrified neighbours all expect the accidental hero Farmer Giles to deal with him. The story parodies the great dragon-slaying traditions. The knights sent by the King to pursue the dragon are useless fops, more intent on "precedence and etiquette" than on the huge dragon footprints littering the landscape. The only part of a ''dragon'' they know is the annual celebratory dragon-tail cake. Giles by contrast clearly recognizes the danger, and resents being sent along to face it. But hapless farmers can be forced to become heroes, and Giles shrewdly makes the best of the situation.

Farmer Giles of Ham

The story starts when Nick Simple is in detention and is visited by police officers Snape and Boyle. They request that Nick go to Strangeday Hall, a Juvenile Delinquent prison for young offenders and befriend the inmate Johnny Powers, a gang leader known as Public Enemy Number One, and through him find out about The Fence, a major gangster that controls all the buying and selling of stolen goods in London with whom Johnny is affiliated with. Nick refuses and the police leave. On a school field trip to Woburn Abbey, Nick is framed for attempting to steal the Woburn Carbuncles, and despite his attempts to evade police, arrested and sentenced to 18 months at Strangeday Hall. He has to share a cell with Johnny Powers, just as Snape and Boyle wanted. Soon after he arrives Snape and Boyle reveal that they arranged to have Nick framed. Nick manages to gain Johnny''s trust after he saves him from being killed by henchmen of another gang leader, Big Ed. Nick and Johnny escape prison with the help of Tim Diamond, Nick''s brother, and Ma Powers, Johnny''s mother. They get in a car chase with the police but escape, but during the chase, Snape and Boyle are apparently killed, leaving Nick as the only person alive who knows he is innocent. Nick and Tim stay at Johnny''s home for a while, until Nick overhears Johnny telling Ma that he is going to see Penelope. Believing Penelope to be related to the Fence, Nick follows Johnny into the Wapping Subway station but loses him there. He is then captured by henchmen of Big Ed, who tie him to a train track, intending for him to be run over by a train. Before Nick can be killed, a man approaches Nick and helps him from the tracks just before the train passes. Nick knows that he had seen that man before, but doesn''t know where. To prove his loyalty to Johnny, and take revenge on Ed, Nick burns the train car they reside in with petrol and matches. Nick decides that he must go back to Johnny and Tim, as they will surely be wondering where is by now. But he is still determined to find the Fence, in the hope of using him to barter his freedom. Nick realises that Palis, his French teacher, could have seen Snape and Boyle on the afternoon that he was serving a detention. He heads for Palis'' flat in Chelsea but is nearly caught by the Police there. Palis saves him, and Nick explains his mission to him. He stays the night at Palis’ flat. Palis drives Nick back to Wapping the following morning and tells him to get in touch if he needs anything. At the hideout, Nick sees a doorbell. Not recalling one, he sneaks into the house and rescues Tim from a bomb rigged to go off if the newly-installed bell had been rung. Tim then explains that Johnny had come back the previous afternoon from wherever he had been to find Nick gone. Suspicious, Johnny tied Tim up and rigged the bomb. Nick and Tim discover that "Penelope" is actually a boat, and decide to keep a watch on the Penelope from a nearby derelict house. After seeing men storing objects aboard the Penelope, Nick remembers that Johnny ''went to Penelope'' through Wapping Tube Station. Nick and Tim go there and discover a secret entrance to a tunnel, which Johnny lost Nick through. The tunnel leads under the River Thames to the Fence''s hideout where the brothers see many valuable stolen articles. Soon afterwards they are captured by Johnny, who is aware that Nick is working for the police, tied up with rope, and thrown into a room, but they soon escape. Nick has brought the bomb with him in his backpack, and uses it to destroy the door to the room they are locked in. After a confrontation with Johnny''s men, the police, with Snape, who had survived the earlier chase, leading them, appear intending to arrest Powers. Ultimately, Nick and Tim survive, Ma Powers is arrested, but Johnny and the Fence escape, although their operation is destroyed. Nick is subsequently cleared of all charges. Nearing the end of the lesson, Palis has Nick translate a French paragraph. While doing so, Nick realises Palis is the Fence, and that Palis had told the truth of him to Johnny. At the end of the lesson, Palis announces to the class that he is leaving. He dismisses the whole class except Nick, who realises that Palis wants to kill him. Palis chases Nick to the school''s roof with a gun, but wastes all his bullets trying to kill him. Palis attempts to grab Nick, but jumps off the building, and dies when he impales himself on a fence. With Palis dead, the story ends with Nick''s troubles over.

Public Enemy Number Two

An unnamed 15-year-old begins keeping a diary. With a sensitive, observant style, she records her thoughts and concerns about issues such as crushes, weight loss, sexuality, social acceptance, and difficulty relating to her parents. Her father, a college professor, accepts a teaching position at a new college. The diarist is not optimistic about the move. After the move the diarist feels like an outcast at the new school, with no friends. She then meets Beth and they become best friends. When Beth leaves for summer camp the diarist returns to her hometown to stay with her grandparents. She reunites with an old school acquaintance, Jill. Jill is impressed by the diarist''s move to a larger town, and invites her to a party. At the party, glasses of soda—some of which are laced with LSD—are served. The diarist unwittingly ingests LSD and has an intense and pleasurable drug trip. Over the following days the diarist continues friendships with the people from the party and willingly uses more drugs. She loses her virginity while on LSD. She becomes worried she may be pregnant, and her grandfather has a small heart attack. These events and the tremendous amount of guilt she feels begin to overwhelm her. She begins to take sleeping pills stolen from her grandparents. On returning home she receives sleeping pills from her doctor. When those are not enough she demands powerful tranquilizers from her doctor. The friendship with Beth ends as both girls have moved in new directions. The diarist meets a hip girl, Chris, when she shops at a local boutique. The diarist and Chris become fast friends, using drugs frequently. They date college boys Richie and Ted who deal drugs. They begin selling drugs for the boyfriends, passing back all the money made. One day they find the boys stoned and engaging in a sexual act. Realizing Richie and Ted were using them to make money, the girls turn them in to the police and flee to San Francisco. They vow to stay away from drugs. Chris secures a job in a boutique with a glamorous older woman, Shelia. The diarist gets a job with a custom jeweler whom she sees as a father figure. Shelia invites the girls to lavish parties where they resume taking drugs. One night Shelia and her new boyfriend introduce the girls to heroin and rape them while they are stoned. The diarist and Chris, traumatized, move to Berkeley where they open a jewelry shop. It is a small success, but the diarist misses her family. Tired of the shop, the girls return home for a happy Christmas. Since being back home the diarist finds extreme social pressures and hostility from her former friends from the drug scene. She and her family are threatened and shunned at times. Chris and the diarist try to stay away from drugs but their resolve lapses. The diarist gets high one night and runs away. She drifts through homelessness, prostitution, hitchhiking, and homeless shelters, before a priest reunites her with her family. She returns home but she is drugged against her will, has a bad trip, and is sent to an insane asylum where she bonds with a younger girl named Babbie. Chris escapes the problems when her family moves to a new town. The diarist finally is free of drugs. She becomes romantically involved with a student from her father''s college, Joel. Relationships with her family are improving, as are friendships with some new kids in town. She is worried about starting school again, but feels stronger with the support of her new friends and Joel. In an optimistic mood the diarist decides she no longer needs a diary; now she can communicate with her family and friends. The epilogue states that the subject of the book died three weeks after the final entry. The diarist was found dead in her home by her parents, either by an accidental or premeditated overdose.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Women of the apocalypse

No Author Listed

Room

By Emma Donoghue

Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp

By Harriet Beecher Stowe

Magic Kingdom for Sale -- Sold!

By Terry Brooks

The Wish List

By Eoin Colfer

Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars

By Keith R. A. DeCandido

The Princess Diaries, Volume VII: Party Princess

By Meg Cabot

The Art of Dreaming

By Carlos Castaneda

The Bushbabies

No Author Listed

Farmer Giles of Ham

By J. R. R. Tolkien

Public Enemy Number Two

By Anthony Horowitz

Go Ask Alice

By Beatrice Sparks