This book tells the tale of Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon & Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker trying to rescue an important Republic communications hub from the Separatist Forces, located on the barren planet of Praesitlyn. Halcyon, having previously failed an important mission, is sent as a trial in order for him to regain the Jedi Council''s trust. As they had grown close during their time in the Jedi Temple, Halcyon chose Anakin as his second in command against the wishes of the council, making the mission as much a trial for Anakin as well. Even before reaching Praesitlyn, Halcyon confesses to Anakin of his violation of the Jedi code, that he had a wife and a son. In turn, Anakin relates about his own forbidden marriage to Padmé Amidala with both Jedi promising not to reveal their digressions to anyone. Anakin & Nejaa Halcyon lead the Republic reserve forces to reinforce Praesitlyn and to recover the hostages within the Intergalactic Communications Center from C.I.S. occupation. The opposing C.I.S. forces are commanded by Muun Admiral Pors Tonith of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, under command himself from Asajj Ventress and Sith Lord Count Dooku. At this time the Praesitlyn Defence Forces have been overcome with Trooper Odie Subu and Lieutenant Erk H''Arman, the only survivors. The only reason Praesitlyn has not been completely overrun by the C.I.S. is because of intervention by rogue former Republic officer, Captain Slayke and his troops, the badly outnumbered Sons and Daughters of Freedom. Halcycon and Anakin arrive just in time to relieve Slayke with all available troops though the situation is still perilous. Anakin is for the first time put in a commanding position and while acquitting himself well, clearly shows frustration and impatience to be fighting. In addition to Anakin''s issues, the book also deals with attitudes towards clones, and their degree of humanity. We see a general stereotyping that clones are subdegree humans, with their personalities and abilities often not being trusted as much as those of other beings. This can be seen in actions of reconnaissance where it is clear if Clone Commando CT-19/39 had not been disregarded, he would have been able to relay important information that would have saved hundreds of lives. Instead only Sergeant Omin L''Loxx was relied upon, resulting in disaster. With such a disastrous failure, Anakin decides upon a desperate measure by which he and a small attack group of two troop transports fly directly to within the ICC to rescue the hostages. Anakin in his element destroys almost all droids in his path, leaving the troops behind him in awe and with nothing to shoot at. Reaching the hostages, Anakin is shocked as a woman reminds him so much of his mother. As she is killed we see Anakin become an avenger, treading perilously close to the Dark Side of the Force. Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon, as well as Grand Master Yoda and indeed Darth Sidious feel the disturbances in the force at this, though only one yet understands their meaning. Anakin''s rampage only ends before murdering Pors Tonith, as he hears Qui-Gon Jinn''s voice reaching him through the Force, telling him to use the Force for good not destruction. Although Anakin initially brings himself out of his rage, we can tell it is only suppressed to be brought out later once again. Though their objectives had been achieved, as well as Pors Tonith having been captured by Anakin''s actions, the Separatist''s relief fleet arrives under a cloaking device. In the battle Anakin is again in his element, with Master Halcyon becoming more his wingmate than commander. Anakin, although being called back, seemingly decides to sacrifice himself in order to destroy the enemy flagship. To Halcyon''s horror, Anakin disappears in the blast of the Separatist''s Relief Fleet''s explosion. Later however, in the midst of mourning Anakin and celebrating victory, Anakin''s craft returns much to everyone''s surprise. Anakin later explains his seeming resurrection, saying how he had installed a hyperdrive engine in his starfighter, enabling him to escape from the blast, with his split-second timing, stemming from his immense force-sensitivity. On his return to Coruscant, the Jedi Council, overbowed with exceptional reports of Anakin''s performance, finally agree to grant him Knighthood in the order.

Jedi Trial

When the Lord God decides to send a flood, he instructs Noah to build an Ark and save his family and the animals. Noah gives his reprobate son Ham the responsibility of collecting two cats from Kemi, the Black Land (Egypt) and two lions, but Ham passes the task to his neighbour Reuben by promising to persuade Noah to let Reuben and his wife on the Ark. Reuben travels to Kemi with his camel Anak, his cat Cefalu and his dog Benoni. In the desert they are captured by the High Priest of Sekhmet, who is impressed by Cefalu''s sacred heritage. He houses the cat in the Temple of Sekhmet in Kemi''s capital Men-nofer, where Cefalu falls in love with the resident temple cat Meluseth. Reuben is presented as a slave to the music-loving King, who becomes his friend. However, he despairs of returning home until a ''supernatural'' display arranged by the High Priest of Ptah backfires. Panic and rioting in the streets give Reuben a chance to escape and rescue his animals. On the way back, Cefalu persuades the lion Aryeh to come to the Ark. They meet Thamar who has camped in the desert to escape the attentions of Ham, and has meanwhile rescued a lost lion cub. They return home only to encounter treachery from Ham. However, a providential accident secures them a place of safety just as the rain begins to fall.

The Moon in the Cloud

The Golden Hour tells the story of Rowan and Nina''s adventures the summer after their mother''s death. Thirteen-year-old Rowan''s life is at an all-time low: his father has turned to drinking, the family business is becoming a financial disaster, they have had to move from their house to a small apartment, and his musically talented ten-year-old sister Nina has become withdrawn. When his two great aunts invite Rowan and Nina to spend the summer with them in Owatannauk, Maine, a small (fictional) town on the tip of the state, Rowan anticipates a very boring summer with the two elderly women. But when he arrives he finds strange things starting to happen: the aunts run a curio shop stocking some items so curious they even compel Nina to start speaking again. Rowan and Nina meet two twins, Xanthe and Xavier Alexander, who tell them about an old abandoned resort that appears to be haunted. Instead, the resort turns out to be an elaborate time machine. Nina seems interested in using the machine to escape her troubled life, especially when Rowan tells her about the Enlightenment, a period of European history when superstition and church dogma began giving way to logic and reason, art and science made tremendous strides, and truth and beauty were celebrated. When Nina disappears the next morning, the older kids rush to the resort: as they suspect, she has used the time machine. But Rowan discovers that he has told his sister the wrong dates for the Enlightenment, and instead of directing her to Enlightenment France he has sent her into the middle of the violent French Revolution. Rowan, Xanthe and Xavier time-travel to the French Revolution to save Nina, meeting various historical characters along the way, and Nina ends up in New York at their bakery visiting their mom.

The Golden Hour

Knyaz (Prince) Nikita Serebryanni is on his way to Moscow. In Medvedevka village his small armed unit of servants clashes with the oprichnik Khomyak’s gang. There and then the Prince learns that bloodshed and lawlessness here were inspired by Tsar Ioann''s new policies, known as oprichnina. Another plotline involves Yelena Morozova, the wife of Medvedevka landlord whom the Prince helped out; she turns out to be his own loved one of the old times, who had to marry the old man in order to thwart another vile oprichnik, Vyazemsky, with his unwanted passes. Further on his way, Serebrenni helps out the outlaw named Persten (the latter would repay the Prince later by leading him out of Grozny’s jail) and encounters the terrible Tsar himself. Appalled by Godunov''s cynicism (who suggests that the two should join forces in the anti-Grozny alliance) and torn apart between his righteous hatred towards the Tsar with his corrupt oprichnicks, and his own oath of allegiance, Serebrenni, all kinds of adventures behind, chooses to go to war, to fight for his country (not its amoral ruler), and die the death of a noble man.

Prince Serebrenni

In America, 1958 a man wakes up in a men''s room with no recollection of his past. His clothing, associates and surroundings suggest to him that he is an alcoholic derelict, however his behaviour, morals and instinct lead him to investigate and research his past. He establishes (by the simple method of going into a library and pulling books off shelves until he finds one that he understands,) that he is in fact Dr Lucas - a rocket scientist, and well known in his field. He further establishes that he is directly responsible for the design of a rocket due to be launched by America in an attempt to match the Soviet Sputnik, and bolster America''s entry into what would become the Space Race. Several people from his past both help and hinder his progress, and the implication is made that he himself was a Soviet spy, and had his memory erased instead of being killed - although this theory is made suspect when his best friend reveals that he was once a soviet spy and subsequently turned (but not entirely forgiven) by Lucas. The actual spies (and saboteur) are revealed to be both his wife and another close friend, who plan on using the rocket''s self-destruct mechanism to destroy the rocket as it is launched, either removing America from the Space Race, or putting their progress back so far that the Soviets will be hard to catch. The plot is foiled with seconds to spare, and his wife apparently commits suicide rather than being caught by driving her car into the sea. The second saboteur is shot and killed in a gun battle prior to Lucas'' wife''s suicide.

Code to Zero

Anne of Windy Poplars takes place over the three years between Anne''s graduation from Redmond College and her marriage to Gilbert Blythe. While Gilbert is in medical school, Anne takes a job as the principal of Summerside High School, where she also teaches. She lives in a large house called Windy Poplars with two elderly widows, Aunt Kate and Aunt Chatty, plus their housekeeper, Rebecca Dew, and their cat, Dusty Miller. During her time in Summerside, Anne must learn to manage many of Summerside''s inhabitants, including the clannish and resentful Pringle family, her bitter colleague Katherine Brooke, and others of Summerside''s more eccentric residents. Additionally, Anne befriends the young and lonely Elizabeth Grayson, a motherless member of the Pringle family who lives next door to Windy Poplars. She frequently visits Marilla at Green Gables. At the end of the novel, Anne departs Summerside, returning to Green Gables and Avonlea for her wedding to Gilbert. Upon her departure many of the town''s residents express that they will greatly miss her as they have grown very fond of her or have been helped by her, including Katherine Brooke and Elizabeth Grayson.

Anne of Windy Poplars

Darrell is on the way to Malory Towers once again. On the way they pick up a new girl called Zerelda, who is from the USA. Once they arrive, they see the Bad One, Gwen, making a Fond Farewell with her mother and governess. Suddenly Gwen sees Zerelda and immediately loses her heart to her. The ever-so malicous Alicia notices it and points it out to Darrell. It is then revealed that not only is Zerelda in North Tower but in the Fourth Form. A few days later, the final new girl arrives: Bill Robinson. Bill is short for Wilhelmina, who in turn has truckloads of horses and 7 brothers. She arrives with the brothers and her horse. The brothers and their horses leave leaving Bill to take her horse, Thunder, to the stables. A few weeks later, Zerelda is so remarkably stupid that she is put down in the third form. The next surprise is that Darrell is a reserve for one of the Malory Towers Lacrosse teams. Next up on the event roster is Zerelda gets a tremendous scolding from Ms Hibbert. And all is well until....... After Zerelda gets a misunderstood scolding from Miss Hibbert, a few weeks later the biggie happens: Thunder (Bill''s horse) suffers from colic while Darrell and Bill work all night in the rain to stop him lying down and Ms Peters rides for miles in the pouring rain to get the vet and accidentally save the life of the to-be Conceited Opera Singer Mavis Allyson who loses her voice as a consequence). Then everything is right again and the end of term looms.

Third Year at Malory Towers

The story centers around one day when the older daughter, Dee, visits from college after time away and a conflict between them over some heirloom family possessions. The struggle reflects the characters'' contrasting ideas about their heritage and identity. Throughout the story Dee goes back and forth on being proud and rejecting her heritage. For example, when she decides at dinner that she wants the butter churn, she shows that she respects her heritage because she knows that her uncle carved it from a tree they used to have. However, she wants it for the wrong reason, saying that she will use it only for decoration. Another example is when she wants the quilts that Mama has. She states that she wants them because of the generations of clothing and effort put into making the quilt, showing her appreciation for her heritage. The fact that she changes her name, though, from Dee to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo disrespects her heritage because "Dee" is a family name that can be traced back many generations. The story is narrated by the mother.

Everyday Use

A 13-year boy named Toby Lolness, who is just one and a half millimeters tall, lives in a civilization nestled in an oak tree. On his seventh birthday, his father, a scientist named Sim, creates a black box that causes one of his toys to move around by harnessing the power of sap. However, when Sim refuses to tell people how he did it, he and his family are banished to the Lower Branches, where Toby meets his best friend Elisha Lee. When Toby is thirteen, his parents are arrested by the evil corporant tyrant Joe Mitch, who has a pathological obsession with hole-digging, and thrown into a prison on a mistletoe ball called Tumble. He desperately wants to learn how to use the sap for his biggest project, the Big Crater, a massive hole in the middle of the tree, and Toby finds himself on the run from his own people. He struggles to survive alone. He is betrayed by his old friend Leo Blue. Another friend, Nils Amen, betrays him as well, but redeems himself by pretending to be Toby, throwing the searchers off. Toby passes through the Big Crater, where his father''s enemy, W. C. Rolok, finds him. He attempts to make him swallow a sap ball, which the weevils will rip his stomach open to reach. Toby spits the ball down Rolok''s throat, takes his clothes, and gives him a whip to fight off the weevils. On the way out, he meets up with Mano Asseldor, who used to live on a farm in the Lower Branches, and the two escape together. Once they reach the Lower Branches, Mano is reunited with his parents and siblings, but he is forced to hide in a space behind the fireplace. Toby tries to get help from a miller and his wife, the Olmechs. They contact Joe Mitch''s soldiers, but Toby manages to escape anyway. The Olmechs are thrown into prison for lying. Finally, Toby reaches the area where Elisha and her mother Isha live. He hides in a cave, and Elisha brings him food every day. When winter comes, Toby is snowed in for several months. He barely survives off Elisha''s food and some mildew. In the spring, he and Elisha create an elaborate plan to rescue Toby s parents from prison. The night of the planned escape, Toby is trapped in a wax cast, pretending to be the jailor Gus Alzan''s injured daughter Berenice. Elisha was supposed to break in and rescue him and his parents, but she was unable to get into the prison, causing Toby to think she''d betrayed him. He escapes when a fire weakens the cast. He releases all the water in the cistern, extinguishing the fire. On the way to find his parents, another prisoner tells him they''ve already been executed, and that Elisha crushed his hand with her foot. Not believing him, Toby goes to his parents'' cell, only to find the Olmechs. Their son, Lex, is trying to rescue them. Toby gives Lex the key to his parents'' chains and walks to the end of a mistletoe branch, planning to jump off. However, he hears a bird squawking, and decides to burrow into one of the berries and get eaten. He is carried away by the bird and loses consciousness. When he wakes up, he finds himself alive in the grass. He is taken in by a young boy named Moon Boy and his older sister Ilaya, who rename him Little Tree. Two years later, Pol Colleen, a neighbor from the Low Branches, visits the grass and tells Toby he was adopted when he was a few days old, that his adoptive parents are still alive, and that Elisha, whose mother was once a grass woman, is now being held prisoner by Leo Blue, who has become a ruthless dictator and wants to marry her. Toby decides to go back to the Tree.

Toby Alone

Penn is an average American high school boy living in the small town of Havre de Grace, Maryland. He has a crush on the new girl at school, Daisy. He looks out for his older brother, Matt, who has had brain damage from birth. Penn is on his way to a successful life. All of this changes when he starts hearing voices. He learns of the worries that his brother does not voice out loud, the depression that his neighbor is fighting, and the quiet struggles that his parents face each day. After Penn shares the details of being able to hear people''s thoughts, his mother forces him to see a psychiatrist as she suspects that he suffers from schizophrenia. He desperately tries to show his father that he is not insane and takes him to see his Uncle Hewitt, who had convinced Penn that he too could read people''s minds. Unfortunately, his uncle could not correctly guess the thoughts of Penn''s father, and both Penn and Hewitt are left looking as if they are not mentally stable. Penn is let down by his uncle again after he promised that a man would come and see him and explain the Pygmy disease, which causes the ability to hear the thoughts of other people. The man does not show up, leaving Penn unsure whether his Uncle can truly hear the thoughts of other people, and even creates doubts concerning Penn''s mental state and whether he is magic or mentally unstable.

King of the Pygmies

The story starts before the birth of Alexander at Pella, when her mother Queen Olympias dreams of a snake slithering inside her bed and thrusting its seed inside her; when she recounts her dream to the priests of the Oracle of Dodona, they tell her that her child shall be the offspring of Zeus and a man, just like his hero Achilles. During his childhood, Alexander and his friends Hephaestion, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Leonnatus, Lysimachus, Craterus, Perdiccas and Philotas, are firstly educated by Leonidas. He teaches them the values of courage and pride, but also magnanimity; this would prove very important to Alexander during his campaigns. When Alexander is 13 years old, his father decides to send him (and his friends with him) to Mieza, a nearby town, for him to be tutored by Aristotle. The great philosopher teaches Alexander and his friends all the latest notions of science, philosophy and literature. Leptine, a girl that Alexander himself had saved from slavery, also joins the boys in Mieza; she will also stay very close to Alexander until his death. When back into his hometown Pella, Alexander manages to tame a wild war horse at his first attempt. He calls his horse Bucephalus and he grows very fond of him. So much so that the two share an almost human friendship. Finally, Alexander is old enough to go to war with his father''s army in Cheronea, where they are victorious. Alexander greatly admires his father and his military achievements. He is also very close to his sister, Cleopatra, and to his mother. However, when Philip marries Eurydice Alexander grows harsher towards his father but much closer to his mother, jealous and unhappy about the polygamy of Philip. Things go out of hand during the banquet of the wedding, when Alexander, after Attalus offends his mother Olympias, insults Attalus and his father and is obliged to leave the palace, taking refuge to his uncle''s palace. Thanks to the help of Eumenes, the court secretary, he becomes reconciled with his father and comes back to the Royal Palace just in time for Cleopatra''s marriage. However, Philip is murdered during the ceremony, which causes great sorrow to the young prince. The sorrow is then replaced by the anger towards the murderer and the desire to catch the responsible. He then decidedly steps up to the throne. Many people are not convinced by the new King Alexander, however, mostly due to its young age and lack of experience. Shortly after Alexander becomes king, Eurydice''s children and Attalus are killed and Eurydice herself takes her own life shortly after due to the unbearable sorrow. Alexander immediately decides to undertake a campaign in Greece and Asia to affirm Macedonia''s position amongst the Pan-Hellenic League and expand its frontiers, just like his father wished to do when alive. His expedition first leads them to Thessaly and his army, now featuring many of his boyhood friends but still a few veterans from Philip''s army, records the first of a long sequence of victories.

Child of a Dream

Pearl Tull is a rigid perfectionist. She has 3 children with her husband, traveling salesman Beck, who abandons the family. After Beck leaves, Pearl struggles to maintain a front as if nothing is wrong. Cody, the oldest, is wild and adventurous, but is envious of his brother Ezra, whom he believes is Pearl''s favorite. As they grow up, this plays out in endless pranks. Ezra is passive, and never tries to get back at Cody. He is nurturing and sweet, traits that often interest Cody''s girlfriends, furthering Cody''s resentment. Ezra goes to work at a restaurant, which he later manages and ultimately inherits, while Cody becomes a wealthy and successful efficiency expert. When Ezra becomes engaged to Ruth, his star cook, Cody becomes obsessed with luring her away, and ultimately succeeds, but his marriage to Ruth is not easy. Ezra never recovers, and remains at home with Pearl; he is a caregiver, both for Pearl and his customers, but this is underlain by sadness. Jenny is the third child and the most scholarly of the Tulls, but in college, she marries on an impulse with unhappy results. Only in her third marriage to a man with 6 children whose wife has abandoned him does she find stability in family life and in her successful, if harried, career as a pediatrician. A recurring scene in the novel involves Ezra''s unsuccessful attempts to bring the family together for a meal at his "Homesick Restaurant", reflecting his desire to unite and mend the family. At Pearl''s funeral, Beck returns to the family for the first time. However, they never seem to be able to get through a single dinner without conflict, this time with Cody facing down his father.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Jedi Trial

By Dan Cragg

The Moon in the Cloud

By Rosemary Harris

The Golden Hour

By Maiya Williams

Prince Serebrenni

By Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy

Code to Zero

By Ken Follett

Anne of Windy Poplars

By Lucy Maud Montgomery

Third Year at Malory Towers

No Author Listed

Everyday Use

By Alice Walker

Toby Alone

By Timothée de Fombelle

King of the Pygmies

No Author Listed

Child of a Dream

By Valerio Massimo Manfredi

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

By Anne Tyler