Family Life Science

Evoking the classic fantasy adventures of Joan Aiken and Eva Ibbotson, this darkly delightful new novel from New York Times best-selling author Catherine Fisher glimmers with winter magic. Orphan Seren Rhys is on her way to a new life at the remote country mansion of Plas-y Fran when she is given a package by a stranger late at night in an empty train station. The package contains a crotchety, mechanical talking crow, which Seren reluctantly brings to her new home.

Three years after leaving her family behind on the idyllic lighthouse island where she grew up, 17-year-old Elizabeth "Squid" McCrae returns, full of anger and accusations and eager to confront her father about a family tragedy. But as a ghostly voice from the past sparks her memories, Squid soon realizes that nothing is exactly as she thought it was, and no one, not even herself, is completely free from blame.

Victor Spoil comes from a long line of famous supervillains, and he's fully expected to join their ranks one day. But to his family's utter disappointment, Victor doesn't have a single bad-guy bone in his body. He won't run with scissors, he always finishes his peas, and he can't stand to be messy. Hopeless! As a last-ditch effort before they give up and let him be a - gasp! - civilian, Victor's exasperated parents send him to apprentice under a disgraced supervillain called The Smear.

A leading science writer examines how the brain's capacity reaches its peak in middle ageFor many years, scientists thought that the human brain simply decayed over time and its dying cells led to memory slips, fuzzy logic, negative thinking, and even depression.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies had become deeply embedded in children’s lives, despite a growing body of research detailing the harms of excessive immersion in the unregulated, powerfully seductive, profit-driven world of the “kid-tech” industry. In Who’s Raising the Kids? Linn—one of the world’s leading experts on the impact of Big Tech and big business on children—explores the roots and consequences of this monumental shift toward a digitized, commercialized childhood, focusing on kids’ values, relationships, and learning.

Call me Drood, Eddie Drood. Some know me as Shaman Bond and most simply don' t want to know me at all. For centuries, my family has been keeping the things that lurk on the darker side of existence as far away as possible from humans like you, without you even knowing we' re there. Unfortunately for us, not everybody appreciates what we Droods do. Recently, I personally managed to survive yet another attempt on my life, but the rest of my relatives weren' t so lucky.

Twelve-year-old Addie should stay away from Maple Lake. After all, her twin brother, Amos, drowned there only a few months ago. But its crisp, clear water runs in Addie's veins, and the notebook Amos left behind - filled with clues about a mysterious creature that lives in the lake's inky-blue depths - keeps calling her back.

Bronte Mettlestone's parents ran away to have adventures when she was a baby, leaving her to be raised by her aunt Isabelle and the Butler. She's had a perfectly pleasant childhood of afternoon teas and riding lessons - and no adventures, thank you very much. But Bronte's parents have left extremely detailed (and bossy) instructions for Bronte in their will. The instructions must be followed to the letter, or disaster will befall Bronte's home. She is to travel the kingdoms and empires, perfectly alone, delivering special gifts to her 10 other aunts.

Hen dreams of becoming a spell tailor, stitching magic into clothing like his beloved Nana. But thanks to new factories, spell tailors are struggling. His Uncle Bertie’s fancy shop has shut down, and when he, Aunt Lucia and stuck-up cousin Connie move in, it’s a disaster for all the family. Then Hen stumbles upon a new kind of stitch—one which causes Nana and Bertie to ban him from sewing. What is the power of the stitch that can sew memories into clothes—and could it be the very thing to save them all?

Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez and his "bro-bot" E are making new friends every day as E works as his bedridden sister Maddie's school proxy. But disaster strikes when E malfunctions just in time to be upstaged by the super-cool new robot on the block - and loses his ability to help Maddie. Now it's up to Sammy to figure out what's wrong with E and save his family!

Avalon James and Atticus Brightwell have a secret - one that they aren't allowed to discuss with anyone. This secret is shared between two best friends. When you and your best friend turn 10 years old, magical things are said to happen. You both will receive some kind of magical power. It can be a power you can call on time and time again. Or it can be a power that comes once when you need it most. It's your Infinity Year, and the possibilities are endless.

A batch of heart-shaped cookies stirs the imagination of the dragonlings and their friends when Carmen shares a magical tale of love. It will take a very special Valentine, a few mischievous dragonlings, their best friends, some clueless warriors, and two enchanting goddesses to help a lonely woman find the dragon who loves her. Love is in the air and not even the mighty warriors of the Valdier, Curizan, and Sarafin are immune to the power of celebrating their feelings for the women who have changed their lives. Hearts, glue, and glitter abound when the warriors help the dragonlings.

Anastasia is a completely average almost-eleven-year-old. That is, UNTIL her parents die in a tragic vacuum-cleaner accident. UNTIL she's rescued by two long-lost great-aunties. And UNTIL she's taken to their delightful and, er, "authentic" Victorian home, St. Agony's Asylum for the Criminally Insane. But something strange is going on at the asylum. Anastasia soon begins to suspect that her aunties are not who they say they are. So when she meets Ollie and Quentin, two mysterious brothers, the three join together to plot their great escape!

After one too many heartbreaks, Travis Blake hung up his cowboy hat and put Big Verde, Texas, behind him. But when he gets the call that his young nephew needs him, he knows he has to return home. His plan is to sell the family ranch and hightail it back to Austin, but there's a small problem: The one person who stands in his way is the one person he can't resist.

For most of Tony Gilbert's life, he has thought of his uncle as "Weird Uncle Charlie". That is, until Uncle Charlie moves in with Tony and his family. Uncle Charlie is still odd, of course - talking about spirits and other supernatural stuff - but he and Tony become fast friends, and Tony ends up having a lot of fun with Uncle Charlie. When Uncle Charlie dies suddenly, Tony is devastated. Then he starts seeing Uncle Charlie everywhere!

A dazzling feminist reinterpretation of a classic fairy tale, from the best-selling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse. For her 12 daughters, Queen Laurelia's death in a motor car accident is a disaster beyond losing a mother. Their father, King Alberto, cannot bear the idea of the princesses ever being in danger and decides his daughters must be kept safe at all costs. Those costs include their lessons, their possessions and, most importantly, their freedom. But the eldest, Princess Frida, will not bend to his will without a fight.

The can't-miss final installment of beloved author Pseudonymous Bosch's best-selling Bad Books trilogy! At Earth Ranch, Clay encountered a haunted library, a castaway boy, and a fire-breathing dragon - not to mention incredible magic. Now he faces his most dangerous foes yet: the mysterious white-gloved members of the Midnight Sun, whose scheming leads Clay to a dragon reserve. Up against impossible odds, will Clay and his Secret Series Allies be able to triumph over these villains once and for all?

When the storied Staff of Moses - responsible for summoning the plagues of ancient Egypt - vanishes from the museum in Perilous Falls, Will Wilder is suspect number one. Desperate to prove his innocence and stop the thief from unleashing terrors upon the town of Perilous Falls, Will must use his supernatural gift to locate the beast - but it's nowhere to be found.

The Recovery of Family Life defends marriage and family life while exposing the limits and blind spots in these powerful revolutionary ideologies. After suggesting a general framework within which to understand the ends and means of family policy, Scott Yenor explores what a liberal society should seek to accomplish in marriage and family policy.

Mirabelle and her class are going on a school trip to a magical-creature sanctuary, and Mirabelle can't wait! Even being partnered with annoying goody-two-shoes Lavinia can't ruin her day. But when she accidentally lets the bittens (part bat, part kitten, totally adorable, slightly fierce) out of their enclosure, their day becomes a bit more complicated.