Difficult Parents

Pram Bellamy is special - she can talk to ghosts. She doesn't have too many friends among the living, but that's all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix. Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help. But this spiritualist knows the true nature of Pram's power, and what she has planned is more terrifying than any ghost.

Floss's parents are divorced, and she divides up her week, spending five days with her mum, her new step-dad and her baby half-brother. The other two days Floss spends with her dad, helping him to run his greasy spoon cafe. But their simple arrangement is thrown into disarray when Floss's mum decides to move to Australia. Making the difficult decision to stay at home, Floss moves in permanently with her dad and they muddle along happily together, surviving on chip butties and enjoying visits to the local funfair.

Veronica Conway has been looking forward to trying out for the all-star softball team for years. Except right before tryouts, Veronica’s mom announces that she’s entering rehab for alcoholism, and her dad tells her that they may not be able to afford the fees needed to be on the team. Veronica decides to enter the town talent show in an effort to make her own money, but along the way, discovers a new hobby. Is her mom the only one learning balance, or can Veronica find a way to discover what she really wants to do with her life?

Milo is on a long subway ride with his older sister. To pass the time, he studies the faces around him and makes pictures of their lives. There's the boy in the suit with the bright white sneakers; Milo imagines him arriving home to a castle with a drawbridge and a butler. But when the boy in the suit gets off on the same stop as Milo - walking the same path, going to the exact same place - Milo realizes you can't really know anyone just by looking at them.

Sephy is a Cross, a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Nought, a 'colourless' member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But that's as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equality and a limited number of Noughts are allowed into Crosses schools.

Ernie Castellano, fast-talking wheeler-dealer kid, has come up with his greatest idea yet: pet funerals! With his pals Dusty (an artist in coffins) and Swimming Pool (one of the world's great criers, an asset to any funeral she attends), Ernie creates a thriving business-and manages to land himself in more hot water than he has ever dreamed possible.

Working with Seoul’s premiere matchmaker, Jisu’s traditional South Korean parents are determined to ensure her success in life and love by matching her with the right boyfriend. After one too many slip-ups at school, Jisu finds herself shipped off to San Francisco to focus on her academics and approved dates, leaving her little space to figure out her own dreams. As her newly realized passion for photography lights her on fire, Jisu wonders...does she even want to find "The One"?

Ten-year-old Aniyah and her little brother Noah find themselves living in foster care after the sudden disappearance of their mom. With her life in disarray, Aniyah knows just one thing for sure: her mom isn't gone forever. Aniyah believes that the people with the brightest hearts never truly disappear. They become stars. When scientists discover a new star acting strangely, Aniyah knows it's really her mom.

On the night that Aunty dies, the raggedy witches come for Mup’s family. Pale, cold, and relentless, the witches will do anything for the tyrannical queen who has outlawed most magic and enforces her laws with terror and cruelty - and who happens to be Mup’s grandmother. When witches carry off her dad, Mup and her mam leave the mundane world to rescue him. But everything is odd in the strange, glittering Witches Borough, even Mam. Even Mup herself. In a world of rhyming crows, talking cats, and golden forests, it’s all Mup can do to keep her wits about her.

A frightened girl running barefoot on a knife edge - that's how 18-year-old Sephy feels as she gazes down at her newborn daughter, Callie Rose. Whilst Sephy is a Cross, the baby's father, Callum, was a nought, giving Callie Rose dual heritage in a society where the ruling Crosses treat the pale-skinned noughts (blankers) as second-class citizens.

Magnolia Grace never wanted to leave Georgia. She never wanted to move with her mama to the farm her daddy owned before he died. But now here she is - in a tiny Vermont town where everybody sings the praises of the father she never knew. Then Maggie meets the Parker family - two moms, six kids, plus a pony. The Parkers are loud and wild, ask lots of questions, and don't follow any of the rules Maggie grew up with in Georgia.

It’s been 83 days since Annie Lee’s daddy died, but she still sees reminders of him everywhere. His record player mysteriously plays his favorite songs, there’s shaving cream in the sink every morning, and the TV keeps flipping to the Duke basketball games he loved. She knows Mama notices it, too, but Mama’s been working around the clock to make ends meet. To make matters worse, Annie Lee’s friends ditched her over the summer. She feels completely alone - until she meets Mitch.

From two-time Newbery Honor and New York Times–bestselling author Kevin Henkes, this timeless novel about loss, loneliness, and friendship tells the story of the spring break that changes seventh-grader Amelia Albright’s life forever.

My dad was killed in the 9/11 attacks in New York. But the stuff in this book isn't about that. It's about the summer my mum went away. The summer that me and Jed and Priti tried to catch a suicide bomber and prevent an honour killing. There's stuff about how we built a tree house and joined the bomb squad; how I found my dad and Jed lost his; and how we both lost our mums then found them again. So it's not really about 9/11 but, then again, none of those things would have happened if it hadn't been for that day. So I guess it's all back to front, sort of….

(Formerly released as "Alone in the Dark". Only the title has changed.) Live the Magic Love the Adventure It's been a rough month for David. The water and electricity in his house is shut off, and his dad is missing. When Mrs. Huffity asks David to house sit, he jumps at the chance. Her only request is that David stay inside at night, which would be fine, except a boy is out there making strange sounds and staring into the window. David calls Carrie and Ivy for help, but not all is as it seems. What will happen in this next great adventure? This book will have a guest appearance with Sparky...

Georgia Rosenbloom’s father was a famous artist. His most well-known paintings were a series of asterisms - patterns of stars - that he created. One represented a bird, one himself, and one Georgia’s mother. There was supposed to be a fourth asterism, but Georgia’s father died before he could paint it. Georgia’s mother and her best friend, Theo, are certain that the last asterism would’ve been of Georgia, but Georgia isn’t so sure.

Life hasn't been great for Jeff Hicks. After years at his beloved St. Catherine's, he's forced to spend eighth grade in the public middle school, which he hates. He's no longer speaking to his former best friend, Tom Bender, because of "that burned girl" Jessica Feeney. But worst of all, his family is changing, and it's not for the better. When his mom comes home announcing that she's lost her job, Jeff begins to worry about things far beyond his years.

For Georgia, this summer is shaping up to be a big disappointment. Mama is busy studying for her biology degree. Daddy is working nights, and often the man who comes home isn’t Daddy. He’s a man who looks like Daddy, but walks a little wobbly. Who sounds like Daddy, but sings a little too loud. Georgia calls him the Shadow Man.

Jessie has never known her real dad, and when her mum dies she thinks any hope of finding him is gone. As she goes goes off the rails, her stepdad announces that her father is Johnny Jefferson - legendary rock star and former hell-raiser. Still dealing with her loss, and now the daughter of a superstar, Jessie is sucked into the LA lifestyle - paparazzi, parties and hot guitar-wielding boys included. But is Johnny up to the job? And, more importantly, is Jessie?

CJ's Aunt Nic is a psychic medium who tours the country speaking to spirits from Far Away, passing on messages from the dearly departed. And CJ knows firsthand how comforting those messages can be - Aunt Nic's Gift is the only way CJ can talk to her mom, who died just hours after she was born. So when CJ learns that she won't be able to speak to her mother anymore, even with Aunt Nic's help, she's determined to find a work-around. She sets off on road trip with her new friend Jax to locate the one object that she believes will tether her mother's spirit back to Earth....