Science For Adults

Robin McKinley returns to the mythical setting of The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword in this “thrilling, satisfying, and thought-provoking collection” featuring two stories set in the world of Damar, plus three other fantasy tales featuring adventurous, pragmatic, and heroic young women (Publishers Weekly).

On her 12th birthday, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Three bumpy years later, after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she's exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus.

December is the time of the annual Ceremony at which each twelve-year-old receives a life assignment determined by the Elders. Jonas watches his friend Fiona named Caretaker of the Old and his cheerful pal Asher labeled the Assistant Director of Recreation. But Jonas has been chosen for something special. When his selection leads him to an unnamed man, the man called only the Giver, he begins to sense the dark secrets that underlie the fragile perfection of his world.

The year is 414 of the Xin Dynasty, and chaos abounds. A puppet empress is on the throne. The realm has fractured into three factions and three warlordesses hoping to claim the continent for themselves. But Zephyr knows it's no contest. Orphaned at a young age, Zephyr took control of her fate by becoming the best strategist of the land and serving under Xin Ren, a warlordess whose loyalty to the empress is double-edged—while Ren's honor draws Zephyr to her cause, it also jeopardizes their survival in a war where one must betray or be betrayed.

Young Imperial Crown Prince Aeson Kassiopei. Intelligent, well-educated, perfectly isolated in his lofty rank, responsibilities, and privilege of the divine Imperial Dynasty. He's the most powerful boy on Atlantis and he's going into the real world for the very first time....

At first glance, the sisters of ultra-exclusive Kappa Rho Nu - the Ravens - seem like typical sorority girls. Ambitious, beautiful, and smart, they’re the most powerful girls on Westerly College’s Savannah, Georgia, campus. But the Ravens aren’t just regular sorority girls. They’re witches.

A letter for Rudeus arrives out of the blue, bearing an invitation to enroll at the Ranoa University of Magic. The admissions exam is a cakewalk, but once Rudeus is accepted, a far less straightforward challenge awaits him—getting to know his eccentric new classmates!

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is - she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning.

Ella Brown is unhappy. Shivering cold in her luxurious bed, she's afraid to get up and light the fire because she's recently been scolded for doing things servants are supposed to do. New to the castle, Ella is having trouble adjusting to her unfamiliar role: princess.

Kate Sutton is all arms and legs. She possesses none of her sister Alicia’s honey-eyed beauty, but is intelligent and willful like her grandfather. It is an injustice, then, when Kate is falsely accused of Alicia’s wrongdoing and is banished to remote Elvenwood Hall. But the world Kate encounters in Derbyshire, England, is so strange and otherworldly that she has little time for regret. Elvenwood Hall has another, secret name - the Perilous Gard - and a mysterious history to go with it. It isn’t long before Kate has a hundred questions about her new home.

Thalia knows three things: her first name. That she barely escaped the clutches of the Septori with the help of a mysterious stranger. And that her run-in with the Septori's iron butterfly machine did something to her. It changed her into something neither fully human nor Denai. Fearing her inner darkness and seeking answers to her past, Thalia finds refuge as a servant at the Citadel in Calandry, a school for the gifted Denai.

Coming to the aid of a wounded whale, Kit and Nita are plunged into deep wizardry. The whale is a wizard, and she enlists Kit and Nita in battle against the sinister Lone Power. Becoming whales themselves, Nita and Kit join in an ancient ritual performed by whales, dolphins, and a single fearsome shark. But which poses more of a danger: the Lone Power, or ed'Rashtekaresket, the enormous shark as old as the sea?

It's just a fitness tracker...right? ...but then again, Doug's a hacker! Doug makes his living hacking technology. Technically, he roots the device, finding every hidden feature. When he finally breaks into the code of the HipChip, the ubiquitous fitness device all the cool chicks are wearing, he finds out the hot and steamy truth. Far from just tracking heartrates and steps, the little device can reveal a person's hidden desires. This edition contains all six installments of the original series, plus a previously unreleased HipChip Short; Accessing the College Coed! Will Doug use his Alpha...

Life at the Ranoa University of Magic suddenly gets more interesting when Rudeus discovers the mysterious Fitz's true identity. What will this unforeseen reunion bring? And what if it is too late for him and his long-lost friend to repair the bond they once had?

When Hunter Cassidy revealed her true power to Slade Baines during a fight for their lives, everything she wanted was ripped away from her. Now, with her heart in pieces, Hunter is left only with her determination to find and destroy the deadly weapon that led her to infiltrate the Assassin's Legion in the first place.

It's easy to feel forgettable. Nyx literally is, and the condition seems to be getting worse. Homeless and alone, she's at the end of her rope when she stumbles onto Earth Between, a nexus between worlds. The residents may be magical and alien, but they don't have any problem remembering she exists.

Twenty-one years after his parents won the presidency, a Culling is called. James has waited his entire life for this moment, a chance to carry on his parents' legacy. Meanwhile, whispers in Denver of an "Heir's Curse" make a Reed winning the presidency seem impossible. A presidential heir has never won a Culling before, but there has also never been a Culling where three heirs could qualify. James and his siblings are determined to break the so-called curse and prove them all wrong.

Two worlds at war will bring them together…or tear them apart. Everson didn't want to be a soldier. His parents forced him to serve, as all good Indiran men should. The only problem? His first battle against their mortal enemies goes horribly wrong, and he winds up stranded on the enemy planet. Now, Everson has to survive in this strange new land where everyone is out to get him. Not to mention the planet Mano is covered in unforgiving desert. And he's the target of traitors who want to use him in a dastardly plot to overthrow their mad king, Xander the Firm.

Setting out on foot with nothing more than some soon-to-be worthless cash and a little advice from a trusted teacher, Alex, Quinn, Josh, Cooper, and Dara walk through a burning city that has come to a halt. The devastation they see as they make their way out of the city is a small part of the horror that the nation will become. As the days go by with no food deliveries and no water flowing from taps, civilization will start to crumble and it will be survival of the fittest.