Family Life Science

While most of her peers were obsessed with their iPhones, Instagramming and Snapchatting their lives, and glued to streaming TV, 19-year-old Amy Crouch was growing up with minimal technology. In My Tech-Wise Life, she and her father, Andy Crouch, share how intentional and controlled use of modern devices, apps, and services has helped her avoid many of the negative experiences of her peers and cultivate positive experiences interacting with the real world.

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!

Jason and his dad have car trouble in the desert. They decide to camp overnight. Before they go to sleep, Jason's dad tells him a creepy story. When Jason wakes up, his dad is missing! It seems as though the ghost story is coming true!

From these disparate phenomena: Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse who as president of a Midwestern college observed the trials of this generation up close, sees an existential threat to the American way of life. In The Vanishing American Adult, Sasse diagnoses the causes of a generation that can't grow up and offers a path for raising children to become active and engaged citizens. He identifies core formative experiences that all young people should pursue.

Alex has a set of Enchanted cards. When she flutters her fingers above them, something magical happens: The cards come alive and create moving pictures of what is now and what is yet to come. But Enchantment is illegal in the city of Luma, and those who practice it are imprisoned forever in the Vaults - dark dungeons deep below the city. When Alex is betrayed by her foster sister Zerra, she knows she is in great danger. With the help of her little foster brother, Louie, she makes a daring escape.

Leah Frothen has returned home to rebuild the life she's avoided for years. But she can scarcely catch her breath before she is summoned to meet with the regent, Darien Serlast, the man who made her a spy. Leah is reluctant to take on a new assignment, but Darien has dangled the perfect lure to draw her in. Leah finds she enjoys the challenges of opening a shop catering to foreign visitors, especially since it affords her the opportunity to get to know Mally, the child she abandoned five years ago.

Heading off for a weekend in Las Vegas with her friends, Jessie Ralle has only one worry: how to make it through the road trip in the same car as her ex, Jimmy Kelter. The guy she hasn’t come close to getting over since he broke up with her five months ago. The guy who’s finally ready to tell her why he did it, because now he wants her back. Only, sometimes knowing why doesn’t actually make things better. Sometimes it leads to bigger, more terrifying questions.

A 15-year-old boy is walking through a swirling fog on his way to school when a voice calls out, "Come here. We need to talk." Out of the mist emerges an old man with a white beard. He is a fantastic figure, as wizardly as Merlin, as wise as Socrates, as peaceful as Buddha. Whoever he is, the old man has appeared on that very day to change the boy's life. "You are old enough to learn about things," he says mysteriously. "And who is going to teach you but me?" The old man gives the boy four days of "soul training", a time of riddles, tricks, parables, and incredible twists.

Will Wilder is a mischievous, headstrong 12-year-old with an otherworldly gift - he alone can see the nefarious creatures encroaching on Perilous Falls. For nearly a century, a sacred relic has protected his hometown from the raging waters surrounding it. But when Will "borrows" the relic for his own purposes, he accidentally unleashes an ancient evil. As boats sink and hideous creatures crawl from the rising waters, Will must set things right before it is too late.

"Talk about out of the frying pan, into the fire! I was pretty sure that my freaky stepsister and that freaky field guide of hers would ruin my life. But now it looks like they're going to ruin all of Florida, too! Okay, maybe that's not fair. Maybe all these stupid giants would be waking up anyway, but if it wasn't for her and that book, I'd be home playing video games and this would be someone else's giant problem!"

Jacob Reckless continues to travel the portal in his father's abandoned study. His name has continued to be famous on the other side of the mirror, as a finder of enchanted items and buried secrets. His family and friends, from his brother, Will, to the shape-shifting vixen Fox, are on a collision course as the two worlds become connected. Who is driving these two worlds together, and why is he always a step ahead?

Lili St. Crow staked her place among writers of dark fantasy with the release of Strange Angels, the first book featuring night hunter Dru Anderson. Here teen Dru returns, a little wiser but still beset by supernatural terrors that would have most girls her age running for cover. What else would you expect for someone with nonhuman blood coursing through her veins?

The cat that Olive rescues from a flood has a secret: He's not really a cat at all, but an alien who crashed to Earth on a beam of light. The cat, whom Olive names Leonard, was prepared to visit the planet as a human - but something went wrong. Now Leonard may never know what it's like to hold an umbrella, go bowling, or host a dinner party. (And his human jokes still need some work: Knock, knock. Who's there? Just Leonard. It is me.)

Once upon a time, Cat Starr lived with her astronaut mom in Houston. But when her mother gets sent on a long-term mission, Cat has to move to a faraway land - her dad's house, halfway across the country - and share a room with her real-life evil stepsister, Olivia. Just when Cat can't take it anymore, Great Aunt Abyssinia comes to the rescue. And things go from bad to cursed. The next morning, Cat opens her mouth and a toad hops out! What's more, when Olivia speaks, diamonds and flowers appear. How unfair is that?

When his parents return from Kenya with a cute little green lizard on his eighth birthday (he's two times two times two), Jacob Two-Two is thrilled. But it isn't long before Jacob realizes that his new pet, Dippy, isn't a lizard after all. And as months pass, it is apparent Dippy isn't so little either. Soon Dippy is attracting all sorts of unwanted attention, and before he knows it, Jacob is on the run from the Canadian government with a full-grown dinosaur to hide.

Acclaimed author Maiya Williams has written and produced several children’s television programs, including Rugrats and The PJ’s. When their mother dies suddenly, 13-year-old Rowan and 11-year-old Nina move in with their aunts. Soon after, Rowan and Nina begin to suspect their aunts possess psychic powers. With friends in tow, the two siblings embark on an adventure through time to discover the origins of their aunts’ strange powers. Kevin Free’s playful narration perfectly suits this mysterious tale.

Cordelia Hatmaker has saved England from war. She stopped Lord Whitloof’s sinister plans, rescued the king and princess, and restored the Makers Guild. But she still hasn’t found her missing father. Ever since Cordelia discovered the hidden map in her father’s telescope, she’s been searching the streets of London by starlight, trying to uncover its secrets. She never expects to stumble upon a secret society of Mapmakers—or to learn that magic isn’t limited to the few Maker families, but instead is all around, if you know where to look.

Kun poimittaislinjan bussi syöksyy esiin pimeydestä ja pysähtyy kirskuen hänen edessään, Harry Potterilla on taas alkamassa kaikkea muuta kuin tavanomainen kouluvuosi Tylypahkassa. Sirius Musta, vankilasta paennut massamurhaaja ja lordi Voldemortin seuraaja, on pakosalla - ja huhujen mukaan Harryn kintereillä. Hänen ensimmäisellä ennustustunnillaan professori Punurmio näkee teelehdissä enteitä Harryn kuolemasta. Mutta ehkä kaikkein kamalimpia ovat koulun alueella partioivat Ankeuttajat, joiden suudelma vie sielun mukanaan....

Eleven-year-old Jillian hates surprises. Even fun ones make her feel all panicky inside. But, she's always dreamed of joining her space-explorer parents on a mission. It's Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Jillian finally has her chance to visit an alien world! The journey to Planet 80 UMa c is supposed to be just a fun camping trip. But then the local wildlife starts acting really dangerous. Only the onboard computer SABRINA sorta knows what's happening - at least when it's not goofing off or telling bad jokes.

Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth - he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything - or anyone - into something else. That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she’s human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila’s been cursed to love him. And if Lila’s love is as phony as Cassel’s made-up memories, then he can’t believe anything she says or does.