Island Fiction

Clay Garrity is 11 years old, and he has never felt so alone in life. Weeks before, his father lost his job and left Clay and his mother, who was pregnant, to fend for themselves. Soon after, they moved into a welfare hotel. They didn’t have much, but they did have each other. Now his mother is gone too. And all Clay has to live on is the $28.75 she left under a box of doughnuts.

Peg Toland and her father think they’ve found the perfect vacation spot: a beautiful, uninhabited Mexican island in the sparkling Sea of Cortez. Unfortunately, the locals who live on the coast do not agree. “That is no place to go,” they tell the Tolands with alarm. They will not explain why. Peg and her father should have listened to these mysterious warnings. Shortly after they arrive on the island and set up camp, the untamed landscape and isolation turn into a terrifying and deadly trap.

While young adults listen to this thrilling historical adventure, they’ll also gain fascinating insights into the historical and political complications of Prohibition. Set in the 1930s, it is the story of an Irish-American boy who concocts a dangerous plan to bust the liquor smugglers who are terrorizing his island home.

Every year, summer begins when the Callahans arrive on Mariposa Island. That's when Elena Finney gets to escape her unstable, controlling mother by babysitting for their two children. And the summer of 1986 promises to be extra special when she meets J.C., the new boy in town, whose kisses make Elena feel like she's been transported to a new world. Joaquin Finney can't imagine why anyone would want to come to Mariposa Island. He just graduated from high school and dreams about going to California to find his father and escape his mother's manipulation.

When two men kidnap former FBI agent Cate Wilde’s fiancé, the boldness of the crime rattles the community. Desperate to find the man she loves, Cate joins forces with the FBI and the local sheriff’s department to launch an investigation and bring Dr. Henry Powers home. Cate soon learns that a brotherhood of bank robbers abducted Henry in the hopes that he might be able to save their youngest brother, who had been shot during a robbery. But this man is beyond saving, which spells life-threatening danger for Henry.

Owen Lawry is days away from leaving Gansett Island to attend the trial of his father, who is charged with assaulting his mother almost a year ago. He has spent his entire adult life trying to outrun his violent past, but the upcoming showdown with the father he hasn't seen in more than a decade has him spending far more time in the past than in the present. His biggest challenge is convincing his pregnant fiancée, Laura McCarthy, to sit out the trip.

Leni Steele might be looking for love, but she’s definitely not looking to be someone’s fake date. Especially not one of the most infuriatingly handsome and annoyingly cocky actors on the planet, Duncan Raz. But when the owner of the PR firm for which she works forces her to walk the red carpet on his arm, she has no choice. Neither wants to be there, much less with each other. They’re like oil and water, and he gets on her last nerve. But after a few tequila shots, that’s not all he gets on.

Charlotte Madsen's whole world came crashing down six months ago with the words, "I met someone else". Thirty-seven, recently divorced, and childless. That's Charlotte when she disembarks from the plane in Getaway Bay. She wants to get away, that's for sure. She thought the best way to do that was to buy a run-down house overlooking the bay, knowing she'll need all her fixer-upper skills to get it in shape. Which is just fine. She's hoping as she overhauls the house, she'll get a life makeover too.

Orla and Kate have been best friends forever. Together they’ve faced it all - be it Orla’s struggles as a new mother or Kate’s messy divorce. And whatever else happens in their lives, they can always look forward to their annual weekend away. This year, they’re off to Lisbon: the perfect flat, the perfect view, the perfect itinerary. And what better way to kick things off in style than with the perfect night out? But when Orla wakes up the next morning, Kate is gone.

Now a college student, Anne Shirley pursues her studies in Kingsport while finding herself pursued romantically. In between, she navigates the life changes her friends and family back in Avonlea are undertaking, while navigating her own sense of home, and all with the indomitable spirit that has made Anne a beloved classic character.

It’s the end of the world as she knows it! Thirteen-year-old Kelly Ferguson’s secret life as a monster-hunting babysitter is taking a beastly turn. Now she has to go on a rescue mission to Monster Island - where monster royalty is turning kids into hairy mutant monsters! To pull it off, she’ll have to face off against internet trolls, trash monsters, and her fear of screwing up - plus the biggest, baddest Boogey of all. With the fate of humanity on the line, can Kelly save the kids, the world, and her own social life before the big school dance?

Welcome to paradise. We hope you survive your stay. There are three rules to follow during a vacation at the famous Koh Sang resort.

Seventeen-year-old Ariadne is in love with young British National Serviceman, Stephen Allenby. But her family are deeply involved with an organization campaigning for a union with Greece, and do not approve. And they’re not the only ones. It’s only a matter of time before Stephen is sent back to England, leaving Ariadne pregnant and alone. Stephen does his best to move on with his life. He marries Laura and has a baby girl called Cressida, but it’s not long before the cracks start to show and his marriage falls apart …

When Joel Shields dies, Robin Grover's only goal is to get her four best friends back to Five Island Cove to celebrate the life of Kristen's husband. She alone has stayed in the cove while everyone else couldn't wait to get away. Alice Keller comes instantly, because her mansion in the Hamptons and her husband's infidelity is smothering her. Not only that, but Kristen has always been like a mother to her, and she wants to support her.

As Little Bridge Island Public Library’s head of children’s services, Molly hopes the messiest thing in her life will be her sticky-note covered desk. But fate - in the form of a newborn left in the restroom - has other ideas. So does the sheriff who comes to investigate the “abandonment”.

Something never felt right with me. And I have to take these mysterious pills my parents insist I need. Until one night, my life turns upside down when my parents reveal the truth about me. That I'm an omega. But when I convulse in pain on a cruise ship, I start to panic. And maybe throwing away the mystery pills wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Rafe Angelito thought he was done with the demons from his past - until his son is kidnapped. Blackmailed into abducting an American heiress, the legionnaire soon finds himself trapped in paradise with a fiery, daring beauty who's nothing he expects...and everything he desires. But when he uncovers her own dark secret, Rafe realizes he's made a critical mistake - one that could cost him everything.

There are those who walk among us who are no longer alive, but not yet crossed over. They seek retribution…vengeance…to warn. Among the living, few intuit their presence. Katie MacDonald is one who can. As she’s drawn deeper and deeper into a gruesome years-old murder, whispered warnings from a spectral friend become more and more insistent. But Katie must uncover the truth: could David Beckett really be guilty of his fiancée’s murder?

After Emily Starr loses her dear father, the ten-year-old orphan is packed off to live with her starched relatives on Prince Edward Island. If only she could relate to them. Frankly, whip-smart, ambitious Emily can’t imagine ever feeling at home at New Moon Farm. Especially when her writerly dreams are routinely dashed by her autocratic aunt. Then Emily finds an outlet for her creative spirit with a group of friends every bit as passionate and gifted as she. With their help, New Moon could start to feel like home after all.

Celebrate the holidays with New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan’s Christmas Island Collection, featuring two novels—Christmas on the Island and Christmas at the Island Hotel—two romantic and festive tales set on a charming island off the coast of Scotland.