Runaway Life

Will Sparrow, liar and thief, is running away—from the father who sold him for beer, from the innkeeper who threatened to sell him as a chimney sweep, from his whole sorry life. Barefoot and penniless, without family, friends, or boots, Will is determined to avoid capture and, of course, to find something to eat. Some of the travelers he meets on the road have a kind word for him and a promise of better things to come, such as coins and juicy beef ribs. Eager to go along, Will repeatedly finds himself tricked by older and wiser tricksters....

Best-selling author Robert Cormier's suspenseful and masterfully told novel takes bold steps into some of the most difficult topical territory ever conceived for young adult fiction.

At fifteen, Iris is a hobo of sorts - no home, no family, no plan. Her mother died when she was six, and her selfish father hires her out as a companion to a country doctor's elderly mother. Iris, stuck in the middle of 1920s rural Missouri, discovers that "hobo" is short for "homeward bound," and cultivates an eccentric cast of folks into family, creating the home she never had. But when she learns that a neighboring tenant farmer may have had more than his hands on his pregnant daughter, Iris must intervene to save the girl and her unborn baby.

When Iggy Corso gets kicked out of high school, there's no one for him to tell. His mother has gone off, his father is stoned on the couch, and because the phone's been disconnected, even the social worker can't get through. So he leaves a note and goes out to make something of his life, but that's not so easy when you're 16, living in public housing, have no skills, and your only friend is a law-school dropout who's thinking about joining the Hare Krishnas.

Stanley Potts is just an ordinary boy, but when all the jobs in Fish Quay disappear his Uncle Ernie develops an extraordinary fascination with canning fish. Suddenly their home is filled with the sound of changing machinery and the stench of mackerel, and Uncle Ernie's obsession reaches such heights that he would even can Stan's beloved goldfish! Stan, however, has his own destiny, which leads him - via a hook-a-duck stall - to Pancho Pirelli, the blue-caped madman who swims with piranhas.

At the age of 14, Francisco Jiménez, together with his older brother Roberto and his mother, are caught by la migra. Forced to leave their home, the entire family travels all night for 20 hours by bus, arriving at the U.S. and Mexican border in Nogales, Arizona. In the months and years that follow, Francisco, his mother and father, and his seven brothers and sister not only struggle to keep their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours of labor, and blatant prejudice.

What do you do with your last day on Earth? There are 27 hours and 15 minutes left until a meteor strikes North America, and for Emerson and everyone else who didn't leave, the world will end. But Emerson's world already ended when she ran away from home last year. Since then she has lived on the streets, relying on her wits and her friend, Vince, to help her find places to sleep and food to eat.

Three kids. One dog. And the island of Manhattan, laid out in an old treasure map. Zane is itching for an adventure that will take him away from his family’s boarding house in Rockaway, Queens. So when he is entrusted with a real treasure map, leading to a spot somewhere in Manhattan, Zane wastes no time in riding the ferry over to the city to start the search with his friends Kiko and Jack and his dog, Hip-Hop.

Your heart misleads you. That's what my friends and family say. But I love Noah. And he loves me. We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms.

"Jess is dead, and it's my fault". Anna Macbeth has spent her whole life trying to escape from her past. She left the rural Yorkshire village where she grew up for life as a family lawyer in London, but what secrets did she take with her? When a familiar voice telephones her with tragic news, Anna knows that running away is no longer an option, and that she has to return to face her demons. What led Anna to flee from her home, and what is it that causes her to return? Charcoal unfolds a dramatic sequence of events that demonstrate the consequences of desires.

A Hindi translation of Ruskin Bond’s Rusty Runs Away by Neelabh, this is the second book in the series that vividly conjures up the world of Rusty and his friends. Penned for young audiences, the book traces Rusty’s life as he enters his teenage years. The excitement and adventure of adolescent life take the young protagonist through a series of intriguing incidents. Still dealing with the passing away of his father and grandmother, he conspires to run away from boarding school with his mischievous friend Daljeet.

In a world where mythical creatures are either controlled, or on the brink of extinction - a prophecy reveals there’s one who can restore balance. The only problem is, she has no idea how to do it. Separated from the only people who’ve had her back - as well as the love of her life, Traeton - Runa must go on a quest alone to uncover what it means to be human, as well as the Daughter of Five. Dropped in an unknown location, presumably still on the planet, she only has a monolithic book - the Caudex - as her guide, but it’s not giving up its answers easily. Will she be able to uncover the mysteries?

No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the Earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair, and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better looking. The rarer the sphere, the greater the improvement - and the more expensive the sphere.

When Charlene’s father calls from jail, her life turns upside down. She moves from her beautiful home in Nebraska to inner-city Cleveland, Ohio, overnight. Now homeless, Charlene, her sister Cheyanne, and mother move into her judgmental aunt’s three-bedroom home on the Southeast Side with her seven cousins. She learns to live with roaches, switching schools every couple of months, visiting her father in prison, and keeping the family secret.

There are a lot of things I wish I’d known earlier - but three top my “wow, she was naïve” list. First, there are others on Pendomus. Second, a prophecy is in motion, and I hold the key to the survival of literally everything. Third, I'm being hunted by a madman who is desperately trying to wipe me from existence. So yeah, no pressure.

The eyes of a demented arsonist have focused in on the small town of Farmington, Connecticut. Brock Pearson, the new director of Laborers for God, has more on his plate than he can chew as private homes and businesses are becoming engulfed faster than his ministry can possibly rebuild. Blazing properties form only a small part of the equation in this intriguing, clean mystery. The Pearson household has recently added a new member to their ranks - a runaway named Titus who brings a wealth of surprises to the table, including a quickly developing crush on their pastor’s granddaughter.

In a dying country town lives Satchel O'Rye, a young man fighting the future; Chelsea Piper, a young woman fighting the past; and a long-lost creature that can teach them both the art of survival. Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf is a shimmering, ultimately joyful novel, a story of journeying towards courage and freedom, of finding the will to live a life beyond expectation.

Teenager Moss Trawnleyis in desperate need of work, and so he decides to headout west as a member of Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps to help protect Montana's wildlife from devastating erosion and wildfires. Despite the grueling work, Moss has time to play baseball, make lifelong friends, and rediscover what he almost lost in the Great Depression: himself. Bringing an important era of U.S. history to life, this rivetingcoming-of-age story will appeal to any teen who has dreamed of adventure and survival in the great outdoors.

Through the long years of the Great Depression, Harper Flute watches with a child's clear eyes her family's struggle to survive in a hot and impoverished landscape. As life on the surface grows harsher, her brother Tin escapes ever deeper into a subterranean world of darkness and troubling secrets, until his memory becomes a myth barely whispered around the countryside.

Amber Appleton lives in a bus. Ever since her mom’s boyfriend kicked them out, Amber, her mom, and her totally loyal dog, Bobby Big Boy (a.k.a Thrice B), have been camped out in the back of Hello Yellow (the school bus her mom drives). Still, Amber, the self- proclaimed princess of hope and girl of unyielding optimism, refuses to sweat the bad stuff. But when a fatal tragedy threatens Amber’s optimism - and her way of life - can Amber continue to be the rock star of hope?