Urban Schools

Just like all little girls, I hoped I was special and that one day my powers would be revealed. My parents would be bewildered, my friends would equally worship and envy me, and my bullies would run away in terror! Nothing happened when I turned 10. I didn't grow wings at 12, still wasn't able to make things move with my mind at 14, and at 16, I was already too old to believe in such nonsense. Well, what do you think happened the day I turned 18? I got the confirmation that I was only human. In the mail! Oh, and also an invitation to apply to the Grim Reaper Academy.

For as long as I can remember, I've been the girl who didn't fit in, the girl who collapsed in the middle of class, just because my brain decided to turn on me. I can't really complain, though. We don't live in the Middle Ages, so I have yet to be subjected to an exorcism. I can get treatment for my condition. Epilepsy aside, I can mostly be a normal person and have a normal life. There's just one problem. I'm not a normal person. I never have been. And the first time I find this out is upon receiving an exclusive invitation to The Academy of the Devil.

The vamp life sure as hell ain't the glam life. Just ask Alena Falkov. One day she'll be a full-fledged attorney, but for now, she's stuck working her fangs off at a thankless job while she attends Othercross University's esteemed law school. Of course she might not have the job for long if she can't be on time, but when a vampire catches the scent of her Beloved - her one true soul mate - in the hallways of the courthouse, no one could blame her for tracking him down. Now if only he wasn't the defendant...and by all accounts, guilty. Or is he?

Award-winning novelist Tayari Jones delivers a story based on the 1979-1980 Atlanta child murders. Told from the perspective of three fifth-grade classmates, Leaving Atlanta is a vividly disturbing, but hopeful novel.

Sixteen-year-old Hal Stevens is a budding historical scholar from a small town in Colorado. A virtual outcast at high school, he has only two friends: Roberto the Biker Witch and Cleo Mallawi. Cleo claims to be the reincarnation of Queen Cleopatra. But when Hal and Roberto find Cleo murdered in the forest near her home, it appears she may have been telling the truth. Her last request sends them journeying to Egypt, where it quickly becomes clear that Cleo has set them on the search of a lifetime: the search for the lost graves of Marc Antony and Cleopatra.

Teach magic, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Yeah, well, they’re dirty rotten liars. When I told Tennessee we needed to have more schools than just Edenburg I thought they’d assign appropriate people to the task. Ya know, like actual adults. Not a sixteen year old who still has to finish high school herself. But then Tennessee became Coven Leader, and my great idea came back to bite me in the ass.

One minute, sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is a normal teenager dealing with everyday high school stress: her cute boyfriend Heath, the school's star quarterback who suddenly seems more interested in partying than playing ball; her nosy frenemy Kayla, who's way too concerned with how things are going with Heath; her uber-tough geometry test tomorrow. The next, she's Marked as a fledgling vampyre, forcing her to leave her ordinary life behind and join the House of Night, a boarding school where she will train to become an adult vampyre.

Kylara Diamantine has never met another dragon. Raised by her mother apart from the rest of their society without any idea why, she's always been curious about the rest of their species. She wants to get out there, to meet other dragons, to explore! To stretch her wings. Literally. Be careful what you wish for, they say. They're right. After a devastating magical attack on their home leaves Ky's mother missing, she's placed at a special school for her protection.

Eleven-year-old Jane Grandison, tormented by her stutter, sits in the back seat of a car, letter in hand inviting her to live and study at the Sybil Joines Vocational School for Ghost Speakers & Hearing-Mouth Children. Founded in 1890 by Headmistress Sybil Joines, the school - at first glance - is a sanctuary for children seeking to cure their speech impediments. Inspired by her haunted and tragic childhood, the Headmistress has other ideas.

"Urban School Dynamics: Understanding Black Student Behavior" delves deep into the intricate mosaic of influences, challenges, and aspirations that shape the actions and choices of Black students in city schools. The urban educational landscape, with its unique challenges and dynamics, often amplifies the struggles faced by students. Within these walls, Black students, shaped by a myriad of socio-economic, cultural, and personal factors, navigate their educational journey.

At 15, Victor Rios found himself a human target - flat on his ass amid a hail of shotgun fire, desperate for money and a place on the street. Faced with the choice of escalating a drug turf war or eking out a living elsewhere, he turned to a teacher, who mentored him and helped him find a job at an auto shop. That job would alter the course of his whole life - putting him on the road to college and eventually a PhD.

In Redeemed, the final electrifying novel in the House of Night series, Neferet has finally made herself known to mortals. A Dark Goddess is loose on Tulsa and the world. No single vampyre is strong enough to vanquish her - unless that creature has the power to summon the elements as well as the ability to wield Old Magick. Only Zoey Redbird is heir to such power - but because of the consequences of using Old Magick, she is unable to help. Find out who will win and who will lose in this epic battle of Light versus Darkness.

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions - slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere...else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced...they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

The Franklin Academy is the most prestigious magick school in the US, with the highest admission standards, and tuition to match. Any student would be honored to go at all, much less get a scholarship. Not Chance Fortunato. He’d much rather stay at home and study under his mentor, Dr. Corwin. But when a student is attacked and his soul is ripped from his body, Chance knows he has to stay.

Into this sorry state of affairs falls Eve. She's abnormal in all the ways that count to humans, but at Caelum, where she should be among her peers? Even here she's weird. No woman has more than one mate. Eve? She has seven. And the creatures that dominate her mind? There are eight of those battling for power in her soul. With the war having come to Caelum's front door, Eve and her mates have no option but to escape the perils she faces at an Academy where anyone extraordinary is to be exterminated.

“My love, speak to me. Tell me everything.” Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal. “What would you have me say?” He didn’t meet her eyes. “Zoey lives.” Neferet’s voice was flat, cold, lifeless. “She does.” “Then you owe me the subservience of your immortal soul.” She started to walk away from him.“Where are you going? What will happen next?” “It is quite simple. I will ensure Zoey is drawn back to Oklahoma....

A cold case. A coven gone dark. Morgan and her men decide to take some time away from the Academy to cement their bonds and investigate the mysterious disappearance. Unfortunately, what should've been a routine mission quickly goes sideways when they're attacked, turning their intimate vacation into a nightmare.

In a world where dark faeries have stepped in to save the planet from humanity's mistakes, 17-year-old December Thorne is nothing but a shadow. Shunned by her peers, bullied at school, and paid a little too much attention by her sleazy foster father, she lives in constant fear and perpetual solitude. Until the day everything changes. Offered a scholarship to the prestigious Oberon Academy, December finds herself living in a whole new world.

Through blood and cunning, my mother and I escaped the sadistic clutches of House Redbriar. Now, I just want to finish my first year at Wraithwood Academy in peace, studying demonology and magecraft alongside my boyfriends while unraveling the mysteries of the school. If only I could be so lucky. War has erupted between the two most powerful mage families. On one side are my old enemies from House Redbriar, and you'd better believe they're out for my blood. On the other is troubled, ruthless Arcturus Nightfeld, whose dark past threatens the fragile connection growing between us.

When an elf is kidnapped by a nefarious gang, Raine must use her magical abilities and team up with some unlikely allies in order to rescue her friend.