Showing results by publisher "----RM Alexander" in Coming of Age

It has been centuries since the Draconic Army took wing, almost extinguishing humankind. Marosa Vetalda is a prisoner in her own home, controlled by her cold father, King Sigoso. Over the mountains, her betrothed, Aubrecht Lievelyn, rules Mentendon in all but name. Together, they intend to usher in a better world. A better world seems impossibly distant to Estina Melaugo, who hunts the Draconic beasts that have slept across the world for centuries.

On the tiny island of Rokesby, Addie helps her mother run a women's retreat. On the neighbouring island, joined to Rokesby by a bridge at low tide, Sol has sought refuge at a wind-swept prayer house, grieving both his mother’s death and his father’s devastating betrayal. Alone and anxious, he takes comfort in birdwatching, books and the sounds of the sea. Introverts with turbulent pasts and wary hearts, Sol and Addie are both drawn to nature far more than to people – until they catch sight of one another in the wild.

Fern's mother is a social climber and a former ballet dancer who lives a plush life in a London townhouse. Fern's father only climbs if there's a bottle at the top, has an IQ of 133 and lives hand-to-mouth in Californian motels. Aged 14, Fern has spent equal time with each of her parents. That is, until an unexpected visitor triggers a life-changing dilemma – whether she should get on a plane to London to be with her mother, or stay in California with her father. Here, Fern's narrative splices in two.

Magnolia, South Carolina, 1980: Austin Foster is barely a teenager when her mama dies giving birth to twins, leaving her to pick up the pieces while holding her six siblings together and doing her best to stop her daddy from retreating into his personal darkness.

Keane Morgan wouldn't return any of my calls or texts, and I was pissed as hell about it. I didn't want to drive from Seattle to L.A. with the guy any more than he wanted to drive with me, but I had no frickin' choice in the matter - at least, not if I wanted to use his brother Dax's coveted parking spot at UCLA. Okay, so it turned out Keane was objectively gorgeous, and, fine, pretty funny, too. But did he have to be so damned in love with himself? I mean, jeez, the cocky way he flashed those dimples was just so orchestrated.

Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls - a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place - Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns 12, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the "Saturday Night Ghost Club." But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly light-hearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined.

Federica is moved from Chile to Cornwall when her parents separate, and all she has left of the relationship she cherished with her father is a wooden box, which has a secret beauty hidden within. Swiftly embraced into the eccentric Appleby family, it isn’t long before Federica falls for her friend’s older brother, Sam, who barely notices the little girl until it is too late. Years later, from the sanctuary of a seemingly perfect marriage, Federica embarks on a painful journey of self-discovery. Will she finally learn the true lesson of the butterfly box?

The post of Head Girl of Whitehall looks fantastic on anyone's resume. It places the lucky winner on equal terms to the staff, granting them authority, power, and responsibility that no other student can even dream of possessing. Naturally, Emily doesn't want it. But when she returns to Whitehall for her sixth and final year, she discovers that the staff has elected her to the post - and refusal isn't an option. Reluctantly, she starts to carry out her new duties, unaware that deadly enemies are waiting in the shadows, preparing themselves to strike at her when her back is turned.

To Become a Whale tells the story of 13-year-old Sam Keogh, whose mother has died. Sam has to learn how to live with his silent, hitherto absent father, who decides to make a man out of his son by taking him to work at Tangalooma, then the largest whaling station in the Southern Hemisphere. What follows is the story of a gentle boy trying to make sense of the terrible reality of whaling and the cruelty and alienation of his new world.

Long Chao is the son of a hedge mage — a heretic cultivator. He doesn’t cultivate for power, but to satisfy his endless curiosity. One fateful day, Xiao Huifen, a girl aiming to be the youngest Sky Realm cultivator in the Monolith continent’s history, crashes into his life. She’s from the world of top-ranked sects and strict cultivation methodologies. They share nothing in common except for the unquenchable desire to unlock heaven’s every mystery.

When Funke’s mother dies in a tragic accident in Lagos, she’s sent to live with her maternal family in England. Traumatised by grief and against a backdrop of condescension and mild neglect, conformist Funke strives to fit in, determined to become one of them. Free-spirited Liv has always wanted to break free of her joyless family, resolved to be nothing like them. Fiercely protective of Funke, she at last has a purpose. And an ally. The two cousins give each other what they need most: love. But the past casts long shadows and the choices made by their mothers haunt Funke and Liv.

Bold, charismatic, and charming Blu Henderson wears a fake smile every day, pushing through life because she has to—not because she wants to. Quiet, introverted, and mysterious Jace Boland catches her eye the second she sees him. After that, it’s game over—not just for Blu, but for Jace as well.

Birdy thought she would have to wait until she was free again to see Rose, but now Rose has been convicted of a shocking crime and she and Birdy will be together. Birdy has been saving all her anger for Rose. It is Rose who should have protected her and kept her safe. Birdy was little but Rose was big, and she knows Rose could have saved her. This is a story about monsters who hide in plain sight and about the secrets we keep from ourselves. It is about children who are betrayed and adults who fail them.

January, 1982. Thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor - covert stammerer and reluctant poet - anticipates a stultifying year in his backwater English village. But he hasn't reckoned with bullies, simmering family discord, the Falklands War, a threatened gypsy invasion and those mysterious entities known as girls. Charting 13 months in the black hole between childhood and adolescence, this is a captivating novel, wry, painful and vibrant with the stuff of life.

When his grandfather dies, a boy named Jay travels south with his family to the property he left them, a once flourishing farm that has fallen into disrepair. The trees are diseased, the fields parched from months of drought. Still, Jay’s father, Jack, sends him out to work the land, or whatever land is left. Over the course of these hot, dense days, Jay finds himself drawn to Chuan, the local son of the farm’s manager, different from him in every way except for one.

The Miller family's move from Ohio to Montana was, for the most part, uneventful, except that Sadie Miller had to leave her beloved horse, the palomino named Paris. Still, she likes the Montana snows and her job at Aspen East Ranch, serving the ranch hands. Unexpectedly, Ezra appears, the man who seems to be perfect in every way and fully intends to marry Sadie. But does she love him back? And who is this fascinating Mark who helps to rescue a dying horse and shows up at the Amish hymn-sing though he is English?

LuLing Young is now in her 80s, and finally beginning to feel the effects of old age. Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write down all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China. Meanwhile, her daughter Ruth, a ghostwriter for authors of self-help books, is losing the ability to speak up for herself in front of the man she lives with. LuLing can only look on, helpless: her prickly relationship with her daughter does not make it easy to discuss such matters.

No one needs that many hookups! Not even soon to be major league pitcher Theo Von Bremen. So, I help him by routinely thinning out his contact list - because I'm the best roommate ever. And he's optimal baby daddy material. For me - not Amanda one, two, or three. But since the man can't take a hint, I'll continue to spray his sheets with my perfume and accidentally leave my panties in his laundry. That has to be enough to break a man eventually. Right?

Raised in Marrakech by a French mother and English father, a 17-year-old girl has learned above all to avoid mauvais ton ("bad taste" loses something in the translation). One should not ask servants to wait on one during Ramadan: they must have paid leave while one spends the holy month abroad. One must play the piano; if staying at Claridge’s, one must regrettably install a Clavinova in the suite so that the necessary hours of practice will not be inflicted on fellow guests.

Three years ago, Gabe saw his daughter taken. In the back of a rusty old car, covered in bumper stickers. He was driving behind the car. He watched her disappear. But no one believes him. Most people believe that his daughter and wife are dead. For a while, people believed that Gabe was responsible. Three years later and Gabe cannot give up hope. Even though he has given up everything else. His home, his job, his old life.