Showing results by narrator "Ramon de OCampo" in All Categories

Diego Benevides works hard. His single mother encourages him to stay focused on school, on getting into college, on getting out of their crumbling neighborhood. That’s why she gave him her car. Diego’s best friend, Lawson, needs a ride? because Lawson is dealing. As long as Diego’s not carrying, not selling, it’s cool. It’s just weed. But when Lawson starts carrying powder and pills and worse, their friendship is tested and their lives are threatened.

Payatas, a 50-acre dump northeast of Manila's Quezon City, is home to thousands of people who live off of what they can scavenge there. It is one of the poorest neighborhoods in a city whose law enforcement is already stretched thin, devoid of forensic resources, and rife with corruption. So when the eviscerated bodies of preteen boys begin to appear in the dump heaps, there is no one to seek justice on their behalf. In the rainy summer of 1997, two Jesuit priests take the matter of protecting their flock into their own hands.

In his gripping and provocative debut, anthropologist Jason De Leon sheds light on one of the most pressing political issues of our time - the human consequences of US immigration policy. The Land of Open Graves reveals the suffering and deaths that occur daily in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona as thousands of undocumented migrants attempt to cross the border from Mexico into the US.

When Matt Westin opens his eyes, he’s back on Earth—and seven years younger than when he went to sleep. For the last seven years, Matt and his sister, Jen, along with friends Carl and Blake, have been in the fantasy world of Cyraveil, revolutionaries fighting to overthrow a dictatorial empire. Now, they’ve suddenly returned to their quiet Oregon suburb, where they’re expected to go to high school and act like normal American teenagers. But after all this time, and with the memory of war so fresh in their minds, how can they pretend to be kids again?

When Oliver's great-grandfather's pocket watch is confiscated at school, Chase, a budding detective, vows to help him get it back. A self-proclaimed authority on paranormal activities, Chase convinces Oliver and his friends, Eduard and Gio, to go along with investigating the curious happenings at their school. What begins as the simple task of reclaiming Oliver's pocket watch swiftly turns into a full-fledged investigation into the paranormal happenings at Raven Ridge Academy.

Punching Bag is the compelling true story of a high school career defined by poverty and punctuated by outbreaks of domestic abuse. Rex Ogle, who brilliantly mapped his experience of hunger in Free Lunch, here describes his struggle to survive; reflects on his complex, often paradoxical relationship with his passionate, fierce mother; and charts the trajectory of his stepdad’s anger. Hovering over Rex’s story is the talismanic presence of his unborn baby sister.

Based on the massively successful CW show, Riverdale, this prequel novel explores what the gang was doing before season one. Why did Jughead and Archie have a falling out? What did Veronica’s life look like in the Big Apple? And how long has Betty really been in love with Archie? Told from multiple points of view, your favorite characters tell their story their way.

Basic life skills go mostly untaught in classrooms, so graduates are on their own to figure out how to live successfully in the world. Without any guidance, where do you start? Adulting 101 is a clever, practical, and timely guide to how to find a job and be wildly successful at work, buy the items you need as an adult (apartment, car, insurance), and more.

Eleven-year-old Matt is struggling in school, and he has to set up his own business to save his failing math grade. But what is he even good at? The only thing he truly loves is his team of dogs, and so Matt's Sled Dog School is born. Teaching dogsledding should be easy, right? But people, just like dogs, can be unpredictable. And sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is admit they need help.

Featuring nearly 500 samples of folklore, including stories, artifacts, rituals, and beliefs, New World Witchery is one of the most comprehensive collections of witchcraft and folk magic ever written. This treasure trove of witchery is designed to help you integrate folk traditions into your life and deepen your understanding of magic.

Zack and his younger sister, Zara, have had to fight for every scrap of food and luck that has ever come their way. All of that changes when Zack awakens as a Traveler. Zack holds the key to changing his small family’s fractured fate, and for his sister, he’ll risk everything. The dangers that await him in the mystic realm of the portals, where ancient powers still linger, aren’t the only thing he needs to be wary of. Nobles, both good and bad, have learned of them as well.

Edge of Infinity is an exhilarating new SF anthology that looks at the next giant leap for humankind: the leap from our home world out into the solar system. Featuring stories by Hannu Rajaniemi, Alastair Reynolds, James S. A. Corey, John Barnes, Stephen Baxter, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Elizabeth Bear, Pat Cadigan, Gwyneth Jones, and more.

When Chase, Oliver, Jax, Eduard, and Gio, are hired to investigate a local theft, they uncover more than they bargained for; a mysterious beast is prowling about Raven Ridge and has attacked a local hiker. Could the creature be a werewolf? A Sasquatch? The young detectives have their theories, but can they prove themselves right before the beast strikes again?

Zack and Zara have survived their first brush with nobles at the Academy. An experience that has left them trapped, lost inside a portal they were forced to enter. If they can make it back, it will be their turn to make the rules and create some havoc. Together they have grown stronger, pushing back against their past. Now they have something new: a friend. The portals, which gave them a way to fight back and to claim the life they always wanted, have done more than that. They brought them into the spotlight and made Zara a princess.

Magical miseducation and global adventure await in this fast-paced, humorous, and imaginative fantasy. Henry Leach the Eighth and his sister, Brianna, have survived a faulty spell, defeated a wicked spellcaster, and saved the world...but their greatest accomplishment might be convincing Grand Wand Master Coralis to take them on as official apprentices. For the first time in centuries, the reclusive Wand Master has opened the doors to his castle and invited a new generation of Wandmakers to learn the secrets of the craft.

Manila provides the ideal, torrid setting for an Akashic Noir series volume. It's where the rich rub shoulders with the poor, where five-star hotels coexist with informal settlements, where religious zeal coexists with superstition, and where politics is often synonymous with celebrity and corruption.

An all-new, mesmerizing adventure from the masterful Gordon Korman! Jackson Opus has always been persuasive, but he doesn't know that he's descended from the two most powerful hypnotist bloodlines on the planet. He's excited to be accepted into a special program at the Sentia Institute - but when he realizes he's in over his head, Jackson will have to find a way to use his powers to save his friends, his parents, and his government.

The Zang, an elder race of the galaxy, may be a shrinking population, but they're also intelligent, curious, and powerful. What's more, they practice a most unusual art form: they bonsai star systems. Eager to witness this first hand, Lieutenant Lord Thomas Kinago, accompanied as always by his personal assistant Parsons, sets out on a several-week jaunt to see the Zang destroy a moon to enhance the beauty of a star system.

The Middle School Rules of Charles Tillman will feature the defining childhood stories of a young, well-traveled boy nicknamed “Peanut,” who had to deal with racism, adapt to constant relocation, and endure the divorce of his parents. Inspired by faith and family, Tillman persevered and carved out an indelible mark both on and off the field.

Calvin Waffle doesn't believe in bad ideas. Danny knows his friend Calvin has crazy ideas, so he's not surprised when Calvin suggests they start a Rent-a-Pet business. After all, Calvin's Aunt Ruth wants the boys to watch her dog while she's away, and what better way to get the miniature Collie off their hands than loaning him to a kid in the neighborhood for a few days? But in order to rent a pet, you need a renter. Which Calvin and Danny don't have. Can the two drum up some business before it's too late? Or will their plan go to the dogs?