This thrilling Young Adult novel gives readers a macro view of some of the most important events in the Star Wars universe, from the rise of the Rebellion to the fall of the Empire. Readers will experience these major moments through the eyes of two childhood friends--Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell--who have grown up to become an Imperial officer and a Rebel pilot. Now on opposite sides of the war, will these two star-crossed lovers reunite, or will duty tear them--and the galaxy--apart? Star Wars: Lost Stars also includes all-new post- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi content, as well as hints and clues about the upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, making this a must-read for all Star Wars fans.
Eleanor & Park meets Perks of Being a Wallflower in this bittersweet 1980’s story about love, loss, and a comet that only comes around every ninety-seven years. When Carrie looks through her telescope, the world makes sense. It’s life here on Earth that’s hard to decipher. Since her older sister, Ginny, died, Carrie has been floating in the orbit of Ginny’s friends, the cool kids, who are far more interested in bands and partying than science. Carrie’s reckless behavior crosses a line, and her father enrolls her in a summer work camp at a local state park. There, Carrie pulls weeds and endures pep talks about the power of hard work. Despite her best efforts to hate the job, Carrie actually feels happy out in nature. And when she meets Dean—warm, thoughtful, and perceptive—she starts to discover that her life can be like her beloved night sky, with black holes of grief for Ginny and dazzling meteors of joy from first love.
It is 2299, in the distant world, New Hope. Peter West was on the verge of graduating from his primary school with big dreams for his future. With a starship license burning a hole in his pocket, he dreamed of someday owning his own spacecraft. Peter wanted to see what was out there and believed his only opportunity to do this was to join the Space Explorers, if they would only have him. Talented young pilot or not, Peter’s skills may not be enough to make the cut. And of course, there was the Galactic Lottery drawing, which was to take place on Earth’s New Year’s Day, after five years of selling tickets on three worlds—the grand prize being a state-of-the-art starship. Were Peter’s dreams about to come true? But he wasn’t the only one with their eyes on the starship. The syndicate operated out of the massive Gateway space station under the very noses of Earth’s Space Rangers. With their evil grips around the throats of key station personnel, they were able to hide their operation and carry out their criminal plans unabated. Felix Sandoval owed the syndicate big-time and was about to do something he may live to regret. Along with the starship prize came a trip to Earth, Peter’s ancestral home world. One way or another, Peter’s dreams were about to come true. Setting foot on another planet, the freedom of space . . . but dreams sometimes turn into nightmares. Luck turns bad, villains ruin plans, and of course, the chaos of space travel. The void is unforgiving. In his travels, he learns the answer to one of mankind’s burning questions, one that had been asked for millennia and would change the course of mankind forever. Are we alone? If only he could survive being, Lost Between Stars.
The Empire can be seductive, particularly if you're an aspiring young pilot... Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree both know this very well when they enroll Imperial Academy, eager to pursue their dreams. When Thane discovers the darker side of the Empire, though, and defects to the Rebellion, the pair's lifelong friendship will be put to the ultimate test. Will Thane and Ciena's relationship -- or even they themselves -- survive this galactic conflict...?
The second novel from the author of Guernica (a top ten bestseller and winner of the Richard & Judy Summer Read 2009) is a deeply moving, intimate portrait of family, friendship and love, set against the backdrop of the second Boer war. Aletta Venter was on the family farm when the British troops arrived. She watched them burn her home to the ground before she was transferred, with her mother and siblings, to a prison camp. Never complaining, just living day by day, Lettie grows out of her innocent childhood. She is determined to be a good person, but everything is so complicated in this place where making the wrong decision can be life-threatening. What should she do about Maples, for example, the nineteen-year-old British guard who tries to befriend her? Is his kindness genuine, or would trusting him be a betrayal of herself and her country? A deeply moving, intimate portrait of family, friendship and love, set against the backdrop of the second Boer war at the turn of the twentieth century, The Undesirables (the British name for the residents of the camps) is the heart-rending yet life-affirming new novel from the top ten bestselling author of Guernica, winner of the Richard & Judy Summer Read.
Growing up, Jude McCallister was the bane of my existence. My best friend. Fiercest ally. The most annoying boy in the world.At eighteen, the boy I loved to hate became the man I couldn't live without.We were young. Madly in love. Invincible. Strong enough to weather any storm.Cocky enough to believe that no amount of time or distance could destroy us.When Jude finally returned home from overseas, it should have been cause for celebration. But the man I'd fallen in love with was gone, and in his place was someone I no longer recognized. I can't do this, the note said. I'm sorry. Now, after six long years he's back. Only my heart ... it doesn't beat just for him anymore.
'Finding Lost Stars' is a retelling of the ancient Greek myth 'The Fall of Icarus.' This modern take is about a 17-year-old dying boy who learns how to live from a boy with every reason to want to die; about a generation of lost youths who find salvation through forgiveness, love and the remembrance of their past lives as Gods and Goddesses.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic historical novel of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post–Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives. “An absorbing historical . . . enthralling.”—Library Journal Bestselling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual “Lost Friends” advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away. Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following roads rife with vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of stolen inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery’s end, the pilgrimage west reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope. Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, is suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lie the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.
At 672, Jon Foster is one of the oldest people alive. He has seen oceans rise and fall, entire worlds obliterated, and a love so deep that it changed everything--but he has never seen this. The stars at the edge of human colonization are disappearing and no one knows how to stop it. Not only that, but another mysterious and ageless individual is driven to control everything that society has strived so hard to build. Desperate, Jon sets out to find the one person who can challenge his enemies and who might just hold the secret to the lost stars.Saiph Calthari has no clue that the most influential people alive are looking for him. He doesn't even know that his home is one of many planets, or that what he thinks of as magic is technology. If he ever wants to escape slavery and see his family again, he must seize the energy within him and save the planet he loves.Lost Stars is a science fiction novel that considers how the longevity of one family changed the course of humanity forever. As the story progresses, moving back and forth in time, the surprising connection between now and then is revealed, showing how the present is truly a sum of the past.
" The wait is over. New York Times bestselling author Jack Campbell continues his action-packed spin-off to The Lost Fleet series as the Syndicate's civil war threatens to spread even farther into the final frontier ... President Gwen Iceni and General Artur Drakon have successfully liberated the Midway Star System-but the former rulers of the Syndicate Worlds won't surrender the region without a fight. The dictatorial regime has ordered the ex-Syndicate CEOs terminated with extreme prejudice and the system's citizens punished for their defiance. Outnumbered and led by junior officers hastily promoted in the wake of the uprising, Midway's warships are no match for the fleet massing and preparing to strike. But the Syndicate isn't the only threat facing Iceni and Drakon. Another former CEO has taken control of the Ulindi Star System, the first calculated move toward establishing his own little empire. With Drakon's ground forces dispatched to Ulindi, Midway erupts in violence as Syndicate agents and other, unknown enemies stoke a renewed revolt against Iceni's power-leaving both her and Drakon vulnerable to trusted officers just waiting for an opportune moment to betray them ..."--
