“Language lovers as well as those who appreciate the artistry of a perfectly compact novella will consider this collection a treasure.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review) This bold collection of novellas by Daniel Nayeri features four modern riffs on classic genres that explore universally compelling themes such as identity and belonging, betrayal and friendship, love and mortality. Included are: Straw House: A Western sizzling with suspense, set in a land where a rancher grows soulless humans and a farmer grows living toys. Wood House: A science-fiction tale set in a future where reality and technology blend imperceptibly, and a teenage girl must save the world from a nano-revolution. Brick House: A detective story set in modern New York City, featuring a squad of “wish police” and a team of unlikely detectives. Blow: A comedic love story told by none other than Death himself, portrayed as a handsome and charismatic hero who may steal your heart in more ways than one.
A National Indie Bestseller An NPR Best Book of the Year A New York Times Best Book of the Year An Amazon Best Book of the Year A Booklist Editors' Choice A BookPage Best Book of the Year A NECBA Windows & Mirrors Selection A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year A Today.com Best of the Year PRAISE "A modern masterpiece." —The New York Times Book Review "Supple, sparkling and original." —The Wall Street Journal "Mesmerizing." —TODAY.com "This book could change the world." —BookPage "Like nothing else you've read or ever will read." —Linda Sue Park "It hooks you right from the opening line." —NPR SEVEN STARRED REVIEWS ★ "A modern epic." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review ★ "A rare treasure of a book." —Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ "A story that soars." —The Bulletin, starred review ★ "At once beautiful and painful." —School Library Journal, starred review ★ "Raises the literary bar in children's lit." —Booklist, starred review ★ "Poignant and powerful." —Foreword Reviews, starred review ★ "One of the most extraordinary books of the year." —BookPage, starred review A sprawling, evocative, and groundbreaking autobiographical novel told in the unforgettable and hilarious voice of a young Iranian refugee. It is a powerfully layered novel that poses the questions: Who owns the truth? Who speaks it? Who believes it? "A patchwork story is the shame of the refugee," Nayeri writes early in the novel. In an Oklahoman middle school, Khosrou (whom everyone calls Daniel) stands in front of a skeptical audience of classmates, telling the tales of his family's history, stretching back years, decades, and centuries. At the core is Daniel's story of how they became refugees—starting with his mother's vocal embrace of Christianity in a country that made such a thing a capital offense, and continuing through their midnight flight from the secret police, bribing their way onto a plane-to-anywhere. Anywhere becomes the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy, and then finally asylum in the U.S. Implementing a distinct literary style and challenging western narrative structures, Nayeri deftly weaves through stories of the long and beautiful history of his family in Iran, adding a richness of ancient tales and Persian folklore. Like Scheherazade of One Thousand and One Nights in a hostile classroom, Daniel spins a tale to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth. EVERYTHING SAD IS UNTRUE (a true story) is a tale of heartbreak and resilience and urges readers to speak their truth and be heard.
A devilish debut by a brother-sister team invites us into the world of the elite Marlowe School, where some gifted students are having a hell of a year. (Age 14 and up) One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish -- only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city’s most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor’s extraordinary "gifts." But as the students claw their way up -- reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty -- they start to suffer the sideeffects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins. At once chilling and wickedly satirical, this contemporary reimagining of the Faustian bargain is a compelling tale of ambition, consequences, and ultimate redemption.
Sasha's father sells magic potions, but the potions don’t work. Can Sasha find a way to make the magic happen? When local chocolate maker Ms. Kozlow comes to the Juicy Gizzard potion shop asking for luck, Sasha needs to find out why. Maybe Ms. Kozlow needs luck because she has a matchmaking appointment with Granny Yenta this afternoon. Can Sasha and Puck make it Ms. Kozlow’s lucky day?
Sasha's father sells magic potions, but the potions don't work. Can Sasha find a way to make the magic happen? When Basil Gentry asks for a cordial cordial, Sasha thinks he wants it for his spoiled sister Sisal. A boarding school headmistress is coming to meet Sisal, but Sisal would rather throw a party for her horse. Can Sasha and Puck convince Sisal to be friendly for one whole day?
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A coming-of-age classic about a young girl growing up in Chicago • Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world—from the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. “Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage...and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” —The New York Times Book Review The House on Mango Street is one of the most cherished novels of the last fifty years. Readers from all walks of life have fallen for the voice of Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago and inventing for herself who and what she will become. “In English my name means hope,” she says. “In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting." Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—Cisneros’s masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery and one of the greatest neighborhood novels of all time. Like Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street or Toni Morrison’s Sula, it makes a world through people and their voices, and it does so in language that is poetic and direct. This gorgeous coming-of-age novel is a celebration of the power of telling one’s story and of being proud of where you're from.
Written entirely on an iPhone, this quartet of YA novellas by Another Pan and Another Faust author Daniel Nayeri showcases four different genres. This bold collection of novellas by Another series author Daniel Nayeri features four riveting tales. These modern riffs on classic genres will introduce young adult readers to a broad range of writing styles that explore universally compelling themes such as identity and belonging, betrayal and friendship, love and mortality. Straw House: A Western sizzling with suspense, set in a land where a rancher grows soulless humans and a farmer grows living toys. Wood House: This science-fiction tale plunges the reader into a future where reality and technology blend imperceptibly, and a teenage girl must race to save the world from a nano-revolution that a corporation calls “ReCreation Day.” Brick House: This detective story set in modern NYC features a squad of “wish police” and a team of unlikely detectives. Blow: A comedic love story told by none other than Death himself, portrayed here as a handsome and charismatic hero who may steal your heart in more ways than one. With humor, suspense, and relatable prose, this hip and cutting-edge collection dazzles.
It’s the ultimate introduction to the world of archery, in a book that turns into an actual bow that shoots paper arrows. All you have to do is unlock and open the upper and lower bow limbs, punch out and fold the arrows, and shoot! But the book is also a rich and lively illustrated history of archery, covering the physics of a bow and arrow; the types of bows used since 4500 BC; arrows from around the world, like the deadly stone arrowheads used by Native Americans, or the Japanese whistling Kabura-ya that helped Samurai signal each other. Here are the great archery battles—Thermopylae in 480 BC, where the Spartan “300” faced a Persian who shot so many arrows they darkened the sky; or the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, the last battle to feature archers—horsemen from the Eurasian steppes—who helped the Russians defeat Napoleon.
A #1 New York Times Bestseller! "Funny, insightful, illuminating . . ." —The Boston Globe Twelve years ago, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil exploded into a monumental success, residing a record-breaking four years on the New York Times bestseller list (longer than any work of fiction or nonfiction had before) and turning John Berendt into a household name. The City of Falling Angels is Berendt's first book since Midnight, and it immediately reminds one what all the fuss was about. Turning to the magic, mystery, and decadence of Venice, Berendt gradually reveals the truth behind a sensational fire that in 1996 destroyed the historic Fenice opera house. Encountering a rich cast of characters, Berendt tells a tale full of atmosphere and surprise as the stories build, one after the other, ultimately coming together to portray a world as finely drawn as a still-life painting.
