His best friend, Jasminder Cheema, who has her life together, is going with Joe Chan, one of the hottest boys in school—because of course she is. But when Jas surprises Alfie one morning with the news that their school’s golden couple, Harvey Ledger and Summer Gray, have broken up, everything changes. Harvey and Summer have …
Han is introduced as “mostly ornery. That’s another word for grumpy.” Then Kate and Olly move in; the youngsters are “curious and loquacious. That’s another word for talkative.” Though Han tries to avoid the kids, eventually they meet, much to his discomfort. Using soft colors textured with simple lines and deftly blended shadows exuding warmth …
A cancelled flight has jeopardized Piper Adams’ maid of honor responsibilities. Instead of being on a plane to her best friend Allie’s bachelorette party and wedding at an all-inclusive resort in the Bahamas, she’s stuck at the Atlanta airport. Fortunately, a knight in shining armor comes to her rescue, but unfortunately, he’s Wyatt Brooks, the …
An unnamed stage actress sits in her apartment, telling her young son a fairy story. Urged on by the ghosts of blood-drenched women that only she can see, she speaks of a boy born in a stately home. A curious, perpetually hungry child with sharp nails and pointed teeth, the boy is abandoned by his …
Seventeen-year-old Selaina lives in isolation; her mother warns her never to wander past a particular stream in the forest. Beyond it, apparently, lies the “wicked world” of Galanor. That doesn’t stop Selaina from jumping the stream, but one day, she returns from a forest walk to discover her mother missing. She sets out to find …
Forty-year-old Jaycee Grayson, fresh from a stint in the Betty Ford rehab center after having been fired from her job at a big-name Hollywood studio, is about to embark on a new adventure. Her older sister Meredith Grayson-O’Cochlain, a high-powered attorney, has negotiated a contract for Jaycee to be the new executive producer and vice …
When their club decides to have the girls’ team forfeit—even though they qualified for nationals—in favor of funding the boys’ team, white-presenting Barbara, who’s in her final year of secondary school, rallies her fractured teammates to fight back. Their efforts culminate in a high-stakes challenge match against the boys to determine who will get the …
Trying to forget a violent encounter with a serial killer, Arista settles into her new home in Sedona, Arizona. The New-Agey town seems like a good fit. Interested in magic, she works at a shop called Cosmic Prisms that sells items like crystals and candles. Living with her Aunt Bethie, the co-leader of a coven, …
Gramma Tala (from Moana) pushes her titular granddaughter to “listen to the powerful voice inside her.” Grandma Paguro, from Luca—a sea monster, like her grandson—urges Luca to take risks and to find friends who will love and accept him. Grandma Fa (from Mulan) makes her granddaughter laugh when times are tough. Méndez also compares these …
Kahlenberg is well known—and a source of controversy—for having aligned, though a liberal, with conservative thinkers in arguing against the affirmative action of old. The goals of racially based affirmative action are, he writes, “valid”: “It is crucial that in a multicultural democracy, students learn to appreciate and value individuals of all backgrounds.” Yet, as …
