The pitching machine hurled the first pitch. It was just like at the cages. Carlos was comfortable. He lifted his left leg slightly. Then he turned his hips to the ball. He swung the bat. Crack!
Terrance thought about football. He was sore from practice. That was good. Coach Fisher said his blocks were better. He'd get to play in the game! Coach was right about football. You've got to have something to work for. It makes you work at everything.
Max’s mom is alive and recovering. But the demons are still out there. And the Scarlet Portal will open soon. Can Max stop the demons and close the portal to save humanity? What will he have to sacrifice? Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards. Book 8 in the series.
Max’s mom is still missing. When Poe flies in with a clue, Max follows him to an abandoned gas station. What lurks in the shadows? More clues? Or more demons? Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards. Book 5 in the series
Old Mrs. Jenkins calls the police to report a strange creature she’s trapped. But Max is convinced she’s caught a demon. He and Poe arrive before the police, hoping to get information about Max’s missing mom. Will the demon reveal all, or just leave Max with more questions? Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards. Book 6 in the series
Mark just can't settle into his new life. He misses his friends and has trouble connecting with new classmates. Walking through his neighborhood, he sees an open window. Instantly, everything changes. Maybe he can pretend to be someone else and live a different life ... if only for a moment.
Dale Curtis, the rookie on the Jackson Eagles basketball team, struggles between his commitment to the team and loyalty to his ex-con brother.
The coalition All One has been formed to support the integration of superheroes and villains. Villain Mateo suspects a group of superheroes and villains are working against the coalition's success. Superhero Zoe believes him. But is he right? Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards.
Ava works hard at maintaining a certain image online and at school. As far as anyone else knows, life is great. But when she inherits an African gray parrot from her great-uncle Bernie (whom she barely remembers), Ava’s carefully crafted world starts to crumble. The parrot, Mervin, is loud and messy and obnoxious. Ava’s brother thinks it’s hilarious to post videos of Ava trying to deal with the crazy bird. He even creates a profile for the two of them. Everyone wants to see more of Ava and Mervin. Suddenly, Ava is internet famous—in the worst possible way. Her friends think the parrot is gross and start acting weird. But then a new girl at school helps Ava see that this parrot might not be the worst gift in the world and that just being yourself is the best way to be.
Stella Connors has spent her whole life bouncing around from one town to the next, following the latest musician her mother has fallen in love with. She has always vowed she will never become a pathetic groupie like her mother, Viv. But then her best friend uploads a video of Stella singing a cover of her favorite band’s biggest hit. It goes viral, and suddenly Stella’s ideas about who she is and what she wants take a real hit. As a publicity stunt, the band’s manager asks Stella to perform with them when they come to town. Stella is thrilled and agrees immediately. Soon she finds herself in the spotlight, with everyone after her for interviews and photo ops. And unless she’s reading things wrong, she’s pretty sure the band’s lead singer has a thing for her. When she gets invited to go on the road with the band and perform in another concert, Stella forgets every bad thing she ever thought about being a groupie. After all, she’s nothing like her mother. She’s a star. Isn’t she?
Fourteen-year-old Dylan is sent to live with his estranged grandfather, Angus. Basically strangers, the two avoid each other as best they can. One day Dylan discovers a young orca stranded high up on the rocky beach. Dylan runs to tell his grandfather. There’s nothing that can be done, says Angus. The sun is coming up, and soon the orca will die of exposure. But Dylan knows he has to try to save the whale. He collects towels to cover the delicate skin of the orca and begins transporting buckets of water from the ocean below to keep it hydrated. It’s grueling work, and it will be hours before the tide comes back in and the water is high enough for the orca to swim free. Angus is moved by his grandson’s determination and helps as best he can. They both desperately hope that soon the orca will be able to join its family, who have been calling out to it just offshore.
Charlie's world comes crashing down when her fiancé leaves her for another woman. Then Aunt Della wins a trip for two to Rome. Maybe Italy can mend her broken heart? Or at least distract her from it—who needs romance when you have Rome, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast? But with adventure come mishaps, and Charlie's trip seems to be full of them! In between the chaos and hijinks, will Charlie take another chance at love?
Nick was used to being good at everything. Hockey, football, track, they all came easy to him. Surfing was his latest passion. That is, until the accident. Now partially paralyzed, Nick is angry, depressed and getting far too fond of his prescription meds. But his frequent visits to his physiotherapist, a Syrian refugee, and a budding friendship with a partial amputee who has also experienced firsthand the horrors of war help him start to piece his life back together. A story about overcoming the odds and changing your life for the better.
When paramedic Ashley Grant’s parents visit her in the Victoria and Albert Islands, her father, Frank, soon becomes bored with the beach vacation. When a plumbing emergency has him feeling useful again, he makes friends with Ashley’s neighbor Paul McIntosh. Then Paul disappears. Ashley isn’t worried; after all, he’s a single man on vacation. But Frank is determined to find out what happened to his friend, and he soon stumbles on the dark secrets of this Caribbean paradise.
A jewelry store robber discovers the amazing abilities of the disabled young woman who witnessed his crime.
When young Henry Fleming joins the Union army, he dreams of becoming a great hero. But after running in terror from battle, he must face his cowardice and fight bravely to win back his self-respect. Filled with vivid battle scenese, The Red Badge of Courage is considered a masterpiece of literature about war.
A Christmas Carol is without question one of Charles Dickens' greatest works. This extremely popular story introduces some of the most timeless, internationally known characters such as Scrooge, the unforgettable miser; Bob Cratchit, the underpaid clerk; and Tiny Tim, Cratchit's frail, loving son.
Paris is worried that Max isn't really visiting his grandparents. She thinks he's dating another girl. Instead of asking Max her real question, Paris takes her cousin's advice and accepts a date with Blake. After all, if Max can date someone behind her back, why can't she? Besides, no one will know her at the Wayfield homecoming game... or will they?
Pema, Bounce and Jagroop are battling a greedy developer for control of the airwaves. When Karl Reed, Owner of Oasis Developments, tries to force the sale of a local fruit farm ”through whatever means necessary” Pema, Bounce and Jagroop decide to expose him through the media. Little do they realize that when it comes to the news and the advertisers who make it possible, the truth is not always part of the story and nothing can be taken at face value. While learning about media consolidation and the power of money over truth, Bounce, Pema and Jagroop decide to take on the developers and the media.
Moby Dick is an exciting story about Captain Ahab's compelling obsession to get his revenge and defeat the Great White Whale. The story truly portrays the tragedy of hatred. This timeless epic is considered one of the strangest yet most powerful stories ever written.
Modo, who first made his appearance in The Hunchback Assignments, is a young, disfigured spy trained to be the ultimate secret agent. Not only is Modo brilliant and strong, but he also has a special ability: he can temporarily take on the appearance of other people. While on holiday, Modo and fellow spy Octavia Milkweed find themselves in Ember's End. Created by the slightly mad scientific genius Dr. Ebenezer Ember, this is no ordinary wild-west town. It is surrounded by an energy field that prevents gunpowder from firing, and messages are sent via pneumatic tubes. There are also rumors that before Dr. Ember died, he built a weapon so powerful it could end all wars. With the local sheriff recently deceased, the two travelers are suddenly put in charge of Ember's End law enforcement.
Braden Green, Gabriel Lopez, and Misty Everest, three teenagers bound for Mars, discover that the damage to the spaceship is the result of sabotage. With all of the crew dead the three teens must figure out who is responsible for the sabotage before something else goes wrong. Second book in the series.
Braden Green, Gabriel Lopez, and Misty Everest think that their problems are over when they finally get to Mars. But it turns out the problems are only beginning when the wants to refuse them entrance. With little fuel and food, the three teens must figure out how to convince the colony to let them in. Fourth book in the series.
The students of Carter High return for their senior year. These books continue the stories from Carter High Chronicles and introduce new characters. Topics are involving and pertinent to young adult readers: romance, sports, friendships, exams, work, family. In just 48-pages, struggling readers can easily complete each novel. Starting your senior year at a new school is tough. Harder still when you can't hear some of what is said to you. Rick wanted the Carter High students to like him. He thought if they knew he wore a hearing aid, they wouldn't want to be his friends.
Peter Strand is half Chinese and half Cherokee and was adopted by an elderly white couple from Phoenix. Now he's a forensic accountant in San Francisco, where he's struggling with his identity. When his employer asks him to investigate a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, Strand meets a cast of quirky characters who all seem to be hiding a secret. Peter soon finds evidence of a probable fraud, but when fraud leads to murder, he's drawn deeper into a murky mystery. The Black Tortoise is the second book in the Peter Strand Mystery series.
