Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

The Angelina Jolie Paradox applies.  

"The what now?"

Sagan cleared his throat.  "You know when you're watching a movie starring Angelina Jolie?  And the character she's playing looks just like Angelina Jolie, right?"

"Um, yes.  Because that's who she is."

"No, she's a regular person in that world, not a movie star.  But the other characters never mention that she looks exactly like Angelina Jolie.  No one ever comes up to her on the street and says, 'Can I have your autograph?'"

"Because that would mess up the movie," Carla said.

"Exactly.  So when you cast Angelina Jolie in a film, you're creating an alternate universe in which actress Angelina Jolie does not exist.  Because otherwise people would be noticing the resemblance all the time.  This is what I call the Angelina Jolie Paradox."

"You know, Sagan," Carla said.  "You could have named that paradox after any movie star."

"True.  But as the paradox's discoverer, I have chosen Angelina Jolie, as is my right."



Copyright 2014 by Scott Westerfeld

Your heart beats only with their permission.


Everything changed on The Day.  The day the windows shattered.  The day the power stopped.  The day Dol's family dropped dead.  The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power.  Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.

She's different.  She survived.  Why?

When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions.  While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son.  But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence.  It's a conspiracy.

Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions -- which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses -- may actually be their greatest strengths.

Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers the first book in a heart-pounding series set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts -- in order to save the future.

I diverted the conversation to music because I couldn't take more sex talk; I was on the verge of vibrating, and if the sparks popped any brighter between us, we'd burn his apartment down.



Copyright 2014 by Ann Aguirre

Join forces with a parallel universe.

Dark forces, magical creatures, and the world Lil thought she knew collide when a dream transports her to the strange world of Orenda.  Stunned and terrified, Lil comes face to face with her doppelganger, Willow, who possesses the ability to travel between the two worlds.  Everything Lil knows logically says that Orenda can't exist, but a small clue may be proof that it was more than an ordinary dream.  With the threat of her sister in danger, Lil crosses dimensions but it may cost her even more than she bargained for.

A sword wielding girl, the eternal suit, and a parallel universe come together in this action-packed Young Adult fantasy adventure that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages.  Orenda is the first novel in the Orenda series.

Charlie, the main character in PERKS, could have spoken for Luke when nobody else did.