Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Andie Miller is ready to move on with her life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her. A distant cousin has died and left North the guardian of two orphans who have driven away three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs someone to take care of the situation, and he knows Andie can handle anything....

When Andie meets the two children, she realizes the situation is much worse than she feared. Carter and Alice aren’t your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. Complicating matters is Andie’s fiancé’s suspicion that this is all a plan by North to get Andie back. He may be right because Andie’s dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that’s not the only haunting....

Then her ex-brother-in-law arrives with a duplicitous journalist and a self-doubting parapsychologist, closely followed by an annoyed medium, Andie’s tarot card–reading mother, her avenging ex-mother-in-law, and her jealous fiancé. Just when Andie’s sure things couldn’t get more complicated, North arrives to make her wonder if maybe this time things could just turn out differently....

Jennifer Crusie is one of the few romance authors whose books I regularly read. When I recently discovered that Crusie had a new book out in August I was eager to get a hold of it. Unfortunately, though, Maybe This Time ended up being a big disappointment, and wasn't nearly as enjoyable and entertaining as Crusie's previous books.

I must admit that part of the problem had to do with my personal disinterest in ghost stories. I've read several other books with similar themes this past year, including Hell Fire by Anne Aguirre and Ghost Light by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and I didn't really enjoy either of those books either. It's just that stories about ghosts and haunted houses don't do anything for me. On the other hand, I really liked Sophia Kinsella's Twenties Girl, which had involved a ghost, so I figured that Crusie's fun writing style might similarly spice up the ghost themed plot in Maybe This Time. But this wasn't the case.

Two orphaned children in a haunted house with a creepy housekeeper and a lovely governess, hired by the children's distant guardian. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Yes, I'm sure you've read similar books before, including, too, the dark and stormy night in which events come to a head.

In addition to the uninspired plot, Maybe This Time just didn't charm me the way all of Crusie's other books had. Other than Andie's wacky, fortune telling mother, the characters weren't as fun and quirky as in her other books and the romance felt flat to me. We barely even get to know the two male characters battling for Andie's affection, since they remain off-stage for most of the book.

I was actually pretty irritated with the romantic plot of the story and the way Andie casually dumps her wonderful, loving boyfriend, who she was about to get engaged to, to go back to her ex-husband, who she hasn't seen in ten years. But apparently unbridled lust is a good enough reason to dump your almost-fiance and hook up (aka, fall-in-love) with a man you already divorced once. And then the story weakly attempts to make Andie's boyfriend come across as a jerk, by having him do something stupid, so that the reader will feel Andie is justified in her callous behavior towards him. This just annoyed me even more.

There were a few interesting moments in the book and I trudged on just to see how some of the threads would be tied up, but as a whole I found the book pretty disappointing; not at all what I have come to expect from Jennifer Crusie.

I have to admit that if you enjoy ghost stories than you will probably find Maybe This Time more appealing than I did but I doubt you will get any more enjoyment than I did out of the feeble romantic plot.

Gateway by Frederik Pohl

Although it's been over a year now since I first challenged myself to start reading science fiction, I still find myself intimidated by the hard core stuff. To me, Gateway by Frederik Pohl falls into this category because it's written by a top scifi author and it has a cover featuring spaceships shooting at each other in outer space. That's heavy-duty scifi stuff.

But when I recently found myself in possession of a copy of Gateway I thought it couldn't hurt to take a look inside, just to test the waters. To my surprise, I was immediately drawn into the story by the casual narration style and before I knew it I was half-way done with the book. While at first I was compelled to keep reading by the easy writing style- so different from many of the other scifi that I've tried- I was soon caught up by the thrill of the story and I could barely bring myself to put the book down, until I finished it all.

Bob Broadhead has always dreamed of being a prospector; of flying a Heechee ship in search of the valuable relics hidden on far off-planets- all that remains of the mysterious Heechee race. But becoming a prospector is expensive and far beyond Bob's means, so he has to settle for following in his parent's footsteps and working in the food mines.

The life of a miner is hard and by the time Bob is twenty-six he has lost both his parents to the mines. Bob has little hope that his life will get any better until the day he wins $250,000 in the lottery, which he immediately spends on a ticket to Gateway.

Gateway is the place to go for anyone wanting to make their fortune through prospecting. It’s the asteroid where the Heechee ships were first discovered and it's there where training and accommodations are provided for those who risk their lives in search of Heechee treasure. The problem is that no one knows exactly how the aircrafts work. Each ship appears to be pre-programmed to a particular destination but the destinations can only be determined once a prospector has traveled there. If a prospector is lucky he will be brought to an undiscovered planet full of Heechee relics, for which he will be awarded enough money to retire for life. The unlucky never make it back at all, or at least not alive.

Bob is excited to finally fulfill his dreams of becoming a prospector, that is- until he gets a look at the remains of a ship from a failed mission. The bodies of the prospectors, mysteriously ripped apart, cause Bob's excitement to dampen and suddenly he isn't sure if this is what he wants at all.

As his friends and fellow prospectors eagerly set off into the unknown, in fulfillment of their own dreams, Bob haunts the tunnels of Gateway wracked by fear and indecision. Should he give up his dreams of glory when he is already so close or risk his life in a possibly deadly mission?

Years later, Bob is facing the consequences of what he experienced at Gateway and the events which led to the final and horrifying trip that brought him the fame and fortune he had longed for.

Gateway starts off with a counseling session between Bob and his robotic psychiatrist whom he calls Sigfried. As Sigfried attempts to get Bob to talk about the painful events of his past, Bob reluctantly recounts the story of what brought him to Gateway and what happened there. The story switches between Bob's conversations with Sigried, and his own recollection of events. At times I was frustrated by this because the counseling sessions keep hinting at events that have not yet come to pass, so I knew to expect certain things to happen, which I didn't like. But otherwise it was a good way to break up the intensity of the story, by inserting conversations between Bob and psychiatrist.

As the story progressed I came to like Bob less and less, due to his behavior and interactions with some of the other characters, but at the same time I was able to sympathize with his plight. The intensity of emotion in the story is tangible, as each character sets off on a mission that could end in either glory or a horrible demise. I was on edge throughout the story, waiting for Bob to finally go on a mission of his own, but also fearful of how it would end.

I did have a few doubts about some aspects of the story, such as the fact that after hundreds of years, so little information has been discovered about the workings of the Heechee aircrafts. If the world has advanced to the point where people can reside on other planets, as they do in this book, then technology must be sophisticated enough to have developed robots that could have been used for experimentation with the aircrafts. And such robots could also have traveled on the missions instead of people, in order to discover where the ships go to.

I thought it was interesting, though, that we don't actually learn anything in the story about the Heechees themselves or their history. I actually felt quite comfortable with this part of the story because a number of fantasy books that I've read recently have similar themes, of past alien cultures that have left remains for the current human race to discover. But I do believe Pohl talks more about the Heechees in his sequel to Gateway, which I am certainly planning on reading.

One of the things I liked best about Gateway was that I actually understood everything that took place. The science part of the book was very low-key and I wasn't required to know any scientific terms or understand any complicated technological equipment, which is what often intimidates me about science fiction books. Gateway was a pleasantly easy book to read, which I really appreciated.

Gateway turned out to be a really fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone looking for a thrilling literary adventure. If you are new to science fiction then this is an excellent book to start with, though I think even people who don't read scifi would really enjoy it as well.

New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of October 10

This is a good week for YA readers, with lots of new YA books coming out over the next few days. James Dashner's sequel to The Maze Runner is probably one of the most anticipated YA books of this week, along with Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero. Passion Play, a new fantasy from Tor, has been receiving a lot of attention, which might have to do with it's comparison to Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy books.

One book that I thought looked like it could be fun is Stork by Wendy Delsol. The premises is certainly original (unlike so many of the other YA books, which all sound alike to me) and I'm curious to see how the story plays out.

I'm actually still reading The Passage, though, so I'm not looking for anything else to read at the moment. It's good so far, but grim.

Hope you have a great reading week!





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Banished
Sophie Littlefield
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 12

There isn’t much worth living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives. Hailey figures she’ll never belong—not with the popular kids at school, not with the rejects, not even with her cruel, sickly grandmother, who deals drugs out of their basement. Hailey never knew her dead mother, and she has no idea who her father was, but at least she has her four-year-old foster brother, Chub. Once she turns eighteen, Hailey plans to take Chub far from Gypsum and start a new life where no one can find them.

But when a classmate is injured in gym class, Hailey discovers a gift for healing that she never knew she possessed—and that she cannot ignore. Not only can she heal, she can bring the dying back to life. Confused by her powers, Hailey searches for answers but finds only more questions, until a mysterious visitor shows up at Gram’s house, claiming to be Hailey’s aunt Prairie.

There are people who will stop at nothing to keep Hailey in Trashtown, living out a legacy of despair and suffering. But when Prairie saves both Hailey and Chub from armed attackers who invade Gram’s house in the middle of the night, Hailey must decide where to place her trust. Will Prairie’s past, and the long-buried secret that caused her to leave Gypsum years earlier, ruin them all? Because as Hailey will soon find out, their power to heal is just the beginning.

This gripping novel from thriller writer Sophie Littlefield blazes a trail from small-town Missouri to the big city as Hailey battles an evil greater than she ever imagined, while discovering strengths she never knew she had.


Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles, Bk 2)
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 12

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.


Elixir
Hilary Duff
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: October 12

As the daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington D.C. politician, Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. And though she dreads the paparazzi who track her every move, she herself is a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world.

But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful young man begin to appear in Clea’s photos—a man she has never seen in her life.

When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned—and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond.

Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future—and their lives.


Enchanted Ivy
Sarah Beth Durst
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: October 12

What Lily Carter wants most in the world is to attend Princeton University just like her grandfather. When she finally visits the campus, Grandpa surprises her: She has been selected to take the top-secret Legacy Test. Passing means automatic acceptance to Princeton. Sweet!

Lily's test is to find the Ivy Key. But what is she looking for? Where does she start? As she searches, Lily is joined by Tye, a cute college boy with orange and black hair who says he's her guard. That's weird. But things get seriously strange when a gargoyle talks to her. He tells her that there are two Princetons—the ordinary one and a magical one—and the Key opens the gate between them. But there are more secrets that surround Lily. Worse secrets.

When Lily enters the magical Princeton, she uncovers old betrayals and new dangers, and a chance at her dream becomes a fight for her life. Soon Lily is caught in a power struggle between two worlds, with her family at its center. In a place where Knights slay monsters, boys are were-tigers, and dragons might be out for blood, Lily will need all of her ingenuity and courage—and a little magic—to unite the worlds and unlock the secrets of her past and her future.


Fatal Error (Repairman Jack, Bk 14)
F. Paul Wilson
Genre:
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: October 12

The End of the World is at hand!

Munir Habib's life has become a nightmare. His tormentor has warned Munir not to report the kidnapping of his family, or else they will pay a terrible price. A friend realizes something is terribly wrong and tells Munir he doesn't have to go to the cops. There's a guy who fixes situations like this-Repairman Jack. Jack is backed into helping Munir despite his ongoing involvement in the cosmic shadow war between the Ally and the Otherness. Or perhaps because of it. He's chafing at being forced into the defensive role of protecting the Lady, the physical embodiment of the consciousness of the planet Earth.

Meanwhile, the Septimus Order and the Kickers are seemingly working in concert on a plot to extinguish the Lady and open the way for the Otherness to take over our reality. To top it all off, Dawn Pickering finally goes into labor and delivers a baby she only glimpses as it's whisked away, and is terrified by what she sees. Later she's told the baby died, but she doesn't believe it. Neither does Weezy. Neither does Jack. All these interlocking plots mean doom for humanity. But Jack never gives up or gives in.


Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
Lish McBride
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Release Date: October 12

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.

Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.

With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?


Just Add Magic
Cindy Callaghan
Genre: Children/YA
Publisher: Simon & Schuster’s Aladdin M!x
Release Date: October 12

While cleaning the attic one day, Kelly Quinn, a curious sixth grader with a passion for cooking, finds a book of secret recipes bearing a warning: Beware of the Law of Returns. Using the book, Kelly starts a cooking club with her best friends, clumsy roller-skating Darbie and fashionista soccer star Hannah. The dishes from the book are delish, but they seem linked to strange occurrences at home, at school and on the soccer field.


Passion Play
Beth Bernobich
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: October 12

Ilse Zhalina is the daughter of one of Melnek’s more prominent merchants. She has lived most of her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth and privilege. Many would consider hers a happy lot. But there are dark secrets, especially in the best of families. Ilse has learned that for a young woman of her beauty and social station, to be passive and silent is the best way to survive.

When Ilse finally meets the older man she is to marry, she realizes he is far crueler and more deadly than her father could ever be. Ilse chooses to run. This choice will change her life forever.

And it will lead her to Raul Kosenmark, master of one of the land’s most notorious pleasure houses…and who is, as Ilse discovers, a puppetmaster of a different sort altogether. Ilse discovers a world where every pleasure has a price and there are levels of magic and intrigue she once thought unimaginable. She also finds the other half of her heart.

Sure to appeal to fans of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series.


Revolution
Jennifer Donnelly
Genre: YA
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 12

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.


Stork
Wendy Delsol
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Candlewick
Release Date: October 12

Oh baby! A hip heroine discovers that she has the ability to decide who gets pregnant in this witty YA blend of romance and the supernatural.

Sixteen-year-old Katla has just moved from Los Angeles to the sticks of Minnesota. As if it weren’t enough that her trendy fashion sense draws stares, she learns to her horror that she’s a member of an ancient order of women who decide to whom certain babies will be born. Add to that Wade, the arrogant football star whom Katla regrettably fooled around with, and Jack, a gorgeous farm boy who initially seems to hate her. Soon Katla is having freaky dreams about a crying infant and learns that, as children, she and Jack shared a near-fatal, possibly mystical experience. Can Katla survive this major life makeover and find a dress for the homecoming dance? Drawing from Norse mythology and inspired by The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, debut author Wendy Delsol conceives an irreverent, highly entertaining novel about embracing change and the (baby) bumps along the way.


The Half-Made World
Felix Gilman
Genre: Steampunk
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: October 12

A fantastical reimagining of the American West which draws its influence from steampunk, the American western tradition, and magical realism

The world is only half made. What exists has been carved out amidst a war between two rival factions: the Line, paving the world with industry and claiming its residents as slaves; and the Gun, a cult of terror and violence that cripples the population with fear. The only hope at stopping them has seemingly disappeared the Red Republic that once battled the Gun and the Line, and almost won. Now they’re just a myth, a bedtime story parents tell their children, of hope.

To the west lies a vast, uncharted world, inhabited only by the legends of the immortal and powerful Hill People, who live at one with the earth and its elements. Liv Alverhyusen, a doctor of the new science of psychology, travels to the edge of the made world to a spiritually protected mental institution in order to study the minds of those broken by the Gun and the Line. In its rooms lies an old general of the Red Republic, a man whose shattered mind just may hold the secret to stopping the Gun and the Line. And either side will do anything to understand how.


The Lost Hero
Rick Riordan
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Release Date: October 12

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.


The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
J. W. Rinzler
Genre:
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: October 12

In this lavish thirtieth-anniversary tribute to the blockbuster film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, New York Times bestselling author J. W. Rinzler draws back the curtain to reveal the intense drama and magnificent wizardry behind the hit movie—arguably the fan favorite of the Star Wars Saga.

Following his The Making of Star Wars, the author has once again made use of his unlimited access to the Lucasfilm Archives and its hidden treasures of previously unpublished interviews, photos, artwork, and production mementos. The result is a comprehensive behind-the-scenes, up-close-and-personal look at the trials and triumphs, risks and close calls, inspiration, perspiration, and imagination that went into every facet of this cinematic masterpiece. Here’s the inside scoop on:

• the evolution of the script, from story conference and treatment to fifth draft, as conceived, written, and rewritten by George Lucas, famed science-fiction author Leigh Brackett, and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan

• the development of new key characters, including roguish hero Lando Calrissian, sinister bounty hunter Boba Fett, and iconic Jedi Master Yoda

• the challenges of shooting the epic ice planet battle in the frozen reaches of Norway and of conjuring up convincing creatures and craft—from tauntauns and snowspeeders to Imperial walkers

• the construction of a life-sized Millennium Falcon and the swamp planet Dagobah inside a specially built soundstage in Elstree Studios

• the technique behind master Muppeteer Frank Oz’s breathing life into the breakthrough character Yoda

• the creation of the new, improved Industrial Light & Magic visual effects facility and the founding of the now-legendary Skywalker Ranch

In addition, of course, are rare on-the-scene interviews with all the major players: actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and David Prowse; director Irvin Kershner; producer Gary Kurtz; effects specialists Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett; composer John Williams; and many others. Punctuating the epic account is a bounty of drawings, storyboards, and paintings by Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, and Ivor Beddoes, along with classic and rare production photos. An added bonus is a Foreword by acclaimed director Ridley Scott.

The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is a fittingly glorious celebration of an undisputed space-fantasy movie milestone. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.


The Scorch Trials
James Dashner
Genre: YA Dystopia
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 12

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more Variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety... until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, much of the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated--and with it, order--and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim... and meal.

The Gladers are far from done running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder--does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

Trance
Linda Gerber
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance/ Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Speak
Release Date: October 14

It begins with a subtle vibration, a tingling. There is time to take only one breath. The trance begins. When it is through, she is certain of two things: Someone she knows is about to die. And she is powerless to stop it.

Ashlyn Greenfield has always known when bad things are going to happen. Each time that familiar tingling at the back of her neck begins, she knows what's to come a trance. She's pulled in, blindsided, an unwilling witness to a horrible upcoming event. But she's never been able to stop it not even when the vision was of her mother's fatal car accident. When soulful Jake enters Ashlyn's life, she begins having trances about another car accident. And as her trances escalate, one thing becomes clear: it's up to her to save Jake from near-certain death.


In the Meantime
Paul Tremblay
Genre: Scifi and Fantasy Short Story Anthology/Horror
Publisher: ChiZine Publications
Release Date: October 15

A history teacher begins his unorthodox senior course with clips from an ominous surveillance video, causing a student's home life to deteriorate along with the lessons. A girl with a second head that changes into different historical and fictional identities tries to find her father while figuring out how to handle Mom and the book club. A blog documents society's slow, unexplained, but inexorable end, or is it only a collection of pixel-sized paranoia? A once-awkward teen holes up in a kiddie-themed amusement park after the end of the world, and schemes to take Cinderella's Castle by force. This collection by Paul G. Tremblay (author of THE LITTLE SLEEP and NO SLEEP TILL WONDERLAND) features fifteen stories of fear and paranoia, stories of apocalypses both societal and personal, and stories of longing and coping.