Mirie, a photographer, travels to Africa in an effort to deliver herself from the uneventfulness of life back home.

The first young adult page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz. In one terrifying night, the peaceful community of Creek's Cause turns into a war zone. No one under the age of eighteen is safe. Chance Rain and his older brother, Patrick, have already fended off multiple attacks from infected adults by the time they arrive at the school where other young survivors are hiding. Most of the kids they know have been dragged away by once-trusted adults who are now ferocious, inhuman beings. The parasite that transformed them takes hold after people turn eighteen--and Patrick's birthday is only a few days away. Determined to save Patrick's life and the lives of the remaining kids, the brothers embark on a mission to uncover the truth about the parasites--and what they find is horrifying. Battling an enemy not of this earth, Chance and Patrick become humanity's only hope for salvation. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Long ago, Natalie’s mother faced an agonizing choice between the two people she loved most, and the difficult resolution to her predicament affects Natalie throughout her young life–fueling a season of teenage rebellion that results in the death of her best friend. As a young woman, Natalie attempts to put her troubles behind her, ultimately finding solace in the arms of a man with close ties to the tragedy. Yet neither time nor love can liberate her from the past. Determined to confront her terrible guilt, Natalie embarks on a journey that will take her thousands of miles from home and straight into the life and heart of a man unlike any she has ever known. Confronted with a decision that echoes the one her mother faced so many years before, Natalie finds herself drawn to two men–each of whom holds a claim to her heart. But the sins of her past must be confronted, and an escape from her guilt found, before her heart will be free to find its home. Showing that God can forgive the gravest of sins, After the Rains beautifully illustrates that his forgiveness comes purely through loving mercy and grace, not by our human efforts to earn it. From the Trade Paperback edition.

From a USA Today bestselling author comes a heartwarming holiday romance between the a small-town florist and the handsome chief of police. Christmas is always bustling for Halona Locklear's flower shop, but this year, she's determined to take some time out to give her young son an extra special holiday. So she should be thrilled when hunky police chief Alex Baker wants to be their not-so-secret Santa. But Halona can't get too close to Alex. He knows a truth she needs to keep hidden...for her boy's sake. Though Alex always had a thing for Halona, he never dared to pursue his best friend's little sister. But he can't shake the feeling that the gorgeous single mom and her little boy could use some holiday cheer, even if Halona refuses to let down her guard. But when ghosts of Christmas past threaten, Alex and Halona must decide what matters more: protecting their secrets or opening their wary hearts to new possibilities.!--~b~-- Includes the bonus novel Then There Was You by Miranda Liasson!Angel Falls is the perfect small town for falling in love. But that's the last thing on Dr. Sara Langdon's mind as she returns home. But when her first patient turns out to be her first-crush-turned-nemesis Colton Walker, Sara starts wondering if home really is where the heart is....

In a remote corner of West Africa, Monique Dembele saved lives and dispensed hope every day in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter. Monique and the Mango Rains is the compelling story of the authors decade-long friendship with Monique, an extraordinary midwife in rural Mali. It is a tale of Moniques unquenchable passion to better the lives of women and children in the face of poverty, unhappy marriages, and endless backbreaking work, as well as her tragic and ironic death. In the course of this deeply personal narrative, as readers immerse in village life and learn firsthand the rhythms of Moniques world, they come to know her as a friend, as a mother, and as an inspired woman who struggled to find her place in a male-dominated world.

She-Rain sweeps across nearly a century, telling an unforgettable story with beauty, humor, and a devotion to the boundless power of love.

A story of resilience and redemption set against one of America’s defining moments—the Dust Bowl. It’s 1935 in Oklahoma, and lives are determined by the dust. Fourteen-year-old Kathryn Baile, a spitfire born with a severe clubfoot, is coming of age in desperate times. Once her beloved older sister marries, Kathryn’s only comfort comes in the well-worn pages of her favorite book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Then Kathryn’s father decides to relocate to Indianapolis, and only the promise of a surgery to finally make her “normal” convinces Kathryn to leave Oklahoma behind. But disaster strikes along the way, and Kathryn must rely on her grit and the ragged companions she meets on the road if she is to complete her journey. Back in Boise City, Melissa Baile Mayfield is the newest member of the wealthiest family in all of Cimarron County. In spite of her poor, rural upbringing, Melissa has just married the town’s most eligible bachelor and is determined to be everything her husband—and her new social class—expects her to be. But as the drought tightens its grip, Henry’s true colors are revealed. Melissa covers her bruises with expensive new makeup and struggles to reconcile her affluent life with that of her starving neighbors. Haunted by the injustice and broken by Henry’s refusal to help, Melissa secretly defies her husband, risking her life to follow God’s leading. Two sisters, struggling against unspeakable hardship, discover that even in their darkest times, they are still united in spirit, and God is still with them, drawing them home.

What is a haiku? It sounds like a sneeze. And isn't a lantern a light source? Actually, they are two types of ancient Japanese poetry. Award-winning author Brian P. Cleary explains how each form works—and shows how these little poems can contain big surprises! If It Rains Pancakes is packed with poems to make you chuckle, puzzle, and ponder. And when you’ve finished reading, you can try your hand at writing your own haiku and lanterns!

Africa is playing a more important role in world affairs than ever before. Yet the most common images of Africa in the American mind are ones of poverty, starvation, and violent conflict. But while these problems are real, that does not mean that Africa is a lost cause. Instead, as Stephen Ellis explains in Season of Rains, we need to rethink Africa’s place in time if we are to understand it in all its complexity—it is a region where growth and prosperity coexist with failed states. This engaging, accessible book by one of the world’s foremost researchers on Africa captures the broad spectrum of political, economic, and social foundations that make Africa what it is today. Ellis is careful not to position himself in the futile debate between Afro-optimists and Afro-pessimists. The forty-nine diverse nations that make up sub-Saharan Africa are neither doomed to fail nor destined to succeed. As he assesses the challenges of African sovereignties, Ellis is not under the illusion that governments will suddenly become more benevolent and less corrupt. Yet, he sees great dynamism in recent technological and economic developments. The proliferation of mobile phones alone has helped to overcome previous gaps in infrastructure, African retail markets are becoming integrated, and banking is expanding. Businesses from China and emerging powers from the West are investing more than ever before in the still land-rich region, and globalization is offering possibilities of enormous economic change for the growing population of one billion Africans, actively engaged in charting the future of their continent. This highly readable survey of the continent today offers an indispensable guide to how money, power, and development are shaping Africa’s future.

In the tradition of celebrated wartime storytellers Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene, Tan Twan Eng's debut novel casts a powerful spell. The recipient of extraordinary acclaim from critics and the bookselling community, Tan Twan Eng's debut novel casts a powerful spell and has garnered comparisons to celebrated wartime storytellers Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene. Set during the tumult of World War II, on the lush Malayan island of Penang, The Gift of Rain tells a riveting and poignant tale about a young man caught in the tangle of wartime loyalties and deceits. In 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton-the half-Chinese, half-English youngest child of the head of one of Penang's great trading families-feels alienated from both the Chinese and British communities. He at last discovers a sense of belonging in his unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip proudly shows his new friend around his adored island, and in return Endo teaches him about Japanese language and culture and trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. When the Japanese savagely invade Malaya, Philip realizes that his mentor and sensei-to whom he owes absolute loyalty-is a Japanese spy. Young Philip has been an unwitting traitor, and must now work in secret to save as many lives as possible, even as his own family is brought to its knees.