Daniel Johnson's debut is a praise song for the Midwestern steel towns sinking into their own history.

In this short story from J. California Cooper’s Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns, a loving friend constructs a slyly arranged marriage between two perfectly matched lonely hearts: fragile Harriet, who shakes when she’s excited and puts others’ needs above her own, and stoic, hardworking Issy. Told with Cooper’s signature warm and conversational wit, this is a heartrendingly human tale of love and companionship. A Vintage Short.

This coming-of-age story by multiple-award-winner Meg McKinlay is about loss and grief, dealing with change and fighting to hold on to what you can, while letting go of what you can’t. It’s 1979 and the sky is falling. Skylab, that is. Somewhere high above Frankie Avery, one of the world’s first space stations is tumbling to Earth. And rushing back with it are old memories. Things twelve-year-old Frankie thought she’d forgotten. Things her mum won’t talk about, and which her little brother Newt never knew. Only ... did he? Does he? Because as Skylab circles closer, Newt starts acting strangely. And while the world watches the sky, Frankie keeps her own eyes on Newt. Because if anyone’s going to keep him safe, it’s her. It always has been. But maybe this is something bigger than splinters and spiders and sleepwalking. Maybe a space station isn’t the only thing heading straight for calamity.

A deliciously charming novel about finding true love . . . and yourself. Nothing ever happens in Little, CA. Which is just the way 17-year-old Carter Moon likes it. But when Hollywood arrives to film a movie starring former child star-turned public relations mess Adam Jakes, everything changes. Utterly annoyed, Carter feels like the only girl not buying what Hollywood's selling. Then Carter gets an offer she can't refuse: play the part of Adam's girlfriend while he's in Little, to improve his public image, and take home a hefty paycheck, which her family desperately needs. So instead of a summer hanging out with friends and working, Carter begrudgingly poses for the tabloids but soon finds that Adam isn't who she thought. Worse yet, she might actually be falling for him. As they grow closer, their relationship walks a blurry line between what's real and what's fake; and Carter must open her eyes to the scariest of unexplored worlds - her future. Can Carter figure out what she wants out of life AND get the boy? Or are there no Hollywood endings in real life?

It was after midnight in 1990, and a group of NASA technicians are playing chess in the lounge. They never notice the soft clicking noises as radiation detectors kick in and a strange code begins taking over a computer monitor. As a glowing saucer zips past the Voyager, locks itself into orbit around Neptune, rolls over, and then disappears from view, the technicians loudly argue over the rules of the game unaware that aliens are headed toward Earth. Unfortunately, the amphibian-like creatures who reproduce in alarming numbers have made a serious mistake. They have chosen a small town in Iowa as the place to launch their invasion, mistakenly thinking they can attack under a cloak of invisibility. But this rural setting is protected by the Pirates, an elite team of adventurers and foilers of evil plots comprised of the most dangerous creatures on planet Earth young boys. As the alien invaders kidnap one of the pirates and begin to examine him for weaknesses, they have no idea that they have in their possession the girl-hating, chaos-creating nuisance that is the bane of all fourth-grade math teachers in town. It may be the last mistake they'll ever make.

J. California Cooper’s irresistible collection of new stories explores the universal themes of romance, family, and the hopes that propel people’s dreams. In “As Time Goes By” a young woman singlemindedly pursues material wealth, only to suffer from an empty heart. “Catch a Falling Heart” tells of a slyly arranged marriage, and “The Eye of the Beholder” portrays a plain girl’s search for love and her own brand of freedom. Wise, earthy and intimate, these stories are moving parables of the human need to seek some sort of satisfaction, just as a wild star seeks a midnight sun.

“Flying, Falling, Catching is a beacon of hope. It reminds us that despite all the perils and sufferings that surround us, with which we often collide, we can find healing, peace, and awe even in the most unusual detours that life offers. A must read.” — Marina Nemat, Author of international best-seller Prisoner of Tehran "In Carolyn Whitney-Brown's deft hands, Henri’s intentions literally, vividly swing alive. This is a beautiful, moving story about interconnectivity, interdependence, and life's rich, beautiful, complicated pageant. I devoured it in a sitting.” — Lisa Napoli, Author of Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie Henri Nouwen’s real-life story of his surprising friendship with a traveling trapeze troupe. What will we do with our lives, and with whom will we do it? In this story of flying and catching, Nouwen invites us all to let go and fly, even when we are afraid of falling. During the last five years of his life, best-selling spiritual author Henri J. M. Nouwen became close to The Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe in a traveling circus. Like Nouwen’s own life, a trapeze act is full of artistry, exhilarating successes, crushing failures and continual forgiveness. He wrote about his experience in a genre new to him: creative non-fiction. In Flying, Falling, Catching, Nouwen's colleague and friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown presents his unpublished trapeze writings framed by the true story of his rescue through a hotel window by paramedics during his first heart attack. Readers will meet Nouwen as a spiritual risk taker who was transformed through his engagement with these trapeze artists, as well as his participation in the Civil Rights movement, his life in community with people with intellectual disabilities, his personal growth through friendships during the 1990s AIDS pandemic, and other unexpected encounters.

The moment that Jade Goody stepped into the Big Brother house, her life changed forever. As soon as the blonde, bubbly dental nurse from south London opened her mouth on national TV, she secured her place as the unofficial winner of the show’s third season. The glitz and glamour of Jade's sudden fame was a far cry from the real life drama of the estate where she made her start. Brought up caring for her disabled mum at an age when most kids are looking after their dolls, Jade didn't have an easy childhood. With her dad in prison and her mum struggling to cope, she had experienced more by the time she started high school than most people do in their whole lifetime. Now, over six years after her unforgettable exit from the Big Brother house, she remains a famous reality star, her warmth, enthusiasm, and dizzy exterior having endeared her to millions of people. Recently diagnosed with cervical cancer while taking part in India's BB-style show, she has had to face the toughest battle of her life in the full glare of the national media. A wonderful mom with inspirational dedication, Jade is determined to give her boys, Bobby and Freddy, the upbringing she never had. There have been many trials and tribulations along the way and Jade is the first to admit that she has made some terrible mistakes, but with brutal honesty she refuses to gloss over the struggles and errors of her past. She speaks candidly about the time she spent having therapy and tells all about her past relationships and the trauma of her recent diagnosis. Packed full of witty anecdotes and heart-rending tales, all told with Jade's usual humor and unique turn of phrase, this remarkable book is by turns funny, moving, and disarmingly honest. A frank autobiography, with no detail spared, it reveals the real Jade Goody, up close and personal.

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, this brilliantly reported and beautifully crafted book explores the clash between a medical center in California and a Laotian refugee family over their care of a child.

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M