Hunting ghosts and solving the case before checkout? All in a weekend's work. Read the novel that New York Times bestselling author, Chris Grabenstein calls, "My kind of mystery!" When JJ Jacobson convinced his mom to accept a surprise invitation to an all-expenses-paid weekend getaway at the illustrious Barclay Hotel, he never imagined that he'd find himself in the midst of a murder mystery. He thought he was in for a run-of-the-mill weekend ghost hunting at the most haunted spot in town, but when he arrives at the Barclay Hotel and his mother is blamed for the hotel owner's death, he realizes his weekend is going to be anything but ordinary. Now, with the help of his new friends, Penny and Emma, JJ has to track down a killer, clear his mother's name, and maybe even meet a ghost or two along the way.

A dynamic and inspiring exploration of the new science that is redrawing the future for people in their forties, fifties, and sixties for the better—and for good. There’s no such thing as an inevitable midlife crisis, Barbara Bradley Hagerty writes in this provocative, hopeful book. It’s a myth, an illusion. New scientific research explodes the fable that midlife is a time when things start to go downhill for everybody. In fact, midlife can be a great new adventure, when you can embrace fresh possibilities, purposes, and pleasures. In Life Reimagined, Hagerty explains that midlife is about renewal: It’s the time to renegotiate your purpose, refocus your relationships, and transform the way you think about the world and yourself. Drawing from emerging information in neurology, psychology, biology, genetics, and sociology—as well as her own story of midlife transformation—Hagerty redraws the map for people in midlife and plots a new course forward in understanding our health, our relationships, even our futures.

Articles about research on spirituality and the brain are usually written from the point of view that religious experience can be understood from a purely scientific perspective. Hagerty's (religion correspondent, NPR) book does not have this naturalistic or materialistic tendency. Rather, as both a reporter and a religious person, she seeks insight on spirituality and science while being open to the possibility that spirituality may still have a transcendent component. The book is interesting to read because the author has interviewed many scientists as well as many people who attest to having mystical or near-death experiences. In a way, the reader feels like a participant in Hagerty's own encounter with the various pieces of information and evidence, struggling with her to make sense of it all. Highly recommended.John Jaeger, Dallas Baptist Univ. Lib. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Meet the man behind the board games: Milton Bradley. Born in Maine in 1836, Milton Bradley moved with his family to the working-class city of Lowell, Massachusetts, at age 11. His early life consisted of several highs and lows, from graduating high school and attending Harvard to getting laid off and losing his first wife. These experiences gave Bradley the idea for his first board game: The Checkered Game of Life. He produced and sold Life across the country and it quickly became a national sensation. Working with his company, the Milton Bradley Company, he continued to produce board games, crayons, and kid-friendly school supplies for the rest of his life. He is often credited as the father of board games, and the Milton Bradley Company has created Battleship, Jenga, Yahtzee, Trouble, and many more classic games.

In the second book of the action-packed Double Vision series, ordinary twelve-year-old Linc Baker must go undercover in Washington, DC, to stop a CIA mole from assassinating the president. With an unforgettably funny voice, high-stakes espionage, and real American spy history dating back to the Revolutionary War, this is the latest adventure in the Double Vision series that ALA Booklist says "fans of Alex Rider and 39 Clues will love." After the government receives a threat on the president's life from someone named Dagger, supersecret spy agency Pandora wants Linc to go to Washington, DC, to protect the first daughter, Amy, and find the dangerous double of George Washington's legendary coat, rumored to make its wearer invincible. Unfortunately for Linc, his by-the-book agent nemesis, Ben Green, is already on the case and making him look bad. With Amy's help, Linc will have to dig deep into the history of America's first spies—the Culper Ring—to beat Ben at his own game and stop Dagger before it's too late.

Almost two decades ago a car accident thrust Rina Morrell’s life into darkness.

It is the summer of 1950 - and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds an man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begings in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. "This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life."

*Newbery Honor Book* *Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor* A nuanced and fierce middle grade novel about sisterhood and sexual abuse, by two-time Newbery Honor winner and #1 New York Times best seller Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, author of The War that Saved My Life "Fighting Words is raw, it is real, it is necessary, a must-read for children and their adults—a total triumph in all ways." —Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Counting by 7s Ten-year-old Della has always had her older sister, Suki: When their mom went to prison, Della had Suki. When their mom's boyfriend took them in, Della had Suki. When that same boyfriend did something so awful they had to run fast, Della had Suki. Suki is Della's own wolf--her protector. But who has been protecting Suki? Della might get told off for swearing at school, but she has always known how to keep quiet where it counts. Then Suki tries to kill herself, and Della's world turns so far upside down, it feels like it's shaking her by the ankles. Maybe she's been quiet about the wrong things. Maybe it's time to be loud. In this powerful novel that explodes the stigma around child sexual abuse and leavens an intense tale with compassion and humor, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley tells a story about two sisters, linked by love and trauma, who must find their own voices before they can find their way back to each other. "Della’s matter-of-fact narration manages to be as funny and charming as it is devastatingly sad. . . . This is a novel about trauma [but] more than that, it’s a book about resilience, strength and healing. For every young reader who decides to wait . . . there will be others for whom this is the exact book they need right now." —New York Times Book Review "One of the most important books ever written for kids."—Colby Sharp of Nerdy Book Club "One for the history books."—Betsy Bird for A Fuse #8 Production/SLJ "Gripping. Life-changing...I am awe-struck."—Donna Gephart, author of Lily and Dunkin "Compassionate, truthful, and beautiful."—Elana K. Arnold, author of Damsel "I am blown away. [This] may be Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's best work yet."—Barbara Dee, author of Maybe He Just Likes You "A book that lets [kids] know they have never been alone. And never will be."—Kat Yeh, author of The Truth About Twinkie Pie "Meets the criteria of great children's literature that [will] resonate with adults too."—Bitch Media * "At once heartbreaking and hopeful."—Kirkus (starred review) * "Honest [and] empowering...An important book for readers of all ages."—SLJ (starred review) * "Sensitive[,] deft, and vivid."—BCCB (starred review) * "Prepare to read furiously."—Booklist (starred review) * "An essential, powerful mirror and window for any reader."—PW (starred review) * "Enlightening, empowering and--yes--uplifting."—BookPage (starred review) * "Unforgettable."—The Horn Book (starred review)

Marco Polo's little brother, Peter Polo, jumps at the chance to cross China on his first mission for the Great Khan. But can he solve the mystery of the Snow Beast and save the people of Hunza . . . before it's too late?

Set in a small Indiana farming community at the start of World War I, this is the heartwarming and gently humorous story of Ruthie, an 8-year-old tomboy who develops a stronger sense of self and selflessness during a particularly dramatic year in her life: the year her sixth brother is born, the year she makes her first friends (twin girls), the year she almost dies of pneumonia, the year the war takes one of her brothers from her. Rich in setting and brimming with lovable characters, Ruthie's Gift is a thoroughly satisfying story of family and identity.