If you love Susan Mallery, you won’t want to miss this novel of three high school friends who find themselves emotionally fractured when tragedy strikes, so they go on a road trip they’ll never forget and rediscover what made them “best friends forever.” It was the road trip of their lives . . . and they did it without a map. When they posed for a photo at their high school graduation, they vowed they’d be friends forever, but teenage promises are so easily broken, and now, thirty years later, they’re practically strangers. Cici—stuck in a rut, married to a cheating husband. Genie—caring for her ailing father but never getting any thanks. Kate—everyone knows people who look perfect on Instagram are not. And Laurie—the most successful of them all—now tragically gone. So, to celebrate Laurie’s life, three former friends in a 1962 red Lincoln Continental convertible take the road trip of their lives—encountering male strippers, a boy band that has seen better days, crazy motel rooms, adopting a so-ugly-it’s-cute stray dog…and discovering that it’s never too late to live the wild life. Because, sometimes, to find yourself you have to get away.

Travel industry experts report that more and more people are combining vacations with volunteer work—the growing phenomenon called "voluntourism." Professionals predict this will be a key growth area for years to come; the voluntourists themselves find it a rewarding activity, good for body and soul. And nobody provides such a fun, inviting overview of the possibilities as savvy travel writer Pam Grout in the latest title in our 100 Best Vacations series. With its elegant two-color design, playful cover, and winningly positive goal, it’s a travel guide with heart, inexpensive yet inspiring—an ideal gift book for people who care to share. From building houses in Appalachia to saving sea turtles in Costa Rica to teaching English in Thailand, this book is a rich resource of ways to use your skills to help out the world and reap some lasting benefits yourself. Like its two predecessors, it includes an engagingly descriptive menu of choices for tastes and talents of all kinds, along with detailed specifics to turn good intentions into satisfying reality. Throughout, sidebars describe nearby places to visit, little-known facts, and more, providing depth and variety, while a comprehensive resource listing gives additional information about the different organizations offering volunteer vacations.

In this terrifying novel from the bestselling "master of the psychological thriller" and author of Baby Teeth (Entertainment Weekly), three friends set off on a hike into the Grand Canyon—only to discover it's not so easy to leave the world behind. “Stage is a writer with a gift for the lyrical and the frightening . . . Getaway feels original, and very scary.” —The New York Times Book Review It was supposed to be the perfect week away . . . Imogen and Beck, two sisters who couldn't be more different, have been friends with Tilda since high school. Once inseparable, over two decades the women have grown apart. But after Imogen survives a traumatic attack, Beck suggests they all reunite to hike deep into the Grand Canyon’s backcountry. A week away, secluded in nature . . . surely it’s just what they need. But as the terrain grows tougher, tensions from their shared past bubble up. And when supplies begin to disappear, it becomes clear secrets aren’t the only thing they’re being stalked by. As friendship and survival collide with an unspeakable evil, Getaway becomes another riveting thriller from a growing master of suspense and a “literary horror writer on the rise” (BookPage). "You won’t blink until you read the last line.” —Publishers Weekly “A chilling thriller that will definitely make you lose sleep at night.” —PopSugar “I’ve been waiting for a thriller to capture the emotional depth of women for years. . . . I can’t recommend Getaway enough.” —Tarryn Fisher, New York Times bestselling author of The Wives and The Wrong Family “Tense, unpredictable, and utterly compelling, Stage’s complex story of friendship and survival is a must-read.” —Karen Dionne, New York Times bestselling author of The Marsh King's Daughter “A harrowing, heart-pounding thrill ride.”—Rachel Harrison, author of The Return

Written with panache and humor, Saperstein inspires hikers of all ages to tackle the grand and glorious route pioneered by the Sierra Club founder. The book offers practical advice for neophytes and experienced hikers alike, as well as first-class reading for armchair adventurers. This book is the first in a series of guides to great American trails.

"The journey from the head to the hand is perilous and lined with bodies. It is the road on which nearly everyone who wants to write-and many of the people who do write-get lost."So writes Ann Patchett in "The Getaway Car", a wry, wisdom-packed memoir of her life as a writer. Here, for the first time, one of America's most celebrated authors ("State of Wonder", "Bel Canto", "Truth and Beauty"), talks at length about her literary career-the highs and the lows-and shares advice on the craft and art of writing. In this fascinating look at the development of a novelist, we meet Patchett's mentors (Allan Gurganas, Grace Paley, Russell Banks), see where she made wrong turns (poetry), and learn how she gets the pages written (an unromantic process of pure hard work). Woven through engaging anecdotes from Patchett's life are lessons about writing that offer an inside peek into the storytelling process and provide a blueprint for anyone wanting to give writing a serious try. The bestselling author gives pointers on everything from finding ideas to constructing a plot to combating writer's block. More than that, she conveys the joys and rewards of a life spent reading and writing. "What I like about the job of being a novelist, and at the same time what I find so exhausting about it, is that it's the closest thing to being God that you're ever going to get," she writes. "All of the decisions are yours. You decide when the sun comes up. You decide who gets to fall in love..."In this Byliner Original by the new digital publisher Byliner, "The Getaway Car" is a delightful autobiography-cum-user's guide that appeals to both inspiring writers and anyone who loves a great story.

The Getaway Book holds something for everyone as fictional characters face dilemmas and a Canadian writer amusingly reflects on the world around her. Solve a case with Terrorist Intelligence Bureau Agent Alex Cara in Spiral, take on the past with Dr. Sofia Battista and Laura Amalfi in Letters to the Grave and Struck, and laugh at the humorous stories told from the Toronto suburbs in WTF? Tales from the Burbs. Reader Views reviews: Spiral will be enjoyable to all readers who like international terrorism intrigue. Lucia Cascioli has mastered a complex plot, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Spiral is definitely worth reading, a four star in my book. WTF? Tales from the Burbs by Lucia Cascioli is a fun read! Letters to the Grave is both sobering and fascinating. This is definitely a book that will hold your attention, and have you reflecting upon it after you finish.

A comprehensive and authoritative account of how primary school children and teachers can use maps to enhance learning and deepen understanding of this essential skill. It includes all aspects of map use, such as reading and interpreting maps and using maps to find the way, covering maps of all scales, including globes and atlases. The text is extensively illustrated with examples, including maps made by children themselves using conventional materials as well as computer software. A particular feature of the book is the integration of digital and conventional mapping, and Internet and CD-ROM cartography together with simple applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) appropriate to the needs of children right through primary and secondary education. This book will be of great use to all primary teachers and subject teachers in secondary school as well as non-specialist geography teachers, and will enable children to use all types of maps in new, compelling and thoughtful ways.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin comes a middle-grade road-trip story through American race relations past and present, perfect for fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Jason Reynolds. How to Go on an Unplanned Road Trip with Your Grandma: - Grab a Suitcase: Prepacked from the big spring break trip that got CANCELLED. - Fasten Your Seatbelt: G'ma's never conventional, so this trip won't be either. - Use the Green Book: G'ma's most treasured possession. It holds history, memories, and most important, the way home. What Not to Bring: - A Cell Phone: Avoid contact with Dad at all costs. Even when G'ma starts acting stranger than usual. Take a trip through the American South with the New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone and an eleven-year-old boy who is about to discover that the world hasn't always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren't always what they seem--his G'ma included.

In the summer of 2002, Brendan Tibbet, a filmmaker whose luck has run low, takes his ten-year-old son Brenlyn on a raucous road trip across America. Following a 1930s travel guide Brendan purchased at a yard sale, the two-week trek from LA to New Hampshire covers 16 states, hitting the iconic stops along the way, Yosemite, the Great Salt Lake, Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, replete with wild exploits both hilarious and perilous, but it’s the interior journey that is enlightening, deeply poignant and life-changing. Brendan assures the boy that each state will be an adventure, and on the second day proves it, seeing the kid washed away in fast-moving rapids, then foolishly putting them both in danger by refusing to back down to the massive black bear invading their campsite. That’s Brendan, impetuous and foolhardy, inciting trouble wherever he goes, a man with demons and bubbling angst. But neither of those missteps, or the many and scarier ones to follow, can begin to compare to the threatening storm cloud hanging over the expedition: the father’s struggle to find the perfect, worst time to reveal to his son the news that will break his heart and affect everything to follow. Ernest Thompson’s debut novel is a skillful, magical piece of 20th-century fin de siècle writing depicting a United States that, even in the aftermath of 9-11, seems almost innocent contrasted to the horrors and divisions, racism and rage challenging us now. The Book of Maps, with its powerful father-son relationship and one man’s relentless albeit unintentional quest to evolve into the better angel we all aspire to be, will capture the imagination of readers and leave them wanting to relive this mad, irresistibly moving, ridiculously funny, reflective and inspiring cross-country odyssey again and again.

Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads. William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map -- if they get on at all -- only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi." His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.