Keeper

For One More Day

Mitch Albom · 208 pages

In an inspirational debut novel by the author of Tuesdays with Morrie, Charles "Chick" Benetto, grieving over the death of his mother, uses alcohol as a crutch to deal with his loneliness, isolation, and depression and the disintegration of his life, until an encounter with his mother's ghost brings him new awareness and leads him to attempt to put his life back together.

Sophie's World

Jostein Gaarder · 456 pages

The protagonists are Sophie Amundsen, a 14-year-old girl, and Alberto Knox, her philosophy teacher. The novel chronicles their metaphysical relationship as they study Western philosophy from its beginnings to the present. A bestseller in Norway.

City of the Beasts

Isabel Allende · 406 pages

With his mother in hospital, fifteen-year-old Alex Cold is sent to his fierce, wonderful grandmother, Kate - a pipe-smoking, vodka-drinking old reporter with blue eyes "as sharp as daggers' points". Kate is about to embark on an expedition to the dangerous, remote world of the Amazon rainforest, but rather than change her plans, she simply takes Alex along with her. They set off with their team -

The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life

Steven Pressfield · 272 pages

The protagonist of this metaphysical fable is Rannulph Junah, Southern aristocrat and World War I hero. In a tournament in Savannah, he defeats two golf pros by following the teachings of his guru, Bagger Vance, a black mystic serving as his caddie.

John Dies at the End

David Wong · 428 pages

This may be the story of John and David, a drug called soy sauce, and other-worldly beings invading the planet. Or, it may be the story of two beer-drinking friends who live in an unnamed Midwestern town and only think something horrific is going on. But the important thing is, according to the narrator, "None of this is my fault."

The Wind Through the Keyhole

Stephen King · 352 pages

Sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape shifter, a "skin man," Roland Deschain takes charge of Bill Streeter, a brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast's most recent slaughter. Roland, himself only a teenager, calms the boy by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother used to read to him at bedtime, "The Wind through the

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare · 122 pages

One night two young couples run into an enchanted forest in an attempt to escape their problems. But these four humans do not realize that the forest is filled with fairies and hobgoblins who love making mischief. When Oberon, the Fairy King, and his loyal hobgoblin servant, Puck, intervene in human affairs, the fate of these young couples is magically and hilariously transformed. Like a classic f

The Bone Witch

Rin Chupeco · 411 pages

Tea's gift for death magic means that she is a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community, but when an older bone witch trains her to become an asha--one who can wield elemental magic--Tea will have to overcome her obstacles and make a powerful choice in the face of danger as dark forces approach.

The Shack

William Paul Young · 252 pages

This book is a life changing in the way you think about a higher power and who,what,and why, He makes the decisions He does. It will make you think of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in a whole new way. An excellent read.

Pathfinder

Orson Scott Card · 592 pages

The book begins with Rigg, a boy that has the strange ability to see the path of any living being, no matter how long ago it existed. He spends his time hunting with his father in the mountains, trapping for valuable pelts. His father is his mentor, and so he has taught Rigg everything he knows. His father dies impaled by a tree, and the man's parting words were to find not Rigg's mother, but his

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

Richard Bach · 144 pages

Wonderfully written, a glimpse into faith, self-reliance and friendship, witty and thought provoking. Barnstorming pilot meets a messianic man who has misgivings about his purpose. His scripture is captured in a greasy spiral bound notebook and he changes the lives of all he meets.

Midnight Riot

Ben Aaronovitch · 310 pages

"As a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic"--P. [4] of cover.

Shadowland

Peter Straub · 478 pages

The Chosen

Chaim Potok · 284 pages

It's about two jewish boys from different jewish sects with very differing doctrine. The kids meet in the unlikely circumstance of a baseball game, and a terrible accident, that leads them to be lifelong friends

Touch

Alexi Zentner · 272 pages

In Sawgamet, a north woods boomtown gone bust, the cold of winter breaks the glass of the schoolhouse thermometer, and the dangers of working in the cuts are overshadowed by the mysteries and magic lurking in the woods. Stephen, a pastor, is at home on the eve of his mother's funeral, thirty years after the mythic summer his grandfather returned to the town in search of his beloved but long-dead w

The Ruins of Gorlan

John Flanagan · 249 pages

They have always scared him in the past--the Rangers, with their dark cloaksand shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of ba

Owlflight

Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon · 322 pages

The Owl Mage Trilogy Book 1 Apprenticed to a venerable wizard when his hunter and trapper parents disappear into the forest never to be seen again, Darian is difficult and strong willed--much to the dismay of his kindly master. But a sudden twist of fate will change his life forever, when the ransacking of his village forces him to flee into the great mystical forest. It is here in the dark fores

Messenger

Lois Lowry · 169 pages

Second installment to Youth classic, "The Giver." Required in numerous 8th/9th grade English classrooms. Introducing the idea of a utopian society to youth for the 1st time. The well known Trilogy also includes a third book, Gathering Blue. Only recently for the 20th Anniversary of "The Giver" author, Lois Lowry has written a 4th book called, "The Son" now available as of Oct 2012. Which makes th

Jinx

Sage Blackwood · 376 pages

A young boy named Jinx encounters magic and danger as he grows up in the deep, dark forest known as the Urwald and discovers that the world beyond--and within--the Urwald is more complex than he could imagine.

The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss · 667 pages

My name is Kvothe, pronounced nearly the same as "quothe." Names are important as they tell you a great deal about a person. I've had more names than anyone has a right to. The Adem call me Maedre. Which, depending on how it's spoken, can mean The Flame, The Thunder, or The Broken Tree. "The Flame" is obvious if you've ever seen me. I have red hair, bright. If I had been born a couple of hundr

The Curse of the Wendigo

Rick Yancey · 444 pages

In 1888, twelve-year-old Will Henry chronicles his apprenticeship with Dr. Warthrop, a New England scientist who hunts and studies real-life monsters, as they discover and attempt to destroy the Wendigo, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh.

Empire of the Vampire

Jay Kristoff · 672 pages

"From holy cup comes holy light; The faithful hands sets world aright. And in the Seven Martyrs' sight, Mere man shall end this endless night. It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness. G

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

William L. Hedges · 358 pages

Originally entitled, "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.", this collection of essays, sketches, and tales established Washington's reputation as America's foremost professional author. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle" are classics of American fiction and display Irving's ability to depict American landscapes and culture. This volume also contains a number of gently ironic

Assassin's Apprentice

Robin Hobb · 435 pages

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father's gruff stableman. He is treated like an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him secretly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz's blood runs the magic Skill--and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by hi