Chapter One with HPL

Twelve tales, twelve dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that free hearts long kept tame, truths that explore life, and death. A prince has a surprising awakening. A beauty fights like a beast. A boy refuses to become prey. A path to happiness is lost, then found again. New York Times bestselling author Soman Chainani respins old stories into fresh fairy tales for a new era and creates a world like no other. These stories know you. They understand you. They reflect you. They are tales for our times. So read on, if you dare. This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of HarperCollins. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

A cat-and-mouse game that can only end in bloodshed.Esha lost everything in the royal coup—and as the legendary rebel known as the Viper, she's made the guilty pay. Now she's been tasked with her most important mission to date: taking down the ruthless General Hotha. Kunal has been a soldier since childhood. His uncle, the general, has ensured that Kunal never strays from the path—even as a part of Kunal longs to join the outside world, which has only been growing more volatile. When Esha and Kunal's paths cross one fated night, an impossible chain of events unfolds. This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Recorded with permission of Katherin Tegen Books, an imprint of 

When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan. This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library's catalog.

When her beloved cousin goes missing after a May Day celebration, sixteen-year-old Ivy discovers that both her cousin and her hometown in the Missouri Ozarks are as full of secrets as the woods that surround them. This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Recorded with permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

A tale based on true events follows the coming-of-age of a girl who is motivated by an act of racism at school to learn about her ancestral heritage and her grandparents' experiences as lost children during the Korean War. This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of HarperCollins. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

Belly spends the summer she turns sixteen at the beach just like every other summer of her life, but this time things are very different. This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Recorded with permission of Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

Skye Shin has heard it all. Fat girls shouldn't dance. Wear bright colors. Shouldn't call attention to themselves. But Skye dreams of joining the glittering world of K-Pop, and to do that, she's about to break all the rules that society, the media, and even her own mother, have set for girls like her. She'll challenge thousands of other performers in an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-pop star, and she'll do it better than anyone else. When Skye nails her audition, she's immediately swept into a whirlwind of countless practices, shocking performances, and the drama that comes with reality TV. What she doesn't count on are the highly fat-phobic beauty standards of the Korean pop entertainment industry, her sudden media fame, and scrutiny, or the sparks that soon fly with her fellow competitor, Henry Cho. But Skye has her sights on becoming the world's first plus-sized K-pop star, and that means winning the competition, without losing herself. This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

Mia and Jake have known each other their whole lives. They've endured summer vacations, Sunday brunches, even dentist visits together. Their mothers, who are best friends, are convinced that Mia and Jake would be the perfect couple, even though they can't stand to be in the same room together. After Mia's mom turns away yet another cute boy, Mia and Jake decide they've have had enough. Together, they hatch a plan to get their moms off their backs. Permanently. All they have to do is pretend to date and then stage the worst breakup of all time -- and then they'll be free. The only problem is, maybe Jake and Mia don't hate each other as much as they once thought... This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Recorded with permission of Swoon, an imprint of Macmillan. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

Silver Batal, a young desert-dweller, dreams of becoming a water dragon racer, and when she befriends a rare dragon that can swim and fly, she may just get her chance. This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of Square Fish, an imprint of Macmillan. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life. This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Recorded with permission of HarperCollins. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.