Social Skills For Adults

Clary Fray just wants her life to go back to normal - but that turns out to be impossible. For one thing, her mother is still in the hospital, in a mysterious coma. For another, she and her brother, Jace, have fallen under a cloud of suspicion now that the Shadowhunter world knows that Valentine is still alive - and that Jace and Clary are his son and daughter.

Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he's already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn't exactly scream "secret agent". In fact Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate nerdiness, Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science - but he's entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior CIA academy.

New York Times best-selling author Gordon Korman harkens back to his No More Dead Dogs days in this stand-alone that takes a tone more serious than you've ever heard from him before. A boy who's been a bully and hanging out with the wrong friends gets a new start after a memory-loss-inducing accident. But can someone really change who he is, or will the old him merely come back over time?

Meet Mackenzie Blue, aka Zee. She has it all--smarts, talent, humor, and style. Is it enough to survive middle school? Countdown to a 7th Grade Meltdown: 1. Your BFF moves away. 2. Someone steals your diary and reveals your deepest secrets--to the entire class. 3. You have one chance to become a rock star and one chance to totally blow it. Guess what!? All three happened to me! School's a disaster already. Don't get me wrong--I love Brookdale Academy and I have a fabulous crew of friends. (At least, I think I do.) But, if I'm going to survive, I need all the help I can get!

McKenna Barney is trying to hide her worsening eyesight and has been isolating herself for the last year. But at the request of her little sister, she signs up for a commemorative mail run race in the Canadian wilderness - a race she doesn't know if she can even see to run. Winning would mean getting her disease - and her sister's - national media coverage, but it would also pit McKenna and her team of eight sled dogs against racers from across the globe for three days of shifting lake ice, sudden owl attacks, snow squalls, and bitterly cold nights.

Gameknight999, a real-life Minecraft user trapped inside the game he loves to play, and his friend Crafter have transported to a new server. Malacoda is the King of the Nether, a terrible ghast that wants to destroy all of Minecraft with his massive army of blazes, magma cubes, zombie pigmen, and wither skeletons. Knowing the lives of all those within Minecraft - as well as those in the physical world - are depending on them, Gameknight and Crafter will need to search the land to recruit an NPC army.

Peril has been loyal to Queen Scarlet, who used her fatal firescales to kill countless dragons in the SkyWing arena. Now Peril is loyal to Clay, the only dragonet who has ever been her friend. So when Scarlet threatens Jade Mountain Academy, Peril sets off to find her former queen, stop her, and save the day - no matter what it takes.

In Friends Forever?, third in Tina Wells’s delightful middle-grade series, Zee and the rest of her class from the Brookdale Academy are off on a camping trip to compete in an environmental scavenger hunt. Zee is extra psyched because her best friend, Ally, is visiting from Paris. It should be fabulous having all her friends in one place, but for some reason everyone is fighting!

Alicia Ramirez has always loved baking. Her family owns Say It with Flour, the small bakery in town. And Ali's specialties are cake pops: delicious confections on a stick. But Ali's sweet life turns sour when a sleek coffee shop opens across the street, giving her bakery a run for its money. Worst of all, the owner's son, Dane McGuire, likes to bake, too. He's the new kid in Ali's school...and happens to be annoyingly cute. When Dane and Ali engage in a bake-off to prove who is the cake-pop master, it's Ali's chance to save Say It with Flour. But will she be able to rise to occasion?

George and Harold are always good at using their imaginations, and that drives their mean homeroom teacher, Ms. Ribble, crazy! But this time, they’ve come up with much more than a silly prank - they’ve created an actual monster! With her horrendous hairdo and two rabid robots, Wedgie Woman is well on her way to world domination, and only the Waistband Warrior can stop her! The Captain Underpants series is perfect for listeners of all ages. Like the other outrageously funny books by acclaimed author and Caldecott Honor illustrator Dav Pilkey, this adventure is sure to be fun!

Lacey Chu has always dreamed of working as an engineer for MONCHA, the biggest tech firm in the world and the company behind the "baku" - a customizable "pet" with all the capabilities of a smartphone. But when Lacey is rejected by the elite academy that promises that future, she's crushed. One night, Lacey comes across the broken form of a highly advanced baku. After she repairs it, the cat-shaped baku she calls Jinx opens its eyes and somehow gets her into her dream school. But Jinx is different than any other baku she's ever seen.... He seems real.

Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of.

Eleven-year-old Delphine and her younger sisters Vonetta and Fern travel to Oakland to meet their mother, Cecil, who abandoned their family years earlier. But even when Cecil gets them to her house, she shows no interest and seems to view them as nothing but a nuisance.

Having garnered both Young Readers’ Choice and Special Edgar Awards, Donald J. Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown stories have been children’s classics for decades. In this installment, the 10-year-old detective uses his vast knowledge and probing questions to expose a muscle-bound scam, a crooked protection racket, a circus frame-up, and other baffling mysteries.

Donald J. Sobol’s pint-sized amateur detective has been a hit with young readers for over three decades. For 25 cents a day—plus expenses—Encyclopedia Brown will solve any case, big or small for the kids in his neighborhood. He also secretly works with his police chief father to crack the toughest investigations and keep the streets of Idaville safe. Here are 10 more beguiling mysteries that will have listeners scratching their heads.

The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! This stunning debut novel offers refreshingly clear writing and fascinating, original characters.

In Mixed Messages, fourth in the middle-grade Mackenzie Blue series, Zee and her friends from Brookdale Academy launch Bluetopia, a fab social media site--which is perfect, because Zee’s band, The Beans, is about to have its biggest show ever. Everyone is talking about it on Bluetopia. At least it would be perfect if a glitch in the Bluetopia system didn’t threaten to ruin the show--and Zee’s life!

We raise our children to be independent and lead fulfilling lives, but when they finally do, staying close becomes more complicated than ever. And for every bewildered mother who wonders why her children don't call, there is a frustrated son or daughter who just wants to be treated like a grownup. Now, renowned editor Jane Isay delivers the perfect gift to both parents and their adult children-real-life wisdom and advice on how to stay together without falling apart.

Edgar Award-winning author Donald J. Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown mysteries star a humble 10-year-old genius. Here Encyclopedia employs all of his detective skills to investigate 10 more brain-twisting cases with his friend Sally. Thieves and crooks of all ages better beware if they roll into Idaville thinking the town is easy pickings. Encyclopedia hasn’t met a case yet that he couldn’t crack—or a criminal he couldn’t help put behind bars.

In America, they say any kid might someday be elected President. Well, 13-year-old Justin Moon did get elected President. The only problem is that now he has to actually serve in the nation's highest office. Being the leader of the most powerful country in the world is not as much fun as it sounds. Sure, the White House is filled with great stuff like its own movie theater, bowling alley, and swimming pool.