Unrivaled Beautiful Idols

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël comes the first book in the Beautiful Idols series. With mystery, suspense, and an insiders-only look at Los Angeles that echoes Gossip Girl’s racy and real New York, fans of Pretty Little Liars and readers who crave pulse-pounding romance will love Unrivaled. Everyone wants to be someone. Layla Harrison wants to be a reporter. Aster Amirpour wants to be an actress. Tommy Phillips wants to be a guitar hero. But Madison Brooks took destiny and made it her own a long time ago. She’s Hollywood’s hottest starlet, and the things she did to become the name on everyone’s lips are merely a stain on the pavement, ground beneath her Louboutin heel. That is, until Layla, Aster, and Tommy find themselves with a VIP invite to the world of Los Angeles’s nightlife and lured into a competition where Madison Brooks is the target. Just as their hopes begin to gleam like stars through the California smog, Madison Brooks goes missing. . . . And all of their hopes are blacked out in the haze of their lies.

Fans of Pretty Little Liars will crave the mystery and suspense in the second book of #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël’s Beautiful Idols series, where celebrity worship is a dangerous game. Wannabe reporter LAYLA, aspiring actress ASTER, and fledgling musician TOMMY joined the Unrivaled nightclub competition for the same reason—they knew winning it would change their lives. They just never imagined that somewhere along the way they’d become entangled in the disappearance of mega starlet MADISON BROOKS. Now each of them is smack in the center of a media frenzy that threatens to take all of them down. Banding together to clear their names, the fierce adversaries become temporary allies and vow to dig up the truth. But when Layla, Aster, and Tommy team up with an unsuspecting insider, they will find that some secrets are best kept in the grave.

Fans of One of Us Is Lying and Genuine Fraud will love this explosive and satisfying finale to the provocative and suspenseful Beautiful Idols series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël. Club promoters Layla, Aster, and Tommy never imagined that entering the Unrivaled competition would land them in the middle of a celebrity murder investigation, but sometimes fate can be as nasty as the anonymous comments on a Hollywood gossip blog. But Madison Brooks isn’t dead. Layla, Aster, and Tommy have been set up, and as Madison’s dirty little secrets creep closer to the light, they discover Madison will do anything to keep her past hidden—no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.

Don't miss Evermore, the first book in Alyson Noël's #1 New York Times bestselling The Immortals series. Enter an enchanting new world where true love never dies. . . After a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste. Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

Fans of Tim Burton and Wes Anderson will love this new fantasy novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël in which a ragtag team of eleven-year olds with otherworldly abilities set out to solve the mystery behind the sudden onset of ordinary events plaguing their very unusual town. Compared to other more ordinary towns, Quiver Hollows is a very strange, very curious place. It is also home to longtime friends Grimsly, Ollie, Ming, and Penelope. In a town where everyone is spectacularly abnormal, Grimsly feels bad about being terribly, unforgivably normal, as the town's pet funeral director. So when a series of strange and disturbing mundane occurrences begins plaguing Quiver Hollows, well, Grimsly fears his growing celebrity just might be to blame since everyone knows that the things you focus on the most have an uncanny way of shaping your world. The group of friends also learn that the bones in the pet cemetery are thought to be the source of the strange magic that binds the town of Quiver Hollows. With the bones now gone, the town's magic is quickly dissipating. Will it ultimately become as common and ordinary as everywhere else?

Ian always follows the rules. His sister, Jenny, breaks them all the time -- especially "Don't pinch." So Ian is thrilled when the house where his family is vacationing posts a tidy list of rules. But when Jenny breaks them all, the house itself decides it's time for payback. The rug, the stove, and the bathtub are hungry for rulebreaker soup, and they've found the perfect ingredient: Jenny! Now Ian is faced with a thorny question: What if saving your sister means breaking the rules? From the New York Times best-selling team of Mac Barnett and Matthew Myers comes a hilarious tale of sibling rivalry, moral complexity, and disgruntled monsters, perfect for sharing with your own favorite rulebreakers. Praise for Count the Monkeys "This spot-on spoof of counting books is the perfect reward for anyone who's put in a hard day's work with numbers, big or small." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review Praise for Oh No! Not Again! "Wonderfully ridiculous in premise and execution and abounding in creative touches, this will surely spark student spinoffs." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review Praise for Chloe and the Lion "[R]at-a-tat dialogue and fresh visuals should keep it at the top of the bedtime pile." -- Publishers Weekly Praise for Mustache "Youngsters will get a kick out of this kingly comedy?." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Praise for Oh No! * "A must-have." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review Praise for Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem "Definitely funny and slyly subversive." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Is being famous the key to living the life of your (tween) dreams? Find out in this modern-day fairy tale from #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël! Seventh-grade girls like guys who are cool. And Nick Dashaway . . . is not cool. When Nick makes a wish after the epic disaster that was the Greentree Middle School Talent Show, he doesn't actually think it's going to come true. But it does. Soon he has a whole new life--he's rich, he's popular, and girls laugh at all his jokes. He's famous. But when he begins to miss parts of his old life, is it too late to get it back? *** “A Hollywood blockbuster waiting to happen.”—Booklist "Perfect for readers wondering what their dream life would be like."—SLJ

"The simmering menace and mystery kept me absolutely gripped...a smoldering novel that I could not put down." ––Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne "Rebecca meets The Secret History: gloriously dark, gloriously Gothic." ––Sara Collins, bestselling author of The Confessions of Fannie Langton Named a Best Book of 2021 by Goodreads • Entertainment Weekly • Parade • PopSugar • Brit+Co • Romper • Frolic • Crime Reads • SheKnows.com • Women.com Discover the secrets of Caldonbrae Hall in this riveting, modern gothic debut set at an all girls' boarding school perched on a craggy Scottish peninsula. For 150 years, high above rocky Scottish cliffs, Caldonbrae Hall has sat untouched, a beacon of excellence in an old ancestral castle. A boarding school for girls, it promises that the young women lucky enough to be admitted will emerge "resilient and ready to serve society." Into its illustrious midst steps Rose Christie: a 26-year-old Classics teacher, Caldonbrae’s new head of the department, and the first hire for the school in over a decade. At first, Rose is overwhelmed to be invited into this institution, whose prestige is unrivaled. But she quickly discovers that behind the school’s elitist veneer lies an impenetrable, starkly traditional culture that she struggles to reconcile with her modernist beliefs--not to mention her commitment to educating "girls for the future." It also doesn’t take long for Rose to suspect that there’s more to the secret circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of her predecessor--a woman whose ghost lingers everywhere--than anyone is willing to let on. In her search for this mysterious former teacher, Rose instead uncovers the darkness that beats at the heart of Caldonbrae, forcing her to confront the true extent of the school’s nefarious purpose, and her own role in perpetuating it. A darkly feminist tale pitched against a haunting backdrop, and populated by an electrifying cast of heroines, Madam will keep readers engrossed until the breathtaking conclusion. They want our silence... They want our obedience... Let them see our fire burn

This beautiful reprint illustrates the V & A's unrivalled collection of South Asian sculpture, putting "Indian temple Sculpture" in its context as an instrument of worship intended to embody powerful religious experience. Author John Guy considers the origin, cosmological meaning and role of sculpture within the temple setting, and reveals the vivid rituals and traditions still in practice today. The book is also an absorbing introduction to the principal iconographic forms in the three traditional religions of the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, with the principal deities presented through their myths and manifestations. John Guy is Senior Curator of South and South-East Art in the Asian Department of the V & A.0.

Seventeen-year-old Rachel Kim confronts the dark underbelly of the K-pop world as she strives to become a K-pop star.

In Alyson Noël's Laguna Cove, moving to sunny Southern Cal feels like punishment to 17-year-old Anne. The hippie-ish school is different from her old one on the East Coast, and the social scene is all about hanging out at the beach and surfing. And then there's Ellie: beautiful, competitive queen of the social scene who takes an instant disliking to Anne. So when Chris--one of Ellie's oldest friends and, oh yeah, the most gorgeous guy in school--reaches out to Anne and offers to teach her how to surf, sparks fly...in more ways than one ...

From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.” For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the thirteen movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • If you don’t strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. • Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change—it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board.

This antiquarian volume contains a comprehensive treatise on democracy and education, being an introduction to the 'philosophy of education'. Written in clear, concise language and full of interesting expositions and thought-provoking assertions, this volume will appeal to those with an interest in the role of education in society, and it would make for a great addition to collections of allied literature. The chapters of this book include: 'Education as a Necessity of Life'; 'Education as a Social Function'; 'Education as Direction'; 'Education as Growth'; 'Preparation, Unfolding, and Formal Discipline'; 'Education as Conservative and Progressive'; 'The Democratic Conception in Education'; 'Aims in Education', etcetera. We are republishing this vintage book now complete with a new prefatory biography of the author.

Peggy Orenstein, acclaimed author of the groundbreaking New York Times bestsellers Girls & Sex and Schoolgirls, offers a radical, timely wake-up call for parents, revealing the dark side of a pretty and pink culture confronting girls at every turn as they grow into adults. Sweet and sassy or predatory and hardened, sexualized girlhood influences our daughters from infancy onward, telling them that how a girl looks matters more than who she is. Somewhere between the exhilarating rise of Girl Power in the 1990s and today, the pursuit of physical perfection has been recast as the source of female empowerment. And commercialization has spread the message faster and farther, reaching girls at ever-younger ages. But how dangerous is pink and pretty, anyway? Being a princess is just make-believe; eventually they grow out of it . . . or do they? In search of answers, Peggy Orenstein visited Disneyland, trolled American Girl Place, and met parents of beauty-pageant preschoolers tricked out like Vegas showgirls. The stakes turn out to be higher than she ever imagined. From premature sexualization to the risk of depression to rising rates of narcissism, the potential negative impact of this new girlie-girl culture is undeniable—yet armed with awareness and recognition, parents can effectively counterbalance its influence in their daughters' lives.

One day Sophie comes home from school to find two questions in her mail: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" Before she knows it she is enrolled in a correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher. Thus begins Jostein Gaarder's unique novel, which is not only a mystery, but also a complete and entertaining history of philosophy.

Contessa Carlotta Di Ponti, stunningly beautiful and sole heir to a vast fortune, has finally escaped her abusive marriage and is looking to find true love in Saint-Tropez. She soon meets the colourful jetsetters and hangers-on who populate the Mediterranean paradise every summer, including Fabrizio Bricconni, gigolo and long-suffering toyboy of an ageing socialite. The party season kicks off with a spectacular bash at billionaire Harry Silver's palatial mansion, but tragedy soon strikes and, amid the social glitz and the parties, a series of bizarre and increasingly dangerous incidents occurs. Could seemingly innocuous events - a bad oyster, a fatal wasp sting, a faulty funicular - mean something more sinister? It is up to glamorous detective Gabrielle Poulpe to solve the mystery, or life in Saint-Tropez could be over for ever ...

Stranger Things meets Sideways Stories from Wayside School in this quirky supernatural middle grade novel from New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël about a boy on an unlikely quest to uncover an enchanted book to defeat an unearthly nemesis. When he first started seeing ghosts, Max mistakenly assumed everyone else could see them, too. Now, after years of being blamed for the pranks of mischievous spirits, Max is determined to do whatever it takes to make himself normal. But when he’s sent to spend the summer with his eccentric grandfather, Ramhart, being normal becomes impossible. Here in Glimmerville, bakeries sell enchanted pies, the lake is infested with mermaids, the town’s beloved ghosts roam free, and Ramhart himself is celebrated as the world’s most famous monster hunter. At first, all Max wants is to survive the summer, but the more time he spends in Glimmerville, the more he starts to wonder if he’s finally found a place where he can truly be himself. But when a supernatural attack steals Ramhart’s soul, Max—with the help of a few new friends—must go on a quest to find his grandfather’s renowned Field Guide, an enchanted book that contains all the knowledge Ramhart has gathered about defeating unearthly nemeses. And if they don’t find the book fast, Glimmerville will crumble into chaos, and Max will lose the only person who’s ever made him feel at home.

One of Amazon's Best Romances of 2017! “A romance that Kathleen Woodiwiss herself would be proud to have written.”—Booklist (starred) Katharine Ashe continues her lush and sensual Devil’s Duke series with a sweeping story of unbreakable love. Six years ago, when Lady Amarantha Vale was an innocent in a foreign land and Gabriel Hume was a young naval officer, they met . . . and played with fire. Now Gabriel is the dark lord known to society as the Devil’s Duke, a notorious recluse hidden away in a castle in the Highlands. Only Amarantha knows the truth about him, and she won’t be intimidated. He is the one man who can give her the answers she needs. But Gabriel cannot let her learn his darkest secret. So begins a game of wit and desire that proves seduction is more satisfying—and much more wicked—the second time around… “This is historical romance at its best.”—All About Romance

New York Times bestseller New York City as you’ve never seen it before. A thousand-story tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the future, where anything is possible—if you want it enough. Welcome to Manhattan, 2118. A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. But people never change: everyone here wants something…and everyone has something to lose. Leda Cole’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have touched. Eris Dodd-Radson’s beautiful, carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart. Rylin Myers’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will her new life cost Rylin her old one? Watt Bakradi is a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy by an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies. And living above everyone else on the thousandth floor is Avery Fuller, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have. Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Big Little Lies, debut author Katharine McGee has created a breathtakingly original series filled with high-tech luxury and futuristic glamour, where the impossible feels just within reach. But in this world, the higher you go, the farther there is to fall….