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Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pajamas
by Judy Parkinson"Make no bones about it"--here's a "grand slam" for anyone seeking the meanings of catch phrases and quotes that enrich our everyday speech. It "rounds up the usual suspects"--hundreds of expressions that keep our language flourishing--and makes them easy to find in an A-to-Z format. If "all goes according to plan," you'll soon know: The expressions "all that glitters is not gold" and "apple of the eye" have each been in use for more than 1,000 years. "To bark up the wrong tree" comes from the sport of raccoon hunting. "The big enchilada" was used to describe someone on the infamous Watergate tapes. "Flavor of the month" was a generic advertising phrase of the mid-1940s used to describe new ice cream flavors. "Baker's dozen" is 13, one more than the standard dozen, and goes back to medieval times, when Henry III called for the severe punishment of any bakers caught shortchanging customers. English bakers developed the habit of including an extra loaf of bread when asked for a dozen to ensure that they wouldn't be condemned. "Drop of a hat" alludes to the frontier practice of dropping a hat as a signal for a boxing or wrestling match to begin, usually the only formality observed. "Sleep tight" dates back to when beds were made of rope and straw. Before going to sleep at night, people would have to pull the ropes tight, as they would have loosened during the course of the previous night's sleep. With this clever book on hand, you'll never have to "throw in the towel" during a battle of wits. Make this and all of the Blackboard Books(tm) a permanent fixture on your shelf, and you'll have instant access to a breadth of knowledge. Whether you need homework help or want to win that trivia game, this series is the trusted source for fun facts.
Spin
by Lamar GilesEven in murder, the music lives on.When rising star Paris Secord (aka DJ ParSec) is found dead on her turntables, it sends the local music scene reeling. No one is feeling that grief more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and ParSec's chief groupie, Fuse -- two sworn enemies who happened to be the ones who discovered her body.The police have few leads, and when the trail quickly turns cold, the authorities don't seem to be pushing too hard to investigate further. But nobody counted on Paris's deeply loyal fans, ParSec Nation, or the outrage that would drive Fuse and Kya to work together. As ParSec Nation takes to social media and the streets in their crusade for justice, Fuse and Kya start digging into Paris's past, stumbling across a deadly secret. With new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that will stop at nothing in their obsessive quest for answers, not even murder...
Spin
by Rebecca CapraraA Chicago Public Library Teen-Approved Best Book of 2023 &“A powerful feminist retelling of an ancient tale about empathy and defiance, written in beautiful verse from a truly unique viewpoint.&” —Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor–winning author of The Surrender Tree and Young People&’s Poet Laureate The Song of Achilles and Circe get a sapphic, young adult twist in this &“exciting, richly textured, thought-provoking&” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) retelling of the myth of Arachne spun in moving verse.Arachne is a homely girl with no claims to divinity or fortune, ostracized by all but her family and closest friend, Celandine. Turning to her loom for solace, Arachne learns to weave, finding her voice and her strength through the craft. After a devastating loss, Arachne and Celandine flee to the city of Colophon, where Arachne&’s skills are put to the test. Word of her talent spreads quickly, leading to a confrontation with the goddess Athena, who demands that Arachne repent for her insolence and pride. But Arachne will not be silenced. She challenges Athena, and a fateful weaving contest ensues, resulting in an exposé of divine misdeeds, a shocking transformation, and unexpected redemption. A brilliant weaver of words, author Rebecca Caprara transforms an ancient myth into a sweeping novel in verse, unraveling the tales that frame Arachne as a villainess and deliver a timely story of long-awaited justice.
Spin Out (Lorimer SideStreets)
by Steven SandorBen Cheng used to live the good life—he had wealthy parents, lots of friends, and respect as an online gamer. But when his parents separate, Ben's life changes entirely. He moves to a small apartment with his mom, his dad is out of the picture, and his new schoolmates start teasing him for his family's fall from grace. All Ben has left is his virtual life, where he still reigns supreme as an online racing driver. But when Ben takes his mom's car out for a joyride and gets caught, and uses his mom's credit card without permission, his life starts to spin out. Distributed in the U.S by Lerner Publishing Group
Spin of Fate (The Fifth Realm #1)
by A. A. VoraIn a world inspired by karma, three teens encounter magnificent beasts, unforgiving magic, and epic battles in this propulsive and wholly original young adult fantasy.&“Evocative of Sanderson, Pullman, and Fullmetal Alchemist, yet at the same time shockingly original.&” —Rosaria Munda, author of FireborneAina&’s world is governed by Toranic Law, a force that segregates people into upper and lower realms. It&’s said that if the sinful lowers commit themselves to kindness and charity, their souls will lighten, allowing them into the peaceful upper realms.But Aina, one of the few lowers to ever ascend, just wants to go back home.Aina is desperate to reunite with her mother, hoping she&’s survived the beasts and wars of her homeland alone. After failing to weigh down her soul with petty crimes, Aina joins a rebel group defying the authorities and bringing aid to those condemned to a life of suffering in the lower realms. Alongside Aina are two new recruits: Meizan, a ruthless fighter trying to save his clan from extinction, and Aranel, a spoiled noble spying for the powers that be.Before long, the rebels find themselves in the middle of a brewing war. On one side, a violent king of a lower realm is bent on destroying Toranic Law; on the other, the authorities of the upper realms will do anything to stay on top. Now the young rebels must face both sides head-on if they want to stop a conflict that could break not only Toranic Law—but the universe itself.Fans of epic, propulsive fantasies like Six of Crows and innovative world-building like Avatar: The Last Airbender will delight in A. A. Vora's ambitious, unmissable debut.
Spindle
by E. K. Johnston"The most powerful stories encompass a paradox. Spindle is both mythic and true, old beyond reckoning and dazzlingly, gloriously new. You've known this story all your life; you have never heard its like before. The Storyteller Queen lives, and her name is E. K. Johnston." -Rachel Hartman, New York Times best-selling author of Seraphina The world is made safe by a woman...but it is a very big world.It has been generations since the Storyteller Queen drove the demon out of her husband and saved her country from fire and blood. Her family has prospered beyond the borders of their village, and two new kingdoms have sprouted on either side of the mountains where the demons are kept prisoner by bright iron, and by the creatures the Storyteller Queen made to keep them contained.But the prison is crumbling. Through years of careful manipulation, a demon has regained her power. She has made one kingdom strong and brought the other to its knees, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When a princess is born, the demon is ready with the final blow: a curse that will cost the princess her very soul, or force her to destroy her own people to save her life.The threads of magic are tightly spun, binding princess and exiled spinners into a desperate plot to break the curse before the demon can become a queen of men. But the web of power is dangerously tangled--and they may not see the true pattern until it is unspooled.
Spindle's End
by Robin MckinleyAn exceptional retelling of The Sleeping Beauty which takes the reader into a magical world filled with modern characters, encountering adventure, love and loss. Rosie is very, very ordinary. No-one, not even an extremely powerful and evil fairy who is out for the princess's blood, would give Rosie a second glance. But then, even Rosie doesn't know the secret of her own birth. . . and she cannot be hidden forever as her twenty-first birthday approaches. The curse placed on her at her christening will hunt her down through the years, gathering strength, and at some point a princess must become a queen, even if she would rather just stay ordinary-
Spinning Out (Road Trip)
by R. T. MartinWhen their road trips takes a turn for disaster, these teens must rely on their instincts to survive. CJ and Leo can't wait to spend their winter break skiing and snowboarding with their friends Alex and Katrina. But things aren't going quite as planned, as Alex and Katrina won't stop fighting about their college plans. And then the blizzard hits while they're driving up the mountain. Will they all be able to put aside their arguing in order to make it to safety?
Spinning Starlight
by R.C. LewisSixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men shows up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired. Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word, and her brothers are dead. Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home -- a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back? Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans fuses all the heart of the classic tale with a stunning, imaginative world in which a star-crossed family fights for its very survival.
Spinoza: The Outcast Thinker (Philosophy for Young People)
by Devra LehmannAn entertaining and accessible introduction to the radical philosopher of freedom of thought and religion is the only biography of Spinoza for young adults. The second title in the Philosophy for Young People series.A brilliant schoolboy in 17th-century Amsterdam, Bento Spinoza -- formally Baruch and later Benedict de Spinoza -- quickly learns to keep his ideas to himself. When he is 23, those ideas prove so scandalous to his own Jewish community that he is cast out, cursed, and effectively erased from their communal life. The scandal shows no sign of waning as his ideas spread throughout Europe. At the center of the storm, he lives the simplest of lives, quietly devoted to his work as a lens grinder and to his steadfast search for truth, striving to embody a philosophy of tolerance and benevolence. Spinoza does not live to see his ideas change the world.What caused such an uproar? Spinoza challenged age-old ideas about God, the Bible, and religion. His God was the sum total of nature, not a father-figure who created the world and takes care of humankind. His bible was a book like any other, not a holy text to be interpreted only by religious authorities. His religion was a commitment to basic moral behavior, not a collection of superstitions or rituals. For such ideas, Spinoza was reviled, but he emerged from his experience as one of history's most articulate voices for freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion. Those of us who enjoy the fundamental rights of modern democracies are the beneficiaries of Spinoza's quiet bravery.Spinoza: The Outcast Thinker is the second book in the new Philosophy for Young People series, introducing readers to seminal philosophers from ancient times up through the present day.
Spiral (Orca Soundings)
by K.L. DenmanWhen fifteen-year-old Abby is seriously injured, her wounds go far deeper than her broken back. Rehabilitation therapy teaches her to cope with her new physical reality but once she's home with her family, she refuses to participate in life and withdraws into a world of drugs. Abby's family discovers her addiction, and she is sent to a farm that specializes in Equine Assisted Therapy. She must still do battle with her cravings, but when she witnesses the connection between another young patient and a pony, she decides that if this girl can heal, she too can learn to be present in life again.
Spirit
by J. P. Hightman"It's something of a Romeo and Juliet story. There was a young couple in Salem, long ago . . . And the girl's mother, she hated the boy. When the witch-hunting began, mother, daughter, and suitor all ended up at the Blackthorne hanging." Now, ages later, in the cold, dark heart of the Victorian era—an age of black clothes and black moods—one train is bound for Blackthorne, near Salem, where a winter carnival awaits. The cars are full of the promise of fireworks, sleigh rides, and skating. But for Tess and Tobias Goodraven, this train will take them to a place much darker than they imagined.Even a seasoned pair of ghost hunters like Tess and Tobias didn't expect a witch like Old Mother Malgore—a witch who stalks the forests, silent as snowfall, hunting, hungering. When the train derails and the casualties climb, the Goodravens must bridge the gap between past and present tragedies if they have any chance of quieting the souls of the living, the dead, and the haunted. In J. P. Hightman's richly woven story of ghosts and witchcraft, the simple is sinister, the dead stalk the living, and the only real weapon is love.
Spirit (Elemental #3)
by Brigid Kemmerer"Original, funny, and romantic, this is the series that YA fans have been waiting for." --Nocturne ReadsWith power comes enemies. Lots of them.Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He's learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can't seem to afford any allies.He's up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.Then there's Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She's not hostile. She's bold. Funny. Hot. But she's got an agenda, too.With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he'll have to find someone he can trust. . .
Spirit Level
by Sarah HarveyHarriet is a donor-conceived child who is connecting with her half-siblings in this work of young adult fiction.
Spirit Nights
by Easterine Kire&‘Tiger has eaten the sun!&’ screams Tola the seeress when darkness suddenly descends at midday, and the great spiritual struggle begins to restore the light.An ancient prophecy is fulfilled when darkness envelops a number of villages for days on end. The only thing they know is that a terrible taboo has been violated in the spirit world. Only by crossing the borders between the natural world and the spirit world, and acting with wisdom and courage can they get the light back, but who will dare to do that? Accounts of sudden darkness descending on the land exist in at least two tribal histories of the Naga people, the Rengma and the Chang. The story of Spirit Nights is inspired by a story of darkness narrated by the Chang Naga tribe. Names and incidents are borrowed from the original tale, but it follows the path of fiction to achieve its telling.
Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes
by Gail JarrowThe latest from acclaimed author Gail Jarrow reveals how magicians—including Harry Houdini and his team of investigators—exposed fake mediums who exploited the vulnerable and gullible in the early twentieth century.After millions of people died during World War I and from the 1918 influenza pandemic, the popularity of Spiritualism soared. Desperate to communicate with their dead loved ones, the bereaved fell prey to extortion by fraudulent mediums and fortune-tellers. But magician Harry Houdini wasn't fooled. He recognized the scammers' methods as no more than conjurer's tricks. Angered by the way people were exploited, Houdini set out to expose the ghost hoaxes. In his stage show, he revealed the fraudsters&’ techniques, and he used a team of undercover investigators to collect proof of séance deceptions. His head secret agent was a young New York private detective and disguise expert, Rose Mackenberg—a woman who continued her ghost-busting career for decades, long after Houdini's death in 1926.Ideal for young readers and adults who are drawn to the worlds of psychics and magicians, this riveting book uncovers a little-known chapter in American history and details the ways people were (and still are) deceived by mediums and fortune-tellers.
Spirit of Steamboat
by Craig JohnsonA holiday tale from the New York Times bestselling author of the Walt Longmire mystery series, the inspiration for A&E's hit show Longmire "It's a question of what you have to do, what you have to live with if you don't." Sheriff Walt Longmire is reading A Christmas Carol in his office on December 24th when he's interrupted by the ghost of Christmas past: a young woman with a hairline scar across her forehead and more than a few questions about Walt's predecessor, Lucian Connally. Walt doesn't recognize the mystery woman, but she seems to know him and claims to have something she must return to Connally. With his daughter, Cady, and his undersheriff Vic Moretti in Philadelphia for the holidays, Walt is at loose ends, and despite the woman's reticence to reveal her identity, he agrees to help her. At the Durant Home for Assisted Living Lucian Connally is several tumblers into his Pappy Van Winkle's and swears he's never clapped eyes on the woman before. Disappointed, she whispers "Steamboat" and begins a story that takes them all back to Christmas Eve 1988, when three people died in a terrible crash and a young girl had the slimmest chance of survival . . . back to a record- breaking blizzard, to Walt's first year as sheriff, with a young daughter at home and a wife praying for his safety . . . back to a whiskey-soaked World War II vet ready to fly a decommissioned plane and risk it all to save a life. Back to the Spirit of Steamboat.
Spirit of Steamboat: A Christmas novella starring Walt Longmire from the best-selling, award-winning author of the Longmire series - now a hit Netflix show! (Murder Room #518)
by Craig JohnsonA Christmas novella for fans of the hit drama series LONGMIRE now on Netflix and the New York Times-bestselling series.On December 24, Sheriff Walt Longmire is reading A Christmas Carol when he's interrupted by a young woman with a fine scar across her forehead and questions about Walt's predecessor, Lucian Connally. Walt doesn't recognize the mystery woman, but she knows him, and claims to have something she must return to Connally. Walt, at loose ends, agrees to help.Lucian Connally swears he's never seen the woman before. Disappointed, she begins a story that takes them back to Christmas Eve 1988, a terrible, fatal crash and a young girl who had the slimmest chance of survival. Back to a whiskey-soaked World War II vet ready to fly a decommissioned plane and risk it all to save a life . . .'The characters talk straight from the hip and the Wyoming landscape is its own kind of eloquence' New York Times
Spiritual Journaling: Writing Your Way to Independence
by Julie Tallard JohnsonA guide for teens and young adults on the power of creative journaling and its role in enhancing self-discovery and self-awareness• Provides encouragement for creative writing, self-expression, and self-dialogue• Includes journaling exercises to inspire creativity and cultivate self-esteem• By the author of Teen Psychic and The Thundering Years, winner of the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Award for multicultural juvenile nonfictionMost teens and young adults search for ways to express their individuality and to discover who they are, without being judged. In Spiritual Journaling Julie Tallard Johnson shows that journaling is an informative and supportive outlet for the joys, frustrations, and questions that arise for those making the transition toward their own independent ideas and lives--and a powerful tool for awakening creative potential.Johnson encourages young people to discover their own unique voices by offering guidance on writing and other forms of self-expression and self-dialogue and on learning how to listen to inner wisdom. As readers move through the book and write in their own personal journals, they gain insight about themselves--knowledge reflected in their own words and the writing of other young people included in the book. The journaling tools provided include meditations, consulting oracles, writing poetry, visualizations, writing rituals, and problem solving around spiritual questions.
Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors: The Lives, Loves, and Deaths of 30 Pioneers Who Changed the World
by Jeremy Coller Christine ChamberlainWhy do some inventors succeed and others fail? A private equity pioneer explores personal traits and processes that worked for thirty innovators—or didn’t.Jeremy Coller, a pioneer in the world of private equity, argues that there are three basic personality types in the arena of invention. The Principal, Broker, and Consultant each display certain traits that dictate the potential for success, but few people have the full package. Failure results when an individual who excels in one area of competence attempts to become all things. Thus, even accomplished geniuses can end up penniless.In Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors, Coller focuses on the individual rather than the invention—and explores the ways in which he or she did or did not succeed in bringing their vision to fruition. On one level, the book is a collection of fascinating stories packed with quirky, often humorous nuggets of information. On another level, these stories provide an unconventional look at the processes and personalities that created products that changed the world, including: Jonas Salk and the polio vaccineKing Gillette and the safety razorAlfred Nobel and dynamiteSam Colt and the revolverRudolph Diesel and the diesel engine, and more
Splintered
by A. G. HowardThis stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl's pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers--precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now. When her mother's mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice's tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice's mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.
Splintered: A Splintered Novel (Splintered Series #Bk. 1)
by A. G. HowardA gifted teenager whose ancestor inspired a literary classic descends into a mystical under-land in this romantic, dark fantasy series debut.Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.“Fans of dark fantasy, as well as of Carroll’s Alice in all her revisionings (especially Tim Burton’s), will find a lot to love in this compelling and imaginative novel.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review“Alyssa is one of the most unique protagonists I've come across in a while. Splintered is dark, twisted, entirely riveting, and a truly romantic tale.” —USA Today“Brilliant, because it is ambitious, inventive, and often surprising.” —The Boston Globe“It’s a deft, complex metamorphosis of this children’s fantasy made more enticing by competing romantic interests, a psychedelic setting, and more mad violence than its original.” —Booklist“Howard’s visual imagination is superior; a cavalcade of weirdness dances across the pages. . . . The story’s creepiness is intriguing as horror, and its hypnotic tone and setting, at the intersection of madness and creativity, should sweep readers down the rabbit hole.” —Publishers Weekly
Splintering
by Eireann CorriganFrom the remarkable author of YOU REMIND ME OF YOU, a searing novel in poems about a family falling apart.It's about the aftermath. It's about what happens after a stranger breaks into a house and attacks a family. It's about the sisters who must barricade themselves behind a splintering door while tethered on the phone to 911. It's about the father who nearly dies. It's about the son who hides. And everything after. Told in alternating perspectives, this is a powerful, moving story about a family that has its facade shattered by a random act of violence -- and must deal with what is discovered underneath.
Splinters of Light
by Rachael HerronFrom the acclaimed author of Pack Up the Moon comes a poignant and beautiful novel about love, loss, and the unbreakable bonds of family--particularly those between mothers, daughters, and sisters. Ten years ago, Nora Glass started writing essays about being a single mother of a six-year-old daughter. Her weekly column made her a household name, and over the years, her fans have watched Ellie grow from a toddler to a teenager.But now Nora is facing a problem that can't be overcome. Diagnosed with a devastating disease that will eventually take away who she is, she is scared for herself, but even more frightened about what this will mean for her sixteen-year-old daughter.Now Nora has no choice but to let go of her hard-won image as a competent, self-assured woman, and turn to the one person who has always relied on her: her twin sister, Mariana. Nora and Mariana couldn't be more different from one another, and they've always had a complicated relationship. But now the two sisters will have to summon the strength to help them all get through a future none of them could have ever imagined, while uncovering the joy and beauty that was always underneath.
Split Image (Jesse Stone #9)
by Robert B. ParkerAfter a high-ranking crime figure is found dead on Paradise Beach, Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall realize just how much they really have in common with their victims, their suspects-and each other.