Apple Crush

After finally adjusting to life on a family farm with two brand new step-sisters, a young girl faces an even bigger challenge - figuring out where she fits in at her first year in middle school. This middle grade graphic novel explores family, friendship, and change! Jen is just getting used to her life on Peapod Farm with her new stepsisters, Andy and Reese. But when the school year starts, there are even more changes in store for her. Jen has to navigate new friends and new challenges--but at least she'll have Andy with her, right? As she starts the sixth grade, she finds that her stepsister seems way more interested in crushes and boys than hanging out with her, while Jen wants to know when the world decided boys and girls couldn't be "just friends" anymore. Jen's story continues in the standout sequel to Stepping Stones that captures everything awesome (and scary) about growing up.

In Big Apple Diaries, a heartfelt diary-style graphic memoir by Alyssa Bermudez, a young New Yorker doodles her way through middle school—until the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack leaves her wondering if she can ever be a kid again. It’s the year 2000 in New York City. For 12-year old Alyssa, a biracial Puerto Rican girl, this means all kinds of new challenges: splitting time between her dad's apartment in Manhattan and her mom's new place in Queens, navigating the ups and downs of middle school, harboring an epic crush on a new classmate, and figuring out how to be a "real" Puerto Rican. The only way to make sense of it all is to write and draw her thoughts and worries into her diary. Then life abruptly changes on September 11, 2001. After the Twin Towers fall and so many lives are lost, her concerns about gossip, crushes, and fashion feel distant and insignificant. Alyssa must find a new sense of self and purpose amidst all of the chaos, and find strength to move forward with hope. This moving graphic memoir is based on Alyssa Bermudez's own middle school diaries.

It was supposed to be like any other night. A man and his wife at a get-together with friends, but then her biggest crush turns up and, in a secluded corner of the party, everything starts to get a little steamy. Warning, this erotic tale is suitable for mature audiences only This is part of a series of standalone short stories that can be read in any order

Fifteen-year-old Maddie has won an art contest and gets to visit New York City.

Annabel is thrilled to find a red carnation at her locker on Valentine's Day. But when it turns out to be from her best guy friend, Sam, things get messy. Annabel could never like Sam that way, but her best friend, Phoebe, does!.

Readers met the comical Kevin in Liar, Liar and Flat Broke. Kevin gets serious about Tina Zabinski, the Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Finally, finally, he's worked up his courage—he's going to ask her out. Or will his trademark scheming get in his way?

Holiday Cocktails is the newest addition to the Artisanal Kitchen series, adapted from Raising the Bar (Artisan, 2004) by master mixologist Nick Mautone. Holiday Cocktails provides dozens of foolproof ideas for successful entertaining at home, including the basics of cocktail making, choosing the right drink for the right occasion, and serving cocktails for a crowd. It’s packed with easy-to-follow recipes for seasonal favorites, from nogs to grogs, as well as classics with a twist that work year-round, such as old-fashioneds and martinis, coffee-based drinks to serve in lieu of dessert, and even nonalcoholic cocktails that are a treat unto themselves. This is the perfect book to pull off the shelf year after year when you want to make any occasion a little more festive. Holiday Cocktails, Holiday Cookies, and Party Food, three new titles in the Artisanal Kitchen series, provide an indispensable arsenal of recipes that cover all the bases for a delicious holiday season.