Loner

“Powerful.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air Named a best book of the year by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and BookPage David Federman has never felt appreciated. An academically gifted yet painfully forgettable member of his New Jersey high school class, the withdrawn, mild-mannered freshman arrives at Harvard fully expecting to be embraced by a new tribe of high-achieving peers. Initially, however, his social prospects seem unlikely to change, sentencing him to a lifetime of anonymity. Then he meets Veronica Morgan Wells. Struck by her beauty, wit, and sophisticated Manhattan upbringing, David becomes instantly infatuated. Determined to win her attention and an invite into her glamorous world, he begins compromising his moral standards for this one, great shot at happiness. But both Veronica and David, it turns out, are not exactly as they seem. Loner turns the traditional campus novel on its head as it explores ambition, class, and gender politics. It is a stunning and timely literary achievement from one of the rising stars of American fiction.

A sharp and unlikely coming-of-age debut novel from Australia’s Sally Rooney

It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning. A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you're as good as dead. And David has no gang. It's just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school. In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don't fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive.

Wandering westward, picking fruit for wages, a lonely boy cannot remember his name or his family and takes care of himself until he meets a woman sheep farmer who provides him with a loving home.

Adopted as a baby, Mei Clayton never felt like she belonged in her family. She left tiny Clayton, Colorado, the moment she could. Now, to fulfill the terms of a will, she must move home for a year. But when she reunites with handsome Jack McCord--the mountain-rescue expert she once secretly loved--she has to keep her distance. Their relatives have feuded for years. She'll never fit in with the Claytons if she gives in to her feelings for Jack. Unless faith and love can help open hearts in time for Thanksgiving.

Blair MacIntyre's daily routine: put on her brave face, and try not to be so distracted by unnervingly gorgeous Nick Conway… All Blair wants is to be normal. To be the Blair B.C.—before cancer. She's determined to show her friends she's okay…even if it means bluffing. There's only one person who doesn't treat her with kid gloves. In fact, Nick Conway doesn't treat her with any gloves whatsoever—especially when saying exactly what he thinks of her helping his daughter in a beauty contest! Soon Nick is getting under Blair's skin—and defences. Maybe he's the one to show her she's just as beautiful as before?

"Everyone deserves a chance to be rescued." That's the mantra I'm repeating when a well-equipped biker pulls over to save me. One glance at the scowl Crawford Doxe is wearing proves he isn't impressed with the task. My efforts to change his mind deflate faster than the shredded tire at our feet. But disgruntled or not, my so-called hero still agrees to fix my flat. I don't expect to see Crawford again, but he's suddenly very visible in our small town. Avoiding him would be my preference. That's not how this story goes. For whatever reason, my daughter finds an ally in the broody mechanic. Denying her is something I do my best to avoid. I can only hope Crawford's shine wears off before he tarnishes what little trust still exists. As if the odds are ever on my side. Commitments are a foreign concept to him. He doesn't make any promises to try. That should've been enough for me to steer clear. It most certainly isn't. What follows can only be described as a disastrous clash of epic proportions. But one indisputable fact remains. That lone soul has no plans of opening his heart.

Josiah Hedges is danger in a cowboy's clothes. They call him the Edge. Born of violence and death, Edge knows no rules or traditions, and revenge takes on a frightening new meaning whenever Edge saddles up and rides.