The First Sandcastle

A mesmerizing novel you always seek yet seldom find. Marlo Clemente is confronted with continuous turmoil at home. His father's boisterous views of women haunt him, as he is told that all women are evil-wanting only the material and causing all men "the worst of pains." This has dire consequences for young Marlo as he matures and struggles with loving his mother and yet facing his father's twisted representation of a world full of vixen dominance. Marlo looks to his extraordinary artistic talent and two best friends for solace from everyday home life. But one of his friends (Danny) becomes romantically involved with a young girl who ends up crushing Danny's heart. This only reinforces what his father has long since warned. Confusion sets in further when Marlo meets Desiree Castillo, a girl unlike others. For she too sees the same magic in Marlo's "sandcastle dreams" and even tells a story of the first sandcastle which (legend has it) was built long ago, near the Yucatan Peninsula. Marlo struggles to keep his dream of art school alive while still trying to find the long-lost relationship that has evaded him and his mother. He too comes to terms with his deep attraction towards Desiree only to eventually meet her "twin" cousin, Divina. A two-sided world Marlo encounters, only to wonder whether his tideless dreams will ever come to pass.

It's a perfect beach day, or so thought the family, young couple, a few tourists, and a refugee who all end up in the same secluded, idyllic cove filled with rock pools and sandy shore, encircled by green, densely vegetated cliffs. But this utopia hides a dark secret. First there is the dead body of a woman found floating in the crystal-clear water. Then there is the odd fact that all the children are aging rapidly. Soon everybody is growing older--every half hour--and there doesn't seem to be any way out of the cove. Levy's dramatic storytelling works seamlessly with Peeters's sinister art to create a profoundly disturbing and fantastical mystery. Praise for Sandcastle "Begins like a murder mystery, continues like an episode of The Twilight Zone, and finishes with a kind of existentialism that wouldn't be out of place in a Von Trier film." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "Sandcastle is a fast 112-page read you won't be able to put down." --Cleveland.com "Peeters and L vy convey some profound, if profoundly unsubtle, truths about the human condition. Weighty stuff, expertly told." --The Comics Bulletin

It's all dry sand running through the fingers.' When Bill Mor falls in love with Rain Carter he discovers a new way of being and a new joy in the world and his surroundings. To be with Rain he must abandon his prosaic life as a schoolmaster, his domineering wife Nan and his troubled teenaged children. He must draw on the powers of selfishness, hatred and anger in order to make the final break. But what love could survive all that violence? WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY BIDISHA VINTAGE CLASSICS MURDOCH: Funny, subversive, fearless and fiercely intelligent, Iris Murdoch was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. To celebrate her centenary Vintage Classics presents special editions of her greatest and most timeless novels.

Barney walks along the seashore looking for the crowning touch for his sand castle.

Before the war, Eden’s life was easy. Then the revolution happened, and everything changed. Now a powerful group called the Wolfpack controls the earth and its resources. And even though Eden has lost everything to them, she refuses to die by their hands. She knows the coordinates to the only neutral ground left in the world, a place called Sanctuary Island, and she is desperate to escape to its shores. Eden finally reaches the island and meets others resistant to the Wolves. But the solace is short-lived when one of Eden’s new friends goes missing. Braving the jungle in search of their lost ally, they quickly discover Sanctuary is filled with lethal traps and an enemy they never expected. This island might be deadlier than the world Eden left behind, but surviving it is the only thing that stands between her and freedom.

Painter Honor Sullivan has made a life for herself and her three daughters–Regis, Agnes, and Cecilia–at Star of the Sea Academy on the magical Connecticut shore. Here she teaches art at the convent school’s beautiful seaside campus, over which Honor’s sister-in-law, mother superior Bernadette Ignatius, keeps a benevolent and watchful eye. No one could have foreseen the day rebellious Regis would come home with the stunning news that she was getting married. Nor could anyone have guessed how that sudden announcement would soon change all their lives forever. Eleven years ago, Honor thought she had the perfect home, the perfect love, the perfect life. Then her husband, brilliant photographer and sculptor John Sullivan, broke her heart–and tore their little family apart. Now, hearing of Regis’s impending marriage, John has ended his self-imposed exile and returned to the family he’s always loved more than anything on earth. What he finds is one daughter still hurting over his abandonment, another who barely remembers him, and a third who may be in more trouble than anyone knows. And then there is Honor herself–and a passion that may have been interrupted but that has never waned. Some things, like sandcastles, don’t survive the changing tides. But love, family, and friendship–just as fragile–have a way of standing against anything. It will take nothing short of a miracle to heal the rift between father and daughter, husband and wife, the past and the present–but a miracle is exactly what is in the works at Star of the Sea Academy. The only question is: Do you believe?

From the computer science nonprofit Girls Who Code comes this lively and funny story introducing kids to computer coding concepts. All summer, Pearl has been trying to build the perfect sandcastle, but out-of-control Frisbees and mischievous puppies keep getting in the way! Pearl and her robot friend Pascal have one last chance, and this time, they’re going to use code to get the job done. Using fundamental computer coding concepts like sequences and loops, Pearl and Pascal are able to break down their sandcastle problem into small, manageable steps. If they can create working code, this could turn out to be the best beach day ever! With renowned computer science nonprofit Girls Who Code, Josh Funk and Sara Palacios use humor, relatable situations, and bright artwork to introduce kids to the fun of coding.

Have you ever had sandcastle dreams...tideless dreams? Marlo Clemente is a young and remarkable artist a prodigy you can say. At age six, he can sketch freehand portraits and landscape settings though neither his mother nor father ever acknowledge his extraordinary talent. Caught between his parent's constant tribulations at home, Marlo matures only to doubt whether his sandcastle dreams will ever live beyond fairy tale legend.