Vicious Minds Part 2

Part two of the epic three-part conclusion to the Ruthless People and Children of Vice series... Do you understand why I asked you last time, how well do you think you knew the Callahans? Because I knew you don’t know them. Not in the way I knew them. But don’t worry. I’ll reintroduce you to them. The real them. I will show you what they are all really, truly, capable of, because I am no longer in the shadows. I am here. In my kingdom, at last. And I do not give a damn about your opinions of me, or the one who came before me. We are doing things my way now. So bow...or be broken. Sincerely, Mrs. Callahan

Part one of the epic two-part conclusion to the Ruthless People and Children of Vice series... In the end...we all lose. How well do you think you know the Callahans? Yes, I’m asking you. Because I know you’ve been watching. The chaos, the violence, the love, and the madness—who could look away? Not me, for sure. My grandmother always told me...where you look is where you go. So I ask again, how well do you think you know the Callahans? Do you really think you understand Melody, Liam, or even Ethan? I have to wonder—will your mind be able to handle it? We haven’t met yet, but ready or not, here I come. The true queen of Chicago. For now, you may call me Calliope. Catch up on the Children of Vice Series: CHILDREN OF VICE, Book 1: “From the Ruthless, Vice shall Rise.” CHILDREN OF AMBITION, Book 2: "Show me a strong woman and I’ll show you the scars on her soul that made her so.” CHILDREN OF REDEMPTION, Book 3: “I do not come in peace.”

Calliope I know you hate me. I’ve ruined the family, you say? I’ve led Ethan astray? You say that it’s all my fault. Haven’t you learned by now that the weak are eaten by the strong? Only the most ruthless, the most vicious, can stand at the top. Whatever comes...just know, they deserved it. I told you to bow, didn’t I? It is my time now. With love, Mrs. Callahan Melody Hate You? Little girl, you are not worthy of my hate. Ruined my family? Don’t make me laugh. Hundreds have tried before you and failed. Hundreds will try after you and fail again, Because no matter what, we are strong. You preach about being ruthless or vicious— I am those words personified. The only bowing will be from you to me. Prepare yourself, Mrs. Callahan. The real Mrs. Callahan is coming.

Children of Vice #2 "Show me a strong woman and I’ll show you the scars on her soul that made her so.” Everything I’ve done, everything I will do...no remorse. The world is a vicious place for a woman. It’s even crueler to the daughter of the Ceann na Conairte—discarded, married off, left powerless... But I am no ordinary daughter of the mafia. Unlike every other mafia family, my mother was Melody Callahan, Bloody Mel, the Don of the Italian Mafia, and the Don didn’t raise some precious mafia princess. Bone by bone she broke me first, so no one else could—and bone by bone, I pieced myself back together. I am no longer just the daughter. I am the Don. I am Donatella Aviela Callahan, and there is only one way—my way.

Children of Vice #3 “I do not come in peace.” Life has never been easy for the second-born Callahan son, Wyatt. Trained as a doctor, but born a Callahan, his life has always been one of warring dualities. But when the Callahan family suffers a massive blow, it’s time for Wyatt to step up and decide, once and for all, who he really is. Will Wyatt rise to the challenge as his enemies close in or will his actions lead to destruction of the world’s most powerful mafia family? Catch up on the Children of Vice Series: CHILDREN OF VICE, Book 1: “From the Ruthless, Vice shall Rise.” CHILDREN OF AMBITION, Book 2: "Show me a strong woman and I’ll show you the scars on her soul that made her so.”

WINNER OF THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Electrifying” (People) • “Masterly” (The Guardian) • “Dramatic and memorable” (The New Yorker) • “Magic” (TIME) • “Ingenious” (The Financial Times) • "A gonzo literary performance” (Entertainment Weekly) • “Rare and splendid” (The Boston Globe) • “Remarkable” (USA Today) • “Delicious” (The New York Times) • “Book groups, meet your next selection" (NPR) In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare, and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving “Brotherhood of the Arts,” two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed—or untoyed with—by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The outside world of family life and economic status, of academic pressure and of their future adult lives, fails to penetrate this school’s walls—until it does, in a shocking spiral of events that catapults the action forward in time and flips the premise upside-down. What the reader believes to have happened to David and Sarah and their friends is not entirely true—though it’s not false, either. It takes until the book’s stunning coda for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place—revealing truths that will resonate long after the final sentence. As captivating and tender as it is surprising, Susan Choi's Trust Exercise will incite heated conversations about fiction and truth, and about friendships and loyalties, and will leave readers with wiser understandings of the true capacities of adolescents and of the powers and responsibilities of adults.

Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" is considered to be one of the most important treatises on ethics ever written. In an incredibly detailed study of virtue and vice in man, Aristotle examines one of the most central themes to man, the nature of goodness itself. In Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics," he asserts that virtue is essential to happiness and that man must live in accordance with the "doctrine of the mean" (the balance between excess and deficiency) to achieve such happiness.

I, Ethan Antonio Giovanni Callahan, first son of the former head of the Irish mob, Liam Alec Callahan, and former head of the Italian mafia, ex-governor, Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan, solemnly swear to ruthlessly protect our family name, business and way of life, no matter the cost to me or anyone else. I shall show no mercy; I shall offer no forgiveness; there will be no peace for those who stand against me. I will live for my family. I will kill for my family. I will marry for my family. I, Ivy O'Davoren, the only daughter of Shay O'Davoren, solemnly swear to ruthlessly and mercilessly exact revenge on the Callahans and all those who betrayed my father and family. I will live for revenge. I will kill for revenge. I will marry for revenge. *** You devoured the Ruthless People series. Now it’s time to revel in the reign of the Callahan children...