free will and determinism

On his sixteenth birthday, still trying to cope with the unexpected death of his father, David Schumacher decides--or does he--to change his name to Blue Avenger, hoping to find a way to make a difference in his Oakland neighborhood and in the world.

Presents a collection of short nonfiction writings by novelist Amy Tan, including university talks, eulogies, E-mails, and poems, all united by Tan's musings on the role of luck in her life.

While eighteen-year-old Janie ponders her future with Cabe, knowing that her being a dream-catcher means eventual blindness and crippling, she encounters her past as the father she never knew is hospitalized with brain trauma and seems to need her help.

The Fates of ancient Greece have gone digital in the twenty-first century, ruling human destiny through a server known as the Fate Core, but when Atropos decides to code a spell to eliminate free will, her modern-day nephew Ravirn, a hacker-extraordinaire, pulls out all his tricks to stop her.

Left on a doorstep after his illegal au pair mother exacts a brutal revenge on his father, Edward is raised by an adoring family and grows up to become a famous billionaire Internet tycoon who hurtles toward a fate that he is powerless to control.

Retells the tale of the Garden of Eden from Eve's point of view, as Serpent teaches her everything from her own name to why she should eat the forbidden fruit, and then leaves her with Adam and the knowledge that her choice has made mankind free.

A young girl beginning to learn gymnastics is tempted to quit because she cannot spin and jump like her friend Jan, but Jan persuades her to keep trying.