books and reading

In a tough neighborhood on the outskirts of Toronto, miles away from wealthy white downtown, Omer Aziz struggles to find his place as a first-generation Pakistani Muslim boy. He fears the violence and despair of the world around him, and sees a dangerous path ahead, succumbing to aimlessness, apathy, and rage. In his senior year of high school, Omer quickly begins to realize that education can open up the wider world. But as he falls in love with books, and makes his way to Queen's University in Ontario, Sciences Po in Paris, Cambridge University in England, and finally Yale Law School, he continually confronts his own feelings of doubt and insecurity at being an outsider, a brown-skinned boy in an elite white world. He is searching for community and identity, asking questions of himself and those he encounters, and soon finds himself in difficult situations; whether in the suburbs of Paris or at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Yet the more books Omer reads and the more he moves through elite worlds, his feelings of shame and powerlessness only grow stronger, and clear answers recede further away.

Banned from selling anything written this century, bookstore manager Maggie Banks, to keep the business afloat, starts an underground book club that unexpectedly unearths a town secret that could upend everything, forcing her to choose between the books that formed a small town's history or the stories poised to change it all.

"When eleven-year-old Maizy finds a box of vintage Nancy Drew books, her mysterious discovery uncovers a truth from the past that will lead to self-discovery in the present, connecting three generations of women"--Provided by publisher.

A story in which readers from everywhere pore over books, each with their own questions, ideas to explore, hopes for the future, and imaginations ready to spark, showing the many ways books can foster connection and empower children.

Shay Isley loves to read but she has become bored by the usual stories so she turns to the horror section and finds the book, Attack of the Moon Beast; but when night comes this book turns into a monster, part werewolf and part book--and only the Librarian can save her and her little brother from becoming its prey.

Sang Ly lives at Cambodia's city dump where survival is a daily struggle, but when she develops an unlikely friendship with the ill-tempered rent collector, Sopeap, who teaches her to read, Sang embarks on a life-changing journey to give her son, Nisay, a better life and future.

The Eraser has created a powerful gas that turns ink invisible and renders all books empty and useless--can the Librarian stop him before he destroys the Library of Doom?.

This is a book. It is written by Barry Lyga. Yes, we know it's a very long book. We tried to get him to cut it, but he wouldn't. So there was nothing we could do about it. We understand if the length turns you off. A long book like this one represents a commitment, and if it isn't good, you'll feel like you've wasted your time and your money. Still, we published it because we think it's a good book. Could it be shorter? Maybe. That's a very difficult call. Each person will have his or her own opinion. Some will read it and think, It could have been shorter. Others will think, It was just right. And maybe some people will wish it was longer. Isn't that the highest compliment you can pay a book, to wish it would never end?.

While visiting the library, Isabella, a purple-haired girl who loves books, pretends to be her favorite children's book characters.

Thirteen-year-old Juan's summer is off to a terrible start. First, his parents separate. Then, Juan is sent away to his strange Uncle Tito's house for the entire break! Who wants to live with an oddball recluse who has zigzag eyebrows, drinks fifteen cups of smoky tea a day, and lives inside a huge, mysterious library? As Juan adjusts to his new life among teetering, dusty shelves, he notices something odd: the books move on their own! He rushes to tell Uncle Tito, who lets his nephew in on a secret: Juan is a Princeps Reader, which means books respond magically to him, and he's the only one who can find the elusive, never-before-read Wild Book.