Nevermore

A page-turning psychological mystery that is equal parts horror, humor, and romance, "Nevermore" is the story of Varen--a Poe fan and Goth--and Isobel--a cheerleader and unlikely heroine.

WHEN AN ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD, WHISKY DRINKING, PIANO PRODIGY ENCOUNTERS A WEALTHY FAMILY POSSESSING SUPERNATURAL BEAUTY, HER ENSUING OBSESSION UNLEASHES FAMILY SECRETS AND A CATACLYSMIC PLAGUE OF CICADAS. The summer of 1956, a brood of cicadas descends upon Providence, Georgia, a natural event with supernatural repercussions, unhinging the life of Analeise Newell, an eleven-year-old piano prodigy. Amidst this emergence, dark obsessions are stirred, uncanny gifts provoked, and secrets unearthed. During a visit to Mistletoe, a plantation owned by the wealthy Mayfield family, Analeise encounters Cordelia Mayfield and her daughter Marlissa, both of whom possess an otherworldly beauty, a lineal trait regarded as that Mayfield Shine. A whisper and an act of violence perpetrated during this visit by Mrs. Mayfield all converge to kindle Analeise's fascination with the Mayfields. Analeise's burgeoning obsession with the Mayfield family overshadows her own seemingly, ordinary life, culminating in dangerous games and manipulation, setting off a chain of cataclysmic events with life-altering consequences-all of it unfolding to the maddening whir of a cicada song. When an eleven year old, whisky drinking, piano prodigy encounters a wealthy family possessing supernatural beauty, her ensuing obsession unleashes family secrets and a cataclysmic plague of cicadas. "Following in the magnificent footsteps of Carson McCullers and Harper Lee, Robert Gwaltney creates a wonderful snapshot of the friendship that forms between Analeise and Etta Mae, two eleven-year-old girls in '50s small town Georgia... This is a book to love and remember, and every book club in America would be wise to snap it up."- Robert Goolrick, #1 New York Times bestselling author  "The gothic beauty of a relentless Georgia summer is brought to life through Gwaltney's deliberate details and exquisite imagery, while all the while evil lurks beneath the surface; from where or what the reader does not know but is as convinced by Gwaltney's expert storytelling as he is."-Zoe Fishman, bestselling author of Invisible Air and Georgia Author of the Year 2020 "Gwaltney's Southern Gothic, THE CICADA TREE mesmerizes and seduces, the language redolent and deadly, the characters steeped in secrets and madness, and the whole of it an enthralling and perfect read. Easily my favorite book of the year."-Kim Taylor Blakemore, bestselling author of After Alice Fell

True love takes a twisted turn in the second book of this modern gothic romance trilogy that channels the dark brilliance of Edgar Allan Poe. While Varen remains a prisoner in a perilous dream world where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life, Isobel travels to Baltimore to confront the dark figure known throughout the world as the Poe Toaster. This man, the same man who once appeared to Isobel in her dreams and abandoned her in Varen’s nightmare world, holds the key to saving Varen. But when Isobel discovers a way to return to this dream world, she finds herself swept up in a realm that not only holds remnants of Edgar Allan Poe’s presence, but one that has taken on the characteristics of Varen’s innermost self. It is a dark world of fear, terror, and anger. When Isobel once more encounters Varen, she finds him changed. And now Isobel must face a new adversary—one who also happens to be her greatest love.

When a fifteen-year-old Mandrian princess makes a wish in a wizard's circle, she winds up on Earth alone and without the ability and desire to return to home.

From the #1 bestselling author of the Dark-Hunters comes an all new tale her fans have been waiting almost two decades to read. A post-apocalyptic tale unlike any you ever seen: The virus ran swiftly on the hot summer breeze. Unseen. Unheard. Unknown. It swept through the entire earth in a matter of months, having mercy on no one. Young—old—it didn’t matter. Brought to us by the Drabs, it was the last thing we expected. But the Drabs knew. They even fought a war over whether or not they should save us. In the end, it was decided that we were diseased insects who were unfit to breathe their air. Our air. So they left the human race to die a miserable death of agonizing pain in a matter of months. Left us with no doctors or medicine. Their plan was to rid the earth of us and to take our home as their own. What they never expected was the change that would come after the plague. We didn’t all die off as they’d planned. Those under the age of twenty somehow managed to survive the disease. We managed to hide ourselves while our bodies changed. Still human, but now something else. Something more powerful and more intuitive. More pissed off. Now possessed of magical powers and abilities beyond belief, we’re still here on this earth, and we’re not leaving. This is our home. Our planet. Drabs take note and learn to be afraid. You’ve had a hundred years here on earth, but now your time here is done. You called us rodents. Insects. Diseased animals. The scraps of humanity—and that, my Drab friend, we certainly are. But what you should have realized is that you can’t kill a Scrap. Humanity isn’t dead. Not by a long shot. We still have our soldiers and we have our conviction. Most of all, we have hope. And we will win in the end. Whatever it takes. Whatever it costs. We won’t allow you to take our planet from us. So count your days, Drabs. The war is on. This edition also contains the short story The Witch of Endor.

A breathtaking, enchanting new series by debut author Jessica Townsend, about a cursed girl who escapes death and finds herself in a magical world--but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination. Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each with an extraordinary talent that sets them apart--an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests--or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate. This fast-paced plot and imaginative world has a fresh new take on magic that will appeal to a new generation of readers.

Nevermore brings one of America’s most enigmatic writers to the attention of a new generation of children. This intriguing photobiography examines the life and times of the author and poet who would have a huge influence on future generations of writers, poets, artists, and even songwriters. Poe pioneered the psychological horror story, the detective story, and the emerging genre of science fiction. Through his dark tales and unforgettable verse, as well as his literary criticism, he made major contributions to the development of the modern short story and modern poetry in America. Thanks to the translations of the French writer Charles Baudelaire, Poe also gained a wide audience throughout Europe. His work influenced not only writers, but also avant-garde artists, who saw in him a kindred soul. Karen Lange’s gripping narrative combines with the book’s vivid illustrations of Poe’s various haunts to create an atmospheric account of America’s most famous Romantic writer. The story shifts from his birth in Boston to Richmond, from Hampton Roads to Philadelphia, from New York City to his mysterious death in Baltimore. Nevermore is a rich appreciation of an American master, whose macabre tales of mystery took shape in tandem with his own strange and ultimately tragic life story.

Praised by Caleb Carr for his "brilliantly detailed and above all riveting" true-crime writing, Harold Schechter brings his expertise to a marvelous work of fiction. Superbly rendering the 1830s Baltimore of Edgar Allan Poe, Schechter taps into the dark genius of that legendary author -- and follows a labyrinthine path into the heart of a most heinous crime. Nevermore A literary critic known for his scathing pen, Edgar Allan Poe is a young struggling writer, plagued by dreadful ruminations and horrific visions. Suddenly he is plunged into an adventure beyond his wildest fantasies -- a quest for a killer through Baltimore's highest and lowest streets and byways. A string of ghastly murders is linked by one chilling clue -- a cryptic word scrawled in blood. It is a terrifying lure that ensnares Poe in a deadly investigation. And along the way, his own macabre literary imagination is sparked as he unveils dark realities stranger than any fiction...

Forced by her nightmares to return to Varen's desolate dreamworld, Isobel fears that her world and her own sanity will be overtaken by the schemes of ghostly demon Lilith.

IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS MAXIMUM RIDE . . . A GIRL. A FIGHTER. A LEADER. A SUPERHUMAN WITH A MISSION TO SAVE THE WORLD. SHEâe(tm)S GONE TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH SEEKING HER DESTINY. AND NOW, THE END ISNâe(tm)T NEAR . . . ITâe(tm)S HERE.