Romancing The Dark In The City Of Light

A troubled teen, living in Paris, is torn between two boys, one of whom encourages her to embrace life, while the other—dark, dangerous, and attractive—urges her to embrace her fatal flaws.

Haunting and beautifully written, with a sharp and distinctive voice that could belong only to this character, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unforgettable young adult novel. Summer Barnes just moved to Paris to repeat her senior year of high school. After being kicked out of four boarding schools, she has to get on the right track or she risks losing her hefty inheritance. Summer is convinced that meeting the right guy will solve everything. She meets two. Moony, a classmate, is recovering against all odds from a serious car accident, and he encourages Summer to embrace life despite how hard it can be to make it through even one day. But when Summer meets Kurt, a hot, mysterious older man who she just can't shake, he leads her through the creepy underbelly of the city-and way out of her depth. When Summer's behavior manage to alienate everyone, even Moony, she's forced to decide if a life so difficult is worth living. With an ending that'll surprise even the most seasoned reader, Ann Jacobus' Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unputdownable and utterly compelling novel.

A troubled American teen in Paris is torn between two young men: one who encourages her to embrace life, while the other--attractive and dangerous--urges her to embrace her darkest fatal impulses.

From the author of Bleed Like Me, which Booklist called “edgy, dark, and turbulent with passion” comes a “gritty, honest portrayal of the road to recovery” (VOYA) and forbidden romance—starring a fearless, unforgettable heroine. Natalie’s not an alcoholic. She doesn’t have a problem. Everybody parties, everybody does stupid things, like getting in their car when they can barely see. Still, with six months of court-ordered AA meetings required, her days of vodka-filled water bottles are over. Unfortunately, her old friends want the party girl or nothing. Even her up-for-anything ex seems more interested in rehashing the past than actually helping Nat stay sober. But then a recovering alcoholic named Joe inserts himself into Nat’s life, and things start looking up. Joe is funny, he’s smart, and he calls her out in a way no one ever has. He’s also older. A lot older. Nat’s connection to Joe is overwhelming, but so are her attempts to fit back into her old world, all while battling the constant urge to crack a open bottle and erase that one thing she’s been desperate to forget. Now, in order to make a different kind of life, Nat must pull together her broken parts and learn to fight for herself.

“What ardent, dazzling souls emerge from these American missionaries in China . . . A beautiful, searing book that leaves an indelible presence in the mind.” —Patricia Hampl, author of The Art of the Wasted Day Will Kiehn is seemingly destined for life as a humble farmer in the Midwest when, having felt a call from God, he travels to the vast North China Plain in the early twentieth-century. There he is surprised by love and weds a strong and determined fellow missionary, Katherine. They soon find themselves witnesses to the crumbling of a more than two-thousand-year-old dynasty that plunges the country into decades of civil war. As the couple works to improve the lives of the people of Kuang P’ing Ch’eng—City of Tranquil Light, a place they come to love—and face incredible hardship, will their faith and relationship be enough to sustain them? Told through Will and Katherine’s alternating viewpoints—and inspired by the lives of the author’s maternal grandparents—City of Tranquil Light is a tender and elegiac portrait of a young marriage set against the backdrop of the shifting face of a beautiful but torn nation. A deeply spiritual book, it shows how those who work to teach others often have the most to learn, and is further evidence that Bo Caldwell writes “vividly and with great historical perspective” (San Jose Mercury News). “City of Tranquil Light is just my kind of book. It is full of light, even at its darkest moments. I relished the hours spent with this dedicated and intrepid couple and will not soon forget them. Bo Caldwell has honored her missionary grandparents with her storytelling skills.” —Gail Godwin, New York Times–bestselling author

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A haunting, beautiful, and necessary book."—Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people do in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you. Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge. A deeply moving portrait of a girl in a world that owes her nothing, and has taken so much, and the journey she undergoes to put herself back together. Kathleen Glasgow's debut is heartbreakingly real and unflinchingly honest. It’s a story you won’t be able to look away from. And don’t miss Kathleen Glasgow's novels You’d Be Home Now and How to Make Friends with the Dark, both raw and powerful stories of life.

Offers a collection of poems, stories, and drawings on war and peace, assembled in response to the war in Iraq but inspired by a variety of conflicts throughout history.

In 1914 Russia, Lara is being groomed by her father to be the next kennel steward for the Count's borzoi dogs unless her mother bears a son, but her visions, although suppressed by her father, seem to suggest she has a special bond with the dogs.

The Monster She’s my obsession. Something I can’t let go of. My world is incomplete until I get her back. She thinks she escaped me and that’s the end of the story. Little does she know that’s just our beginning. I say when our time is over and that’s not until my need for her is fulfilled. Brianna I ran for my life in hopes of leaving the horror I encountered behind. I knew no matter how far or how fast I ran that the nightmare wasn’t over. I knew he would seek me out again and that’s exactly what happened. He found me right at the time my love returned to me. Now not only do I have to fight for my life, but my love is on the line as well. Brianna has to do everything she can to survive the darkness that wants to take her under. The monster in the dark wants to own her and destroy her at the same time. While fighting to survive Brianna most fight to allow love in. With true love on her side Brianna and her man will make sure that darkness fails in its attempt. Excerpt The Monster I glide my thumb over her picture time and time again. This girl is my weakness or my sickness, some may say. I can’t get over the fact that she got away from me. I’ve never been sloppy. I’ve never allowed anyone to get the best of me, but she did. After everything I did to catch her, and it was all for nothing. I hate the thought of her slipping through my fingers like water running in a stream. All I wanted was to be close to her. I searched for her for so long. All the others before her and after her were pale in comparison to the real thing. I waited so long to break her so that I could build her up. She would be better due to my work with her. I exchange the photo for a tv remote. When I turn the television on, the news begins to show. A male newscaster is sitting on the tv, talking about the events that happened two years ago. “The city was held hostage by a mad man for a year, three years ago. This man waltzed into our lives like the boogie man. He attacked the young women of our town. After he snatched these young, innocent girls from their lives, he would hold them hostage and inflict terrible pain upon them, before throwing them away as if they were trash. His reign of terror was brought to a halt when a brave young woman named Tyler Scott found the courage to beat the odds. She was able to withstand the horror of her captor for three days before finding her way free. Just like every other newscast, we have decided not to air her likeness, but I would like to say to that brave girl on this second anniversary of her escape that I am proud of the strength you have shown. I know you have seen so many dark days, but the light will always be waiting for you. Thank you and good night,” the newscaster says before the show credits appear. I flick the tv off. That bastard doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The girls I take need me. I’m their light, and the one who got away is my light, but better, yet she is mine. It’s time to get her back.