The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'DonnellTitle: The Death of Bees
Author: Lisa O'Donnell
Genre: , , ,
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: March 1, 2012

Summary (from Goodreads):

Today is Christmas Eve. Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved.

Marnie and her little sister Nelly are on their own now. Only they know what happened to their parents, Izzy and Gene, and they aren’t telling. While life in Glasgow’s Hazlehurst housing estate isn’t grand, they do have each other. Besides, it’s only one year until Marnie will be considered an adult and can legally take care of them both.

As the new year comes and goes, Lennie, the old man next door, realizes that his young neighbors are alone and need his help. Or does he need theirs? But he’s not the only one who suspects something isn’t right. Soon, the sisters’ friends, their other neighbors, the authorities, and even Gene’s nosy drug dealer begin to ask questions. As one lie leads to another, dark secrets about the girls’ family surface, creating complications that threaten to tear them apart.

Written with fierce sympathy and beautiful precision, told in alternating voices, The Death of Bees is an enchanting, grimly comic tale of three lost souls who, unable to answer for themselves, can answer only for each other.

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About Lisa O'Donnell

Lisa O'Donnell

Lisa O’Donnell winner of The Orange Prize for New Screenwriters with her screenplay The Wedding Gift in 2000. Lisa was also nominated for the Dennis Potter New Writers Award in the same year. She moved to Los Angeles with her family in 2006, penning her first novel The Death of Bees in 2010. Published to critical acclaim by Windmill Books in 2012 The Death of Bees will be published in the US by Harper Collins January 2013. The author is very excited!

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Last updated on May 13, 2024

Pretty Little Secrets by Sara Shepard

Pretty Little Secrets by Sara ShepardTitle: Pretty Little Secrets
Author: Sara Shepard
Genre: , , , ,
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: January 3, 2012

Summary (from Goodreads):

Taking place between books four and five in the Pretty Little Liars series, Unbelievable and Wicked, Pretty Little Secrets is a very special Pretty Little Liars tale revealing the liars' never-before-seen misadventures over their junior-year winter break. With brand-new stories and ever-juicy secrets, this is the perfect addition to any fan’s Pretty Little Liars collection.

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About Sara Shepard

Sara Shepard

Sara Shepard graduated from NYU and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. She has lived in New York City, Brooklyn, Tucson, Arizona, Philadelphia, and now lives in Pittsburgh, PA. Sara's Pretty Little Liars novels were inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line.

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Last updated on May 14, 2024

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. RichardsTitle: Five Total Strangers
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Genre: , , ,
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: October 6, 2020

Summary (from Goodreads):

A hitched ride home in a snow storm turns sinister when one of the passengers is plotting for the ride to end in disaster.

When Mira flies home to spend Christmas with her mother in Pittsburgh, a record-breaking blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Desperate to get to her grief-ridden mother in the wake of a family death, Mira hitches a ride with a group of friendly college kids who were on her initial flight.

As the drive progresses and weather conditions become more treacherous, Mira realizes that the four other passengers she's stuck in the car with don't actually know one another.

Soon, they're not just dealing with heavy snowfall and ice-slick roads, but the fact that somebody will stop at nothing to ensure their trip ends in a deadly disaster.

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About Natalie D. Richards

Natalie D. Richards

New York Times Bestselling Author Natalie D. Richards is the author of eight “page-turning thrillers” (School Library Journal), including Five Total Strangers(2020) and Seven Dirty Secrets (2021). 15 Secrets to Survival is her first middle-grade novel. A champion of literacy and aspiring authors, Richards is a frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and writing groups. She lives in Ohio with her three children and (very) large dog, Wookiee.

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Last updated on May 15, 2024

The Sullivan Sisters by Kathryn Ormsbee

The Sullivan Sisters by Kathryn OrmsbeeTitle: The Sullivan Sisters
Author: Kathryn Ormsbee
Genre: , , ,
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: June 23, 2020

Summary (from Goodreads):

Time changes things.

That painful fact of life couldn't be truer for the Sullivan sisters. Once, they used to be close, sharing secrets inside homemade blanket castles. Now, life in the Sullivan house means closed doors and secrets left untold.

Fourteen-year-old Murphy, an aspiring magician, is shocked by the death of Siegfried, her pet turtle. Seventeen-year-old Claire is bound for better things than her Oregonian hometown—until she receives a crushing rejection from her dream college. And eighteen-year-old Eileen is nursing a growing addiction in the wake of life-altering news.

Then, days before Christmas, a letter arrives, informing the sisters of a dead uncle and an inheritance they knew nothing about. The news forces them to band together in the face of a sinister family mystery…and, possibly, murder.

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About Kathryn Ormsbee

Kathryn Ormsbee

Kathryn Ormsbee is the author of books for children and young adults, including Tash Hearts Tolstoy and The House in Poplar Wood. Her novels have been critically acclaimed, translated into seven languages, selected for the Indie Next List and Junior Library Guild, and made “best of” lists at Amazon, BuzzFeed, and the Chicago and New York Public Libraries. She lives in Oregon with her wife and their dog, where she writes, podcasts, and composes music.

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Last updated on March 25, 2026

#MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil

#murdertrending by Gretchen McNeilTitle: #MurderTrending
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Genre: , , ,
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: August 7, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads):

@doctorfusionbebop: Some 17 y. o. chick named Dee Guerrera was just sent to Alcatraz 2.0 for killing her stepsister. So, how long do you think she'll last?

@morrisdavis72195: I hope she meets justice! She'll get what's coming to her! BWAHAHA!

@EltonJohnForevzz: Me? I think Dee's innocent. And I hope she can survive.

WELCOME TO THE NEAR FUTURE, where good and honest citizens can enjoy watching the executions of society's most infamous convicted felons, streaming live on The Postman app from the suburbanized prison island Alcatraz 2.0.

When seventeen-year-old Dee Guerrera wakes up in a haze, lying on the ground of a dimly lit warehouse, she realizes she's about to be the next victim of the app. Knowing hardened criminals are getting a taste of their own medicine in this place is one thing, but Dee refuses to roll over and die for a heinous crime she didn't commit. Can Dee and her newly formed posse, the Death Row Breakfast Club, prove she's innocent before she ends up wrongfully murdered for the world to see? Or will The Postman's cast of executioners kill them off one by one?

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About Gretchen McNeil

Gretchen McNeil

Gretchen McNeil is the author of the YA horror/suspense novels POSSESS, 3:59, RELIC, GET EVEN, GET DIRTY, and TEN (a YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, a Romantic Times Top Pick, and a Booklist Top Ten Horror Fiction for Youth) all with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins. Gretchen’s first YA contemporary I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL, also with Balzer + Bray, hit shelves in 2016, and her next novel will be the horror-comedy #MURDERTRENDING for Disney/Freeform in August 2018.

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Last updated on March 24, 2025