Ron Butler

After his parents send him to a prestigious private school known for its academics, Jordan Banks finds himself torn between two worlds.

"Hailed as a "marvel of a book" and "brilliant and unflinching," Alexis Schaitkin's stunning debut, Saint X, is a haunting portrait of grief, obsession, and the bond between two sisters never truly given the chance to know one another. Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison's body is found in...

"In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself"--

Operation Treadstone has nearly ruined Adam Hayes. The top-secret CIA Black Ops program trained him to be an all but invincible assassin, but it also cost him his family and any chance at a normal life. Which is why he was determined to get out. Working as a carpenter in rural Washington state, Adam thinks he has left Treadstone in the past, until he received a mysterious email from a former colleague, and soon after is attacked by an unknown hit...

A memoir by the former NASA astronaut and NFL wide receiver traces his personal journey from the gridiron to the stars, examining the intersecting roles of community, perseverance, and grace that create opportunities for success. "Leland Melvin is the only person in history to catch a pass in the National Football League and in space. Though his path from the gridiron to the heavens was riddled with setbacks and injury, Leland persevered to reach...

"As the youngest of eight, painfully average Pup Flanagan is used to flying under the radar. He's barely passing his classes. He lets his longtime crush walk all over him. And he's in no hurry to decide on a college path. The only person who ever made him think he could be more was his older brother Patrick. But that was before Patrick died suddenly, leaving Pup with a family who won't talk about it and acquaintances who just keep saying, "sorry for...

An alien ship rests over Water Island. For five years the people of the US Virgin Islands have lived with the Ynaa, a race of superadvanced aliens on a research mission they will not fully disclose. They are benevolent in many ways but meet any act of aggression with disproportional wrath. This has led to a strained relationship between the Ynaa and the local Virgin Islanders and a peace that cannot last. A year after the death of a young boy at the...

"The Chandaria family--emigrants from the Indian-enclave of Nairobi--have managed to flourish in America. Premchand, the father, is a doctor who has worked doggedly to grow his practice and give his family security; his wife, Urmila, runs a business importing artisanal Kenyan crafts; and their son, Sunil, after quitting the pre-med track, is enrolled in a PhD program in philosophy at Harvard. But the parents have kept a very important secret from...

"The biggest mistake of Jaye Colfax's life was letting Velvet Spencer leave. For three years, they were together and it was great -- at least for Jaye. But Velvet wanted more. Jaye wouldn't commit to anything because he just didn't believe in falling in love or marriage. Tired of waiting, Velvet left him without so much as a goodbye. Only then did Jaye realize he'd been too proud to admit he loved her. It took Jaye two years to find where Velvet had...

When free black musician and surgeon Benjamin January attends the funeral of a friend, an accident tips the dead man out of his coffin--only to reveal an unexpected inhabitant. Set in New Orleans in 1836.