When it was published in 1955, Lolita immediately became a cause celebre because of the freedom and sophistication with which it handled the unusual erotic predilections of its protagonist. But Vladimir Nabokov's wise, ironic, elegant masterpiece owes its stature as one of the twentieth century's novels of record not to the controversy its material aroused but to its author's use of that material to tell a love story almost shocking in its beauty...

Tells the story of black, eleven-year old Pecola Breedlove. She prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blonde, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom, Pecola's life changes in painful, devastating ways.

"In 1994, Reviving Ophelia was published, and it shone a much-needed spotlight on the problems faced by adolescent girls. The book became iconic and helped to reframe the national conversation about what author Mary Pipher called "a girl-poisoning culture" surrounding adolescents. Fast forward to today, and adolescent girls and the parents, teachers, and counselors who care about them find themselves confronting many of the same challenges Pipher...

From the bestselling author of "Still life with bread crumbs." This story begins in the 1960s, and explores how Mimi Miller comes of age, over and over again. As the years go by, the unthinkable starts to seem inevitable. Anna Quindlen's novel takes us through the changing eras of Mimi and her family, as secrets are revealed, and the heartbreaks of growing up and falling in love with the wrong man are overcome.

When Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa's greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother's instructions lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.

Over the course of summers spent with a much wealthier friend, a country girl struggles to stay true to herself and her values in this tender story from Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women! When fourteen-year-old Polly Milton goes to stay with her friend Fanny for the summer, she finds that the Shaw family's wealthy city life couldn't be more different from her country upbringing. With her plain clothes and more practical interests, Polly is...

In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.

Soon to be an HBO series, book one in the New York Times bestselling Neapolitan quartet about two friends growing up in post-war Italy is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted family epic by Italy's most beloved and acclaimed writer, Elena Ferrante, "one of the great novelists of our time." (Roxana Robinson, The New York Times)

Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Ferrante's four-volume...

Pippi moves into in a house at the edge of a Swedish village with a horse, a monkey, a suitcase full of gold, and no grown-ups to tell her what to do. She has upside-down braids and is wild and funny and her crazy ideas have a way of making anything exciting! Naturally, the children next door, Tommy and Annika are curious about their new neighbor. The three children have the most rollicking adventures on their own, with horses and monkeys, the circus,...

On the court, on the field, on the course, or in the gym, female athletes are getting it done. This title highlights the stars who rule girls' soccer today and the skills they've mastered on the way. You will find informative chapters that help readers better understand the skills of each sport, tips for improving those skills, a sport-specific diagram, a glossary, additional resources, and more. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to...