Dented Cans

Dented Cans, by Heather Walsh (update Feb. 11th -- no longer free)

A family secret is revealed during an ill-fated—yet hilarious—trip to Disney World.

Hannah’s parents inflict one last family vacation on the Sampson children, a trip that goes comically wrong almost from the get-go. Hannah is forced to confront her family's past in Disney World, of all places, when an emotional argument prompts her parents to disclose a secret they have been keeping from the children for sixteen years. Ultimately, she must decide whether to leave her hometown and not look back, or to focus on helping her family.

Kool Brother Rat

Kool Brother Rat, by Jon Sindell, free

In this fast, funny tale, a thirteen–year–old boy in the Wonder Years era searches for cool. Can he live up to his big brother's rep? Tastes a little like Stand By Me, A Christmas Story, and The Wonder Years. Previously published in The Write Side Up. 

Wraith

Wraith, by Angel Lawson, free

Freak. Weird. Crazy. These are the names tossed around seventeen-year old Jane Watts by her fellow classmates. But things aren’t always as they seem. Sometimes there’s a reason for talking to yourself in the hallway at school. 

Jane struggles with adjusting to her new home and school after an abrupt move. She wants one thing in life—to be like everyone else at school, but that’s hard to do when you’re the new kid. But she does manage to make one friend, Evan—he’s sixteen, charming, and protective. Everything a girl could want in a best friend…with one minor caveat. 

He's dead.

Caught somewhere between life and death, Evan is tied to Jane and the living world unable to complete the journey to the other side. She thinks he’s here to be her friend, to take care of her, and that’s why no one can see or hear him.

That is until a new boy shows up at school after a rumored stretch in Juvie. Connor can see Evan and he’s not convinced the ghost is being completely honest. From his own experience ghosts tend to need something from the humans they connect to and Evan, despite his arguments isn’t any different.

Jane is resentful of Connor’s intrusion but realizes soon enough he’s right. Evan has secrets about his past and not only did his life end tragically but members of his family are still in danger. Jane must face her fears and battle Evan’s human demons to free both of them.

Wraith is part one of a three book series.

Surviving: High School

Surviving: High School, by Bronsen Hawkins, free

Breslin returns to Clearveil, a town he knew very well before he lost his father in a fatal car accident. That was when his mother packed up everything and he and his brother left town. When trouble found Breslin once again, they returned to Clearveil. Breslin was very anti-social growing up, and while that hasn’t changed, he’s attempting to take on the role of an extrovert. Students at his new school show an eerie interest toward him. It seems like people from every social class in the student body hierarchy are volleying for his attention. But something’s not right. There’s nothing extra ordinary about Breslin. Even he knows that. 

The Rose Hotel

The Rose Hotel, by Rahimeh Andalibian, free for a limited time 1/15 - 1/18 only.

A country in chaos and a family torn asunder... In the midst of the upheaval and violence of Iran's 1979 revolution, a young girl struggles to make sense of a complex swirl of mystery and change.

In the novel, The Rose Hotel, Dr. Rahimeh Andalibian tells the true-life story of her Iranian Muslim family and two brutal crimes - one that her father solved and another of which her brother is accused. 

The Iranian-born author takes us first into the early intimacy of her pious family as they lived in prosperity in their luxury hotel in Mashhad, Iran. Their life of beauty and tranquility is ruptured by revolution, followed by a fall from grace, as her homeland is forever altered and her family uprooted, first to London, and finally to California, where they suffer a different kind of revolution. Struggling to acculturate and adjust to a new host culture in America, they soon discover that although they escaped Iran, they were not free from their own lies and hidden truths.

Heartbreaking and intimately told, The Rose Hotel is a story of healing, rebirth after tragedy, and hard-won redemption.

Dark Fires

Dark Fires, by Paul Telegdi, free

Caught helplessly by the tides of the Inquisition sweeping through Europe, Justin, a youth of the streets with no memory of his origins, rescues a renowned scholar from street tugs and is adopted into the family and acquires a sister. Unfortunately they fall into the clutches of the Inquisition and through extraordinary efforts Justin rescues them. What follows is a chase through Europe as the family tries to find safe haven from persecution. They end up in a neglected corner of the continent, where unexpectedly Justin comes into his own. 

The Greenwich Interplanetary Society

The Greenwich Interplanetary Society, by Stuart Boyd, free

A space voyage to the phantom quadrant, battling with space pirates, saving the galaxy from the fearsome Greddylick - all in a days work for The Greenwich Interplanetary Society. Stella Mayweather always knew she was different… But even she never realised how different things can get! 

Wizard Dawning

Wizard Dawning, by CM Lance, free

In his last semester of high school, mysterious Great-Grandfather Thor shows up with injuries sustained in a battle with a Dark Wizard. He bestows upon Sig, his only male heir, a magical family heirloom. Sig is to take Grampa Thor’s place, leading the fight against Dark Magic. Unfortunately, Sig can only access a small portion of his power. Will he find it before the Dark Wizard finds him? 

Volume 1 of the Battle Wizard Saga.