The story of the orphan Oliver, who runs away from the workhouse only to be taken in by a den of thieves, shocked readers when it was first published. Dickens's tale of childhood innocence beset by evil depicts the dark criminal underworld of a London peopled by vivid and memorable characters — the arch-villain Fagin, the artful Dodger, the menacing Bill Sikes and the prostitute Nancy. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, in Oliver Twist Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery.
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The chief part of the stories, however, turned upon the favorite specter of Sleepy Hollow, the Headless Horseman, who had been heard several times of late, patrolling the country; and, it was said, tethered his horse nightly among the graves in the churchyard. The story was immediately matched by a thrice marvelous adventure of Brom Bones, who made light of the Galloping Hessian as an arrant jockey. He affirmed that on returning one night from the neighboring village of Sing Sing, he had been overtaken by this midnight trooper; that he had offered to race with him for a bowl of punch and should have won it too, for Daredevil beat the goblin horse all hollow, but just as they came to the church bridge, the Hessian bolted, and vanished in a flash of fire. All these tales, told in that drowsy undertone with which men talk in the dark, the countenances of the listeners only now and then receiving a casual gleam from the glare of a pipe, sank deep in the mind of Ichabod.
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Right and wrong are not always so clear. Or, even when they are clear, sometimes people do what is wrong for what seems like the right reasons. With his family in financial straits and the medical expenses building from his baby brother’s chronic condition, Timothy’s desperation to help his brother leads him to steal a wallet. Sentenced to house arrest and threatened with juvenile detention, Timothy must show he regrets what he did and that he can stay out of trouble. He is required to keep a journal to reflect on what he did and have regular visits with a probation officer and a counselor. Timothy wants to do what is right, but, when faced with impossible choices, it can be hard to know what is truly right or wrong.
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Part historical fiction, part science fiction, and full of action, Wolf by Wolf imagines a world where Hitler and the Axis powers won World War II. Set after the war, with the world divided between Germany and Japan, Wolf by Wolf is centered on an annual motorcycle race across Europe and Asia that celebrates the Axis victory and ends with a celebratory ball where a reclusive Hitler makes one of his few public appearances. Resistance fighter Yael is determined to assassinate Hitler and knows that winning the race and getting close to him at the ball is the only way to do it. But, to get to the ball, the race must first be won, which means surviving the grueling pace as well as treacherous competitors determined to win at any cost.
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Dorothy thinks she's lost forever when a tornado whirls her and her dog, Toto, into a magical world. To get home, she must find the wonderful wizard in the Emerald City of Oz. On the way she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. But the Wicked Witch of the West has her own plans for the new arrival - will Dorothy ever see Kansas again?
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Ingrid is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. And getting them back will mean getting tangled up in a murder investigation as complicated as the mysteries solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes. With soccer practice, schoolwork, and the lead role in her town's production of Alice in Wonderland, Ingrid is swamped. But as things in Echo Falls keep getting curiouser and curiouser, Ingrid realizes she must solve the murder on her own -- before it's too late!
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