New Releases by Vicki Grant

A whoopee cushion turns deadly in this new middle-grade mystery from acclaimed author Vicki Grant. The best Halloween costumes. The funniest pranks. An endless supply of chocolate fudge that looks exactly like dog poo. Most kids would love it if their parents owned a joke store. But twelve-year-old Manya isn't like most kids. She's not interested in the cheap laughs at Pranks a Million. She loves science. She wants to save the world. The only thing she finds even vaguely interesting about her parents' shop is the science behind the pranks. After all, there's chemistry at work even in itching powder and stink bombs. Manya and her best friend Isaac are thrilled when their parents agree to sign them up for Serious Science, an after-school course. It's everything Manya has dreamed of: the class is fascinating, and their teacher, Dr. C. Michaels, is both smart and charming. She can just about forget that her parents drive a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle with a red clown nose on the hood and headlights that look like googly eyes. Maybe. But one day Manya comes back from their Serious Science class to see two police in the store. A trick cigar bought at Pranks a Million blew up in a customer's face and burnt off his eyebrows. Then there's a poisoning incident. And when a whoopee cushion explodes, actually killing an innocent bystander, things become very serious indeed: Manya's parents are arrested for murder. It's up to Manya to prove their innocence — and she may have to use some of the science behind the pranks to do so.

Letters from beyond the grave and a green velvet dress reveal a secret about Yardley's beloved grandmother; for fans of The Parker Inheritance and The List of Things That Will Not Change and ages 10 and up. It's always hard to lose a friend, but for Yardley O'Hanlon it's devastating. Her best friend is her wild and wonderful grandmother Gidge. They're two fashionable peas in a quirky little pod. They spend all their time together sewing and crafting and creating beautiful things — until Gidge dies, and Yardley loses her for good. Or does she? Yardley isn't convinced. Gidge was a big believer in reincarnation. She promised she'd never leave Yardley, and Gidge always kept her promises. So when a stylish older woman walks into the Over Easy Vintage Emporium where Yardley is helping out, Yardley is sure it's her grandmother, back from the dead. But her happiness doesn't last long, as the woman runs away in terror and no one else believes she was Gidge reincarnated. It's only with the help of a beautiful green velvet dress, a series of letters from "the other side" and an irritating twelve-year-old buttinsky named Harris that Yardley discovers there's more to the mystery woman — and Gidge — than she ever imagined.

The perfect after-school job turns deadly for teens working as "simulated patients" at the local med school. Everyone has something to hide and no one is safe in this contemporary YA thriller that exposes the dark reality of #MeToo in the world of medicine, for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson. It seemed like a cool part-time program -- being a "simulated" patient for med school students to practice on. But now vivacious, charismatic Viv lies in a very real coma. Cellphone footage just leads to more questions. What really happened? Other kids suspect it was not an intentional overdose -- but each has a reason why they can't tell the truth. Through intertwining and conflicting narratives, a twisted story unfolds of trust betrayed as we sift through the seemingly innocent events leading up to the tragic night. Perhaps simulated patients aren't the only people pretending to be something they're not . . .

Inspirado por um estudo real de psicologia, popularizado pelo The New York Times e a coluna Modern Love. Hildy e Paul têm as próprias razões para participar de um estudo do departamento de psicologia da universidade local que tem o intuito de "facilitar uma proximidade pessoal e, talvez, resultar em um relacionamento". O experimento consiste em 36 perguntas, algumas inofensivas, como Quando foi a última vez que cantou sozinho?; outras nem tanto, como Qual sua mais terrível memória? As questões ajudam os dois a desnudar para o outro — e para si mesmos — sentimentos muitas vezes reprimidos. Segredos são revelados; vulnerabilidades, expostas. Hildy e Paul chegam ao fim do questionário entre risos e lágrimas, e baiacus voadores! Mas a pergunta mais importante permanece: eles se apaixonaram?

Besoin d'un faux fiancé pour les repas de famille du dimanche ? D'un faux oncle au discours bien huilé pour un enterrement ? D'un faux père pour une réunion parents-profs ? L'Agence des pseudo-familles sur mesure est faite pour vous !

After a big fight with his wife, Rupert's grandfather packs up and moves into Gentle Breezes Nudist Community for Active Seniors. Thirteen-year-old Rupert is sent in to talk some sense into his grandfather, known to everyone as Gump. While he's there, Rupert accidentally lets Gump's dog, Wayne, escape. Gump is frantic. Wayne is blind and tends to panic. Rupert and his grandfather set out to search the woods, and soon they are lost too. Aside from an apron, Gump is butt naked, and without his phone, Rupert feels naked too. The only way they are going to get out of this mess is by working together. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

Kann aus einem Experiment die große Liebe werden? Hildy und Paul, beide 18, nehmen an einem psychologischen Experiment teil: die wissensdurstige, aber etwas chaotische Hildy aus Interesse und tausend anderen Gründen. Paul aus einem einzigen: weil er die Teilnahme bezahlt bekommt. Und so sitzen sich die beiden in einem kargen Universitäts-Raum gegenüber und stellen sich Fragen, die zwischen ihnen Liebe erzeugen sollen. Fragen, die zunächst scheinbar banal sind (»Wie sähe ein perfekter Tag für dich aus?«) und dann immer persönlicher werden (»Was ist deine schlimmste Erinnerung?«). Fragen, die Hildy im wahren Leben nie jemandem wie Paul stellen würde, dem gut aussehenden Typ, der sich für nichts und niemanden interessiert, am wenigsten für Hildy. Oder?

Hildy e Paul, dois jovens que nada têm em comum, nem mesmo as suas razões para participar no estudo de psicologia em que se inscrevem. No caso de Paul, a motivação são os 40 dólares, no caso de Hildy são razões muito mais complexas, como toda a sua natureza humana. O estudo pretende dar resposta a uma simples questão: Pode o amor ser provocado entre duas pessoas que não se conhecem?Hildy e Paul têm de fazer 36 perguntas um ao outro, desde «Qual é a sua pior recordação?» até «Quando cantou para si pela última vez?». Até chegarem ao fim do questionário, passam por muitos momentos constrangedores, alguns felizes, outros de sofrimento, mas também descobrem os segredos mais dolorosos que cada um tentava esconder. Mas será que se apaixonaram? Inspirado num estudo real, popularizado pela coluna «Modern Love», do New York Times

Inspired by the real psychology study popularized by the New York Times and its "Modern Love" column, this contemporary YA is perfect for fans of Eleanor and Park. Two random strangers. Two secrets. Thirty-six questions to make them fall in love. Hildy and Paul each have their own reasons for joining the university psychology study that asks the simple question: Can love be engineered? The study consists of 36 questions, ranging from "What is your most terrible memory?" to "When did you last sing to yourself?" By the time Hildy and Paul have made it to the end of the questionnaire, they've laughed and cried and lied and thrown things and run away and come back and driven each other almost crazy. They've also each discovered the painful secret the other was trying so hard to hide. But have they fallen in love? Told in the language of modern romance -- texting, Q&A, IM -- and punctuated by Paul's sketches, this clever high-concept YA is full of humor and heart. As soon as you've finished reading, you'll be searching for your own stranger to ask the 36 questions. Maybe you'll even fall in love. Rights have sold in 19 territories!

Embarrassed by your brother? Estranged from your uncle? Then you might need some help from Almost Family Surrogate Agency. Cam Redden and his dad are rent-a-relatives, available for hire to anyone looking to upgrade. Cam’s job is all about being whoever other people want him to be. Then two new clients come along. Albertina is an old lady with a big mouth, a bigger wig and a serious mission. Raylene is a beautiful girl with a nose ring, a wonky eye and a painful secret. Now to get to the bottom of the tragic mysteries that fuel them both, Cam may finally have to be himself.

Dot, whose name reflects her stature, has always had big dreams—but her dreams have to be put on hold while she searches for the truth about her parents. She gets a job as a seamstress at a lakeside resort in rural Ontario and falls hard for Eddie, a charming local boy who is equal parts helpful and distracting as Dot investigates her past. Searching for answers to questions about her birth, Dot learns more than she ever wanted to about the terrible effects of war, the legacy of deceit—and the enduring nature of love. Part of the SECRETS—a series of seven linked novels that can be read in any order.

In early June, 1964, the Benevolent Home for Necessitous Girls burns to the ground and its vulnerable residents are thrust out into the world. The orphans, who know no other home, find their lives changed in an instant. Arrangements are made for the youngest residents, but the seven oldest girls are sent on their way with little more than a clue or two to their past and the hope of learning about the families they have never known. On their own for the first time in their lives, they are about to experience the world in ways they never imagined. Bestselling authors Kelley Armstrong, Vicki Grant, Marthe Jocelyn, Kathy Kacer, Norah McClintock, Teresa Toten and Eric Walters teamed up to create this series of linked YA novels. Readers can discover all seven Secrets in any order in this thrilling collection. This collection includes the seven following titles: The Unquiet Past Small Bones A Big Dose of Lucky Stones on a Grave My Life Before Me Shattered Glass Innocent

Mick decides that his long-term relationship with Jade is finally over. After ending it, he realizes the hardest part will be saying goodbye to her little brother, Gavin, who suffers from severe migraines. Mick's friends suspect that Jade's constant calls for help are just too convenient to be real. What are the chances Gavin would relapse every time Mick is out with someone new? Mick admits they're not very good—but he's seen the boy. A four-year-old can't fake an illness like that. Turns out both Mick and his friends are right.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Ria is rich, slim, pretty, popular. If you only knew her at school, you'd think she led a charmed life – and until recently you'd have been right. But her situation has taken a sudden, unfortunate change. Her parents' seemingly perfect marriage has broken up, and before she's had a chance to absorb the blow, her beloved father disappears in a plane crash. What's worse, rumors begin to surface that he may have perpetrated a multimillion-dollar investment scam and everybody – Ria's mother, her best friends, even her boyfriend – believes them. Ria sees no choice but to take her little brother and run. She vows to keep the memory of her father alive. Soon, though, she begins to wonder: is her memory playing tricks on her – or is he?

Dan Hogg is thrilled when his uncle offers him some work at a food fair, because he wants money to hire a professional trainer to help him with his scrawny physique. Dan's excitement vanishes when he learns that the job is dressing up in a hotdog costume and handing out samples. Every dark cloud has its silver lining, Dan discovers, when he, or rather Frank Lee Better, his mascot persona, gains the attention of a pretty girl named Brooke. The attention is great until Dan finds himself under attack from Cupcake Katie and a mysterious guy with a strange interest in Brooke. It's not until he's huddling in a bathroom in nothing but his tight white underwear that Dan begins to suspect Brooke's attention might be too good to be true. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

Ria es bonita, rica, delgada y popular. Si sólo la conocieras de la escuela, pensarías que tiene una vida de ensueño. Pero de repente todo cambia para ella. El matrimonio supuestamente perfecto de sus padres se ha roto y antes de que Ria tenga tiempo de hacerse a la idea, su padre desaparece en un accidente aéreo. Y todo empeora cuando empiezan los rumores de que tal vez él no era el hombre—ni el padre—que todos creían. Ria decide que tiene que tomar medidas desesperadas para protegerse a sí misma, a su hermano menor y la reputación de su padre. Disponible en inglés: Comeback

Dan appréhende l'ennuyeuse sortie scolaire dans une ferme historique éloignée. Pas tant à cause du fumier que du fait que le fermier élève des porcs. Les porcs s'appellent aussi des cochons et le nom de famille de Dan est Cauchon. Déjà en butte aux moqueries, Dan se cuirasse contre l'épreuve anticipée. Mais il n'a pas prévu l'apparition d'un inquiétant fermier tatoué, la disparition mystérieuse de son enseignante ou les menaces de mort contre ses camarades. Et encore moins qu'il sera seul à pouvoir les sauver. Cet ouvrage en format ePub est entièrement accessible. Également disponible sous le titre Pigboy en anglais.

Paddy loves his family, all except for his annoying stepfather Anthony. When they have a discussion about his future, Paddy overreacts and threatens to join the army. Unable to back down, he finds he is alienating everyone around him. And when he takes the physical exam and learns his blood type, his world starts to crumble and he starts to question everything he thought he knew.

Betsy's life is officially over: Dumped by her boyfriend, betrayed by her best friend . . . how is she ever going to show her face again? Determined to avoid everyone and everything from her previous life, Betsy stumbles into an unusual café and an even more unusual girl. Dolores Morris--a mouthy, green-haired outsider Betsy can't quite remember from school--talks her into starting a cleaning service. Before she knows it, Betsy is down on her knees, dressed like a dust bunny, scrubbing strangers' toilets. It's a long way for the most popular girl in school to have fallen. But Betsy finds comfort in the wine bottles and prescriptions and other dirty secrets she finds hidden in her clients' homes. She also finds love with a client's son, friendship with Dolores and a liberated sense of herself. Her new life soon falls apart, though, when valuables begin to go missing from some of the homes she and Dolores have been cleaning. Betsy discovers the hard way that not all dirty secrets can just be swept under the rug.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Robin has everything a girl could ever want. Thanks to her mother—the internationally beloved talk show host Mimi Schwartz—she’s got the money, the means and the connections to live a life others only dream of. So why, then, does Robin choose to spend her days alone in a dark room, watching endless reruns of You, You and Mimi? It’s only the bizarre discovery of an old high-school ring that propels her to action. Robin follows the ring’s mystery from New York City to a tiny Nova Scotian fishing village, where she at last finds love, the truth of her own background—and the shocking secret that helped make her mother a star.

Ria is rich, slim, pretty, and popular. If you only knew her at school, you'd think she led a charmed life—and until recently you'd have been right. But her situation has taken a sudden, unfortunate change. Her parents' seemingly perfect marriage has broken up, and before she's had a chance to absorb the blow, her beloved father disappears in a plane crash. What's worse, rumors begin to surface that he may have perpetrated a multimillion-dollar investment scam and everybody—Ria's mother, her best friends, even her boyfriend—believes them. Ria sees no choice but to take her little brother and run. She vows to keep the memory of her father alive. Soon, though, she begins to wonder: is her memory playing tricks on her—or is he? Also available in Spanish or French. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Cuando Chris encuentra una billetera en la calle, trata enseguida de encontrar a su dueño y devolverla. A pesar de que está pasando por problemas en casa y en la escuela, quiere hacer lo correcto. Sin embargo, todo comienza a complicarse y parece que su vida entera se va a derrumbar; es entonces cuando Chris se da cuenta de que el dueño de la billetera se parece mucho a él y tiene una vida por la que Chris darIa cualquier cosa. ¿Y si asumiera su identidad? ¿Qué pasaría si pudiera convertirse en otra persona? Disponible en inglés: I.D..

Key Selling Points New, enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers. Vicki Grant is the author of many books including In the Buff, Hold the Pickles and Pigboy in the Orca Currents line.

Frances trabaja en el turno de noche en una tienda local de abarrotes, donde se encarga de reabastecer los estantes y dedicar tiempo a su arte. Una noche, su rutina se rompe cuando Devin entra en la tienda. Devin afirma ser el hijo de un famoso artista local y le ofrece su opinión sobre sus dibujos. Aunque parece saber demasiado sobre ella, Frances decide, en contra del consejo de su novio, que Devin es raro pero inofensivo. Sin embargo, cuando Frances finalmente se da cuenta del peligro en el que se encuentra, Devin ya está completamente obsesionado con ella y convencido de que, si no puede tenerla, nadie más lo hará. Frances se verá obligada a usar toda su fuerza para escapar de Devin. Disponible en inglés: Dead-End Job

Cyril MacIntyre, son of firebrand lawyer Andy MacIntyre, smells something fishy about one of his mother's cases. And it's not just that there are sea lice in the coffee. When Cyril starts investigating the death of a millionaire inventor, he gives a whole new meaning to the term "legal aid." Long on smarts and short on—well, just plain short, Cyril tangles with deranged criminals, indulges in a little bit of B & E and confronts the scariest person in the world—his mother.