True stories of totally undeserved suffering. Spectacularly depressing. Nobody gets their just deserts. Crushing defeats. No happy endings. Abject misery. Pointless, endless grief. No lessons of temperance or moderation. No saving grace. No divine intervention. No salvation. Sin, suffering, redemption. That's the movie, that's the front page news, that's the story of popular culture-of American culture. A ray of hope. A comeuppance. An all-for-the-best. Makes it easier to deal with the world's misery-to know that there's a reason behind it, that it'll always work out in the end, that people get what they deserve. The fact: sometimes people suffer for no reason. No sin, no redemption-just suffering, suffering, suffering. Tales of Woe compiles today's most awful narratives of human wretchedness. This is not Hollywood catharsis (someone overcomes something and the viewer is uplifted), this is the katharsis of Ancient Greece: you watch people suffer horribly, and then feel better about your own life. Tales of Woe tells stories of murder, accident, depravity, cruelty, and senseless unhappiness: and all true. The Tales: strange, unexpected, morbidly enticing. Told straight-with elegance, restraint, and simplicity. The design: a one-of-kind white text on black paper, fluidly readable, and coupled with fifty pages of full-color art.

In the second novel in the acclaimed Josephine B. Trilogy, Sandra Gulland offers a sweeping yet intimate portrayal of the political and personal struggles of the wife of the most powerful man in the world. Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe is the much-awaited sequel to Sandra Gulland's highly acclaimed first novel, The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. Beginning in Paris in 1796, the saga continues as Josephine awakens to her new life as Mrs. Napoleon Bonaparte. Through her intimate diary entries and Napoleon's impassioned love letters, an astonishing portrait of an incredible woman emerges. Gulland transports us into the ballrooms and bedrooms of exquisite palaces and onto the blood-soaked fields of Napoleon's campaigns. As Napoleon marches to power, we witness, through Josephine, the political intrigues and personal betrayals -- both sexual and psychological -- that result in death, ruin, and victory for those closest to her.

Thirteen ordinary kids. Thirteen ordinary towns. Danger lurks around every corner! "Wonderful and weird, compelling and unsettling." - Gary Schmidt, two-time Newbery Honor author Get ready for a collection of thirteen short stories that will chill your bones, tingle your spine, and scare your pants off. Debut author Josh Allen masterfully concocts horror in the most innocent places, like R.L. Stine meets a modern Edgar Allan Poe. A stray kitten turns into a threatening follower. The street sign down the block starts taunting you. Even your own shadow is out to get you! Spooky things love hiding in plain sight. The everyday world is full of sinister secrets and these page-turning stories show that there's darkness even where you least expect it. Readers will sleep with one eye open. . . . A glow-in-the-dark cover and thirteen eerie full-page illustrations by award-winning artist Sarah J. Coleman accompany the tales in this frightful mashup that reads like a contemporary Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. A Junior Library Guild Selection An ILA-CBC Children's Choice!

In her debut narrative poetry collection, Tay Reem takes us on an emotional roller coaster about what it means to grow up too fast, witness an abusive household, battle with childhood trauma and begin the grueling healing process. Her words invoke heartbreakingly haunting moods of pain, suffering, murder, suicide, survival and an elusive sense of peace.Tay Reem is an incredible storyteller with a captivating voice perfect for readers looking to feel something with every word. Visit her on Instagram @iamtayreem

Shiva Mukti is a hardworking and conscientious psychiatrist, who, in the inauspicious surroundings of St Mungo's - a central London hospital of more than average decrepitude - does his level best to staunch the flow of mental illness. But Mukti is not a happy man, beset by thwarted ambition and sexual frustration, he now finds himself in thrall to the more successful and urbane Dr Zack Busner, consultant psychiatrist at Heath Hospital, and an originator of the once modish Quantity Theory of Insanity. Why is it that Busner seems so intent on fostering a professional relationship with Mukti? Is it his way of putting his junior colleague in his place? Or is Busner - as Mukti begins to suspect - a member of a sinister cabal? And what about the schizophrenic patients Busner refers to Mukti for his opinion, are they merely sick people, or in fact human weapons in a bizarre psychological duel?

Lilac is a girl of eight, or ten, or twelve years old- she's not sure. She lives happily in the woods until she meets a Troll who begins introducing her to new ideas (Lilac & the Troll). Nelson is just another normal first year at Cambridge when he begins to have visions of one of England's most famous statesmen. Why him and what must he do to make the hauntings stop? (Oliver Cromwell's Head). Enjoy these and other short stories that give you a sense of the surreal-- while leaving you to ponder life's great lessons. Characters journey through real-- and not so real-- life situations, where they must choose right from wrong, true from untrue, good or bad, and love over hate. Other stories include: "The Pitiful Tale of Rosemary Pickering," "Transfiguration in the Blind Forest," & "The Jovial Story of Anges and the Great Pestilence," among others.

The foulest crimes and worst in Cleveland history are recounted in these 15 incredible-but-true tales. Each no-holds-barred account into one of this city's most notorious moments, from the 1916 waterworks collapse to the Cleveland Clinic fire to the sensational Sam Sheppard murder trial. These gripping narratives deliver high drama and dark comedy, heroes and villains, obsession, courage, treachery, deceit, fear, and guilt -- all from the streets of Cleveland.