Books with author Samantha Mathis

What if, with a simple thought, you could change everything about yourself? On the first day of high school, Kayleigh wishes she could be taller, curvier, and cooler. But when she discovers she's a morph -- shape-shifters who can become anyone or anything -- the boundaries around personality, sexuality, and gender identity are blurred. Suddenly, everything is fair game. But there are those who want to control Kayleigh and her gifts. Overnight, she becomes a target, and surviving the school year means defending herself against cyber-bullies, learning to control her newfound powers, and hiding from the ancient secret society that kidnapped her mother. Morphing has consequences, and Kayleigh begins to realize that being able to change into anything can mean losing herself in the process. After all, in a world full of morphs, rules are meant to be broken...

“Move over, Louisa May Alcott! Samantha Mabry has written her very own magical Little Women for our times.” —Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents In a stunning follow-up to her National Book Award-longlisted novel All the Wind in the World, Samantha Mabry weaves an aching, magical novel that is one part family drama, one part ghost story, and one part love story. The Torres sisters dream of escape. Escape from their needy and despotic widowed father, and from their San Antonio neighborhood, full of old San Antonio families and all the traditions and expectations that go along with them. In the summer after her senior year of high school, Ana, the oldest sister, falls to her death from her bedroom window. A year later, her three younger sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are still consumed by grief and haunted by their sister’s memory. Their dream of leaving Southtown now seems out of reach. But then strange things start happening around the house: mysterious laughter, mysterious shadows, mysterious writing on the walls. The sisters begin to wonder if Ana really is haunting them, trying to send them a message—and what exactly she’s trying to say. In a stunning follow-up to her National Book Award–longlisted novel All the Wind in the World, Samantha Mabry weaves an aching, magical novel that is one part family drama, one part ghost story, and one part love story.

“Move over, Louisa May Alcott! Samantha Mabry has written her very own magical Little Women for our times.” —Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents In a stunning follow-up to her National Book Award-longlisted novel All the Wind in the World, Samantha Mabry weaves an aching, magical novel that is one part family drama, one part ghost story, and one part love story. The Torres sisters dream of escape. Escape from their needy and despotic widowed father, and from their San Antonio neighborhood, full of old San Antonio families and all the traditions and expectations that go along with them. In the summer after her senior year of high school, Ana, the oldest sister, falls to her death from her bedroom window. A year later, her three younger sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are still consumed by grief and haunted by their sister’s memory. Their dream of leaving Southtown now seems out of reach. But then strange things start happening around the house: mysterious laughter, mysterious shadows, mysterious writing on the walls. The sisters begin to wonder if Ana really is haunting them, trying to send them a message—and what exactly she’s trying to say. In a stunning follow-up to her National Book Award–longlisted novel All the Wind in the World, Samantha Mabry weaves an aching, magical novel that is one part family drama, one part ghost story, and one part love story.

Legends collide with reality when a boy is swept into the magical, dangerous world of a girl filled with poison. Everyone knows the legends about the cursed girl—Isabel, the one the señoras whisper about. They say she has green skin and grass for hair, and she feeds on the poisonous plants that fill her family’s lush Caribbean island garden. Some say she can grant wishes; some say her touch can kill. Seventeen-year-old Lucas spends summers with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico, and he’s grown up hearing the stories. When letters from the cursed girl mysteriously appear in his room the same day his girlfriend disappears, Lucas turns to Isabel for answers—and finds himself lured into her strange and enchanted world. But the more entangled Lucas becomes with Isabel, the less certain he is of escaping with his own life. “A breathtaking story in which myths come to frightening life and buried wishes might actually come true.” —Nova Ren Suma, author of The Walls Around Us and Imaginary Girls “Samantha Mabry’s magical debut is both a chilling mystery and a heartbreaking meditation on love, longing, and sacrifice . . . A Fierce and Subtle Poison will get into your blood.” —Laura Ruby, author of Bone Gap “With its sparklingly sinister blend of natural history and magic, of themes that seem both modern and timeless, A Fierce and Subtle Poison gets under the skin.”—Chicago Tribune

Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Keep your eyes open . . . your head down . . . and your love secret. Sarah Jac Crow and James Holt have fallen in love working in the endless fields that span a bone-dry Southwest in the near future—a land that’s a little bit magical, deeply dangerous, and bursting with secrets. To protect themselves, they’ve learned to work hard and, above all, keep their love hidden from the people who might use it against them. Then, just when Sarah Jac and James have settled in and begun saving money for the home they dream of near the coast, a horrible accident sends them on the run. With no choice but to start over on a new, possibly cursed ranch, the delicate balance of their lives begins to give way—and they may have to pay a frighteningly high price for their love. All the Wind in the World is a breathtaking tale of dread and danger, romance and redemption.Samantha Mabry’s new book, Tigers, Not Daughters, is available now.

Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Keep your eyes open . . . your head down . . . and your love secret. Sarah Jac Crow and James Holt have fallen in love working in the endless fields that span a bone-dry Southwest in the near future—a land that’s a little bit magical, deeply dangerous, and bursting with secrets. To protect themselves, they’ve learned to work hard and, above all, keep their love hidden from the people who might use it against them. Then, just when Sarah Jac and James have settled in and begun saving money for the home they dream of near the coast, a horrible accident sends them on the run. With no choice but to start over on a new, possibly cursed ranch, the delicate balance of their lives begins to give way—and they may have to pay a frighteningly high price for their love. All the Wind in the World is a breathtaking tale of dread and danger, romance and redemption.

In a world full of shape-shifters, how can you tell friend from foe?In the second installment of The Morphosis.me Files, Kayleigh delves deep into untapped magic to better control her morphing powers, still determined to find and free her mother. No amount of magic, however, can help her survive the social tightropes of high school life: dating, popularity contests, exchange students, and a surprise sports competition called the Gaelic Games.When a vulture begins stalking Kayleigh night and day, she suspects the foreign exchange students are more than they seem. Concerned for her safety and with the Gaelic Games approaching, Kayleigh is forced to face her new enemies on the field. It’s a winner-takes-all match that will either lead her closer to finding her mother or further than ever into enemy territory.

Legends collide with reality when a boy is swept into the magical, dangerous world of a girl filled with poison. Everyone knows the legends about the cursed girl—Isabel, the one the señoras whisper about. They say she has green skin and grass for hair, and she feeds on the poisonous plants that fill her family’s lush Caribbean island garden. Some say she can grant wishes; some say her touch can kill. Seventeen-year-old Lucas spends summers with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico, and he’s grown up hearing the stories. When letters from the cursed girl mysteriously appear in his room the same day his girlfriend disappears, Lucas turns to Isabel for answers—and finds himself lured into her strange and enchanted world. But the more entangled Lucas becomes with Isabel, the less certain he is of escaping with his own life.Samantha Mabry’s new book, Tigers, Not Daughters, is available now.

In this stunning debut, legends collide with reality when a boy is swept into the magical, dangerous world of a girl filled with poison. Everyone knows the legends about the cursed girl--Isabel, the one the senoras whisper about. They say she has green skin and grass for hair, and she feeds on the poisonous plants that fill her family’s Caribbean island garden. Some say she can grant wishes; some say her touch can kill. Seventeen-year-old Lucas lives on the mainland most of the year but spends summers with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico. He’s grown up hearing stories about the cursed girl, and he wants to believe in Isabel and her magic. When letters from Isabel begin mysteriously appearing in his room the same day his new girlfriend disappears, Lucas turns to Isabel for answers--and finds himself lured into her strange and enchanted world. But time is running out for the girl filled with poison, and the more entangled Lucas becomes with Isabel, the less certain he is of escaping with his own life.A Fierce and Subtle Poison beautifully blends magical realism with a page-turning mystery and a dark, starcrossed romance--all delivered in lush, urgent prose. “A breathtaking story in which myths come to frightening life and buried wishes might actually come true. This is a hypnotic debut by a remarkable talent.” —Nova Ren Suma, author of The Walls Around Us and Imaginary Girls

Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Keep your eyes open . . . your head down . . . and your love secret. Sarah Jac Crow and James Holt have fallen in love working in the endless fields that span a bone-dry Southwest in the near future—a land that’s a little bit magical, deeply dangerous, and bursting with secrets. To protect themselves, they’ve learned to work hard and, above all, keep their love hidden from the people who might use it against them. Then, just when Sarah Jac and James have settled in and begun saving money for the home they dream of near the coast, a horrible accident sends them on the run. With no choice but to start over on a new, possibly cursed ranch, the delicate balance of their lives begins to give way—and they may have to pay a frighteningly high price for their love. All the Wind in the World is a breathtaking tale of dread and danger, romance and redemption.Samantha Mabry’s new book, Tigers, Not Daughters, is available now.

Inspired by Kellie’s Castle, in Batu Gajah, Malaysian, Mystery of the Abandoned Castle, is the second book in the Speare Morgan series. While out searching for the Maingaya Malayana, a witch hazel plant that’s almost extinct, Speare Morgan, Irwan and his sister, Intan, stumble across an abandoned castle. Lost in time, everything within the rooms appear untouched and from a different era, its only occupants – Tabitha, a talking tabby cat, and Pascal, a ghost. According to Tabitha, ninety five years ago, in the midst of preparations for a wedding, they were hit by a storm. The storm not only left behind a trail of destruction, but all the people within the castle grounds had also disappeared, including its owner, John Galloway. Upon gaining consciousness. Pascal, who was involved in an accident as he returned in the storm, was shocked to discover that he was no longer human, but a ghost. Tabitha seeks their assistance to understand what had transpired here. She believes the castle is under an evil spell. To add to the mystery, her friend, Darius the Dragamist, a dragon, hadn’t returned from his last mission, while the steamship, The Evening Star, with John’s bride aboard were lost at sea. Quite unexpectedly, Tabitha also discovers an imprint of a bear in the trunk of a tree on the grounds. Are these just mere coincidences or had something sinister taken place here? As they begin to uncover clues left behind within the three paintings of John Galloway and decipher the message written in runes around the empty frame, Grand Uncle Dragalileo makes a startling discovery; Within days, on the anniversary of the disappearance, it might be possible for them to right the wrongs of the past but first they must understand the link between the castle and an old nemesis…….