Books published by publisher ZOVA Books

Escape from Hat is the story of Leek, an especially talented lucky rabbit in an especially unlucky situation. When a fateful magic trick sends Leek tumbling into the land of Hat, the rabbit yearns only to return to the human boy he's sworn to protect. But the dark realm of Hat is ruled by black cats, whose job it is to spread bad luck among us all. When Millikin discovers that his nemesis now journeys through his own back yard, the cat commands his dark legions to find Leek and his faithful companions, with the help of their insidious machines, the Dimmer-Dammers. Meanwhile, in the world that has a sun, young Cecil Bean is left without any luck at all - good or bad - as his personal black cat searches madly for his own white rabbit. Thus Cecil embarks on his own journey to find the sinister magician who first cast his rabbit into peril. From rickety caravans to gargantuan sea monsters, the parallel journeys of a boy and his rabbit are a reminder that love and friendship are the greatest magics of all. Adam Kline presents a classic tale of humor, charm, and epic proportion, brought to life by the vibrant illustrations of Brian Taylor, which tread a delicious line between traditional fantasy and contemporary pop. This is a book to keep, to give, to read curled in a corner and aloud at bedtime, for both the young and the simply young at heart.Lexile Score: 1000LAR Level: 6.6

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers is a young adult novel about seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the Army when unable to afford college and is sent to fight in the Vietnam War. Perry and his platoon—Peewee, Lobel, Johnson, and Brunner—come face-to-face with the Vietcong, the harsh realities of war, and some dark truths about themselves. A thoughtful young man with a gift for writing and love of basketball, Perry learns to navigate among fellow soldiers under tremendous stress and struggles with his own fear as he sees things he’ll never forget: the filling of body bags, the deaths of civilians and soldier friends, the effects of claymore mines, the fires of Napalm, and jungle diseases like Nam Rot.Available as an e-book for the first time on the 25th anniversary of its publication, Fallen Angels has been called one of the best Vietnam War books ever and one of the great coming-of-age Vietnam War stories. Filled with unforgettable characters, not least Peewee Gates of Chicago who copes with war by relying on wisecracks and dark humor, Fallen Angels “reaches deep into the minds of soldiers” and makes “readers feel they are there, deep in the heart of war.”Fallen Angels has won numerous awards and honors, including the Coretta Scott King Award, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Booklist Editors Choice, and a School Library Journal Best Book. Fallen Angels was #16 on the American Library Association’s list of the most frequently challenged books of 1990–2000 for its realistic depiction of war and those who fight in wars.

A philosophical study of the testimony of the survivors of Auschwitz.In this book the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben looks closely at the literature of the survivors of Auschwitz, probing the philosophical and ethical questions raised by their testimony. "In its form, this book is a kind of perpetual commentary on testimony. It did not seem possible to proceed otherwise. At a certain point, it became clear that testimony contained at its core an essential lacuna; in other words, the survivors bore witness to something it is impossible to bear witness to. As a consequence, commenting on survivors' testimony necessarily meant interrogating this lacuna or, more precisely, attempting to listen to it. Listening to something absent did not prove fruitless work for this author. Above all, it made it necessary to clear away almost all the doctrines that, since Auschwitz, have been advanced in the name of ethics."―Giorgio Agamben

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than average people, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's well over eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning-and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.

Jessica Therrien follows up her bestselling novel OPPRESSION with UPRISING, the second book in the Children of the Gods series. OPPRESSION, translated and sold around the world, was one of the best selling YA novels of 2012. UPRISING continues the story of Elyse, William and the Descendants. Elyse has been in hiding for most of her life. Only now she’s hiding with William, and she knows who she’s hiding from. The Council wants a child Elyse and William have yet to conceive, a child who will be the next oracle, and who will provide the final piece to a plan Christoph has been organizing for years. Charged with leading the rebellion against Christoph and his Council, Elyse feels well out of her depth. But she has good friends and strong allies who are willing to fight with her to the end, regardless of how far they have to go, and how many lives will be lost in the process. They have one goal: to live freely and openly with the rest of humanity, out from under The Council’s oppressive rule. The stakes could not be higher for Elyse and the Descendants longing for freedom. They'll have to learn to fight if they want to stand up against The Council, and to find allies in a world ruled by their enemies. The hardest part of waging a war is knowing who to trust. Elyse knows their uprising will change the world. She doesn’t realize it will change her, too.

KIRKUS (STARRED REVIEW) "An urchin, a prince and the prince’s guards protect Victorian England from a threat to its monarchy in this debut novel. In a small village in 1851, there are no parents, having been forced to abandon their children by order of the Queen. Jack, the oldest of the children, takes it upon himself to travel to London in search of his father, a metallurgist, like many of the village’s missing residents. The boy’s simple journey to the heart of England becomes a grand adventure, as he eventually must make his way on foot and with no money. Along the way, Jack befriends a French engineer named Jules and makes an unlikely ally in Prince Albert. The prince and the five guards who constitute the PRG (Prince’s Royal Guard) seek a device in the hands of Sir Derek Gilman, the secretary of the army, and his son, Sir Daniel, not fully aware of the clandestine group known as the Prime and its nefarious plot. An abundance of steampunk machinery takes center stage, some of it detailed and some pure enigma, including the device; its true design largely unknown. The PRG and even the prince himself display great strength and unfaltering spirit—one of the guards is Milena, a girl a mere 16 years of age—but Jack shines brightest, with the curiosity of a child and the courage of a giant. Author London’s book seems aimed at young adult readers, but it’s free of condescension and is wholly gratifying rather than stripped of components in an effort to achieve simplicity. The novel concludes by teasing a subsequent book with Prince Albert and Jack, both characters whose return would be most welcome. Lyrically descriptive and unabashedly steampunk; the first of what promises to be a rewarding series of novels." ABOUT PRINCE ALBERT and the DOOMSDAY DEVICE Jack has been wondering about the disappearance of his father for over a year now. Tucked away in the remote village of Rothchild, all the children have been living on their wits since their parents were carted away by order of the Queen. When a passing stranger entrusts him with stabling his horse for the night, Jack takes the opportunity to ride as fast and far as he can out of town and toward London. His plan is to find his father, but with no money and little knowledge of the world, he finds danger and adventure instead. It doesn't help that the closer he comes to finding his father, the closer he comes to uncovering a ruthless plot to overthrow the monarchy. What begins as a simple journey quickly turns into a swashbuckling adventure of epic proportions as Jack is joined by none other than Prince Albert himself. With the help of the Prince's royal bodyguards and Jack's own scrappy courage, they just might be able to uncover the truth of the plot against the throne, Jack's missing father, and the mysterious Doomsday Device that threatens them all.

A philosophical study of the testimony of the survivors of Auschwitz.In this book the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben looks closely at the literature of the survivors of Auschwitz, probing the philosophical and ethical questions raised by their testimony. "In its form, this book is a kind of perpetual commentary on testimony. It did not seem possible to proceed otherwise. At a certain point, it became clear that testimony contained at its core an essential lacuna; in other words, the survivors bore witness to something it is impossible to bear witness to. As a consequence, commenting on survivors' testimony necessarily meant interrogating this lacuna or, more precisely, attempting to listen to it. Listening to something absent did not prove fruitless work for this author. Above all, it made it necessary to clear away almost all the doctrines that, since Auschwitz, have been advanced in the name of ethics."―Giorgio Agamben