The Used Marketplace
When they see the tiny toy at the library, parents coax their kids into checking out bigger, sturdier stuffed animals instead, like Banjo the bear or Homer the owl. “It’s hard to be a brave explorer when you can’t go anywhere,” Marco Polo thinks. So when Seth talks his dad into checking out Marco Polo, the little mouse is thrilled. Seth’s excited, too, though nervous about his first sleepover at his friend Ben’s house. Seth sleeps with his well-loved toy … Read the rest
American-born Mahdavi and Canadian-born Light got to the City of Light in different ways. Both had done some world traveling by that point, and both were looking to make art in what was undoubtedly one of the coolest cities to be in 1976. Both found work at Chez Haynes, the popular tiki-themed soul-food restaurant, operated by American chef and former U.S. Army intelligence officer Leroy Haynes. The restaurant was a place where expatriates, cops, gamblers, and French movie stars converged. … Read the rest
It’s 1992 in Glendale, California, and Jordan’s life is coming apart: He’s been suspended from school for cheating. He’s banned from seeing Mike, his impulsive church friend. Sarah, his adored older sister, is always busy—and so perfect that he looks even more disappointing by comparison. Appa and Umma, burdened with financial worries, are constantly working at their liquor store. Jordan’s family immigrated 9 years earlier, but the bright American future they sacrificed so much for seems questionable. Now people are … Read the rest
Vampire attacks have ravaged St. Petersburg and gutted the Russian royal family. An ancient castle has reappeared on a German mountaintop, and a coven of demon worshippers has just resurrected an entity known as the Death Witch in the body of a teenage girl. Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II is desperately seeking a small bottle of blood—so frantically, in fact, that he was willing to orchestrate the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand rather than let his rival find it before he … Read the rest
Business is very good for Victor Marchand and his son, JP. Victor, who lives in France, is a “picker,” a buyer of traditional and authentic dismantled goods, while JP runs their import establishment, Les Beaux Châteaux, in Manhattan. Money means nothing to their rich clientele, which benefits both of them. But the death of Victor’s wife and JP’s mother, Frida, was a crushing blow. Never close, the father and son are drifting even further apart. JP feels a hollowness in … Read the rest
It’s moving day for an unnamed boy and his family, who are headed to the Enchanted Village. Along the way, the boy sees fairy-tale characters and signs with poems that refer to well-known stories. The boy and his sister become increasingly curious as they meet the villagers, who pile into the back of their truck; the passengers include Humpty Dumpty, the Cheshire cat, and Cinderella. They finally arrive at “Grandma’s House,” the gingerbread house from “Hansel and Gretel.” All the … Read the rest