Important Note: This post is dated Tuesday, April 3, 2012, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

IF THE VIRGIN MARY GRILLED CHEESE SOLD FOR $28,000, WHAT’S THE REAL THING WORTH?

What if people saw the Virgin in a teen-age girl rather than a sandwich? Author Anneke Campbell works that premise here, wondering how we’d react 2012 years after the first virgin birth. The result’s deliciously reminiscent of a box of lemon bars—a little bit sweet, a little bit tart, and you can’t stop eating. (Or reading as the case may be.) She’s created a generous helping of wistful magic mixed with equal parts knowing satire–sort of Alice Hoffman meets Nora Ephron.

Here’s the set-up: A pregnant teen-ager turn up in a Midwest town, for some reason not talking.

She may be named Mary. And upon examination, it turns out she’s most certainly a virgin.

What, asks Campbell, would happen next? Well, the paparazzi would arrive. Book and movie contracts might be offered. The author covers that ground in short order, but she’s really after something much more subtle—the effect of wanting to believe, wishing a thing to be so, coupled with the need to co-opt it. To that end, she creates Bellingham, Indiana, a delightful town like the one we all live in—with living, breathing citizens you’ll want for your own neighbors—even as you see right through them and their efforts to get close to the miracle girl, each for reasons of his own.

AS FUNNY AND WELL-OBSERVED AS ANY BOOK BY NORA EPHRON, WITH AS MUCH HUMAN WARMTH AS THE MILL RIVER RECLUSE. It’s kind of similar, really—small town with loveable characters, a major character named Mary—but Darcy Chan wasn’t trying for wit. Ms. Campbell is. Sly wit.

If you like smart, funny female writers like Nora Ephron, Eudora Welty, Maureen Dowd, Alice Hoffman, or indeed Darcy Chan, grab this goody!

Last Dance In Redondo Beach is the second in the Andy Sussman – Murray Glick mystery trilogy. Sportscaster Andy, now a network reporter, is assigned to anchor the Celebrity Network Superteams. When the masked wrestler Dr. Double X mysteriously drowns in a rowboat race, Andy intrepidly digs up more facts than he’d wished for. He soon calls in his girlfriend/lawyer, Susie Ettinger and his pal Murray Glick, who has taken a break from his shopping mall office to run Mystery Cruises.
The world of pro wrestling provides a raunchy and hilarious backdrop for the story, including Shakespearean actor Lennie Weintraub, aka The Renaissance Man, and Dr. XX’s manager, Wireless.
The late Donald Westlake wrote of Last Dance, “What a lot of raffish, rowdy, reprehensible people Michael Katz has assembled on Redondo Beach. I loved hanging out with them, and I was sorry when the party was over.”

Wesley Bates thinks his life pretty much sucks. He’s landed at the bottom of his school’s popularity ladder, and bully Randy Stanford seems to be waiting around every corner.

The troubled teen thinks he’s found a way to escape his real-world problems when he stumbles upon strange doorways in Astoria’s local library that seem to lead into the extraordinary worlds from all his favorite books. Oz, Neverland, Wonderland — they’re all a reality with Wesley’s new discovery. Wesley teams with best friend Taylor Williams to embark on a great adventure, both ready to leave the drama of middle school behind.

But the two kids quickly find themselves embroiled in a centuries-old battle for the library and the magic hiding within. Now, fighting alongside the eccentric old man who’s vowed to protect the building’s power, the pair must help ward off an attack by a shadowy group with a strange tie to Wesley’s nemesis, forcing Wesley to face the fears he’s been dodging… and one of the most terrifying bullies of all time!

Exclusive to Amazon’s Kindle, The Librarian is a thrilling new series that provides kids an opportunity to experience the world’s most beloved fantasy novels in a brand new way – through the eyes of children just like them. And the fun doesn’t stop there! Librarian author Eric Hobbs has teamed with The Sylvan Learning Center and BookAdventure.com to launch The Librarian Book Club. Toward the back of the book, each copy of The Librarian contains an exclusive invitation to join. Open to students in grades K-8, the club will bring kids together from around the globe to compete in a monthly reading contest where they’ll have a chance to win exciting prizes: gift cards, autographed books, new toys, video games, DVDs, iPods…even a brand new Kindle Fire! All kids have to do is answer questions about the books they’re currently reading! That’s it! It’s that easy! Pick up the book an join the book club today!

The Darkening Dream is the chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter.

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.
1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.
With the help of Alex, a Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?
No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be herself.

The Invitation and Other Short Stories is a captivating collection of dramatic short stories that will leave you wanting more. Perfect short reads to squeeze into your busy day or lunch break. From smuggling butter onto a plane, to a dead woman walking, and a parent’s worst nightmare, this collection of eight stories will send you on an emotional roller coaster ride. Kleenex optional.