Book Lists

New Releases by Jennifer Donnelly

Jennifer Donnelly is the author of Beastly Beauty (2024), Where Roses Fall (a Winter Rose Story) (2024), Molly's Letter (a Tea Rose Story) (2023), Poisoned (2020), Stepsister (2019).

26 results found

Beastly Beauty

release date: May 07, 2024
Beastly Beauty
*"A dreamy, sublimely written tale." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review From New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Jennifer Donnelly comes a revolutionary, gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast that will forever change how you think about beauty, power, and what it really means to follow your heart. What makes a girl "beastly?" Is it having too much ambition? Being too proud? Taking up too much space? Or is it just wanting something, anything, too badly? That''s the problem Arabella faces when she makes her debut in society. Her parents want her to be sweet and compliant so she can marry well, but try as she might, Arabella can''t extinguish the fire burning inside her -- the source of her deepest wishes, her wildest dreams. When an attempt to suppress her emotions tragically backfires, a mysterious figure punishes Arabella with a curse, dooming her and everyone she cares about, trapping them in the castle. As the years pass, Arabella abandons hope. The curse is her fault -- after all, there''s nothing more "beastly" than a girl who expresses her anger -- and the only way to break it is to find a boy who loves her for her true self: a cruel task for a girl who''s been told she''s impossible to love. When a handsome thief named Beau makes his way into the castle, the captive servants are thrilled, convinced he is the one to break the curse. But Beau -- spooked by the castle''s strange and forbidding ladies-in-waiting, and by the malevolent presence that stalks its corridors at night -- only wants to escape. He learned long ago that love is only an illusion. If Beau and Arabella have any hope of breaking the curse, they must learn to trust their wounded hearts, and realize that the cruelest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.

Where Roses Fall (a Winter Rose Story)

release date: Jan 01, 2024

Molly's Letter (a Tea Rose Story)

release date: Jan 01, 2023

Poisoned

release date: Oct 20, 2020
Poisoned
From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling that''ll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of "happily ever after." "...a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, wrapped up in a thrilling fantasy adventure." -- The Guardian A Bank Street College of Education Best Children''s Book of the Year AN American Library Association-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Optioned for film by Lynette Howell Taylor, the producer of A Star is Born, and Bruna Papandrea, producer of Big Little Lies. Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen''s huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman pulled out his knife . . . and took Sophie''s heart. It shouldn''t have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule -- a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she''d heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . . With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can''t extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.

Stepsister

release date: May 14, 2019
Stepsister
* "Printz Honor winner Donnelly offers up a stunningly focused story that rips into the heart of familiar fairy tale. Isabelle [is] a shattered but not unreedemable girl with a warrior''s heart." -- Booklist, starred review An instant New York Times bestseller Optioned for film by Lynette Howell Taylor, the producer of A Star is Born and Bruna Papandrea, producer of Big Little Lies A Seventeen Best of the Year Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal An American Librarian Association-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults book An American Library Association Feminist Book Project book A Bank Street College of Education Best Children''s Book of the Year Isabelle should be blissfully happy -- she''s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn''t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince''s heart. She''s the ugly stepsister who cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella''s shoe . . . which is now filling with blood. Isabelle tried to fit in. She cut away pieces of herself in order to become pretty. Sweet. More like Cinderella. But that only made her mean, jealous, and hollow. Now she has a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl. Evoking the darker, original version of the Cinderella story, Stepsister shows us that ugly is in the eye of the beholder, and uses Jennifer Donnelly''s trademark wit and wisdom to send an overlooked character on a journey toward empowerment, redemption . . . and a new definition of beauty.

Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All

release date: May 01, 2018
Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All
Perfect for anyone fascinated by the Royal Wedding, Netflix''s The Crown, or Wolf Hall, this is a pitch-perfect reimagining of the romance and tragedy of Henry VIII and his six wives, told from multiple points of view by some of your favorite authors. If you were one of King Henry VIII''s six wives, who would you be? Would you be Anne Boleyn, who literally lost her head? Would you be the subject of rumor and scandal like Catherine Howard? Or would you get away and survive like Anna of Cleves? Meet them and Henry''s other queens--each bound for divorce or death--in this epic and thrilling novel that reads like fantasy but really happened. Watch spellbound as each of these women attempts to survive their unpredictable king as he grows more and more obsessed with producing a male heir. And discover how the power-hungry court fanned the flames of Henry''s passions . . . and his most horrible impulses. Whether you''re a huge fan of all things Tudor or new to this jaw-dropping saga, you won''t be able to get the unique voices of Henry and his wives--all brought to life by seven award-winning and bestselling authors--out of your head. This is an intimate look at the royals during one of the most treacherous times in history. Who will you root for and who will you love to hate? ONE OF THE NYPL TOP TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR "Ambitious and exciting." --Bustle "A clever, feminist reimagining of one of English history''s most fascinating moments." --Refinery29 "These stories of love, lust, power and intrigue never fail to fascinate." --Shelf Awareness, Starred Review Who''s Who: M. T. Anderson - Henry VIII Candace Fleming - Katharine of Aragon, wife #1 Stephanie Hemphill - Anne Boleyn, wife #2 Lisa Ann Sandell - Jane Seymour, wife #3 Jennifer Donnelly - Anna of Cleves, wife #4 Linda Sue Park - Catherine Howard, wife #5 Deborah Hopkinson - Kateryn Parr, wife #6

Disney Beauty and the Beast Lost in a Book

release date: Jan 27, 2017
Disney Beauty and the Beast Lost in a Book
When Belle comes across a mysterious book in the beast''s library, she finds herself transported to a fantasy world of her dreams, and she must uncover the secrets about the book before she is lost inside forever.

Sea Spell

release date: Jan 01, 2016
Sea Spell
Serafina prepares Ling, Neela, Becca and the rest of the Black Fins for war, to stop the Volneros from seizing the mer realms. But only when sea sisters Ava and Astrid find the remaining two talismans will the combined power of all six be strong enough to stop the devastating attack on the underworld. No charm will protect Ava as she faces the murderous Okwa Naholo spirits that lie deep within the swamp of the Southern Sea. Meanwhile, Astrid will have to go against the strongest of the Six Who Ruled, Orfeo, if she's going to take his flawless black pearl, the most powerful talisman of them all.

These Shallow Graves

release date: Oct 27, 2015
These Shallow Graves
From the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of The Tea Rose, comes a mystery about dark secrets, dirty truths, and the lengths to which people will go for love and revenge. This spellbinding historical ficion romance tells the story of how much a young woman is willing to risk and lose in order to find the truth. "A twisted tale of secrets, murder, love, and revenge. This historical thriller delivers... [a] fast-paced, tightly written page turner." -USA Today Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon—like all the girls in her class—she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo dreams of becoming a writer—a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly. Wild aspirations aside, Jo’s life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: her father is found dead. Charles Montfort shot himself while cleaning his pistol. One of New York City’s wealthiest men, he owned a newspaper and was a partner in a massive shipping firm, and Jo knows he was far too smart to clean a loaded gun. The more Jo hears about her father’s death, the more something feels wrong. Suicide is the only logical explanation, and of course people have started talking, but Jo’s father would never have resorted to that. And then she meets Eddie—a young, smart, infuriatingly handsome reporter at her father’s newspaper—and it becomes all too clear how much she stands to lose if she keeps searching for the truth. But now it might be too late to stop. The past never stays buried forever. Life is dirtier than Jo Montfort could ever have imagined, and this time the truth is the dirtiest part of all.

Waterfire Saga

release date: Jan 01, 2015
Waterfire Saga
Serafina, Neela and four others have successfully escaped Captain Traho and his men after their hideout with the river witches was stormed. They must stop an ancient evil from escaping its icy prison by finding six talismans hidden by Serafina''s ancestor hundreds of years before. With all the Mer nations looking for them and no clue where to start, will the mermaids find the talismans before the monster is released?

Rogue Wave (Waterfire Saga #2)

release date: Jan 01, 2015
Rogue Wave (Waterfire Saga #2)
As Serafina uncovers more clues about the talismans, Neela ventures into a sea dragon's nest, and Ling learns the identity of their foe. Book #2

Dark Tide

release date: Jan 01, 2015
Dark Tide
Once a lost and confused princess, Serafina is now a confident leader of the Black Fin Resistance (BFR). While she works on sabotaging her enemy and enlisting allies for battle, her friends face challenges of their own. Ling is in the hold of Rafe Mfeme's giant trawler, on her way to a prison camp. Becca meets up with Astrid and learns why the Ondalinian mermaid is always so angry: she is hiding a shameful secret. Ava can't return home, because death riders await her arrival. And it is getting more and more difficult for Mahdi, Serafina's betrothed, to keep up the ruse that he is in love with Lucia Volerno. If Lucia's parents become suspicious, his life--and all of Sera's hopes--will be extinguished.

The Wild Rose

release date: Aug 02, 2011
The Wild Rose
The third book in the sweeping, multi-generational saga that began with The Tea Rose, The Wild Rose is a "lush story of epic proportions" ( Romantic Times Book Review). The Wild Rose is a part of the sweeping, multi-generational saga that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose. It is London, 1914. World War I looms on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and explorers are pushing the limits ofendurance in the most forbidding corners of the earth. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters: Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while summiting Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan, and who will never forgive him for saving her life; Seamus Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he marries a beautiful young schoolteacher back home in England; Max von Brandt, a handsome German sophisticate who courts high society women, but has a secret agenda in wartime London. Many other beloved characters from The Winter Rose continue their adventures in The Wild Rose as well. With myriad twists and turns, thrilling cliffhangers, and fabulous period detail and atmosphere, The Wild Rose provides a highly satisfying conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy.

Revolution

release date: Jul 26, 2011
Revolution
New York, 2010: Andi is a grieving teenage girl, dealing with her uncertain future... Paris, 1789: Alexandrine is on a quest to save a young prince during the French Revolution... When Andi stumbles across Alexandrine's old journal in Paris, the two hundred years that set the girls apart begin to blur.

The Winter Rose

release date: Jan 08, 2008
The Winter Rose
An idealistic young doctor in late Victorian London strikes up an unlikely relationship with an East End crime boss in this historical saga. "[Donnelly] is a master of pacing and plot, with enough high points scattered throughout to keep your pulse racing. . . . I became so consumed with finding out how it would end that I read the last third at near-choking speed." — Washington Post Book World When India Selwyn Jones graduates from the London School of Medicine for Women in 1900, she is advised to set up her practice in a fashionable neighborhood. Instead, the idealistic India chooses to work in the East End, serving the poor. There, India meets Sid Malone, one of London''s most notorious gangsters. Before long, an unpredictable, passionate, and bittersweet affair ensues. "I loved this book. It is truly seductive, hard to put down, and filled with mystery, secret passions, unique locations, and a most engaging heroine. India Selwyn Jones . . .captivates from the first page to the last." —Barbara Taylor Bradford, #1 New York Times –bestselling author "Donnelly''s passion and energy will keep readers turning the many pages, rooting for India and the gruff underworld boss she loves." — Publishers Weekly

The It's Just Lunch Guide to Dating in Dallas (It's Just Lunch)

release date: Jan 01, 2004

Gathering Light

release date: Jan 01, 2003
Gathering Light
When Mattie Gokey is given a bundle of letters to burn she fully intends to execute the wishes of the giver, Grace Brown. When Grace Brown is found drowned the next day in Big Moose Lake, Mattie finds that it is not as easy to burn those letters as she had thought. And, as she reads, a riveting story emerges - not only Grace Brown's story but also Mattie's hopes and ambitions for the future and her relationships with her friends and family.

The Tea Rose

release date: Oct 11, 2002
The Tea Rose
In this towering, old-fashioned story, a young woman returns to London, armed with tremendous wealth, to exact a breathtaking revenge upon a ruthless tea baron who had killed her father a decade before.

Humble pie

release date: Jan 01, 2002
Humble pie
Serve up the eighth picture book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Food Group series from Jory John and Pete Oswald! The Humble Pie likes to give others the spotlight. Aw, shucks!—they deserve it! But when he’s paired with his best friend, Jake the Cake, for a school project, he soon realizes that staying in the shadows isn’t always as sweet as pie. Readers of all ages will laugh along as their new pie pal discovers that letting your voice be heard always takes the cake! Jory John and Pete Oswald serve up another heaping plate of laughs and lessons with this empowering, witty, and charming addition to their #1 New York Times bestselling series! Check out Jory John and Pete Oswald’s other funny bestselling books for kids ages four to eight and anyone who wants a laugh: The Bad Seed The Good Egg The Cool Bean The Couch Potato The Smart Cookie The Sour Grape The Big Cheese The Good Egg Presents: The Great Eggscape! The Bad Seed Presents: The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky! The Cool Bean Presents: As Cool as It Gets! The Big Cheese Presents: Have Yourself a Cheesy Little Christmas The Bad Seed Goes to the Library The Good Egg and the Talent Show The Cool Bean Makes a Splash That’s What Dinosaurs Do

New directions for urban industrial waterfronts

release date: Jan 01, 1994

A Northern Light

A Northern Light
In 1906, sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and fiance, takes a job at a summer inn where she discovers the truth about the death of a guest. Based on a true story.

Waterfire Saga, Book Four Sea Spell (A Waterfire Saga Novel)

Waterfire Saga, Book Four Sea Spell (A Waterfire Saga Novel)
At the end of Dark Tide, Book 3 in the Waterfire Saga, Astrid leaves her mermaid friends to confront her ancestor, Orfeo, the evil force behind the rise of the monster Abbadon. Orfeo possesses one of the six talismans that the merls need in order to keep the monster locked up forever. But without the ability to songcast, how will Astrid be able to defeat the most powerful mage in history? Meanwhile, Serafina and her Black Fins train goblin troops for battle against her uncle Vallerio's death riders. Will Sera ever see her beloved home--and her beloved Mahdi--again, or will the Volneros take over the mer realms while Orfeo takes on the gods themselves? Nothing less than the fate of the underwater world is at stake in this breathtaking finale.
Praise for Deep Blue

"A richly imagined novel. Themes of conquering fear and believing in oneself are woven throughout, along with an acknowledgment of humans' environmental impact on the sea and its inhabitants. Despite the high stakes and a few frightening moments, the story is never over serious; it's just right for readers who have grown up with, but aged out of, The Little Mermaid and the Disney Fairies franchise."

- Publishers Weekly

"A fantastic addition to the genre of mermaids, this book will also appeal to readers of action and those who appreciate usurped leaders taking back their kingdom. It starts with a common enough concept: a royal girl who is worried about her betrothal and about love. Donnelly then adds layers of complexity to the tale and weaves her story into that of Atlantis. Friendship, trust, and responsibility are major themes as Sera struggles to grasp that she is really her kingdom's only hope. Quick-witted, loveable characters and a well-planned fantasy world make this an all-encompassing book. Readers will eagerly await future volumes and the answers they will provide."

- VOYA

"Best-selling Donnelly (Revolution, 2010) builds an alluring mermaid civilization and history, filled with painterly descriptions of Sera's underwater palace and its unearthly architecture, her sumptuous wardrobe, and the menagerie of half-human, half-marine animal denizens. There's also plenty of romantic tension with handsome mermen, strife between merls (that's girl mermaids) from rival regions, and some powerful female friendships amid the fast-paced plot, filled with wondrous magic."

- Booklist

Waterfire Saga, Book One Deep Blue (A Waterfire Saga Novel)

Waterfire Saga, Book One Deep Blue (A Waterfire Saga Novel)
Deep in the ocean, in a world not so different from our own, live the merpeople. Their communities are spread throughout the oceans, seas, and freshwaters all over the globe.

When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be winning the love of handsome Prince Mahdi. And yet Sera finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin's arrow poisons Sera's mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin's master and prevent a war between the Mer nations. Led only by her shadowy dreams, Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world's very existence.

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book
Smart, bookish Belle, a captive in the Beast's castle, has become accustomed to her new home and has befriended its inhabitants. When she comes upon Nevermore, an enchanted book unlike anything else she has seen in the castle, Belle finds herself pulled into its pages and transported to a world of glamour and intrigue. The adventures Belle has always imagined, the dreams she was forced to give up when she became a prisoner, seem within reach again. The charming and mysterious characters Belle meets within the pages of Nevermore offer her glamorous conversation, a life of dazzling Parisian luxury, and even a reunion she never thought possible. Here Belle can have everything she ever wished for. But what about her friends in the Beast's castle? Can Belle trust her new companions inside the pages of Nevermore? Is Nevermore's world even real? Belle must uncover the truth about the book, before she loses herself in it forever.
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