What is the price for knowledge, and what will you do to get it? Felix North, dreamer, sailor, charmer, friend. From when he was young he had heard tales of the fabulous and mysterious Drowned Library of Watu. Descriptions of its grandeur had ensnared him and his friend Pedro for many years, and finally they are embarking on an adventure of perilous proportions. What secrets does the Drowned Library hold? Is it magic? The secrets of immortality? Or perhaps something more... But before they arrive, they must face the open sea, and no man has ever claimed she is an easy thing to master. ONC 2026 Short List ONC 2026 Round One, Round Three Winner ONC 2026 Round Three Ambassador Pick

In the small, dusty town of Silverbrook, where settlers and Native Americans live in tense proximity, Ahyoka, the son of the wise and respected chief of the Akecheta Tribe, finds himself caught between his heritage and the new world emerging in the West. When he meets Jolene Moore, the daughter of the town's preacher, sparks fly despite the bitter opposition of her father, Darius Moore, a man consumed by hatred for Native Americans. Darius forbids the relationship, driven by his racist views and the rigid belief that his daughter should marry within her own kind. As Jolene and Ahyoka grow closer, the cracks in the Moore family begin to show. Eleanor Moore, Jolene's mother, a kind-hearted woman, secretly supports the relationship, understanding the deep connection between the two young souls. Meanwhile, Kiona and Hakan, two young members of the Akecheta Tribe, find their own love blossoming amidst the turmoil. But their peaceful world is shattered when Darius Moore becomes increasingly abusive toward his wife, escalating tensions in the Moore household. As Ahyoka struggles with his love for Jolene, he must also contend with the wisdom and patience his father has instilled in him. The Akecheta Tribe holds peace and respect above all, and Ahyoka is determined to honor these teachings-even when facing the violence and hate his family is subjected to. In a story of love, struggle, and personal growth, both Ahyoka and Jolene must decide whether to defy their families for the chance to be together, all while the battle between old-world prejudices and new-world change threatens to tear them apart.

When Lori James' father writes to her for the first time in years her life is literally turned upside down. Inheriting a rundown general store 17,000 kilometres away in Australia, her plan of getting in, selling up, and getting back out again seems simple enough. But accusing the local Police Sergeant, maddeningly sexy Zeb Turner, of shop lifting on her first day in Murfey's Beach, Lori quickly discovers the implications of being on the wrong side of the law. Moving on isn't going to be as easy a task as she first thought. Ironically, if Lori wants to get rid of the shop, she's going to have to fight to keep it first. Desperate to win over the colourfully eccentric locals who hold the keys to her freedom, Lori sets about breathing new life into the sleepy old community. Temperatures rise and desire sizzles as the residents of the tiny seaside village experience their hottest summer romance in decades.

DISCLAIMER: This book contains mature subject matter and triggering topics that may not be suitable for every reader. • • • "What is it that I always tell you, Winona? You'll always come back to me. A bird never forgets its home." Winona Horton has only ever known one home and one man, and she's never strayed from her simple life on an orchard in Homestead, Iowa. But the introduction of a boy from California and the uncovering of unsettling truths begin to shatter her illusions of the past, present, and future.

In the bitter winter of 1942 Saskatchewan, Ruby MacInnes and her husband Richard live on the edge of town, of acceptance, of survival. She's a Black woman from Halifax, disavowed for marrying a white man. He's a WWI veteran, quiet and scarred, clinging to the love that gives his life meaning. Together, they've built a fragile sanctuary in a place that barely tolerates their existence. But when a local soldier goes missing, the town's simmering prejudice erupts. Ruby becomes the target of suspicion, and the truth she carries-about what Caleb Hartley did to her-threatens to destroy everything. As Richard stands by her, the couple faces escalating threats, isolation, and the brutal weight of injustice. Their home is vandalized. Their names smeared. And the sheriff, led by Caleb's powerful father Elias, refuses to believe them. What follows is a devastating reckoning, one that costs Ruby everything and leaves the town forever changed, though never truly repentant.

Born into slavery, Lena Wells escapes in search of freedom-but instead finds a Union camp overflowing with runaways, soldiers, and the man whose gaze she can't seem to forget. What begins as stolen glances soon becomes forbidden touches and passionate, secret kisses. But war has a way of claiming everything, and when Julian is called back to his regiment, Lena is forced to let him go. Four years later, Lena has built a fragile new life in Philadelphia-a seamstress by day and a devoted mother by night, determined to protect the child who carries the face of the man she lost. Julian Dennis, wounded and discharged, is living in the same city rebuilding a life that no longer feels like his own. When a chance assignment brings Lena into his home that he shares with his mother-who has hired her to sew a few dresses-the past collides violently with the present. One look at Lena's little girl sends Julian spiraling. She looks like him. She acts like him. And the timing is undeniable. Yet Lena insists the child isn't his. Now Julian is torn between hope and heartache, while Lena clings to the truth she's carried alone for years. As long-buried emotions resurface and new wounds open, both must confront not only the ghosts of the war, but the powerful forces of society, race, loyalty, and love that threaten to keep them apart. Because sometimes the war doesn't end on the battlefield- Sometimes it finds you again, exactly where you're trying to start over.

'ˢʰᵉ ˡᵒᵒᵏᵉᵈ ᵃᵗ ʰᵉʳ ᵒʷⁿ ʳᵉᶠˡᵉᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐⁱʳʳᵒʳ. ᴵⁿᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ʰᵃᶻᵉˡ ᵉʸᵉˢ. ˢʰᵉ ᵏⁿᵉʷ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖᵉʳˢᵒⁿ ᵇᵉʰⁱⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ˡᵉᶠᵗ ᵃ ˡᵒⁿᵍ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ᵃᵍᵒ.' - In which a lonely english soldier meets an even lonelier french nurse; and somehow that turns into love. [William Schofield x oc) [...]

Jospeh Capurso has always dreamt of a fresh start ever since immigrating from Italy to the United Stated when he was a young boy. It's difficult to start anew with a tragic past and hovering regrets. Nevertheless, Joseph continues to adapt the best he can to his different life in America. With his sketch pad and charcoal pencil, The Bronx is his biggest inspiration for becoming an Architecture. If it weren't for his unforgiving father breathing down his neck practically every second, he could move on with his life. But with family to protect and support,his dream of becoming a architecture remains faint. Louise Decker, a bright, inquisitive writer believes she's destined for more than working under the nose of her cold step father. She has big dreams of becoming a war correspondent and journalist just like her biggest role model Peggy Hull. It's hard to follow her dreams when society expects her to follow the stereotypical norms of a housewife. Louise yearns for more out of life rather than staying at home to raise children and watch over the house. Louise wants to share and explore the undiscovered stories in which the world holds so deeply. On the very day Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan, Jospeh and Louise's world collide forming an undeniable bond. Even though both come from different wealth classes. The two who are still so young and innocent are forced to open their eyes to a cruel reality of their devastating world. A world war is no place for two innocent people longing to follow their dreams. Things get even more complicated when they're both forced to go on an unpredictable journey to find hidden treasure to just keep the people they love alive. After all the two would go through thick and thin just to keep their loved ones safe. They'd stick up for each other From Dusk Till Dawn.

In her country, health isn't a lifestyle. It's the law. Unhealthy food is banned, weight is monitored, and compliance is expected. But when 47 people disappear without a trace, young journalist Cheryl Cooper starts asking questions that someone desperately wants left unanswered. Her investigation is shut down. The evidence begins to disappear. Then she discovers something she was never supposed to find. One brownie. One order. One mistake. Some cravings are dangerous.

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