Free Book - The Last Chance Texaco (K/N/S/Smashwords)

[koland]

The Last Chance Texaco by Brent Hartinger is free in the Kindle store (US/AU/CA)

Fifteen years old and parentless, Lucy Pitt has spent the last eight years being shifted from one foster home to another. Now she’s ended up at Kindle Home, a place for foster kids who aren‘t wanted anywhere else. Among the residents, Kindle Home is known as the Last Chance Texaco, because it’s the last stop before being shipped off to the high-security juvenile detention center on nearby Rabbit Island--better known as Eat-Their-Young Island to anyone who knows what it‘s really like.

But Lucy finds that Kindle Home is different from past group homes, and she soon decides she wants to stay. Problem is, someone is starting a series of car-fires in the neighborhood in an effort to get the house shut down. Could it be Joy, a spiteful Kindle Home resident? Or maybe it's Alicia, the bony blond supermodel-wannabe from the local high school who thinks Lucy has stolen her boyfriend. Lucy suspects it might even be Emil, the Kindle Home therapist, who clearly has a low opinion of the kids he counsels. Whoever it is, Lucy must expose the criminal, or she'll lose not just her new home, but her one last chance for happiness.

In the tradition of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and Louis Sachar's Holes, Hartinger writes about a subculture of teenagers many people would like to forget, in a novel as fast-paced and provocative as his first book, Geography Club.

[bookratt]

Is also free for Nook.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/last...ger/1100550130

[Joykins]

See, when I read "Kindle Home" on this board, I don't expect a foster home for teens.

[ATDrake]

Also free via Smashwords, as it's a backlist book re-released by the author.

[ScalyFreak]

Also free on Sony, US and Canada.

[koland]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Also free via Smashwords, as it's a backlist book re-released by the author.

Missed that - I was looking at HarperCollins titles for AU and stumbled over it. He put their name as the publisher for the Kindle edition.

I wish that Amazon would clearly mark ALL KDP titles as published by Amazon, in some way. Not that this one doesn't look interesting, but there is absolutely nothing to prevent any KDP author from claiming a "real" publisher when submitting their titles (other than getting caught and perhaps sued by one of them, that is).

[ATDrake]

I'd love if Amazon would allow to filter between KDP and non-KDP, but I doubt they'd do that as catalogue confusion boosts their "items available" stats.

I normally check to see if there's a print-equivalent and if it matches up. But that takes extra time and some self-pub authors come up with brazen lies. Mind you, I did like the guy who claimed that everything was dictated to him by his angel wives.

[Joykins]

Yeats, as in William Butler, claimed something similar...that is, "A Vision" was based on his wife's automatic writing so there is some hope even for the out-there.

[koland]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

I'd love if Amazon would allow to filter between KDP and non-KDP, but I doubt they'd do that as catalogue confusion boosts their "items available" stats.

I normally check to see if there's a print-equivalent and if it matches up. But that takes extra time and some self-pub authors come up with brazen lies. Mind you, I did like the guy who claimed that everything was dictated to him by his angel wives.

Ummmm.. like that religious text followed by the world's largest religion (although the popular one here has similar passages, as do some of the more "minor" ones).

At least B&N lets you see the self-pub, even if you can't search it.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by koland

Ummmm.. like that religious text followed by the world's largest religion (although the popular one here has similar passages, as do some of the more "minor" ones).

I thought the official story on that was that they were supposed to be the recorded direct word of $DEITY (skipping the wingèd messenger intermediaries), as well as the records of people following around and recording the words of $SON OF DEITY, and then some posthumous correspondence from people* who'd been doing the following around?

In any case, it would be pretty cool if those passages included angelically-relayed instructions on how to fly spacecraft, Chariots of the Gods† "ancient astrounaut"-style and use water to teach people to read and write which seems like a good life-skill to pass on.

* Plus an addendum by some guy who apparently came from an island known for its mushrooms.

† But von Daniken ended up being jailed for fraud a couple of times, IIRC. I have a comic book about that.

[koland]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

I thought the official story on that was that they were supposed to be the recorded direct word of $DEITY (skipping the wingèd messenger intermediaries), as well as the records of people following around and recording the words of $SON OF DEITY, and then some posthumous correspondence from people* who'd been doing the following around?

In any case, it would be pretty cool if those passages included angelically-relayed instructions on how to fly spacecraft, Chariots of the Gods† "ancient astrounaut"-style and use water to teach people to read and write which seems like a good life-skill to pass on.

* Plus an addendum by some guy who apparently came from an island known for its mushrooms.

† But von Daniken ended up being jailed for fraud a couple of times, IIRC. I have a comic book about that.

BTW - Now that we have meds for those who hear voices (and nice jail cells for them to stay in, if they act upon the instructions), how will the next hot religions get started?

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by koland

BTW - Now that we have meds for those who hear voices (and nice jail cells for them to stay in, if they act upon the instructions), how will the next hot religions get started?

I thought we had one already and called it "Scientology"? That stuff about Xenu is probably something else we can thank* the mushrooms for.

Mind you, I far prefer this more sensible-sounding variant and hope it becomes the dominant schism in my particular regional locale if it comes down to a fight between the two, Reformation and Counter-Reformation style.

Praise Batman!

In any case, I think that science fiction writers and satirists will be more than capable of providing future belief systems of varying usefulness and palatability.

And now if you'll excuse me, I think I have to go touch some noodly appendages of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, with tomato sauce (but no meatballs, alas). Ramen!

* Me, I think I'd rather be suppressive and snap my hand reminiscent of an opening and closing clam and maybe that will keep the Thetans from getting me. Or I could just do it for the lulz.

Especially around the Scientology centre downtown, and see how many of its faithful proselytizing adherents soliciting converts from the streets are cognizant of its actual tenets.

[ScalyFreak]

I vote we all convert to Kopimism

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

* Plus an addendum by some guy who apparently came from an island known for its mushrooms.

The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross too bad it isn't in e-book format...