In high school, Olivia, Tracy and Holly had been known as The Godmothers, and their friendship has endured throughout the ensuing decades. Now, with the death of Olivia's husband, a wealthy Italian Count, and her return to America, the friends decide to reunite on a luxury cruise in the Caribbean. Along with Tracy's college-aged daughter and a two-man crew, they begin their journey uneventfully, enjoying the sun and the warm, clear waters of the Caribbean. Then, a series of devastating events unfolds, leaving the women crewless, starving and terrified. Almost overnight, what was meant to be a blissful vacation devolves into a desperate fight for survival, as they soon find themselves battling the elements, a horrifying attack by drug traffickers, and their own frailties. It is at once a story about the bonds of friendship, the love between mothers and their children, and the strengths we don't know we possess until we are faced with our own mortality.

Many other periodicals now publish their versions of a year-in-review each December, and they include in their pages photography. But LIFE, the most respected brand when it comes to pictures and also a trusted source of smart, honest, unbiased journalism, invented the Year in Pictures-and LIFE's volume remains the one a reader must have. This is the book for the footlocker. This is the book to be read now, a year from now, ten years from now. This is our human history, captured in the moment by the world's best photojournalists and put into complete context by LIFE's editors. In politics, Barack Obama, John Boehner and Sarah Palin are all players in 2011, and in Hollywood Mark Wahlberg is on top, and Angelina Jolie remains there. Neil Diamond and Alice Cooper go into rock's Hall of Fame, while Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez take another step out of childhood and into adulthood will they continue on with great success, and for that matter, what will Britney and Lindsay offer us this year? Who will Glee salute next? The rumors include the Boss. Tom Brady may win again, and so might Tiger Woods. Then again, they might not. The Williams sisters must still be reckoned with, as must Lindsay Vonn, who shoots for another World Cup skiing championship. The floods that ruined parts of California and the blizzards that whacked New England made for dramatic pictures, and for pain. Whether the country felt greater pain than it did early in the year when a universally well-liked congresswoman, Gabby Giffords, was targeted by a gunman, and when six innocents, including a nine-year-old girl were killed-well, whether that grief will be exceeded is yet to be determined. LIFE will be there to measure it, record it, and put it in perspective. LIFE invented The Year in Pictures, and does it like no one else.

THE WHITE HOUSE: THE PRESIDENT'S HOME IN PHOTOGRAPHS AND HISTORY covers every aspect of White House Life over the past 200 years. Witness multiple refurbishments to the house, media coverage and popular photography of the White House, and photos of its illustrious inhabitants, visitors, and even pets and illustrations. Accompanying the photographs is an incisive, informative text by renowned critic Vicki Goldberg. A rich visual history and a beautiful gift book, THE WHITE HOUSE is a must for photography and history buffs alike.

Filled with dazzling images from the very first Harry Potter film to the epic finale, this unique poster book allows fans to immerse themselves in the world of Harry Potter. Gorgeous images showcase the many memorable characters and dangerous situations Harry and his friends have encountered in their battle against Lord Voldemort (TM). All the pages in this keepsake edition can be removed from the book and displayed. As a bonus, the book includes 9 oversized collectible film posters. A must-have for all Harry Potter fans. The seventh movie opened on November 19th, 2010 to a huge audience around the country. There is no doubt the highly anticipated eighth movie out July 15th, 2011 with garner the same reaction.

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. Sometimes life-ending. Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

You don't have to be a student of geography or cartography to have an interest in the world around you, especially with globalization making our planet seem smaller than ever. Now you can IM someone in Alaska, purchase coffee beans from Timor-Leste, and visit Dubai. But what do we really know about these lands?

This lavish volume reproduces 138 tempera, drybrush, and watercolor paintings and pencil studies by Andrew Wyeth. It is the most comprehensive retrospective of the artist's work ever produced and is now available in paperback. What makes this book truly extraordinary are Wyeth's comments about each painting — an autobiography, told through interviews with Thomas Hoving, that offers fascinating, sometimes unexpected, facts about Wyeth's life and art. As Hoving writes in his introduction, Wyeth, in essence, has always painted for himself. This beautifully printed, elegantly designed book reveals that self as never before — and will make a resplendent gift for Wyeth's many admirers.

At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about to break. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. A Pandora s box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voice -- those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal -- that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment. A gripping emotional drama with the pace of a thriller, Anita Shreve s Testimony explores the dark impulses that sway the lives of seeming innocents, and the ways in which our best intentions can lead to our worst transgressions.

Brett Messerchmidt is planning Waverly Academy's annual holiday ball and gift exchange. But when some enterprising students decide that playing Secret Satan is infinitely more fun, the entire school starts acting naughty. Now all Brett wants for Christmas is a quiet holiday-and a kiss from a certain someone under the mistletoe. Too bad Callie Vernon has the same idea. Everybody at Waverly is getting into the giving spirit. The only present Tinsley Carmichael wants to unwrap this holiday is her new boyfriend, Julian McCafferty. But what happens when she uncovers a shady secret from his past instead? Santa knows when you've been bad or good... but what's the point of being good when being bad is so much fun?

It's almost Valentine's Day at Waverly Academy, and love is in the air... and in everyone's inboxes. Each year, The Waverly Computer Society runs Perfect Match, an online personality survey that pairs up Waverly Owls with their supposed soul mates. Now the campus is overrun with peculiar pairings, odd couples, and mischief makers hoping to play Cupid for a day. Jenny Humphrey is convinced she'll be paired with her adorable new boyfriend, Isaac Dresden. But when he starts acting skittish, she begins to wonder if he's her Perfect Match after all. Brett Messerschmidt and Tinsley Carmichael definitely aren't feeling the love this Valentine's Day: when Isla Dresden, Isaac's sister, steals Tinsley's thunder-and Brett's boyfriend-the two girls vow to plot their revenge. Callie Vernon is starting to wonder if a girl can have two soulmates. She's in love with both Easy Walsh and Brandon Buchanan, but on February 14th, she can only give one of them her heart. In this final dramatic It Girl novel, the Waverly Owls ponder an age-old question: is all really fair in love and war?

The ninth engrossing novel in the #1 bestselling It Girl series. Popular Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphrey never goes looking for trouble; but trouble always seems to find her. What Waverly Academy mischief will Jenny, Tinsley, and Callie stir up now? It's January, and a new semester at Waverly Academy means one thing: new students. Make that hot new students. A gorgeous brother-sister pair is taking Waverly by storm, and the campus is abuzz with fresh gossip and even fresher crushes. But while all the girls are busy drooling over the new it-guy, they'd better watch their backs-because his sister is going to give them all a run for their money. After all, there can only be one It Girl...

All Fanny wants in the world is a Connie doll, but Mom says NO But no one ever said she couldn't make one instead With some scissors, glue, and her craft box in hand, Fanny sets out to replicate Connie, but it's Annabelle who is the result of her efforts. A little lopsided and a little unkempt, Annabelle turns out to be the companion Fanny has always wanted. Though at first her friends turn up their noses, in the end everyone learns that using your imagination and working with your own two hands can result in the best toy of all.

The New York Times bestselling spin-off series to the #1 bestselling Gossip Girl is set in an elite East Coast boarding school and features favorite Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphrey. Having a roommate at elite Waverly Academy means nightly sleepovers and double the designer wardrobe. But Callie Vernon never really liked late-night girl talk or swapping cashmere sweaters with her younger, rosy-cheeked roomie, Jenny Humphrey. So when Jenny stole her longtime boyfriend, Easy Walsh, Callie didn't feel that guilty about turning right around and kissing him behind Jenny's back. Okay, maybe a little guilty, but it certainly didn't stop her from enjoying it. Now, if only Easy would stop being so irritatingly indecisive and dump Jenny already While the two roommates are sharing a boyfriend, the rest of Dumbarton's residents are sharing their feelings at the newly founded Women of Waverly club aka, WOW Everyone is totally bonding, revealing their most personal secrets, and hugging out their past rivalries. But despite the sharing-is-caring vibe, there are some things these girls aren't spilling like who's making special late-night trips to the crater... and with whom. Now it's only a matter of time before all the newfound girl power explodes into a massive girl fight. But this battle goes well beyond the ivy colored brick walls of Dumberton it's about who will be Waverly's next It Girl.

Holly Hobbie, the bestselling author of the Toot & Puddle series, brings us FANNY & ANNABELLE, a new story about creative Fanny with a do-it-yourself theme. In the second Fannyadventure, Fanny writes her first picture book. Since Annabelle, her doll, was Fanny's first creation, it's fitting she should star in the story. Annabelle's adventure ends up mirroring Fanny's own life as they both manage to give the perfect birthday gift to a loved one. With Hobbie's heartwarming art mixed with Fanny's own delightfully naive drawings, this sweet talewill inspire fans and new readers alike to get creative.

This full-length novel is packed with action and adventure!

Popular Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphey is making a splash at Waverly Academy, an elite boarding school in New York horse country where glamorous rich kids don't let the rules get in the way of an excellent time. But is Waverly big enough for Jenny, her roommates Callie and Brett, and the infamous Tinsley Carmichael? They're all beautiful, captivating, and a little bit crazy... but there can only be one It Girl.

In March 2011 the eyes of the world turned to the Pacific, where an earthquake and tsunami devastated cities along Japan's northern coasts only weeks after a major earthquake caused billions of dollars in damages in Christchurch, New Zealand. At the same time, Haiti was still reeling from the January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people and the airline industry was still recovering from the 2010 eruption of a volcano in Iceland that sent clouds of ash billowing across Europe, disrupting global air travel for weeks. Now TIME explores the science behind the powerful forces that create such natural disasters in an updated edition of its classic 2006 volume Nature's Extremes. Here are the tectonic forces that breed earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis... the powerful weather patterns that create deadly hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires... and a host of other natural nightmares, from deadly mudslides to avalanches, solar flares to dust storms. Filled with galleries of fascinating, sometimes mind-boggling, photographs and featuring the informative graphics that are a hallmark of the magazine, Nature's Extremes documents the destructive power of nature at its most deadly. It is a must-read for anyone concerned with the future of our planet. TIME will donate a portion of the proceeds from this volume to organizations working to aid victims of Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Commemorating the April 29, 2011, wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, this deluxe volume includes exclusive photographs and intimate details of the wedding of the century. LIFE has covered all of the lavish royal weddings since even before Queen Elizabeth II wed in 1953, and of course the magazine documented in splendid, intimate detail the wedding of the century, that of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, years later. Now LIFE will be front and center as Prince William weds Kate Middleton. This book includes intimate pictures of William and Kate as they grew to be the splendid adults they are today. The best photographs of royal weddings that have already been, including those of Charles and Diana, Grace Kelly and Rainier of Monaco, Fergie and Andrew, and many others. A detailed look at the Middletons and the Windsors-the latter, royal family dating back to Queen Victoria. Photography from Buckingham Palace insiders, including pictures from Litchfield and Lord Snowdon.

Style guru Matthew Mead makes the holidays simple and spectacular with creative ideas for handmade crafts, unique gifts, elegant decorations, and scrumptious edibles. From the best food bloggers' Christmas cookies to bargain seasonal home make-overs to exquisite (easy) paper crafts, no corner of the home, and no aspect of the festivities is left untouched by Mead's special brand of holiday magic. In addition, HOLIDAY WITH MATTHEW MEAD includes contributions from star bloggers Stephanie Nielson (The NieNie Dialogues), Pioneer Woman, Trisha Foley, and other notable names in food, crafting and style. HOLIDAY by Matthew Mead brings a fresh, new look, taste, and feel to timeless traditions.

Hailed as the most suspenseful and compelling novel in decades, PRESUMED INNOCENT brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of all crimes. It's the stunning portrayal of one man's all-too-human, all-consuming fatal attraction for a passionate woman who is not his wife, and the story of how his obsession puts everything he loves and values on trial — including his own life. It's a book that lays bare a shocking world of betrayal and murder, as well as the hidden depths of the human heart. And it will hold you and haunt you... long after you have reached its shattering conclusion.