A seventh-grade girl, her slightly fat girl friend, Al, and the assistant superintendent of their apartment building form a mutually needed friendship with the usual--and a few unusual--joys and sorrows.

    She and her two best friends, Ronan and Brianna, are turning twelve. She is leaving camp behind and gets to do what she wants all day. She feels everything starting to change.But things don’t always change for the better.With Brianna’s cousin Eden there for the summer, Claire feels like a third wheel. Even though she is only a year older, Eden seems so much more sophisticated and glamorous . . . and when she is around, she takes up everyone’s attention, including Brianna’s. But that doesn’t explain why things have felt awkward with Brianna ever since she moved to a fancy new house, or why Ronan, who lives in the trailer next to Claire’s, has started acting moody anytime anyone mentions his dad.Claire has always been happy with her life just as it is, but as the summer wears on and the issues with her friends start to grow, she can’t help but wonder whether everything would be better if she could just be someone else.

    From the late Rebecca Caudill, author of The Best-Loved Doll and Tree of Freedom, comes the heartrending story of a young Appalachian boy, born mute, who speaks for the first time ever to a young couple and their newborn baby, who have taken refuge from a blizzard in a nearby church.

    She’s focused on her career and determined to leave her tiny cubicle behind for a fabulous corner office! But when a new co-worker, a friendship drama, and a hot workplace crush collide, Erin finds it harder and harder to focus. Especially when that crush on the oh-so-yummy Aiden Thomas starts to materialize into what feels like a magical relationship. Erin's life seems to finally be heading in the right direction...until suddenly friends aren't such great friends after all, her magical relationship hits a bumpy road, and her career could be derailed by it all. Erin learns a lesson the hard way: Sometimes people aren’t who they seem to be. With her happiness on the line, can Erin rise above her disappointments and create the life she's always dreamed of or will she be stuck being Friends ForNever? "Packed with love, laughter, and deliciously devious frenemies, Friends ForNever is an entertaining romantic comedy for the keeper shelf!" ~ Gemma Halliday, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author

    The three very different sisters in this story have just that kind of adventure for a week on an island in Maine.This is a breezy read for boys and girls who love family stories and adventures with happy endings.

    But Gracie knows better. Now both kids have the chance to fly with their other cousin Eddie from Seattle to San Francisco without any adults. Gracie’s father isn’t sure the trip is a great idea, but Gracie’s not worried. What could go wrong? Then things begin to go wrong…very wrong! Is it just Charlie’s bad luck following them? Or have Gracie and her cousins stumbled into something more dangerous than they could have ever imagined?

    A big, serious, adult problem. When he receives an anonymous note in the mail, he finds out that his old babysitter, Alma, is in danger. Cracker's the only one who can help her. But what can an eleven-year-old do in a situation that most adults couldn't cope with? Cracker will do anything to protect his beloved Alma. But the situation is already moving beyond his control... An ALA Notable Book Winner of the Parents' Choice Award An IRA-CBC Children's Choice

    Set in Malaysia emerging from the outbreak of racial conflict in 1969, Bitter-Sweet Harvest tells of the difficulties and tensions involved in a marriage between a Malay Muslim and a Chinese Christian. Atmospheric, dramatic, action-packed and intriguing, this is a spell-binding journey through contrasting cultures: from the learned spires of Oxford in England to the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia; from vibrant Singapore to Catholic Rome and developing Indonesia. Bitter-Sweet Harvest is the sequel to the novel Sweet Offerings. The stories can be read in any order and are complete in themselves.

    The preparations include painting a mural in the baby's nursery and making a list of possible names. Since ten-year-old Adine already has four younger sisters, she is used to the routine. This time, however, the routine is broken -- in more ways than one. The biggest change is that Aunt Irene will be staying with the Vorlobs until Adine's mother is back on her feet. Aunt Irene arrives, as does the baby, but nothing else goes quite as expected. Especially for Adine!

    When Nadine learns that the Indian woman she thought her nanny is, in fact, her mother, she rebels against her English father and he arranges for her to be wed to an Australian merchant many years older. She is whisked off to her new husband's plantation in Malaya but as the Second World War rages throughout the East, Nadine is taken captive by the Japanese. She is held at a camp in Sumatra with other women and forced to entertain the soldiers and satisfy their desires. In the most unlikely circumstances, Nadine finds an ally and protector in a Japanese—American major caught up in the war. The two bond over their conflicted identities and gradually fall in love. But can Nadine survive long enough to find happiness? Don't miss this emotional and powerful saga about a woman's determination to beat the odds, perfect for fans of Renita D'Silva, Dinah Jefferies and Julia Gregson.

    They're on TV and the radio--and it's all because of James. His voice and his guitar playing bring the songs to life, and make the audiences beg for more. Most kids would love it. Not James. He's had to change his name to "Jimmy Jo," dress in clothes he hates, and turn into someone else. Will he ever be able to cope with the fame?

    So she is shocked when she finds out Cloudy's former owners might want to buy her back! Maddie desperately concocts various plans to stop the sale: maybe she can raise money to buy Cloudy herself, or what if she can make the potential buyers lose interest? Maddie's online Pony Post friends--Brooke Rhodes, Hayley Duncan, Nina Peralt, who all share a love of Cincoteague ponies--can tell something is up, but at first Maddie is afraid to tell them what's happening. If she loses her only connection to Chincoteague, will they even want to be friends with her anymore?

    They worked together on the frontline in Belgium, where Monty was a nurse and Ada drove ambulances - like the devil. And now, Bleakly Hall hydropathic has brought them together again. Monty has just arrived to look after the gouty residents - there to take the Hall's curative waters via nozzle, douche and jet - and Ada is the maid and driver. For all those at Bleakly, the end of the Great War has brought changes. Not all of them good. Monty has a score to settle with the elusive Captain Foxley; Ada misses her wartime sense of purpose; the Blackwood brothers must reinvigorate Bleakly for a new era; Foxley has his own particular ways of keeping his ghosts at bay. But with the crumbling, rumbling hydropathic threatening to blow its top, what will become of the folk thrown together in its bilious embrace? This wonderfully original novel brings together an irresistible cast of characters - including Bleakly Hall itself - in the wake of one of history's great tragedies. To powerful effect, it combines fizzing comedy with a deeply moving look at the aftermath of war.

    . . if the CIA, international arms dealers, and her best friend don’t stand in the way.Elisabeth Allen gave her heart to Jesus as a little girl and to Drew Marek as a teenager. When their wedding day finally arrives, it’s the happiest day of her life—until a bomb transforms her dream come true into a living nightmare.As Best Man at the wedding, Gabriel Di Salvo promises Drew—his best friend and CIA partner—he’ll look after Elisabeth, but he never dreams it will become necessary so soon. As Elisabeth struggles to put the pieces of her life back together without Drew, Gabe becomes her rock, and as they share their grief and begin to heal, their friendship gradually deepens into something more.Three years later, Gabe and Elisabeth are planning a future together when he receives a shocking call from the one man who can upend his happiness: Drew. Suspecting someone at the CIA is behind his abduction, Drew refuses to come home. Instead, he asks Gabe to bring Elisabeth to him. Now Gabe just has to figure out how to let her go.Drew and Elisabeth race across Europe, dodging international arms dealers and attempting to reclaim what was stolen from them. But years of captivity and torture have left their mark on Drew. He is no longer the same boy Elisabeth fell in love with, but he is still Elisabeth’s husband, and she is determined to build something new and not allow her relationship with Gabe to come between them.When their enemies close in and the threat of a terrorist attack escalates, Gabe may be the only person they can trust. Drew, Elisabeth, and Gabe are thrown into a fight for their lives—one that will test their loyalties to God, country . . . and each other.

    Puberty feels light-years away; he’s not keen on the cool clothes or lingo; and he has the added pressure of preparing for his bar mitzvah. The only saving grace is that Danny Uribe, his lifelong best friend, will be by his side…Or will he? Since Danny’s summer growth spurt, there’s been a growing distance between him and Jake. Danny is excited to explore all that junior high has to offer…especially the girls (and most notably Hannah, Jake’s older sister). But gang life has its allure, too, and he soon finds himself in over his head.Meanwhile, Hannah is dealing with her own problems–being queen bee is not easy. The other girls are out for blood, and boys are so…exhausting. Danny surprises her with his maturity, but can Hannah’s reputation survive if she’s linked to a sevvy? And what would Jake think about her hooking up with his best friend?Dorothy Wu could not care less about junior-high drama. She is content to stay in her bedroom and write epic stories of her adventures as a warrior mermaid maiden. But that changes when she discovers the school’s writing club. There, she meets a young lad with heroic potential and decides that life outside her fantasy world just might have some appeal.In the course of one year at San Paulo Junior High, these four lives will intersect in unique and hilarious ways. Friendships will grow and change. Reputations will be transformed. And maybe someone will become a man.