Book picks similar to
Courage Is Not Given by Drayton Mayrant
historical-fiction
childrens
historical-juvenile
southern
So Far Back: A Novel
Pam Durban - 2000
An upright, unmarried spinster, Louisa has spent her life looking after others. In the aftermath of a hurricane that turns her life upside down, she finds a battered diary kept by one of her ancestors. The journal recounts the story of Diana, a 19th-century slave who worked for the Hilliards, but sought to improve her life and her means, and was severely punished. Diana's fate is gradually revealed, even as Louisa discovers objects in her house missing, moved, dented, and seemingly handled by an unappeasable presence. In some small way trying to set right age-old wrongs, Louisa discovers how her own life is entangled in her family's haunted history. So Far Back is a nuanced and resonant portrait of two families sharing an enduring past and an uneasy present.
True Colors
Natalie Kinsey-Warnock - 2012
For her entire life, 10-year-old Blue has never known her mother. On a cold, wintry day in December of 1941, she was found wrapped in a quilt, stuffed in a kettle near the home of Hannah Spooner, an older townswoman known for her generosity and caring. Life with Hannah so far has been simple—mornings spent milking cows, afternoons spent gardening and plowing the fields on their farm. But Blue finds it hard not to daydream about her mother, and over the course of one summer, she resolves to finally find out who she is. That means searching through the back issues of the local newspaper, questioning the local townspeople, and searching for clues wherever she can find them. Her search leads her down a road of self-discovery that will change her life forever.
The Blue Hawk
Peter Dickinson - 1976
But when he overturns a solemn sacrifice of the Blue Hawk, Tron is in deadly danger and must run for his life.
Loving Through Heartsongs
Mattie J.T. Stepanek - 2003
T. Stepanek has won the hearts of millions with his inspiring poems from his first two New York Times bestsellers. Now he's ready to spread a little love with Loving Through Heartsongs, a beautiful collection of poems written about innocence and trusting love from a child's perspective. Mattie's struggle with muscular dystrophy has never kept him from feeling deep love for his family, friends, country, and faith--heartfelt emotions that are reflected throughout these pages.
The Escape
Kathryn Lasky - 2014
They were rounded up by the two-legs and forced onto a boat to cross the wide ocean. The journey went badly and the boat was deemed too heavy, so the two-legs forced the horses into the sea and sailed away, leaving the herd to die in the deep.By a miracle, the horses survived and made it to land. All but one -- the ghost horse, the leader of the pack. Now it's up to her daughter, only a filly, to take charge of the terrified herd. Stranded in a new land, surrounded by two-legs, will the horses find a way to live safe and free?
Light on Fire Island
Marlene Bateman - 2009
Before her mother's tragic death she'd promised to care for her young brother, Joshua, and teach him the gospel. But her father, Matthew, a lighthouse keeper devastated by the loss of his wife, banished Celena for refusing to renounce her Mormon faith. Five years later, when Matthew suffers serious injuries and Joshua pleads for Celena's help, she returns to her childhood home with a painful tangle of emotions. Can she love and forgive the headstrong, embittered father who cast her out? Celena's arrival catches the eyes of two approving gentlemen, as well as the suspicion of islanders who want control of the vacant lighthouse. Joshua convinces Celena to step forward as the new lighthouse keeper. When acts of vandalism begin to escalate, it's clear that someone on the island wants her gone#151;but who? More complexities arise as Celena makes a shocking discovery that turns her past inside out. Then the web of intrigue on the island turns deadly, with Celena at its very center. Against a backdrop of ocean waves and rich sunsets, this novel of suspense, romance, and reconciliation explores hidden motives and surprising secrets, the power of promises kept, and the hope of light found in unexpected places. Against a backdrop of ocean waves and rich sunsets, this novel of suspense, romance, and reconciliation explores hidden motives and surprising secrets, the power of promises kept, and the hope of light found in unexpected places. 6" X 9", 320 pages ISBN 978-1-59811-552-9
Little House on Rocky Ridge
Roger Lea MacBride - 1993
In a covered wagon containing all their possessions, they make their way across the drought-stricken Midwest to the lush green valleys of southern Missouri. The journey is long and not always easy, but at the end is the promise of a new home and a new life for the Wilders.Little House on Rocky Ridge is the first book in The Rose Years, an ongoing series about another spirited girl from America's most beloved pioneer family.
Miscarriage of Justice
Kip Gayden - 2008
When her every attempt to rekindle romance and affection with her husband--a prominent local doctor--fails, she finds herself turning to the friendship of Charlie Cobb, a new man in town. But as their relationship becomes more intimate, smalltown tongues start wagging, and their starcrossed affair leads to a shocking public murder.
Chancy and the Grand Rascal
Sid Fleischman - 1966
The big man proves to be the grandest rascal on either side of the Mississippi River -- and Chancy's own long-lost Uncle Will. Joining forces to re-unite the family, they run smack into snorting villians, seat-of-the-pants adventure, and laughter by the barrelful.
Ellen Tebbits
Beverly Cleary - 1951
That is, until she meets Austine—and discovers that Austine has the same secret! Soon the girls are best friends who do everything together—attending dance class, horseback riding, and dodging pesky Otis Spofford. But then Ellen does something terrible, and now Austine isn't speaking to her. Will Ellen be able to prove how sorry she truly is?
Dancing with Elvis
Lynda Stephenson - 2005
In addition to being more pretty, popular, and talented than Frankilee, Angel moves in, steals Frankilee's clothing, and begins dating the boy Frankilee likes. At the same time, Frankilee's community is struggling with the issue of school integration.What keeps Frankilee going is her fantasy about Elvis Presley rescuing her from life in Clover, Texas. But this restless teenager is a realist and doesn't wait around for things to get worse. She devises a plan to get rid of Angel, begins a local Elvis fan club, and works to promote integration. What Frankilee doesn't bargain for is becoming involved in a burglary, an elaborate kidnapping scheme, and a shooting.With humor and heart, Dancing with Elvis tells of one young woman's coming of age in the South during a time of change in America's history.
Nicola's Virtue
AnneMarie Brear - 2013
With no family, but a good education, she boards a ship to Australia with high hopes of a fresh start in a new country as a governess. But Sydney is full of young women with similar hopes and equally poor prospects. When Nicola is at her lowest ebb, a benefactor appears, Mr Belfroy, whose past has made him sympathetic to women struggling to survive. She also meets Frances West, an activist from a privileged background, and her attractive but distant brother, Nathaniel. However hard she tries to resist, Nicola's attraction to Nathaniel West grows. Her achievements at the Governess Home are vital to her. Can she have both?
Keeper of the Doves
Betsy Byars - 2002
Tominski-the old recluse who lives in the woods nearby and mysteriously tends to a flock of doves. The Bellas insist that Mr. Tominski is a dangerous bogeyman who eats children whole, but Papa vows that the "keeper of the doves" wouldn't hurt a soul. When tragedy strikes the family Amen must decide once and for all who is right.
Wintering Well
Lea Wait - 2006
. . . PLEASE, GOD, LET WILL LIVE. AND, PLEASE, GOD, FORGIVE ME." All Will Ames ever wanted to do was farm. But when he's injured in a farm accident, Will is left without a leg -- and without his future. There's no place on a farm for a cripple. And so, after a long winter of healing, Will and his sister Cassie, who blames herself for the accident, go to stay in town with their older sister and her husband. There, as Maine becomes a state, Will learns that perhas even without his leg, there's another, brighter future in store for him. And Cassie, too, learns that maybe, in the changing world of 1820, Will isn't the only one with the chance at a different, exciting future. . . .
The Truth About Verity Sparks
Susan Green - 2011
But Verity is no ordinary girl – she has an almost perfect memory and possesses the talent of Teleagtivism. She can easily find things that are lost! When Verity is wrongly accused of theft and dismissed from her job, she goes to live with the Plushes – a slightly Bohemian family who run a Confidential Inquiry Agency. Verity helps them solve cases and slowly becomes one of the family. But patches of the truth about her past begin to surface, along with the special talent that Professor Plush is helping her explore. Who were her real parents? Is she the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter? Who is sending poison pen letters about Verity to the Plushes? Who doesn’t want them to learn the truth about Verity Sparks? An adventure/mystery with a dash of the supernatural thrown in; The Truth About Verity Sparks is packed with chases through the dark alleys of London, séances in high-class dining rooms, pet pythons named Anthony and Cleopatra, murdered opera singers and much, much more.