Book picks similar to
Winter Run (Shannon Ravenel Books) by Robert Ashcom
fiction
boy-protagonists
virginia
fiction-literature
Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3
Mark E. Cooper - 2013
Ripped from our world to theirs, will she be their savior or their destroyer?
3 books. 1,000+ pages of action-packed fantasy. Nearly 40% off the cover price.
Julia is pure dedication. The 19-year-old gymnast works herself to the bone each day to prepare for the upcoming Olympic Games. A competition she'll never reach. When she's summoned by a wizard to save his people, she'll be stranded on an alien world where women are sheltered, magic is real, and there's no way home. As she comes to terms with her new role, she must make new allies and friends if she wants any chance of survival. Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3 includes the first three books in Mark Cooper's five book fantasy series. Cooper's epic tale features devastating war, enthralling battles, vivid descriptions, strong female heroines, and gripping prose. If you enjoy sword and sorcery books steeped in an epic war, then you'll love Mark Cooper's Devan Chronicles Series.
Buy the box set today to get started on this fantastical medieval adventure!
Time Bomb
Nigel Hinton - 2005
That is the summer they find an unexploded bomb buried in the hill where they ride their bikes. Faced with the choice of whether or not to reveal their discovery, the boys take a blood oath that will change their lives forever. Set against a crisply realized backdrop of post-war Britain, this explosive story of boyhood camaraderie follows the four friends as they confront the issues that have set their country, their community, and their lives ablaze.
The Journeyman
W.A. Patterson - 2013
You won’t find any dazzlingly handsome, wealthy action heroes or beyond belief beauties here, but real characters … hard working, Irish country folk who grow to depend upon each other through a dangerous and oppressive time in Ireland’s history … a time of hardship, fear and persecution.Liam Flynn travels across Tipperary, his destination the shores of Lough Derg, his objective to fulfill a lifelong dream. The perils he encounters on the road are only the beginning for this young itinerant carpenter. He finds himself thrust into an impossible situation when, with the help of an old Franciscan priest, he tries to save the tiny Irish village of Gortalocca. If he is discovered by the authorities, he faces almost certain execution for treason and, when the villagers discover what action he has taken in his efforts to help them, he becomes the object of their contempt and hatred.These are dangerous times in Ireland and, as the country struggles to piece itself back together after a hundred years of conflict, the very fabric of society has changed. English Parliament has begun to impose harsh Penal Laws in Ireland which will ban Catholics from voting, from receiving an education, even from practicing their own faith. Catholics can no longer own their own land. More than ninety percent of Ireland’s land will be confiscated and given to English and Irish Protestant landlords, who will charge the rightful owners rent as they try to eke out a living on land which their families have worked for generations. Liam and Father Grogan risk their lives in an effort to save their peaceful Irish village from dissolution.A consummate loner, Liam has led a solitary life so far but he finds romance in Gortalocca, not with a retiring Irish lass, but rather with the feisty daughter of Michael Hogan, the owner of Gortalocca’s only store and bar. Roisin grew up in a man’s environment and has seen enough to know that she will never wed if it means compromising herself by marrying a man she doesn’t love. Now, at the age of nineteen, Roisin Hogan is a spinster.There is plenty of fast-paced action in our story and villains abound, from Gortalocca’s homegrown bully, Sean Reilly, and his gang of thugs, to the menacing dark man who appears from nowhere, posing a threat to Liam’s plan and adding a further complication to his life.You will meet Moira, the ancient and mysterious old hag who lives alone in a tiny cottage, hidden deep inside the forest. Moira is one of the ‘wise ones’, a healer, with her own blend of the spiritual and the ritualistic, the Christian and the Pagan. She is feared by the villagers who think her a witch and do not dare to gaze upon her … unless one of them is ill, and then she is beckoned for help. Moira becomes the source of wisdom for Liam and a strange and shadowy, yet important, part of the plot.Of course, an Irish story would not be complete without humor, and there is plenty of ‘craic’ to be had here. In Hogan’s bar, you will experience, first hand, the humor which epitomises the character of the people of Ireland, and sustains them, especially in times of crisis … an unconscious humor, one of habit. You will sit at the bar with Paddy Shevlin, the pig farmer and Ben Clancy, the shepherd, whose banter provides a welcome respite from the tension, and who never let the truth spoil a perfectly good story.Allow yourself to be stirred into this cauldron of Irish stew.
The Shadow of Celene
Carol Sanders - 2018
Livy Prescott is a young wife dependent upon,beholden to, and manipulated by Celene, a slave. In 1860, Edward Prescott gallops into Livy Taylor’s life racing his carriage down the main street of her tiny Pennsylvania town, winning a bet and her heart. After they wed, Livy is swept away to Merrywood, Edward’s home in the hills of North Carolina. There Livy faces the daunting task of adjusting to her new life as Mistress of Merrywood and slave-owner. And there Livy encounters Celene, the beautiful slave cook of Merrywood, skilled in the healing arts and privy to the deepest secrets of the Prescotts. Gradually Livy learns the extent of Celene’s influence and the hold she maintains over her master, causing Livy to question who is the real mistress of Merrywood.
Harry Heron Midshipman's Journey
Patrick G. Cox - 2015
Cox weaves the exciting, authentic tale of Harry Nelson-Heron, a young midshipman in the British Navy in the early 1800s. Born in 1789 during the Irish Rebellion, Harry must overcome the prejudice against the Irish and the usual hazards of an active and inquisitive youth to realise his dream of becoming an officer in Britain’s Royal Navy. When he and his childhood friend Ferghal make the treacherous journey to London to be commissioned to a ship, fate smiles on them. Harry is appointed a midshipman on the HMS Bellerophon, and Ferghal joins him as a seaman. Corsairs, diplomacy, and exploration challenge their skills as the seafaring life takes Harry and Ferghal across the seas to worlds they never imagined and engages their ship in sea fights with the French during the Napoleonic Wars.
Cooper's Gift: A Lilac Creek Christmas Dog Story
Dana Landers - 2012
But this Christmas nothing is the same. After the recent loss of both her husband and her loyal canine companion, Heddi wonders if she should celebrate Christmas at all. But all of that changes when the true gift of healing comes to her in a most mysterious way. This is a short story perfect for a quick holiday read!
The Carnage Account
Ben Lieberman - 2014
He’s investing heavily in so-called “death bonds,” which allow investors to purchase cut-rate life insurance policies from the living, collecting the full amount when they die. Rory, a true entrepreneur, takes matters—and lives—into his own hands, ensuring a faster payout and sending him down a rabbit hole of sociopathic amusements. But even murderous madmen want love, and Rory has his heart set on impressive public-relations expert Dawn Knight. There’s just one problem: Clay Harbor, a Navy SEAL turned doctor who has been carrying a torch for Dawn, is back in town. Clay has chosen to put his energies toward saving lives for the moment, but deep down, he is as skilled and ruthless a killer as Rory.The acclaimed author of Odd Jobs returns with a twisted romp through the dark side of Wall Street.
Jim the Boy
Tony Earley - 2000
in 2000. It details a year in the life of Jim Glass, who lives, with his mother and three uncles, in the small fictional town of Aliceville, North Carolina in 1934 during the Great Depression.
Deep River
Karl Marlantes - 2019
In his new novel, Deep River, Marlantes turns to another mode of storytelling—the family epic—to craft a stunningly expansive narrative that is no less rich and honest in its depiction of human suffering, courage, and reinvention.Born into a farm family in late nineteenth-century Finland, the three Koski siblings—Ilmari, Matti, and Aino—are brought up on the virtue of maintaining their sisu in the face of increasing hardship, especially after their nationalist father is arrested by imperial Russian authorities, never to be seen again. Lured by the prospects of the Homestead Act, Ilmari and Matti set sail for America, and the politicized young Aino, haunted by the specter of betrayal after her Marxist cell is disastrously exposed, follows soon after. Not far from the majestic Columbia River and in the shadow of Douglas firs a hundred meters high, the brothers have established themselves among a logging community in southern Washington, and it is here, in the New World, that each sibling comes into their own—Ilmari as the family’s spiritual rock; Matti as a fearless logger and the embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit; and Aino as a fiercely independent woman and union activist who, time and again, sacrifices for the political beliefs that have sustained her through it all.Layered with fascinating historical detail, this is a novel that breathes deeply of the sun-dappled forest and bears witness to the stump-ridden fields the loggers, and the first waves of modernity, leave behind. At its heart, Deep River is an extraordinarily ambitious exploration of the place of the individual, and of the immigrant, in an America still in the process of defining its own identity.
Sally of Monticello Founding Mother
N.M. Ledgin - 2012
Minister. It was there a 38-year relationship began. The historical novel, Sally of Monticello: Founding Mother, by Jefferson lecturer N.M. Ledgin, portrays a bright, assertive woman. She resolved his “inner conflict,” according to historian Winthrop D. Jordan, by ridding him of “high tension concerning women and Negroes.” Ledgin based the novel’s timeline on Jefferson’s precise recordkeeping and collection of letters. Controversy over the affair and over recent DNA findings continues to fuel books and articles. Sally decided voluntarily to return with Jefferson from slavery-free France to Virginia. They had several children who went free, and they left a mixed-race legacy now woven into the fabric of the nation. This novel is an illuminating take on history. It is filled with emotion and adventure in the voice of a self-educated, sacrificing woman, whose passionate love and devotion helped guide one of our founding fathers.
Sweetgrass
Mary Alice Monroe - 2005
But Sweetgrass -- named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area -- is in trouble. Bulldozers are leveling surrounding properties. And the Blakelys could be forced to sell the one thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together. For some of the Blakelys, the prospect of selling Sweetgrass is bittersweet -- for others, it is completely unimaginable. But as they find the strength to stay and fight, they realize that their bond as a family is all they need to stay together.
Spirit Horses
Alan S. Evans - 2009
When a mysterious mustang shows up on his farm, Shane doesn't know how--or why--the horse appeared, but the horse's distinctive brand identifies her. She is one of the Spirit Horses, a rare, wild herd that runs free on the Shoshone reservation in Wyoming. Watched over for centuries in the tribe's ancestral valleys, these exquisite horses, according to belief, provide a link to the afterlife. When tragedy strikes in his life, Shane nearly loses his will to live--but for one promise he made to his young son: to return the mustang to her rightful home. On this bittersweet journey, Shane finds a world where tradition reigns, and ancient beliefs transcend modern logic. In this magnificent expanse of blue sky and wide open spaces, love is alive, but hate, intolerance, and greed threaten to close in. To make good on his vow, Shane must face the danger that threatens these horses, the tribe's legacy, and his destiny.
The Sisters O'Donnell
Lyn Andrews - 1990
New lives. New troubles. Throughout County Tipperary the three sisters were known as the Sisters O'Donnell. They all have red hair, but little else in common. Together they move to Liverpool in the 1920s to make a new life for themselves - although each sister intends to go about it in her own sweet way. Gina wants to be a star of the theatre, Mary-Kate wants to find a husband, and Bridget, shy, gentle Bridget, just wants to escape the Troubles.But when they get to Liverpool they realise that fame and fortune are thin on the ground as, indeed, is work. And their money is running out fast... The sisters have a long way to go before they fulfil their dreams - will the bonds of sisterhood be enough to hold them together?
First Dog on Earth
Irv Weinberg - 2020
Together with the animal’s pack, they discover a new way of life—a shared odyssey of survival and trust that grows into the most successful partnership the Earth has ever known, changing dogs and humans forever.The pack led by Oohma encounters the first humans they have ever seen—Ish the old hunter, Lut the gifted young medicine woman and Hun the brutal tribe leader whose jealousy forces him out of the tribe. This is the poetic story of how civilization progresses all because of the abilities the dogs bring the tribe. Set against the ancient Chauvet Cave in France with its remarkable cave art and the footprints of a small boy and his dog as they walk together side by side as companions not prey.How does the greatest love story in history begin? With a leap into the unknown, as told in First Dog on Earth.