Book picks similar to
Whistle for the Crossing by Marguerite de Angeli


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Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Omnibus 4 - 6


Michelle Paver - 2011
    'Oath Breaker' sees Torak becoming the hunter as he swears to avenge the killing of one of his closest friends. And in 'Ghost Hunter', Torak must defy demons and tokoroths, and make the most heart-rending choice of all.

Goodbye to Ribbons


W.S. Ishida - 2020
     Shy country girl, Rosie, only wants one thing ~ which is to be exactly like her well-loved mother. That is until the truth begins to emerge and her dream threatens to become her inescapable destiny. Upon discovering a family secret, Rosie finds herself drawn into a world of deceit and betrayal, and soon faces the decisions of how many morals she is willing to sacrifice, how much cruelty she is willing to tolerate, and how many lies she is willing to tell to prevent her family from being torn apart. Reaching her lowest ebb, whilst training at the local hospital, the confident and brash Teddy Miller falls off the back of a motorbike and into her life. Teddy proves to be the only person who is willing to stand up for Rosie, but being a slave to his emotions it seems he loves her too much to be the saviour she so desperately craves. Rosie's struggles continue as she lives a paradoxical double-life. Domestically she’s a timid mouse under the constant shadow of her tormentors. Yet, in her work life, she excels in whatever she sets her mind to, from a hardworking trainee nurse to a machine operative in a male-only working environment, where she not only defies the gender conventions of the times but turns them on their head. However, as her domestic struggles weigh heavy upon her, they begin to seep into her professional life and threaten to undo everything she was worked so hard to achieve. As she loses her delicate grip on her true identity, she begins to slide down the slope of despair. And so begins a seemingly endless journey to set herself free

Okefenokee Rifles


R.O. Lane - 2021
    

Rawlins, No Longer Young


Rick DeStefanis - 2018
    Virgil Rawlins is left without family or friends as he is swept into the maelstrom that encompasses the last years of the American Civil War. Lost in a world of brutality and inhumanity, the teenaged Rawlins matures—as did many of the Wild West’s first outlaws—with revenge and hatred as his only motivations. He heads westward before the war’s end, making his way to the town of Independence and the Oregon Trail, but along the way he meets the remarkably beautiful Sarah McCaskey and learns that the rights and wrongs in his life cannot be defined simply as blue and gray.When Sarah tells Rawlins of her loss to Confederate guerrilla Bloody Bill Anderson, Rawlins begins to question his own assumptions. Joining a wagon train as a hunter/scout, he heads westward into the raging Indian War of 1865. Along the way he earns a reputation as a well-respected fighter, and he must finally decide what kind of man he will be—outlaw, lawman, or perhaps, neither.Rawlins, No Longer Young is guaranteed to stir debate and enlighten readers with the experiences of these turbulent years as seen through the eyes of a young Confederate soldier.

White Jade Tiger


Julie Lawson - 1993
    Egoff Children’s Literature Prize — Winner1994 Candian Library Association Book of the Year Award — Runner-up1995 Silver Birch Award — ShortlistedCCBC’s Best Books for Kids Teens (Spring 2017) SelectionJasmine is not sure she likes the idea of being stuck in Victoria while her father goes to China. But on a field trip to Chinatown, she changes her mind. Passing through a doorway in Fan Tan Alley, she mysteriously finds herself in the early 1880s. Adventure begins with a new friend, a journey to the Fraser Canyon during the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and a search for an ancient amulet. But Jasmine is not the only one searching for the white jade tiger…

Trapped in Ice


Eric Walters - 1997
    But with the recent death of her father, it is the only work her seamstress mother can find. Helen's nine year-old brother, Michael, is delighted to be off on a real adventure but neither he nor Helen could have realized just how extraordinary this trip would be. The ship's hard-bitten captain, Robert Bartlett, must use all his seafaring skill when the ship becomes trapped in ice. In the pages of her diary, Helen records the fate of the crew and her family as they leave the ship and try to make their way across shifting ice flows, through blinding blizzards and past polar bears to safety.

Where the Secret Lies


Malika Gandhi - 2013
    A sealed door. A spirit.And a secret.A secret only the spirit knows - and only nineteen-year-old Arianna can set free. Arianna and her family travel to India from London, for a splendid wedding. Excitement soon turns secondary when strange happenings transpire within the Haveli walls. Hitherto, a sealed door opens and Arianna is given Anjali’s diary.And so begins a paranormal experience that leaves her stunned. Arianna wants answers. Who is Anjali? Why did the door unseal for her? Is there something the spirit wants to show her?What?

The Girl Who Swam to Atlantis


Elle Thornton - 2012
    On the North Carolina military base where she lives, she meets the Marine Hawkins by the river’s brown-green water. When her father, the general, treats her as if she doesn’t exist, Gabriella’s determined to show him she’s good at something: she’ll learn to swim.At the river, Gabriella discovers Hawkins is far more than a worker in the kitchen of her father’s quarters. He becomes her swim coach and a person she can talk with—even about the tragedy of the youth Emmett Till. The fourteen-year-old was lynched two years earlier, his body thrown into Mississippi’s Tallahatchie river. But this river, her river, isn’t a place of death. Emmett’s spirit is alive in its waters. It’s a place of magic.At the river Hawkins helps her find her strength. Emmett helps her find her heart.Emmett had been murdered for whistling at a white woman. Could her friendship with Hawkins endanger the tough Marine? It doesn’t seem possible. Until a sudden storm on the river changes Gabriella’s life—forever.

Texas Tomboy


Lois Lenski - 1950
    She doesn't understand why her mother keeps after her to help out in the house, too. But ranch life is hard, especially when there's a drought. There isn't enough water for the crops or cattle, and horrible dust storms sweep away the soil. If it doesn't rain soon, her family could lose everything. Charlie must learn that on a ranch, everyone's job is important if they are to survive-and that a good cowboy always obeys orders.This classic story depicts Texas ranch life during the droughts of the early twentieth century, as one girl tries to find her place in the world." Charlotte's] love of horses and the ranch, her escapades and her problems make good reading for the horse-loving girls of the present." -The Horn Book MagazineBorn in Springfield, Ohio, in 1893, Lois Lenski achieved acclaim as both an author and illustrator of children's literature. For her Regional America series, Lenski traveled to each of the places that became a subject of one of her books. She did meticulous research and spoke with children and adults in the various regions to create stories depicting the lives of the inhabitants of those areas. Her novel of Florida farm life, Strawberry Girl, won the Newbery Award in 1946. She also received a Newbery Honor in 1942 for Indian Captive, a fictionalized account of the life of Mary Jemison. Lenski died in 1974.

Miss Prim


Jane Myers Perrine - 2005
    Because of her age, refined nature, and strict moral code she is considered to be "Miss Prim."Louisa's guarded existence is disrupted when she accepts an invitation from her sister. She believes that she is simply helping her sister and brother-in-law by watching the children during their travels. However, upon her arrival she meets William, Viscount Woodstone, and an adventure beyond her wildest imagination begins. Starting with the questionable heritage of a baby in her care, she decides to join Woodstone's secret quest to outwit French spies and thwart their evil plan.Despite all Louisa's beliefs, this refined gentlewoman careens around the back roads of England in an ancient cart, poses as a countrywoman, and even saves Woodstone's life.Once the adventure ends, Louisa is concerned that her "Miss Prim" image is shattered, and hopes that Woodstone feels the same emotions for her that she has developed for him.

The Schoolmaster's Daughter


Jackie French - 2020
    But local fortunes are built on slavery and the whip.As the new Federal Parliament passes the law that will force Pacific Islanders from their homes, Hannah and her mother risk everything to run a secret school, while Hannah and Jamie must fight for their rights to education and equality. Can friendship and love win against prejudice and power?Inspired by real events, this powerful new novel brings to life the bravery and battles of the past, and gives us courage for the challenges of today.Praise for Pirate Boy of Sydney Town'... filled with swashbuckling action, tension and twists and turns ...'Kids Book Review

Icarus


Adam Wing - 2017
    Follow the tale of Icarus. And that of the father who tried to save him ... but brought his life to an end.You will come to love him. Then you will watch him fall. Live the tragic story as you never imagined possible.

Her Family Secret


Melissa Wiesner - 2021
    Now the truth about why Jasper abandoned her as a child will be buried forever. Escaping to the secluded beach house she’s inherited, June hopes to spend time bonding with her two little daughters, away from her hectic job and failing marriage.On the wild shores of the Pacific Northwest, her father’s hideaway leaves June breathless. But it’s his oil paintings decorating every wall that surprise her most. How could someone paint other people so beautifully, but reject those closest to him? And why is every drawer in her father’s workshop locked? June hopes her new neighbor—her father’s apprentice Caleb—will provide the answers. But Caleb won’t talk about the past.Then, hidden in her father’s workshop, June discovers a box of newspaper clippings that reveal the shocking reason why her father left years ago—and uncovers Caleb’s own devastating secret…When her old life comes calling, June has an impossible decision to make. Unsure what’s best for her girls, and if she can trust Caleb, will digging deeper into her father’s dark past heal or destroy her precious family?An absolutely heartbreaking and emotional page-turner about the incredible strength of family bonds, how we can hurt those closest to us, and the healing power of love. Fans of Diane Chamberlain, Kerry Lonsdale and Kerry Fisher will devour this powerful read from award-winning author Melissa Wiesner.

The Girls of Gettysburg


Bobbi Miller - 2014
    Lee on the last day of Gettysburg, serves as the powerful climax of this Civil War novel, told from the unique perspectives of three girls.Thirteen-year-old Annie Gordon, disguised as a boy, sells herself as a substitute soldier and joins the Portsmouth Rifles of the Ninth Virginia Army as they march north to Gettysburg. In Gettysburg lives fourteen-year-old Tillie Pierce, the frivolous daughter of a local merchant whose romanticized notion of war is quickly disabused once the fighting begins. Also in Gettysburg are Grace Bryan and her father, who refuse to flee with the other free blacks who fear that the rebels will arrest them as fugitive slaves.The powerful, gripping novel follows the fates of these girls, fates that reflect the tragedies and triumphs, the humanity, heartache, and heroism of this most dreadful Civil War battle.

The Whitechapel Girl


Gilda O'Neill - 1994
    As her mother sinks deeper into alcoholism, the violent lodger with whom they share their one-room slum has been turning his attentions to Ettie, and she can’t stand it any longer. So when debonair Professor Jacob Protsky picks Ettie out of the crowd at a penny gaff, she is determined to seize her chance. Despite the warnings of her friends, Ettie goes to live with Protsky in Bow, assisting him with his skilful brand of spiritual clairvoyance. But when Ettie befriends Celia Tressing, she soon finds herself increasingly worried by events down the road in Whitechapel. A series of gruesome murders and whispers of a man called ‘Jack the Ripper’ have shaken even that resilient community, and outsiders like Protsky are prime suspects… An East End drama perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Sheila Newberry.