The father, hardworking but beaten down, is employed as a plumber and repairman, while the mother, a loving, strong-willed, and unpredictably emotional matriarch, holds the house together. When ten-year-old Gavin contracts meningitis at school, he falls into a deep, nearly fatal coma. He wakes up a week later to learn that his little sister Ruby was infected, too. She did not survive.Routine takes over for the grieving family: the siblings care for each other as they befriend a neighboring family and explore the woods; distance grows between the parents as they deal with their loss separately. But things spiral when the father, increasingly guilt ridden after Ruby’s death, is sued for not properly installing a septic tank, which results in grave harm to a little boy. In the ensuing chaos, what really happened to Ruby finally emerges.With flowing prose that evokes the terrifying beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, Lin explores the fallout after the loss of a child and the way in which a family is forced to grieve in a place that doesn’t yet feel like home. Emotionally raw and subtly suspenseful, The Unpassing is a deeply felt family saga that dismisses the American dream for a harsher, but ultimately more profound, reality.

    As the country battled through a hundred years of wars, revolutions and seismic transformations, the three Soong sisters from Shanghai were at the center of power, and each of them left an indelible mark on history.Red Sister, Ching-ling, married the 'Father of China', Sun Yat-sen, and rose to be Mao's vice-chair.Little Sister, May-ling, became Madame Chiang Kai-shek, first lady of pre-Communist Nationalist China and a major political figure in her own right.Big Sister, Ei-ling, became Chiang's unofficial main adviser - and made herself one of China's richest women.All three sisters enjoyed tremendous privilege and glory, but also endured constant mortal danger. They showed great courage and experienced passionate love, as well as despair and heartbreak. They remained close emotionally, even when they embraced opposing political camps and Ching-ling dedicated herself to destroying her two sisters' worlds.Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister is a gripping story of love, war, intrigue, bravery, glamour and betrayal, which takes us on a sweeping journey from Canton to Hawaii to New York, from exiles' quarters in Japan and Berlin to secret meeting rooms in Moscow, and from the compounds of the Communist elite in Beijing to the corridors of power in democratic Taiwan. In a group biography that is by turns intimate and epic, Jung Chang reveals the lives of three extraordinary women who helped shape twentieth-century China.

    This in-depth exploration of Eloise Montgomery is a perfect way for newcomers to be introduced to The Hollows, and experience the sense of place Unger is building that "rivals Stephen King's Castle Rock for continuity and creepiness." (The News & Observer - Raleigh) It is also a treasure trove of insight and greater understanding of connections for those already drawn deep into The Hollows. Includes an author introduction to The Hollows, and an excerpt from the new bestseller Ink and Bone--a chilling coming of age story for Finley Montgomery and The Hollows, voted a Best Book finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards. Part One: The WhispersOn an ordinary day in The Hollows, a terrible accident claims the lives of Eloise Montgomery's husband and oldest daughter and leaves Eloise in a coma. While recovering, she experiences her first psychic vision. Struggling to understand her frightening new abilities, Eloise is torn between helping her grief-stricken younger daughter move on and the work she feels compelled to do now--heed the tortured whispers of lost women and girls calling for her.Part Two: The Burning GirlTen years on, Eloise is a renowned working psychic who has resigned herself to her role in The Hollows and to "The Work." She's discovering some disturbing things--secrets about her genealogy and the dark history of The Hollows, and that her granddaughter, nine-year-old Finley, has her own powerful gifts. Most disturbing of all, Eloise realizes that not all of the whispering voices are calling for help. Some of them are looking for trouble.Part Three: The Three SistersWhen Finley, now nineteen, comes to live with Eloise, Eloise's abilities transform. Her load is somehow lighter, and rather than chasing down people she needs, they are coming to her. She teams up with a detective to help a desperate father bring his daughter's killer to justice. Meanwhile, Finley has bigger problems than she's willing to admit. Can Eloise help her see the difference between justice and revenge--and the dark truth that nothing stays buried in The Hollows?

    A cycle of thirteen tenderly evocative stories written while Mu Xin was living in exile, this collection is reminiscent of the structural beauty of Hemingway’s In Our Time and the imagistic power of Kawabata’s palm-of-the-hand stories. From the ordinary (a bus accident) to the unusual (Buddhist halos) to the wise (Goethe, Lao Zi), Mu Xin’s wandering “I” interweaves plots with philosophical grace and spiritual profundity. A small blue bowl becomes a symbol of vanishing childhood; a painter in a race against fading memory scribblesnotes in an underground prison during the Cultural Revolution; an abandoned temple room holds a dark mystery. An Empty Room is a soul-stirring page turner, a Sebaldian reverie of passing time, loss, and humanity regained.

    It springs spontaneously from the lofty hearts and makes its own way to unite with its generous reciprocators. At times, it becomes dry and seeks the abundance of a big-hearted lover. In other scenarios, the river gets frozen and looks for the warmth of a passionate soul. And in some cases, it may just be ready and waiting to leap forth from its humble abode. All it takes is just a little stroke of fate for that river to unleash itself and flow in its full glory.'Unleash That River' is an anthology of six short stories of love and contemporary romance.1) Keys: When Dhyey returns home to meet his mother after several months, he discovers that she has started sharing the house with a beautiful tenant, Nishita who not only holds the key to his house, but to his locked heart as well.2) Dot Every 'i' And Cross Every 't':Varun and Puja met for the first time through an arranged marriage proposal. However, in order to make sure that they are the ones who can really complement each other for the rest of their lives, they must take a step out of their comfort zones, and do something unprecedented and outright crazy.3) Why Not:Neel and Rashi both have miserably failed at their first romantic endeavor. Will they keep cursing their rotten luck and ask why? Or will they reclaim the charge of their lives to embrace the second chance and say why not?4) Immeasurable Nouns:Aditi and Kartik are the academic stars of their class and each other’s arch rivals. Aditi hates boys. But Kartik secretly loves her. To win her heart, he must wait for the right moment and make every move cautiously. One day, during an English class, that moment presents itself in its full bloom.5) Madly In Marriage:Swayam and Soniya have not left any stone unturned to avoid marrying each other. But their families see this union as a match made in heaven and are hellbent to see it through. 6) Hearts And Ice-creams:Tushar is obsessed with finding his childhood crush who disappeared out of his life without a clue. Fifteen years later, will he be able to move on or destiny has yet to play its last trick?

    Mao's revolution is sweeping across the country, leaving many competing to show their loyalty with actions that will leave scars for decades. Even more traumatic than the destruction of art, books, and historic architecture, families are torn apart as they struggle to find a way to survive the upheaval.Ling, a sheltered and devoted daughter, is forced to join the feared Red Guards, a strategy concocted by her mother to ensure her protection. But for this scheme to work, Ling must hold her secrets close and trust no one. Her journey has only just begun when she is faced with a moment of truth that will impact the future she has unwillingly chosen on the Train to Nowhere.

    These flawlessly crafted stories—unflinching in their honesty, yet balanced with humor and compassion—take us into the small towns and dirt roads that are home to the people who make China run. In the title story, a shopkeeper confronts a child thief and punishes him without mercy. “Victory” shows a young couple shaken by the husband’s infidelity, scrambling to stake claims to the components of their shared life. “Sweltering Summer” centers on an awkward young man who shrewdly uses the perks of his government position to court two women at once. Other tales show, by turns, two poor factory workers who spoil their only son, a gang of peasants who bully the village orphan, and a spectacular fistfight outside a refinery bathhouse. With sharp language and a keen eye, Yu Hua explores the line between cruelty and warmth on which modern China is—precariously, joyfully—balanced. Taken together, these stories form a timely snapshot of a nation lit with the deep feeling and ready humor that characterize its people. Already a sensation in Asia, certain to win recognition around the world, Yu Hua, in Boy in the Twilight, showcases the peerless gifts of a writer at the top of his form.

    Shanghai has historically been China's jewel, its richest, most modern and westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao's proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, members of the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have revealed their stories to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. From these moving accounts, Zia weaves together the stories of four young Shanghai residents who wrestled with the decision to abandon everything for an uncertain life as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States.Benny, who as a teenager became the unwilling heir to his father's dark wartime legacy, must decide either to escape to Hong Kong or navigate the intricacies of a newly Communist China. The resolute Annuo, forced to flee her home with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an unwelcome exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation from the U.S. in order to continue his studies while his family struggles at home. And Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new life among strangers in America. The lives of these men and women are marvelously portrayed, revealing the dignity and triumph of personal survival.

     Daisy McDare is busy nursing a broken heart, trying to build up her interior decorator business, and baking cookies when murder strikes Cozy Creek. At first she leaves the investigation to Chris Crumple, the local bumbling police detective. But when Crumple arrests the wrong suspect, Daisy takes the investigation into her own hands. Cracking the case won't be easy. She'll need help from her pastry-baking best friend Samantha, her wise-cracking Granny Annie, and her trusty West Highland Terrier Shamus.

    Against the relentless onslaught of Russian and Czechoslovakian divisions pouring into West Germany, Captain Kurt Mohr and his tank crews wage a desperate battle to delay the enemy advance. As a brand new company commander, he must also prove his metal to the men who serve under him. Amid the breakneck speed of mechanized warfare, Mohr battles his own self-doubt and fear in order to quickly adapt to the fast-paced battlefield environment. Fighting in Lower Bavaria also poses unique challenges to his command abilities as the close-in nature of the terrain forces him to deal with threats at point blank range. As the war's first day progresses, the brutal reality of war hits home. With the future of their nation at stake, Mohr and his men become the storm and steel that avenge the countrymen whose lives they are sworn to protect.

    Little is known of her during her 30 plus years as a slave in Tennessee, or her life shortly thereafter. Her arrival and subsequent life in Cascade, Montana would make her a legend. Enjoy this great, inspiring and very humorous story of one amazing woman!

    Her latest book, the fifth in the series, is a collection of short stories based on her newspaper articles, magazine columns and other writings about France. France in Four Seasons is a series of short (and sweet) anecdotes, designed to give a delightful and evocative insight into French life as the seasons unfold.

    Amrutananda and Kapiladeva were cunning and extremely sly landlords in two neighbouring villages. They would cheat and ill-treat their labourers, but make a lot of money. However, someone had to teach them a lesson and that’s how Manikya arrived on their doorstep, offering to work for them for free, all set to teach them two very important lessons. Another clever story from the master of funny stories, Two Unforgettable Lessons will amuse you, entertain you and leave you rooting for Manikya and his brains long after you’ve finished the story.

    She was called Hu Gu Po, and she hungered to eat children, especially their toes. Soon afterwards, Daughter awakes with a tiger tail. And more mysterious events follow: Holes in the backyard spit up letters penned by her grandmother; a visiting aunt arrives with snakes in her belly; a brother tests the possibility of flight. All the while, Daughter is falling for Ben, a neighborhood girl with strange powers of her own. As the two young lovers translate the grandmother’s letters, Daughter begins to understand that each woman in her family embodies a myth–and that she will have to bring her family’s secrets to light in order to change their destiny.With a poetic voice of crackling electricity, K-Ming Chang is an explosive young writer who combines the wit and fabulism of Helen Oyeyemi with the subversive storytelling of Maxine Hong Kingston. Tracing one family’s history from Taiwan to America, from Arkansas to California, Bestiary is a novel of migration, queer lineages, and girlhood.

    Journey through China in this fascinating and absorbing book: discover the land of dragons and emperors, and learn about the significance of its ancient dynasties. Countless tools and materials that people have used every day for centuries--paper, gunpowder, cast iron, matches, and silk, to name just a few--were first made in China. Chinese society has progressed through major changes, but lucky numbers, festivals, beliefs about colors, the practic of footbinding, the building of the Great Wall, and the larger-than-life people of China are all integral parts of this ancient civilization and still have an impact on life today. Bestselling author Adeline Yen Mah explores an extraordinary view of the great story of China over the last two millennia in this nonfiction work, which also includes black-and-white photographs.