Unscripted Joss Byrd


Lygia Day Peñaflor - 2016
    Joss Byrd is "fiercely emotional," a young actress with "complete conviction," and a "powerhouse." Joss Byrd is America's most celebrated young actress, but on the set of her latest project, a gritty indie film called The Locals, Joss's life is far from glamorous. While struggling with her mother's expectations, a crush on her movie brother, and a secret that could end her career, Joss must pull off a performance worthy of a star. When her renowned, charismatic director demands more than she is ready to deliver, Joss must go off-script to stay true to herself.

A Sky for Us Alone


Kristin Russell - 2019
    But when eighteen-year-old Harlowe’s older brother is killed by the Praters, the family who runs everything—from the mines to the law—in his rural Appalachian town, he learns that loss is the one thing that’s never in short supply.Then Harlowe meets Tennessee on her first day in town, and for the first time he feels that something good might happen, that he might’ve found the rarest thing of all: hope. Even as she struggles to protect her younger brother from their father’s abuse, Tennessee makes Harlowe believe that they can dare to forge their own path—if they only give it a shot.But with his mother sliding back into her pill addiction, Harlowe’s reality only feels more fixed. And as he searches to uncover the reasons behind his brother’s death, he discovers truths about the people he loves—and himself—that are more difficult to confront than he ever expected. Now, Harlowe realizes, there’s no turning back.A striking and complex portrait of poverty and addiction, Kristin Russell’s powerful debut novel asks a universal question: when hope seems lost, is love worth the risk?

Favorite Poems


Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1871
    It has been said that certain of his poems — the long narratives Evangeline and The Song of Hiawatha most notably — were once read in every literate home in America. A former teacher who fulfilled his dream to make a living as a poet, Longfellow taught at Bowdoin and Harvard, was eventually honored for his poetry with degrees from Oxford and Cambridge, and is one of the few Americans to have a monument dedicated to his memory in Westminster Abbey. This choice collection of his works, which reflects his mastery of a rich variety of poetic forms and meters, includes one of his best narrative poems, The Courtship of Miles Standish. Here, too, are such famous poems as "The Village Blacksmith," "The Wreck of the Hesperus," "The Children's Hour," "Paul Revere's Ride," and other poems on subjects ranging from lost youth and Giotto's Tower to slavery and the building of a ship. Includes a selection from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "Paul Revere's Ride."

Everything is Illuminated & Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close


Jonathan Safran Foer - 2010
    An arresting blend of high comedy and great tragedy, it is about searching for people and places that no longer exist, for the hidden truths that haunt every family, and for the delicate but necessary tales that link past and future.In Foer's exhilarating second novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, nine-year-old Oskar Schell sets out to find the lock that matches a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11. With humor and tenderness, Foer confronts the traumas of our recent history through Oskar's affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey. This beautiful '2 Works' edition brings together, for the first time, two works from one of this generation's most original writers.

The Beloved Wild


Melissa Ostrom - 2018
    Her neighbor is Daniel Long, who runs his family's farm on his own after the death of his parents. Harriet's mother sees Daniel as a good match, but Harriet isn't so sure she wants someone else to choose her path—in love and in life.When her brother decides to strike out for the Genesee Valley in Western New York, Harriet decides to go with him—disguised as a boy. Their journey includes sickness, uninvited guests, and difficult emotional terrain as Harriet comes of age, realizes what she wants, and accepts who she's loved all along.

Invisible I


Amanda Valentino - 2009
     When enigmatic freshman Amanda Valentino arrived at Endeavor High, she chose three people— Callie, Hal, and Nia; to guide her through the choppy waters of her new school. Except she didn't tell them about each other. When Amanda leaves, the three must reluctantly work together to figure out why. But once they start piecing together the cryptic clues that Amanda herself is leaving for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew about her is false. The more they dig, the mystery of where; and who Amanda is deepens.

All We Know of Heaven


Jacquelyn Mitchard - 2008
    Then a brief moment of inattention on an icy road leaves one girl dead and the other in a coma, battered beyond recognition. Family and friends mourn one friend's loss and pray for the other's recovery. Then the doctors discover they have made a terrible mistake. The girl who lived is the one who everyone thought had died.Based on a true case of mistaken identity, All We Know of Heaven is a universal story that no one can read unmoved: a drama of ordinary people caught up in an unimaginable tragedy and of the healing power of hope and love.

The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan


Beatrix Potter - 1905
    The aim of these editions is to be as close as possible to Beatrix Potter's intentions while benefiting from modern printing and design techniques. The colours and details of the watercolours in the volumes are reproduced more accurately than ever before, and it has now been possible to disguise damage that has affected the artwork over the years. Most notably, The Tale of Peter Rabbit restores six of Potter's original illustrations. Four were sacrificed in 1903 to make space for illustrated endpapers, and two have never been used before. Of course, Beatrix Potter created many memorable children's characters, including Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-duck and Jeremy Fisher. But whatever the tale, both children and adults alike can be delighted by the artistry in Potter's illustrations, while they also enjoy a very good read. Because they have always been completely true to a child's experience, Potter's 23 books continue to endure.

Benjamin Ashwood


A.C. Cobble - 2016
    This classic swords and sorcery tale is inspired by Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time and Tolkien's The Hobbit. If you liked them, you will love Benjamin Ashwood.Life is simple in Ben’s small town until an attack brings the arrival of exciting strangers straight out of a story. Before Ben understands what is happening, he embarks on a dangerous journey to help his friends. A mage, demons, thieves and assassins are just a few of the perils he will face while trying to make it to safety. But things aren’t always what they seem and safety is a fragile concept when the destructive behaviors of the powerful are exercised unchecked. In Ben's world - like our own - political, economic and military might create a system to keep the elite in power at the expense of the common man. As the series unfolds and Ben's knowledge and skill grows, he will have to decide if he wants to live within the system, flee from it or break it.

Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances


Leland Melvin - 2017
    Though his path to the heavens was riddled with setbacks and injury, Leland persevered to reach the stars.While training with NASA, Melvin suffered a severe injury that left him deaf. Leland was relegated to earthbound assignments, but chose to remain and support his astronaut family. His loyalty paid off. Recovering partial hearing, he earned his eligibility for space travel. He served as mission specialist for two flights aboard the shuttle Atlantis, working on the International Space Station.In this uplifting memoir, the former NASA astronaut and professional athlete offers an examination of the intersecting role of community, determination, and grace that align to shape our opportunities and outcomes. Chasing Space is not the story of one man, but the story of many men, women, scientists, and mentors who helped him defy the odds and live out an uncommon destiny.As a chemist, athlete, engineer and space traveler, Leland’s life story is a study in the science of achievement. His personal insights illuminate how grit and grace, are the keys to overcoming adversity and rising to success.

Yellow Line


Sylvia Olsen - 2005
    White kids on one side, Indiands, or First Nations, on the other. Sides of the room, sides of the field, the smoking pit, the hallway, the washrooms; you name it. We're on one side and they're on the other. They live on one side of the Forks River bridge, and we live on the other side. They hang out in their village, and we hang out in ours.

My Little Girl


Tim McGraw - 2008
    From dancing by a duck pond to swinging on a tire swing, lots of laughs and love are shared in time spent together. The day ends with a sweet "Goodnight, I love you" from Dad. And a whisper, "I love you more" from his little girl.This book is a delightful reminder that spending time together really matters. Simple moments, laughter and knowing you are loved builds lasting relationships.

Henry VIII: Royal Beheader


Sean Stewart Price - 2008
    Explore the dramatic monarchy of King Henry VIII, and the many unfortunate souls who lost their heads at his command.The wicked ways of some of the most ruthless rulers to walk the earth are revealed in these thrilling biographies (A Wicked History) about men and women so monstrous, they make Frankenstein look like a sweetheart.

The Wizard Lord


Lawrence Watt-Evans - 2006
    He must govern lightly to protect his domain from power-hungry interlopers, such as certain wizards who previously fought to rule the world…But if the Wizard Lord himself strays from the way of the just, then it is up to the Chosen to intercede.The Chosen ones are the Leader, the Seer, the Swordsman, the Beauty, the Thief, the Scholar, the Archer, and the Speaker. Each are magically-infused mortal individuals who, for the term of their service, have only one function--to be available to remove an errant Wizard Lord, whether by persuasion or by stronger means. Breaker, a young man of ambition, has taken the mantle of Swordsman from its former bearer who wished to retire. Never did he realize that he would be called to duty so quickly, or that the balance of power in his world would be so precarious.He had a duty to perform.  A world to save.So why does he still have doubts…not just about himself, but about the entire balance of power?

Christmas Is Together-Time


Charles M. Schulz - 1964
    Explains the many things that Christmas is, such as vacation from school, catching snowflakes, and a time for miracles.