Hatch


James Stevens - 2013
    It should have been easy, but it wasn't. When the sun rose after the hatch, he had made an enemy of the most powerful man in the kingdom, and he would soon learn that was the least of his problems!

What the Dog Said


Randi Reisfeld - 2012
    She's pulled away from her friends, her grades are plummeting . . . it's a problem. The last thing Grace wants is to be dragged into her older sister Regan's plan to train a shelter dog as a service dog. But Grace has no idea how involved she'll get-especially when a mangy mutt named Rex starts talking to her. Has Grace gone off the deep end? Or might this dog be something really special-an angel? A spirit? Either way, he is exactly the therapy that Grace needs.

The Brontë Collection


Charlotte Brontë - 2010
    Collected in this book are the selected works of Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë (along with their father, Patrick Brontë).

The Thirteen Colonies


Louis B. Wright - 2014
    The representatives of the thirteen colonies who approved the Declaration of Independence in 1776 charted a collision course, aware of the obstacles in their path and the risks they were taking. The events that led to their decision took place over a period of nearly 300 years. Looking back, the wonder is that it culminated so quickly. For a century after its discovery, the New World was little more than a lode to be mined by adventurers seeking profits. It wasn't until the end of the sixteenth century that serious efforts were made to establish permanent colonies. Even then, the perils of the journey and threats of starvation inhibited settlement. But settlers gradually came, spurred, in part, by the fear of religious persecution, but above all, drawn by the hope of owning land. They were a mixed lot: English Separatists from Leiden, French Huguenots, Dutch burghers, Mennonite peasants from the Rhine Valley, and a few gentleman Anglicans. But they shared a quality of toughness. Here is their story from award-winning historian Louis B. Wright.

William S. and the Great Escape


Zilpha Keatley Snyder - 2009
    William has his running-away money ready to go, he's just been waiting until he's older than twelve to leave. When his big brothers flush his sister's pet guinea pig down the toilet, she insists they leave now. And take the two littlest Baggetts with them. So they head out in the middle of the night, ready to escape to their aunt Fiona's house. Unfortunately the trip doesn't go exactly as planned. It's not so easy traveling with two little kids, and some help from a lonely rich girl makes it even more complicated. Will they ever make it to Aunt Fiona's? And if they do, will she let them stay? This is the story of four children who learn that sometimes you have to run away before you can find your way home.

Time Meddlers


Deborah Jackson - 2012
    But something has gone horribly wrong . . . .On the first day of school, in a new city, Sarah Sachs experiences the shock of her life when she sees a car drive right through a strange boy. Did she really see it, or was it a figment of her imagination?The boy? Matt Barnes, son of the world-famous physicist, Dr. Nathan Barnes.The figment? Not so imaginary. A powerful new technology that could be behind Dr. Barnes's disappearance. Sarah becomes swept up in Matt Barnes's life as she helps him search for his father. They uncover an unusual device in a secret laboratory--a device that throws them far from the modern city of Ottawa into the forest-matted land of the 1600's. In this strange New World, they must contend with wild animals and somehow survive a war between the Algonquin and Iroquois nations. But eventually they'll have to make a decision that might change the world as we know it. Should they meddle with time?

Tiggy


Miss Read - 1971
    A stray cat fiercely protective of her kittens, Tiggy was soon befriended by Miss Read - although it took some time before Tiggy allowed her kittens to go anywhere near the house.Written with the charm that made Miss Read a bestseller, this delightful book tells how a small stray cat, struggling to look after her kittens, won a home, a hearth and a name from the author and her husband. Tiggy's resourcefulness, perseverance and indomitable spirit are beautifully observed, and Miss Read's affectionate admiration of the newcomer will touch the hearts of cat lovers everywhere.

Eugénie: The Empress and Her Empire


Desmond Seward - 2004
    Empress of the French, she shared the Second Empire with her husband, Napoleon III, so impressing the Prussian Chancellor Bismarck that he called her 'the only man in Paris'. In the first biography of her for many years, Desmond Seward recreates the nerve-racking politics and glittering social world of her empire, and gives an often startling reassessment of an extraordinary life that began in a tent at Granada during an earthquake.This biography charts the dramatic rise and fall of the Second Empire and of the fascinating woman at its heart. It will be a captivating read for anyone interested in the history of France or in women's history.

Four Rabbi Small Mysteries: Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry, Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home, and Monday the Rabbi Took Off


Harry Kemelman - 1972
      Spend a long weekend with the scholar and spiritual leader who watches over the Jewish community in 1960s Barnard’s Crossing, Massachusetts—and in his spare time, solves crimes.  Friday the Rabbi Slept Late: A young nanny is found dead in the temple parking lot—and her purse is discovered in Rabbi David Small’s car. Now he has to collaborate with the local Irish-Catholic police chief to exonerate himself.  Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry: Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, is defiled when a body is found—and the rabbi must uncover who has something to atone for.  Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home: When Passover is overshadowed by congregational politics and a murder at a local university, the rabbi must study the clues.  Monday the Rabbi Took Off: Rabbi Small journeys to Israel for a bit of peace, but instead has to team up with an Orthodox cop to unravel a bombing case.   Don’t miss these four mystery novels featuring an amateur detective who uses Talmudic logic—an introduction to the multimillion-selling series that provides both “an eye-opening snapshot of a particular time in Jewish-American history” and delightfully entertaining whodunits (Los Angeles Review of Books).

Son of Zeus


Glyn Iliffe - 2018
    His gilded life lies in ruins. Seeking the Oracle he is given a new mission: pay penance by becoming the slave of his sworn enemy.Twelve impossible labours await him. To restore his reputation, he must face monsters and mythical beasts that will test him to his limits and beyond. For he has become a a pawn of Gods: of Zeus's pride and, above all, Hera's jealousy...Can he fight back? Or even survive?The astonishing new series from bestseller Glyn Iliffe takes us on an unforgettable journey of monsters, myth and man.

Sunbaked


Junie Coffey - 2015
    Nina’s new hometown is the charming village of Coconut Cove, with its narrow lanes lined with candy coloured houses and gardens overflowing with tropical flowers. Her back yard is a white sand beach and the mesmerizing turquoise sea. But local big shot Barry Bassett has his eye on Nina’s cozy little beach cottage with the aim of tearing it down to build condos. Then Barry’s obnoxious wife Tiffany goes missing, and Nina finds herself sitting across a desk from the very serious chief of police, Blue Roker, wondering how her day dream of easy living in the islands got so far off track so quickly.Join Nina Spark and her new best friends, the philosophizing mailman Danish Jensen and the ever cheerful Pansy Gallagher, as they careen around Pineapple Cay at the maximum speed of fifteen miles an hour in a golf cart, trying to figure out what the heck is going on.This is a story Jimmy Buffett and Agatha Christie might have come up with if they’d been holed up together for a weekend at some slightly faded beachfront hotel with a pitcher of pina coladas and a box of fireworks.For fans of comedic mysteries, and readers looking for a tropical beach vacation in a book at the tail end of a long, hard winter.

Haunting Danielle #1-4


Bobbi Holmes - 2017
    Since she’s never visited the property, Danielle’s not sure what awaits her in Oregon. She certainly doesn’t expect to find one of the house’s previous owners still in residence. After all, the man has been dead for almost ninety years—shouldn’t he have moved on by now? Bundle of Books 1-4 of the Haunting Danielle Series 1. The Ghost of Marlow House 2. The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds 3. The Ghost Who Wasn't 4. The Ghost Who Wanted Revenge

Dogged Pursuit: My Year of Competing Dusty, the World's Least Likely Agility Dog


Robert Rodi - 2009
    A cousin to the popular best-in-breed show, agility competitions resemble doggie boot camp: dogs scamper across teeter-totters, jump tires, and scoot down tunnels-without leashed guidance from a human. Taking home ribbons requires a focused handler and a cooperative dog. Robert Rodi is a self-proclaimed Blue-stater who prefers fine wine and Italian literature (in "Italian") to SUVs and suburban sprawl. His dog Dusty's scrawny build and skittish personality make him an unnatural competitor. Nevertheless, Rodi recounts a year filled with victories, failures, and hysterical personalities, and the loving bond between one man and his bug-eyed dog.

Dog Days of Voodoo


G.A. Chase - 2017
    Kendell Summer, lead guitarist for Polly Urethane and the Strippers, has always been interested in the unexplained. So when she sets off on a paranormal research romp with Myles, a former classmate, to explore his skills in psychometry, she’s ready for a little adventure. But she gets more than she bargained for when her Lhasa apso, Cheesecake, is dognapped. Kendell will do whatever it takes to get her dog back. While rescuing the pup, Kendell and Myles learn that the touristy glitz of New Orleans’ voodoo shops hides a dark history few understand—a truth that some in the city plan to use for their own gain. Soon they uncover more than they ever wanted to know about New Orleans’ unsavory past and a curse that threatens to change everything. Only Kendell can prevent the evil they’ve uncovered from doing more damage, but she’ll need Myles’s support and psychometric abilities—and the vigilance of the ever-watchful Cheesecake.

The Friar of Carcassonne: Revolt Against the Inquisition in the Last Days of the Cathars


Stephen O'Shea - 2011
    That crusade almost wiped out the Cathars, a group of heretical Christians whose beliefs threatened the authority of the Catholic Church. But decades of harrowing repression-enforced by the ruthless Pope Boniface VIII , the Machiavellian French King Philip the Fair of France, and the pitiless grand inquisitor of Toulouse, Bernard Gui (the villain in The Name of the Rose)-had bred resentment. In the city of Carcassonne, anger at the abuses of the Inquisition reached a boiling point and a great orator and fearless rebel emerged to unite the resistance among Cathar and Catholic alike. The people rose up, led by the charismatic Franciscan friar Bernard Délicieux and for a time reclaimed control of their lives and communities. Having written the acclaimed chronicle of the Cathars The Perfect Heresy , Stephen O'Shea returns to the medieval world to chronicle a rare and remarkable story of personal courage and principle standing up to power, amidst the last vestiges of the endlessly fascinating Cathar world.Praise for The Perfect Heresy :"At once a cautionary tale about the corruption of temporal power...and an accounting of the power of faith ...It is also just a darn good read."-Baltimore Sun "An accessible, readable history with lessons ...that were not learned by broad humanity until it saw 20th-century tyrants applying the goals and methods of the Inquisition on a universal scale."-New York Times