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When It Counts (2016, #2)


Lauren Hopkins - 2016
    Gymnastics is Amalia’s life and she’s sacrificed everything to get this far, but she still has to prove she has what it takes to stand out in Rio. The competition is tough and nothing is guaranteed, not even for her teammates, recently-crowned national champion Ruby Spencer, who missed the 2012 Olympics after rupturing her Achilles a month before the Games, and world champion Emerson Bedford, whose personal drama is threatening her mental game when she needs it most. Picking up where "Finding Our Balance" left off, "When It Counts" follows Amalia, Ruby, and Emerson on the next steps in their journey to Rio.

Secrets for the Mad


Dodie Clark - 2017
    I was convinced that when they'd happen, the world would end.But the world didn't end. In fact, it pushed on and demanded to keep spinning through all sorts of mayhem, and I got through it. And because I persisted, I learned lessons about how to be a stronger, kinder, better human - lessons you can only learn by going through these sorts of things.This is for the people with minds that just don't stop; for those who feel everything seemingly a thousand times more than the people around them.Here are some words I wrote.

Learn To Hate Me


Gracie Strattyn - 2012
    When her mother decides to send her away to her father’s house, she begins to feel herself changing in strange ways. Her family is keeping secrets and Carson, her father's employee, seems to hate her for no apparent reason. Having always been headstrong, Kelsey is determined to find the truth.

Tapas & Tears


Chris Higgins - 2010
    But when she's forced on to the school exchange trip with Concepcion Inmaculada she knows il will be OK. After all, someone named after the Virgin Mary must be kind, sweet and gentle...Right? What happened in Spain, stays in Spain - until it chases you back to England...

Je T'aime A La Folie


Michael Wright - 2009
    Yet he is still alone and - in a moment of rare self-knowledge - decides that the only way to find the girl of his dreams is to stop looking for her. Yet barely a week after coming to this momentous decision, an email from an old school friend re-introduces him to Alice - a paid-up city girl who speaks only three words of French and comes with an expensive shoe habit and a deep-rooted mistrust of the countryside. Even worse, she lives and works on the far side of the Atlantic, in Baltimore, USA.And so begins an unlikely romance, conducted across two continents, as Michael the rustic hermit struggles to unlearn his lessons in living alone and contemplates the alarming prospect of sharing his French life (not to mention his aeroplane) with someone else...

Evie


Joe Sugg - 2015
    When times are tough, all she wants is a chance to escape from reality and be herself.Despite his failing health, Evie's father comes close to creating such a virtual idyll. Passing away before it's finished, he leaves her the key in the form of an app, and Evie finds herself transported to a world where the population is influenced by her personality. Everyone shines in her presence, until her devious cousin, Mallory, discovers the app... and the power to cause trouble in paradise.

Tupelo Honey


Lis Anna-Langston - 2016
    Set in rural Mississippi, with a cast of colorful southerners, it stars one pretty dysfunctional family at the center of which is Tupelo Honey. Author Lis Anna-Langston gets into the head of her title girl completely, taking readers on a ride of a sort of haunted but beautiful mess. To paraphrase Tolstoy, it's the unhappy families that are unique -- and by definition, often more interesting. Tupelo Honey does not have an easy life, on the surface. Her mother is a drug addict, and mental illness lingers in her grandmother Marmalade's house like a hot humid August cloud. Yet Anna-Langston still fills it with gems. It's certainly not a dull life, one full of heartbreaks big and small, but this tough sweet girl pulls it off with aplomb. It's a treat from start to end. Langston has written rich, vivid characters, and painted a vibrant mosaic of a year in one young southern girl's life. It's a hard book to put down, and one you won't want to end. I envy its future readers. ~Teresa DiFalco (c)2016 Parents' Choice When you read more than a hundred books per year, it's exciting to find one that surprises you. "Tupelo Honey" by Lis Anna Langston is one of those, sneaking up quietly to bust expectations and leaves you thinking about the story long after closing the book.~ Chanticleer Book Reviews

To Kill A Mockingbird


Harper Lee - 1960
    Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much. To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition.

Time (Mirror Book 2)


Janessa Burt - 2015
     One – I would’ve tried shielding Miles from the ugliness of the mirror. Two – I would’ve listened to the warnings that despite the evil I’ve already met, worse was coming. Three – I would’ve recognized that while I was trying to keep everyone in the light, darkness crept into the hidden corners of myself I never knew existed. Four – I wouldn’t have so willingly trusted others just because they are family. Five – Most importantly, I would have shielded my heart before it turned black.

The Choice


Kerry Barnes - 2019
    The wrong choice may just get you killed… Another gripping, gritty crime thriller from Kerry Barnes that will have you hooked. Readers LOVE Kerry Barnes: ‘Absolutely fantastic, I can’t wait for the next one’‘Kerry is one of my favourite authors if you have not read any of her books then give them a go.’‘MUST READ!!! 10 STAR!!!!’

Driven


James Martin - 2008
    In this entertaining narrative he revealshow his two passions – cooking and cars – have fuelled his hopes, dreams and successes and made him the household name he is today.James talks with passion, energy and candid humour about his childhood, early ambitions, becoming a successful chef and wowing audiences with his foxtrot on Strictly Come Dancing. His story is punctuated with tales of remarkable cars, from his first toy Ferrari to his vintage Maserati, each one representing a personal milestone and bringing with it charming stories and amusing anecdotes. James' cars give him the perfect excuse to delve into his life, revealing frank and fascinating details - from racing through the fields on his father's tractor and teenage fumblings in the back seat, to hurtling round a track with James Bond actor, Daniel Craig.With James' career reaching new heights, and his collection of classic cars continuing to grow, Driven tells how his two lifelong obsessions have shaped the life of this relentlessly ambitious man.

Babble


Charles Saatchi - 2013
    From 'The hideousness of the art world', 'Being thick is no obstacle to being a successful artist' and 'Painting is a blind man's obsession'; to 'Socialising for party duds', 'Love may be blind, but marriage is an eye-opener' and 'If it can't be explained by science, try a seance'.

Tamora Pierce: "The Immortals"


John Lennard - 2007
    

Are We There Yet?


David Levithan - 2005
    So what better way to repair their broken relationship than to trick them into taking a trip to Italy together? Soon, though, their parents’ perfect solution has become Danny and Elijah’s nightmare as they’re forced to spend countless hours together. But then Elijah meets Julia, and soon the brothers aren’t together nearly as much. And then Julia meets Danny and soon all three of them are in a mixed-up, turned-around, never-what-you-expect world of brothers, Italy, and love.Are We There Yet? isn’t about a place on a map, it’s about a place in the heart. David Levithan has written a magical story of a journey definitely worth taking.

Selp-Helf


Miranda Sings - 2015
    As a bumbling, ironically talentless, self-absorbed personality (a young Gilda Radner, if you will), she offers up a vlog of helpful advice every week on her widely popular YouTube channel. For the first time ever, Miranda is putting her advice to paper in this easy-to-follow guide, illustrated by Miranda herself. In it, you’ll find instructions on everything: how to get a boyfriend (wear all black and carry a fishing net), to dressing for a date (sequins and an orange tutu), to performing magic (“Magic is Lying”), and much, much more! Miranda-isms abound in these self-declared lifesaving pages, and if you don’t like it…well, as Miranda would say…“Haters, back off!”