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Break On Through by Jill Murray


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Summer in Greece


Patricia Wilson - 2021
    Every year she escapes for a few weeks to beautiful Greek islands, losing herself in photography and wreck diving.When the junk room of her clifftop cottage is cleared to accommodate a carer for her father, Summer stumbles across the belongings of her great-grandmother, Gertie Smith. She finds a WWI nurse's uniform, a soldier's blanket, and a recording of Gertie's memoirs. As Summer listens to it, she learns about her great-grandmother's secret life, and might just find the strength to let go of her own tragic past.1916When eighteen-year-old nurse Gertie Smith signs up for the war effort, she is thrilled to learn that her destination will be Greece. With a head full of blue skies and handsome men, she boards the Titanic's sister ship, the hospital ship Britannic. Unprepared for the horrors of war, she heads for the Greek island of Lemnos on a mission to rescue three thousand wounded British soldiers.The Britannic never reaches its destination. Gertie, who disobeyed her orders, blames herself.She is sent to the Greek island of Kea, where she meets and falls in love with a Greek fisherman, Manno - but she finds herself torn between him and her duty to an English soldier, and all too soon her past catches up with her.

The Girls They Left Behind


Bernice Thurman Hunter - 2005
    But it's 1944, and almost all the boys she knows have signed up and are being shipped overseas to fight the war in Europe. Too often she takes the trip to Union Station to wave goodbye to another friend, wondering if he'll ever come home again. And like her other girlfriends, Natalie is getting tired of waiting for the war to be over. There are still dances at the Armories to meet handsome boys in uniform, but is that all a girl can do for the war effort?Natalie has a plan. Her first move was to change her name from Beryl, which didn't sound sophisticated at all. Now she quits school and takes a job at a department store. Buying War Saving Stamps with her meager earnings is not enough for Natalie, however, and soon she finds work at De Havilland Aircraft, making bombers. But it is during this time, when she is taking the most pride in her war work, that Natalie and her family get the news they've been dreading: her cousin, a gunner in the Dambusters Squadron, is listed as missing, presumed dead. And as news of other boys reaches home - some of it good but so much of it bad - Natalie begins to wonder what kind of world will be there for them all when the war finally ends.At times funny and at other times deeply moving, Bernice Thurman Hunter's last novel is drawn from her own memories of being a teenager in Toronto during World War II. In Natalie, Hunter has created a spunky, outspoken and utterly charming character, which readers young and old will revel in. And in her unforgettable portrait of the home front, Hunter has brought to life the daily trials and tribulations of a generation of women who had to stand by while their men went to war.

Dancing Till Midnight


Rosie Goodwin - 2006
    Orphaned as a child, she is raised by her severely religious aunt, Emily. Starved of love, she falls for the first man who shows her affection, Barry Swan. And when Grace falls pregnant, Emily disowns her.Barry and Grace marry and, for a while, she knows happiness. Barry adores her and is a wonderful father, but Grace feels that something is missing. When Barry indulges her passion for ballroom dancing, the gap seems to be filled - until she meets Philip Golding. He sweeps Grace off her feet, showing her what she believes is a better way of life. But as he draws her into a web of deceit, she discovers that all that glitters is not gold...

Son of Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Scott Twisp(Book 7)


C.D. Payne - 2012
    When he wasn’t burning down parts of Berkeley or springing girlfriends from homes for unwed mothers, he was dodging gendarmes in Paris. So what sort of parent would that most outrageous of teenagers make? In this new installment of the acclaimed Twisp saga, 40-something Nick faces the daily trials of dealing with his own teenage son. When a move to California threatens to disrupt young Scott Twisp’s life, he reacts in the true Twispian spirit. Follow this wannabe “wanton lothario” as he conspires to meet the challenges of girls, sex, work, parents, TV stardom, and more. Also returning to complicate matters are Sheeni, Trent, Apurva, Vijay, Jake, Veeva, Uma, and the rest of C.D. Payne’s huge and colorful cast. Enjoy all seven books in the monumental Twisp saga: over a half-million words of hilarious mayhem! Note: Each book in the Nick Twisp series is a self-contained novel that can be enjoyed on its own. Familiarity with the other titles is not required.

Battle Fleet: Adventures of a Young Sailor


Paul Dowswell - 2007
    But on the journey back to England he faces pirates and a terrible storm, before making the longed-for trip back up the river Thames. Finally reunited with his family in Norfolk, Sam realizes how much life at sea has become part of him. So when he hears that Napoleon plans to attack England, he is tempted to join the navy once more, and finds himself midshipman on none other than the Victory, preparing for one of the most epic battles in history: Trafalgar.

Don't Tell Your Cousin


Veronica E. Kelly - 2011
    As the mountain of lies come tumbling down and the drama unfolds, Amanda is forced to hold a mirror to herself and come to terms with a reflection she struggles to accept.

Aeson: Blue


Vera Nazarian - 2021
    Intelligent, well-educated, perfectly isolated in his lofty rank, responsibilities, and privilege of the divine Imperial Dynasty. He's the most powerful boy on Atlantis and he's going into the real world for the very first time. . . .Now just another student in Fleet Cadet School, Aeson must learn everything normal people take for granted—including the basics of how to look after himself, how to interact with others his age, how to laugh, and how to make friends.As if that wasn't enough to boggle the mind of a confident but shy boy who's never had a real conversation with anyone but his mother, Aeson has one more lesson ahead . . . what it's like to fall in love.Get inside Aeson's mind and learn his story from the inside out as he forms the bonds that will change him forever—with Elikara, Xelio, Oalla, Keruvat, Erita, and other favorite Atlantean characters, long before they took to the stars as astra daimon! AESON: BLUE is the first in The Atlantis Grail Novella Series.

Never So Green


Tim Johnston - 2002
    Instead, Tex gets dumped on his mother's doorstep, where Farley Dickerson, the big oaf she's just married, and his two kids have made themselves at home. Nobody's more surprised than Tex, then, when he discovers he likes his new stepfather, that he actually wants to spend the summer at Mom's, and that he - Tex Donleavy - is going to play ball on Farley's Little League team. And then there's the plucky and brooding Jack, Farley's daughter, who becomes Tex's closest ally, as well as his greatest source of confusion. In all, it's shaping up to be a summer full of surprises - though nothing can prepare Tex for the biggest surprise of all, a secret so terrible that it will change the lives of every member of his family. Through his careful, lyrical prose, Tim Johnston expertly balances the pain of inching toward maturity with sly humor, making his fiction debut an auspicious occasion.

A Mother’s Dilemma


Emma Hornby - 2019
    But when the baby dies of natural causes while under her roof, and knowing her neighbour will be devastated, Minnie swaps it with one of the infants in her care.Now seventeen, Jewel Nightingale knows nothing of her true origins. But assaulted by her hateful cousin and making the dreadful discovery that she is pregnant, she faces a desperate dilemma. Fleeing her job as a domestic maid, she follows an advertisement to a house in Bolton's dark slums, where a woman promises to help her when the child is born. Little does Jewel know that there’s a terrible price to pay . . .Can she keep herself – and her baby – safe? And what will happen when Jewel discovers the truth about where she came from? Gritty and page-turning historical saga set in Northern England in the late 1800s, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.

Darkest Days


N.W. Harris - 2017
    Composed of pure energy, this superior race has attacked the Anunnaki home world and is now setting a course for Earth.The energy-based aliens believe in a system of trial by battle. They seek to push Shane and his friends into the arena with the ones who killed their parents. The results will determine if humans deserve to live, or if they should be made extinct as well. It's up to Shane to keep his friends--and an army of kids who look up to him--alive. They'll be fighting not just for their own lives, but for the fate of the entire human race. Can the enemy of Shane's enemy be his friend, or is this just another species determined to exploit and destroy them?

Allegiant (Divergent Series): by Veronica Roth -- Sidekick


BookBuddy - 2014
    Tris Prior and Tobias alternate the role of narrator in each chapter to give readers a refreshing perspective. The future society in a dystopian Chicago becomes unhinged as the faction structure fails. The main characters in Allegiant embark on a quest to go beyond the fence and discover a bigger world filled with genetically pure and genetically damaged people. Like her previous novels, Veronica Roth includes elements of science fiction, action adventure, teen romance, and dystopia in Allegiant. As you read this analysis alongside Allegiant, explore the main themes of sacrifice and individuality while taking a closer look at the main characters. Readers learn more about Tris' world, as genetic experiments are revealed at The Bureau of Genetic Welfare, which was previously O'Hare Airport. While the book covers some serious themes about societal roles, the romance between Tris and Tobias adds a light touch to the overall read. There are numerous thought-provoking, and sometimes confusing, topics in Allegiant, so use this expert analysis to help you understand the characters' changes, decisions, and actions for a more fulfilling and satisfying experience.

Bullied Boy


Daring Diane - 2018
    Self-image, body changes, and social changes chip away at individual’s self-confidence. Withdrawal and hiding can often seem like the easiest escape. You cannot escape from life. An excellent student, our hero is ripped from his friends and everything he knows when his father is moved across the country for his job. Intent on re-establishing the mother’s employment, the parents appear to withdraw from their high school student as he is dropped into a situation where he knows no one. Everyone experiences physical and emotional problems but our protagonist is ashamed of his body and won’t even talk to his parents who seem oblivious. Wearing baggy clothes, coats and hoods, it is easy to hide his body and isolate himself since he knows no one. Others assume he is overweight, shy or has acne problems. The strangely dressed student is a magnet for bullies and everyone else ignores him. Teachers might have gotten involved or pushed him to participate in class, but as an excellent student, grades are not an issue. Life evolves into a strategy to be left alone and survive another day. Because of this, attacks are not reported. An accident at school will expose our protagonist’s secrets to a classmate. How that classmate responds will change our protagonist’s life. There are still bullying and attacks, but with newfound confidence, our hero will deal with things differently. Can this quiet, isolated person evolve into an example and build real friendships while accepting life’s little hurdles? This series of books contain examples of high school life that help the reader to identify and deal with bullying behavior in a high school setting. The books in this series are intended to be safe reading for teens and tweens. Thank you for reading on Daring Diane Disclaimer This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Cold Fusion


Doris Haggis-on-Whey - 2008
    These books would be distributed through respectable channels and would inevitably find their way into the hands and households of well-meaning families, who would go to them for facts but instead find bizarre untruths. The books would look normal enough but would read as if written by people who should not have written them. Sadly, that day is upon us. The fourth book in the HOW series, Cold Fusion, is to be feared. Like its predecessors, Giraffes? Giraffes! and Animals of the Ocean, Cold Fusion must also be kept far from the young people in your life. This book reveals the secrets of cold fusion, one of the most controversial scientific pursuits that can be conducted in a bathtub.

Stranded


Eric Walters - 1998
    Gordo) Stevens is at a new school, trying to make friends and struggling to come to terms with his parents' divorce -- and his father's new girlfriend. (Her name is Amie and she's a lot younger than Gord's dad.) It's not surprising that Gord is in no mood for a week-long school trip to a remote island marine teaching station, especially when his new "friends" plot to catch him in the old "hand-in-warm-water-pee-the-bed" trick and his mom packs his old teddy bear. But there are bigger problems on the horizon for Gord -- like the fact that the marine biologist who runs the school suddenly has to leave the island. Or the fact that their radio, the only link to the mainland, expires. Or that a pod of pilot whales is beached on the island and about to die -- unless someone can help them get back to sea.In a story that weaves action, adventure, an environmental mystery, a ghost tale, and a budding romance into one terrific read, Eric Walters also addresses with subtlety and savvy the important pre-teen issues of belonging and self-confidence, friendship and change. With its natural, realistic dialogue, believably drawn characters and exciting -- and plausible -- climax, Stranded is another kid-pleasing story from an author whose career is on a dizzying ascent.

Red Sea


Diane Tullson - 2005
    Traveling through the Red Sea, Libby causes them to be late and make a dangerous crossing alone. When modern-day pirates attack, Duncan is killed and Libby's mother is left seriously injured and unconscious. Libby is left alone on a crippled boat to find safety and help for her mother. Libby must call on all her strength and face some hard truths about herself if she is to survive and reach land. A thrilling tale of one girl's struggle for survival against the elements and her inner demons, Red Sea is adventure writing at its best.