Book picks similar to
My Aunt Otilia's Spirits =: Los Espiritus de Mi Tia Otilia by Richard A. García
women
adventure
community
humor
The Porcupine of Truth
Bill Konigsberg - 2015
Carson Smith is resigned to spending his summer in Billings, Montana, helping his mom take care of his father, a dying alcoholic he doesn't really know. Then he meets Aisha Stinson, a beautiful girl who has run away from her difficult family, and Pastor John Logan, who's long held a secret regarding Carson's grandfather, who disappeared without warning or explanation thirty years before. Together, Carson and Aisha embark on an epic road trip to find the answers that might save Carson's dad, restore his fragmented family, and discover the "Porcupine of Truth" in all of their lives.
A Monstrous Place
Matthew Stott - 2015
In the moment after your eyes grow too heavy to stay open, but before the dreams take you... Molly lives with her Mother in a large, creaking house that she wishes were haunted. There may be no ghosts, but what about monsters? Monsters with an unending appetite that like to steal people away in the black of night. When, one morning, Molly wakes to find her own Mother missing, she discovers she has a potentially fatal task ahead of her. With only her dead Gran and a retired adventurer by her side, Molly must travel to a dangerous and untrustworthy land somewhere between awake and asleep, before her Mother finds herself planted in a most monstrous garden.
Paradise Vue (Paradise Vue, #1)
Kathryn H. Kidd - 1989
So when the bishop calls her to be homemaking counselor, she knows that it's either a joke- or inspiration. Welcome to the Paradise Vue Ward, with stained glass windows so blindingly bright, the congregation has to wear shades. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll keep wondering how the author found out about all the wackiest people in your ward. Surely the funniest Mormon novel ever published. By the end you may discover it's also the best.
The Palace of Illusions
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - 2008
Narrated by Panchaali, the wife of the legendary Pandavas brothers in the Mahabharat, the novel gives us a new interpretation of this ancient tale. The novel traces the princess Panchaali's life, beginning with her birth in fire and following her spirited balancing act as a woman with five husbands who have been cheated out of their father’s kingdom. Panchaali is swept into their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war involving all the important kings of India. Meanwhile, we never lose sight of her strategic duels with her mother-in-law, her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands' most dangerous enemy. Panchaali is a fiery female redefining for us a world of warriors, gods, and the ever-manipulating hands of fate.
A Place Called Perfect
Helena Duggan - 2012
Violet never wanted to move to Perfect.Who wants to live in a town where everyone has to wear glasses to stop them going blind? And who wants to be neat and tidy and perfectly behaved all the time?But Violet quickly discovers there's something weird going on – she keeps hearing noises in the night, her mum is acting strange and her dad has disappeared.When she meets Boy she realizes that her dad is not the only person to have been stolen away...and that the mysterious Watchers are guarding a perfectly creepy secret!
Goodnight Ganesha
Nadia Salomon - 2021
A gorgeously illustrated goodnight story that celebrates the nighttime rituals of two young children visiting their grandparents in India.As nighttime falls over the city, two children visiting their grandparents in India find there's so much fun to be had! Whether it's listening to epic stories or observing rituals in the puja room, there are many moments that make this time together special.In this beautiful, rhyming ode to bedtime, the only thing more universal than getting ready for bed and saying goodnight is the love between children and their grandparents.
The Gates
John Connolly - 2009
The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe. A gap in which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out...Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world as we know it?Bursting with imagination, The Gates is about the pull between good and evil, physics and fantasy. It is about a quirky and eccentric boy who is impossible not to love, and the unlikely cast of characters who give him the strength to stand up to a demonic power.John Connolly manages to re-create the magical and scary world of childhood that we've all left behind but so love to visit. And for those of you who thought you knew everything you could about particle physics and the universe, think again. This novel makes anything seem possible.
A Nun's Story - The Deeply Moving True Story of Giving Up a Life of Love and Luxury in a Single Irresistible Moment
Sister Agatha - 2017
With every good thing life had to offer, she was due to marry the man she loved—a man who, in turn, adored her. But all this was to change in a single moment.One happy day, in the midst of writing to her fiancée, her hand stopped writing unbidden; then it continued by itself, etching the words which would change her life forever: ‘…but there’s no point now, as I am going to be a nun.’ That bolt from the blue set events in motion that caused Shirley to lose her mother and sisters, her husband to be, her horses, her parties and life of ease.Within months, Shirley had become Sister Agatha. But her faith in her choice never faltered, despite years of great difficulty when her Convent was close to bankruptcy. Her belief took her to London to knock on the intimidating Sir Paul Getty’s door and secure the money to ensure her community would not lose their home….and getting it. Now eighty-five, she looks back on an incredible life of love, loss and belief.This is at once a deeply poignant tale of doomed romance, and a heart-warming story of taking a leap of faith and finding a meaning in life beyond wealth and comfort. Whether a believer or not, Sister Agatha’s momentous life will touch and inspire, whilst reminding us that it is perhaps better to accept that not everything in the world is yet explained.
Gravity Falls: The second summer (Gravity Falls Fan-Fiction | A Second Summer Book 1)
Colin Cabana - 2017
Will Dipper and Mabel's summer be ruined? Find out in this fan novel as well as Mystery #1, The Axolotl, a demon who wants to revive Bill Cipher!
The Morrow Secrets
Susan McNally - 2013
It is the first book in a series about Tallitha Mouldson, a headstrong girl caught up in the sinister web of her eccentric family, the powerful Morrow dynasty. This fantasy saga is set in an alternative world and begins in a strange, rambling house called Winderling Spires in the land of Wycham Elva. The Morrow Secrets is an epic tale of dark forces, with a beguiling mystery to be solved, an exciting yarn of deception with frightening twists and wicked turns. The story has weird, whimsical characters, some motivated by wicked intent. They lurk round corners... watching Tallitha and luring her further into the dreadful secret....It is a story of the heroine’s fight against the evil forces that have shaped the past and still surround her present. Tallitha is determined to unearth the family secret and so begins her breath-taking adventure, exploring the forbidden floors of the bizarre old house and discovering a number of intriguing clues which lead her ever further into the heart of the mystery. During her quest, Tallitha discovers she has inherited strange paranormal powers, passed down the female line of the Morrow clan. With the help of her eccentric cousin Esmerelda, Tallitha escapes the clutches of her suffocating family and makes her way across the dangerous terrain of Wycham Elva into the wilderness and the dark world of Breedoor. Accompanied by her brother and cousins she learns more about the mysterious past of the Morrow family, she forges new allegiances, endures terrifying challenges and encounters the strange creatures of the underground kingdom. Eventually she reaches the haunting castle of Hellstone Tors and the awesome truth about her family is laid bare........
Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories
Isaac Bashevis Singer - 1966
Chelm is a village of fools. The most famous fools—the oldest and the greatest—are the seven Elders. But there are lesser fools too: a silly irresponsible bridegroom; four sisters who mix up their feed in bed one night; a young man who imagines himself dead. Here are seven magical folktales spun by a master storyteller, that speak of fools, devils, schlemiels, and even heroes—like Zlateh the goat.The New York Times called Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories, "beautiful stories for children, written by a master." The New York Book Review said, "This book is a triumph. If you have no older children on your list, buy it for yourself." Singer's extraordinary book of folklore is illustrated by Maurice Sendak, who won a Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are.Supports the Common Core State Standards
Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones
Judy Schachner - 2007
When a T-Mex threatens the pack, it's El Skippito, the great sword fighter, to the rescue. With yips and yowls, he drives the big baddie away, so all the dino-dudes can rattle their bones another day. This fourth entry in a series that "Kirkus Reviews" called ?ay caramba, mucho fun, ? will win even more fans for the Siamese cat with oversize ears and an imagination to match.
Forsaken Mercenary Quadrilogy: Books 1–4
Jonathan Yanez - 2020
And the cushy, elite population on Mars may be about to find out they aren’t the only beings in their neck of the system. Grab your blasters and get ready for a wild ride. Download to jump into the Forsaken Mercenary universe now.
Over 1,200 pages of addictive action and intrigue!
Monkey: The Journey to the West
Wu Cheng'en
It is the story of the roguish Monkey and his encounters with major and minor spirits, gods, demigods, demons, ogres, monsters, and fairies. This translation, by the distinguished scholar Arthur Waley, is the first accurate English version; it makes available to the Western reader a faithful reproduction of the spirit and meaning of the original.
Abiyoyo
Pete Seeger - 1963
The tale of how a father with his magic wand and a boy with his music triumph over the giant Abiyoyo is based on a South African lullaby and folk story.