Elisabeth Tova Bailey has a mysterious illness that lasts for many years. At one point during this illness she is confined to her bed. She can only sit up or hold a book for minutes at a time. She has been removed from her beloved farmhouse to a condo in the city so that she can be cared for around the clock. One day a friend brings Elisabeth a snail that is nestled in a pot of violets. This is the story of how a snail ferries one woman through countless hours of suffering into a place of wonder-induced healing.
Lori Shepherd knows everything about the town of Finch, the small English village where she lives. Recently, the big news is that recluse Hector Huggins has passed away, and everyone in the village attends the funeral. A stranger arrives at the funeral who, it happens, is Hector's nephew, Jack MacBride from Australia, who is in Finch to finish his uncle's affairs.
It's 1962 and the world is watching as President Kennedy and Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev face off. Tensions are rising day by day, the Cuban Missile Crisis is reaching its peak. Scott's father has built an underground bomb shelter and the family is the brunt of the neighbor's jokes. That is until the air raid sirens go off and suddenly only Scott's family has somewhere safe to go. Just as Scott's dad is about to close and lock the heavy steel door, some of the neighbors grab it and try to open it back up; they are desperate to survive.
High school seniors Tony and Ryan had a plan for after graduation. They were going to get jobs and an apartment and live together—Toni to get away from her mom who favored her younger sister, and Ryan to leave behind his alcoholic and abusive father. It all seemed so simple. But that's not what happened. Senior year the "mean girls" clique started harassing Toni, just to be mean. Then, unbelievably, Toni's little sister, Nicole, starts hanging out with the clique and harassing Toni too. Nicole has also changed a lot since starting high school;&n
In The Ocean at the End of the Lane, author Neil Gaiman presents a magical fairy tale that completely captures the reader’s imagination. This is a book you will not want to put down once you have started reading, so it is a good thing that, at just over 200 pages in length, it is an easy day read! The story unfolds as the narrator, a man in his fifties, returns home to England to speak at a funeral.
Dr. Wes Crenshaw is very straightforward when talking about the difficulties of living with ADD/ADHD and how to manage the disorder and be successful at work, school, and in relationships. With the use of thirteen principles to live by Dr.
Cormoran Strike is a private detective who has just broken up with his on-again/off-again girlfriend of fifteen years. He's living in his office, where he gets almost daily calls asking for the money he owes for the business. Robin is a temp sent from an agency to help run his office, although she quickly discovers that there's not much to do because there's not much business. Out of the blue, in walks a man asking Strike to investigate the death of his sister, Lula Landry.
The full title of this amazing book is Aviary Wonders Inc. (Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual) Renewing the World's Bird Supply Since 2031. The narrator of this story first developed his passion for birds and bird watching while working at his family's logging business (the irony is intentional.) He is no longer logging; he now runs a company that builds birds. After searching out the best engineers, biologists and artists to work for him, he launched the company in 2031 and they have struggled to keep up with demand ever since.
Ever since she was little, Liz preferred jeans to dresses, action figures to dolls, and sports to dress-up. Adults and other kids told her this made her a tomboy. Seeing the way the mass media marketed to girls and told them how they should look and behave, Liz was fine with not falling into the “girly” category. But the tomboy label wasn’t easy to fit into either. Eschewed by girls who didn’t understand her jeans and baseball caps, and belittled by boys who didn’t want to play with a “girl” (especially in front of other boys), Liz had trouble finding her place.
The beginning of the end of Romanov rule of Russia began with the ascension of Nicholas II. Ill prepared for the crown by his father, Nicholas depended heavily on his new wife Alexandra (married under the shadow of the death of Nicholas’ father their marriage was seen as a curse by the Russian people). Problems for the Romanovs multiplied when Alexandra, after several difficult pregnancies, produced only female heirs leaving the line of succession unsure.
