After Isaac touches on issues of grief in young adults, sibling loss, homeless youth, adoption and China's one-child policy.
Lynne Meadows has a chip on her shoulder. Her two best friends are gone. Bartley had died, and Marta left the Intermountain Ballet Company after breaking her ankle. Now Lynne s alone and a perpetual thorn in the directors lives. An accident and a string of sabotages disrupt the career she s always wanted, and she wonders how long she ll be welcome at the company.
Damien Black, the artistic director, suggests she represent her fellow dancers on an injury committee. If that goes well and her attitude improves, he and Madame Cosper, the company director, promise to recommend her to a summer dance troupe performing across France. He even asks her to introduce his new ballet, An American in Paris, in France. However, they do not promise even a limited contract once she returns. Because the cost of the trip is beyond her means, her mother asks Lynne s Uncle Leo for help.
He offers to pay for her ship s passage and give her the car he plans to buy while there if she will drive him around Europe for a month after she finishes performing. The free trip and new car excite her; she agrees to the arrangement despite his legendary lack of dependability.
After the Intermountain Ballet season ends, she works feverishly with Damien Black to learn the choreography for the trip as well as his new ballet. Her aunt sells the property where Lynne s lived for two years, so she must pack up and store her possessions, then find a new home once she returns. Two weeks before departing, she meets Noel Elijah, a rancher, who captivates her interest. Very different from the guys she s dated in the past, he s a perfect gentleman. But she s leaving. The coveted tour in France stands in the way of their budding romance.
Her summer begins on the ship to France, where Lynne meets Lucia, a dancer who is also part of the troupe; together they are invited to perform on the ship. Once they reach Paris, Lynne is assigned to share housing with Arty, another troupe dancer; and the girls form a friendship with fellow dancers Wallace and Karl. Cheryl, the dance director, approaches their practices with enthusiasm, passion, and a positive attitude that encourage Lynne to renew her love of dancing.
One day during their rare free time, the girls visit a fortuneteller, who predicts their futures. Lynne scoffs at the whole idea, but is taken aback when hers start to come true. The prediction about two men coming and going in her life unnerves her: she hopes the one leaving is not her father with new heart problems and that Noel is the one stepping into her life.
The dancers complete the tour, as well as extra performances, and are well received at an invitational waltz festival. Then they go their separate ways. Lynne must gather up the energy to stay another month with her Uncle Leo while she longs to return home to Noel and rejoin the Intermountain Ballet Company if they will take her back.
Uncle Leo returns a day late to pick her up in a tinny mini car instead of the plush one she expected. Next, he changes their plans daily to accommodate his own whims and sleeps while she does all the driving. Then he loses their money, leaving them nearly destitute. Her final and most devastating disappointment comes when he strands her in Portugal with no car, no return ticket, and only thirty dollars to make her own way over a thousand miles back to Paris and then home to Montana. She walks, hitchhikes, works for meals, and sleeps in hostels, sheds, and bus stops along the way. Through the kindness of strangers and Noel, she finally returns to Billings, only to discover Madame Cosper has had a stroke.
Sam and Jake are the guardians, but can they stop the coming war?
A powerful Lesser poisons Sam's dad and Jake's mom. To save their parents, Sam must bring WhipEye to Gorgon--the cruel and scheming leader of the Amazon Lessers.
Gorgon demands that Sam and Jake bring him the Jewel of Origin, a weapon of great power. If he gets it, nothing will stop him. Sam and Jake must decide--will they save two worlds or save their parents? Their friendship will be tested to its limits.
To stop Gorgon, Sam must be willing to risk the lives of her friends in a battle that some will not survive.
Sometimes love means watching those you love die...
A Discussion Guide to Scumble and Savvy by Ingrid Law
Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 3/23/2010Pages: 368Reading Level: Age 8 and Up
As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Baxter inherits a pendant that will change her life. Connected to the pendant is a dark and mysterious young man named Declan Ashdown. Trapped in a Time loop for the past 122 years, Declan needs Baxter’s help to escape. The only problem is, she has no idea how to do it.
To acquire the power she needs to free him, she’ll become one of the Interred, those whose Magical abilities emerge as they come of age. When she does, she’ll discover that Declan isn’t the only one interested in the fact that she’s a Time Bender.
As the Interment arrives, Baxter knows this will be no Sweet Sixteen. A vengeful relative and the ruthless Council are determined to control her. Declan’s powerful and charming descendant, Jack Ashdown, claims he can save her. She’ll soon have to decide who she can trust, and how to master her new abilities before Time runs out.
Bernadine’s precarious sense of well-being begins to unravel when Jessie Mae, a girl not much older than she, moves into the apartment above hers and Bernadine discovers the girl is being abused. Bernadine makes it her mission to save Jessie Mae as though she’s saving herself and every other child who lives with constant threats, though the harder she tries the more her loved ones are put in danger.
Smelling Herself is imbued with Bernadine’s humor, intelligence, and kindred love, as Terris McMahan Grimes unflinchingly investigates—through the eyes of a quick-witted child—what it means to navigate dangerous times without fully understanding the world she lives in. It’s the story of childhood’s brazen hopes and hindrances.
But Fin wasn’t about to give up on himself. With Fin’s two best friends, Joey and Penny, by his side, they took penny hikes through the streets of Somerville, Massachusetts. Fin pushed doggedly ahead into the unknown as life kept throwing him challenges, from facing down a bully to coping with the devastating effects of his mother's terminal cancer. Can Fin find redemption during a troubled and confusing time in his life?
Penny Hike is a story of hope, resolve, and digging deeper than you thought possible. It's a story about finding strength, and ultimately persevering in life, even when your soul has been murdered. Penny Hike delves into the unpredictable world of adolescence and the traumatic effects of abuse.
“Penny Hike is a charmer...there is not a touch of condescension in the way Richardson depicts children. He documents a world unfamiliar to most middle-class readers, creating believable scenes and a likeable hero with an indomitable spirit."
--The Springfield Republican
"Effective consolations on being orphaned...winning girlfriend Penny’s heart, and being the hero...Evocative setting."
--Kirkus Reviews
“Penny Hike is effective in communicating the experience of a thirteen-year-old boy who has endured heartbreak and joys in his life…characters' personalities are all distinct and believable…this book is a labor of love…truly impressive.”
—Dr. Karen Haeberle, Clinical Psychologist
Pete's stuck in medieval England!
Pete and his friend Weasel thought they'd closed the Time Lock. But a young page from medieval times, Peter of Bramwell, goes missing. His absence during a critical moment will forever alter history unless he's found.
There's only one solution - fledgling wizard Pete must take the page's place. Accompanied by Weasel and Fanon, Pete's alligator familiar, they travel to 1173 England.
But what if the page remains lost - will Pete know what to do when the critical moment arrives? Toss in a grumpy Fanon, the duke's curious niece, a talking horse, and the Circle of Stones and Pete realizes he's in over his young wizard head yet again...
High school senior Matthew Peters thinks he’s just writing some online fiction about an alien superhero, Excelsior. But when a woman arrives at his school claiming to be from the distant planet he’s writing about, he must think again. What’s more, she says Excelsior’s lifeforce lives within him.
As an alien assassin tries to kill him, Matthew must decide what is more important: to save his own life or to retrieve an ancient artifact that could save two worlds. To stay the guy with growing online popularity, or lose himself to something he can’t understand. Whatever his choice, he must face an enemy more powerful than him in almost every way.
Hold on to your seat as you race through the first book in George Sirois’ series, The Excelsior Journey, a story that will leave you gasping for breath and wanting more.
Put down the pen.
Pick up the sword.
Unleash the hero within.
Grab your copy of Excelsior today.
