The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty and find powerful new ways of tackling it. It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession—until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside. That the sweater had made its trek all the way to Rwanda was ample evidence, she thought, of how we are all connected, how our actions—and inaction—touch people every day across the globe, people we may never know or meet.From her first stumbling efforts as a young idealist venturing forth in Africa to the creation of the trailblazing organization she runs today, Novogratz tells gripping stories with unforgettable characters—women dancing in a Nairobi slum, unwed mothers starting a bakery, courageous survivors of the Rwandan genocide, entrepreneurs building services for the poor against impossible odds. She shows, in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking, how traditional charity often fails, but how a new form of philanthropic investing called "patient capital" can help make people self-sufficient and can change millions of lives. More than just an autobiography or a how-to guide to addressing poverty, The Blue Sweater is a call to action that challenges us to grant dignity to the poor and to rethink our engagement with the world.From Publishers WeeklyNovogratz combined her twin passions for banking and philanthropy after she left a lucrative corporate banking position to work with women's groups in microfinance, the pioneering banking strategy that won Muhammad Yunus a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Her work merging market systems with development and social empowerment led her to create the Acumen Fund for entrepreneurs in developing nations, which she describes as the opposite of old-fashioned charity. Novogratz also focuses on her own developmental path as she charts her evolving views of capitalism and how she will change the world. Unfortunately, she stumbles when she strays into biographical territory, relying on clichés to bolster her professional decisions through a personal lens. The book is most interesting when it touches on the difficult decisions that Novogratz and her team must make about financial empowerment—should they charge interest on loans to poor women? can working women find acceptance in a patriarchal society?—but these dilemmas are facilely glossed, keeping the book in an uncomfortable limbo between a personal narrative and a primer on globalization. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistAcumen Fund founder Novogratz blends two narratives in this memoir about her years fighting global poverty. In one thread, she recounts her early experiences in Africa developing microfinance organizations to assist women. Many of her reminiscences focus on relationships with the local women in government who were key to her success as well as the personal trials she encountered matching her Western vision with their ideas about the future. She also writes about later work in India and Pakistan. The other thread focuses on her return to Rwanda after the genocide. Although her inside view of global poverty initiatives and politics at the most basic level makes for interesting reading, her personal story intrudes in a manner that some readers may find self-serving. Her reflections on the genocide also detract from the economic discussion in India and Pakistan, rendering the book more Rwanda-centric (and thus more political) than she may have intended. In the end, Novogratz does provide enough information on microfinance to make readers curious to learn more. --Colleen Mondor Views: 70
SUMMARY: Madison Sabatini thought she knew who she was: an almost-sophomore with a bright future. The newest photographer on her school paper. A shopaholic with great hair and a fabulous wardrobe. Then, in a flash, everything changed. Now she's stuck in Sandyland, a gloomy beach town in the middle of nowhere, living with her parents in a crappy hotel "suite." Instead of spending the summer with her friends at home, she's hanging out with pink-haired Delilah, an artist who works in a shop called Psychic Photo, and a skater boy named Duncan who's totally not her type. Except, maybe he is . . . Determined to make the best of things, Madison throws herself into her one passion: photography. But when strange figures start appearing in her pictures—people who weren't there when she snapped the shots, people who are later reported dead—she begins to question everything about who she is . . . and who she wishes she could be. Views: 70
In control of the powerful firm of Gold Aviation, the Gold family faces the challenges and trails of the postwar years. Views: 70
Luisa is running the school fete like clockwork - until it snowballs disastrously out of control! Book 16 in the Girlfriend Fiction series: fall in love with something real....it all started with one tiny little insignificant thing - Jet Lucas.Have you ever wanted someone so badly that you'd do anything to be with them? Luisa has and now she's in big trouble. She's been suspended from school for single-handedly turning the Motherwell High Twilight Fete into a war zone - complete with explosions, flying bodies, mutilated teddies and burning dogs.Luisa can't understand how she lost control. Normally home runs like clockwork, and school's all right if she ignores the bullies and the incredibly annoying Danny Baldassarro. Okay, she doesn't have time to write songs anymore but you have to make sacrifices, right?A blackly funny tale of life, love and learning to let go. Views: 70
BT, Gary and Mrs. Deneaux race to the Talbot compound in a desperate bid to turn the tides of a lost war. Is Michael dead? Is the question plaguing the Talbots as they prepare for the final showdown with a merciless enemy hell bent on their absolute destruction. Views: 70
Tod is sure his new hockey stick will improve his game. But when his team loses, he realizes that good stickhandling needs practice as well as good equipment. He vows not to use the stick until he deserves it, but will he earn that right this season? Views: 70
SUMMARY:
For the women of the Sisterhood, planning a lavish reception for their long time ally, attorney Lizzie Fox, at their luxury mountain retreat is the ideal way to unwind after their latest successful mission. The only cloud over the happy occasion is that their mentor, Charles, is still mysteriously absent. But amid the friendly bickering about floral arrangements, cake tiers, and wedding favours, the ladies of Pinewood receive a frantic phone call from Nikki's fiance, Jack Emery. Harry Wong - Yoko's true love and a staunch supporter of the Sisterhood - has become the victim of a ruthless identity theft ring. Harry's bank accounts have been closed out, his beloved dojo is being foreclosed, and he's being evicted. Distraught, Yoko is about to rush down the mountain to Harry's aid when the Sisters intercept her. A situation like Harry's requires finesse, careful planning, and the Sisterhood's distinctive brand of vigilante justice. Views: 70
Boom Broom doesn't think his life could get any worse. Ever since his mother was swept away by a twister, his family has gone crazy. They refuse to leave the house and Boom and his sister Mertyle are looked after by Halvor, the Viking descendant who rents the room over their garage.When Boom finds a baby mermaid who seems to grant unlimited wishes, he thinks his luck has turned around. That is, until his sister is hit by the curse of the merfolk. Now Boom and his best friend Winger must find a way to return the merbaby to its mother and save Mertyle before it is too late. Views: 70
Alien hunters invade a dying Earth in search of a saviour, and an ancient prophecy predicts a golden child who will save a galactic empire. A mysterious black ship is Rayne’s guide and a masked outlaw known as the Shrike her guardian. Others want to slay her and prevent the prophecy from coming true. In the midst of two great empires’ strife, the Shrike holds the power to save or destroy her. Views: 70
New Beasts. Old Magic.Setting out on the next stage of the Quest is harder than ever-it means leaving home. Tom successfully defended his village, but an even more sinister Beast waits on the horizon: Vipero. Tom has no choice but to leave his family once again, bound for the desert and its untold dangers. Views: 70
In Dead Woman Walking, from master of suspense Sharon Bolton, the sole survivor of a hot-air balloon crash witnesses a murder as the balloon is falling.Just before dawn in the hills near the Scottish border, a man murders a young woman. At the same time, a hot-air balloon crashes out of the sky. There's just one survivor. She's seen the killer's face – but he's also seen hers. And he won't rest until he's eliminated the only witness to his crime. Alone, scared, trusting no one, she's running to where she feels safe – but it could be the most dangerous place of all... Views: 70
Ruby-lee is an ordinary girl, trying to do the right thing, and teetering on the edge of love. But is she looking in all the wrong places? Book 13 in the Girlfriend Fiction series: real life, real emotions, awesome stories.Everything I know about love I learned in one short year. Somehow I'd coasted along all my life and then I fell in love twice, bam bam, just like that, and it left my heart spinning...Ruby-lee is cynical about love; after all, she's watched her sister Shandra call off her wedding three times a week. But when Shandra volunteers her to babysit her friend's seven month old baby, Ruby-lee discovers just what love means. First she's overcome by powerful feelings for tiny Maisy, then she starts spending time with Maisy's dad, Spence. She even begins to imagine a future together, as a family. But where will Ruby-lee's fantasies lead? And what sort of trouble could they get her into? When it looks like Ruby-lee might lose everything, she has to discover... Views: 70
