For the first 10 years of her life, Lily Casey Smith, the narrator of this true-life novel by her granddaughter, Walls, lived in a dirt dugout in west Texas. Walls, whose megaselling memoir, The Glass Castle, recalled her own upbringing, writes in what she recalls as Lily's plainspoken voice, whose recital provides plenty of drama and suspense as she ricochets from one challenge to another. Having been educated in fits and starts because of her parents' penury, Lily becomes a teacher at age 15 in a remote frontier town she reaches after a solo 28-day ride. Marriage to a bigamist almost saps her spirit, but later she weds a rancher with whom she shares two children and a strain of plucky resilience. (They sell bootleg liquor during Prohibition, hiding the bottles under a baby's crib.) Lily is a spirited heroine, fiercely outspoken against hypocrisy and prejudice, a rodeo rider and fearless breaker of horses, and a ruthless poker player. Assailed by flash floods, tornados and droughts, Lily never gets far from hardscrabble drudgery in several states—New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois—but hers is one of those heartwarming stories about indomitable women that will always find an audience.
SUMMARY:
Jeannette Walls's "The Glass Castle" was "nothing short of spectacular" ("Entertainment Weekly"). Now she brings us the story of her grandmother -- told in a voice so authentic and compelling that the book is destined to become an instant classic. ""Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did."" So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls's magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, all alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane, and, with her husband, ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in "The Glass Castle." Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. "Half Broke Horses" is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's "Out of Africa" or Beryl Markham's "West with the Night." It will transfix readers everywhere. Views: 60
In Treasure Mountain , Louis L’Amour delivers a robust story of two brothers searching to learn the fate of their missing father—and finding themselves in a struggle just to stay alive.
Orrin and Tell Sackett had come to exotic New Orleans looking for answers to their father’s disappearance twenty years before. To uncover the truth, the brothers enlisted the aid of a trailwise Gypsy and a mysterious voodoo priest as they sought to re-create their father’s last trek. But Louisiana is a dangerous land, and with one misstep the brothers could disappear in the bayous before they even set foot on the trail—a trail that led to whatever legacy their father had left behind . . . and a secret worth killing for. Views: 60
Just about a decade ago, Valerie Wolzien, who was then a housewife, began composing her first mystery novel on a warped old card table in her basement. All her subsequent whodunits pay implicit tribute to that hard-won apprenticeship: Each of them has the conciseness and seamlessness that only revision can bring. In this engaging home construction drama which has all the excitement of a slippery roof, contractor Josie finds herself twice famous and once accused. After a PBS remodeling series invades her site, Ms. Pigeon fights back intrusive media people. But when the hostess of the show turns up as a bloody corpse, Josie's curses turn into pleas. Straight-edge sleuthing. Views: 60
Kron Darkbow seeks vengeance, and he plans to have it no matter the costs. Returning to the city of his birth after 15 years, he hunts down the wizard responsible for the deaths of those he loved only to find out another was responsible for the murders. That other is Belgad the Liar, a former barbarian chieftain who is now boss of the city's underworld.Following his path for blood, Kron comes across the magical healer, Randall Tendbones, and accidentally reveals Randall's darkest secret to the world. It's a secret about the past, a secret that has kept Randall on the run for three years. Now it has caught up with him, and Belgad the Liar is suddenly the least of Randall and Kron's concerns. The gaze of Lord Verkain, king of of the dark northern land of Kobalos, has fallen upon Kron and Randall. And it is a gaze filled with madness.OTHER BOOKS IN THE EPIC FANTASY TRILOGY:Road To Wrath: Book II of The Kobalos Trilogyamazon.com/dp/B002LISF38Dark King of The North: Book III of The Kobalos Trilogyamazon.com/dp/B002TG4NSIBlade and Flame: Prequel to The Kobalos Trilogy (short story)amazon.com/dp/B004GUSEGWThe Kobalos Trilogy OMNIBUS edition, collects all 3 original novels of trilogyamazon.com/dp/B007FFFOHW"... a fast-paced story full of suspense and action. You will spend much of the book wondering who among the rogues is secretly Kron Darkbow." -- Brent Nichols, author of LORD OF FIRE"Johnston does an outstanding job of juggling a fairly large cast of characters for such a short book, imbuing each of them with their own personality and characteristics." -- Keith West, Adventures Fantastic"Ty introduces us into a world plagued with tension, murder, revenge, and bribery, and does a fantastic job emphasizing how fast the darkness could fall." -- Jessee Dedman, editor of DEADMAN'S TOMEAbout the AuthorOriginally from Kentucky, Ty Johnston is a former newspaper journalist who now writes about swords, sorcery and things that go bump in the night. He lives in the South with his wife, their beagle and house rabbit. Blog: tyjohnston.blogspot.com Views: 60
The Night Fairies' magic is missing—and now Fairyland is in the dark!Rachel and Kirsty can't wait for their week at Camp Stargaze! They'll get to roast marshmallows, tell spooky stories, and sleep in cool cabins. But when the Night Fairies' magic goes missing, Rachel and Kirsty have another activity to add to their list—helping their fairy friends!Rachel, Kirsty, and all the other campers are getting ready for a fun midnight feast. But Morgan the Midnight Fairy's magic is missing. Without it, the midnight feast could turn into a midnight flop! Views: 60
