A romance novel by an Amish writer, based on true experiences!It isn't that Lizzie doesn't want to stay Amish. It's just that there is so much to figure out.Like why can't she let her hair be a little looser on top?And why can't she wear shoes with a little bit more of a heel?And will she ever really just know for a fact who she is going to marry like her next-older sister, Emma, does?And how does it happen that her just-younger sister, Mandy, is going on a date before Lizzie ever has a real one?So does it matter at all if she eats one more whoopie pie? Amos seems to like her a lot when she pounds out the ping-pong games. He even asks her to be his partner in doubles. But then he asks Ruthie if he can take her home!It has been this way Lizzie's whole life.She has too hot a temper. She hates housework and dislikes babies. She loves driving fast horses but is petrified of going away from home for a week to work as a maud (maid).Now that Lizzie is... Views: 69
When Tess Angel receives a solicitor's letter inviting her to claim her inheritance - the Villa Sirena, perched on a clifftop in Sicily - she is stunned. Her only link to the island is through her mother, Flavia, who left Sicily during World War II and cut all contact with her family. Initially resistant to Tess going back to her roots, Flavia realises the secrets from her past are about to be revealed and decides to try to explain her actions. Meanwhile, Tess' teenage daughter Ginny is stressed by college, by her blooming sexuality and filled with questions that she longs to ask her father, if only she knew where he was. Three women, all seeking answers. Will Villa Sirena bring them together - or drive them apart?Review'Beautifully written, warm and romantic ... The perfect holiday read' Rachel Hore, author of A Gathering Storm. 'The Villa will stay with you long after you've devoured this tale of family feuds, secrets and passion, Sicilian-style ... Romantic, escapist and mouthwatering, it has everything you could wish for in a summer read. Delicious' Veronica Henry, author of The Beach Hut. 'A warm and passionate story that is as beguiling as the aromatic tastes and scents of Sicily itself ... Richly written, always engrossing. The perfect summer read' Kate Furnivall, author of The White Pearl. 'This story about three women of different ages makes a great summer holiday read!' Star magazine. 'Vividly written with a compelling storyline, this is top escapism' Closer. 'Rosanna Ley is a wonderfully talented writer who will appeal to fans of Cathy Kelly, Rachel Hore and Rosamunde Pilcher. I can't wait to read more from this author' Lisa books. 'A gorgeous, mouth-watering dream of a holiday read' Red Online. 'This summer read will keep you enthralled' Bella. 'It is rare to find a book that offers mystery, adventure, romance and self-help, but somehow Ley has managed it perfectly' Chick Lit Club. About the AuthorRosanna Ley has worked as a creative tutor for over twelve years, leading workshops in the UK and abroad, and has completed an MA in creative writing. Her writing holidays and retreats take place in stunning locations in Italy and Spain. Rosanna has written numerous articles and stories for national magazines. When she is not travelling, Rosanna lives in West Dorset by the sea. Views: 69
Entanglement, the new novel based on the teachings of New York Times bestselling author Gregg Braden, explores the exciting world of quantum physics through the experiences of twin brothers. Charlie and Jack Franklin have always experienced life differently than your average brothers. As children, each was able to sense when the other was in danger, when the other was sad, or when the other was happy. However, as adults, these two brothers took different paths: Jack stayed in their hometown to practice his art and Charlie joined the army, only to be deployed to Afghanistan. After a frightening vision jolts Jack into consciousness, he begins his quest to get in touch with Charlie. Along the way, he encounters his high school physics teacher, who helps him understand the connection the brothers have and the larger universal oneness of which we are all a part. Views: 69
Kristen Zaleski is home for the holidays…indefinitely. Her acting career hasn't taken off—in fact, it hasn't gone anywhere. So now she's spending her days helping out at her dad's P.I. office. Until Mitch Donner comes by and lights up her life. Sort of…Mitch is back at his parents' place, too. As a successful accountant who'd been set up to take the fall in a money-laundering scheme, Mitch isn't quite sure what to do. So he takes a job installing Christmas lights…and gets an early present when he runs into Kristen. Especially when she offers her newly acquired P.I. skills to help him get his life back.Working together, they plot an elaborate sting operation, one that will take a miracle to pull off. Then again, anything is possible at Christmas—especially if it involves mistletoe! Views: 69
When your best friend dies, you’re supposed to know what happened. You’re supposed to know why. But Ella has no idea what happened the night Amy jumped to her death or why Amy would want to die. Ella’s other friends, Mark and Petal, are hiding something. Ella thinks they know exactly what happened that terrible night. But they’re not talking. Instead, Ella, Mark, and Petal play Pick Me Ups—a game in which they jump from dangerous heights. And every time Ella falls, she begins to remember pieces of that night. . . . It’s still not enough. So Ella brings a mysterious new guy into the group, hoping he will help shake things up and unearth the truth. But Ella’s “Explosive Boy” has secrets of his own. In the end, there may be some secrets that Ella doesn’t want to face. The truth—the real truth—about Amy’s death might just be more than she can handle. Debut author Vahini Naidoo has created a raw, edgy, and powerful portrait of grief and redemption that will haunt readers long after the last page.From BooklistThis debut novel, written when the author was 18 years old, takes readers on an uncompromising journey through one girl’s grief over the suicide of her best friend. Seventeen-year-old Ella was with Amy the night she jumped to her death. But Ella cannot remember the events, and she feels her friends Mark and Petal are hiding something. The teens have started skipping classes to play Pick-Me-Ups, a game which involves jumping from dangerous heights and relishing the rush of the fall. Each time Ella jumps she is able to remember a little bit more. As seen through Ella’s eyes, Amy was a troubled girl who died inside long before her suicide made it official. Ella has her own issues and her development as a character—from rudderless and self-destructive to a more introspective, honest version of herself—is the greatest strength of this book. There are some devastating reveals throughout which keeps the story compelling without feeling overdone. Some may be turned off by the expletive-filled text, but anyone who sticks with Ella till the end will come away satisfied. — Kara Dean, Booklist Oct. 2012 About the AuthorVahini Naidoo was eighteen years old when Marshall Cavendish acquired this novel, her debut. She is currently a student at the Australian National University. In her spare time she holds down such glamorous jobs as checkout chick and English tutor. Someday Vahini would like to own a castle in Europe. For now she lives in Canberra, Australia. To learn more about the author, read her blog: www.ramblingsofawriter-inkspatters.blogspot.com Views: 69
From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart comes a longawaited memoir about coming of age with a fragile new nation, then watching it torn asunder in a tragic civil warThe defining experience of Chinua Achebe’s life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967–1970. The conflict was infamous for its savage impact on the Biafran people, Chinua Achebe’s people, many of whom were starved to death after the Nigerian government blockaded their borders. By then, Chinua Achebe was already a world-renowned novelist, with a young family to protect. He took the Biafran side in the conflict and served his government as a roving cultural ambassador, from which vantage he absorbed the war’s full horror. Immediately after, Achebe took refuge in an academic post in the United States, and for more than forty years he has maintained a considered silence on the events of those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering reckoning with one of modern Africa’s most fateful events, from a writer whose words and courage have left an enduring stamp on world literature.Achebe masterfully relates his experience, bothas he lived it and how he has come to understand it. He begins his story with Nigeria’s birth pangs and the story of his own upbringing as a man and as a writer so that we might come to understand the country’s promise, which turned to horror when the hot winds of hatred began to stir. To read There Was a Country is to be powerfully reminded that artists have a particular obligation, especially during a time of war. All writers, Achebe argues, should be committed writers—they should speak for their history, their beliefs, and their people.Marrying history and memoir, poetry and prose, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid firsthand observation and forty years of research and reflection. Wise, humane, and authoritative, it will stand as definitive and reinforce Achebe’s place as one of the most vital literary and moral voices of our age.From BookforumAchebe's story is broken into four parts that cover, roughly, the personal and political arc of his life story. [He] is addressing his people, his country, the world; he's taking on the role of statesman rather than storyteller. —Victor Lavalle Review"Achebe writes in a characteristically modest fashion. It is without restraint but not without tact that his body of work has protested mediocrity in its various forms, from the British colonial apparatus, to the world’s ignorance of African literatures, to the corrosive mismanagement that has plagued Nigeria. Like much of Achebe’s other work, this book about the progress of war and the presence of violence has a universal quality. In a world where sectarian hatreds augmented by political mediocrity have fractured Syria and threaten to bring Israel and Iran to blows, There Was a Country is a valuable account of how the suffering caused by war is both unnecessary and formative."—*Newsweek*"Memoir and history are brought together by a master storyteller."—The GuardianAdvance Praise:"Chinua Achebe's history of Biafra is a meditation on the condition of freedom. It has the tense narrative grip of the best fiction. It is also a revelatory entry into the intimate character of the writer's brilliant mind and bold spirit. Achebe has created here a new genre of literature in which politico-historical evidence, the power of storytelling, and revelations from the depths of the human subconscious are one. The event of a new work by Chinua Achebe is always extraordinary; this one exceeds all expectation."—Nadine Gordimer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Views: 69
WELCOME TO MANDERLEY ACADEMY I hadn't wanted to go, but my parents were so excited[unknown-8230]. So here I am, the new girl at Manderley, a true fish out of water. But mine's not the name on everyone's lips. Oh, no. It's Becca Normandy they can't stop talking about. Perfect, beautiful Becca. She went missing at the end of last year, leaving a spot open at Manderley - the spot that I got. And everyone acts like it's my fault that infallible, beloved Becca is gone and has been replaced by not perfect, completely fallible, unknown Me. Then, there's the name on my lips - Max Holloway. Becca's ex. The one boy I should avoid, but can't. Thing is, it seems like he wants me, too. But the memory of Becca is always between us. And as much I'm starting to like it at Manderley, I can't help but think she's out there, somewhere, watching me take her place. Waiting to take it back. Views: 69
