Do you remember when you believed in magic? *The Emporium opens with the first frost of winter. It is the same every year. Across the city, when children wake to see ferns of white stretched across their windows, or walk to school to hear ice crackling underfoot, the whispers begin: the Emporium is open! * It is 1917, and London has spent years in the shadow of the First World War. In the heart of Mayfair, though, there is a place of hope. A place where children’s dreams can come true, where the impossible becomes possible – that place is Papa Jack’s Toy Emporium. For years Papa Jack has created and sold his famous magical toys: hobby horses, patchwork dogs and bears that seem alive, toy boxes bigger on the inside than out, ‘instant trees’ that sprout from boxes, tin soldiers that can fight battles on their own. Now his sons, Kaspar and Emil, are just old enough to join the family trade. Into this family comes a young Cathy Wray – homeless and vulnerable. The Emporium takes her in, makes her one of its own. But Cathy is about to discover that while all toy shops are places of wonder, only one is truly magical... ** Views: 21
"Saeed's timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice."—Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewThe compelling story of a girl's fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude.Life is quiet and ordinary in Amal's Pakistani village, but she had no complaints, and besides, she's busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Her dreams are temporarily dashed when—as the eldest daughter—she must stay home from school to take care of her siblings. Amal is upset, but she doesn't lose hope and finds ways to continue learning. Then the unimaginable happens—after an accidental run-in with the son of her village's corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family's servant to pay off her own family's debt. Life at the opulent Khan estate is full of heartbreak and struggle for Amal—especially when she inadvertently makes an enemy of a girl named Nabila.... Views: 21
Put an atheist in a strict Catholic school? Expect comedy, chaos, and an Inquisition. The Breakfast Club meets Saved! in debut author Katie Henry's hilarious novel about a band of misfits who set out to challenge their school, one nun at a time. Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Robyn Schneider. When Michael walks through the doors of Catholic school, things can't get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. When a girl challenges their teacher in class, Michael thinks he might have found one, and a fellow atheist at that. Only this girl, Lucy, isn't just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest.Lucy introduces Michael to other St. Clare's outcasts, and he officially joins Heretics Anonymous, where he can be an atheist, Lucy can be an outspoken feminist, Avi can be Jewish and gay, Max can wear whatever he wants, and Eden can practice paganism.Michael encourages the Heretics to go from secret society to rebels intent on exposing the school's hypocrisies one stunt at a time. But when Michael takes one mission too far - putting the other Heretics at risk - he must decide whether to fight for his own freedom or rely on faith, whatever that means, in God, his friends, or himself. Views: 21
Two of my mosted hated characters from my Callaghan Brothers series meet their matches and discover that maybe they're really not as bad as they think they are. Views: 21
A heartwarming, hilarious Christmas story with a Southern twist. Like most things in Ellery, Tennessee, this year's Drive Thru Nativity is a little unconventional. The Dollar General parking lot doubles as a Bethlehem stable, and widowed writer Ivy Long, who's been roped into playing Mary, sure as heck isn't a virgin. But then comes an unexpected development: a genuine, real-life baby left in the manger, with only a brief note. And somehow, in the kerfuffle that follows, Ivy finds her life is about to change . . . The holidays are a bittersweet time for Ivy—filled with memories of her beloved late husband and reminders that life doesn't always offer the happily-ever-afters her readers expect. So when Ivy ends up with custody of the baby, she can only chalk it up to a Christmas miracle. She doesn't know if it will be forever, but with help from family, she'll make little Zuzu's first Christmas a good one. The nativity's Joseph, aka Gabe... Views: 21
When an African prince returns from university he sires a child with a sea goddess inspiring his father to make him care for not only the bi-elemental child, but the other child born of no one's womb in their village—a nomad boy, however the medicine man takes advantage of the villager's trepidation with the exotic children and plots to restore the shaman as leader by initiating a war between those in the villages and the beings in the sea. Views: 21
Capricorn (The Zodiac Lovers Series) Views: 21
