A hidden story of human triumph, Crescendo takes you on the rare journey of a musical prodigy who changed an entire community forever.More than eighty years ago, a musical prodigy with a brilliant mind was born into a poor, uneducated, and abusive family in rural South Georgia. At three years of age, Fred Allen could play Mozart sonatas on the piano without missing a note. But in spite of his obvious talent, Fred's parents discouraged him from expressing his creativity and intelligence, even going so far as locking him away from the old piano in their home. Forced to fend for himself through his adolescent years, Fred knew that if he was ever to make something of himself, he would need to find a way to rise above his broken background. With incredible effort, and a few miracles along the way, Fred managed to do just that, eventually earning acceptance into The Julliard School in New York City. While simultaneously attending Juilliard, Union Theological... Views: 579
An Amish courtship no one expected...But is he too good to be true?To prove she has a fun side, ultraserious Lovey Stutzman accepts her sister's dare: a buggy ride with Hickory Grove's most handsome Amish bachelor. But what Lovey can't accept is Marshall Byler's claim that he fell in love with her at first sight. Now Marshall must defy everyone's expectations—including his family's—to prove his intentions once and for all. Views: 579
In Here to StayJohn Hersey tells of episodes in the past twenty years in which Man has courageously risen above desperate situations and shown his determination to survive despite the threats of the nuclear age. Mr. Hersey first tells the story of an old lady marooned on a rooftop amidst floods caused by a hurricane. He ends with his famous Hiroshima, the story of the survivors of the first atomic bombing, written from personal investigation, with horrifying detail and compassionate indignation. Between these two pieces we read of John Kennedy's heroism in rescuing the crew of his PT boat, sunk by the Japanese, seventeen years before he became President; a Jew's suffering in Auschwitz; a crippled G.I.'s difficulties in adjusting himself to civilian life; the rehabilitation of a soldier paralyzed with fright; the adventures of two Poles who survived persecution; and a most moving account of an escape from Hungary in 1956. All John Hersey's books have... Views: 579
The Plague of Crows has come for DS Thomas Hutton, and Hell has followed…A student pushed in front of a train.A double decapitation.A man dead in the street, beaten and drugged.A woman wrapped in tape, her body dumped in a cellar.The deaths around Glasgow, random, brutal and bloody, seem unconnected. Then an e-mail arrives in Hutton's inbox, and suddenly he is thrown into another nightmare case, his world once again ripped apart in a brutal tale of revenge, sex, lies, guilt and murder."Douglas Lindsay is someone deserving to be spoken of as a master." SHOTS"Lindsay is an underrated writer with an eccentric, blisteringly satirical voice." SUNDAY EXPRESS"A master of comic crime." SCOTTISH FIELD Views: 578
Where love is concerned, the smallest steps are often the hardest to take—especially when you've guarded your heart as carefully as Iris Miller has. Still bruised from a relationship that crashed and burned, and all the meaningless hookups that followed, Iris has given up on love and buttoned her feelings up tight.But when Cameron Hansen joins Iris's law firm and her soccer team, and even starts hanging out in her favorite bookstore, everything gets turned upside down. Beautiful, open, and forward, Cam is impossible to ignore, and Iris is surprised to find herself intrigued. Cam's straight, happily engaged, and simply looking for a friend—or so it seems.London's bitterly cold winter makes winning their soccer championship almost as difficult as keeping their feelings in check, being honest with each other, and trying not to fall in love. Iris and Cam are about to discover the meaning of taking chances and following your heart, even if it means getting hurt. Views: 578
A big-city detective had a lot to learn in Texas. Even a tough one like Ed Ballinger. He'd tracked the Big Man to Jack City, where he owned the local law and was surrounded but hired guns. Ballinger was in trouble. The mobster from Chicago was riding high—until Dusty Fog and the Floating Outfit rode into his life. Then his trouble really began... Views: 578
Apprentice tinkerer Harriet Hodgkins is skilled in the construction and maintenance of intricate clockwork contrivances. She's also rather good at masquerading as a man ... for of course, no self-respecting craftsman would hire a woman.Repairing a salvaged automaton becomes a labour of love for Hodgkins, and the object of her affections, Miss Pandora Piper, comes to hold her rescuer in equal esteem. But Hodgkins has yet to confess her true gender, and moreover the clockwork coquette is destined for resale.If Hodgkins can't engineer a more auspicious ending, Miss Pandora's restoration will signal their separation. Views: 578
For most people, home is a place with four walls. It's a place to eat, sleep, rest, and live. For a refugee, the concept of home is ever-changing, ever-moving, ever-wavering. And often, it doesn't have any walls at all.Eleven-year-old Lam escapes from Vietnam with Dee Dee during the Vietnamese Boat People Exodus in 1979, when people from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fled their homelands for safety. For a refugee, the trip is a long and perilous one, filled with dangerous encounters with pirates and greedy sailors, a lack of food and water, and even the stench of a dead body onboard. When they finally arrive at a refugee camp, Lam befriends Dao, a girl her age who becomes like a sister-a welcome glimmer of happiness after a terrifying journey. Readers will feel as close to Lam as the jade pendant she wears around her neck, sticking by her side throughout her journey as she experiences fear, crushing loss, boredom, and some small moments of joy along the... Views: 578
