From award-winning author Beth Vrabel comes a powerfully moving story about a magical friendship, coping with disability, and the pains of growing up and growing apart.
Twelve-year-old Caleb is shorter, frailer, and more protected than most kids his age. That's because he has cystic fibrosis, a diagnosis meaning lungs that fill with mucus and a shortened lifespan. Caleb tries not to let his disorder define him, but it can be hard with an overprotective mom and a perfect big brother.
Then Caleb meets Kit--a vibrant, independent, and free girl--and his world changes instantly. Kit reads Caleb's palm and tells him they are destined to become friends. She calls birds down from the sky and turns every day into an adventure. Her magic is contagious, making Caleb question the rules and order in his life. But being Kit's friend means embracing deception and danger, and soon Caleb will have to decide if his friendship with Kit is really what's best for him--or her.
**Review
"A can't-put-it-down tale. Caleb's discoveries about his own strength and resilience during his friendship with free-spirited, imaginative Kit will expand your heart and fill your soul. From the beautiful cover to the last sentence, this book is a favorite to savor and share."―*Bibi Belford, author of *Canned and Crushed****
"Having a disability myself, my heart broke for Caleb who wants nothing more than to feel like a normal twelve-year-old kid - at any cost. Caleb and Kit will forever be entwined, the roots of their friendship solid, rich, and strong, just like this beautiful story."―*Kerry O'Malley Cerra, author of *Just a Drop of Water****
"In the midst of Kit's self-constructed fantasy world, Caleb's heroism is the real deal. He's determined, courageous, and witty despite his unusual physical challenges. Beth Vrabel doesn't shy away from the tough stuff that can complicate the lives of tweens. Readers young and old will find this a unique novel well-deserving of a permanent place on the family bookshelf."―*Melissa Hart, author of *Avenging the Owl*
"A realistic story with strong, recognizable characters that doesn't reduce cystic fibrosis to a tragedy."
**―*-Kirkus Reviews***
"Filled with smart, witty, and magical writing, Kit and Caleb, and those around them, come to vibrant life in this heartbreaking story about the ties that bring people together, and the difficulties of facing the truth."―**-Booklist****
"A compelling story of two struggling kids making their own safe haven."
―**- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books*
About the Author
Beth Vrabel is the award-winning author of A Blind Guide to Stinkville, A Blind Guide to Normal, and the Pack of Dorks series. She can't clap to the beat or be trusted around Nutella, but she indulges in both often, much to the dismay of her family. She lives in Canton, Connecticut. Views: 10
The extraordinary and eventful personal account of the life of Pearl S. Buck, the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for LiteratureOften regarded as one of Pearl S. Buck's most significant works, My Several Worlds is the memoir of a major novelist and one of the key American chroniclers of China. Buck, who was born to missionary parents in 1892, spent much of the first portion of her life in China, experiencing the Boxer Rebellion first hand and becoming involved with the society with an intimacy available to few outside observers. The book is not only an important reflection on that nation's modern history, but also an account of her re-engagement with America and the intense activity that characterized her life there, from her prolific novel-writing to her loves and friendships to her work for abandoned children and other humanitarian causes. As alive with incident as it is illuminating in its philosophy, My Several Worlds is essential reading for travelers and... Views: 10
A wealthy painter finds his inspiration, and tumultuous love, in a girl he meets by chanceAt the turn of the century, an upper-class painter from Philadelphia goes searching for inspiration. He finds his muse on a farm—the farmer's beautiful and humble daughter. His portrait of her becomes one of his most inspired works, but his passion for the illiterate girl doesn't stop at the easel: He returns to marry her and settle down to country life—a journey that means bridging enormous gaps between their cultures, breaking from his parents, and creating tension between their friends. Pearl S. Buck compassionately imagines both sides of the complex marriage, and in addition, creates a wonderfully vivid picture of America leading up to the Second World War. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author's estate. Views: 10
It is the 41st millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die. Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor’s will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst His soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants - and worse. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods. Views: 10
Maisie and her parents have moved to a seaside home, and she's worried she's going to be lonely. But her new life becomes a real splash when she rescues frightened brown tabby kitten Flame and the two become instant friends! Views: 10
The tale of Beren and Lúthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year. Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Lúthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal elf. Her father, a great elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril. In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and Lúthien from the... Views: 10
On November 2nd armed with a sheaf of visas...one suitcase...and my typewriter, I left humdrum London for the thrilling cities of the world...In 1959, Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, was commissioned by the Sunday Times to explore fourteen of the world's most exotic cities. Fleming saw it all with a thriller writer's eye. From Hong Kong to Honolulu, New York to Naples, he left the bright main streets for the back alleys, abandoning tourist sites in favour of underground haunts, and mingling with celebrities, gangsters and geishas. The result is a series of vivid snapshots of a mysterious, vanished world.Review"An accomplished travel writer" Scotsman "He gathered material for his novels like a voracious travelling magpie: the people and places Fleming experienced on his Thrilling Cities tour in 1959 would [furnish] much of the backdrop and research for the five Bond novels and seven short stories that would follow" The Times "Fleming was a fine travel writer, too (check out Thrilling Cities), and we quickly come to know and appreciate the locales in the book as we do the characters" Daily Telegraph "Fleming describes food precisely and enticingly" Independent "[Fleming's] penchant for fast cars, stylish hotels, expensive alcohol and bizarre encounters brings a whiff of excitement to the narrative, which is vivid, shocking and exuberant by turns" Good Book Guide About the AuthorIan Fleming was born in London on May 28, 1908. He was educated at Eton College and later spent a formative period studying languages in Europe. His first job was with Reuters News Agency where a Moscow posting gave him firsthand experience with what would become his literary bête noire—the Soviet Union. During World War II he served as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence and played a key role in Allied espionage operations.After the war, he worked as foreign manager of the Sunday Times, a job that allowed him to spend two months each year in Jamaica. Here, in 1952, at his home “Goldeneye,” he wrote a book called Casino Royale—and James Bond was born. The first print run sold out within a month. For the next twelve years Fleming produced a novel a year featuring Special Agent 007, the most famous spy of the century. The Bond novels have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide, boosted by the hugely successful film franchise that began in 1962 with the release of Dr. No. His travels, interests, and wartime experience lent authority to everything he wrote. Based on those experiences, he wrote two pieces of nonfiction—Thrilling Cities and The Diamond Smugglers.He married Anne Rothermere in 1952. His story about a magical car, written in 1961 for their only son, Caspar, went on to become the well-loved novel and film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Fleming died of heart failure on August 12, 1964, at the age of fifty-six. www.ianfleming.com Views: 10
As the super patriot and war veteran who’s bankrolling Britain’s top-secret Moonraker rocket program, Sir Hugo Drax should be above reproach. But there’s more to this enigmatic millionaire than he lets on. When M suspects Drax of cheating at cards in an exclusive gentleman’s club, he sends Bond in to investigate. But exposing the deception only enrages Drax—and now 007 must outwit an angry man with the power to loose a nuclear warhead on London. The mysterious death of the head of security at Drax’s missile base gives Bond the perfect opportunity to go undercover to find out the secret agenda of the supposed British war hero. With the help of another agent, the lustrous Gala Brand, 007 learns the truth about Drax’s battle scars, his wartime allegiances—and his murderous plans for the deployment of Moonraker.ReviewIrresistibly readable Observer About the AuthorIan Fleming was born in London on May 28, 1908. He was educated at Eton College and later spent a formative period studying languages in Europe. His first job was with Reuters News Agency where a Moscow posting gave him firsthand experience with what would become his literary bete noire—the Soviet Union. During World War II he served as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence and played a key role in Allied espionage operations. After the war he worked as foreign manager of the Sunday Times, a job that allowed him to spend two months each year in Jamaica. Here, in 1952, at his home “Goldeneye,” he wrote a book called Casino Royale—and James Bond was born. The first print run sold out within a month. For the next twelve years Fleming produced a novel a year featuring Special Agent 007, the most famous spy of the century. His travels, interests, and wartime experience lent authority to everything he wrote. Raymond Chandler described him as “the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England.” Sales soared when President Kennedy named the fifth title, From Russia With Love, one of his favorite books. The Bond novels have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide, boosted by the hugely successful film franchise that began in 1962 with the release of Dr. No. He married Anne Rothermere in 1952. His story about a magical car, written in 1961 for their only son Caspar, went on to become the well- loved novel and film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Fleming died of heart failure on August 12, 1964, at the age of fifty-six. Views: 10
Life is an adventure for ten-year-old Darius Frobisher. His eccentric father Rudy sells insurance four days a week. The other three days he goes on exotic journeys. Then there is Darius's scatterbrained, much-loved babysitter Miss Hastings, who throws water balloons with him and makes delicious burned toast.But when his father flies off in a hot air balloon and doesn't come back, Darius's happy, carefree life suddenly comes to an end. He is torn away from Miss Hastings and sent to live with his notoriously nasty Aunt Ida, where he has to sleep alone in a cold, damp basement. Most of his waking time is spent trying to dodge the teenage boy next door, who is home from military school and hungry to do horrible things to someone younger than himself.Darius sees a ray of hope when he finds a rusty old bicycle in the basement and begins to repair it in secret. Could this be the first step toward a reunion with Miss Hastings? Then one day he is startled to see an old man... Views: 10
A riding team from Italy is coming to Pine Hollow, and Stevie volunteers to entertain them during their visit. It's a job that stuck-up Veronica diAngelo wanted for herself, and now Veronica is determined that Stevie will pay!Suddenly, with the big weekend approaching, Stevie finds out someone has "volunteered" her to organize the annual school fair, to run the Children's Hospital Festival, and to debate for election as class president. They all take place on the same day--just when her Bar-None Ranch friends Kate and Christine and the Italian riding team are due to visit! Can one person do four things at once? With the help of her Saddle Club friends and a lot of imagination, Stevie's determined to try. The result will be the greatest event ever . . . or the biggest disaster of all time! Views: 10
Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire is the first book in a spellbinding fantasy adventure series by screenwriter John August.Some trails lead to magic. Some lead to danger. As Arlo looked around, the walls of his room began to vanish, revealing a moonlit forest. Only his bed remained, and the frame of his window, through which he saw the girl. The world on her side of the glass was sparkling with silver and gold, like a palace made of autumn leaves. She looked off to her right. Someone was coming. Her words came in an urgent whisper: "If I can see you, they can see you . . . Be careful, Arlo Finch." Arlo Finch is a newcomer to Pine Mountain, Colorado, a tiny town of mystery and magic, but he's already attracted the attention of dark and ancient forces. At first he thinks these increasingly strange and frightening occurrences are just part of being in Rangers, the mountain scouting troop where he learns how to harness the... Views: 9
Susie Torres planned on spending most of the summer before her senior
year of high school with her girlfriend, Marlee McAllister, but that's
proving to be quite challenging because Marlee works at D'Amico's
restaurant, and Susie babysits for Mrs. Johnson, her mother's boss.
Susie hates the job, because she not only works like a slave, but gets
paid like one. Susie is desperate to take her physical relationship
with Marlee further, but she knows she has to go at Marlee's slower
pace. Complicating things is the attention that a pretty blonde softball
player from another team shows Marlee, and Susie falls into a funk when
Marlee seems to enjoy it. On top of that, nothing she does seems to be
good enough for her summer softball coach. Frustrated with life, Susie
accidentally on purpose comes out to her mother. It would be an
understatement to say that her mother didn't take it well. Can Susie
deal with a girlfriend whose head has possibly been turned by another,
an employer who treats her like dirt, a coach who doesn't respect her,
and a mother who tells her she is unnatural? Can she get her life back
on track before senior year starts? Views: 9
