Yichang municipality, Hubei province, China, early 1970s. High-school student Jingqiu is one of many educated urban youth sent to the countryside to be “reeducated” under a dictate from Chairman Mao. Jing’s father is a political prisoner somewhere in China, and her mother, a former teacher branded as a “capitalist,” is now reduced to menial work to support Jing and her two younger siblings.When Jing arrives with a group at Xiping village in the Yangtze River’s Three Gorges region, she meets geology student Jianxin, nicknamed “Old Three,” who is the son of a high-ranking military officer, but whose mother committed suicide after being branded a “rightist.” Despite their disparate social backgrounds and a political atmosphere that forbids the relationship, Jingqiu and Jianxin fall desperately in love. But their budding romance is cut short by fate . . .A sensitive and searing love story, Under the Hawthorn Tree is sure to become an instant classic. Views: 35
In this brilliant novel from the author of Sing the Light, a talented medicant defies the rule of men-and changes the lives of every woman on the planet. "A dark, richly imagined tale...a thoughtful meditation upon the dangers of fanaticism and the strength of the human spirit."-Sharon Shinn"Rich with alien atmospherics."-Publishers WeeklyFrom BooklistOn Irustan, a planet settled long ago by humans, the Book of Second Prophet painstakingly details the proper way of being. Despite space travel and advanced technologies, men are the absolute decision makers. Women, draped in shapeless silks, their faces heavily veiled, are chattel. Only a select few get a glimpse at independence by becoming medicants, who are trained in the medical sciences. Such work is regarded as too distasteful for men. The beautiful Zahra is a young wife, a talented medicant, and a murderer. Sickened by a world of abusive husbands, Zahra's choice to kill is believably righteous, but it is fraught with treacherous subsequent ramifications. Marley realizes Irustan in dynamic detail, and she manages real, consistent character development so that not only does Zahra mature, but secondary characters subtly grow as situations demand. Throughout, Marley's acclaimed, exquisite prose and her universal themes of feminist heroism light the book brightly. Karen SimonettiFrom Kirkus ReviewsFeminist science fiction from the author of the paperback Receive the Gift, etc. According to planet Irustan's inflexible religious code, women must be secluded and veiled, and are given away at the whim of the household's chief male. Nearly all men work in the rhodium mines, where they unavoidably inhale dust and become susceptible to a fatal disease; despite wearing masks, they require regular treatment. Their religion, however, bids them disregard their bodies, so men cannot be doctors. Zahra IbSada, the wife of Qadir, chief director of mines, is a ``medicant,'' Irustan's nearest equivalent to a doctor, diagnosing and treating with the help of machines imported from Earth. Despairingly, Zahra treats wives battered by their husbands, certifies as healthy 14-year-old girls being forced into marriage, and, disregarding Qadir's prohibition, patches up prostitutes injured by their clients. Then her friend Kalen, whose daughter Rabi will be given to the brutal Binya Maris, asks Zahra to intervene. She refuses, but secretly helps Kalen administer a fatal disease-causing agent. Zahra becomes friendly with offworld deliveryman Jin-Li Chung, who turns out to be a woman. When another friend begs for help against her adamant husband, Zahra again intervenes. Jin-Li's Earth boss, suspicious of the two unexplained deaths, orders him/her to spy on Zahra. But the brutality continues. Should Zahra persist with her covert terrorism, thereby risking detection, or join with her friends and start a revolution? Thoughtful and effective, despite the familiar backdrop and obvious developments. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Views: 35
She was the most alluring murder suspect he'd ever dealt with, but Gently knew Mimi Deslauriers was key to the execution of an underworld crime boss, and he was determined to prove it.The unflappable Inspector George Gently has become a household name through the hit BBC TV series starring Martin Shaw. These are the original books on which the TV series was based, although the George Gently in Alan Hunter's whodunits is somewhat different to his TV counterpart. He is more calculating, more analytical, and his investigations are even more enthralling. Views: 35
In Heart of the Lonely Exile, Book Two of BJ Hoff's acclaimed and bestselling Emerald Ballad series, readers will find heroine Nora Kavanagh struggling to build a new life for herself and her son Daniel in America. With help from a wealthy American family and friendship and support from a British gentleman, Nora nevertheless finds herself caught in a conflict of the heart. Michael Burke, a strong, dedicated Irish policeman, desperately wants to keep his promise to his best friend Morgan Fitzgerald to marry Nora and protect her. But Nora's instincts urge her to resist Michael's proposal and follow her heart in a different direction....More troubling still, in the midst of her personal struggle, the heartaches from her homeland continue to plague her. Heart of the Lonely Exile continues the saga of the Kavanagh pilgrimage—a journey of the soul in a strange new land, where all those who are exiles and aliens seek to finally find their true home. Views: 35
Seventeen-year-old Alex Jackson comes home from school to find that his father, a CBC news cameraman, wants to take him to China's capital, Beijing. Once there, Alex finds himself on his own in Tian An Men Square as desperate students fight the Chinese army for their freedom. Separated from his father and carrying illegal videotapes, Alex must trust the students to help him escape.Closely based on eyewitness accounts of the massacre in Beijing, Forbidden City is a powerful and frightening story.From the Paperback edition. Views: 35
Allie's life has just taken a turn for the worse. Not only do her parents fight all the time, but now she thinks she might be pregnant. She hooks up with her old friend Razz, a professional skateboarder, and goes on the road. Razz is ranked number one but his rivalry with Slammer is heating up, and Razz and Allie head for home—right into the path of a fierce tornado. To survive in the horror and destruction that follow the storm, Allie has to call on an inner strength she didn't know she had. Views: 35
Will she follow her convictions and risk everything?Richmond, Virginia, 1863. Compelled to atone for her slaveholding father, Union loyalist, Sophie Kent, attempts to end the war from within the Confederate capital, but she can't do it alone. Former slave Bella Jamison sacrifices her freedom to come to Richmond, where her Union soldier husband is imprisoned, and her twin sister still lives in bondage. Despite the danger, they work with Sophie to betray Rebel authorities while Harrison Caldwell, a Northern freelance journalist, infiltrates the War Department as a clerk.As Sophie's spy network grows, she walks a tightrope of deception, using her father's position as newspaper editor and a suitor's position in the ordnance bureau. One misstep could land her in prison, or worse. Suspicion hounds her. Finally, when her espionage endangers the people she loves; she's forced to make a life-and-death gamble. Views: 35
A scream in the night, a hidden staircase to nowhere and a ghostly face: Dunadd House still has secrets.<br><br>For over 400 years something has been hidden in old Dunadd House, and as another dangerous winter descends Samuel and the Morton<br>children discover it's not just the cold sending a shiver down their spine: not all their ghosts have been put to rest.<br><br>Can they unravel the family secret before they're forced to leave their home forever?<br><br>The bone-chilling sequel to Scottish Children's Book Award winner Chill. Views: 35
During a drought, the Logan family shares their well water with all their neighbors, black and white alike. But David and Hammer find it hard to share with Charlie Simms, who torments them because they are black. Hammer's pride and Charlie's meanness are a dangerous mixture, and tensions build and build. Narrated by young David Logan, Cassie's father in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, this extraordinary story is filled with characters and events so real that they're unforgettable."Taylor has used her gift for storytelling and skillful characterization to craft a brief but compelling novel about prejudice and the saving power of human dignity." — School Library Journal, starred review Views: 35
A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again--under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer.Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments. Stephie can't help herself--she's falling in love. As she navigates a sea of new emotions, she also grapples with what it means to be beholden to others, with her constant worry about what her parents are enduring back in Vienna, and with the menacing spread of Nazi ideology, even in Sweden. In these troubled times, her true friends, Stephie discovers, are the... Views: 35
