Joan's mother is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most beautiful woman in the world. Her father is Henry II, the king of England and a renowned military leader. She loves them both—so what is she to do when she's forced to choose between them? As her parents' arguments grow ever more vicious, Joan begins to feel like a political pawn. When her parents marry her off to the king of Sicily, Joan finds herself stuck with a man ten years her senior. She doesn't love her husband, and she can't quite forget her childhood crush, the handsome Lord Raymond.As Joan grows up, she begins to understand that her parents' worldview is warped by their political ambitions, and hers, in turn, has been warped by theirs. Is it too late to figure out whom to trust? And, more importantly, whom to love?The Queen's Daughter is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. Views: 56
Infiltrate. Befriend. Sabotage.World War II is raging. Michael O'Shaunessey, originally from Ireland, now lives in Nazi Germany with his parents. Like the other boys in his school, Michael is a member of the Hitler Youth. But Michael has a secret. He and his parents are spies. Michael despises everything the Nazis stand for. But he joins in the Hitler Youth's horrific games and book burnings, playing the part so he can gain insider knowledge. When Michael learns about Projekt 1065, a secret Nazi war mission, things get even more complicated. He must prove his loyalty to the Hitler Youth at all costs — even if it means risking everything he cares about. Including... his own life. From acclaimed author Alan Gratz (Prisoner B-3087) comes a pulse-pounding novel about facing fears and fighting for what matters most. Views: 56
A pair of artists is undone by jealousy and despair on the outskirts of London In a forgotten suburb of London recently leveled by German bombs, an artists' colony has taken root. Theo Freeland spent the war painting, studiously avoiding danger, while his wife, Suspiria, made pottery during the day and drove ambulances at night. But now the war is over, and Theo spends his time drinking himself into a stupor while Suspiria tolerates him as best she can. She has her work, and that's enough. After all, she and Theo are promised to each other—till death do they part. Death, as it happens, is right around the corner. Suspiria's life changes forever the night her husband is helped home by Dennis Forbes, a strapping young mechanic who can't take his eyes off the drunkard's wife. When Theo is later found poisoned, and Suspiria claims Dennis as her own, the village turns on them. But the real tragedy is yet to come. Views: 56
A new novel from Ron Hansen, the award-winning author of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, about an iconic American criminal of the old West: legendary outlaw, Billy the Kid.Born Henry McCarty, Billy the Kid was a diminutive, charming, blond-haired young man who, growing up in New York, Kansas, and later New Mexico, demonstrated a precocious dexterity at firing six-shooters with either hand—a skill that both got him into and out of trouble and that turned him into an American legend of the old West. He was smart, well-spoken, attractive to both white and Mexican women, a good dancer, and a man with a nose for money, horses, and trouble. His spree of crimes and murders has been immortalized in dime westerns, novels, and movies. But the whole story of his short, epically violent life has never been told as it has been here. In The Kid, Ron Hansen showcases his masterful research and inimitable style as he breathes life into... Views: 56
A new suspense saga from a much-loved author1947. Kindly, unassuming widow Dorrie Resterick continually finds herself confidante to others' troubles. She would prefer to keep in the background, but life throws her many a mystery, and once she even found a scrap of evidence in a dreadful local crime—the double murder of two villagers. While the police decided the scrap of paper Dorrie brought to them solved the case, Dorrie was never sure—and when new tenants arrive at long-abandoned creepy cottage Merrivale, the site of the murders, their actions inadvertently plunge the whole village into danger... Views: 56
From author Janie DeVos comes a poignant and richly detailed novel set in 1950s North Carolina, where one young woman struggles to save her own life—and finds the strength to truly live it. When Kathryn Cavanaugh steps over the threshold of the Pelham Sanatorium in 1954, she has no idea when, or if, she will ever leave it again. Despite the rise of promising new treatments, Tuberculosis is still feared and often fatal. But twenty-four-year-old Kate has proven her resilience before, leaving her Blue Ridge Mountain home for a very different life in the city with her ambitious attorney husband, Geoffrey. For the sake of her family, especially her young son, she's determined to get healthy again. The sanatorium is a strange battlefield, with every patient fighting for survival amidst a numbing routine of tests, treatment, and enforced rest. Kate quickly finds camaraderie among the women on her ward—and a growing kinship with fellow patient... Views: 56
Living in a family with two perfect sisters and parents who just don't get her, Ant MacPherson finds it easier to lie. After all, the only one who appreciates her is her dog, Pistachio. But when a concerned teacher sees the truth behind Ant's lies, it seems as though she might be in for a change . . . Views: 56
Arkansas, 1984: The town of Griffin Flat is known for almost nothing other than its nuclear missile silos. MAD—Mutually Assured Destruction—is a fear every local lives with and tries to ignore. Unfortunately that's impossible now that film moguls have picked Griffin Flat as the location for a new nuclear holocaust movie, aptly titled The Eve of Destruction.When sixteen-year-old Laura Ratliff wins a walk-on role (with a plus-one!) thanks to a radio call-in contest, she is more relieved than excited. Mingling with Hollywood stars on the set of a phony nuclear war is a perfect distraction from being the only child in her real nuclear family—which has also been annihilated. Her parents are divorced. Her mother has recently married one of the only African-American men in town. Her father, an officer in the Strategic Air Command, is absent . . . except when he phones at odd hours to hint at an impending catastrophe. But isn't that his job?Laura's only... Views: 56
Romance/Historical Fiction. 65799 words long. Views: 56
War at sea: While Matthew Hervey is getting ready to re-join his regiment in England, his close friend Captain Peto is at sea preparing his mighty line-of-battle ship for war with the Turks.
1827: Captain Peto has just taken command of HMS Prince Rupert, the only three-decker line-of-battle ship in His Majesty’s Fleet — a wooden fortress whose formidable firepower is the equal and more of Bonaparte’s grand battery at Waterloo. But his journey to the Aegian, where Admiral Codrington’s flagship awaits him, will not be smooth sailing, having as he does, a largely inexperienced crew. He’s also been entrusted with the safe passage to Malta of the Admiral’s youngest daughter — a situation that is far from ideal for Peto and his crew.
A year on, and Hervey is in London recovering from a recent bout of malaria. All is set fair for his upcoming marriage, and his subsequent return to active duty in the Cape. But trouble lies ahead as family commitments clash with affairs of the heart, and Hervey finds himself embroiled in a military enquiry that could result in public humiliation.
As the cataclysmic sea-battle of Navarino Bay looms ever closer for Peto and his crew, Hervey faces a regimental crisis that may be beyond even his capabilities. Views: 55
