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Finding Chika

Bestselling author Mitch Albom returns to nonfiction for the first time in more than a decade in this poignant memoir that celebrates Chika, a young Haitian orphan whose short life would forever change his heart.Chika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in a landscape of extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to The Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Albom operates in Port Au Prince.With no children of their own, the forty-plus children who live, play, and go to school at the orphanage have become family to Mitch and his wife, Janine. Chika's arrival makes a quick impression. Brave and self-assured, even as a three-year-old, she delights the other kids and teachers. But at age five, Chika is suddenly diagnosed with something a doctor there says, "No one in Haiti can help you with."Mitch and Janine bring Chika to...
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The Glass-Blowers

"The Glass-Blowers consistently entertains." --New York Times The world of the glass-blowers has its own traditions, it's own language - and its own rules. 'If you marry into glass' Pierre Labbe warns his daughter, 'you will say goodbye to everything familiar, and enter a closed world'. But crashing into this world comes the violence and terror of the French Revolution, against which the family struggles to survive. Years later, Sophie Duval reveals to her long-lost nephew the tragic story of a family of master craftsmen in eighteenth-century France. Drawing on her own family's tale of tradition and sorrow, Daphne du Maurier weaves an unforgettable saga of beauty, war, and family.
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The Sword and the Stallion

THE LAST BATTLE Enemies become allies and allies enemies as the races struggle for possession of the Earth. Yet only Prince Corum of the Scarlet Robe can save them from a doomed fate. With the spear of Llaw Ereint in his silver hand, Corum must face the Cold Gods in a final battle that will defeat the forces of Chaos - or deliver the world to evil unending... Cover Illustration: Robert Gould
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Hatter's Castle

Hatter's Castle (1931) is the first novel of author A. J. Cronin. The story is set in 1879, in the fictional town of Levenford, on the Firth of Clyde. The plot revolves around many characters and has many subplots, all of which relate to the life of the hatter, James Brodie, whose narcissism and cruelty gradually destroy his family and life.
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Sullivan's Island

The New York Times bestseller—in paperback for the first time!Set in the steamy, stormy landscape of South Carolina, Sullivan's Island tells the unforgettable story of one woman's courageous journey toward truth. Born and raised on idyllic Sullivan's Island, Susan Hayes navigated through her turbulent childhood with humor, spunk, and characteristic Southern sass. But years later, she is a conflicted woman with an unfaithful husband, a sometimes resentful teenage daughter, and a heart that aches with painful, poignant memories. And as Susan faces her uncertain future, she realizes that she must go back to her past. To the beachfront house where her sister welcomes her with open arms. To the only place she can truly call home.
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Gooney Bird and the Room Mother

Gooney Bird Greene likes to be right smack in the middle of everything. That's why she wants to have the lead role of Squanto in her class Thanksgiving pageant. But that role will go to whoever finds someone to be the room mother. All the parents are so busy, no one can bring cupcakes to the play. Gooney Bird Greene to the rescue! She finds a room mother alright, but promises not to tell who it is until the day of the play. Now the kids are really busy getting ready for the show. But will the mystery room mother really show up?
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Dani's Shorts 2

Yes, it's Volume 2 of TIW shorts! Yet another collection of totally pointless exactly 500 and exactly 200 word nonsense to entertain you while doing whatever you do when reading.Yes, it's Volume 2 of TIW shorts! Yet another collection of totally pointless exactly 500 and exactly 200 word nonsense to entertain you while doing whatever you do when reading. Here are my own personal takes on the second 6 months of the Iron Writer Challenge, including Challenges, Weekend Quickies, Grudge Matches and Solstice Opens - plus an excerpt of 'How to' killing Brian (Cannibalising Brian) and a slice from the first ever Relays. I hope you enjoy these short snippets just as much as you enjoyed Volume 1.Thanks again to Brian and all the other Iron Writers for making The Iron Writers phenomenon the success that it already is.
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Sister Emily's Lightship: And Other Stories

In these twenty-eight magnificent tales, which include two Nebula Award winners, Jane Yolen puts a provocative spin on familiar storybook worlds and beloved fairy tale characters One of the most acclaimed and honored authors in science fiction and fantasy, Jane Yolen has been called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” for her brilliant reimagining of classic fairy tales. In her first collection of short stories written for an adult audience (after Tales of Wonder and Dragonfield), Yolen explores themes of freedom and justice, truth and consequence, and brings new life to our most cherished fables and myths. Here are storybook realms rendered more contemporary, and cautionary tales made grimmer than Grimm: Snow White is transported to Appalachia to match wits with a snake-handling evil stepmother and Beauty’s meeting with the Beast takes a twisty, O. Henry–esque turn; in Yolen’s Nebula Award–winning “Lost Girls,” a feminist revolt rocks Peter Pan’s Neverland and in the collection’s glorious title story—also a Nebula winner—the poet Emily Dickinson receives some unexpected and otherworldly inspiration. Sometimes dark, sometimes funny, and always enthralling, Sister Emily’s Lightship is proof positive that Yolen is truly a folklorist of our times. This ebook features a personal history by Jane Yolen including rare images from the author’s personal collection, as well as a note from the author about the making of the book.
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Slammerkin

Mary Saunders, a lower-class London schoolgirl, was born into rough cloth but hungered for lace and the trappings of a higher station than her family would ever know. In 18th-century England, Mary's shrewd instincts will get her only so far, and she despairs of the plans made for her to carve out a trade as a seamstress or a maid. Unwilling to bend to such a destiny, Mary strikes out on a painful, fateful journey all her own. Inspired by the obscure historical figure Mary Saunders, Slammerkin is a provocative, graphic tale and a rich feast of an historical novel. Author Emma Donoghue probes the gap between a young girl's quest for freedom and a better life and the shackles that society imposes on her. "Never give up your liberty."
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The Quest for Hope

In the dark land of Novus, a Light is beginning to move. As the true High King attempts to rally his forces, crystalline beings move among mortals, seen and heard only by those specially attuned to their existence. One of the Erela stands supreme above all the rest. Known as the Dark One, Zohar has all but succeeded in erasing the name of the High King from the hearts and minds of everyone in Novus. It is now up to the rest of the Erela to stop his wrath. In an unknown community tucked away in a hidden valley, an Erela recruits a young apprentice to help carry out their important mission. As Levi embarks on a dangerous quest to fetch a princess and bring her to Zion to fulfill her destiny, she is struggling to understand why she has been chosen to be the new Queen of Novus. After twelve-year-old Aliatta learns the truth about her identity, her life intertwines with Levi's. As the pair begins the long trek to Zion, they have no idea that the Dark One's fury has just begun. The Quest for Hope begins an exciting saga of good versus evil as a young apprentice and a princess journey through a perilous land so she can fulfill her purpose to become their new queen.
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Throwing Stones

Is it the crush young Jesse Bryce has on the exotic Griffin Holyoke or something else that makes Jesse want to build a bridge of acceptance between his town and Griffin's Pagan community? And can he do it?
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A Version Between

How many versions of you are there? If you had the chance to meet them, would you want to? What if you could see the results of all the decisions you made in life - the right calls, the wrong ones, the hard ones and the easy ones? Would you really want to? Well, would you?Paul Fields has had a rough few years: elfin mother assaulted, well-known father arrested, and unfairly turned away from his rugby club. Now, the weight of the clouds is upon him. And as Paul sits unwillingly through his younger brother’s school play, intrusive thoughts of violence assail him, demanding he act. His brother in his arms, will Paul break him to ease the suffering of all?
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Why Sinatra Matters

Shaped by Prohibition, the Depression and World War II, Sinatra became the spokesman of urban loneliness. In this tribute, the author draws upon intimate conversations over the course of many year, examining his art and his legend.
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