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Lester's Turn
by Jan SlepianIn the stunning sequel to Jan Slepian's critically acclaimed first novel, The Alfred Summer. Everything has changed and none of it good as far as 16-year-old Lester is concerned. Worst of all is watching his retarded friend Alfie waste away in the hospital. Lester, himself a cerebral palsy victim, is desperate to save Alfie, and from this desperation is born the daring-- but disastrous--kidnapping attempt. Still determined to rescue Alfie somehow, Lester enlists the aid of his old friend Claire who awakens his desire to love a girlfriend, Claire's new neighbors, Lena, who seems like a movie star, her musical prodigy son Alex; and a young hospital volunteer, generous, endearing, impossibly romantic Tillie-Rose. But even their combined efforts cannot save Alfie. In the ensuing tragedy, Lester is forced to examine the real motives behind "The Alfred Fund" and is finally able to turn to his own future with hope. With honesty and sensitivity, Jan Slepian confronts the problems of disabled youngsters in this witty, powerful coming-of-age novel that explores the many ways we need, use and love others. She shows how teens cling to unrealistic fantasies of their future and of how reality forces them to look at their lives differently. Bookshare has "The Alfred Summer," the tale of Alfie and Lester one happy, challenging, summer when they adventure together to build a boat. Check it out to read more of Lester's story.
Full Stop (Loretta Lawson Mystery)
by Joan SmithFrom the book jacket: "Joan Smith's Loretta Lawson mysteries have been praised by The Washington Post as a "charming combination of sophistication, wit and unpretentious learning," and by Elle magazine as "refreshing." A brilliant British feminist, Loretta Lawson has faced many a challenge in her amateur sleuthing career, but nothing could have prepared her for this surreal adventure on the other side of the Atlantic. Loretta Lawson is already a little apprehensive about spending a hot, muggy weekend alone in New York City at her friend Toni's apartment. And it seems her fears are confirmed when she receives a series of mysterious and threatening phone calls. What's more, as she explores the exciting, unfamiliar city, she has the uneasy impression that someone is watching her, perhaps even following her. As much as Loretta would like to enjoy a carefree holiday, there are other incidents she can't easily dismiss: unsettling encounters in museums and stores, and the frightening fact that someone has been trying to sneak upstairs to her apartment. Is Loretta the target of these unnerving attentions or are they aimed at Toni? Loretta begins to think that she cannot trust her own judgment; the one person who might lend a hand - her ex-husband, journalist John Tracey, also in New York on a story - has too many problems of his own to help. In the end, Loretta must face the terrifying events that unfold alone. Full Stop is a chilling story about pursuit, about being alone in a strange city where every news bulletin reports another violent crime, about the fine line between danger and paranoia. Challenging, witty, and disturbing, it is Joan Smith's most sophisticated and suspense-packed novel to date.
Death Turns a Trick (Rebecca Schwartz Mysteries #1)
by Julie SmithIt's one thing to represent hookers in court and quite another to play piano for fun at a feminist bordello. So when San Francisco attorney Rebecca Schwartz barely escapes a police raid, she has only herself to blame. But it's not over yet. By the time she gets back to her apartment, Rebecca discovers the bludgeoned body of beautiful Kandi, a college student and part-time prostitute. Rebecca is beginning to feel besieged-as indeed she soon is-by a killer. For a nice Jewish girl from staid Marin County, life is becoming much too complicated.
Changing Places
by Susan SmithWho would believe it? They'd switched bodies. Changed places. Josh slipped his feet into fluffy pink slippers while he gaped at Jenny's bedroom. Jenny stumbled over baseball equipment and groped her Way to Josh's closet. Had they really changed places? They'd had a lot of arguments lately--about schedules, about ballet and baseball, about the differences between being a boy and being a girl. They'd talked about walking around in each other's shoes. They never thought they'd get the chance to do it!
One Hundred Thousand Dollar Dawn (Best Friends #7)
by Susan SmithDAWN STRIKES IT RICH! Dawn Selby's family has won a free trip to Los Angeles to compete on FAMILY FORTUNE, TV's highest-paying game show! And Terri is coming along for the ride! It's a dream come true when Dawn answers the $100,000 question - and the Selbys win. Suddenly they're rich. Famous. And changing. Dawn's brother and sister don't want to work in the family bakery anymore. Her parents are spending like mad: a tiny sportscar, expensive clothes - and a Caribbean vacation. Nobody's minding the bakery, and people are beginning to complain. Dawn loves the bakery, but she seems to be the only one who cares about it! Like true friends, Terri, Angela, Sonya and Linda, pitch in and try to help. Can they save the bakery before "The Dream of a Lifetime" becomes a real nightmare?
Terri the Great (Best Friends #4)
by Susan SmithShe's just beat stuck-up Celia Forester in a ski race, but Terri Rivera knows the war has only begun. The win has vowed to get her to win the gymnast competition any way she can. Terri's best friends Sonya, Dawn, and Angela are by her side. But this is one battle she has to fight alone, to be the person the talent scout chooses for a TV show about gymnastics. It doesn't hurt to have Tommy Atwood, the cutest boy in sixth grade, on her side either! They're just friends--until Celia tries to steal him away! Suddenly they're playing for keeps as Terri tries to psych-out Celia before the gymnastic competition begins-and show everyone how a real winner takes all!
The Diamond Hunters
by Wilbur SmithThe Van Der Byl Diamond Company, willed by its founder to his son Benedict, daughter Tracey and estranged foster-child Johnny Lance, turns out to be a bequest not of love, but of hatred. For it is couched in such terms as to offer Benedict an instrument of destruction of his bitterest rival. 'Destroy Johnny' was the old man's implacable message to his son, and, obsessively jealous of his foster-brother, Benedict sets out in ruthless pursuit of this goal. In a desperate bid to support Johnny, Tracey acquires for him the concession in the diamond-rich seabed round the coral islands of Thunderbolt and Suicide off the savage South West African coast, and Johnny throws all his resources into the construction of a vessel that will recover the stones from the ocean floor and repair his fortune at last. But Benedict, already involved in illegal diamond-dealing as a sideline, seizes this chance to attack his rival and, with a network of accomplices and some ingenious electronic tampering, plots to syphon off the diamonds. Johnny will not only be ruined by his liabilities, he will also be a laughing stock. However, Benedict's obsessive jealousy is his undoing. He cannot resist stripping his rival of his beautiful but bitchy wife Ruby as well, and when he then discards her, she takes her revenge, precipitating a climax of murder and destruction that consumes Benedict at last. Narrated with Wilbur Smith's irresistible driving thrust, this is a tale of brotherly hatred, redeemed only by the deepening love between Johnny and Tracey. It is set in London, Cape Town, on the thunderous seas around the ocean diamond fields and ends in a final confrontation between Johnny and Benedict in the blistering hyena-infested desert.
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Dead Eagles
by Donald J. SobolWhy is every crook and bully in Idaville brought to justice? Who is the secret brains behind the town's police force? Ten-year-old Encyclopedia Brown! He's back and no mystery baffles him. Once again the boy detective is challenged by an array of crooked characters who attempt to puzzle him--and you--as they leave behind them clues to the solution of their crimes. Match wits with Encyclopedia. You, too, can find the clues.
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Exploding Plumbing and Other Mysteries
by Donald J. SobolNo one gets away with a crime in Idaville--not with supersleuth Encyclopedia Brown on the job. Match wits with the amazing boy detective in E. B. No. 11. See if you can solve the Case of the Counterfeit Bill... or the Skunk Ape... or the Salami Sandwich. Answers in back of book for checking.
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
by Donald J. SobolMATCH WITS WITH THE SHERLOCK HOLMES in SNEAKERS AND FIND OUT IF YOU'RE A SUPER SLEUTH TOO! THE CASE OF THE CIVIL WAR SWORD What two clues prove the sword Is a fake? THE CASE OF THE CHAMPION EGG SPINNER What's the "secret" to the champ's success? PLUS eight more baffling mysteries... all solved by the incredible Encyclopedia. Are you stumped? The answers are all here! ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN Boy Detective
Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All (Encyclopedia Brown #12)
by Donald J. SobolWhy is every crook and bully in Idaville brought to justice? Who is the secret brains behind the town's police force? Ten-year-old Encyclopedia Brown! He's back and no "' mystery baffles him. Once again the boy detective is challenged by an array of crooked characters who attempt to puzzle him-and you-as they leave behind them clues to the solution of their crimes.
After Ever After
by Jordan SonnenblickJeffrey isn't a little boy with cancer anymore. He's a teen in remission. Even though the cancer should be far behind him, life still feels fragile. The aftereffects of treatment have left Jeffrey with an inability to be a great student or to walk without limping. His parents still worry about him. His older brother, Steven, who has always been Jeffrey's main support system and confidant, lost it and took off to Africa to be in a drumming circle and "find himself". Jeffrey has a little soul searching to do, too. He needs to tell Steven how he feels about basically being abandoned. His best friend, Tad, is hatching some kind of secretive, crazy plan, which is driving him bonkers. And there's a girl who is way out of his league but who thinks he's cute. <P><P> Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
A Mother's Gift
by Britney Spears Lynne SpearsHolly Faye Lovell sure can sing. Everyone in Biscay, Mississippi, knows that. And when at fourteen she becomes the youngest student ever to win a full scholarship to the prestigious Haverty School of Music, her dream of pursuing a singing career is on its way. But for the first time in her life, Holly must leave behind her mother, Wanda. Although they don't have much in the way of money, there's always been plenty of love. . . and there's always been Wanda's birthmark, an ugly red scar on the side of her face that makes people who don't know her turn away. Now that Holly's off with her posh new friends and new life, she's ashamed to find herself embarrassed by her mom and their humble background. And Wanda finds herself wanting to reveal a long-hidden secret . . . a secret that could destroy their bond forever.
Bride Of The MacHugh
by Jan Cox SpeasElspeth is a provocative and feminine lass who lived in a turbulent time in Scotland's history, a period crowded with romance, intrigue, battles and characters that are memorable for their vitality and charm, their lust, strength and willfulness. Alexander MacHugh was head of one of Scotland's mightiest clans when the rebellious Highlanders rallied around the MacDonald banner. He was a man of massive will but gravely courteous demeanor, and he clashed with Elspeth at every encounter, his will pitted against hers, neither of them willing to surrender to an irresistible attraction. It was early in the seventeenth century in Scotland, and the men and women who lived, loved and fought then were no less stormy and unpredictable than the violent events which caught them up and determined their fates. In these pages you will meet the corrupt and ambitious Earl of Argyll, Elspeth's wily guardian, who epitomizes an insatiable greed for power and wealth; Kate MacLachlan, the beautiful and treacherous redhead, whose passion for Alexander MacHugh would stop at nothing for fulfillment; Gavin, the grim and mysterious youth with a scar across his cheek; Elspeth's half-sister, Jeanie Lamond, as fair and fresh as a May morning and, of course, the many brave and gallant Scottish rebels, led by the MacDonalds, who harried the Campbells and would not be subdued by England. It seemed just another day when Elspeth Lamond rode into the wild and untameable hills and moors of the Highlands on a quiet mission from London, but within a few hours she was a captive riding in the rain toward an unknown destination. From the day of her abduction by a band of rough horsemen till the day she fled the thick walls of her guardian's castle, Elspeth's fate was irrevocably linked with the Lamonds and with their friend, the MacHugh whose name reverberates through these pages with the vigor of a clash of arms.
Secret Admirer (Sweet Dreams #81)
by Debra SpectorThe most important part of Kim Belding's world is KLAU, the Laurence High School radio station. As one of its top disc jockeys, she gets to play the latest hits and the newest music. When a secret admirer begins calling in his song requests, Kim loses her usual on-the-air cool. Who could the mystery caller be? Is it Ray, Laurence High's hot rock guitarist? Or Buddy, the president of the student council and Kim's sworn enemy? Or is her unknown fan someone she's never met? Kim's determined to discover her caller's identity, but she may be in for a big surprise!
Lizzie Logan Wears Purple Sunglasses
by Eileen SpinelliLizzie Logan bursts into Heather's life the day Heather moves to Mole Street and then bursts right out. "Eight? Holy crab cakes! You're nothing but a baby," she screeches as she stomps away. Lizzie's back, though, before the moving truck is unloaded. "I'm giving you a chance," she announces, "to be my best friend." Heather isn't sure she wants the job. Lizzie Logan is dangerous. She bosses Heather around, scares her with tales about man-eating spider plants, and smokes (sort of). But Lizzie is also full of adventure. Who else would take Heather fishing, share her dog, and invent her own parade? Eileen Spinelli has created a charming and funny story about a relationship between two unlikely soulmates who ultimately bring out the best in each other. Lizzie and Heather deal with issues other elementary grade girls know all about. They face jealousy, wonder if they can have more than one best friend at a time, decide if they should play with popular or unpopular girls. Figure how to make up when they fight, and learn how humor helps them get along and that they don't have to have their own way every time to have fun together.
The Library Card
by Jerry SpinelliTeens struggle with troubled, even dangerous lives, until a mysterious blue card appears as if by fate and begins to change each of their lives. None of them guesses it at first, but that strange blue card will be their ticket to the past-and to a future they never imagined. In stories that range from humorous to heartbreaking, Newbery-award-winner Jerry Spinelli reveals the amazing possibilities lurking behind library doors." Some would say there is a hint of magic in these stories. Some will say the kids are touched by miracles. All will agree that the library is portrayed as a welcoming safe haven and source of inspiration without bounds. Clearly Spinelli is a lover of libraries. This book will appeal to mature upper elementary students to adults who fondly remember their first library cards and youthful associations with libraries.
A Love To Die For
by Patricia SpringerOn January 12, 1995, in Knoxville, Tennessee, 19year old Colleen Slemmer went for a walk with her friend 18-year-old Christa Pike. Suddenly, Christa turned on Colleen, accusing her of flirting with her boyfriend. Then the words turned to shocking blows. An enraged Christa used a box knife to cut her rival's throat and a mini meat cleaver to inflict more havoc. Half-naked, Colleen crawled through her own blood begging for her life. In the middle of the hour-long assault, a satanic symbol was carved in the dying girl's chest. And when Christa was finally done, she took a piece of Colleen's skull as a macabre souvenir. What were the dark forces that drove angelic-faced Christa to commit such a savage murder and become the youngest woman ever to be put on Death Row? In this shocking expose of a case that stunned the nation, Patricia Springer takes us through a horrifying crime scene and into the heart and mind of a murderess who killed for love-and would die for it, too.
The Latchkey Kids
by Carol StanleyLatchkey kids of the world, unite! Tory's baby-sitter is moving to California. At eleven years old, Tory thinks she's old enough to stay by herself until her mother comes home from work. But her mom disagrees. So they try Plan A: the Happy Hours after-school program. Then, Plan B: a meditation group at Crystal's Peaceful Garden. And, then, Plan C: a grueling survival-training program called KidSkills. Tory hates all three, and, finally, her mom agrees to try out Tory's plan: being a latchkey kid. But Tory soon learns that being on her own in the afternoons can get awfully lonely. That's when she decides to form a club: The Latchkey Kids Society International!
Mystery of the Snow Day Bigfoot (Calendar Club)
by Nancy StarLeon wakes up to find HUGE footprints in his backyard. Is there a bigfoot in Fruitvale? The Calendar Club will find out!
Squeeze (X-Files #4)
by Ellen SteiberWhen FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully pursue a serial killer, they discover that all evidence points to a murderer who has been squeezing through impossibly small air ducts and chimneys since 1903.
Sam The Cat Detective
by Linda Stewart(From The Back Cover) Out of all the detective agencies in all the world, she had to walk into Sam's.... Justice is Sam's business. His only business. It's not a pretty job. It's not an easy one. But it's a job Sam can do. Better than most cats. Then she walks into Sam's office. Purrs out her unhappy story. Begs him to take her case. Sam the cat doesn't play the sap for anyone. But she's pretty. She's scared. And she needs his help. Or does she?
Star of the Parade (Sweet Valley Kids #54)
by Molly Mia StewartSTARSTRUCK Jessica Wakefield has thought of the perfect way to make Sweet Valley Elementary School's float the best in the Thanksgiving Day parade! Daisy Benton, Jessica's favorite child star, is coming to Sweet Valley. Jessica knows that if Daisy rides on the float, they'll be the center of attention! But Daisy is always mobbed by her fans. If Jessica can't even get to talk to her face-to-face, how will she ever convince Daisy to be on the float?
The Betrayal (Fear Street Saga #1)
by R. L. StineThrough 20 books, R. L. Stine has alluded to the cursed Fear family, whose mansion burned down in a terrible fire. All that remains of the Fears is a legacy of evil. Now Stine takes readers back in time, telling them finally the awful truth of what happened to the Fears . . . and why their evil lives on after 300 years.
The Burning (Fear Street Saga #3)
by R. L. StineHow did Fear Street gain its chilling reputation? Find out in the blood-chilling conclusion to R. L. Stine's terrifying trilogy. Journey back in time to when the Fear family first became evil, and Fear Street became a place of unspeakable terror.