A CLOSER LOOK AT MARCH’S
BECOMING MY SISTER
By V.C. Andrews
Two sisters face love, rivalry and a shocking disappearance amidst the luxury of Palm Springs in the novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling and popularly beloved V.C. Andrews. Like everyone else, Gish idolizes her seemingly perfect older sister, Gloria. But Gloria has a deep love for Gish, even if that connection hides her own insecurity. Wanting a better life for her sister, Gloria teaches Gish how to develop a life of her own. Then Gloria disappears without a trace.
A police search, and their father’s manic investigation, prove fruitless; their mother is also unhelpful. Untethered from the weight of her sister’s presence — but also missing her sister’s love — what will Gish do with this new terrible freedom and this unfamiliar sense that she could now become anything?
THE AUTHOR
One of the most popular authors of all time, V.C. Andrews has been a phenomenon since the publication of Flowers in the Attic, first in the renowned Dollanganger Family series. There are more than 90 V.C. Andrews novels that have sold over 107 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 25 languages.
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SINS OF THE FATHERS
By Herbert Stern and Alan Winter
Here is a truly eye-opening novel based on historical facts. It tells of the efforts of German military leaders, career civil servants, and clergy to solicit England’s assistance to bring down the tyrant in 1938. When Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain refused to meet, they turned instead to Winston Churchill, who discreetly supported their cause. Armed with an assertive letter from the future prime minister, they waited for Hitler’s telephone call ordering German troops to invade Czechoslovakia … the signal for their uprising.
But the call did not come. Instead, Prime Minister Chamberlain went to Hitler’s apartment in Munich only to bow to the dictator’s will. The invasion was over before it began ― and with that, so was the coup. The sequel to Wolf, about Hitler’s rise to power, tells the dramatic story of the Prime Minister who put his trust in Hitler’s word. In doing so, he saved the Führer’s life and paved the road to World War II.
THE AUTHOR
Sins of the Fathers is Alan’s sixth novel and is co-authored with Herbert J. Stern. Alan’s other novels include Wolf, Island Bluffs, Snowflakes in the Sahara, Someone Else’s Son, and Savior’s Day, which Kirkus selected as a Best Book of 2013.
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LADY EDITOR: Sarah Josepha Hale and the Making of the Modern American Woman
By Melanie Kirkpatrick
For half a century Sarah Josepha Hale was the most influential woman in America. As editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, Hale was the leading cultural arbiter for the growing nation who turned to her for advice on what to read, what to cook, how to behave and what to think. 20 years before the declaration of women’s rights in Seneca Falls, NY, Hale used her powerful pen to promote a woman’s right to an education, work and management of her own money.
Hale was one of the first editors to promote American authors writing on American themes. She wrote the first antislavery novel, compiled the first women’s history book and penned the most recognizable verse in the English language, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Even Thanksgiving wouldn’t exist without Hale. Lady Editor recreates the prolific life of a woman whose career as a writer, editor and early feminist encompassed ideas central to American history.
THE AUTHOR
Melanie Kirkpatrick is a writer and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. She had a long career at The Wall Street Journal. She grew up in Buffalo, attended Princeton University, and has lived in Toronto, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Manhattan. She now resides in rural Connecticut with her husband.
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BLUE-EYED SLAVE
By Marshall Highet and Bird Jones
It is 1764, SC, and Harry’s school for enslaved children has been in full swing for 20 years despite the Negro Act of 1740. An enslaved person himself, Harry finds an unlikely ally in Hannah, a young Jewish girl from town who tutors Bintü, a recent acquisition of the prominent Reverend and Mistress Harte.
But his school begins to feel the pressure as political winds shift and the Stamp Act causes revolt, uproar and armed protests. Caught in the crossfire of impending revolution and increased animosity towards an educated enslaved population, Harry, Hannah and Bintü find their faith and integrity sorely tested.
THE AUTHORS
Marshall Highet is a professor and writer. Spare Parts, her YA sci-fi novel, was published in 2014. Hold Fast, written with Bird Jones, is an adventure with historical facts. Currently living in Pittsburgh, Marshall plans on moving back to New England.
Stasz Jones (aka Bird) holds a doctorate from Syracuse University and is a professor Emerita of Elon University. Bird has published in academic journals and spoken at conferences.
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THE BUCHAREST DOSSIER
By William Maz
Bill Hefflin is a man apart: apart from life, apart from his homeland, apart from love. At the start of the 1989 uprising in Romania, this complicated CIA analyst — a disillusioned Romanian expat — arrives in Bucharest at the insistence of his KGB asset who is code-named Boris. As Hefflin becomes embroiled in an uprising that turns into a brutal revolution, nothing is as it seems … including the search for his childhood love, which has taken on mythical proportions.
With the bloody events unfolding at blinding speed, Hefflin realizes the revolution is manipulated by outside forces like his own CIA and the mysterious Boris — the puppeteer who seems to be pulling all the strings of Hefflin’s life.
THE AUTHOR
Born in Bucharest, Romania, William Maz emigrated to the U.S. as a child. He is a graduate of Harvard and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Following a residency in anesthesiology at Yale, he practiced medicine and developed a passion for writing fiction. He studied writing at Harvard, the New School, and The Writer’s Studio in NYC, and is now writing full-time. The Bucharest Dossier is his debut novel.
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ALMOST HAPPY
By Brian Kaplan, MD and Hephzibah Kaplan
It’s a proven fact; we are healthier and happier when we are laughing. Laughter is a scientifically-proven balm for our body, mind and spirit, and it can also help us face the uncomfortable challenge of dealing with our personal difficulties. Almost Happy introduces the reader to a method that will harness humor and effect change. Reverse psychology can help us to discover, own and act out authentic solutions to many of our issues.
The 114 original buttons in this book were designed as visual communications to enhance the provocative process based on three core ideas: 1: People don’t like being told what to do. 2: Reverse Psychology. 3: The principles of irony, satire and parody which, when used warmly, can provoke the emergence of conscience and common sense. Are you ready to read a book that will gently tease you about your issues? Learn more at almosthappy.com.
THE AUTHOR
Brian Kaplan has spent many years training in whole-person approaches to health, wellbeing, and personal development, including counseling, psychotherapy, Voice Dialogue, Autogenic Training, Balint groups, family constellation work, improvisation, stand-up comedy, art therapy, and more. Hephzibah Kaplan is a qualified art therapist, psychotherapy supervisor and artist.
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PARADISE RISING
By P.G. Shriver
Explore an unusual encounter, a predestined connection and two superhuman teens. 13-year-old Cheater isn’t even sure how she ended up wanted for murder. Burdened with a power she doesn’t understand, triggered by creeping darkness she can’t remember, she’s both saved and taken lives. Then she encounters a boy who might be the key to cracking the mystery. 15-year-old Jaz has survived too many tragedies to stay on the right side of the law; when he discovers that he and Cheater are connected to the same mysterious fairytale, he feels drawn to her quest for answers.
But with danger lurking around every corner and the police hot on their trail, they may not even make it past the city limits … can the pair discover why Fate linked them before they land behind bars? Discover the captivating first book in this superhero fantasy series if you like smart heroines, gritty settings and stories of hope.
THE AUTHOR
P. G. Shriver is the author of The Lonely Chair, three young adult novels, and the Texas Festivals picture book series featuring her reading puppet, Sally the Travelin’ Saddle. She’s been writing since the age of seven and currently lives in Texas with her family which includes both two and four-legged members. She works as an instructor at a local college.
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