Davie Armstrong watched as his master, Angus McBain, thrashed young Molly Geary for refusing to name the man who had dishonoured her. Yet, not an hour later, Davie saw the two of the alone in the malthouse, and Molly was acting like a whore on market day. In a whirl of disbelieving rage he overheard McBain's plan-- to let him, Davie, take the blame and marry Molly, to give the child a name. But it was the birth of McBain's legitimate son, Amos, Born physically and emotionally impaired who was to unleash power of a frightening intensity and bring disaster to all at Cock Shield Farm.
A Newbery Honor Book A beautiful and moving novel from a three-time Newbery Honor-winning author “Hope is the thing with feathers” starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn’t thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more “holy.” There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he’s not white. Who is he? During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light—her brother Sean’s deafness, her mother’s fear, the class bully’s anger, her best friend’s faith and her own desire for “the thing with feathers.” Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl’s heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface. "[Frannie] is a wonderful role model for coming of age in a thoughtful way, and the book offers to teach us all about holding on to hope."—Children's Literature "A wonderful and necessary purchase for public and school libraries alike."—VOYA
Bluebird, along with most everyone else at school, wants to flutter like the most popular bird in their class, Hummingbird. "You should go on a diet, and work out at the gym. You could flutter like me, if your body was thin." Bluebird takes this comment seriously and starts to develop unhealthy eating habits. Mom comes to the rescue by teaching Bluebird balance and by explaining that everyone needs to feel comfortable in their own feathers. With help from the Bird Doc and the Food Voice Counselor, Bluebird learns to control the Food Voice that is living inside. "I'm working on balance one day at a time. If I keep working hard, I should be just fine." How to be Comfortable in Your Own Feathers uses a creative approach to speak to children who may be currently struggling with body-image concerns. This story is written in a manner that gives children an opportunity to apply the characters' experiences to their own lives. It also demonstrates appropriate adult responses that encourage the development of healthy eating habits. Includes "Live It" Dos and Don'ts.
“Absolutely unforgettable.” —Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series “A beautifully told story about justice, sisterhood, and warrior women.” —Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep “Epic in the truest sense.” —Quill and Quire An Ember in the Ashes meets Three Dark Crowns in this lush debut fantasy novel about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to join a secret group of warriors that ride phoenixes into battle. I had a sister, once… In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart. I promised her the throne would not come between us. Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders—even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks. But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled. Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all. Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken. Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love’s incredible power to save—or to destroy. Interspersed throughout is the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister’s hands.
Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Young naturalists meet sixteen birds in this elegant introduction to the many uses of feathers. A concise main text highlights how feathers are not just for flying. More curious readers are invited to explore informative sidebars, which underscore specific ways each bird uses its feathers for a variety of practical purposes. A scrapbook design showcases life-size feather illustrations.
As heard on NPR's This American Life “Absorbing . . . Though it's non-fiction, The Feather Thief contains many of the elements of a classic thriller.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air “One of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime books ever.” —Christian Science Monitor A rollicking true-crime adventure and a captivating journey into an underground world of fanatical fly-tiers and plume peddlers, for readers of The Stranger in the Woods, The Lost City of Z, and The Orchid Thief. On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin's obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins—some collected 150 years earlier by a contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Russel Wallace, who'd risked everything to gather them—and escaped into the darkness. Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist high in a river in northern New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide told him about the heist. He was soon consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? Had Edwin paid the price for his crime? What became of the missing skins? In his search for answers, Johnson was catapulted into a years-long, worldwide investigation. The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless pursuit of justice, The Feather Thief is also a fascinating exploration of obsession, and man's destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature.
When this classic collection of stories first appeared—in 1962, on the author’s thirtieth birthday—Arthur Mizener wrote in The New York Times Book Review: “Updike is a romantic [and] like all American romantics, that is, he has an irresistible impulse to go in memory home again in order to find himself. . . . The precise recollection of his own family-love, parental and marital, is vital to him; it is the matter in which the saving truth is incarnate. . . . Pigeon Feathers is not just a book of very brilliant short stories; it is a demonstration of how the most gifted writer of his generation is coming to maturity; it shows us that Mr. Updike’s fine verbal talent is no longer pirouetting, however gracefully, out of a simple delight in motion, but is beginning to serve his deepest insight.”
Beautiful. Gorgeous. Slut.Whore. I've been called all of these, except my true name--a secret I've never learned.I was groomed for a life of captivity; brought up as a slave for the exclusive club, Exotique. I'm desired for my body and thirsted after for my addictive blood. I'm stripped and restrained while male after male acts out his twisted desires.I'm constantly at war with myself while my inner beasts battle for dominance. The succubus half of me craves these sessions. She longs for the toxic mix of pleasure and pain, feasting on the release of others. My phoenix half lies dormant. She's a silent presence who shudders at the crack of a whip, and shies away from the cruel hands of my handlers.While I suffer through countless degrading sessions, somewhere far away a trio of Phoenix warriors are sanctioned by their King to find and rescue me. Will they succeed? Or will one of my handlers finally take a session too far?Their race is dying, but so am I.Bound for Blood is book one in the Feathers and Fire series. It is a Dark, Paranormal, Reverse Harem romance. The final book ends with an HEA. Expect dark elements and explicit scenes. If such scenes might trigger or offend you, please do not buy this book.
Meet Callie Penrose, rookie spell-slinger for the Vatican Shepherds - otherwise known as the monster hunters. But is she Heaven's Devil or Hell's Angel.
