With a long list of activities and events to attend, cousin Thomas paints a picture of city life that makes Jessie’s world seem a little dull in comparison. When her mother suggests they invite Thomas to visit their island, Jessie wonders glumly what she could possibly write in her letter that would sound as exciting as zoos, planetariums or video arcades. But as Jessie looks out over her island home, she sees a world of endless variety, from killer whales in the strait and bald eagles soaring overhead to anemones in tide pools and tiny hermit crabs on the shore. She thinks of countless days spent exploring, fishing, swimming and canoeing.
With a long list of activities and events to attend, cousin Thomas paints a picture of city life that makes Jessie’s world seem a little dull in comparison. When her mother suggests they invite Thomas to visit their island, Jessie wonders glumly what she could possibly write in her letter that would sound as exciting as zoos, planetariums or video arcades. But as Jessie looks out over her island home, she sees a world of endless variety, from killer whales in the strait and bald eagles soaring overhead to anemones in tide pools and tiny hermit crabs on the shore. She thinks of countless days spent exploring, fishing, swimming and canoeing.
A thirteen-year-old Jewish orphan reluctantly leaves her grandmother and immigrates to New York City, where she works for three years sewing lace and earning money to bring Grandmother to the United States, too. Reprint.
In the vein of When You Trap a Tiger and Shouting at the Rain, this is the story of the journey one girl undertakes to find herself. After Breda Moriarity gets caught stealing one too many times, Breda's mom sends her to Ireland, a place she has never been, to live with the grandfather she has never met. While Breda doesn’t want to be in this strange land, she finally gets to meet Granda, her mom’s father. He’s a grumpy farmer who is also a seanchaí, a traditional Gaelic storyteller. But the most important story is the one nobody will talk about: what happened to her absent father. If nothing else this summer, Breda is determined to figure out the truth about her family’s history—and herself. This powerfully poignant middle grade novel, the first from award-winning author Jessie Ann Foley, asks questions about estranged relationships, immigration, and family secrets.
Journey to Five Island Cove for a roaring good time with friends old and new, their sons and daughters, and all their new husbands as they navigate the heartaches and celebrations of life and love. Jean Shields is devastated when the adoption she and her husband were set to complete falls through. Besides her solid-as-a-rock husband, her only solace is her two dogs, her sewing students, and her new friends in the women's group her mother-in-law has introduced her to. Alice and Robin want to help Jean, but they don't know how. Alice is dealing with a pregnancy scare, and Robin is trying to help her oldest daughter navigate collegiate options. AJ has the beat advice, as she's lived most of her life childless too. But her own baby is requiring more from her than she ever imagined. Eloise provides food and offers Jean a job at her inn though she's drowning to keep her head above water there. Kelli brings her son to Jean as much as possible, but it's not until Kristen convinces Jean to spearhead the new Seafaring Girls program in Five Island Cove that Jean starts to find some purpose to her life. Kristen is consulting on the program, as she ran it successfully many years ago, and her heart is happy as she watches a new generation of girls learn to love the sea while staying safe on it. But when someone returns to the Cove that no one ever expected to see again, old wounds open just as they'd started to heal. This group of women will be tested again, both on land and at sea, just as they once were as teens.
Secrets are never discovered during the holidays, right? That's what these five best friends are banking on as they gather once again to Five Island Cove for what they hope will be a Christmas to remember. AJ has a real boyfriend now, and he's really coming to the cove to meet her friends and family. She's turned into a domestic goddess as she preps to host Christmas at a rental that will hold everyone for the holidays. But beneath the bulky sweaters, AJ has a secret she won't be able to keep hidden forever. Eloise is happily wearing her diamond ring, and she can't wait to spoil Aaron's children rotten over the holidays. But when he calls and says there's been an accident, Eloise will never look at Christmas the same. Robin's just found out her husband needs a new fishing boat or he could sink while at sea. But they don't have the money to replace such a big-ticket item, and she's praying for a miracle this Christmas. Kelli comes to the cove on a one-way ticket and more than she and her son need for a couple of weeks, but she's too humiliated to tell her friends that she is not cut out for a polyamorous relationship and that her husband has chosen that lifestyle over her. Alice, struggling to make ends meet for the first time in her life, wants to be the one to bring them all together, bind up their broken hearts, and make Christmas wishes come true. When a mysterious benefactor allows her to do just that, she wonders what the ultimate price will be. Because she knows better than anyone that everything has a price, and nothing comes for free... Gather for the holidays with these five best friends as they celebrate Christmas at the cove, continue to find themselves and their future, and support each other through thick and thin.
These five best friends made a Summer Sand Pact as teens and have only kept it once or twice—until they reunite decades later and renew their agreement to meet in Five Island Cove every summer. Alice Kelton's marriage is in shambles, and while she's always thought she'd stay with her husband, after her last visit to the cove, she went back to the Hamptons and filed for divorce. She and her twins are moving to Rocky Ridge in Five Island Cove permanently, but she's not telling anyone. Robin's husband is in Alaska for the summer, and she's pretending she's okay. Eloise comes back to the cove every couple of weeks so she can see her new boyfriend, though she's growing tired of the distance between them. AJ broke up with her non-committal boyfriend, and she's happier, freer, and open to another relationship, even though she lives in Atlanta. Kelli brings her son to the cove this time, knowing her relationship with her husband is on the rocks and desperate to fix it. She plans to get some help from her sisterhood during the two weeks in the cove. When she's followed to the beach house where the other women and their children have gathered, Kelli learns a dangerous secret thirty years in the making that could completely undo all the progress she's made... Get ready for more secrets to come to light in Five Island Cove, and for these five women to show each other what it means to love and support someone through thick and thin.
ALL DAY is a behind-the-bars, personal glimpse into the issue of mass incarceration via an unpredictable, insightful and ultimately hopeful reflection on teaching teens while they await sentencing. Told with equal parts raw honesty and unbridled compassion, ALL DAY recounts a year in Liza Jessie Peterson's classroom at Island Academy, the high school for inmates detained at New York City's Rikers Island. A poet and actress who had done occasional workshops at the correctional facility, Peterson was ill-prepared for a full-time stint teaching in the GED program for the incarcerated youths. For the first time faced with full days teaching the rambunctious, hyper, and fragile adolescent inmates, "Ms. P" comes to understand the essence of her predominantly Black and Latino students as she attempts not only to educate them, but to instill them with a sense of self-worth long stripped from their lives. "I have quite a spirited group of drama kings, court jesters, flyboy gangsters, tricksters, and wannabe pimps all in my charge, all up in my face, to educate," Peterson discovers. "Corralling this motley crew of bad-news bears to do any lesson is like running boot camp for hyperactive gremlins. I have to be consistent, alert, firm, witty, fearless, and demanding, and most important, I have to have strong command of the subject I'm teaching." Discipline is always a challenge, with the students spouting street-infused backtalk and often bouncing off the walls with pent-up testosterone. Peterson learns quickly that she must keep the upper hand-set the rules and enforce them with rigor, even when her sympathetic heart starts to waver. Despite their relentless bravura and antics-and in part because of it-Peterson becomes a fierce advocate for her students. She works to instill the young men, mostly black, with a sense of pride about their history and culture: from their African roots to Langston Hughes and Malcolm X. She encourages them to explore and express their true feelings by writing their own poems and essays. When the boys push her buttons (on an almost daily basis) she pushes back, demanding that they meet not only her expectations or the standards of the curriculum, but set expectations for themselves-something most of them have never before been asked to do. She witnesses some amazing successes as some of the boys come into their own under her tutelage. Peterson vividly captures the prison milieu and the exuberance of the kids who have been handed a raw deal by society and have become lost within the system. Her time in the classroom teaches her something, too-that these boys want to be rescued. They want normalcy and love and opportunity.
"You must be awfully bored living on an island in the middle of nowhere," writes Jessie's cousin from the city. With a long list of activities and events to attend, Thomas paints a picture of city life which makes Jessie's world seem a little dull in comparison. When her mother suggests they invite Cousin Thomas to visit their island, Jessie wonders glumly what she could possibly write in her letter that would sound as exciting as zoos, planetariums or video arcades. But as Jessie looks out over her island home, she sees a world of endless variety, from killer whales in the strait and bald eagles soaring overhead to anemones and tiny hermit crabs on the shore. She thinks of countless days spent exploring, fishing, swimming and canoeing. Now, as she bends over her letter to her cousin, Jessie knows exactly what she will write. Told with lyric simplicity, this story is more than a celebration of West Coast life; it is also a reminder of the joy of childhood and the thrill of discovery. In a time when our children's entertainment has become increasingly formal and high-tech, Jessie's Island reminds us of the joy of unstructured play and the pleasures to be found in the natural world around us.
Clara Tanner has lost it all. Her husband is accused in one of the biggest heists on the East Coast, and she relocates her family to Five Island Cove–the hometown she hates. Her mother and brother live there, though Clara never dreamed she'd be returning to the cove. Not only does she find them waiting for her with open arms, but all of the women in her mother's circle are welcoming too. Clara and Scott have bought Friendship Inn, a hulking, close-to-condemned building with one hundred fifteen rooms. Neither of them want to run an inn, but with limited options, Clara rolls up her sleeves and digs in. Alice and Robin are dealing with their oldest children going off to college while AJ is celebrating her son's first birthday. Jean enjoys her Seafaring Girls, and Eloise is having the summer of a lifetime with her new family and busy season at the inn. As Laurel's due date for her first baby approaches, Kelli learns something she never thought would happen to her, all while Kristen is becoming friendlier and friendlier with a new gentleman in her fifty-five-plus community. Clara needs all of their help and support in order to rebuild Friendship Inn, and as all the women pitch in, there's so much more getting fixed up, put in place, and restored. Then a single phone call changes everything. Will these women in Five Island Cove rally around one another as they've been doing? Or will this finally be the thing that breaks them?
