A gorgeously written account of a freeborn black boy sold into slavery during the Civil War; think 12 Years a Slave for young adults. Well-mannered Samuel and his mischievous younger brother Joshua are free black boys living in an orphanage during the end of the Civil War. Samuel takes the blame for Joshua's latest prank, and the consequence is worse than he could ever imagine. He's taken from the orphanage to the South, given a new name -- Friday -- and sold into slavery. What follows is a heartbreaking but hopeful account of Samuel's journey from freedom, to captivity, and back again.
From acclaimed author Dinaw Mengestu, a recipient of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 award, The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40 award, and a 2012 MacArthur Foundation genius grant, comes an unforgettable love story about a searing affair between an American woman and an African man in 1970s America and an unflinching novel about the fragmentation of lives that straddle countries and histories. All Our Names is the story of two young men who come of age during an African revolution, drawn from the safe confines of the university campus into the intensifying clamor of the streets outside. But as the line between idealism and violence becomes increasingly blurred, the friends are driven apart—one into the deepest peril, as the movement gathers inexorable force, and the other into the safety of exile in the American Midwest. There, pretending to be an exchange student, he falls in love with a social worker and settles into small-town life. Yet this idyll is inescapably darkened by the secrets of his past: the acts he committed and the work he left unfinished. Most of all, he is haunted by the beloved friend he left behind, the charismatic leader who first guided him to revolution and then sacrificed everything to ensure his freedom. Elegiac, blazing with insights about the physical and emotional geographies that circumscribe our lives, All Our Names is a marvel of vision and tonal command. Writing within the grand tradition of Naipul, Greene, and Achebe, Mengestu gives us a political novel that is also a transfixing portrait of love and grace, of self-determination and the names we are given and the names we earn. This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
In this historical novel set in the Virgin Islands of 1733, Raisha escapes from her Dutch "owners" in time to witness the mass suicide of her fellow slaves, who prefer death to recapture.
Eva Traube Abrams, a semiretired librarian in Florida, is at the returns desk one morning when her eyes lock on to a photograph in a newspaper nearby. She freezes; it's an image of a book she hasn't seen in sixty-five years--a book she recognizes as the Book of Lost Names. The accompanying article describes the looting of libraries across Europe by the Nazis during World War II--an experience Eva remembers all too well. As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in the Book of Last Names will become even more vital when the Resistance cell they work with is betrayed and Rémy disappears. As the Germans close in, Eva records a last, vital message in the book. Decades later, does she have the strength to seek out its answer--and help reunite those lost during the war?
Alaskans Luke, Chickie, Sonny, Donna, and Amiq relate their experiences in the early 1960s when they are forced to attend a Catholic boarding school where, despite different tribal affiliations, they come to find a sort of family and home.
New York Times Bestseller! Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream? Ask Isabella... She takes a wild ride-and discovers the sky's the limit! "This story...speaks frankly about self-identity and self affirmation as Isabella decides at the end that she is actually herself...because she possesses the best parts of all of the women she looks up to." -ForeWord Magazine "The colorful mixed-media artwork reinforces the fanciful, upbeat tone of the book. Use this story to ignite young readers' interest in women's history." -School Library Journal Who Is Your Hero? Isabella's include U.S. Astronaut Sally Ride, activist Rosa Parks, and sharpshooter Annie Oakley-but there's no bigger hero than Isabella's own mommy! Join Isabella on an adventure of discovery-and find out how imagining to be these extraordinary women teaches her the importance of being her extraordinary self. A rollicking read-aloud and terrific "read-to-myself" story, My Name Is Not Isabella is capturing hearts and awards, including: Silver ForeWord Book of the Year Award for Picture Books Gold Moonbeam Children's Book Award Gold Independent Publisher Book Award Amelia Bloomer List Jennifer Fosberry is a science geek turned children's book writer. Until recently, she worked as a project manager in Silicon Valley in the high-tech electronic field. She currently divides her time between the San Francisco Bay Area and Costa Rica with her husband and three children. Mike Litwin combines a variety of media to create scenes that serve the imagination and education of women. A graduate of the East Carolina University School of Art and Design, he plays both designer and illustrator with an often wacky, always delightful style that uniquely blends playful innocence with devilish mischief. Illustrating and telling stories for children is his passion, his entertainment, and his dream. He currently lives in Greenville, North Carolina, with his wife and three daughters.
From New York Times bestselling author Sherman Alexie and Caldecott Honor winning Yuyi Morales comes a striking and beautifully illustrated picture book celebrating the special relationship between father and son. Thunder Boy Jr. wants a normal name...one that's all his own. Dad is known as big Thunder, but little thunder doesn't want to share a name. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he's done like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder. But just when Little Thunder thinks all hope is lost, dad picks the best name...Lightning! Their love will be loud and bright, and together they will light up the sky.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist recalls the significant events and ventures of his own life, his own land, and his own people, recreating his experiences as an American Indian and those of his relatives
Though written as a fictional novel,'My Name's Not Jenny' is based on the true story of three accomplished individuals who come together after finding themselves faced with major-life-changing events. This is a profoundly moving and emotionally charged account of doing the right thing despite all odds.Regardless of criticism from some family members and friends, Joseph's devotion was uncompromising. His love for Anna undeniable as the three of them find themselves involved in an unconventional but unbreakable bond.A devoted mother and wife of the CEO of a multi-billion dollar financial institution, Anna is faced with a decision of eleven months or three to five years.An accomplished banking executive, Jillian, with nowhere to go but up is faced with her own crushing blows. At the height of her career, she decides to throw in the towel, pulls up her boot straps, and helps Joseph stay the course.A must-read for every baby-boomer using or considering using In-Home Assisted Living for a loved one. Find out what happens in you home when caregivers are left unsupervised.
