Andy Kemp’s young life has been as ravaged as his scarred face. Disfigured by an abusive father, the teenager hides behind his books and an impenetrable wall of cynicism and anger. As Andy’s mother struggles to reconnect with him, his Uncle Rip returns transformed from a stint in prison and wants to be a mentor to the reclusive boy, doing everything he can to help end Andy’s pain. When Andy begins hearing strange music through his iPod and making near-prophetic announcements, Rip is convinced that what Andy is hearing is the voice of God. Elsewhere, police officer Heather Gerisch responds to a late-night breaking and entering in one of the poorest homes in town. She soon realizes that the masked prowler has left thousands of dollars in gift cards from a local grocery store. As the bizarre break-ins continue and Heather pursues the elusive “Summer Santa,” Andy and Rip discover an enormous and well-kept garden of wildflowers that seems to have grown overnight at an abandoned steel mill. The identity of the gardener surprises them all—and a spree of miracles transfigures this small town from a place of hopelessness into a place of healing and beauty.
The time is the mid 1890s. The setting: a small outback town. Harry Ford, the postmaster, is opening other people's mail. They say nothing ever happens in small towns, but there's plenty to set tongue a-wagging in this neighborhood: adultery, blackmail, disappearances, poisonings. And then the Great Boldini comes to town.
After a death bed confession, grieving son Gaius Stewart, searches for answers about his lifelong-absent father. Hoping to find peace after his mother's passing, Gaius uses her life insurance policy money for a trip to Pleasant, Utah to discover who his father really was. He discovered more than expected in the small-minded town. Return Mormon Missionary, Elizabeth Anderson has caught his eye. Sister Anderson was just sent home early from her mission for mysterious reasons. She thought she wanted nothing more than to serve others with her faith until she witnessed a lifetime of bigotry and was wrongly accused of inappropriate conduct. Her faith finds itself on questionable ground. Not only with her parents who don't understand her early dismissal but also in her heart. Can Elizabeth find a reason to believe in something bigger than her ingrained beliefs through a man who claims to be Pagan? Is love outside of her faith possible? The new guy definitely thinks so.
When Eddie Love took a 23andMe DNA test, he thought the results would tell him whether he had Irish or French or German roots. What he didn't realize is that he'd find out that the man who he thought was his father was not his father. Thus began a multi-year caper to find out not only who Eddie's real father was, but what happened (besides, you know, the obvious).Eventually, Eddie lassoed his friend Christina into helping him solve the mystery and document their journey. Their adventure took them deep into Orange, Texas, where elderly residents eventually came clean with secrets they'd been keeping for decades.Told through narrative, emails and interviews, "The Saint, The Sinner(s) and Eddie" is a quirky, true story about family, lies and friendships (plus a handful of dogs, countless bowls of gumbo, one pawnshop wedding and more half siblings than you can count).
This stunning debut novel—drawn from the author's own life experience—tells the moving story of a family of eleven in the American Midwest, bound together and torn apart by their faith The Rovaniemis and their nine children belong to a deeply traditional church (no drinking, no dancing, no TV) in modern-day Michigan. A normal family in many ways, the Rovaniemis struggle with sibling rivalry, parental expectations, and forming their own unique identities in such a large family. But when two of the children venture from the faith, the family fragments and a haunting question emerges: Do we believe for ourselves, or for each other? Each chapter is told from the distinctive point of view of a different Rovaniemi, drawing a nuanced, kaleidoscopic portrait of this unconventional family. The children who reject the church learn that freedom comes at the almost unbearable price of their close family ties, and those who stay struggle daily with the challenges of resisting the temptations of modern culture. With precision and potent detail, We Sinners follows each character on their journey of doubt, self-knowledge, acceptance, and, ultimately, survival.
Teaching Diversity in Rural Schools: Attaining Understanding, Tolerance, and Respect Through Young Adult Literature aims to assist secondary English Language Arts rural educatorsand students regarding diversity education through the use of rural, small town-themed young adult literature. While appropriate for any rural educator, the Upper Midwestern states (IA, MN, MT, NE, ND, SD, and WY) are focused on because they are unique in their predominantly White residents, with few to no racial and cultural minorities in all locations, large or small. Teaching rural students about minorities and facilitating in developing understanding, tolerance, and respect toward those different from oneself is difficult when absent from communities and schools. However, this book helps in reaching these goals through the use of titles that consider specific topics of cultural and racial minorities, such as those who are LGBTQ+, undocumented, homeless, having exceptionalities, managing grief/loss, and more. Also addressed are rural communities and schools, the purpose and importance of young adult literature, and locating quality rural, small town-themed novels. Suggestions for using this literature, activities, discussion topics, and recommended titles are also provided.