"Inspired by the terrible breakups around her, sixteen-year-old Lizzie, strapped for cash and itching to go on the school's band trip to NYC, teams up with her best friend Willa to create a genius business: personalized gift baskets--breakup baskets--sent from dumper to dumpee. The Goodbye Girls operate in secret, and business is booming. But it's not long before someone begins sabotaging The Goodbye Girls, sending impossibly cruel baskets to seemingly random targets"--
"Stunning . . . . This is an immensely courageous story that will break your heart, leave you in tears, and, finally, offer hope and redemption. Brava, Kelly Sundberg." —Rene Denfeld, author of The Child Finder In this brave and beautiful memoir, written with the raw honesty and devastating openness of The Glass Castle and The Liar’s Club, a woman chronicles how her marriage devolved from a love story into a shocking tale of abuse—examining the tenderness and violence entwined in the relationship, why she endured years of physical and emotional pain, and how she eventually broke free. "You made me hit you in the face," he said mournfully. "Now everyone is going to know." "I know," I said. "I’m sorry." Kelly Sundberg’s husband, Caleb, was a funny, warm, supportive man and a wonderful father to their little boy Reed. He was also vengeful and violent. But Sundberg did not know that when she fell in love, and for years told herself he would get better. It took a decade for her to ultimately accept that the partnership she desired could not work with such a broken man. In her remarkable book, she offers an intimate record of the joys and terrors that accompanied her long, difficult awakening, and presents a haunting, heartbreaking glimpse into why women remain too long in dangerous relationships. To understand herself and her violent marriage, Sundberg looks to her childhood in Salmon, a small, isolated mountain community known as the most redneck town in Idaho. Like her marriage, Salmon is a place of deep contradictions, where Mormon ranchers and hippie back-to-landers live side-by-side; a place of magical beauty riven by secret brutality; a place that takes pride in its individualism and rugged self-sufficiency, yet is beholden to church and communal standards at all costs. Mesmerizing and poetic, Goodbye, Sweet Girl is a harrowing, cautionary, and ultimately redemptive tale that brilliantly illuminates one woman’s transformation as she gradually rejects the painful reality of her violent life at the hands of the man who is supposed to cherish her, begins to accept responsibility for herself, and learns to believe that she deserves better.
A courageous young woman comes of age in the midst of an historical tragedy, from the author of Dark Water Rising. Mercy Kaplan doesn't want to be like her mother, saddled with crying kids and failing crops for the rest of her life. Mercy longs to be on her own—until her wish comes true in the worst possible way. It is 1918 and a deadly flu epidemic ravages the country, leaving her utterly alone and penniless. Mercy soon finds a job with Mrs. Wilder. But there's something unsettling about the woman, whose brother died under mysterious circumstances. And then there's Daniel, who could sweep a girl off her feet if she isn't careful. “The history—of the epidemic and of early feminism—creates a dramatic story, and Mercy’s personal struggle for independence is universal.” —Booklist “Mercy tells her story in a gentle, cadenced voice filled with youthful hope, simple wisdom and gritty endurance. Perfect similes capture the flavor of Mercy's bittersweet life during the epidemic of 1918.” —Kirkus Reviews
Sarah Dessen meets Morgan Matson in the perfect summer debut about learning to say goodbye—or finding a reason to stay. Caroline is counting the days until September, when she'll turn seventeen and she and her older boyfriend, Jake, will run away together. She doesn't feel connected to anyone at home now that she has him, and she can't wait to see the world with the most important person in her life. So with just a few more months until freedom, she spends her summer working at the local aquarium gift shop and dreaming of the fall. Then she meets Georgia, a counselor at the aquarium's camp, and Caroline's world changes. Through pizza lunches, trips to amusement parks, and midnight talks, Georgia begins to show Caroline there's more to life than being with Jake. The stronger Georgia and Caroline's bond grows, the more uneasy Caroline becomes about her plans to leave. When summer comes to a close, she'll have to say goodbye to someone...but who is she willing to lose?
Fear tells you that you can't when God says you can. It tells you who you're not when God affirms who you are. If left unchecked, fear can rob you of the good things God has planned for your life. But what if fear no longer had a place in your life? What would your life look like then?That deep sense of hope you feel when you think about the purpose of God for your life is there for a reason. You are meant to do it! If you want to move beyond the girl you are to become the woman you are called to be, then you're ready to read Goodbye Girl, Hello Lady.
Zac knows that if he follows his heart he’ll win back the love of his life—but if Lucy’s memory returns, his would-be bride might say goodbye forever. Now a Hallmark Original movie! She only remembers loving him. But he can’t forget the way she left. Lucy Lovett can’t remember the last seven months of her life. She doesn’t remember leaving her fiancé Zac Callahan weeks before their wedding or moving to Portland, Maine. And she sure doesn’t remember getting engaged to another man. All she remembers is loving Zac more than life itself. Zac was just beginning to get his life back on track after Lucy left him with no explanation. And now she’s back—vulnerable, homeless, and still in love with him. Has he been given a second chance with the only woman who stirs his passion and haunts his dreams? Lucy knows she must unlock those missing months and discover why she threw everything away. “I’ve been a longtime fan of Denise Hunter’s, and The Goodbye Bride has everything I’ve come to love about her romances: a plucky heroine with lots of backstory, a yummy hero, and a terrific setting. Highly recommended!” —Colleen Coble USA TODAY bestselling author of the Lavender Tides and Hope Beach series “Can romance be any more complicated than a bride who doesn’t remember running away from her groom? Denise Hunter’s take on a woman’s attempt to find her way back to happily ever after again is sweetly endearing. Readers will keep turning pages, wanting to know how true love ever went so wrong . . . and if The Goodbye Bride gets her chance to say “I do.” —Beth K. Vogt, 2015 RITA® Finalist and author of Crazy Little Thing Called Love “Denise Hunter has done it once again, placing herself solidly on my must-read list! The Goodbye Bride is a tender, thoughtful look at the role memories play in a romance. The clever plot kept me up way past my bedtime—and happy to be so!” —Deborah Raney, award-winning author of the Chicory Inn Novels series “The Goodbye Bride highlights the abandonment that so many have experienced. More importantly, within the context of a wonderful Summer Harbor romance, the author deftly illustrates that there is One who will never abandon us, and when we trust Him, we can in turn trust the people He places in our lives. All this packaged inside one heart-stopping, page-turning romance that will leave the pickiest romance reader delighted and asking for just a few more pages.” —Cara C. Putman, award-winning author of Where Treetops Glisten and Shadowed by Grace Full-length Contemporary Romance Includes Discussion Questions for Book Clubs Now a Hallmark Original movie: An Unforgettable Christmas Part of the Summer Harbor series Book One: Falling Like Snowflakes Book Two: The Goodbye Bride Book Three: Just a Kiss
Twelve-year-old Isabel is dying to get out of her small town of Willow, Oregon, and travel like her best friend, Sophie. But when Isabel’s mother decides to open up a cupcake shop across town, Isabel is once again stuck in Willow for the summer…until she learns of a baking contest where the finalists get an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to compete in the final bake-off. But Sophie is also entering the contest, and Isabel’s mother has reservations. Can Isabel finally realize her dreams of leaving Willow without hurting two of the most important people in her life?
Serving in Afghanistan, Aussie soldier Sergeant Nick Mason had enjoyed getting letters from The Goodbye Girl, but now he was going home, her usual goodbye letter had arrived. She was meant to be passed to the next lonely soldier, but Nick had other plans. What he wasn't prepared for was what he'd discover when he met her face-to-face. His Goodbye Girl was the town's resident UFO weirdo...
From bestselling author Todd Parr, a poignant and reassuring story about loss. Through the lens of a pet fish who has lost his companion, Todd Parr tells a moving and wholly accessible story about saying goodbye. Touching upon the host of emotions children experience, Todd reminds readers that it's okay not to know all the answers, and that someone will always be there to support them. An invaluable resource for life's toughest moments.
