It's the seventh ridiculous day of August, 1971. A drought has besieged Red Clover, South Carolina and the heart of seventeen-year-old Karlene Bridges. Her big sister, Gloria Jean, is pregnant, and everyone carries on as if she were incubating the Light of this World-but Karlene feels hysterical at becoming an aunt at such a young age. Billy Ray Jenkins, former heartthrob, joined the United States Navy six months ago, and Karlene has been incommunicado ever since. To soothe her jangled ner...

Lee Smith is a "teller of tales for tale tellers to admire and envy . . . [and] a reader’s dream" (Houston Chronicle). A celebrated and bestselling writer with a dozen novels under her name, including Fair and Tender Ladies, Oral History, and The Last Girls, she is just as widely recognized for her exceptional short stories. Here, in Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger, Smith collects seven brand-new stories along with seven of her favorites f...

A TEN BEACH ROAD NOVELLAThe USA Today bestselling Wendy Wax entranced audiences with Ten Beach Road and Ocean Beach. Now, the ladies of Bella Flora are back in an all-new holiday novella.When Madeline Singer, Avery Lawford, and Nicole Grant first gained ownership of Ten Beach Road, they didn’t realize that remodeling the house would not only bind their fates together but give them a second chance at rebui...

She's no man's property but try telling that to her heart.When the leadership of the club changes hands, Baby finds herself caught between the only man she desires and her loyalty to her father. She's a biker brat who loves to raise hell but navigating the rocky relationship with her sister, school, and juggling the men in her life is proving to be dangerous. There's a new enemy in town and he's set his sights on her.Rebel Black is at a crossroad. The life ...

Even when nothing is going her way, Amber Brown is always bold, bright, and colorful. #Amber Brown is out now on Apple TV+Amber Brown's going through a growth spurt . . . and her body's not the only thing that's changing. Her mom and Max are engaged. Her dad is moving back from Paris. And now her school's overrun by skunks, and she feels like she's being held captive in a hot, crowded school bus that's going nowhere.But growth spurts and skunks are not her ...

"She goes a long way with her book to prove that humor is the best -- possibly the only -- way to keep the world on an even keel."CHICAGO SUN-TIMESRemember the things Mother used to say? Erma Bombeck remembers them all and now she's using them on her own kids! With clever illustrations by Bil Keane, these really funny, too-true observations on family and kids and why it shouldn't work but does, is a wonderful antitdote to the daily problems and crises that every family faces....

There's nothing scarier than a birthday party in the third book in a hilarious chapter book series that tackles anxiety in a fun, kid-friendly way. Perfect for both beginning and reluctant readers, and fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid!Alvin Ho, an Asian American second grader, is afraid of everything. For example, what could possibly be so scary about a birthday party? Let Alvin explain:• You might be dressed for bowling . . . but everyone else is dressed for sw...

Watch out, Junie, there's a new kid on the block! It's Freddy Thresher, a first grader who knows it's a jungle out there. A new chapter book series written by an elementary teacher who's seen it all! Freddy Thresher has a problem: a really, really, big problem. He never has anything cool to bring for show-and-tell. This week, his best friend, Robbie, has brought the most amazing artifact to share: a real alligator head. How will Freddy come up with anything as cool as that? Good news! Late...

Sometimes salvation is found in the strangest places: a true story.Aaron Hartzler grew up in a home where he was taught that at any moment the Rapture could happen. That Jesus might come down in the twinkling of an eye and scoop Aaron and his family up to heaven. As a kid, Aaron was thrilled by the idea that every moment of every day might be his last one on planet Earth.But as Aaron turns sixteen, he finds himself more attached to his earthly life and curio...

"A deeply beautiful book, with the fierce galloping pace of a great novel."—Liz Rosenberg Boston GlobeInformed by the death of a beloved brother, here are the stories of childhood, its thicket of sex and sorrow and joy, boys and girls growing into men and women, stories of a brother who in his dying could teach how to be most alive. What the Living Do reflects "a new form of confessional poetry, one shared to some degree by other women poets such ...

A sparkling debut set in Mark Twain's boyhood town, Flood is a story of what it means to be lost . . . and found.Laura Brooks fled her hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, ten years ago after a historic flood and personal heartbreak. Now she's returned unannounced, and her family and friends don't know what to make of it. She says she's just home for a brief visit and her high-school reunion, but she's carrying too much luggage for that: literal and metaphorical...

When Jill McCorkle feels a short story coming on, she goes right ahead and "wastes" wonderful ideas instead of hoarding them for a novel. The result is another extraordinary collection of stories and characters. In "It's a Funeral! RSVP," the storyteller is a woman who takes up self-styled "careers" that suit her circumstances. Now she's stumbled onto one that's so successful that she just can't quit. It's planning funerals, what she calls Going Out Parties, in which the clients are the so...