Zulaikha hopes. She hopes for peace, now that the Taliban have been driven from Afghanistan; a good relationship with her hard stepmother; and one day even to go to school, or to have her cleft palate fixed. Zulaikha knows all will be provided for her "Inshallah," God willing.
Then she meets Meena, who offers to teach her the Afghan poetry she taught her late mother. And the Americans come to her village, promising not just new opportunities and dangers, but surgery to fix her face. These changes could mean a whole new life for Zulaikhabut can she dare to hope they'll come true?
With their father en route to Africa for Doctors Without Borders, city-kids Nicholas and younger twin sisters Haley and Hetty are off to spend the summer with their Great-Uncle Nick at his house on Forsaken Lake. Despite some initial doubts, Nicholas is right at home in the country: he learns to sail, learns about his father as a boy, and makes fast friends with a local-girl, the tomboy Charlie.
The summer takes a turn toward the mysterious, though, when Nicholas discovers an old movie that his father made as a boy: it tells the story of the local legend, The Seaweed Strangler, but was never finished. Before long Nicholas wants answers both about the legend, and about the movie. Together, he and Charlie work to uncover the truth and discover some long-buried family secrets along the way.
In this lovely middle-grade novel, Michael D. Beil has invoked one of his own favorites, We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, as well as other great summer books of years-past.
Next up to the plate-book #5 in our early chapter book mystery series, where each book is set in a different American ballpark!
The stars are out in Kansas City . . . the baseball stars, that is! Mike and Kate are at the All-Star game, and even get to go on the field during the Home Run Derby to catch pop-ups! That's where they meet Andy, whose dad, Josh Robinson, is an All-Star catcher. But before the Home Derby ends, Josh finds himself in hot water. Someone is playing practical jokes on the other players, and the coach is sure it's him. Andy swears his dad is innocent. Who would want to frame Josh? And why?
The All-Star Joker includes a fun fact page about Kansas City's stadium.
Cross Ron Roy's A to Z mystery series with Matt Christopher's sports books and you get the Ballpark Mysteries: fun, puzzling whodunnits aimed at the younger brothers and sisters of John Feinstein's fans.
Sometimes life gets messy.
After a rocky start in Spoiled, Brooke Berlin and her newly discovered half sister, Molly Dix, have settled into something like sisterly love, but the drama is far from over.
Now that Brooke's caught a taste of fame and her movie star father's attention, she wants to launch a blog that will position her as the ultimate Hollywood insider. But between schoolwork, party-planning committee meetings, and spa treatments, she hardly has the time to write it herself...
Enter Max McCormack, an aspiring author with a terrible after-school job pushing faux meat on the macrobiotic masses of La-La Land. Max reluctantly agrees to play Brooke's ghost-blogger for an impressive salary, and the site takes off, but how long can their lie last? In person, Brooke can't live up to the intellectual wit of openbrooke.com, and Max soon begins to resent hiding her genius behind a bandage dress-wearing blonde. Can the girls work together to stay on top, or will the truth come out and ruin everything they've built?
When the old woman died, she left her grandchild Nancy with the extraordinary gift of magic. Nancy can read people's minds, know their thoughts, and make them do what she wants. Will she use her gift for good, or satisfy her own selfish desire?
Lois Duncan presents a paranormal rollercoaster ride with goosebumps at every turn.
When Karen closes her eyes, the visions come. Through time and space, she sees a place where stolen children sleep. And if Karen denies a young policeman's request for help, the children may never go home again.
Lois Duncan presents a ticking clock mystery with thrills at every turn.
Since we first met Nikki Maxwell, she's been doing everything she can to keep everyone at school from learning the truth--that she's there on scholarship in exchange for her Dad working as the school's exterminator. The last thing Nikki needs is having her friends and--worst case scenario--her crush, Brandon, associating her with the humongous roach on top of her Dad's van! Now it looks like her secret could be about to come out, and Nikki's willing to go to any zany, wacky length to prevent that from happening. The timing seems perfect when a major talent competition is announced with a school scholarship offered as the prize. Nikki loves to sing and dance and now she gets to have tons of fun with her friends while competing for a chance to free her Dad from his obligation. (And free herself from all that potential damage to her reputation...) Once again, hijinks and misunderstandings aplenty ensue, as well as more hilarious and heartwarming moments with all our favorite characters.
The Pony Scouts have come a long way with their riding lessons.
Meg, Jill, and Annie can steer their ponies. They even know how to trot! So what's the harm in taking a little trail ride by themselves? The Pony Scouts will soon find out that even though they know a lot, there's still much for them to learn!
The Trail Ride is the sixth book in the Pony Scouts I Can Read series, filled with the same fun horseplay as always!
Minnie McClary’s life was turned upside down when her family moved from the big city to a small town, and now she has nothing but problems. Miss Marks, her new language arts teacher, thinks that the way to solve problems is to start by asking questions. But Minnie has so many questions she doesn’t even know where to start. Like why did her father lose his job by blowing a whistle? Why is her war veteran uncle obsessed with building a helicopter in the basement? Why do people make fun of her new friend Amira’s head scarf? Why do all of the parents care so much about the rainbow tattoo on Miss Marks’s ankle? And what can you do when you know you should stand up for what’s right, but you might be too scared?
Imagine finding out that you have a twin sister—and she’s a vampire! That’s what happens to chipper cheerleader Olivia when she moves to Franklin Grove and meets Ivy, an ultra-goth girl who looks strangely familiar. The girls discover that they were both adopted, both have identical rings given to them by their birth parents, and they were both born on the same day, in the same town. They’re twins! They decide to switch places for an afternoon, swapping clothes and trying on each other’s attitudes. Switching places should be no problem! Except, there is one other difference: Ivy is a vampire!
Date: July 4
Rental type: 2-person sailboat
Rented by: Jen Taylor and Dylan Nelson
Rental time: 8:15 p.m.
Destination: Out to sea!
Life jackets: 2
Time back: ??? Don't wait up!
The perfect summer story of a girl, several boys, and a cruise ship full of possibilities.
Lindsay has never been on a cruise, but she knows exactly what she wants to do now that she is: climb a waterfall, snorkel, meet lots of cute guys, and look for one perfect guy for a summer fling.
But her to-do list isn't going according to plan, especially when she discovers that it's impossible to have a fling - when you're actually falling in love.
