River Readers

Trent thought the whole town hated him. He thought that because of a horrific accident that led to the death of a classmate that he felt responsible for. He was angry, lonely and anxious. Until he met Fallon Little. Fallon had her own secrets but also had a devil-may-care attitude and became Trent's only friend. When Trent's anger threatens their friendship, he must learn to deal with the underlying issues that are causing his anger.
This is a great coming of age book for middle grade readers. I hadn't read anything by Lisa Graff but will readily pick up another of her books.

Greg King with the permission of the Tate family has written a biography of Sharon Tate detailing her life before the Manson family murder spree that caused a wave of paranoia and fear to sweep through the elite Los Angeles area in 1969. After her death, Sharon Tate's reputation was ruined by gossip and innuendo based on her perceived lifestyle by the public and more particularly, the press. King sets the record straight by researching exactly what happened the night Manson family members invaded her home and committed the most heinous crime to date at that time.

Josephine was a house slave to an abusive master and an ailing mistress. She had tried to run once before but was turned away because she was heavy with child.

Defense attorney Brynn Holloran is right at home among cops, criminals, and tough-as-nails prosecutors. With her sharp wit and pointed words, she has a tendency to intimidate, and she likes it that way. She’s a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom, but in her personal life, she’s a mess.

When a vicious murderer she once helped prosecute resurfaces and starts a killing spree to wipeout those who put him behind bars, one thing becomes clear: Brynn needs to run for her life.

She took a dare and fell in love. Truth would have been the smarter choice.

After years of living under her father’s thumb, Emmeline is ready to break free. She’s abandoned her life as a New York socialite to follow her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher in a small, wholesome town. Seeing the man that nearly broke her was absolutely not what she had hoped to find in Prescott, Montana.

Rye Mallett, a fearless "freight dog" pilot charged with flying cargo to far-flung locations, is often rough-spoken, usually unshaven, and he never gets the regulation eight hours of shut-eye before a flight; but he does have a rock-solid reputation: he will fly in the foulest weather, day or night, and deliver the goods safely to their destination. So, when Rye is asked to fly into a completely fogbound Northern Georgia town and deliver a mysterious black box to a Dr. Lambert, he doesn't ask why--he just ups his price.

"Memphis, Tennessee, 1936. The five Foss children find their lives changed forever when their parents leave them alone on the family shantyboat one stormy night. Rill Foss, just twelve years old, must protect her four younger siblings as they are wrenched from their home on the Mississippi and thrown into the care of the infamous Georgia Tann, director of the Tennessee Children's Home Society. South Carolina, Present Day. Avery Stafford has lived a charmed life. Loving daughter to her father, a U.S. Senator, she has a promising career as an assistant D.A.

"Portia Cuthcart and her two sisters find their way from Texas to Manhattan over the years, the heiresses to a dilapidated brownstone on the Upper West Side. Portia is running from a bad divorce and the knowledge that she has always been a little bit different, a little bit strange: the talented cook who knew exactly what to serve on what occasion, even to the point of predicting events that hadn't even happened yet. But she doesn't cook anymore. She has tamped down this "knowing." It has caused her way too many problems.

"The extraordinary story of the small Vermont town that has likely produced more Olympians per capita than any other place in the country--and whose citizens provide a model for achieving excellence while leading a well-rounded life. Norwich, a charming Vermont town of roughly three thousand residents, has sent an athlete to almost every Winter Olympics for the past thirty years--and three times that athlete has returned with a medal. How does Norwich do it?

"They call themselves the May Mothers--a group of new moms whose babies were born in the same month. Twice a week, they get together in Brooklyn's Prospect Park for some much-needed adult time. When the women go out for drinks at the hip neighborhood bar, they are looking for a fun break from their daily routine. But on this hot Fourth of July night, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is taken from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but her fellow May Mothers insisted everything would be fine. Now he is missing.

Nisha is given the diary as a gift from Kazi their cook. She lives in India in 1947 with her father, grandmother and twin brother. Her mother died in childbirth and Nisha writes letters to her in the diary. India is being given self rule from England and is breaking apart into India and Pakistan. The Muslims will be going to Pakistan and the Hindus to India. Unfortunately, Nisha and her family live in what is to be Pakistan and are Hindus. Or more specifically half-Hindu, half-Muslim. Her mother was Muslim and her father Hindu.

Amina is a typical middle school girl in Milwaukee. She isn't comfortable speaking in front of groups and even though she has a beautiful voice refuses to sing for anyone. She becomes uncomfortable when her best friend Soojin decides to change her name to something more "American" when she becomes a citizen and doesn't like the fact that Emily is now their friend even though she has always been mean to them. To make matters worse her uncle is coming from Pakistan and they have to be on their best behavior for three months while he is visiting.

When Elizabeth's parents died she went to live with Aunt Purdy and Uncle Burlap who are definitely not interested in her. So it isn't really a surprise when she comes home from school to find them gone on a Christmas break. What is a surprise is that they are sending her to Winterhouse. Winterhouse is a fantastic hotel run by Norbridge Falls. At Winterhouse Elizabeth meets Freddy another young guest staying for the holiday. They have a shared love of word ladders and anagrams and together enjoy the activities at Winterhouse.

Allora is a beautiful place filled with colorful houses and flying fish. The sea surrounding the town is tempestuous and wild. Alberto is the town coffin maker. He used to build all kinds of things but a plague took his family 30 years ago and now he only builds coffins. Young Tito comes into his life with his magical bird. Alberto built a coffin for Tito's mother not long ago not realizing she had a son hiding out in her cabin. Now Tito is hungry and lonely and seeks solace with Alberto. But a bad man is looking for Tito determined to take him away. 

Amal loves going to school and wants to be a teacher one day. When her mother has her fifth daughter Amal has to stay home from school and help with the housework and the other children. One day in the market she has a run in with a powerful local man. To pay her family's debt she is sent to be a servant in his household. Luckily she ends up as a maid for his mother, but life away from home is not easy.