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—Howard Norman, author of THE BIRD ARTIST

—Joan Wickersham, author of THE NEWS FROM SPAIN and THE SUICIDE INDEX, a Finalist for the National Book Award

—Elizabeth Berg, author of OPEN HOUSE

—Helen Schulman, author of THIS BEAUTIFUL LIFE

Win 12 Copies of BOOKS FOR LIVING by Will Schwalbe for Your Group

Each month, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.

Good as Gone by Amy Gentry

Propulsive and suspenseful, GOOD AS GONE will appeal to fans of GONE GIRL and THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, and keep readers guessing until the final pages.

Thirteen-year-old Julie Whitaker was kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night, witnessed only by her younger sister. Her family was shattered, but managed to stick together, hoping against hope that Julie is still alive. And then one night the doorbell rings. A young woman who appears to be Julie is finally, miraculously, home safe. The family is ecstatic --- but Anna, Julie’s mother, has whispers of doubts. She hates to face them. She cannot avoid them. When she is contacted by a former detective turned private eye, she begins a torturous search for the truth about the woman she desperately hopes is her daughter.

George-Louis de Buffon

Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience.

Attribution

George-Louis de Buffon

Editorial Content for Unfolding

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jeremy H., Teen Board Member

UNFOLDING by Jonathan Friesen follows the life of Jonah, a teenager who lives in the town of Gullary. A mysterious tornado tears through their town, leaving behind a girl named Stormi. Growing up best friends with Stormi, all Jonah wants is to get the girl, but his epileptic seizures and incapacitating physical condition fill his life with frustration. Stormi, on the other hand, lives with the gift of prophecy, sensing things before they happen. Read More

Teaser

Jonah wishes he could get the girl, but he’s an outcast and she’s the most perfect girl he knows. And their futures seemed destined to fork apart: Jonah’s physical condition is debilitating, and epileptic seizures fill his life with frustration. Whereas Stormi is seemingly carefree, and navigates life by sensing things before they happen. And her most recent premonition is urging her to leave town.

Promo

Jonah wishes he could get the girl, but he’s an outcast and she’s the most perfect girl he knows. And their futures seemed destined to fork apart: Jonah’s physical condition is debilitating, and epileptic seizures fill his life with frustration. Whereas Stormi is seemingly carefree, and navigates life by sensing things before they happen. And her most recent premonition is urging her to leave town.

About the Book

Jonah wishes he could get the girl, but he’s an outcast and she’s the most perfect girl he knows.

And their futures seemed destined to fork apart: Jonah’s physical condition is debilitating, and epileptic seizures fill his life with frustration. Whereas Stormi is seemingly carefree, and navigates life by sensing things before they happen. And her most recent premonition is urging her to leave town.

When Stormi begs Jonah for help, he finds himself swept into a dark mystery his small town has been keeping for years. And the answers Stormi needs about her own past could possibly destroy everything Jonah has ever known --- including his growing relationship with Stormi herself.

Editorial Content for Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Christine M. Irvin

In PATHFINDERS, author Tonya Bolden shares sketches of 16 extraordinary African Americans, people she refers to as "pathfinders." Each one, in his or her own way, made a path for themselves, a way to survive and make a difference in their world.

"I learned a lot about this fascinating group of individuals. The writing is lively and the pages are filled with interesting illustrations and sidebars."

Teaser

PATHFINDERS is a collective biography of sixteen diverse American men and women of African descent who made their mark on American history in the 18th to 20th centuries. People who dared to dream, take risks, and create goals not only for themselves, but for others and the betterment of their society, too.

Promo

PATHFINDERS is a collective biography of sixteen diverse American men and women of African descent who made their mark on American history in the 18th to 20th centuries. People who dared to dream, take risks, and create goals not only for themselves, but for others and the betterment of their society, too.

About the Book

Over the centuries, untold numbers of black men and women in America have achieved great things against the odds. PATHFINDERS is a collective biography of sixteen diverse American men and women of African descent who made their mark on American history in the 18th to 20th centuries. People who dared to dream, take risks, and create goals not only for themselves, but for others and the betterment of their society, too. Award-winning author Tonya Bolden offers an insightful look at these figures, from Venture Smith, who bought his freedom; to Sadie Alexander, who contributed to the Civil Rights movement in the United States; to Katherine Johnson, who helped the United States land on the moon.
 
Among the incredible people in this nonfiction masterpiece are James Forten (1766–1842), a powder boy then prisoner of war during the Revolution, who grew up to be the captain of his own ship and one of Philadelphia’s leading abolitionists and wealthiest citizen; Richard Potter (1783-1835), an accomplished magician, ventriloquist, and hypnotist who paved the way for other well-known entertainers like Harry Houdini; Paul Revere Williams (1894–1980), born poor and an orphan by age four, who became known as the “Architect to the Stars” (among them Danny Thomas);  Jackie Ormes (1911–1985), who first made her mark as a cartoonist in the 1930s; and Katherine Johnson (1918), a mathematician and physicist whose calculations were key to the successful missions of astronauts Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and Neil Armstrong. Each evocative profile includes an enlightening look at the historical build up and several images ranging from paintings and photographs to primary documents. The book ends with endnotes, a timeline, a bibliography, and an index. Ideal for Black History Month and common core usage, this book will also find wide appeal year-round for curious minds looking to discover fascinating pieces of American History, as well as interesting career possibilities.

Editorial Content for The Life Fantastic: A Novel in Three Acts

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rachel R., Teen Board Member

THE LIFE FANTASTIC is an exploration into the spirit of Vaudeville during the early 1900’s, through a look at the life of Teresa (Resa for short) as she comes of age. Read More

Teaser

In Brattleboro, Vermont, 15-year-old Teresa LeClair --- who has a "voice like a nightingale" --- remembers the thrill of singing onstage as a child. Determined to escape the life her father wants for her, Teresa wins an amateur singing contest in Brattleboro's opera house and steals away on the night train to New York. There she runs into Pietro Jones and his father, talented African American dancers. At a time when young black men could be lynched for simply looking at a white girl, Pietro understands, better than Teresa, the danger of their relationship.

Promo

In Brattleboro, Vermont, 15-year-old Teresa LeClair --- who has a "voice like a nightingale" --- remembers the thrill of singing onstage as a child. Determined to escape the life her father wants for her, Teresa wins an amateur singing contest in Brattleboro's opera house and steals away on the night train to New York. There she runs into Pietro Jones and his father, talented African American dancers. At a time when young black men could be lynched for simply looking at a white girl, Pietro understands, better than Teresa, the danger of their relationship.

About the Book

Will Teresa Find Fame But Lose Her Soul?

It's 1913 and vaudeville is America's most popular form of entertainment. Thousands of theaters across the country host vaudeville troupes. In Brattleboro, Vermont, fifteen-year-old Teresa LeClair --- who has a "voice like a nightingale" --- remembers the thrill of singing onstage as a child. But her parents have given up life on the road, and her father has decided that Teresa, blessed with perfect pitch, should drop out of school and work in the tuning rooms of the organ factory.

Determined to escape the life her father wants for her, Teresa wins an amateur singing contest in Brattleboro's opera house and steals away on the night train to New York. She hopes to become a star on Broadway's "Great White Way," but has no idea of the challenges that lie ahead. There she runs into Pietro Jones and his father, talented African American dancers. Teresa and Pietro become competitors as well as unlikely friends.

At a time when young black men could be lynched for simply looking at a white girl, Pietro understands, better than Teresa, the danger of their relationship. Teresa's quest to find her voice onstage and in her life, far from the support of her family, takes place against a complex racial backdrop of American history.