Difficult Family

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a whites-only school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

"I had everything I needed to run a household: A house, food, and a new family. From now on it would just be me and Sammy - the two of us, and no one else". A tragic accident has turned 11-year-old Aubrey’s world upside down. Starting a new life all alone, Aubrey has everything she thinks she needs: SpaghettiOs and Sammy, her new pet fish. She cannot talk about what happened to her. Writing letters is the only thing that feels right to Aubrey, even if no one ever reads them. With the aid of her loving grandmother and new friends, Aubrey learns that she is not alone.

Heartache, betrayal, and abuse: These are Mia’s lifelong companions, inflicted upon her by parents who wish she’d never been born. The night she was kicked out of the house, Mia would have frozen to death—if not literally, then emotionally—were it not for the love of her best friend’s family. Intuition, love, and wonder: These are Sophie’s gifts, unleashed by her struggle with Cystic Fibrosis and her determination to live fully. When Mia tells Sophie about the long walk down the mountain in the snow, Sophie instinctively knows there is more to the story of Mia’s survival.

After an incident shatters their family, 11-year old Samantha and her older sister Caitlin are sent to live in rural Oregon with an aunt they've never met. Sam wants nothing more than to go back to the way things were…before she spoke up about their father's anger. When Aunt Vicky gives Sam a mysterious card game called "A Game of Fox & Squirrels", Sam falls in love with the animal characters, especially the charming trickster fox, Ashander. One day, Ashander shows up in her room and offers Sam an adventure and a promise: find the Golden Acorn, and Sam can have anything she desires.

Mallory Estate is the last place 12-year-old Piper Peavey wants to spend her summer vacation. The grounds are always cold, the garden out back is dead, a mysterious group of children call the property home, and there’s a rumor that Melena M. Mallory - the owner of the estate and Piper’s wealthy grandmother - is a witch. But when Piper’s father falls ill, Mallory Estate is exactly where she finds herself. The grand house and its garden hold many secrets - some of which may even save her father.

Erik Carlson's life is going great. He's just passed his Hunter Safety Course and is scheduled to make his first hunting trip with his best friend, Patrick, that very weekend. His plans are shattered by the news that his parents, who are Army Reservists, have been unexpectedly called for duty in Iraq. With almost no warning, Erik is shipped off to North Dakota to stay with grandparents he barely knows. Though his grandmother is warm and welcoming, his grandfather, Big Darrell, is cold, gruff, and distant.

In the end, all that's left is an Echo. Before, Violet's morbid ability to sense the dead led her to uncover dark murders and long-buried secrets in her small town. Now that she's workingwith a special investigative team, Violet hopes she can help even more people - whether by saving a life or catching a killer. Although she's relieved to finally be honest about what she can do, her instant connection with her mysterious partner, Rafe, is both confusing and unsettling, and their unique bond creates tension with her boyfriend, Jay. When she discovers the body of a college student murdered by "the collector," Violet refuses to give upon the case.

The festive season isn't always happy for Tori Spring and her brother, Charlie. And this year's going to be harder than most. I used to think that difficult was better than boring, but I know better now.... I’m not going to think about the past few months, about Charlie and me and all of the sad. I’m going to block it all out just for today. 'Happy Christmas,' I say.

If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn't have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn't have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn't have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her "Chief".

British author Sally Nicholls presents her powerful and heart-stirring debut about Sam, an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with leukemia. Sam bravely faces the possibility that he will die, and doesn't want anybody's pity as he seeks answers to some very difficult questions about life and death. Young adults and their parents will find this poignant representation of terminal illness both profound and uplifting.

Ever since Esther Solar's grandfather was cursed by Death, everyone in her family has been doomed to suffer one great fear in their lifetime. Esther's father is agoraphobic and hasn't left the basement in six years, her twin brother can't be in the dark without a light on, and her mother is terrified of bad luck. The Solars are consumed by their fears and, according to the legend of the curse, destined to die from them. Esther doesn't know what her great fear is yet (nor does she want to), a feat achieved by avoiding pretty much everything.

Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions...like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl.

Christy is going to Europe! It’s a three-week outreach trip with Doug, Katie, and Tracy. First stop is London for some sightseeing, and then on to a castle in the English countryside for group training. Christy is so excited to be headed for Belfast with her friends. Their roommate, Sierra Jensen, adds lots of energy to their late night conversations along with Katie. Why is it that Tracy seems to be avoiding the merriment? If Christy can go the distance and trust God more than ever before, Christy will discover that a promise really can last forever.

New beginnings. Shocking revelations. Unexpected endings. As spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new role as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father's death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder at what cost a life of splendor comes.

Quinlan McKee has spent her life acting as other people. She was a closer - a person hired to play the roles of the recently deceased in order to give their families closure. Through this process, Quinn learned to read people and situations, even losing a bit of herself to do so. But she couldn't have guessed how her last case would bring down her entire world.

Mann is only 13, yet he has already had to deal with more than most go through in a lifetime. His family is still reeling from the tragic shooting death of his little brother, Jason, each person coping with grief in his or her own way.

When things go bad at home, sisters Eleanor and Mike hide in a secret place under Eleanor's bed, telling monster stories. Often, it seems those stories and their mother's house magic are all that keep them safe from both busybodies and their dad's temper. But when their father breaks a family heirloom, a glass witch ball, a river suddenly appears beneath the bed, and Eleanor and Mike fall into a world where dreams are born, nightmares struggle to break into the real world, and secrets have big consequences.

Twelve-year-old Lonnie is finally feeling at home with his foster family. But because he's living apart from his little sister, Lili, he decides it's his job to be the "rememberer" - and write down everything that happens while they're growing up. Lonnie's reflections in his letters to Lili are bittersweet. He's happy that they both have good foster families, but while his new family brings him joy, it also brings new worries: With a foster brother in the army, concepts like peace have new meaning for Lonnie.

Through their love for people, yet ignorance of the unknown, the Finch Family has joined alongside their church and opened their home to an African refugee family who are moving to Connecticut. The Amabo family of four Andre, Celestine, Mattu, and Alake: father, mother, and teenage son and daughter arrive in great hope as they have escaped the tyranny of Africa. What the Finch Family doesnt know is that there are not just four refugees in this Amabo family, but five.

SETTING BOUNDARIES: How To Set Strong And Healthy Boundaries And Take Control Of Your Life by Richard Copeland is a guide that would help you set strong and healthy boundaries in every area of your life - with family, friends, at work, and in relationships. Here are a few things you will learn in this book: You will discover what boundaries truly are and why you need to set them. The book reveals the different types of boundaries and how to set them without feeling guilty about it and hurting others. After reading this book, you will be able to identify the different types of boundaries you...