A struggling young farmer, Ethan Frome labors under the weight of a miserable marriage. His wife, Zeena, is cold, self-absorbed, and ailing. Zeena invites her cousin Mattie to come live at their farm and do the housework. Soon after her arrival, she and Ethan fall in love. Should they run away together, abandoning Zeena and the farm? The situation soon forces them to take action.

Enduring a hardscrabble existence as the children of alcoholic and absent parents, four siblings from a coastal Mississippi town prepare their meager stores for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina while struggling with such challenges as a teen pregnancy and a dying litter of prize pups.

Katherine Paterson is back - A new novel from the author of Bridge to Terabithia - based on a completely true historical event. A historical novel about a young Cuban teenager who volunteers for Fidel Castro's national literacy campaign that taught those throughout the impoverished countryside to read.

"The Bean Trees is the work of a visionary. . . . It leaves you open-mouthed and smiling." — Los Angeles Times

A bestseller that has come to be regarded as an American classic, The Bean Trees is the novel that launched Barbara Kingsolver's remarkable literary career.

It is the charming, engrossing tale of rural Kentucky native Taylor Greer, who only wants to get away from her roots and avoid getting

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Twelve-and-a-half year old Emelyn Ethrige lives with her father in South Carolina, dreams of wheelchair motocross, and makes custom chair bags trying to earn enough money to buy a serious set of wheels; she has been in a wheelchair all her life, and is just fine getting around without help, but it seems that since her mother was killed in an accident everyone (father, grandparents, teachers, and classmates) have started treating her differently: urging...

"Many dedicated years working for the NYPD didn't mean much when criminal psychologist Trajan Jones was fired from the force. Now living in exile on a dairy farm in upstate New York, Trajan is reduced to teaching an online course in criminal investigation, along with his partner Mike Li, an expert in DNA evidence. But Trajan is called back to duty when a friend in county law enforcement consults him on the suspicious death of several local kids. They're...

"Growing up in Alaska in the 1970s isn't like growing up anywhere else: Don't think life is going to be easy. Know your place. And never talk about yourself. Four vivid voices tell intertwining stories of hardship, tragedy, wild luck, and salvation"--

Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat's single mother warned her that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother's fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Marrying into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree has all a woman could ever dream: a loving lawyer husband, two talented young teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world. Until the day Bree awakens and...

"Capturing the lyricism of lives without a future in southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and New York City, Things to Do When You're Goth in the Countryintroduces us to Chavisa Woods's people. They are smart and poor, lost and hoping not to be found, and of high hopes but few if any expectations--inhabitants, mostly young, of a hidden country without a name that exists within America. The eight stories inThings to Do When You're Goth in the Countrybring...

Based on the vibrant true story of a young girl from the streets of rural Uganda whose world rapidly changes when she is introduced to the game of chess, and, as a result of the support she receives from her family and community, is instilled with the confidence and determination she needs to pursue her dream of becoming an international chess champion.