Pen /Hemingway Award-winning novelist Jane Hamilton follows up her first success, The Book Of Ruth, with this spectacularly heartbreaking and haunting drama about a rural American family and a disastrous event that forever changes their lives. A Map of the World is the riveting story of how a...  more

Pen /Hemingway Award-winning novelist Jane Hamilton follows up her first success, The Book Of Ruth, with this spectacularly heartbreaking and haunting drama about a rural American family and a disastrous event that forever changes their lives. A Map of the World is the riveting story of how a single mistake can forever change the lives of everyone involved--in ways that are beyond imagination. The Goodwins, Howard, Alice, and their little girls, Emma and Claire, live on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Although suspiciously regarded by their neighbors as "that hippie couple" because of their well-educated, urban background, Howard and Alice believe they have found a source of emotional strength in the farm, he tending the barn while Alice works as a nurse in the local elementary school. But their peaceful life is shattered one day when a neighbor's two-year-old daughter drowns in the Goodwins' pond while under Alice's care. Tormented by the accident, Alice descends even further into darkness when she is accused of sexually abusing a student at the elementary school. Soon, Alice is arrested, incarcerated, and as good as convicted in the eyes of a suspicious community. As a child, Alice designed her own map of the world to find her bearings. Now, as an adult, she must find her way again, through a maze of lies, doubt and ill will. A vivid human drama of guilt and betrayal, A Map of the World chronicles the intricate geographies of the human heart and all its mysterious, uncharted terrain. The result is a piercing drama about family bonds and a disappearing rural American life.

A deliciously deadly novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Prime Cut. Diane Mott Davidson's unique blend of first-class suspense and five-star fare has won her scores of fans and propelled her onto major bestseller lists across the country. Now she returns with her hottest entree...  more

A deliciously deadly novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Prime Cut. Diane Mott Davidson's unique blend of first-class suspense and five-star fare has won her scores of fans and propelled her onto major bestseller lists across the country. Now she returns with her hottest entree yet, serving up another tantalizing menu for murder.... When caterer Goldy Schulz is offered a temporary stint hosting a cooking show for PBS, she jumps at the chance. After all, she could use the money -- not to mention the great exposure. Plus taping the shows at Colorado's posh Killdeer Ski Resort will be fun. A little cooking, a little chitchat. What could go wrong? The answer: everything! When Goldy has to do one of her shows live for a PBS telethon, the broadcast is riddled with culinary catastrophes -- from the Chesapeake Crab Cakes right down to the Ice-Capped Gingersnaps. But the deadliest dish of all comes after the cameras go off -- and a baffling accident claims a life. Then a series of suspicious mishaps places Goldy's own life in jeopardy, and she knows she'd better whip up her own crime-solving recipe, and fast -- before a deadly dash of danger ends her cooking career once and for all....

Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life. In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying Grace and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a...  more

Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life. In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying Grace and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize has exceeded capacity. For any to live, some must die. As the castaways battle the elements and each other, Grace recollects the unorthodox way she and Henry met, and the new life of privilege she thought she'd found. Will she pay any price to keep it? THE LIFEBOAT is a page-turning novel of hard choices and survival, narrated by a woman as unforgettable and complex as the events she describes.

Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning a letter arrives, addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl, from a woman he hasn’t...  more

Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning a letter arrives, addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl, from a woman he hasn’t heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. But before Harold mails off a quick reply, a chance encounter convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. In his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold Fry embarks on an urgent quest. Determined to walk six hundred miles to the hospice, Harold believes that as long as he walks, Queenie will live.

The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world - a triumph of imagination and storytelling. It is 1970 in a small town in California. "Bean" Holladay is twelve and her sister,...  more

The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world - a triumph of imagination and storytelling. It is 1970 in a small town in California. "Bean" Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who "found something wrong with every place she ever lived," takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that's been in Charlotte's family for generations. An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town - a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister - inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it's Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz in the car with Maddox. Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices.

When beloved Christian writer and speaker Savannah Trover becomes gravely ill, she has to face the sham that her faith has become. Days before her heart transplant, she vows to change her ways and she renews her relationship with Christ. But when she awakens from the surgery, Savannah discovers...  more

When beloved Christian writer and speaker Savannah Trover becomes gravely ill, she has to face the sham that her faith has become. Days before her heart transplant, she vows to change her ways and she renews her relationship with Christ. But when she awakens from the surgery, Savannah discovers that her faith has left her completely. Savannah’s husband, Shaun, is concerned about his wife's odd behavior -- and even more concerned about the secret he’s keeping from her. If she doesn't bring down their ministry, then he might, losing his family in the process. A stranger may hold the answer to Savannah's recovery, but is Savannah strong enough to return to her old way of life? Can Shaun right his wrongs before word gets out? And do either one of them remember how to be who they once were -- or who they want to be?  

?I was just a baby when we were relocated and I don?t remember much. Everybody has that black hole at the beginning of their life. That time you can?t remember. Your first step. Your first taste of table food. My real memories begin in our assigned living area in Compound 14.? Just a...  more

?I was just a baby when we were relocated and I don?t remember much. Everybody has that black hole at the beginning of their life. That time you can?t remember. Your first step. Your first taste of table food. My real memories begin in our assigned living area in Compound 14.? Just a generation ago this place was called America. Now, after the worldwide implementation of UN-lead program called Agenda 21, it?s simply known as the ?Republic.? There is no president. No congress. No Supreme Court. No freedom.There are only the Authorities.Citizens have two primary goals in the new Republic: to create clean energy and to create new human life. Those who cannot do either are of no use to society.This bleak and barren existence is all that eighteen-year-old Emmeline has ever known. She dutifully walks her energy board daily and accepts all male pairings assigned to her by the Authorities. Like most citizens, she keeps her head down and her eyes closed. Until the day they came for her mother.?You save what you think you?re going to lose.?Woken up to the harsh reality of her life and her family?s future inside the Republic, Emmeline begins to search for the truth. Why are all citizens confined to ubiquitous concrete living spaces? Why are Compounds guarded by Gatekeepers who track all movements? Why are food, water and energy rationed so strictly? And, most important, why are babies taken from their mothers at birth?As Emmeline begins to understand the true objectives of Agenda 21 she realizes that she is up against far more than she ever thought. With the Authorities closing in, and nowhere to run, Emmeline embarks on an audacious plan to save her family and expose the Republic?but is she already too late?

A collection of short stories relating to Ford County, Mississippi, the location of Mr. Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill.

Accused of murder, convicted of throwing a game for the mob, former Dallas Cowboys superstar Griff Burkett spent five years in federal prison. Now a free man, the fallen quarterback has no prospects -- and, worse, no forgiveness -- in football-crazy Texas. But there is someone willing to pay...  more

Accused of murder, convicted of throwing a game for the mob, former Dallas Cowboys superstar Griff Burkett spent five years in federal prison. Now a free man, the fallen quarterback has no prospects -- and, worse, no forgiveness -- in football-crazy Texas. But there is someone willing to pay millions for Griff's services -- airline CEO Foster Speakman and his wife, Laura. It's a provocative and lucrative job offer Griff can't refuse, demanding only his absolute secrecy. But in this high-stakes game, Griff finds himself falling in love with Laura Speakman and racing to protect them both from a ruthless nemesis from his past. Now, plunged into the spotlight of suspicion as the clock winds down, Griff's future -- and his life -- hinge on one last perfect play. Read by Victor Slezak Unabridged: 12 cassettes, 14 hrs.

Finally in paperback! In this remarkable debut work from author Karen Stolz, readers follow the arc of a girl's life as she grows to womanhood. From crushes to surprise baby sisters to nail polish to a devastating death, Roxanne is our guide through a life that has moments of tenderness,...  more

Finally in paperback! In this remarkable debut work from author Karen Stolz, readers follow the arc of a girl's life as she grows to womanhood. From crushes to surprise baby sisters to nail polish to a devastating death, Roxanne is our guide through a life that has moments of tenderness, poignancy, sorrow, and great humor, as well as some wonderful baking memories. A sumptuous novel -- though like the best pie, tart in all the right places.

A new series from The New York Times bestselling author of the ABRAM'S DAUGHTERS series! The Preacher's Daughter begins a remarkable journey of heartache and homespun delight -- a series readers will find impossible to forget. Paradise, Pennsylvania, is likened to a little slice of heaven on...  more

A new series from The New York Times bestselling author of the ABRAM'S DAUGHTERS series! The Preacher's Daughter begins a remarkable journey of heartache and homespun delight -- a series readers will find impossible to forget. Paradise, Pennsylvania, is likened to a little slice of heaven on earth... but for Annie Zook -- the preacher's eldest daughter -- it seems like a dead-end street. She is expected to join the Amish church, but at 20 she is "still deciding." Because of the strict rules that guide the Plain community, she must continually squelch her artistic passion, although it has become her solace. In her signature style, with character depth and unexpected plot twists, beloved novelist Beverly Lewis once again opens the door to the world of the Amish.

Leon Uris retums to the land of his acclaimed  best-seller Exodus for an epic  story of hate and love, vengeance and forgiveness and  forgiveness. The Middle East is the powerful  setting for this sweeping tale of a land where revenge  is sacred...  more

Leon Uris retums to the land of his acclaimed  best-seller Exodus for an epic  story of hate and love, vengeance and forgiveness and  forgiveness. The Middle East is the powerful  setting for this sweeping tale of a land where revenge  is sacred and hatred noble. Where an Arab ruler  tries to save his people from destruction but  cannot save them from themselves. When violence  spreads like a plague across the lands of  Palestine--this is the time of The  Haj.

Annie Zook, the preacher?s daughter, struggles to keep her promise to her father?to abandon her art for a full six months. Will she succeed, only to succumb to another "forbidden" desire? And what would her father do if he discovered her friendship with a handsome Englisher? Ben Martin has...  more

Annie Zook, the preacher?s daughter, struggles to keep her promise to her father?to abandon her art for a full six months. Will she succeed, only to succumb to another "forbidden" desire? And what would her father do if he discovered her friendship with a handsome Englisher? Ben Martin has recently moved to Pennsylvania from Kentucky on a secret search of his own. He is mysteriously drawn to Paradise and especially to the covered bridge depicted in Annie?s painting, a folded copy of which he carries in his pocket...along with a smooth peach stone. Will Ben?s keen interest in Annie derail her intention to join the Amish church come autumn? (Annie's People Book 2)

Annie Zook, the Amish preacher's daughter, is caught between two worlds. Living with shunned Esther, Annie longs to return to her forbidden art and the idyllic days spent with Englisher Ben Martin, before her father ordered her never to see him again. Stunned when family secrets come to...  more

Annie Zook, the Amish preacher's daughter, is caught between two worlds. Living with shunned Esther, Annie longs to return to her forbidden art and the idyllic days spent with Englisher Ben Martin, before her father ordered her never to see him again. Stunned when family secrets come to light, Ben determines to solve the mystery of his past. Will his future include Annie-or will the Brethren always stand between them? With the People forbidding her to see Ben, will Annie willfully return to her art or relent and join the church?

She was America's darling: actress, producer, star of the golden age of television. Her work on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show garnered multiple Emmys, followed by critical acclaim for her acting on Broadway and in film. Now, in her witty, candid, heartbreaking...  more

She was America's darling: actress, producer, star of the golden age of television. Her work on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show garnered multiple Emmys, followed by critical acclaim for her acting on Broadway and in film. Now, in her witty, candid, heartbreaking autobiography, Mary Tyler Moore tells all, about...the Dick Van Dyke nobody knows...Elvis, her sly, seductive co-star in Change of Habit...how Carl Reiner taught her to cry while being funny...Robert Redford's confession after casting her in Ordinary People...about then-First Lady Betty Ford's inebriated debut on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and years later, her phone call that saved Mary's life.Mary spares nothing as she recounts her traumatic childhood, two failed marriages, her own alcoholism, the tragic death of her son, and her third, happy marriage to a cardiologist eighteen years her junior. Moving, inspiring, and brutally frank, After All will touch every reader's heart and soul.

In the wake of his bestselling Christmas Jars comes a sweetly crafted story from Wright, a Virginia businessman. Jack and Laurel Cooper are two hardworking, loving Christian pillars of the community who die in each other's arms one night in the bed-and-breakfast that they own and operate. The...  more

In the wake of his bestselling Christmas Jars comes a sweetly crafted story from Wright, a Virginia businessman. Jack and Laurel Cooper are two hardworking, loving Christian pillars of the community who die in each other's arms one night in the bed-and-breakfast that they own and operate. The event calls their three grown children home for the funeral, including their youngest son, a fugitive from the law who must face an outstanding warrant for his arrest and confront his one true love, now engaged to another man. As events unfold around the funeral, the three children discover a treasure trove of family history in the form of Wednesday letters-notes that Jack wrote to his wife every single week of their married lives. As they read, the children brush across the fabric of a devoted marriage that survived a devastating event kept secret all these years. It's a lovely story: heartening, wholesome, humorous, suspenseful and redemptive. It resonates with the true meaning of family and the life-healing power of forgiveness all wrapped up in a satisfying ending. -- Publishers Weekly

Alice Metcalf was a devoted mother, loving wife and accomplished scientist who studied grief among elephants. Yet it's been a decade since she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind her small daughter, husband, and the animals to which she devoted her life. All signs...  more

Alice Metcalf was a devoted mother, loving wife and accomplished scientist who studied grief among elephants. Yet it's been a decade since she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind her small daughter, husband, and the animals to which she devoted her life. All signs point to abandonment. . .or worse. Still Jenna--now 13 years old and truly orphaned by a father maddened by grief--steadfastly refuses to believe in her mother's desertion.  So she decides to approach the 2 people who might still be able to help her find Alice: a disgraced psychic named Serenity Jones, and Virgil Stanhope, the cynical detective who first investigated her mother's disappearance and the strange, possibly linked death of 1 of her mother's co-workers. Together these 3 lonely souls will discover truths destined to forever change their lives. Deeply moving and suspenseful, Jodi Picoult's novel is a radiant exploration of the enduring love between mothers and daughters.

As he is driving home from a minister's conference, Baptist minister Don Piper collides with a semi-truck that crosses into his lane. He is pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, Piper experiences heaven, where he is greeted by those who had influenced him spiritually. He...  more

As he is driving home from a minister's conference, Baptist minister Don Piper collides with a semi-truck that crosses into his lane. He is pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, Piper experiences heaven, where he is greeted by those who had influenced him spiritually. He hears beautiful music and feels true peace. Back on earth, a passing minister who had also been at the conference is led to pray for Don even though he knows the man is dead. Piper miraculously comes back to life and the bliss of heaven is replaced by a long and painful recovery.

It is mid-October, 1997, harvest time in the Columbia Basin of central Washington state, a rich apple- and pear-growing region. Ben Givens, recently widowed, is a retired heart surgeon, once admired for his steadiness of hand, his precision, his endurance. He has terminal colon cancer. While Ben...  more

It is mid-October, 1997, harvest time in the Columbia Basin of central Washington state, a rich apple- and pear-growing region. Ben Givens, recently widowed, is a retired heart surgeon, once admired for his steadiness of hand, his precision, his endurance. He has terminal colon cancer. While Ben does not readily accept defeat, he is determined to avoid suffering rather than engage it. And so, accompanied by his two hunting dogs, he sets out through the mythic American West-sage deserts, yawning canyons, dusty ranches, vast orchards-on his last hunt. The main issues for Ben as a doctor had been tactical and so it would be with his death. But he hadn't considered the persuasiveness of memory-the promise he made to his wife Rachel, the love of his life, during World War II. Or life's mystery. On his journey he meets a young couple who are "forever," a drifter offering left-handed advice that might lessen the pain, a veterinarian with a touch only a heart surgeon would recognize, a rancher bent on destruction, a migrant worker who tests Ben's ability to understand. And just when he thinks there is no turning back, nothing to lose that wasn't lost, his power of intervention is called upon and his very identity tested. Full of humanity, passion, and moral honesty, East of the Mountains is a bold and beautiful novel of personal discovery.

A young Boston trial lawyer is drawn into a case involving two industrial chemical plants and a cluster of childhood leukemia victims that is to encompass nine difficult years and bring him to near bankruptcy. This is the true story of an epic courtroom showdown. Two of the nation's largest...  more

A young Boston trial lawyer is drawn into a case involving two industrial chemical plants and a cluster of childhood leukemia victims that is to encompass nine difficult years and bring him to near bankruptcy. This is the true story of an epic courtroom showdown. Two of the nation's largest corporations stand accused of causing the deaths of children. Representing the bereaved parents, the unlikeliest of heroes emerges: a young, flamboyant Porsche-driving lawyer who hopes to win millions of dollars and ends up nearly losing everything -- including his sanity. A Civil Action is the searing, compelling tale of a legal system gone awry -- one in which greed and power fight an unending struggle against justice. Yet it is also the story of how one man can ultimately make a difference. With an unstoppable narrative power reminiscent of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," "A Civil Action" is an unforgettable reading experience that leaves the reader both shocked and enlightened.

The author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Bridges of Madison County once again brings characters and situations with his special blend of lyricism and magic. This is a bittersweet story about two good people who discover that true love, when it comes, is rarely fair, or right --...  more

The author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Bridges of Madison County once again brings characters and situations with his special blend of lyricism and magic. This is a bittersweet story about two good people who discover that true love, when it comes, is rarely fair, or right -- or without pain.

Jeannette Walls's memoir The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly). Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person voice that is authentic, irresistible, and triumphant. "Those old cows knew...  more

Jeannette Walls's memoir The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly). Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person voice that is authentic, irresistible, and triumphant. "Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette Walls's no nonsense, resourceful, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane. And, with her husband Jim, she ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle. Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Rosemary Smith Walls always told Jeannette that she was like her grandmother, and in this true-life novel, Jeannette Walls channels that kindred spirit. Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. Destined to become a classic, it will transfix audiences everywhere.

When The Grapes of Wrath first appeared in 1939, it electrified an America still recovering from the Great Depression.  Driven from their Oklahoma farm by the encroachment of large agricultural interests, the Joad family sets out, like generations before them, to the promised land of...  more

When The Grapes of Wrath first appeared in 1939, it electrified an America still recovering from the Great Depression.  Driven from their Oklahoma farm by the encroachment of large agricultural interests, the Joad family sets out, like generations before them, to the promised land of California.  As they travel across the country, joined by countless other unwilling migrants, the Joads confront the naked realities of an American divided into Haves and Have-Nots... Written with passionate conviction, The Grapes of Wrath is an unforgettable panorama of an era and a bold dramatization of the plight of the dispossessed everywhere.

Thirty-one year-old Grace faces many tough choices as she finds herself becoming ambivalent about her Catholic faith, and very much involved with a man she believes is an atheist. But her family is as devoutly old-fashioned as it gets and a major showdown is overdue.

Heirs of General Practice is a frieze of glimpses of young doctors with patients of every age—about a dozen physicians in all, who belong to the new medical specialty called family practice. They are people who have addressed themselves to a need for a unifying generalism in a world that...  more

Heirs of General Practice is a frieze of glimpses of young doctors with patients of every age—about a dozen physicians in all, who belong to the new medical specialty called family practice. They are people who have addressed themselves to a need for a unifying generalism in a world that has become greatly subdivided by specialization, physicians who work with the “unquantifiable idea that a doctor who treats your grandmother, your father, your niece, and your daughter will be more adroit in treating you.”These young men and women are seen in their examining rooms in various rural communities in Maine, but Maine is only the example. Their medical objectives, their successes, the professional obstacles they do and do not overcome are representative of any place family practitioners are working. While essential medical background is provided, McPhee’s masterful approach to a trend significant to all of us is replete with affecting, and often amusing, stories about both doctors and their charges.

A woman's relationship with her mother is foundational in how she functions in other relationships and the world. Trusted counselor H. Norman Wright and his daughter, Sheryl, address eight aspects of the mother-daughter relationship, including the maternal voice women hear, mothering styles, ...  more

A woman's relationship with her mother is foundational in how she functions in other relationships and the world. Trusted counselor H. Norman Wright and his daughter, Sheryl, address eight aspects of the mother-daughter relationship, including the maternal voice women hear, mothering styles, the need for mom's approval, setting boundaries, and breaking free from the perfect mother myths. They show how the mother-daughter relationship affects a woman's relationship with her heavenly Father and point her to the Parent who will never fail her.

Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. He now shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders, taking readers inside isolated American communities where some...  more

Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. He now shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders, taking readers inside isolated American communities where some 40,000 Mormon Fundamentalists still practice polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God. At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.

Every gift has a price... Every piece of lace has a secret... My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time... Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator of 'The Lace Reader', hails from a...  more

Every gift has a price... Every piece of lace has a secret... My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time... Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator of 'The Lace Reader', hails from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations, but the disappearance of two women brings Towner home to Salem and the truth about the death of her twin sister to light. 'The Lace Reader' is a mesmerizing tale that spirals into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths in which the reader quickly finds it's nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction, but as Towner Whitney points out early on in the novel, "There are no accidents."

“Maybe everything that happened to me and to my family had nothing at all to do with the slowing. It's possible, I guess. But I doubt it. I doubt it very much.”   Spellbinding, haunting, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful novel of catastrophe and survival, growth and...  more

“Maybe everything that happened to me and to my family had nothing at all to do with the slowing. It's possible, I guess. But I doubt it. I doubt it very much.”   Spellbinding, haunting, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful novel of catastrophe and survival, growth and change, the story of Julia and her family as they struggle to live in an extraordinary time. On an ordinary Saturday, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer, gravity is affected, the birds, the tides, human behavior and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world of danger and loss, Julia faces surprising developments in herself, and her personal world -- divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by Hannah and other friends, the vulnerability of first love, a sense of isolation, and a rebellious new strength. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking story of people finding ways to go on, in an ever-evolving world.

A stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he...  more

A stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall. In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. Doerr's gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true...  more

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

This astonishingly assured first novel, by an American working in London as a journalist, has a breathless readability that is rare-particularly as it seems at first to cover pretty familiar territory. Ben Bradford is a Wall Street lawyer living a comfortable life in Connecticut, with a wife and...  more

This astonishingly assured first novel, by an American working in London as a journalist, has a breathless readability that is rare-particularly as it seems at first to cover pretty familiar territory. Ben Bradford is a Wall Street lawyer living a comfortable life in Connecticut, with a wife and two small children, but he seems to be heading, rather early, for a midlife crisis. He had always wanted to be a photographer, still putters around at it, but feels his life is ebbing away. Beth, his wife, a frustrated novelist, is increasingly estranged from him. Then Ben discovers she has taken a lover-ironically, another failed photographer-and in a confrontation with the man, Gary Summers, Ben's accumulated rage leads to a moment of murderous madness. Both Beth's infatuation with Gary and Ben's maniacal rage seem rather out of character, but with that caveat, the rest of this headlong novel grips like a vise as Ben carefully covers up his crime, disappears and takes on his victim's identity. The Big Picture has to be the most careful and imaginative exploration of such a situation ever penned, from the details of how one convincingly contrives an apparent accidental death to the minutiae of building a new life, unrecognized, in a far place. In Ben's case, it is a small town in Montana, and his born-again existence there is rich in ironies, from his eventual success as a photographer to his ultimate need to disappear yet again. The book is more than just a compelling read: it also has poignant and moving things to say about lost opportunities and wasted lives in America, the cynical quality of sudden fame, the awfulness of willed separation from deeply loved children.

This tender and hilarious story of a divorced woman, who falls in love with her best friend's ex-husband, is told from the point of view of both the adults and the adolescents, making for a deeply engaging read that crosses generations.

Jonathan Safran Foer emerged as one of the most original writers of his generation with his best-selling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated. Now, with humor, tenderness, and awe, he confronts the traumas of our recent history. Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret...  more

Jonathan Safran Foer emerged as one of the most original writers of his generation with his best-selling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated. Now, with humor, tenderness, and awe, he confronts the traumas of our recent history. Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey.

Fresh from a brief stay at a psychiatric hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment. She must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely...  more

Fresh from a brief stay at a psychiatric hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment. She must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims... a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story and survive this homecoming.