Nyle's life with her grandmother on their Vermont sheep farm advances rhythmically through the seasons until the night of the accident at the Cookshire nuclear power plant. Without warning, Nyle's modest world fills with protective masks, evacuations, contaminated food, disruptions, and mistrust. Things become even more complicated when Ezra Trent and his mother, refugees from the heart of the accident, take temporary shelter in the back bedroom of Nyle's house. The back bedroom is the dying room: It took her mother when Nyle was six; it stole away her grandfather just two years ago. Now, Ezra is back there and Nyle doesn't want to open her heart to him. Too many times she's let people in, only to have them desert her. If she lets herself care for Ezra, she knows he'll end up leaving her, too. "The author's understated approach heightens the emotional impact of her searching and memorable tale." - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Hesse transcends the specific to illuminate universal questions of responsibility, care, and love. . . . Hesse portrays her characters' anguish and their growing tenderness with such unwavering clarity and grace that she sustains the tension of her lyrical, understated narrative right to her stunning, beautifully wrought conclusion." - Kirkus Reviews, Pointer Review
Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews in the new country. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to her beloved cousin she has left behind. Strong-hearted and determined, Rifka must endure a great deal: humiliating examinations by doctors and soldiers, deadly typhus, separation from all she has ever known and loved, murderous storms at sea - and as if this is not enough, the loss of her glorious golden hair. And even if she does make it to America, she's not sure America will have her. "Hesse's vivacious tale colorfully and convincingly refreshes the immigrant experience." - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Based largely on the memories of the author's great-aunt, this historical novel has a plot, characters, and style that will make it an often-requested choice from young readers. A vivid, memorable, and involving reading experience." - School Library Journal, Starred Review
Mags has a lot to wish for - a nice house with a mama who isn't tired out from work; a normal little sister; a brother who doesn't mooch for food; and, once in a while, she'd like some new clothes for school. When her sister Hannie finds a stuffed unicorn, Mags's wishes start to come true. She knows the unicorn can't really be magic, but she won't let anything ruin her newfound luck - even if it means telling her own sister to believe something that can't possibly be true. "With colorful regional language and clear psychological insight, Hesse's debut ranks with Betsy Byars's The Pinballs and Cynthia Voight's Homecoming in describing families surviving as best they can under economic privation." - Publishers Weekly "Hesse captures the spirits of a stalwart young heroine and her family." - School Library Journal
The Coast Guard is shocked when they rescue a child from the waters off Florida. Her long, wild hair and the barnacles attached to her skin initially lead them to think that they have discovered a mermaid. However, they are even more amazed to discover that this is a young girl that has been raised by dolphins after losing her family at sea. They name her Mila.
Eager to learn more about this child, as well as the marine environment she was raised in, scientists take her to Boston University to be studied. Here Mila learns about her human body and mind, including the joys of using her hands, the ability to communicate with words, and most of all, the gift of playing music. But soon Mila learns that there is a darker side to humans, a manipulative nature that often frustrates her. She is torn between her new life with these confusing creatures and her longing to return to her uncomplicated dolphin family.
"As moving as a sonnet, as eloquently structured as a bell curve, this book poignantly explores what it means to be human."- Publishers Weekly, starred review
From the incomparable Karen Hesse comes a powerfully evocative and accessible family story, set at the turn of the century, by turns serious, funny, and with a touch of magical realism.
Billie Jo has a great deal to forgive: her father for causing the accident that killed her mother; her mother for leaving when Billie Jo needed her most; and herself for being the cause of her own sorrow. Daddy's too wrung out to help her, and there's no one else to care. So at fourteen, Billie Jo must heal herself - even if it means tearing up her roots and leaving behind everything she's ever known. - See more at: http://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/79276/out-of-the-dust/#sthash.0nrhofCC.dpuf
In 1767, 11-year-old Nicholas Young stowed away on Captain James Cook’s "Endeavour." Cook’s three-year mission was secret: he was charged by the British Navy to search for a lost continent, believed to be located between the southern tip of South America and New Zealand. Young’s journal charts the voyage and with every port of call a new adventure awaits. This is the story of a great voyage of discovery seen through the eyes of a boy who was actually there.
Leanora Sutter, Esther Hirsh, Merlin Van Tornhout and Johnny Reeves are among the unforgettable cast inhabiting a small Vermont town in 1924. A town that turns against its own when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. No one is safe, especially the two youngest, twelve-year old Leanora, an African-American girl, and six-year old Esther, who is Jewish.
