A Wish For Trish

(L) Trish walks to the pond to get a fish for her cat. She finds a fish who gives her a wish. What is the wish that Trish makes?

In the first book of the Jeanie and Genie series, new student Willow Davis turns fellow second grader Jeanie Bell’s life upside down with her unbelievable, magical secret! For Jeanie Bell, things at Rivertown Elementary are nice, normal, and totally average—just the way she likes it. But when a new girl, Willow Davis, joins the school, all of a sudden strange things start happening. Will Willow’s big secret ruin the girls’ friendship—and change life in Rivertown forever? With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Jeanie & Genie chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

I was born in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, on November 21. I did not stay there long, for my father was in the army, in which, he moved my family to Manchester, NH long before I can remember. However, I am now living in North Carolina with my husband and step son.

“Murder me once, shame on you. Murder me twice...” Emery Luple hunts monsters, solves crimes, confronts myths, and does it all in style. After being killed in the unforgiving Saudi Arabian desert while hunting a monster that never should have been there, he reincarnates into a new life—and not for the first time. But a string of grisly murders in New York immediately pulls him back into the world of investigation, mythical creatures, and mystery. And strange deaths are not the only things to which Emery is drawn. Caden, the young guy who requests Emery’s help to investigate the crime spree, possesses an affinity for the supernatural… and a secret buried so deep, even he doesn’t know what it is. Unexpected feelings, mutual self-discovery, and another incarnate claiming to be the Monster Hunter soon have Emery questioning all he thought he knew. Can he solve the current crimes before his murderer finds him again?

Trish had dreams once: dreams of graduating high school, getting into ballet school, and becoming a renowned dancer, with her parents and big brother cheering her on all the while. But those dreams died with her brother. Ever since Josh’s fatal car accident, Trish has been a shell of her former self, and her family has struggled to keep it together. Now, her father hides in his work and her mother drinks her tears away. While Trish silently blames herself for Josh’s death, both of her parents struggle with their own guilt. Neither one can look beyond their own sorrow to see how deeply Trish is hurting and needs help too. So, Trish must find a way to survive the storms of grief on her own. She learns to hide, learns to numb, and learns to bury her joy to ease her pain. But self-destruction is a desperate crutch, not a cure, and Trish knows it. As she navigates her family’s disfunction, her best friend’s own crises, and the treacherous waters of teenage romance, she must find a way to power through and dig deep—to find the strength she needs to heal before it’s too late and her family fully tears itself apart.

Few children nowadays are placed for adoption with no form of contact planned with birth relatives and it has become common professional practice to advocate direct rather than indirect contact. Practice has outstripped evidence in this respect and not enough is known about how contact arrangements actually work out, particularly for older children adopted from state care. Such children have often experienced neglect, and sometimes abuse, and have frequently been adopted without parental agreement. Based on research with a large number of adoptive parents, children and birth relatives, After Adoption considers the impact of direct post-adoption contact on all concerned in such cases. It also: · discusses the development of adoption policy and law, particularly with regard to the legal and social consequences · reviews the research evidence on adopted children's contact with their birth families · explores through interviews: participants' feelings about adoption and direct contact; their relationships with each other; what hinders and what helps. After Adoption challenges readers to re-think the relationship between adoption and the possibility of direct post-adoption contact and at the same time provides a comprehensive understanding of adoption issues. It is a timely and valuable addition to the literature on adoption, making a substantial contribution to policy and practice.