Crystal And Oliver

Oliver Bennett has a crush on the wrong woman. When Oliver gets in trouble at school one day, he gets reunited with his ex-girlfriend, Crystal Hastings. As time moves forward, Oliver starts to have feelings for Crystal. The closer the pair become, the more they realize they should never have broken up in the first place. Oliver must face his greatest trauma, the death of his father. With Crystal’s help, will Oliver learn to cope with his father’s death, or will he let the ghosts of his past tear him apart?

Oliver the Ornament is a heartwarming tale of one family's cherished Christmas ornaments. The story centers on Oliver, who has been with this family ever since Mom and Dad's very first date. Years later, Oliver, now injured and bullied, still has the magic of Christmas in his heart. The story follows Oliver's excitement for Christmas, his heartbreak, and his determination to overcome all odds to save the day. Oliver, along with his scores of friends, will warm your heart with his kindness, humility, and love for his family. We hope the story will bring families together to tell the stories of their own ornaments and the special meaning that so many of them possess. Because after all, every ornament tells a story.

The sixth book in our seven book series

Covering the genres popular with today's teens—fiction and nonfiction, including poetry and graphic novels—this resource provides 110 great book choices for young adult reading, interactive booktalks, and individual writing activities. All educators and library professionals need practical resources with easily accessible information and activities that can be immediately applied. Teen Talkback with Interactive Booktalks! is such a resource, supplying ready-to-use, interactive booktalks and curriculum connections for more than 100 recently published young adult books. This unique book is an invaluable tool for motivating teens to read. It shows how to make booktalks interactive and get teens participating in the presentation, rather than passively listening. Book selections include titles published from 2008 to 2012 organized in seven categories: Issues, Contemporary, Adventure/Survival, Mystery/Suspense, Fantasy, Heritage, and Multiple Cultures. Complete bibliographical information for each selection is included along with a literary classification as well as an age/grade level and gender designation. The read-alouds passages include talkback questions to facilitate discussion, and related works are supplied as suggestions for additional reading choices.

How Oliver Olson Changed the World is an irresistible chapter book from Claudia Mills, featuring lively illustrations by Heather Maione. Oliver Olson learns that before you can change the world, sometimes you need to change yourself. Oliver Olson's teacher is always saying that one person with a big idea can change the world. But how is Oliver supposed to change the world when his parents won't let him do anything on his own—not his class projects or even attending activities such as the space sleepover at school. Afraid he will become an outsider like ex-planet Pluto, Oliver decides to take control of his corner of the universe!

The award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Children has created an unflinching yet deeply humane portrait of a young family’s journey through a medical crisis, laying bare a couple’s love and fears as they fight for everything that’s important to them. New York, 1993. Alice Culvert is a caring wife, a doting new mother, a loyal friend, and a soulful artist—a fashion designer who wears a baby carrier and haute couture with equal aplomb. In their loft in Manhattan’s gritty Meatpacking District, Alice and her husband, Oliver, are raising their infant daughter, Doe, delighting in the wonders of early parenthood. Their life together feels so vital and full of promise, which makes Alice’s sudden cancer diagnosis especially staggering. In the span of a single day, the couple’s focus narrows to the basic question of her survival. Though they do their best to remain brave, each faces enormous pressure: Oliver tries to navigate a labyrinthine healthcare system and handle their mounting medical bills; Alice tries to be hopeful as her body turns against her. Bracing themselves for the unthinkable, they must confront the new realities of their marriage, their strengths as partners and flaws as people, how to nourish love against all odds, and what it means to truly care for another person. Inspired by the author’s life, Alice & Oliver is a deeply affecting novel written with stunning reserves of compassion, humor, and wisdom. Alice Culvert is an extraordinary character—a woman of incredible heart and spirit—who will remain in memory long after the final page. Praise for Alice & Oliver “This hauntingly powerful novel follows a family’s fight for survival in the face of illness. A stirring elegy to a marriage.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “A rewarding reading experience . . . a testament to the resilience of humans and our willingness to forgive.”—San Francisco Chronicle “The novel’s power is in its two characters’ messy negotiation of their fears, errors and shifting affections. . . . Bock offers a forceful reminder that there are plenty of roiling emotions underneath that till-death-do-us-part.”—Los Angeles Times “[A] heart-wrenching story of a young couple whose lives change when Alice gets diagnosed with cancer . . . a refreshingly unsentimental look at the vicious disease.”—Entertainment Weekly “Alice & Oliver [has a] tough-minded commitment to truth-telling.”—The Washington Post “Even more than the meticulous details of drugs, treatments and side effects, Bock’s tender portrayal of [his characters] in all their desolation gives [Alice & Oliver] its ring of truth. . . . I loved this novel.”—Marion Winik, Newsday “Alice & Oliver shows that, even in a situation that’s about as terrible as it can be, there can still exist happiness, surprise, and life, that strange strong spirit that’s with us until the end.”—The Boston Globe “The most honest, unsentimentally powerful novel about cancer that I’ve ever read.”—Michael Christie, The Globe & Mail “Wrenchingly powerful . . . Bock chronicles the daily struggles of a young wife and mother facing her own imminent mortality. This is a soul portrait of a family in crisis, written with a fearless clarity and a deep understanding of the bonds that can hold two people together even in the darkest hour.”—Richard Price

First published in 1997, No Crystal Stair is an absorbing story of Montreal in the 1940s. Raising her three daughters alone, Marion discovers she can only find gainful employment if she passes as white. Set in Little Burgundy against the backdrop of an exciting cosmopolitan jazz scene--home of Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones, and Rockhead's Paradise--and the tense years of World War II, No Crystal Stair is both a tender story and an indictment of Canada's "soft" racism. In 2005, No Crystal Stair was nominated for that year's Canada Reads and was defended by Olympic fencer Sherraine MacKay.