Dragonfly Eyes

A 2023 Batchelder Honor Book From acclaimed Chinese author Cao Wenxuan, recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, comes a compelling family saga spanning fifty years and three generations. Ah-Mei and her French grandmother, Nainai, share a rare bond. Maybe it’s because Ah-Mei is the only girl grandchild. Or maybe it’s because the pair look so much alike and neither resembles the rest of their Chinese family. Politics and war make 1960s Shanghai a hard place to grow up, especially when racism and bigotry are rife, and everyone seems suspicious of Nainai’s European heritage and interracial marriage. In this time of political upheaval, Ah-Mei and her family suffer much—and when the family silk business falters, they are left with almost nothing. Ah-Mei and her grandmother are resourceful, but will the tender connection they share bring them enough strength to carry through? This multigenerational saga by one of China’s most esteemed children’s authors takes the reader from 1920s France to a ravaged postwar Shanghai and through the convulsions of the Cultural Revolution.

For Lucas Gault, his twenty-third birthday brings with it the gnawing sense that his privileged life isn't adding up. A sense driven deeper as he examines himself through the lovely eyes of a poised young woman he meets at a New York nightclub. To Luke she represents getting back to the values his father raised him and his twin brother on--if only he can convince the disciplined and focused "working man's" daughter, that he is more than just a shallow celebrity. However, Luke has some major issues to work out, not the least of which are, toning down his decadent British rocker lifestyle and reining in his impulsive sexual nature. These challenges and breaking away from his controlling brother prove to be harder than he thought. Worse yet, just when he begins to make headway with her, he finds himself embroiled personally in the burgeoning AIDS epidemic of the '80's. Raena, wants to be more than "Daddy's little girl," an insurmountable endeavor, especially considering who her father is and the far-reaching influence he wields on either side of the Atlantic. Initially Raena does try to take her more worldly-wise cousin's advise and remain a "good girl," focusing her attention on her studies and her passion, dance. However, the power of coincidence, curiosity and physical attraction prove to be strong pulls for her and she soon finds herself heading down a questionable road she is not equipped to travel. A road she has paved with deceptions that could very well lead to something way worse than heartache.

From the author of The Stolen Bicycle - longlisted for the International Man Booker Prize On the island of Wayo Wayo, every second son must leave on the day he turns fifteen as a sacrifice to the Sea God. Atile’i however is determined to defy destiny and become the first to survive. Across the sea, Alice Shih’s life is interrupted when a vast trash vortex comes crashing onto the shore of Taiwan, bringing Atile’i with it. In the aftermath of the catastrophe, Atile’i and Alice retrace her late husband’s footsteps into the mountains, hoping to solve the mystery of her son’s disappearance. On their journey, memories will be challenged, an unusual bond formed, and a dark secret uncovered that will force Alice to question everything she thought she knew.

Introduces readers to the dragonfly and its close relative the damselfly, two of the largest insects to fly; and explains their structure, and how to find, identify and collect them.

" When life happens, there’s grief over the stillborn situations, dead behavior cycles and the unbearable baggage of missteps. But the good news is, it’s possible to push past the throttled possibilities to a wide-eyed state of recognizing one’s frailty and fallibility, one’s vulnerability and humanity. And this leads to self-acceptance and self-compassion. That is exactly what Ayan, Sara, Manjula, Trina, and the others do. It’s a much wider angle of vision rather than the pinhole aperture thus far. It’s the season to resurrect the invisible self. The track may not be the easiest to sprint on but there may be other fellow sprinters who haven’t given up yet. Who knows what the promise might be to the awakened self after yesterday is done and dusted. It’s time to set out on a bold trail with an unknown destination that GPS finds unfathomable. Uprooting to reroute the next segment to seek joy. If not anything, this is the closest to feeling like a child once more because no one's ever too old, not even Annapurna or Bijoy Pisho."