Invitation To A Bonfire

'At once a gripping psychological thriller and a finely crafted work of literature ... An exhibition of stylistic virtuosity, a pyrotechnic display of fine writing' Financial Times 'Part psychological thriller and part literary puzzle' Grazia Zoya Andropova, a young Russian refugee, finds herself in an elite New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by her new country's paranoia about Soviet spies. When she meets charismatic fellow Russian émigré Leo Orlov – whose books Zoya has obsessed over for years – everything seems to change. But she soon discovers that Leo is bound by the sinister orchestrations of his brilliant wife, Vera, and that their relationship is far more complex than Zoya could ever have imagined.

Selected by Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Parade, Oprah.com, and MSN.com as one of the best books to read this summer! The seductive story of a dangerous love triangle, inspired by the infamous Nabokov marriage, with a spellbinding psychological thriller at its core. In the 1920s, Zoya Andropova, a young refugee from the Soviet Union, finds herself in the alien landscape of an elite all-girls New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home, and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by the malice her peers heap on scholarship students and her new country's paranoia about Russian spies. When she meets the visiting writer and fellow Russian émigré Leo Orlov--whose books Zoya has privately obsessed over for years--her luck seems to have taken a turn for the better. But she soon discovers that Leo is not the solution to her loneliness: he's committed to his art and bound by the sinister orchestrations of his brilliant wife, Vera. As the reader unravels the mystery of Zoya, Lev, and Vera's fate, Zoya is faced with mounting pressure to figure out who she is and what kind of life she wants to build. Grappling with class distinctions, national allegiance, and ethical fidelity--not to mention the powerful magnetism of sex--Invitation to a Bonfire investigates how one's identity is formed, irrevocably, through a series of momentary decisions, including how to survive, who to love, and whether to pay the complicated price of happiness.

This invaluable, time-saving resource provides intercultural ideas for every month of the year. For each festival and tradition you will find background information, key vocabulary, detailed lists of possible teaching activities and optional pupil sheets. Ideas range from making cards and reading/writing poems to playing game and cooking traditional recipes.

Anna and her mother have lived and worked all Anna's life for the royal Romanov family. When her mother dies suddenly she is hidden by her friends to avoid homelessness. Several chance encounters with the princess make her more careful but what will become of her as winter approaches? Trying to make adult decisions is difficult when you are twelve, but she is assured that prayer will help her find God's plan. Will He tell her in time what she should do?

Groundhog Day meets Ling Ma’s Severance in this “brilliant” (PopSugar) and “exhilarating” (The Millions) comedic novel about two young women trying to save their friendship as the world collapses around them. Bertie and Kate have been best friends since high school. Bertie is a semi-failed cartoonist, working for a prominent Silicon Valley tech firm. Her job depresses her, but not as much as the fact that Kate has recently decided to move from San Francisco to Los Angeles. When Bertie’s attempts to make Kate stay fail, she suggests the next best thing: a trip to Paris that will hopefully distract the duo from their upcoming separation. The vacation is also a sort of last hurrah, coming during the ceasefire in a series of escalating world conflicts. One night in Paris, they meet a strange man in a bar who offers them a private tour of the Louvre. The women find themselves alone in the museum, where nothing is quite as it seems. Caught up in a day that keeps repeating itself, Bertie and Kate are eventually separated, and Bertie is faced with a mystery that threatens to derail everything. In order to make her way back to Kate, Bertie has to figure out how much control she has over her future—and her past—and how to survive in an apocalypse when the world keeps refusing to end.

There are laws that govern our universe that are far beyond the material world that we experience. Over time the world's leading scientists, astronomers and physicists have uncovered what the general public would perceive as magic but are in fact the basic laws of our universe. By understanding these laws we can tap into the magic that is available and manifest our goals and dreams. Bonfire Lessons is written in a story fashion built on fact. This is done so that the reader can readily understand some of the more complex concepts presented. Uncle Jack is a 79-year-old friend and mentor, who provides lessons about the universe, relativity, E=mc2, quantum mechanics and manifestation in nightly bonfire chats. Three people receive timely invitations to join him for a week that will ultimately change their lives.

A former friend, a runaway mother, and a dead body threaten to spoil a middle-aged woman’s plan for a low-key family Thanksgiving. Cece Cavanaugh’s latest job recommendation comes from a former friend—a woman who turned her back when Cece needed her friendship most. Cleaning a flooded school is a big job, and Cece needs money for Thanksgiving dinner. But when she finds herself ankle-deep in mud, checking the pulse of her friend’s ex-husband, the job takes an unexpected turn and ensures the arrival of hunky Detective Case Alder. With her divorce from her trust-fund husband just days away, Cece is determined to keep her emotions in check. That’s hard when tensions are high, and Alder is determined to keep Cece out of harm’s way. As Cece cleans the school, she learns more about the suspects, teachers and staff present the day of the murder. As she gathers evidence, the killer closes in on his next target. To compound her problems, Cece’s elderly mother arrives in Wickford—baggage in hand, and still Cece isn’t ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Despite a threatening note, a series of false leads, and wrangling her runaway mother, Cece narrows down the suspects, but will the killer seal her fate before Cece can solve the case?