Ivy The Very Determined Dog

Through twenty-six letters to her friend Nina, twelve-year-old Kasey chronicles the often humorous observations and impressions of her unexpected, month-long stay in a geriatric ward for the treatment of a rare but treatable bone disease ("osteo-something-something-itis"). Kasey tries to make her life less dull by wearing her own nightgowns, surrounding herself with her favorite stuffies and developing an unusual exercise routine. Hospital food, insomnia and the germy communal bath are enduring sources of dread, but some new (and unexpected) friends make her life bearable.

Includes an excerpt from Marco Polo brave explorer.

'Heartwarmingly festive - if only all streets were like Christmas Street!' Ali McNamara Readers love Snowflakes on Christmas Street: 'For such a gentle plot, this book packs an emotional punch! There's romance, the odd drama and a whole lot of satisfaction. The characters are real. The ending is lovely and perfect' 'I sat and wept, liked good old-fashioned sobbing. I wanted to hug both Jack and Teddy into a big blanket and keep them safe forever. A charming, heartwarming, beautiful tale not just of Christmas but of compassion, kindness and love' 'Every time I tried to put it down to get on with life, I found it was calling me back for "just one more chapter" until I ran out of chapters! I just thoroughly adored this story' 'A feel-good and at times tear-jerking story leaving you with that magical Christmassy warmth at the end' *** On a little street in a big city, everything is changing Bill has lived on Christmas Street since he was a young man. He's seen families come and go, watched children grow up... Now he wants to be left alone. Everything seven-year-old Teddy loves is in America. But his widowed father, Sam, has brought them both back to England to be closer to their family. Sam's one wish is for Teddy to be happy again. As Teddy and Sam settle into their new life, a very special four-legged neighbour is determined to make them feel at home. Jack, the Christmas street dog, is welcome in everyone's house - but will it be in his power to help a little boy and a lonely old man remember the true meaning of the season? As the snow sparkles on the ground, one small act of kindness will give a whole street a happy Christmas...

Nicky Flynn’s life just got a whole lot harder. His parents are going through a messy divorce, and as a result he’s starting a new life, in a new city, in a new school. Now his mom has brought home Reggie, an eighty-pound German shepherd fresh from the animal shelter, who used to be a seeing-eye dog. At first Nick isn’t sure about this canine intrusion—it’s just another in a series of difficult changes. Soon, however, Nick is on the path to finding out why a seeing-eye dog would be left at an animal shelter, and along the way discovers that Reggie is a true friend that Nick can rely on. But when he tries to reconnect with his dad, Nick puts everything on the line, including the life of his new best friend. Art Corriveau is a brilliant new voice for middle-grade fiction. How I, Nicky Flynn, Got a Life (and a Dog) is a heartfelt and honest look at the effects of divorce and the wonders of friendship. F&P Level: T F&P Genre: RF

“An intellectual page-turner” set in a secretive countercultural community by the author of The Beans of Egypt, Maine (O, The Oprah Magazine). It’s the height of summer 1999, when local Maine newspaper the Record Sun receives numerous tipoffs from anonymous callers warning of violence, weapons stockpiling, and rampant child abuse at the nearby homeschool on Heart’s Content Road. Hungry to break into serious journalism, Ivy Morelli sets out to meet the mysterious leader of the homeschool, Gordon St. Onge—referred to by many as “The Prophet.” Soon, Ivy ingratiates herself into the sprawling Settlement, a self-sufficient counterculture community that many locals suspect to be a wild cult. Despite her initial skepticism—not to mention the Settlement’s ever-growing group of pregnant teenage girls—Ivy finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gordon. Then, a newcomer—a gifted, disturbed young girl with wild orange hair—joins the community, and falls into a complicated relationship with the charismatic Prophet. When the Record Sun finally runs its piece on the leader of the Settlement, lives will be changed both within and beyond the community, in this novel by a writer described by the New York Times Book Review as “a James Joyce of the backcountry, a Proust of rural society.”

Discover the New York Times bestseller that SLJ called “A fantastic plot that makes readers think about the blurred lines between right and wrong.” After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual. This year, it is my turn. My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and return the Westfall family to power. But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy. Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him... The Book of Ivy series is best enjoyed in order. Reading Order: Book #1 The Book of Ivy Book #2 The Revolution of Ivy