Just Like That

In this poignant, perceptive, witty novel, Gary D. Schmidt brings authenticity and emotion to multiple plot strands, weaving in themes of grief, loss, redemption, achievement, and love. Following the death of her closest friend in summer 1968, Meryl Lee Kowalski goes off to St. Elene's Preparatory Academy for Girls, where she struggles to navigate the venerable boarding school's traditions and a social structure heavily weighted toward students from wealthy backgrounds. In a parallel story, Matt Coffin has wound up on the Maine coast near St. Elene's with a pillowcase full of money lifted from the leader of a criminal gang, fearing the gang's relentless, destructive pursuit. Both young people gradually dispel their loneliness, finding a way to be hopeful and also finding each other.

During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns muchof value about the world he lives in.

Just Like Me: Beyond the Thousand-Yard Stare contains battle scenes as vivid as those in a Tom Hanks movie and psychic twists and turns reminiscent of Hitchcock. Don Duncan, retired journalist and World War II army veteran Just Like Me is an exciting, riveting read. It will do much to further the understanding of the emotional turmoil resulting from war. Carol Lodmell, retired educator This open and honest story is, I like to think, a freeing of some of Archie Morrison's demons into the etherto dilution and impotence. I like to think, too, that in its expression of hopeman seeking something much better than the worst he can do to others (and himself)it helps express not just Archie's aspirations, but ours as well. Richard Prince, retired dentist and Vietnam navy veteran Archie Morrison creates an account of an unbelievable friendship that becomes believable when we see that it is built on truths that war diminishes but does not extinguish. Denzil Walters, retired teacher and editor; World War II navy veteran

The holidays were never her thing, until she accidentally conjures the Holiday Spirit...before her very eyes. Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury, flaunting a collection of designer purses and an enviable dream home in Hawaii. That was before she lost all her money. Long obsessed with her public image, Bettie boasts an extravagant lifestyle on social media. But the reality is Bettie is broke and squatting in Colorado, and her family has no idea. Christmas, with its pressure to meet familial expectations, is looming when Bettie plays a vinyl record of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” backward and accidentally conjures up Hall, the Holiday Spirit, in the form of a charming and handsome (if offbeat) man. Once the shock wears off, Bettie knows she’s stumbled upon the greatest gift: a chance to make all her holiday wishes come true, plus a ready-made fiancé. But as some of Bettie’s wishes lose their charm, she finds herself thrown off-kilter by Hall’s sweet nature. Suddenly, grumpy Bettie is finding her heart merry and light. But the happier she gets, the shorter Hall’s time on earth grows. Can Bettie channel the Christmas spirit and learn to live with goodwill toward all men? Or will her selfish ways return as soon as the holidays are over?

Arthur, a young San Francisco architect falls in love with a young woman he found in his closet one morning who explained to him that her body was actually in a coma in a hospital on the other side of town.

How egocentric of humans to think we are the only beings who can think, feel bond with others, etc. As the “dominating” species, we have a responsibility to care for and protect the entire planet, including the other animals. Those who describe animals as not having any thoughts or feelings come closer to the description they’re trying to describe. It's enormously puzzling that extreme suffering only gets widely questioned if it is the suffering of members of the human species. It is extraordinary how many people just accept the appalling treatment of such a vast number of animals. Animals have souls and we have a duty to respect them! Anything less is to deny one’s humanity and one’s own soul! Numerous stories outlined in this book prove this point, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

"She had a crush on him when she was a teen and Roger was in college ... and made his life miserable as only the friend of a guy's kid sister can. Years later, Emmy Lou returns to Phoenix, divorced, with an asthmatic little boy at the center of her world. Grieving the death of his wife, Roger reluctantly asks her for help with his young twins and teen daughter who's proving as difficult to handle as Em used to be. Just as they finally begin to find happiness together, a career move comes between them--because it affects Em's child, whose welfare means more to her than ... anything."--Page 4 of cover.