Secret Sisterhood

Secret Sisterhood focuses on the lives of three women who share one painful truth: they can't have the children they so desperately desire. Shelby Tomlinson works as a registered nurse in an infertility clinic, which makes it even more difficult to deal with her own inability to conceive a child. Her husband, Phillip, avoids the subject like the plague, and Shelby feels she has no one she can confide in. When she starts experiencing anxiety attacks, Shelby turns to God, praying for guidance. She hopes it's true what they say, that He will not give her more than she can bear. Crystal Shaw has two dreams: to open her own daycare center, and to have a child of her own. While one of her dreams is about to come true, the other one has to be deferred indefinitely. Now Crystal endures a daily test as she works in a daycare center, caring for other people's children. She often finds herself judging people and wondering why God would bless them with children and not her. Will Crystal learn how to trust God in all the areas of her life, even when things seem at their worst? Vivian Parker appears to have it all. She's living the life she's been planning ever since she was thirteen, right down to the perfect rich husband. The only thing missing from her original plan is a baby. She and her husband kept pushing back the date to start a family, and now it might be too late. Now she is forced to re-evaluate everything, including her faith in God.

A fascinating, inspirational look at the relationships between some of our best-loved female authors and their little-known literary collaborators and friends

A teen girl, backed by a secret society of powerful women, competes to make an 18-year-old future President fall in love with her in Sheena Boekweg's compelling new YA novel, A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions. Behind every powerful man is a trained woman, and behind every trained woman is the Society. It started with tea parties and matchmaking, but is now a countrywide secret. Gossips pass messages in recipes, Spinsters train to fight, and women work together to grant safety to abused women and children. The Society is more than oaths—it is sisterhood and purpose. In 1926, seventeen-year-old Elsie is dropped off in a new city with four other teenage girls. All of them have trained together since childhood to become the Wife of a powerful man. But when they learn that their next target is earmarked to become President, their mission becomes more than just an assignment; this is a chance at the most powerful position in the Society. A life more influential than they had ever before dared to dream possible. All they have to do is make one man fall in love with them first.

Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins introduces two irresistible sisters—Alix and Jools—and takes readers on an unforgettable vacation to the beach. This joyful celebration of sisters, family, friendship, and the ocean is illustrated in black-and-white throughout. The Wall Street Journal said, “Ocean meets sky meets two young girls in Lynne Rae Perkins’s affectionate chapter book. . . . Illustrations by the author add wit and tenderness to this sunny summer story.” For fans of Kate DiCamillo and Rebecca Stead. Alix and her older sister, Jools, have never been to the ocean. When their parents pack them up to spend a week by the shore, Alix is nervous about leaving home—but excited, too. At the beach, the sisters make friends, go exploring, and have adventures big and small. To Alix’s surprise, as the week comes to an end, she finds she doesn’t want to leave! Each chapter contains its own miniature discovery—from picking periwinkles, meeting a crab, and making sandcastles, to exploring the nearby town. Award-winning author Lynne Rae Perkins has beautifully crafted a genuine and engaging novel about sisters, family, and exploration. A great read-aloud, as well as a good choice for newly independent readers. Booklist said, “Ordinary pleasures, in the hands of a writer so skilled, are elevated.” Features black and white art throughout.

A charming tale of breakups, friendships, new crushes, and magic, The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten is perfect for fans of Lauren Myracle, Ally Carter, and Meg Cabot. When Lucy's boyfriend breaks her heart, she discovers just how far she'll go to mend it. Lucy is stunned when her boyfriend suddenly ends things on the first day of sophomore year. She barely knows how she'll make it through the rest of the year without her one true love. Then she meets three beautiful girls who promise Lucy they can fix her broken heart. All Lucy has to do is get a guy to fall in love with her and break his heart in the next seven days. And then she'll be a member of the Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers—irresistible to guys, unbelievably popular, and able to control magic. Lucy longs for her broken heart to mend, and the sisterhood's magic just might be the perfect way to win back her ex . . . but how far is she willing to go?

This “haunting, consistently entrancing” novel of loss, redemption and immigrant life “evokes questions that are pressing and profound” (Quill & Quire, starred review). As the children of a Toronto immigrant family, Alisha has grown up in the shadow of her studious older sister Diana. But now Diana is missing, having never returned from a local job fair. The family’s worst fears are confirmed when Diana’s body is discovered in the woods. Shattered by the loss, Alisha is also haunted by a guilty secret: she may know the killer’s identity—and yet she can’t tell anyone. As her family unravels, Alisha finds unexpected solace when she befriends a woman who volunteers at her school. Paula was once an orphan in the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. Estranged from her own sister, Paula helps Alisha understand that redemption and peace can only happen when we face difficult truths. Partly inspired by the true experiences of a formed resident of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, The Lost Sister bravely explores themes of child abuse, neglect, and abduction against a complex interplay of gender, race, and class dynamics.

“The talented Molly Fader will keep you turning the pages right down to the oh-so-satisfying final twist.” —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author What drove their family apart just might bring them back together… It’s been seventeen years since the tragic summer the McAvoy sisters fell apart. Lindy, the wild one, left home, carved out a new life in the city and never looked back. Delia, the sister who stayed, became a mother herself, raising her daughters and running the family shop in their small Ohio hometown on the shores of Lake Erie. But now, with their mother’s ailing health and a rebellious teenager to rein in, Delia has no choice but to welcome Lindy home. As the two sisters try to put their family back in order, they finally have the chance to reclaim what’s been lost over the years: for Delia, professional dreams and a happy marriage, and for Lindy, a sense of home and an old flame—and best of all, each other. But when one turbulent night leads to a shocking revelation, the women must face the past they’ve avoided for a decade. And there’s nothing like an old secret to bring the McAvoy women back together and stronger than ever. With warm affection and wry wit, Molly Fader’s The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is about the ties that bind family and the power of secrets to hold us back or set us free.

A heartbreaking and moving true story of two sisters separated at birth, and their journey towards finding each other, celebrating the true meaning of family. Helen Edwards grew up in a pit village in Tyneside in the post-war years, with her gran, aunties and uncles living nearby. She felt safe with them, but they could not protect her from her neglectful mother and violent father. Behind closed doors, she suffered years of abuse. Sometimes she talked to an imaginary sister, the only one who understood her pain. Jenny was adopted at six weeks and grew up in Newcastle. An only child, she knew she was loved, and with the support of her parents she went on to become a golfing champion, but still she felt that something was missing. . . Neither woman knew of the other's existence until, in her fifties, Jenny went looking for her birth family and found her sister Helen. Together they searched for the truth about Jenny's birth – and uncovered a legacy of secrets that overturned everything Helen thought she knew about her family. Happily, they also discovered that they were not just sisters, they were twins. Inspirational and moving, My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith, is the story of two women brave enough to confront their past, and strong enough to let love not bitterness define them.