The Mostly True Story Of Jack

Newbery Medal-winner Kelly Barnhill's debut novel is an eerie tale of magic, friendship, and sacrifice. Enter a world where magic bubbles just below the surface. . . . When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for quite a long time. When he arrives, he begins to make actual friends for the first time in his life-but the town bully beats him up and the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically... invisible. The Mostly True Story of Jack is a stunning debut novel about things broken, things put back together, and finding a place to belong. "There's a dry wit and playfulness to Barnhill's writing that recalls Lemony Snicket and Blue Balliett...a delightfully unusual gem." --Los Angeles Times

Jack is practically invisible at home, but when his parents send him to Hazelwood, Iowa, to spend a summer with his odd aunt and uncle, he suddenly makes friends, is beaten up by the town bully, and is plotted against by the richest man in town.

Relates the tale of Jack who, after trading his mother's milk cow for magic beans, climbs a beanstalk to seek his missing father in the land of giants.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A new classic from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gilead and Housekeeping. The long-awaited fourth and last of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead novels--one of the great works of contemporary literature. With Jack, Robinson takes her readers back to the small town of Gilead, Iowa, in 1956, to tell the story of John Ames Boughton, the godson of John Ames and the black sheep of his family. He's a ne-er do well and the beloved prodigal son who falls in love with and marries Della, a beautiful and brilliant African-American teacher he meets in segregated St. Louis. Their fraught, beautiful romance is one of Robinson's greatest achievements.

Jim was a South African railway inspector in the late 1800s who lost his legs in an accident while at work. Unable to perform all his tasks with his disability but desperate to keep his job, Jim discovered a brilliant solution, a baboon named Jack. Jim trained Jack to help him both at home and at the depot. But when the railway authorities and the public discovered a monkey on the job, Jack and Jim had to work together to convince everyone that they made a great team. This inspiring true story celebrates the history of service animals and a devoted friendship.

So what if 12-year-old Jack's great-great-great-great-great aunt has oddly youthful looks? (Probably cosmetic surgery.) Or a hat she never removes? (Fashion victim.) Or goes out into the creepy forest at midnight to play bingo? (Must be what people do in the country.) Who cares about that when her cottage doesn't even have Wi-Fi?! Forced to visit his distant relative with the unusual name of Gretel, Jack is about to find out that fairy tales aren't sparkly, cheesy love stories. They're dark. They have claws. They're a warning. And when you're the unwilling hero of your own fairy tale, you might be the one who's taught a nasty lesson.

"While disguised as a boy, Jacky Faber experiences adventure and romance on the high seas"--

Adults and kids alike will fall in love with Jack in this touching true story of one dog's journey to find a family of his own. Through a series of lucky and some not-so-lucky events, Jack overcomes his past and finds a bright new future.