Wish Girl

Twelve-year-old Peter has never felt at home with his noisy family, but begins to find the strength to live and to be himself when he discovers a special valley in the Texas Hill Country and meets Annie, a girl dying of cancer who knows and accepts him from the start.

A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale about a girl who is only one inch tall.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER As compelling as Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark or James Ellroy's My Dark Places, this is the story of a brother's lifelong determination to find the truth about his sister's death, a police force that was ignoring the cases of missing and murdered women, and, to the surprise of everyone involved, a previously undiscovered serial killer. In the fall of 1978 teenager Theresa Allore went missing near Sherbrooke, Quebec. She wasn't seen again until the spring thaw revealed her body in a creek only a few kilometers away. Shrugging off her death as a result of 1970s drug culture, police didn't investigate. Patricia Pearson started dating Theresa's brother John during the aftermath of Theresa's death. Though the two teens would go their separate ways, the family's grief, obsession with justice and desire for the truth never left Patricia. Little did she know, the shockwaves of Theresa's death would return to her life repeatedly over the next forty years. In 2001, John had just moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife and young children, when the cops came to the door. They had determined that a young girl had been murdered and buried in the basement. John wondered: If these cops could look for this young girl, why had nobody even tried to find out what happened to Theresa? Unable to rest without closure, he reached out to Patricia, by now an accomplished crime journalist and author, and together they found answers far bigger and more alarming than they could have imagined--and a legacy of violence that refused to end.

Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all. From award-winning author Barbara O'Connor comes a middle-grade novel about a girl who, with the help of a true-blue friend, a big-hearted aunt and uncle, and the dog of her dreams, unexpectedly learns the true meaning of family in the least likely of places. This title has Common Core connections.

From planting the seeds to meeting new friends to going on the adventure of a lifetime with her little dog Dandy in tow, this touching children's book shares the story of how Lizzy Girl learned the power of a wish. No matter how big or small, these wishes can bring hope, joy, and comfort to those who need it most.

A dying girl gives a boy the strength to live in this lyrical novel that will break your heart and lift your spirit Peter Stone’s parents and siblings are extroverts, musicians, and yellers—and the louder they get, the less Peter talks, or even moves, until he practically fits his last name. When his family moves to the Texas Hill Country, though, Peter finds a tranquil, natural valley where he can, at last, hear himself think. There, he meets a girl his age: Annie Blythe. Annie tells Peter she’s a “wish girl.” But Annie isn’t just any wish girl; she’s a “Make-A-Wish Girl.” And in two weeks she will begin a dangerous treatment to try and stop her cancer from spreading. Left alone, the disease will kill her. But the treatment may cause serious, lasting damage to her brain. Annie and Peter hatch a plan to escape into the valley, which they begin to think is magical. But the pair soon discovers that the valley—and life—may have other plans for them. And sometimes wishes come true in ways they would never expect.

One courageous girl used her final wish to fulfill the wishes of 155 other children. When Hope Stout was diagnosed with bone cancer, the Stouts prayed for a miracle. The miracle occurred, but not in the way the Stouts expected. Instead this young girl asked for what seemed to be impossible-that one million dollars be raised in a month to fund the wishes of all the children on the Make-A-Wish Foundation's list for Central and Western North Carolina. Shelby and Stuart Stout felt led to write A Legacy of Hope after compiling a journal of the 191 days from Hope's diagnosis to her death. Both parents were with Hope every step of the way on her journey from a healthy preteen to being dependent on crutches to eventually being bedridden. Their heartfelt story includes the times when they were angry and desperate, as well as the times when Hope's humor and spirit shone through. Academy Award winning screen writers Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry are developing the screenplay for Hope’s Wish with an expected production date sometime in 2013.

Another breathaking adventure featuring the main character from the New York Times bestseller The Christmas Wish! When Anja discovers an abandoned reindeer baby in the woods, she cares for it and raises it as her own. They become dear friends and have many adventures together, but as the reindeer grows he wishes to rejoin his kind. So Anja leads him to join the greatest reindeer of all—those of Santa’s sled team. Don't miss the other "Wish" books: The Christmas Wish The Tiny Wish The Brave Little Puppy The Puppy's Wish -- coming soon!