"[A] firecracker of a debut . . . Abreu's novel, in Julia Sanches's sparkling translation, is a revelation, perfectly capturing a festering summer of meltdowns and shrinking horizons." —The New York Times My Brilliant Friend meets Blue is the Warmest Color in this lyrical debut novel set in a working-class neighborhood of the Canary Islands—a story about two girls coming of age in the early aughts and a friendship that simmers into erotic desire over the course of one hot summer. High near the volcano of northern Tenerife, an endless ceiling of cloud cover traps the working class in an abject, oppressive heat. Far away from the island’s posh resorts, two girls dream of hitching a ride down to the beach and escaping their horizonless town. It’s summer, 2005, and our ten-year-old narrator is consumed by thoughts of her best friend Isora. Isora is rude and bossy, but she’s also vivacious and brave; grownups prefer her, and boys do, too. That's why sometimes she gets jealous of Isora, who already has hair on her vagina and soft, round breasts. But she's definitely not jealous that Isora’s mother is dead, nor that Isora's fat, foul-mouthed grandmother has her on a diet, so that she is constantly sticking her fingers down her throat. Besides, she would do anything for Isora: gorge herself on cakes when her friend wants to watch, follow her to the bathroom when she takes a shit, log into chat rooms to swap dirty instant messages with strangers. But increasingly, our narrator finds it hard to keep up with Isora, who seems to be growing up at full tilt without her—and as her submissiveness veers into a painful sexual awakening, desire grows indistinguishable from intimate violence. Braiding prose poetry with bachata lyrics and the gritty humor of Canary dialect, Dogs of Summer is a story of exquisite yearning, a brutal picture of girlhood and a love song written for the vital community it portrays.

‘Intelligently written, finely observed and surprisingly moving, this is a book you’ll find hard to put down’ Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project Companions come in all shapes and sizes. Companionship lasts forever. Lily and the Octopus is a novel about finding that special someone to share your life with. For Ted Flask, that someone is Lily, and she happens to be a dog. This novel reminds us how to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all. Reminiscent of The Life of Pi and The Art of Racing in the Rain, with spins into magic realism and beautifully evoked universal truths of love, loyalty and loss, a hilariously sardonic and not altogether reliable narrator, and one unforgettable hound who simple wisdom will break your heart and put it back together again, Lily and the Octopus captures the search for meaning in death and introduces a dazzling new voice in fiction.

"[A] firecracker of a debut . . . Abreu's novel, in Julia Sanches's sparkling translation, is a revelation, perfectly capturing a festering summer of meltdowns and shrinking horizons." —The New York Times My Brilliant Friend meets Blue is the Warmest Color in this lyrical debut novel set in a working-class neighborhood of the Canary Islands—a story about two girls coming of age in the early aughts and a friendship that simmers into erotic desire over the course of one hot summer. High near the volcano of northern Tenerife, an endless ceiling of cloud cover traps the working class in an abject, oppressive heat. Far away from the island’s posh resorts, two girls dream of hitching a ride down to the beach and escaping their horizonless town. It’s summer, 2005, and our ten-year-old narrator is consumed by thoughts of her best friend Isora. Isora is rude and bossy, but she’s also vivacious and brave; grownups prefer her, and boys do, too. That's why sometimes she gets jealous of Isora, who already has hair on her vagina and soft, round breasts. But she's definitely not jealous that Isora’s mother is dead, nor that Isora's fat, foul-mouthed grandmother has her on a diet, so that she is constantly sticking her fingers down her throat. Besides, she would do anything for Isora: gorge herself on cakes when her friend wants to watch, follow her to the bathroom when she takes a shit, log into chat rooms to swap dirty instant messages with strangers. But increasingly, our narrator finds it hard to keep up with Isora, who seems to be growing up at full tilt without her—and as her submissiveness veers into a painful sexual awakening, desire grows indistinguishable from intimate violence. Braiding prose poetry with bachata lyrics and the gritty humor of Canary dialect, Dogs of Summer is a story of exquisite yearning, a brutal picture of girlhood and a love song written for the vital community it portrays.

THE DOGS OF SUMMER is a light-hearted look at three generations of neighborhood dogs who spent most of their lives or most of their summers on the Island of Martha's Vineyard, off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The ten dogs featured inhabited the small town of West Tisbury in the center of the island. The foibles & eccentricities of all these very individual canines cast a light, not only on the dogs themselves, but also their owners & the town in which they all lived. From Fred Mazer, the hitch-hiking Basset hound, who ended up attending church services all on his own every Sunday, to Barnaby Kerr, the sea-going dog who would ride the ferries without a ticket whenever he felt the call of the ocean, the author has managed to capture in amusing detail outstanding moments in these ten dogs' lives. Almost incidentally she paints a picture of summer in a small New England town. Barbecues, oyster-gathering, encounters with local dog wardens & visiting celebrities, expeditions to the village store, to the outdoor Art Gallery & the beach flesh out each story to create an unforgettable reminiscence of New England summers. To order contact: Chance Press, P.O. Box 96, West Tisbury, MA 02575. 508-693-2176.

Mishaps Abound as Second Chance Ranch Struggles to Get Its Start Grab a lap dog to cuddle and relax into a fun small-town mystery as a new dog rescue project turns into a three-ring circus of calamities in book 2 of the Gone to the Dogs series. Trina Potter, Nashville country music star, buys a ranch near her hometown in Brenham, Texas, to help her niece open a rescue facility for dogs. Her presence in town stirs up some old high school rivalries—and romance. Finding property to buy is a challenge, convincing her mother to move there with her is daunting, and navigating a string of strange accidents is perplexing. Sometimes Trina feels like she’s purchased her own three ring circus instead of a beautiful piece of land. But her first priority will be figuring out who wants Second Chance Ranch shut down before they even have the grand opening. More in the Gone to the Dogs Series: Book 1 - Off the Chain by Janice Thompson Book 2 - Dog Days of Summer by Kathleen Y'Barbo Book 3 - Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson

Grade level: 6, 7, 8, e, i, s.

Remy can’t wait for another summer on Seagate Island. It’s time to bring back her successful dog-sitting business on Dog Beach and see her favorite friends. But instead of sunny days and fun in the sand, the summer is off to a rainy start. Remy and the dogs have cabin fever, and, to make matters worse, her friendship with her longtime pal, Bennett, is starting to feel complicated. What can one twelve-year-old do to create summer magic when the summer doesn’t seem to be showing up?

A charming and nostalgic story about a much-loved Little Dog and his family. The summer holidays stretch out forever. Little Dog and his family set off with their caravan. A nostalgic and delightful story about the way family holidays used to be.

Everyone loves a day at the beach, even Summer the dog! In this book, Summer and her best friend, Ben, enjoy a day at the beach together. Summer loves to play catch in the water. Summer helps Ben build a sandcastle. Summer and Ben love getting ice cream and taking their kayak out on the water. They love to spend time together. As the day comes to an end, the friends hope they can come back to the beach again soon! Margaret Eberl is a Family Medicine doctor living and working in Buffalo, NY. She has an eleven year old son and a female black lab named Summer. Margaret grew up going to the beach on the shores of Lake Erie. She and her son love playing with Summer at the beach. This book is a follow up book to Margaret's first children's book "A Snow Day with Summer" also available on Amazon.