'Honest and poignant' THE SUN The honest and revealing story of John Lennon's childhood by his sister Julia. Through her own personal journey, Julia reveals the battle between two strong, self-willed women - John's mother and his Aunt Mimi - to have custody of John in his early years. It was Aunt Mimi who finally won and removed John from his mother at the age of five. But as John grew up, he would frequently return home - spending time with his mother and half-sisters, Julia, Jackie and Ingrid, learning his love of music from his mother, and hanging out, playing guitar with his childhood friend Paul McCartney. Julia is candid about the sadness as well as the joy of their broken family life. She details the devestating loss of their mother Julia in a road accident - and describes the painful legacy for the entire family, especially John as he moves into a life of stratospheric fame with the Beatles.

Set in the post-Civil War South on Blue Brook Plantation, Scarlet Sister Mary tells the story of Mary, a fifteen-year-old orphan girl in a close-knit Gullah community. As she prepares to marry the charismatic but unreliable July, Mary finds herself torn between tradition and her own desires. Love, community, and superstition intertwine as Mary learns who and what truly matter to her. Scarlet Sister Mary, written at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, is notable for its depiction of African-American life, particularly the Gullah people; and especially so because it was written by a white author, something very unusual for the era. It won Julia Peterkin the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1929. The Pulitzer was not without controversy. The jury chair had spoken publicly of another candidate, Victim and Victor by John Rathbone Oliver, as his favorite for the prize, which was reported in Publishers’ Weekly as being the actual announcement of the winner. Shortly afterward, The New York Times published an article by the head of the Advisory Board refuting Publishers’ Weekly. Ultimately, the Advisory Board chose Scarlet Sister Mary as the winner and, subsequently, the jury chair resigned. Despite this, the novel remains a noteworthy part of the early 20th-century conversation on race and Southern literature. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

Cara Segal is a born worrier. She figures her worrying works like a whisper in God's ear - if Cara's concerned about car crashes, kidnappings, or murders, she lets God know, and he always spares her. But Cara never thought to worry about a fire. And one night while she's sleeping at a friend's house, her house catches fire, and her mother and younger sister are both killed. Throughout shiva, the initial Jewish mourning period, Cara can't help wondering about God's role in the tragedy. And what is her father's role in her life now? He walks around like a ghost and refuses to talk about the fire. Cara longs for her family and her home, where sweet smells filled the house as Cara's mom filled orders for her catering business, Julia's Kitchen. Then one day a call comes in for a cookie order, and Cara gets a wild idea. Maybe by bringing back Julia's Kitchen, she can find a way to reconnect with everything she's lost. Complete with a glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terms and a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, this debut novel is a joyous tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit. Julia's Kitchen is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Just weeks after giving birth, Stephanie Henderson and her baby disappear. With husband Adam in despair, and the police investigation stalled, it's up to sister Jess to find them. But when Adam starts to behave suspiciously Jess begins to question what really happened ... Jess fears the worst when she hears of a tragic accident, but was it Stephanie? In turmoil, Jess goes in search of answers, but she isn't prepared for what she uncovers ... or for what happens next. This is a twisted psychological thriller that will make you question what is real, and whether you really can trust those you love.

National Book Award Finalist! Instant New York Times Bestseller! The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian meets Jane the Virgin in this poignant but often laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican-American home. Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal? “Alive and crackling—a gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner. ”—The New York Times “Unique and fresh.” —Entertainment Weekly “A standout.” —NPR

A novel that continues what Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" began. In "The Third Sister", Julia Barrett faithfully evokes Jane Austen's style, characters and ambience to tell just what happens when the youngest Miss Dashwood meets two eligible suitors: the kind and earnest George Osborne and the very dashing and overly bold Lt. William du Plessy. Which man will she choose? Which man will she love? The gentleman or the scoundrel? Online promo (http: //www.romance.

Seven-year-old Julia longs to have a sister whom she can play and share silly moments with. But all she's left to play with are her dolls and toys. While silently wishing to have someone to seesaw with in the park, Julia was approached by a little girl named Tammy and invited her to be a playmate. Instantly, Julia and Tammy became the best of friends. Julia didn't only get to have a playmate but found a sister in Tammy.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, internationally bestselling author and literary icon Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies is "beautiful, heartbreaking and alive ... a lyrical work of historical fiction based on the story of the Mirabal sisters, revolutionary heroes who had opposed and fought against Trujillo." (Concepción de León, New York Times) Alvarez’s new novel, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, is coming April 2, 2024. Pre-order now! It is November 25, 1960, and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. It doesn’t have to. Everybody knows of Las Mariposas—the Butterflies. In this extraordinary novel, the voices of all four sisters--Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, and the survivor, Dedé--speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from secret crushes to gunrunning, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule. Through the art and magic of Julia Alvarez’s imagination, the martyred Butterflies live again in this novel of courage and love, and the human costs of political oppression. "Alvarez helped blaze the trail for Latina authors to break into the literary mainstream, with novels like In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents winning praise from critics and gracing best-seller lists across the Americas."—Francisco Cantú, The New York Times Book Review "This Julia Alvarez classic is a must-read for anyone of Latinx descent." —Popsugar.com "A gorgeous and sensitive novel . . . A compelling story of courage, patriotism and familial devotion." —People "Shimmering . . . Valuable and necessary." —Los Angeles Times "A magnificent treasure for all cultures and all time.” —St. Petersburg Times "Alvarez does a remarkable job illustrating the ruinous effect the 30-year dictatorship had on the Dominican Republic and the very real human cost it entailed."—Cosmopolitan.com