This controversial, eye-opening book by Elizabeth McGreevy suggests a different perception of Mountain Cedars (also called Ashe Junipers). It digs into the politics, history, economics, culture, and ecology surrounding these trees in the Hill Country of Texas from the 1700s to the present. Since the 1920s, reporters, writers, scientists, landowners, politicians, and cedar fever victims have characterized the trees as a non-native, water-hogging, grass-killing, toxic, useless species to justify its removal. The result has been a glut of Mountain Cedar tall tales. Yet before the 1890s, people highly respected Mountain Cedars. The Mountain Cedars they reported were large timber trees with strong, decay-resistant heartwood. Most were cut down and sold to boost the young Hill Country economy. The clearcutting of old-growth forests and dense woodlands and the continuous overgrazing of prairies that followed led to mass soil degradation and erosion. Acting as nature's bandage, Mountain Cedars morphed into pioneering bushes and spread across degraded soils. This book tracks down the origins of the tall tales to determine what is true, what is false, and what is somewhere in between. Through a series of revelations, the author replaces anti-cedar sentiments with a more constructive, less emotional approach to Hill Country land management.

An enemies to lovers, opposites attract, small-town romance from USA Today Best Selling Author, Elena Aitken. He's used to getting what he wants. And he wants her. Successful, handsome and too damn charming for his own good—he's perfect. The only problem? Letting him in could destroy everything she knows and loves. Samantha Burke loves her quiet close-knit community of Cedar Springs, just the way it is thank you very much. The addition of an upscale new resort as well as its arrogant owner, Trent Harrison, and the change they're both sure to bring to town, is certainly not welcome. As far as Sam's concerned, Trent can turn right around and go back to where he came from. That is, until one very hot—and completely unexpected—kiss changes everything. Now Trent is pushing his way into her town, and her life and it's getting harder and harder for Sam to deny the heat between them. Change is inevitable, but can either of them drop their guard long enough to accept it when there's so much on the line? Including the chance for love?

From New York Times bestselling historical romance author Julia London comes a passionate love story about a young woman who is torn between two men. Macy Clark receives the second worst shock of her life when a military official delivers the news that her husband Finn Lockhart was not killed in a suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan—he is actually on his way back to the United States after being held prisoner for eighteen months. Finn was the love of Macy’s life and she was heartbroken when she received the news of his death. But when charming ranch owner and real estate developer Wyatt Clark started calling on her, pursuing her with the relentless attention he brought to all his business deals, Macy was able to rejoin the living. She started seeing friends again, picked up her work at a dog rescue organization, decorated a big new house, and married Wyatt in a country club wedding. Suddenly, she has two husbands, two men who are determined to call her his wife. And now she learns she’s pregnant. But who is the baby’s father? In Summer of Two Wishes, Julia London has crafted a compelling story that blends family drama with a heartfelt, sexy, and satisfying love story, guaranteed to delight her fans.

Based on the popular Lost In Michigan website that was featured in the Detroit Free Press, It contains locations throughout Michigan, and tells their interesting story. There are over 50 stories and locations that you will find fascinating.

A tender and compelling contemporary novel for young readers about facing loss and finding friendship, from Ally Condie, international bestselling author of the Matched series. Nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the 2017 Edgar Award “Kids are awesome. And they are diverse. There are children with different abilities and backgrounds and experiences, and every one of them deserves to find themselves in children's literature and to know that they matter.” –Ally Condie, on Summerlost Sometimes it takes a new friend to bring you home. It's the first real summer since the accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. Cedar and what’s left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer. They’re just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival. Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery. The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar. Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching new novel from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy. "Generous and bittersweet, Summerlost has the emotional acuity of Ms. Condie’s writing for older teenagers, but it’s pitched just right for readers ages 10-14." –Wall Street Journal "Funny, sad, sweet, and heartwarming." –Parents.com, Special Needs Now blog ★ "Condie is at her best . . . grabbing readers’ interest from the first page." —Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ "Thoughtful, poetic chapter endings guide readers new to psychological depth toward meaningful connections between plot events and thematic reflections." —BCCB, starred review "A nuanced portrait of grief deeply grounded in the middle-school mind-set." —Booklist "Honest, lovely, and sad." —Kirkus Reviews

While on the search for her birth mother, a young woman falls in love with a widower only to discover that his late wife may have been the key to finding out about her own mysterious past. Determined to discover the truth of her identity, elementary school teacher Jane Aaron heads to Cedar Springs, Texas, to find her birth mother. While staying in the small town, she’s hired by Asher Price, a wealthy advertising executive whose wife was killed in a car accident two years ago, to look after his thirteen-year-old daughter, Riley, and five-year-old son, Levi. Around town, Jane learns that Asher’s late wife may not have been the perfect mother teenaged Riley makes her out to be. As the months pass, Jane finds herself growing fiercely attached to the children and soon, she and Asher begin to fall in love, as well. Though he refuses to speak about his late wife, rumors and whispers around town causes Jane to suspect that her birth mother may have been involved in the same car accident that claimed Asher’s wife. As Jane’s investigation takes her down winding and complicated paths, her relationship with Asher becomes strained. Will the truth bring the pair closer together or drive them apart forever? With New York Times bestselling author Julia London’s signature “nuanced characters, subtle wit, and elegantly sexy style” (Booklist), this compelling story of family and romantic love “will steal your heart” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

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There is no greater truth about ourselves than the past we have uncovered.... It was time to acknowledge our loved ones who were captured, bound, and herded to other lands and stripped of their birthright. It was time for my family to open that door and embrace this part of our past. Weslynn Allen refuses to sit silently as her family legacy becomes forever hidden in family members gone and almost forgotten. Initiated by an enlightening conversation with her father, Weslynn realizes the keys to the past lies solely within her generation. She takes on the challenge, and years of research takes her far from the Low Country lifestyle, Spanish moss-covered oak trees, and vast marshlands in her hometown of Savannah to pinpoint family histories farther than her beloved South. Following the desire to discover her heritage, Weslynn's inquiries lead her from the back roads of Georgia, to the rice fields of South Carolina, and ultimately, to Africa. Within the pages of censuses and helpful interviews with family members, a bloodline is found, promising the Allen's birthright will be told. Produced as a labor of love, from slave trade to a bright future, Weslynn documents the beautiful branches of a family tree that was almost lost. Follow her blueprint in Trace.

This is a concise yet comprehensive treatment of the American short story that includes an historical overview of the topic as well as discussion of notable American authors and individual stories, from Benjamin Franklin’s “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker” in 1747 to “The Joy Luck Club”. Includes a selection of writers chosen not only for their contributions of individual stories but for bodies of work that advanced the boundaries of short fiction, including Washington Irving, Sarah Orne Jewett, Stephen Crane, Jamaica Kincaid, and Tim O’Brien Addresses the ways in which American oral storytelling and other narrative traditions were integral to the formation and flourishing of the short story genre Written in accessible and engaging prose for students at all levels by a renowned literary scholar to illuminate an important genre that has received short shrift in scholarly literature of the last century Includes a glossary defining the most common terms used in literary history and in critical discussions of fiction, and a bibliography of works for further study

Esteemed critic Blanche Gelfant's brilliant companion gathers together lucid essays on major writers and themes by some of the best literary critics in the United States. Part 1 is comprised of articles on stories that share a particular theme, such as "Working Class Stories" or "Gay and Lesbian Stories." The heart of the book, however, lies in Part 2, which contains more than one hundred pieces on individual writers and their work, including Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Richard Ford, Raymond Carver, Eudora Welty, Andre Debus, Zora Neal Hurston, Anne Beattie, Bharati Mukherjee, J. D. Salinger, and Jamaica Kincaid, as well as engaging pieces on the promising new writers to come on the scene.