Amy builds a snowman with her parents.

Winner of the UK’s Richard & Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition, this page-turning debut novel follows an orphan whose late, beloved best friend bequeaths her a treasure hunt that leads her all over Victorian England and finally to the one secret her friend never shared. It is 1831 when eight-year-old Aurelia Vennaway finds a naked baby girl abandoned in the snow on the grounds of her aristocratic family’s magnificent mansion. Her parents are horrified that she has brought a bastard foundling into the house, but Aurelia convinces them to keep the baby, whom she names Amy Snow. Amy is brought up as a second-class citizen, despised by Vennaways, but she and Aurelia are as close as sisters. When Aurelia dies at the age of twenty-three, she leaves Amy ten pounds, and the Vennaways immediately banish Amy from their home. But Aurelia left her much more. Amy soon receives a packet that contains a rich inheritance and a letter from Aurelia revealing she had kept secrets from Amy, secrets that she wants Amy to know. From the grave she sends Amy on a treasure hunt from one end of England to the other: a treasure hunt that only Amy can follow. Ultimately, a life-changing discovery awaits...if only Amy can unlock the secret. In the end, Amy escapes the Vennaways, finds true love, and learns her dearest friend’s secret, a secret that she will protect for the rest of her life. An abandoned baby, a treasure hunt, a secret. As Amy sets forth on her quest, readers will be swept away by this engrossing gem of a novel—the wonderful debut by newcomer Tracy Rees.

Amy picks some flowers on a sunny day and gives them to her mother.

If you take elements of Clementine Wamariya's memoir, THE GIRL WHO SMILED BEADS, and Oliver Stone's docudrama, HEAVEN & EARTH, then throw in small sprinkles of Kevin Kwon's CRAZY RICH ASIANS, you'll get Amy M. Le's debut historical fiction novel, SNOW IN VIETNAM. There are elements of humor, romance and heartache injected throughout these pages of fear and uncertainty. Strength from family and trust in oneself are at the heart of this book. Growing up in war-torn Vietnam was normal, even idyllic at times, for Snow, the youngest of seven children in her family. Although her heart belongs to an American GI, she honors her father by marrying a Vietnamese man. Her halcyon life unravels as the Vietnam War ravages her country and the threat of communism culminates with the fall of Saigon. Life in unified Vietnam under the new regime becomes unbearable. Betrayed by her husband and left with a dying child to raise, Snow must set aside her morals and push herself to the limit emotionally, physically and mentally, to buy her way out of the country. Her decision to escape and find sanctuary in America takes her adrift in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand with her daughter, nephew, and other boat refugees. For days, they are at the mercy of pirates, storms, and dire conditions. Ultimately, Snow settles into a refugee camp on the island of Galang in Indonesia, but life there is deplorable. The threat of repatriation and the will to keep her family alive keeps her motivated to hustle for a ticket to freedom. SNOW IN VIETNAM was written to honor the memory of the author's mother. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Pacific Northwest Writers Association literary award. This story is dedicated to the boat people of Vietnam and all the refugees who risked their lives in a desperate search for safety and freedom.Reviews of the book: "Well-developed characters, a brave and admirable protagonist, a vivid setting and heartbreaking struggles that felt real combine to make SNOW IN VIETNAM a compelling, unforgettable read." --Alicia Dean, Award Winning Author of Heart of the Witch"Compelling, informative and beautifully written." --Frances Evlin, Author of Circles of Deception"Americans who are old enough experienced (what we call) the Vietnam War in one way -- as a conflict that ripped us apart as a country, and left our national psyche wounded. But in her novel Snow in Vietnam, Amy Le makes us privy to an intimate portrait of what that war was like from the inside. Amy does a superb job of making her characters come alive, and tell us what it was like to run for your life from a country you once called 'home'. This is an exciting read that left me treasuring the preciousness of life, and aching for those who lose it." --Keith Madsen, Author of The Sons and Daughters of Toussaint"I stayed up all night reading because I literally could not put it down. This book leaves you hungry for the next chapter and the next chapter and the next chapter. This is the kind of book that you can't stop thinking about after you read it because the characters just come alive and the descriptions of the settings and the activities are so vivid." --Diana LeBeau, Beta reader"I love how I laugh and cry and just find myself lost in your writing." --Courtenay Brimer, Beta reader"Love the way you write! Can't wait to read all your stories and learn from you as well. Web Page is AWESOME!" --Frances Moore, Beta reader"This novel is epic. Snow adapts and conquers; a great read." --Michael Harmon, Beta reader"I loved going on Snow's emotional journey and learning about the Fall of Saigon through her unique perspective." --Lisa Schumann, Beta reader

Could it be the night before a Snow Day? It's nighttime and snow is falling hard. Will the town be snowed in? Will there be a snow day? Odds are looking good in this newest Night Before book for the kids who dream of snowball fights, sledding, and the possibility that it may snow again tomorrow!

A little girl investigates tracks in the snow, trying to determine what could have made them.

Strawberry Shortcake and her friends are going to put on an ice-skating performance. Since Plum Pudding is the berry best dancer, she will be the star of the show. But the day before the performance, Plum hurts her leg. How can the show go on without her?

I love snow! spinning, swirling, swooshing snow crunch beneath my boots snow tickling my tongue snow I love snow! This short poem uses rhythm and repetition to describe the fun activities a fresh snowfall permits. Too much snow can sometimes cause problems, and in time it turns to dirty gray slush. But in the end, nothing can diminish a child's love of snow!

Lily is the daughter of a humble farmer, and to her family she is just another expensive mouth to feed. Then the local matchmaker delivers startling news: if Lily's feet are bound properly, they will be flawless. In nineteenth-century China, where a woman's eligibility is judged by the shape and size of her feet, this is extraordinary good luck. Lily now has the power to make a good marriage and change the fortunes of her family. To prepare for her new life, she must undergo the agonies of footbinding, learn nu shu, the famed secret women's writing, and make a very special friend, Snow Flower. But a bitter reversal of fortune is about to change everything.

Janesville, Wisconsin (cold in the sense that there is no God)1994 The best thing that's ever happened to Craig is also the worst: Amy. Amy and Craig never should've gotten together. Craig is an awkward Dungeons & Dragons-playing geek, and Amy is the beautiful, fiercely intelligent student-body president of their high school. Yet somehow they did until Amy dumped him. Then got back together with him. Then dumped him again. Then got back together with him again. Over and over and over. Unfolding during their senior year, Amy and Craig's exhilarating, tumultuous relationship is a kaleidoscope of joy, pain, and laughter as an uncertain future-and adult responsibility-loom on the horizon. Craig fights for his dream of escaping Janesville and finding his place at a quirky college, while Amy's quest to uncover her true self sometimes involves being Craig's girlfriend and sometimes doesn't. Seven heartbreaks. Seven joys. Told nonsequentially, acclaimed playwright Don Zolidis's debut novel is a brutally funny, bittersweet taste of the utterly unique and universal experience of first love.