"This is Claude. He's five years old, the youngest of five brothers. He also loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess.When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl. Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They're just not sure they're ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude's secret. Until one day it explodes."--

This work is a labor of love by writer Mary Thorpe as a tribute to her much loved Granny O'Rourke (nee Nolan) in an attempt to place the stories she heard and was told into a true and historical context. As a social worker who came across many cases of social deprivation in modern times, Mary had the dawning realization regarding what her own grandmother had been through in even harder times in the late part of the nineteenth century and early part of the twentieth century in Ireland. Mary felt the driving need to record her much-loved grandmother's story as recognition of Bridget's harsh life and also as a tribute to her and the millions of others like her who made the best of things while still retaining a sense of pride, of the worth of education as a ticket out of poverty, and of the importance of retaining one's dignity and commitment to family through good and bad times.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A life-changing guide to finding your direction—and your passion—in a world of seemingly limitless options “For those who want to find their passion . . . a step-by-step guide for restructuring one’s life so that it has meaning, direction, and joy.”—Ellen Kreidman, author of Light His Fire and Light Her Fire If you suspect there could be more to life than what you’re getting, if you always knew you could do anything—if you only knew what it was—this extraordinary book is about to prove you right. No matter what your age, no matter how “unattainable” your dreams, you can create and live a life you love. I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was reveals how you can recapture “long lost” goals, overcome the blocks that inhibit your success, decide what you want to be, and live your dreams forever. You will learn: • What to do if you never chose to be what you are. • How to get off the fast track—and on to the right track. • First aid techniques for paralyzing chronic negativity. • How to regroup when you've lost your big dream. • To stop waiting for luck—and start creating it. A life without direction is a life without passion. I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was guides you not to another unsatisfying job but to a richly rewarding career rooted in your heart’s desire.

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Less, a debut collection of ten short stories featuring characters haunted by their decisions and memories. With a classic storyteller’s gift for nuance and understanding, and a poet’s grace for language, Andrew Sean Greer makes a remarkable debut with How It Was for Me. Focusing on the lives of eleven people—those who have discovered and been uncovered by the truths of life, those who have sacrificed, those who have fallen—Greer fashions a unified, stunning portrait of America, one with the ultimate force and candor of testimonial. Praise for How It Was for Me An LA Weekly Top Ten Book of the Year “Crystal-like clarity . . . outstanding . . . nuanced language . . . Greer is a writer worth watching.” —Martin Wilson, The Austin Chronicle “Impressive . . . Greer’s descriptive talents are immense. . . . While these stories are thick with melancholy, their frankness is refreshing.” —The New York Times Book Review “Greer reveals sensitive, unpredictable characters in direct but subtle prose, saving his most powerful stories for the end. . . . Many of these stories project that same kind of effortlessness—suggesting that more strong writing from Greer will follow.” —Publishers Weekly

Ten-year-old Xan tells about the life of Dooms, the cheetah which became his pet and lived with his family in Kenya, Africa.

"In 1965, on a small island in the South Pacific, a group of astronomers gather to witness the passing of a comet, but when a young boy dies during a meteor shower, the lives of the scientists and their loved ones change in subtle yet profound ways"--Jacket.

Thats Just How It Was is a moving family tale through which much can be gleaned about life during the push for Irish independence This is a satisfying, emotionally involving read.- Clarion Review Authors of family memoirs often overload their narratives with minutiae that puts nonfamily members to sleep. There are no such encumbrances in Mary Thorpes biography of her remarkable grandmother, Bridget ORourke. Thorpecarefully blends Bridgets story with the events of her day, some of the most pivotal events in Irelands history.- Blueink Review

Follow the real lives of seven kids from Italy, Japan, Iran, India, Peru, Uganda, and Russia for a single day! In Japan Kei plays Freeze Tag, while in Uganda Daphine likes to jump rope. But while the way they play may differ, the shared rhythm of their days—and this one world we all share—unites them. This genuine exchange provides a window into traditions that may be different from our own as well as a mirror reflecting our common experiences. Inspired by his own travels, Matt Lamothe transports readers across the globe and back with this luminous and thoughtful picture book.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE WINNER • With music pulsing on every page, this startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption “features characters about whom you come to care deeply as you watch them doing things they shouldn't, acting gloriously, infuriatingly human” (The Chicago Tribune). One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. “Pitch perfect.... Darkly, rippingly funny.... Egan possesses a satirist’s eye and a romance novelist’s heart.” —The New York Times Book Review