Acclaimed novelist Luanne Rice "touches the deepest, most tender corners of the heart" (Tami Hoag, author of A Thin Dark Line). Her stories remind us how precious and fragile life can be—and that we must risk our hearts every day to know happiness. Follow the Stars Home is just such a novel: a story of poignancy and heartbreak, grace and courage. Being a good mother is never simple: each day brings new choices and challenges. For Dianne Robbins, being a devoted single mother has resulted in her greatest joy and her darkest hours. Weeks before her daughter was born, she and her husband, Tim McIntosh, received the news every parent fears. Tim had not reckoned on their child being anything less than perfect, and abruptly fled to a solitary existence on the sea, leaving Dianne with a newborn—almost alone. It was Tim's brother, Alan, the town pediatrician, who stood by Dianne and her exceptional daughter. Throughout years of waiting, watching, and caring, Alan hid his love for his brother's wife. But one of the many hard choices Dianne has made is to close her heart toward any man—especially one named McIntosh. It will take a very special twelve-year-old to remind them all that love comes in many forms and can be received with as much grace as it is given. As lyrical and moving as the poetry of nature, Follow the Stars Home is a miracle of storytelling that will take your breath away. If words alone can dare us to confront our fears and to choose joy over sorrow, then Luanne Rice's magnificent novel is a benediction and a call to celebrate our lives. says acclaimed author Luanne Rice. "I always say the same thing: love. It's an easy answer, but like love itself, far from simple." And her new novel, FOLLOW THE STARS HOME, demonstrates that on each finely wrought page. Being a good mother is never simple: each day brings new choices and challenges. For Dianne Robbins, being a devoted single mother has resulted in her greatest joy and her darkest hours. Weeks before her child was born, she and her husband, Tim McIntosh, received the news every parent fears. Tim had not reckoned on their child being anything less than perfect, and abruptly fled to a solitary existence on the sea. Dianne was left with a newborn—almost alone. It was Tim's brother, Alan, the town pediatrician, who stood by Dianne and her exceptional daughter. Throughout these years of waiting, watching, and caring, Alan hid his love for his brother's wife. But Dianne has chosen to close her heart toward all men—especially those named McIntosh. It will take a very special twelve-year-old to remind them all that love comes in many forms, and can be received with as much grace as it is given. Film rights optioned by Hallmark for television. —

Angel's dad is in jail and her mum's abandoned her and her little brother at their great-grandmother's crumbling farmhouse. Grandma can't even look after herself, let alone two children, so Angel finds that it's left up to her. In a dreary and lonely world there is only one bright spot - amysterious stranger who appears on clear nights to teach Angel all about the stars.* Katherine Paterson is an internationally acclaimed author who has won the Newbery Medal (twice), the National Book Award for Children's Literature (USA) twice, and the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award

It only takes a moment to fall in love, but the memories of them last a lifetime. Set in 1925, the betrayal of her parents shocks seventeen-year-old Evie Brown. Stubborn, quick-tempered Evie must now face the frightful reality of her new life as she adjusts to the harsh demands of a wealthy, aristocratic family, the McCormicks. They are now her greatest enemy, especially the eldest son, Vincent. As Evie endures the torment inflicted by Vincent's cruel nature, Flynn McCormick, (the enigmatic second son who is constantly overshadowed by Vincent in his parents' eyes) assumes the role of her protector. Despite Evie’s reservations, she lowers her guard and accepts Flynn’s help. By doing so, Evie’s love for Flynn unravels. Not only has she fallen in love with the enemy, but Flynn has also set off a dream that she can follow the stars. But the simple fact of who she is and where she comes from still haunts her. People like her never get a chance to dream. What readers are saying: "I think my heart will just need a bit of time to recover from this. I really loved this book." - Goodreads Reviewer “I couldn’t put it down, even when I thought my heart would burst out of my chest and I had tears pouring down my face.” Goodreads reviewer, "A real page turner, that buried me into a deep trance of "I will put the book down after the next chapter." The next chapter came and went until, before I know it, I had finished! Wow! This is one exciting book! I haven't read one like this in like, ages!" Goodreads reviewer "Quite astounding. There are plot twists all over the place and one after the other, you are left thinking, can your brain cope, as you will definitely be left with a hangover afterwards. I still can't believe what I just read." Goodreads reviewer

A captivating reimagining of the intrepid woman who – 8 months pregnant and with a toddler in tow – braved violent earthquakes and treacherous waters on the first steamboat voyage to conquer the Mississippi River and redefine America. The acclaimed author of The Seamstress of New Orleans brings to life Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt’s defiant journey of 1811 in this lush, evocative biographical novel for fans of Paula McLain, Gill Paul, Allison Pataki, and stories about extraordinary yet little-known female adventurers… It’s a journey that most deem an insane impossibility. Yet on October 20th, 1811, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt—daughter of one of the architects of the United States Capitol—fearlessly boards the steamship New Orleans in Pittsburgh. Eight months pregnant and with a toddler in tow, Lydia is fiercely independent despite her youth. She’s also accustomed to defying convention. Against her father’s wishes, she married his much older business colleague, inventor Nicholas Roosevelt—builder of the New Orleans—and spent her honeymoon on a primitive flatboat. But the stakes for this trip are infinitely higher. If Nicholas’s untried steamboat reaches New Orleans, it will serve as a profitable packet ship between that city and Natchez, proving the power of steam as it travels up and down the Mississippi. Success in this venture would revolutionize travel and trade, open the west to expansion, and secure the Roosevelts’ future. Lydia had used her own architectural training to design the flatboat’s interior, including a bedroom, sitting area, and fireplace. The steamship, however, dwarfs the canoes and flatboats on the river. And no amount of power or comfort could shield its passengers from risk. Lydia believes herself ready for all the dangers ahead—growing unrest among native people, disease or injury, and the turbulent Falls of the Ohio, a sixty-foot drop long believed impassable in such a large boat. But there are other challenges in store, impossible to predict as Lydia boards that fall day. Challenges which—if survived—will haunt and transform her, as surely as the journey will alter the course of a nation . . .

Married young to Tim McIntosh, a passionate and charismatic fisherman with a troubled heart, Dianne Robbins expects a future full of happiness, security, and love. But when tests reveal that their unborn baby is severely disabled, Tim sails off for calmer waters. Faced with the responsibilities of raising her daughter Julia, Dianne finds support in Tim's brother Alan and her own mother Lucinda.

Be one of the first to read this sneak preview sample edition! A captivating reimagining of the intrepid woman who—8 months pregnant and with a toddler in tow—braved violent earthquakes and treacherous waters on the first steamboat voyage to conquer the Mississippi River and redefine America. The acclaimed author of The Seamstress of New Orleans brings to life Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt’s defiant journey of 1811 in this lush, evocative biographical novel for fans of Paula McLain, Gill Paul, Allison Pataki, and stories about extraordinary yet little-known female adventurers… It’s a journey that most deem an insane impossibility. Yet on October 20th, 1811, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt—daughter of one of the architects of the United States Capitol—fearlessly boards the steamship New Orleans in Pittsburgh. Eight months pregnant and with a toddler in tow, Lydia is fiercely independent despite her youth. She’s also accustomed to defying convention. Against her father’s wishes, she married his much older business colleague, inventor Nicholas Roosevelt—builder of the New Orleans—and spent her honeymoon on a primitive flatboat. But the stakes for this trip are infinitely higher. If Nicholas’s untried steamboat reaches New Orleans, it will serve as a profitable packet ship between that city and Natchez, proving the power of steam as it travels up and down the Mississippi. Success in this venture would revolutionize travel and trade, open the west to expansion, and secure the Roosevelts’ future. Lydia had used her own architectural training to design the flatboat’s interior, including a bedroom, sitting area, and fireplace. The steamship, however, dwarfs the canoes and flatboats on the river. And no amount of power or comfort could shield its passengers from risk. Lydia believes herself ready for all the dangers ahead—growing unrest among native people, disease or injury, and the turbulent Falls of the Ohio, a sixty-foot drop long believed impassable in such a large boat. But there are other challenges in store, impossible to predict as Lydia boards that fall day. Challenges which—if survived—will haunt and transform her, as surely as the journey will alter the course of a nation . . .