Seventeen-year-old Victoria escapes an abusive father by joining the VanDrexel Family Circus in 1965, and fifty years later her writings guide her granddaughter, sixteen-year-old Callie, in facing the uncharted waters of public high school.

Photographic Essay of the John Muir Trail in California's Sierra Nevada Range; history of the trail's construction.

“Characters as rich and indelible as the life they endure . . . A phenomenal read.” —Internationally Bestselling Author Davis Bunn Five a.m.: Amanda Mallorie wakes to the knowledge that her son Robbie is gone. And a new chapter of her own life must begin. She has spent four years as her son’s only support, desperately trying to understand the actions that landed him on death row and to change his fate. Now Amanda faces an even more difficult task—finding a way, and a reason, to move forward with her own life. Before the tragedy that unfolded in a South Dakota mall, Robbie was just like other people’s sons or daughters. Sometimes troubled, but sweet and full of goodness too. That’s the little boy Amanda remembers as she packs up his childhood treasures and progress reports, and discovers a class ring she’s never seen before. Who does it belong to and why did Robbie have it in his possession? So begins a journey that will remind her not only of who Robbie used to be, but of a time when she wasn’t afraid—to talk to strangers, to help those in need, to reach out. Robbie’s choices can never be unmade, but there may still be time for forgiveness and trust to grow again. For a future as wide as the sky.

It's a great honor when Grandfather Gao, a family friend and elder in New York's Chinatown community, asks Lydia Chin and her partner Bill Smith to go to Hong Kong to deliver the ashes of an old friend for burial, a letter from that friend to his brother, and a vauable jade figurine for the friend's seven-year-old grandson.

When the family of young Zeus is attacked by Hyperion, Zeus's mother is knocked unconscious and his best friend is left for dead. Stacking epic insult upon fatal injury, Zeus discovers the woman who raised him is not his biological mother. But to ensure her safety while she recovers, a heavyhearted Zeus leaves her behind to seek answers at Mount Olympus Preparatory Academia. Zeus embarks on a quest to discover who ordered the attack on his home, avenge the death of his friend, and find his birth mother. When some of his new schoolmates vanish, Zeus's quest is turned upside down, and the only way to make things right is to access the power of the Sky Throne, confront a most dangerous enemy, and take his life back. On his way to becoming king of the Greek gods, Zeus will learn to seize power, neutralize his enemies, and fall in love.

Billie Tommie, a ten-year-old Seminole Indian, lives with his family in a chickee on a mangrove island in the Florida Everglades. Billie is the first in his family to attend school. Now he walks in two worlds--the traditonal world of his ancestors and the modern world of teachers, tourists, and schoolmates. Billie's grandfather, Abraham, tells him the legends, stories, and rituals that are important to the Seminole people. Abraham says that an honest man who leads a good life will walk the path to the city in the sky when he dies. But Billie wants to learn more about the white man's ways. Caught between two cultures, which path will Billie take?

The Citadel It stands unconquered, the last great summit of the Alps. Only one man has ever dared to approach the top, and that man died in his pursuit. He was Josef Matt, Rudi Matt's father. At sixteen, Rudi is determined to pay tribute to the man he never knew, and complete the quest that claimed his father's life. And so, taking his father's red shirt as a flag, he heads off to face the earth's most challenging peak. But before Rudi can reach the top, he must pass through the forbidden Fortress, the gaping chasm in the high reaches of teh Citadel where his father met his end. Rudi has followed Josef's footsteps as far as they will take him. Now he must search deep within himself to find the strength for the final ascent to the summit -- to plant his banner in the sky. His father died while trying to climb Switzerland's greatest mountain -- the Citadel -- and young Rudi knows he must make the assault himself.