Ocean State Libraries

Tory Sullivan struggles with the demands of motherhood and her desire for a career. An aspiring writer, she wonders whether she'll ever be able to develop her talent while raising two young children. But perhaps the problem isn't a matter of time, but of Tory. Cathy Flaherty is rediscovering the grins and groans of the dating game. The spunky single mother of three teenagers, she's also learning the urgency of instilling sound values in her children...

Conceived to provide a bone marrow match for her leukemia-stricken sister, teenage Kate begins to question her moral obligations in light of countless medical procedures and decides to fight for the right to make decisions about her own body. New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness. Anna is not sick, but she...

Centered on a young girl who inexplicably stops speaking, December is a riveting and insightful portrait of a family in crisis.Nine months after eleven-year-old Isabelle suddenly fell silent, her parents, Wilson and Ruth, are at their wits' end. And what began as self-protection has spiraled beyond Isabelle's control; she has become trapped in her silence, horrified by the pain she is causing and terrified of losing her old self to this...

"What was lost would be lost again every time we invented it, until the pearls of our lives were hidden under so many layers of story, that only through great effort and great love would we ever be able to bring them back." Told through the voice of Augusta Cotton as she recollects her childhood, this imaginative novel captures the magical and turbulent times of two eleven-year-old girls searching for meaning in the quiet confusion that surrounds...

The most poignant of all De Vries's novels, The Blood of the Lamb is also the most autobiographical. It follows the life of Don Wanderhop from his childhood in an immigrant Calvinist family living in Chicago in the 1950s through the loss of a brother, his faith, his wife, and finally his daughter-a tragedy drawn directly from De Vries's own life. Despite its foundation in misfortune, The Blood of the Lamb offers glimpses of the comic sensibility for...

A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.

When four-year-old Peeper the frog comes down with a fever just before the family is to attend the long-awaited Picnic and Diving Contest, his mother calls Dr. Hippo to see if Peeper can still go.

"Provides helpful tips and home-grown wisdom that will make any visit to the hospital easier. It explains how to prepare your child, cope with procedures, plan for surgery, communicate with doctors and nurses, and deal with bills and insurance. Woven throughout the text are encouraging stories from parents who have been through the experience of having a child in the hospital. Includes a packing list, hospital journal for children, and helpful resources...

Madeline, smallest and naughtiest of the twelve little charges of Miss Clavel, wakes up one night with an attack of appendicitis.