Lizzy McMann, A feisty twelve-year-old, lives with her immature mother and Manny, her father (she thinks) in a fleabag Phoenix hotel. One night, Manny's sudden announcement that he wants a divorce forces mother and daughter to move to upstate New York to live with Lizzy's grandmother and grandfather—a mixed blessing. At school, Lizzy befriends, then falls in love with, Eva Singer, who is dyslexic, looks like Natalie Wood and lives right down the street. Like all girls her age, Lizzy has to deal with her first period, her first bra and her first boyfriend. But what scares her most is her love for Eva. She is also concerned with getting a new husband for Mama—especially after reading Mama's letters that she has found in the attic. Then Eva gets a boyfriend and Mama's life enters what seems to be a new crisis. . . . How Lizzy comes to grips with life's strange twists and turns makes fascinating reading for adults and young readers alike.

Between 1982 and 1989, Pelafina H. Lièvre sent her son, Johnny Truant, a series of letters from The Three Attic Whalestoe Institute, a psychiatric facility in Ohio where she spent the final years of her life. Beautiful, heartfelt, and tragic, this correspondence reveals the powerful and deeply moving relationship between a brilliant though mentally ill mother and the precocious, gifted young son she never ceases to love. Originally contained within the monumental House of Leaves, this collection stands alone as a stunning portrait of mother and child. It is presented here along with a foreword by Walden D. Wyhrta and eleven previously unavailable letters.

An epic quest, a dragon, a knight in shining armor—this classic children’s story is the perfect read for 3rd and 4th graders who love medieval fantasy. A magical toy castle plunges 10-year-old William into a wild fantasy adventure—where he discovers the true meaning of courage. When his beloved caretaker Mrs. Phillips tells him she's leaving, William is devastated. Not even her farewell gift of a model medieval castle helps him feel better—though he has to admit it’s fascinating. From the working drawbridge and portcullis to the fully-furnished rooms, it's perfect in every detail. It almost seems magical. And when William looks at the silver knight, the tiny figure comes to life in his hand—and tells him a tale of a wicked sorcerer, a vicious dragon, and a kingdom in need of a hero. Hoping the castle's magic will help him find a way to make his friend stay, William embarks on a daring quest with Sir Simon, the Silver Knight—but he will have to face his own doubts and regrets if he's going to succeed. William’s story continues in The Battle for the Castle, available as a redesigned companion edition.

Imagine clearing out your family attic and discovering hundreds of Civil War letters, filled with depth and insight about battles and army life, but not knowing why the letters were there. Using the resources of Ancestry.com and other sources, the author discovers how two Vermont soldiers fit into his family heritage and uses their letters to weave together their war-time story along with the stories of friends and relatives who fought by their side. Voices From the Attic tells the story of two brothers who witnessed and helped to make history by fighting in the Peninsula Campaign, then at South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Cedar Creek. They then helped to preserve that history through their many detailed letters that have now been re-discovered after being stored away for one and a half centuries.

Eleven years of events can have a profound effect on an entire lifetime. The story of Stanisawa Emilia (Emma) Krasowska Serbinski is told by her daughter, Barbara, tracing her mother's courageous and terrifying journey from the Soviet invasion of Poland, through Soviet prisons and her eventual release from a Siberian labor camp. The perilous journey continues through the deserts of the Middle East, Italy, and then eventually landing on the shores of Great Britain only to receive tragic information. The project, Letters from the Box in the Attic, a Story of Courage, Survival and Love is factually based on letters, documents and photographs discovered in her mother's attic. These letters represented the fabric and soul of a life well lived. Historical perspective is preserved when placing her mother's letters and experiences into this narrative. Barbara Serbinski Sipe is a first generation Polish American from a refugee resettlement in Great Britain. Hearing stories growing up in an immigrant family ignited Barbara's love for history. Her personal memories are recounted throughout the book sharing images of love, sacrifice, conflict and gratitude. Understanding why things happen and how they affect life are just as important as the events themselves. It is through historical accuracy and personal introspection that enable the stories to be told in this book. Survival is the human spirit which came out of some of the most tragic events of World War II. What tragedies and suffering life brings profoundly affects a life forever.

In searching for her family's roots in Canandaigua, New York, Barbara Cowles became intrigued with her grandmother's life. She decided to compare this life with her mother's and then hers. By using the device of each woman writing letters to a friend, she was able to show how different the times were and yet that some things in life remain the same, no matter the year. All the facts in this book are true; in some cases where the particulars were not available, literary license was used.