'I can't change what I am. But I can change what I do. I must go away. I must leave you for a while until I've made my mark in the world. A man has to make his mark.' In post-civil war Mississippi, Doc Whitmore finds an infant in an old hut. The Harpers, who live nearby, take him in and give him a name. Young Charlie is mentored over the years by Doc and an Indian, whom he calls Oxytak. Through their kindly wisdom he learns that a man is more than merely the name he is given or the blood in his veins; he is, above all, the mark he makes. Charlie's efforts to carve out his place in the world begin with overcoming the persecution against him because of his mixed race. Ultimately, they will take him through high adventure, risk and danger, including brutal assaults by Boxer terrorists in China and a perilous mine rescue in Oklahoma. But he finds his greatest challenge of all to be the beautiful Jessie Harper. Charlie's Mark is a story of courage and sacrifice and the power of a woman's love in keeping alive a man's hope and determination. Readers will appreciate Charlie's charm, good humor, and his enthusiasm for life.

How far would you go to say goodbye? Martin and Charlie are journeying 421 miles across England to find out, but are they prepared for what they find when they get there? Thirteen-year-old Martin and his younger brother Charlie are on a very special journey. They're traveling 421 miles all the way from Preston in northern England to the very tip of Cornwall in the southwest. By train, bus, and taxi, they are determined to get there to catch a glimpse of the dolphin that regularly visits the harbor and made last year's family vacation so special. But is that the only reason they are going? Mom stays in bed all day and Dad is always at work. Martin is doing his best to be a good big brother, but Martin must come to terms with why he and Charlie are making the journey to Cornwall in the first place. Charlie and Me is an unforgettable novel that is funny, adventurous, and heartbreaking.

Raw, unflinching images that tell the story of one man's struggle with mental illness, poverty, drug addiction, and profound isolation

A down-to-earth and deeply intimate portrait of Pope Francis and his faith, based on interviews with the men and women who knew him simply as Jorge Mario Bergoglio Early on the evening of March 13, 2013, the newly elected Pope Francis stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and did something remarkable: Before he imparted his blessing to the crowd, he asked the crowd to bless him, then bowed low to receive this grace. In the days that followed, Mark K. Shriver—along with the rest of the world—was astonished to see a pope who paid his own hotel bill, eschewed limousines, and made his home in a suite of austere rooms in a Vatican guesthouse rather than the grand papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace. By setting an example of humility and accessibility, Francis breathed new life into the Catholic Church, attracting the admiration of Catholics and non-Catholics alike. In Pilgrimage, Shriver retraces Francis’s personal journey, revealing the origins of his open, unpretentious style and explaining how it revitalized Shriver’s own faith and renewed his commitment to the Church. To help us understand how Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis, Shriver travels to Bergoglio’s native Argentina to meet with the people who knew him as a child, as a young Jesuit priest, and as a reformist bishop. Shriver visits the confessional where Bergoglio first felt called to a faith-based life and takes us to the humble parish where the future pontiff’s pastoral career began: in a church created from a converted vegetable shed in an area just outside the city of Buenos Aires. In these impoverished surroundings, Bergoglio answered Christ’s call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless, following the example set by his papal namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. In this deeply reported yet highly personal book, Mark K. Shriver explores how Francis's commitment has struck a chord in the hearts of millions who long to make faith, love, humility, and mercy part of their lives as they go out into the world to serve and learn from the most marginalized. Praise for Pilgrimage “Well-researched . . . Pilgrimage shines a light on [Pope Francis’s] unexplored aspects. . . . A very timely and important addition to the literature on the life and person and thinking of Pope Francis. Everybody interested in Pope Francis will enjoy reading this biography.”—The Washington BookReview “Apt to stir the soul of readers . . . While this is a rich telling of Bergoglio’s life and ascension to the papacy, it is more movingly a spiritual memoir that draws us deep into a knowing of this at once humble and soul-stirring rekindler of faith.”—Chicago Tribune “A fascinating portrait of a man and a nourishing account of spiritual yearning.”—Booklist “This fast-paced and fascinating tale takes us on Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s pilgrimage from his grandmother’s knee in the Italian-Argentine community, through years of success and sorrow in the tumultuous country that he loved, to his surprise election as Pope Francis.”—Cokie Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848–1868 “All people of good faith, including those whose lives are not guided by religious beliefs, will be inspired and enlightened by the compelling manner in which Pilgrimage brings us closer to the heart and mind of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis. I highly recommend this book; it will make a difference in your life.”—Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap.

Another classic from the author of the internationally bestselling The Outsiders Continue celebrating 50 years of The Outsiders by reading this companion novel. That Was Then, This is Now is S. E. Hinton's moving portrait of the bond between best friends Bryon and Mark and the tensions that develop between them as they begin to grow up and grow apart. "A mature, disciplined novel which excites a response in the reader . . . Hard to forget."—The New York Times

Charles Fletcher Lummis began his spectacular career in 1884 by walking from Ohio to start a new job at the three-year old Los Angeles Times. By the time of his death in 1928, the 3,500 mile "tramp across the continent" was just a footnote in his astonishingly varied career: crusading journalist, author of nearly two dozen books, editor of the influential political and literary magazine Out West, Los Angeles city librarian, preserver of Spanish missions, and Indian rights gadfly. Lummis both embodied and defined our vision of the West, and of America itself.