Book Summary The story begins with the main character attending a 50 Year Class Reunion and then flashes back to her four years in high school. At that time she lived in a small southern California town where everyone knew everyone else, and there wasn't much for teenagers to do, and yet they manage to keep busy somehow. Life at that time (before the electronic age) went at a much slower pace, and people who grew up in the 50's and 60's were part of the last innocent generation. The book describes Elaine's relationship with her family, her life on a poultry ranch, and the closeness of a small community. It also describes many high school activities, classes, boy-girl relationships, and problems and heartaches, the euphoria and the sadness that are a part of life at that age. The story is based on an actual town and high school, and many incidents in the book actually happened the way that I described them. I did change the names of the town and the high school however. Back in those days it was much easier to work on your own car, the old hot rods and jalopies. Gas was thirty one cents a gallon, and one could buy a hamburger and Coke for less than fifty cents. But the monthly income for the average working family was only about $300, so the budget had to be stretched to make ends meet. A few women worked outside the home, but most did not. Many of the television sets were black and white, but color TV was on its way in. There was no reality TV at that time, but there were plenty of Westerns and family programming. Of course music played a huge part in the lives of young people, and it was the era of Rock and Roll. Elvis, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers were household names. Dick Clark's American Bandstand was on TV in the afternoons, and everyone rushed home from school to watch the latest dances. There were only records at the time, 45's and 78's, which were played on phonographs. It would be years before cassettes, CD's, and iPods were invented. The music was portable though because everyone was getting transistor radios. If a group of kids got together at a lake or somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, they would just tune their car radios to the same station and turn up the volumne. I have tried throughout the book to portray life back in those days, with many details depicting the culture and fads of that time. I am hoping that this book will give today's teenagers a different perspective on life at that time, while giving my own generation a chance to walk down Memory Lane.

Named one of NPR's Best Books of 2021 From the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things. Security consultant “Jane Smith” receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control. Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvina’s footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out—for her and possibly for the world. Hummingbird Salamander is Jeff VanderMeer at his brilliant, cinematic best, wrapping profound questions about climate change, identity, and the world we live in into a tightly plotted thriller full of unexpected twists and elaborate conspiracy.

"Hummingbirds and angels don’t need two good feet. They have wings." That's what Alba's mother always says. Of course, Alba doesn't have wings or two good feet: she has Cleo. Cleo is the name Alba has given to her left foot, which was born twisted in the wrong direction. When she points this out, though, her mother just smiles like the world has some surprise in store Alba doesn't know about yet. Well, Alba has her own surprise planned. After one final surgery and one final cast, Cleo is almost ready to meet the world straight on--just in time to run in the sixth grade cross-country race. Unfortunately, Alba's best friend Levi thinks there's no way she can pull it off. And she thinks there's no way he's right about the school librarian hiding a wormhole in her office. Tempers flare. Sharp words fly faster than hummingbirds. And soon it looks like both friends will be stuck proving their theories on their own.

An Aztec princess describes the Spanish conquest of Mexico. She is Huitzitzlin, 82, of the court of Montezuma and she tells her tale to a priest so history will know who the Aztecs really were. By the author of The Memories of Ana Calderon.

Engaging natural history information for a general audience on one of the most beloved groups of birds, including tips on attracting and watching hummingbirds. Stunning photographs of common North American and exotic world species. Explains the details of the tiny hummingbird's amazing twice-yearly migration.

This book is devoted solely to hummingbird gardening and is a practical guide to cultivating flowers and other plants that will attract the hummingbirds of North America to your home and garden. You will be able to grow flowers in profusion and provide nectar for these smallest of birds, which hover on fast-beating wings while they drink from flowers including pink Chinese lantern, bladderpod, woolly blue curls, scarlet sage, penstemon, columbine, long strips of fuschia, and many others. The Hummingbird Garden is packed with pertinent information, from a description of what hummingbird gardening is all about to how hummingbirds can be conserved and protected. Tekulsky explains the extraordinary way hummingbirds live and behave, the regions they inhabit throughout the year, and their migrating habits. He discusses how to start your own garden by recommending what to plant and then outlines what interesting events will take place in it. The valuable appendixes give complete information on hummingbird and plant varieties, bird and conservation organizations, and mail-order sources, as well as an extensive bibliography. Beautiful color photos throughout show many different types of hummingbirds enjoying their wonderfully active lives in gardens created expressly for them.

From the author of Suitors and Sabotage comes a suspenseful and enthralling new Regency novel, perfect for readers who like their Jane Austen classics with a side of mystery and murder. 1833. A near-fatal carriage accident has deposited an unconscious young woman on the doorstep of Hardwick Manor and into the care of young Lord James Ellerby. But when she finally awakens, it is with no memory of who she is or where she came from. Beth, as she calls herself, has no identity; the only clue to her circumstances is a recurring nightmare of a hummingbird, blood dripping from its steel beak. With the help of James and his sister, Caroline, Beth tries to solve the mystery of her own identity and the appalling events that brought her to their door. But nothing could prepare her for the escalating dangers that threaten her and the Ellerby clan. From the hazardous cliffs of Dorset to the hostile streets of London, Beth will fight to reclaim her past, hunted by a secretive foe with murderous intentions. Fans of Cindy Anstey's previous novels won't want to miss The Hummingbird Dagger, a dark and twisty new offering that blends romance, danger and mystery. Praise for The Hummingbird Dagger: "A blend of Jane Austen, Jack the Ripper, and your favorite cozy mystery. ... The romance was lovely, sweet and a perfect subplot to the darker tones of murder, mystery and mayhem." —Isabel Ibañez, author of Woven in Moonlight "Quite fun. ... There is a softness when it comes to Cindy Antsey’s historical novels ... it calms me somewhat while still letting me enjoy the twists and turns." —Whatever You Can Still Betray