"Meghan Decker, who is happily married to a man, shares her story and the stories of other women who are attracted to women and yet are committed to their faith"--

Funny, poignant, and deeply moving, The Line Tender is a story of nature's enduring mystery and a girl determined to find meaning and connection within it. Wherever the sharks led, Lucy Everhart's marine-biologist mother was sure to follow. In fact, she was on a boat far off the coast of Massachusetts, collecting shark data when she died suddenly. Lucy was seven. Since then Lucy and her father have kept their heads above water--thanks in large part to a few close friends and neighbors. But June of her twelfth summer brings more than the end of school and a heat wave to sleepy Rockport. On one steamy day, the tide brings a great white--and then another tragedy, cutting short a friendship everyone insists was "meaningful" but no one can tell Lucy what it all meant. To survive the fresh wave of grief, Lucy must grab the line that connects her depressed father, a stubborn fisherman, and a curious old widower to her mother's unfinished research on the Great White's return to Cape Cod. If Lucy can find a way to help this unlikely quartet follow the sharks her mother loved, she'll finally be able to look beyond what she's lost and toward what's left to be discovered. ★"Confidently voiced."—Kirkus Reviews, starred ★"Richly layered."—Publishers Weekly, starred ★"A hopeful path forward."—Booklist, starred ★"Life-affirming."—BCCB, starred ★"Big-hearted." —Bookpage, starred ★“Will appeal to just about everyone.” – SLC, starred ★"Exquisitely, beautifully real."—Shelf Awareness, starred

Seventeen-year-old Shavonne has been in juvenile detention since the seventh grade. Mr. Delpopolo is the first counselor to treat her as an equal, and he helps her get to the bottom of her self-destructive behavior, her guilt about past actions, and her fears about leaving the Center when she turns eighteen. Shavonne tells him the truth about her crack-addicted mother, the child she had (and gave up to foster care) at fifteen, and the secret shame she feels about what she did to her younger brother after her mother abandoned them. Meanwhile, Shavonne's mentally unstable roommate Cinda makes a rash move, and Shavonne's quick thinking saves her life—and gives her the opportunity to get out of the Center if she behaves well. But Shavonne's faith is tested when her new roommate, mentally retarded and pregnant Mary, is targeted by a guard as a means to get revenge on Shavonne. As freedom begins to look more and more likely, Shavonne begins to believe that maybe she, like the goslings recently hatched on the Center's property, could have a future somewhere else—and she begins to feel something like hope. This is a brutally honest but hopeful story of finding yourself and moving beyond your past.

Gabby knows God is the God of second chances. But can she give one to the man who betrayed her? When she was thrown out of the penthouse she shared with her husband and their sons, Gabby didn’t know if she’d ever find a soft place to land. But after seeking refuge at the shelter where she works, extraordinary things happen as she is reintroduced to God. From the ashes of her marriage comes the House of Hope—a safe haven for homeless moms and their children. But now those ashes of her destroyed marriage are being stirred again. When her long-gone husband’s life hits rock bottom, he reappears and asks for one more chance. And Gabby faces what feels like an impossible choice. Take him back. Or keep moving forward without him. Toward someone new who hasn’t betrayed her. Is God redeeming what Gabby thought was gone forever? Or is He leading her down a different path and giving her something—and someone—new?

It is one thing to live with the consequences of your own choices, but what happens when your life is changed because of someone else's? This insightful and uplifting guide will comfort, support and encourage you through whatever situation you must face. Cynthia Ruchti, who has walked this road herself, assures readers that God is ever present and His love never wavers. There is hope, grace, and a future in every situation, especially those that we did not cause.