“Janis Hallowell writes with lucid grace...” — Donna Gershten, author of Kissing the Virgin's Mouth “Skillfull ... delightful ...charming .... the characters are quirky, troubled, and appealing, and we’d be willing to follow them just about anywhere.” — Boulder Daily Camera “Provocative and suspenseful.” — People–4 stars, Critic's Choice “An intriguing and memorable look at what might happen if a modern-day miracle did occur.” — Booklist “THE ANNUNCIATION OF FRANCESCA DUNN asks poignant emotional questions, striving to define reality and redemption in a troubled world.” — Rocky Mountain News “Beautifully written and brimming with strong, appealingly eccentric characters...raises intriguing questions about the nature of contemporary faith and religion.” — BookPage

Ravenhill is the story of one fateful day in an American high school in 1997. As told from multiple points of view, the novel unfolds a few hours after an act of violence leaves five people dead and shocks the community. Leonard, a ninth grade student, has a secret so horrific he hides it beneath his bullying and a tough-guy attitude. Lara, one of Leonard's targets, is trying to show no fear of his persecution but is prepared if Leonard carries through with his threats. S.A.M. Bond is his own superhero with a secret he must guard at all costs. Mr. Hardin, the English teacher, has his own personal demons, including the death of his young daughter. Paul, the custodian and former priest, is fighting alcoholism. All these personal problems, attitudes, and anxieties erupt the day before the winter holiday break. Without flinching, Ravenhill attempts to answer the question of who might be responsible when a sudden violent act explodes and a quiet town is changed forever. "This explosive novel is a compelling and disturbing view of the violence and terror and loneliness present in our schools in this age of guns and mayhem, when even the best efforts of good people can't prevent tragedy."--Kent Haruf, author of Plainsong and Eventide, and a finalist for the National Book Award.

The most-trusted film critic in America." --USA Today Roger Ebert actually likes movies. It's a refreshing trait in a critic, and not as prevalent as you'd expect." --Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle America's favorite movie critic assesses the year's films from Brokeback Mountain to Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007 is perfect for film aficionados the world over. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007 includes every review by Ebert written in the 30 months from January 2004 through June 2006-about 650 in all. Also included in the Yearbook, which is about 65 percent new every year, are: * Interviews with newsmakers such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Terrence Howard, Stephen Spielberg, Ang Lee, and Heath Ledger, Nicolas Cage, and more. * All the new questions and answers from his Questions for the Movie Answer Man columns. * Daily film festival coverage from Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, and Telluride. *Essays on film issues and tributes to actors and directors who died during the year.

Doreen Woods lives an ordinary life. She is a respected dentist, her son has just graduated from high school, and her husband teaches fifth grade. The one flaw is that her brother, Adam, has MS. Even that isn't all that extraordinary. . . . Then, out of nowhere, Janey Marks shows up, bringing the past with her. In 1971 Doreen was young, idealistic Lucy Johansson. Adam was back from Vietnam, damaged and bitter. Caught up in the anti-war movement Lucy committed a crime that changed everything for both of them. She Was spans America, coast to coast, over four decades, to give us the story of one young woman who, like many of her generation, tried to change the world and how, thirty-four years later, in a world that still needs changing, she must pay the consequences.