Cass feels the long winter shadows on her heart. Her mother died of cancer and her father has remarried a woman who has moved into their old Manitoba house with her nasty, babyish daughter and an attitude that's very hard to take. Christmas promises to be a miserable time. More than a century earlier, Christmas is proving to be difficult for Beatrice, too, for she has shadows of her own. Some are cast by her circumstances. She sees the growing prejudice against people like her who are of mixed Cree and Scottish backgrounds. And like Cass, she has a stepmother. Her father's new wife is threatened by Beatrice and is driving a wedge into the family. Beatrice can only be sure of her beloved Cree grandmother, relegated to a room upstairs. When a way of escape presents itself to Beatrice by way of an eligible bachelor, she is torn by the choice it offers her. Should she settle for a man she doesn't love or address the problems at home? Through her journal, she explores the answer and, at the same time, inspires Cass to find the strength she needs to face her own situation. Margaret Buffie's great skill as a storyteller creates a splendid, engaging novel that offers readers a rich combination of fine history, suspenseful shifts in time, and unforgettable characters.

It is the winter of 1856, and Beatrice Alexander has just returned from Upper Canada to her home on the Red River, in what is now Manitoba. Her father's new wife is threatened by Beatrice and is driving a wedge into the family. Five generations later, in the same house, Christmas promises to be a miserable time. Cass's mother died of cancer and her father has remarried a woman with an attitude that's very hardto take. Miraculously, when Cass discovers the star brooch belonging to Beatrice, her visions lead her to Beatrice's diary. Is she really able to communicate with Beatrice across time, or is it all in her imagination? Margaret Buffie's great skill as a storyteller creates a splendid, engaging novel that offers readers a rich combination of fine history, suspenseful shifts in time, and unforgettable characters.

A car accident on a Sioux Reservation leaves a young boy and his siblings homeless.They are sent to live on a farm, where his much older stepbrother is recuperating from war injuries. Clarence only agrees to move because of his brothers and sisters for whom he has been the main caregiver would otherwise be split up for placement. He finds it difficult to adjust. He never did well in school and hates it. He has trouble with cultural changes, new people and situation; but mostly, the stack of rules. His old life; though not the best, was a life he understood. He will give it a chance, nut seriously considers running away.

The High Sky of Winters Shadows by W. Jack Savage is a collection of thoughts, reminiscences, eyewitness accounts and random opinions gleaned from journals, various notebook entries, graduate school projects, letters and at least two previous attempts at putting together a compilation such as this. They represent first person accounts spanning more than six decades through the eyes of one baby boomer. Told in essays of four-hundred words or less, Savage holds his bias as one whose eyes remained open through it all. However, this is also an exercise in soul searching as by his own account Jacks extraordinary memory offers a reminder that peering into the past can be a two-edged sword. While it may at times be painful, it may also provide valuable lessons that may re-color our first impressions. In the end however, it is the memories of a lifetime: of struggling through school, trouble at home, service in Vietnam and a career in radio of over thirty years; of little snapshots of life and crossroads remembered; of marriage, parenthood, acting, disappointment and the determination to share his stories in the hope that someone may find a sliver of light in the midst of their struggles.

Arthur Pendragon strives to unite a fragmented empire as his bastard son threatens to tear down the king, his queen, and their bravest champions. From the sudden death of innocence to a perilous campaign that strikes at the very heart of the empire, this third and final book of the acclaimed trilogy by Gillian Bradshaw offers the reader a front-row seat as Arthur's dream and his kingdom collapse around him.

An assassin, a powerful dagger, and a magic that shouldn't exist. Shadow magic is extinct. The Veil Worshippers who honor the shadow god's wall are hunted for their artifacts, including the Veil shards that break off the wall in Valisea. Brela vows to steal it all back. With the dagger of her people and a Veil shard embedded in her collarbone that has infected her with shadow-cursed magic, she is determined to keep her secrets or suffer a fate worse than death. That was a lot easier when the uptight and infuriatingly handsome Captain Cason Valkip wasn't hunting her. Cason has spent his entire life hiding--from the raids on Valisea, from his emotions, and from his multiple gods-blessed magics that everyone is afraid of... everyone except Brela. The chaotic, non-magic wielding assassin who drives him insane is also the only person who has never looked at his tainted magic without any ounce of fear. Which is why being forced to work with her to discover the source of the breaking wall sets his already uncontrollable fire magic ablaze. With tension growing in the remaining kingdoms and mythical beasts threatening her at every turn, Brela's secrets might not remain hidden for much longer. To survive, she will have to work with the one man who could burn her. Because if shadow hell is released, no one will be safe. For fans of Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series, Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, and Shelby Mahurin's Serpent & Dove series. Dive into this epic, enemies to lovers fantasy with magic, found family, and knives. Lots and lots of knives.

What causes condensation? Does temperature affect how well a balloon will fly? How do tiny bugs get into oatmeal? Through 15 mystery stories, this book memorably illustrates science concepts for students and reinforces the value of learning science through inquiry. Each mystery presents opportunities for students to create questions, form hypotheses, test their ideas, and come up with explanations. Focused on concepts such as periodic motion, thermodynamics, temperature and energy, and sound and sound transmission, these mysteries draw students into the stories by grounding them in experiences students are familiar with, providing them with a foundation for classroom discussion and inquiry.