"Sentimental, heartfelt….the exploration of Henry’s changing relationship with his family and with Keiko will keep most readers turning pages...A timely debut that not only reminds readers of a shameful episode in American history, but cautions us to examine the present and take heed we don’t repeat those injustices."-- Kirkus Reviews “A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel." -- Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain “Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.” -- Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol. This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept. Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago. Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart. BONUS: This edition contains a Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet discussion guide and an excerpt from Jamie Ford's Love and Other Consolation Prizes.

Hudson Avery gave up a promising competetive ice skating career after her parents divorced when she was fourteen years old and now spends her time baking cupcakes and helping out in her mother's upstate New York diner, but when she gets a chance at a scholarship and starts coaching the boys' hockey team, she realizes that she is not through with ice skating after all.

For more than a decade, Ian Smith served as Rhodesia's Prime Minister during the era of white minority rule. Following his death in 2007, he is still a man with the ability to excite powerful emotions. To some he is anbsp;leader whose formidable integrity led him into head-to-head confrontation with the Labor government of Britain in the 1960s. To others he is a demon best known for stating "I don't believe in black majority rule ever, not in a thousand years," for staunchly opposing Britain's insistence that majority rule be implemented before the nation’s independence, and for imprisoning the leadershipnbsp;of the newly emergednbsp;black nationalist movement.nbsp;In this revealing autobiography, Smith tells his own side of the story and reveals how he sought to keep Rhodesia on a path to full democracy during the West's decolonization of Africa. He tells the remarkable story behind the signing of the country’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence and addresses the excesses of power that the current president, Robert Mugabe, has used to create the virtual dictatorship which exists in Zimbabwe today. This is a revealing and prescient historical document from a controversial figure charting the rise and fall of a once-great nation.

Elle Zober is the scorned and slightly bitter mother-of-two who, after finding out about her ex-husband's affair with a yoga-loving 22 year old, used it as a quirky marketing campaign to sell the family home. Much to her surprise, it became an overnight internet and media sensation. Although her ex was supportive of the sign and even paid towards its creation, there is an untold side to this story not mentioned in Elle's countless press and TV interviews. While hers is a story that is not unique, it is Elle's response to her situation that brought her the media attention and rave reviews of people around the world. Her website has attracted over two million viewers and her blog, "The Scorned & Slightly Bitter Blog," has a growing readership of over 15,000 regular readers per month. Learn why Whoopi Goldberg described herself as Elle's "biggest fan." See why Jeff Probst, host of Survivor, called Elle "a hero." Come and see how, when life and the man she loved gave her lemons, she made vodka. This is Elle's story.

A stunning post–Civil War romance from the writer of the Fire series, “an amazingly talented author who has few rivals” (RT Book Reviews). Everything changed for Laura Taylor when the South lost the Civil War. The Yankees’ arrival in South Carolina drove Laura and her soldier husband, Jesse, westward to seek a new beginning. But Laura’s hopes crumble when Jesse dies, and she finds herself pregnant and alone in a wild railroad camp with winter coming in fast. The only one she can turn to is Dr. Spencer Hardin. Spencer returned from the war to discover his wife had run off with another man, taking his young son with them. Vowing to get his child back, he started the long journey to San Francisco, and not even the revelation of his wife’s death could stop his vengeful journey. But when a blizzard rages, Spencer finds himself stranded, fighting for the lives of Laura Taylor and her baby, and the first steps on the path to redemption. “A well-written story of two people who find love in recovering from the past and the war that tore apart a nation.” —Historical Romance Review with Regan Walker