Parker is a normal sixth grader—or he was normal before the puppet. It’s just an old hand puppet, sticking out of a garbage can, and even though Parker’s best friend says leave it, Parker brings the puppet home and tries it on. Or maybe it tries him on. “You will call me Drog!” the puppet commands once they’re alone. And now, no matter how hard Parker tries, he can’t get Drog off his hand. Drog is sarcastic, cruel, unpredictable, and loud—everything Parker isn’t. Worse yet, no one believes that Drog—not Parker—is the one saying the outrageous things that get Parker into trouble. Then Drog starts sharpening his snarky wit on the most fragile parts of Parker’s life—like his parents’ divorce. Parker’s shocked, but deep down he agrees with Drog a little. Perhaps Drog is saying things Parker wants to say after all. Maybe the only way to get rid of Drog is to truly listen to him.

Little “snippets” cross our paths as we go about our lives. They appear to be attention-getters from God for a person’s particular need of that day. Reading that day’s snippet should inspire, encourage, challenge, or otherwise meet the reader’s need that particular day.

Pamela lost her dad when she was three. Later she begins a search to find a grandfather presented by such a loss. Armed with a mission to find him, the facts start to skew. Clues twist and turn; and then entwine to such a degree she bumps into her dad's story. and learns the only way to find the man fate chose to leave behind is that first she must go through her dad. Both in the search, both on the same path, but forty years apart, do the gods lead them to the one they want so desperately to find. Fourteen and growing up in the streets, Sonny cant wait to leave; he lives for the day he can put all the shame behind him. But with the hard times that have hit the country and the fact all the kids depend on himwhere would he go. Its not as if he has a direction. All he has in this world is his brother Paul. and even though Paul has him by a few years, the big guy depends on him too. Naw, labeled bastards since as far back as they can rememberits just he and Paul against the rest of them. Forced to be the responsible one, he will bide his time and deal with the chaos and turmoil as it comes. That is until he finds out the secret kept; one that ignites a fire so strong that without thought leads him on a journey that will take him to all but two of the forty-eight states in the Union. Join him on his mission. Share his thoughts. Share his dreams. Life now his school, meet those that help shape the man he grows up to be. Travel with him through a period of time when millions of Americans are on the same path. A period of history now known as the Great Depression, they're all looking for a better lifeall that is except one. Sonny isnt looking for a better lifehe is looking for his life. but they call me Sonny is a book based on a real life. Does he have a dad? If so, where is he? Why would the man take off and leave him alone with Susie? Can he fill the void that aches in his heart? and is it true, was he robbed of the life he was born to live? Who are these strangers standing over your grave; ... not knowing your story and you not knowing theirs. We are the ones that know where you lie; ... yet we are the ones that wont let you die. Maybe this story will comfort our hearts; ... to bring us closer and not so far apart. We always wondered, we were always sad; ... and all we could do is call you Dad.

From the time she could barely see over the space bar of her old manual typewriter, to writing her popular southern culture blog, Folkways Nowadays, author Audrey McDonald Atkins has been sharing her downhome stories and essays about life in the South. In They Call Me Orange Juice, Atkins provides a nostalgic, poignant, and often-hilarious look at growing up in a small South Alabama town and how that upbringing still influences her today. What does it feel like to be the only Episcopalian at a Baptist church? How do you entertain yourself on a two-hour car trip with a dead man? What do you do when your foundation garment goes rogue in the middle of a busy intersection? And what price did they pay for calling her orange juice? Atkins answers all these questions and more in her own unmistakable Southern style. She recounts stories about the men who congregated in the police station and the eccentric characters who worked on Main Street, shares words of wisdom from her Granny, and tells how one superstitious old man could literally make it rain even during the dry, dog days of summer. Each person still lives in Atkins memory frozen in time just as they were in the 70s, and its these ghosts of bygone days who shine through in They Call Me Orange Juice.

Summer Wright grows up an only child in Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey, an affluent town situated next to the Atlantic Ocean. But when she is sixteen, Summers idyllic childhood is transformed into a nightmare when her parents die in a car accident. Stricken with grief, she turns to her friends for comfort and help through the remainder of high school and college. Chase has been Summers friend since she was born. Their families have always vacationed together and the teens share a love for night surfing. Although both sense there is something deeper under the surface, neither wants to pursue it for fear of losing their friendship. During college, both Chase and Summer date others. But just as college is ending and Summer is facing a big decision about whether to stay in Avon-by-the-Sea or move for a job, Chase finally gets the nerve to tell Summer how he really feels. As Summer struggles to understand her feelings for Chase, she must learn to trust her heart, for it never lies. For the Love of the Ocean is a nostalgic tale of romance, self-discovery, loss, and new beginnings as two childhood friends face a monumental turning point in their relationship.

Imprisoned for murdering her monstrous husband, a woman confronts her past in this dark psychological thriller by the author of White Is the Coldest Color. When twenty-nine-year-old Cynthia Galbraith struggles to come to terms with her traumatic past and the realities of prison life, a prison counselor persuades her to write a diary exploring the events that led to a life sentence for murder. Although unconvinced at first, Cynthia finally decides she has all the time in the world and very little, if anything, to lose. As she begins writing she holds back nothing: sharing the thoughts she hadn't dare vocalize, the things that keep her awake at night and haunt her waking hours. Even the darkest secrets cannot stay hidden forever. . . . Praise for When Evil Calls Your Name “A great follow up to White is the Coldest Color that intrigues and keeps you turning the pages.” —Mark Tilbury, bestselling author of The Last One to See Her “A superbly written thriller.” —Louise Mullins, bestselling author of What I Never Told You

It's hard enough for Dianne to be fifteen and obviously to love her parents, even worse when there's something weird about them no one quite understands. Her father being a vampire and her mother being a werewolf is a simple fact of life. More worrisome are Mom and Dad getting sick for unknown reasons, the effect an accidental display of power is having on her social life, and the possibility that the boy next door thinks she's a freak. Matthew seems to like her, yet there's something of about him. Dr. Nat Silver, a vampire with several medical degrees, may provide some answers. For the most part Dianne feels it's her wit and devotion versus a world more cruel than any supernatural being could ever be.