Book Summary The story begins with the main character attending a 50 Year Class Reunion and then flashes back to her four years in high school. At that time she lived in a small southern California town where everyone knew everyone else, and there wasn't much for teenagers to do, and yet they manage to keep busy somehow. Life at that time (before the electronic age) went at a much slower pace, and people who grew up in the 50's and 60's were part of the last innocent generation. The book describes Elaine's relationship with her family, her life on a poultry ranch, and the closeness of a small community. It also describes many high school activities, classes, boy-girl relationships, and problems and heartaches, the euphoria and the sadness that are a part of life at that age. The story is based on an actual town and high school, and many incidents in the book actually happened the way that I described them. I did change the names of the town and the high school however. Back in those days it was much easier to work on your own car, the old hot rods and jalopies. Gas was thirty one cents a gallon, and one could buy a hamburger and Coke for less than fifty cents. But the monthly income for the average working family was only about $300, so the budget had to be stretched to make ends meet. A few women worked outside the home, but most did not. Many of the television sets were black and white, but color TV was on its way in. There was no reality TV at that time, but there were plenty of Westerns and family programming. Of course music played a huge part in the lives of young people, and it was the era of Rock and Roll. Elvis, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers were household names. Dick Clark's American Bandstand was on TV in the afternoons, and everyone rushed home from school to watch the latest dances. There were only records at the time, 45's and 78's, which were played on phonographs. It would be years before cassettes, CD's, and iPods were invented. The music was portable though because everyone was getting transistor radios. If a group of kids got together at a lake or somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, they would just tune their car radios to the same station and turn up the volumne. I have tried throughout the book to portray life back in those days, with many details depicting the culture and fads of that time. I am hoping that this book will give today's teenagers a different perspective on life at that time, while giving my own generation a chance to walk down Memory Lane.

Named one of NPR's Best Books of 2021 From the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things. Security consultant “Jane Smith” receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control. Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvina’s footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out—for her and possibly for the world. Hummingbird Salamander is Jeff VanderMeer at his brilliant, cinematic best, wrapping profound questions about climate change, identity, and the world we live in into a tightly plotted thriller full of unexpected twists and elaborate conspiracy.

Just because you feel ordinary doesn't mean you aren't extraordinary to someone else. Sixty-two-year-old Elsie knows what she likes. Custard creams at four o'clock, jigsaw puzzles with a thousand pieces, her ivy covered, lavender-scented garden. Ten-year-old Billy would rather spend his Saturdays kicking a ball, or watching TV, or anything really, other than being babysat by his grumpy neighbour Elsie and being force fed custard creams. If it was up to them, they'd have nothing to do with each other. Unfortunately, you can't choose who you live next door to. But there is always more to people than meets the eye... Elsie doesn't know that Billy's afraid to go to school now, or why his mother woke him up in the middle of the night with an urgent shake, bags already packed, ready to flee their home. Billy doesn't know that the rusting red tin he finds buried in Elsie's treasured garden is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode her carefully organised life. And that when he digs it up, he is unearthing a secret that has lain dormant for twenty-eight years... This moving tale is for anyone who has ever felt the pang of loneliness, or worried that their broken heart might never be the same again. Fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, The Keeper of Lost Things and The Library of Lost and Found will fall head over heels for this life-affirming novel that shows us that if you're willing to take a risk, happiness is only ever a heartbeat away. Readers absolutely love Ruby Hummingbird: 'I absolutely loved this... I couldn't put it down, grabbing every opportunity to continue... Heart-wrenchingly sad but also one of the most uplifting and heartwarming books... It had me crying (and I mean big heaving sobs!!)... I finished this book last night, and yet here I am 24 hours later still thinking about it!... Fabulous, amazing, wonderful!!' Stardust Book Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'What a wonderful story this is... Really touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes... A real feel-good-factor read that made me glow inside... A super book. Couldn't have asked for more from this lovely story.' Books from Dusk Till Dawn, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Wow! Wow! Wow! What a brilliant, beautiful, feel-good, heartwarming book! I absolutely loved it!' Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'What a beautiful book!... Managed to make me cry with emotion without depressing me at all, then lifted me up with hope and happiness... I was glad I was all on my own reading this as it made me cry on more than one occasion.' Sandie's Book Shelves, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Hummingbirds and angels don’t need two good feet. They have wings." That's what Alba's mother always says. Of course, Alba doesn't have wings or two good feet: she has Cleo. Cleo is the name Alba has given to her left foot, which was born twisted in the wrong direction. When she points this out, though, her mother just smiles like the world has some surprise in store Alba doesn't know about yet. Well, Alba has her own surprise planned. After one final surgery and one final cast, Cleo is almost ready to meet the world straight on--just in time to run in the sixth grade cross-country race. Unfortunately, Alba's best friend Levi thinks there's no way she can pull it off. And she thinks there's no way he's right about the school librarian hiding a wormhole in her office. Tempers flare. Sharp words fly faster than hummingbirds. And soon it looks like both friends will be stuck proving their theories on their own.

An Aztec princess describes the Spanish conquest of Mexico. She is Huitzitzlin, 82, of the court of Montezuma and she tells her tale to a priest so history will know who the Aztecs really were. By the author of The Memories of Ana Calderon.

Engaging natural history information for a general audience on one of the most beloved groups of birds, including tips on attracting and watching hummingbirds. Stunning photographs of common North American and exotic world species. Explains the details of the tiny hummingbird's amazing twice-yearly migration.

Welcome to Subirdia presents a surprising discovery: the suburbs of many large cities support incredible biological diversity. Populations and communities of a great variety of birds, as well as other creatures, are adapting to the conditions of our increasingly developed world. In this fascinating and optimistic book, John Marzluff reveals how our own actions affect the birds and animals that live in our cities and towns, and he provides ten specific strategies everyone can use to make human environments friendlier for our natural neighbors. Over many years of research and fieldwork, Marzluff and student assistants have closely followed the lives of thousands of tagged birds seeking food, mates, and shelter in cities and surrounding areas. From tiny Pacific wrens to grand pileated woodpeckers, diverse species now compatibly share human surroundings. By practicing careful stewardship with the biological riches in our cities and towns, Marzluff explains, we can foster a new relationship between humans and other living creatures—one that honors and enhances our mutual destiny.