The strand of pearls Janie's mother gave her for her birthday represents the story recounted in Pearls For My Birthday. The thread running through the pearls symbolizes the life journey she took while she cared for her mother who had lung cancer. The pearls are symbolic of the episodes in a daughter's struggle to keep her mom alive, against medical odds. Anecdotes related by Janie's mother's friends punctuate the book. Their wise tales put a knot of hope between each iridescent pearl Janie clung to, as she was pulled to a new understanding. Pearls For My Birthday is about love, compassion, and forgiveness between a mother and a daughter, whose roles are often reversed during that four months. Janie's mother revisited her life story, filled with passion, her fears, and the aspirations of her youth. She revealed her best times and her worst times, her weaknesses and her strengths. Eventually, with her mother's guidance, Janie accepted her mom was dying. Not morbid or maudline, this is a celebration of life.

A beautiful pearl necklace has passed from mother to daughter for seven generations on each daughter's wedding day.

When children start to go missing in the local woods, a teen girl must face her fears and a past she can't remember to rescue them in this atmospheric YA novel, Lost in the Never Woods from the author of Cemetery Boys. It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into the light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road... Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, asks for Wendy’s help to rescue the missing kids. But, in order to find them, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods. Praise for Aiden Thomas and Cemetery Boys: “This stunning debut novel from Thomas is detailed, heart-rending, and immensely romantic.” —Mark Oshiro, author of Anger is a Gift “Aiden Thomas masterfully weaves a tale of family, friendships, and love in a heartwarming adventure full of affirmation and being your best self." — C.B. Lee, author of Not Your Sidekick