Despite initial misgivings, it's the best summer of 17-year-old Dani's life. Staying in a small community while her mother honeymoons in Europe, Dani finds her days filled with riding, reading, rodeo, and romance. Life couldn't get any better. Then, suddenly, it couldn't get any worse, and she discovers that bad things can happen to good people.

When Dani sets out to uncover her father’s past, she also discovers her own future. Raised by her mother, eighteen-year-old Dani Lancaster only had six weeks to get to know her father, Sam, before he lost his battle with cancer. It was long enough to love him, but not long enough to get to know him — especially since Sam didn’t even know himself. In this two-book bundle, Dani meets and loses her birth father, and then sets out to uncover his real past. Includes Truths I Learned from Sam In Search of Sam Truths I Learned from Sam Despite initial misgivings, it’s the best summer of 17-year-old Dani’s life. Staying in a small community while her mother honeymoons in Europe, Dani finds her days filled with riding, reading, rodeo, and romance. Life couldn’t get any better. Then, suddenly, it couldn’t get any worse, and she discovers that bad things can happen to good people. In Search of Sam Determined to discover her dead father’s past, which was a mystery even to him, eighteen-year-old Dani Lancaster heads into B.C.’s Interior. Her search eventually leads her to a tiny rustic community, charming in its own way but full of secrets. Here, Dani’s digging reveals more than she was searching for.

The sequel to Charlie's Secret: Inspired by a true story If you haven't read it yet, you can get it here -- https: //www.amazon.com/dp/B00HVOE3VK After the death of her abusive mother, Sam's life was finally turning around. She had married her high school sweetheart, Jake, and was reveling in the birth of their son. Her abusive past was ancient history, and she knew that love would be the only emotion filling her family home. However, sometimes things aren't always what we envision, and Sam's expectations are definitely not matching reality. Now a raging alcoholic, Jake isn't keen on his new role in life and Sam is the brunt of his frustration. Waging a constant war between her head and her heart has become the new normal, and with everyone at work telling her to end her marriage, Sam is at her breaking point. How can she leave the love of her life at a time when he needs her the most?As the health of a family member takes a turn for the worst, Sam must face some past demons. Her mother's medical records disclose shocking information, and she and Charlie are shaken to the core by the revelations. Leaning on one another for support, they say goodbye to someone they've loved-and hated - for the second time in their lives, while trying to make sense of all of the secrets. Just as Sam's life hits its breaking point, Luke, a local divorcee, enters the bar with some friends one night, and offers a nice distraction from all the chaos. However, her decisions will have consequences - consequences that may just land her in the hospital. Once again finding herself at the other end of a police officer's questioning, Sam isn't so sure she can go through it all again, and leans on an unexpected friend for support. Will Sam finally find the love and safety she deserves? Or, is she destined to repeat the cycle of abuse, forever?Love this author? Find more about her here: www.clheckman.com

A boy who spent three days trapped in a well tries to overcome his PTSD and claustrophobia so he can fulfill his dream of becoming a famous chef in Andrew Smith’s first middle grade novel. When he was four years old, Sam Abernathy was trapped at the bottom of a well for three days, where he was teased by a smart-aleck armadillo named Bartleby. Since then, his parents plan every move he makes. But Sam doesn’t like their plans. He doesn’t want to go to MIT. And he doesn’t want to skip two grades, being stuck in the eighth grade as an eleven-year-old with James Jenkins, the boy he’s sure pushed him into the well in the first place. He wants to be a chef. And he’s going to start by entering the first annual Blue Creek Days Colonel Jenkins Macaroni and Cheese Cook-Off. That is, if he can survive eighth grade, and figure out the size of the truth that has slipped Sam’s memory for seven years.

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY OF ABUSE - Charlie's Secret has recently been added to several college curriculums across the United States- Samantha Mallon has gotten used to the bruises from her brother, Charlie. The black-and-blue pigments are becoming harder to camouflage, and all the good hiding spots in her house are now non-existent. Most days, she keeps to herself, safely locked behind the door of her bedroom, praying Charlie won't break it down if he gets angry--again. There are so many secrets to keep, that Sam is running out of lies to cover the abuse. Perhaps, one day, a teacher will ask enough questions that Sam will not be able to keep up the charade. Finding reprieve from a battered childhood, Sam is determined to make the best of her high school years. With Charlie away at college, she develops some new friendships, and even catches the attention of a super-hot, bad-boy, Jake. Yet, her happiness is always tainted by the family life she's trying to keep under wraps, and it's slowly destroying her hopes of real love. After a heart-wrenching betrayal, Sam leans on a stranger's shoulder for support. Fortunately, that stranger turns into the best-friend she never knew she needed. Able to get back on her feet, a familiar face re-enters her life--clutching Charlie's arm-- in a way that leaves Sam completely uneasy. Just when Sam thought Charlie had changed, his abusive past comes back to haunt them both. The hospital, the cops, and the courthouse are calling Sam's name as she has to relive one horrible night, over and over again to find the truth. The only problem ... the truth will send the one person she loves the most to jail. Will she find the strength to break the circle and free herself from abuse? Or, will she hold onto the family secret forever?

Being Sam is a memoir of life and death, rascal chromosomes and rogue cancer cells, and a lot of love in between. Written by Sam's mother Morag Zwartz. '...a beautiful story about the experience of cancer... but most of all, a mother's enduring love. I read it and discovered in the process a little more about myself.' - Dr Ranjana Srivastava, oncologist and author 'a delightfully real and personal story... heartfelt and tender' - Down Syndrome Victoria 'a very powerful account... courageous and strong' - Dr Leanne Super, paediatric oncologist

CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2015) — Commended When Dani sets out to uncover her father’s past, she also discovers her own future. Raised by her mother, eighteen-year-old Dani Lancaster only had six weeks to get to know her father, Sam, before he lost his battle with cancer. It was long enough to love him, but not long enough to get to know him — especially since Sam didn't even know himself. Left on the doorstep of an elderly couple when he was just days old, and raised in a series of foster homes, Sam had no idea who his parents were or why they had abandoned him. Dani is determined to find out. With nothing more than an address book, an old letter, and a half-heart pendant to guide her, she sets out on a solo road trip that takes her deep into the foothills, to a long-forgotten town teeming with secrets and hopefully answers.