Difficult Parents

Seventeen-year-old Matt Foster thought that if he could only get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death. He wasn’t expecting T. J.’s personal effects to raise even more questions about his life. Now, even if it means pushing his dad over the edge...even if it means losing his best friend...even if it means getting expelled from school...Matt will do whatever it takes to find out the truth about his brother’s past. With compassion, humor, and a compelling narrative voice, E. M. Kokie explores grief and self-discovery in this powerful first novel.

Jonathan Friesen delivers a nuanced, critically acclaimed debut with this affecting tale of fathers and sons. High schooler Sam’s struggle with Tourette’s syndrome is made more difficult by Old Bill, his abusive stepfather who kicks Sam out of the home following graduation. When Sam meets a friend of his dead father, however, he begins a journey toward understanding that might also help him accept who he is.

While on a whale-watching excursion with her dad, Willa is alone on one side of the boat when she sees a humpback whale. Her awe and wonderment about this massive and beautiful creature turns to shock when the whale communicates with her, introducing herself as Meg. As their friendship develops, Willa comes to view Meg as a trusted confidant - who offers her advice about difficult issues in Willa’s life.

When Sofia lost her mother eight months ago, her friends were 100% there for her. But now it's a new year, and they're ready for Sofia to move on. The problem is that Sofia can't bounce back - she can't recharge like a cellphone. She decides to write Dear Kate, an advice columnist for Fifteen Magazine, and is surprised to receive a fast reply. Soon, the two are exchanging emails, and Sofia opens up and spills all, including a few worries that are totally embarrassing.

The stories Hannah Gale’s father told her of breaking wild horses in Nevada one glorious summer when he was her age have captured her imagination. After her dad is called to fight in Iraq, she regularly stops to watch the horses at the nearby stable to feel closer to him, and finally gathers the nerve to ask the owner for a job. There she helps bring a rescued mare back from the brink, takes her first riding lesson, and witnesses the birth of the filly who steals her heart.

If Ruby Wright could have her way, her dad would never have met and married her stepmother Willow, her best friend George would be more than a friend, and her mom would still be alive. Ruby knows wishes can't come true; some things just can't be undone. Then she discovers a tree in the middle of an Ohio cornfield with a wormhole to nine alternative realities. Suddenly, Ruby can access completely different realities, each containing variations of her "life" if things had gone differently at key moments.

Veronica Conway has been looking forward to trying out for the all-star softball team for years. Except right before tryouts, Veronica’s mom announces that she’s entering rehab for alcoholism, and her dad tells her that they may not be able to afford the fees needed to be on the team. Veronica decides to enter the town talent show in an effort to make her own money, but along the way, discovers a new hobby. Is her mom the only one learning balance, or can Veronica find a way to discover what she really wants to do with her life?

Magnolia Grace never wanted to leave Georgia. She never wanted to move with her mama to the farm her daddy owned before he died. But now here she is - in a tiny Vermont town where everybody sings the praises of the father she never knew. Then Maggie meets the Parker family - two moms, six kids, plus a pony. The Parkers are loud and wild, ask lots of questions, and don't follow any of the rules Maggie grew up with in Georgia.

There are times we all feel we need more than one heart to get through. When Briana’s father dies, she imagines she has a new heart growing inside her. It speaks to her in her Dad’s voice. Some of its commands are mysterious. "Find her!" it says. "Be your own!" How can Briana “be her own” when her grieving mother needs her to take care of her demanding little brother all the time? When all her grandpa can do is tell stories instead of being the “rock" she needs?

Elise carries a notebook full of tallies. Each page marks a day spent at her new public school. Each stroke of her pencil marks a word spoken - a word that can't be taken back. Five tally marks isn't so bad. Two is pretty good. But zero? Zero is perfect. Zero means no wrong answers called out in class, no secrets accidentally spilled, and no conversations to agonize over at night when sleep is far away. But now months have passed, and Elise isn't sure she could speak even if she wanted to

On the night that Aunty dies, the raggedy witches come for Mup’s family. Pale, cold, and relentless, the witches will do anything for the tyrannical queen who has outlawed most magic and enforces her laws with terror and cruelty - and who happens to be Mup’s grandmother. When witches carry off her dad, Mup and her mam leave the mundane world to rescue him. But everything is odd in the strange, glittering Witches Borough, even Mam. Even Mup herself. In a world of rhyming crows, talking cats, and golden forests, it’s all Mup can do to keep her wits about her.

Everyone has a secret. But Lucy's is bigger and dirtier than most. It's one she's been hiding for years: that her mom's out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. She has managed to keep her home life hidden from her best friend and her crush, knowing they'd be disgusted by the truth.

The Valorim are about to fall to a dark lord when they send a necklace containing their planet across the cosmos, hurtling past a trillion stars...all the way into the lunchbox of Tommy Pepper, sixth grader, of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Mourning his late mother, Tommy doesn't notice much about the chain he found, but soon he is drawing the twin suns and humming the music of a hanorah. As Tommy absorbs the art and language of the Valorim, their enemies target him.

Willful and high-spirited, exerting his independence at every turn, 10-year-old Robert "Robbie" Burns Hewitt plans to live life to the fullest - because the world is going to end at the turn of the century anyway! The year 1900 is fast approaching. Robbie decides that living by The Ten Commandments, which have been drilled into his head by his preacher father, is not meant for him - since he "ain’t got the knack for holiness." On his quest to be his own person, he stirs up trouble daily.

Gemma and Alice were born on the same day and have been devoted best friends ever since. Despite Gemma's larger-than-life personality and Alice's quieter, calmer character, the two are inseparable – until Alice has to move house, all the way to Scotland. Gemma is utterly distraught, particularly at the thought that Alice might find a new best friend. Is there anything Gem's brothers, or perhaps her Grand dad, can do to help?

It isn't easy being able to read minds - guys' minds, especially. Gusty Peterson, the hottest bimboy in school, is always thinking I'm sick, as in totally gross to look at. Not that it matters, since I don't have a crush on him or anything. And Mallory, my first real friend since forever, has disturbing, romantic ideas about me bouncing in his brain. Even worse, scrawny Jacob has bizarre fantasies about decorating my ginormous gazungas with mascarpone cheese.

Sixteen-year-old Jude has to get out of tiny Churchtown. She has to escape her outcast status at the Royal Duchy School and her pathetic dad, who hasn’t gotten past her mum’s death. The only bright light is drama, her way out, if only she can get into the Lab in London. It takes a lot of nerve to apply to such a prestigious program, and Jude’s not sure she can do it. Then Jude’s childhood best friend, Stella, returns. Stella, sexy and bold, and 10 times cooler than Jude. With Stella by her side, Jude knows she’s capable of anything. But Stella’s influence extends well beyond the theater.

Mallory Estate is the last place 12-year-old Piper Peavey wants to spend her summer vacation. The grounds are always cold, the garden out back is dead, a mysterious group of children call the property home, and there’s a rumor that Melena M. Mallory - the owner of the estate and Piper’s wealthy grandmother - is a witch. But when Piper’s father falls ill, Mallory Estate is exactly where she finds herself. The grand house and its garden hold many secrets - some of which may even save her father.

Written by a popular middle-grade author, this heartfelt and important treatment of anxiety and depression centers on a 10-year-old boy who begins to handle his grief after his mother disappears by creating a fantasy narrative of where she’s gone, with the help of a kindly neighbor who survived separation from her father during World War II.

Answers to the questions real mum and dads have during the first year. There isn’t one perfect way of parenting: every single baby and family is unique. Feeling confident, authentic and positive about your role as a parent is key to building a loving relationship. This book helps you find your...