Book Gift Ideas for Christmas or Hannukkah
Ryan longs to have a mother. The shy little girl is going to
be an angel in her school’s Christmas play and creates a strategy about the
costume to get her father to meet the pretty second grade teacher. However, the
only commitment David Ryan wants is to his daughter, and Angie McAllister wants
no commitment other than to her own independence. Can the magic of the season
clear the way for a little girl's Christmas wish to come true? Think “Sleepless
in Seattle” meets “Love Story” and place a young Meg Ryan in the role of Angie.
Mary Montague
Sikes, artist, author, and photographer
Do
you have a young adult or middle grade reader who has run out of Harry Potter
books but loves to read fantasy or contemporary fantasy? Or perhaps you
know someone a little older who still enjoys timeless romps? Then a short,
faster-paced fantasy/adventure that charms young adults as well as grown-ups
who have never lost that sense of wonder will make a great Christmas gift or
stocking stuffer. APRIL, MAYBE JUNE by Shalanna Collins (award-winning
fantasy author), the book that won the 2010 Golden Rose mystery/fantasy grand
prize, is for you.
April Bliss (yes, she gets teased for her name) is a precocious teen girl genius with a sister who is a year and a half older and even smarter. Of course April knows she's smart and funny--but not necessarily in the ways that she believes she is. Her life has been on an even keel until the day the police show up at their mansion and their family is thrown into chaos. Never mind that June finds a magic ring and (even though she HAS read The Hobbit) puts it on and comes under its influence, or that April finds a magic book that shows her alarming pictures. They need to rescue their cousin Arlene from a renegade coven of evil witches--or is that a double-cross?
"April
is a delightful narrator, both witty and unintentionally funny, one of those
kids people sometimes say were 'born old,' but young and earnest and energetic
too. She is fiercely loyal to family and takes this loyalty to its
logical conclusion in a twisty magical plot full of both humor and terror."--Pamela
Dean, author of THE SECRET COUNTRY YA fantasy series
Agatha and Anthony finalist Fighting Chance
- Young adults-- Fighting Chance could be called a cross between The Hardy Boys and The Karate Kid: It’s a young adult mystery laced with action and adventure, but it’s also a coming-of-age story about a teenager growing into adulthood while studying a martial art.
- Mystery and martial arts fans of all ages—There’s plenty to keep adult mystery readers guessing in a book Kirkus Review describes as “a smartly crafted mystery filled with suspense and intrigue.” And martial arts enthusiasts should enjoy the action scenes written with help from a fifth-degree black belt.
When seventeen-year-old Matt Foley’s coach and mentor is
killed in a sparring match
at a tae kwon do tournament, the police decide it was a tragic accident. Matt’s
not so sure. With help from a few friends, including the attractive but
puzzling Graciana Cortez, Matt learns the coach’s opponent, Bobby Davis, is a
brutal, highly skilled martial artist, the central attraction at an illegal
fight club. Now, Matt’s convinced someone hired Davis to murder the coach. But who would want
to harm the coach, and why do it at a tournament? Matt’s efforts to find the
truth pull him into some dangerous conflicts. To improve his self-defense
skills, he joins a Krav Maga class taught by a man who becomes his new mentor. Matt
suspects that he’s going to need those skills, that some day he’ll have to face
Bobby Davis himself. –by B.K. Stevens
The Good Old Days? A Collection
of Stories is the perfect gift for anyone, who wants to initiate a lively
family discussion over the holidays.
The Wooded Path makes a great gift for those
who enjoy page-turning contemporary fiction. Women readers say the
characters, especially the group of bunco friends, are so relatable. Male
readers say they appreciate the accurate detail about Lake Norman, NC, and the
peek into what their wives might really be thinking about marriage.
Blurb: The disappearance of a woman after a nighttime
boat ride rattles her lakeside neighborhood and leads others to reevaluate
their own lives and relationships. One finds herself risking her seemingly
perfect life…and afraid of what really happened to their friend.
Comments
I'm gad you included a few of your own too in these last several days.
Thanks fro this post.
JL Greger, author of mysteries, like Murder...A Way to Lose Weight, and thought-provoking short stories in The Good Old Days? A Collection of Stories