National Network for Equitable Library Service

When Walter Burke's army buddy dies in a blood-soaked Vietnamese jungle, Walter finds himself writing a letter to the young man's parents.

It was more than a century ago that Mark Twain left the notoriously violent Finn, Huckleberry Finn's father, dead, surrounded by such oddities as a wooden leg and women's undergarments.

A lifestyle correspondent for a New York morning television program, Lucinda Trout is tired of reporting on thong underwear, so she heads to the Midwest.

Ten-year-old Vivien Leigh wants more than anything to understand the adult world. But when two black nuns come to teach at her all-white Catholic elementary school, everything begins to change.

Tony faces the daunting prospect of growing up amidst constant religious and cultural uncertainty.

Clay Sizemore loves his home in Free Creek, but he longs for more. Since the death of his mother when he was four, he has felt the absence of family. His father left, and he has no siblings.

It's 1983, and 17-year-old Edward Zanni wants to study acting at Juilliard, but his newly remarried father--who earns too much for Edward to claim scholarship money--refuses to pay.

Easter is a devout Pentecostal, while Anneth is headstrong and restless. The two live in the heart of coal mining country, surrounded by the ghosts of their loved ones.

In a small Alabama town in 1947-1956, Sonny searches for answers about his father's disappearance, "Uncle Marty," who looks after the family, and Mamby, their black housekeeper.

In the lage 1830s, the Mexican War is winding down, but tensions between the Texans and the Comanches threaten the fledgling Texas Republic.

The fire called Riley to his destiny, just like the spinning-wheel called Sleeping Beauty. Now, Riley has third-degree burns on 63% of his body.

Rae's life falls apart when her father dies of cancer and her mother joins a religious cult. The only person who understands Rae is local bad girl Didi, who is experiencing a similar loss.

Sonja is seen as a curiosity in the minuscule Texas town of Dorfburg. Twenty-nine years old and big-boned, she is purported to be the daughter of a famous Native American trick-roper.

When a handsome evangelist marries 13- year-old Layla's attractive mother, all seems idyllic.

When a horrible accident kills Blaze James' father and scars her twin sister Aerial, Blaze is left in the care of exotic Felicity Hardaway. Felicity opens new vistas for Blaze.