In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance. Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn't have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents' sacrifices. What's worse is she can't persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she's attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she's just enough. Until Frida has a horrible day. The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida--one's who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother's devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet
As every parent knows, there is nothing more stressful than being away from a child even if it's only for a few days. In this heartwarming book, Wendy Tugwood captures perfectly how the love between a
Cluck is a darkly comic novel about Henry, an only child whose mother has bipolar disorder. As a teen, Henry becomes a radio junkie lost in the world of music. As a young man, he becomes obsessed with
Heading outside with his father to swing on his favorite swing, a little boy is pursued by a very hungry monster who tries to scare the child with his ferocious onomatopoeic roar, but receives only la
Princess Claire’s smile has flown away like a bird—and now she feels “full of empty.” But there’s a way to bring that smile back . . . if only . . . Every child gets bored
Barry Long's approach to parenting includes not only love for the child, but practical ways of bringing truth and justice into the family. He explains that what children also need from parents is the
On March 15, 1939, as Hitler's army rolled into Prague, Helen Waldstein's father snatched the last exit visa from a distracted clerk and fled with wife and child. Only letters from the rest of their f
From the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower After the near-extinction of humanity, one young man with extraordinary gifts will either help the human race rebuild its future . . . or doom it to self-destruction. In the future, nuclear war has destroyed nearly all humankind. An alien race intervenes, saving the small group of survivors from certain death. But their salvation comes at a cost. The Oankali are able to read and mutate genetic code, and they use these skills for their own survival, interbreeding with new species to constantly adapt and evolve. They value the intelligence they see in humankind but also know that the species -- rigidly bound to destructive social hierarchies -- is destined for failure. They are determined that the only way forward is for the two races to produce a new hybrid species -- and they will not tolerate rebellion. Akin looks like an ordinary human child. But as the first true human-alien hybrid, he is born understanding language, then starts
A classic novel of desire and jealousy. Ann Prentice falls in love with Richard Cauldfield and hopes for new happiness. Her only child, Sarah, cannot contemplate the idea of her mother marrying again
For every child who has ever felt that grown-ups have all the fun, here is a vicarious chance to slip behind the office door--and play with all the tempting things that are off-limits. Dad's office is off-limits--which only makes it more intriguing to his curious young daughter. As soon as she sees an opening, she sneaks in to have a look around. After all, there's no harm in just looking, right? What she discovers is a magical wonderland of sticky tape, paper clips that make glorious strands, and a kaleidoscopic array of sticky notes. Who could possibly resist playing with those? In a joyful ode to office supplies, Helen Yoon leads a celebration of just-for-once breaking the rules--and offers a final, funny nod to adults who harbor a similar urge.
Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, and her father’s only child to buck tradition by choosing a military career instead of joining the family business. For Ky, it’s no contest:
The world is a puzzling, sometimes frightening place for Jessica Fontaine. As a child she only finds contentment in playing the piano and wandering alone in the empty spaces of Audlands Hall, the dila
The child has existed in cinema since the Lumière Brothers filmed their babies having messy meals in Lyons, but it is only quite recently that scholars have paid serious attention to her/his presence
A powerful and searingly honest memoir about a young woman who loses her family but finds herself in the process. In this astonishing debut, Claire Bidwell Smith, an only child, is just fourteen years
Twelve-year-old Brine Seaborne is a girl with a past ...if only she could remember what it is. Found alone in a rowboat as a child, clutching a shard of the rare starshell needed for spell-casting, sh
Rose slept for 100 years, and when she awoke the world as she knew it had vanished, utterly. She has gone from being a cherished only child to being the sole heir to a vast, interstellar empire. From
Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem only a distant echo. An only child, he lives alone with Emilie, the mother he adores but who treats
Forty years ago in China, marriage was universal, compulsory, and a woman’s only means to a livelihood. Enter the one-child policy, which despite its horrors, resulted in China’s first generations of
After the sudden loss of her only child, Mary Baxter joins a knitting circle in Providence, Rhode Island, as a way to fill the empty hours and lonely days. The women welcome her, each teaching Ma
Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem only a distant echo. An only child, he lives alone with Emilie, the mother he adores but who treats
