Short Family

In New York City, an art student finds an unexpected subject when she moves in with a grandmother from Xi’an, and boundaries are put into question. When a newlywed couple moves to Arizona, adapting to unfamiliar customs keeps their marriage from falling apart. A woman grapples with what it means to care for another, and the limits of that care, when her dying husband returns from Beijing years after abandoning her. And during a rainy summer in Texas, a visitor exposes the unspoken but unburiable history that binds two families together.

Enjoy four classic Lone Star romances from New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer!

Sam Hunter is a bit of an animal. He's a former Twin Cities cop who lost his badge because of excessive force. Abusive husbands, child molesters, and other lowlifes wound up looking like they'd been mauled by dogs...or wolves. Now Sam's a low-rent PI in Philadelphia. He takes the kinds of cases no one wants. His clients are usually on the fringes of society. The kind who are prey for all manner of predators--human and otherwise.

In such acclaimed novels as The Photograph, Family Album, and How It All Began, Penelope Lively has captivated readers and listeners with her singular blend of wisdom, elegance, and humor. Now, in her first story collection in decades, Lively takes up themes of history, family, and relationships across varied and vividly rendered settings.

Isaac and Marco already know sixth grade is going to change their lives. But it won’t change things at home—not without each other’s help. This year, star basketball player Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac’s parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-A Marco vows on finally winning his father’s approval by earning a spot on the school’s basketball team. But will their friendship and support for each other be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?

Coconut Dreams explores the lives of the Pinto family through seventeen linked short stories. Starting with a ghost story set in Goa, India in the 1950s, the collection weaves through various timelines and perspectives to focus on two children, Aiden and Ally Pinto. These siblings tackle their adventures in a predominantly white suburb with innocence, intelligence and a timid foot in two distinct cultures.

Pamela is a newly retired teacher with time on her hands. She’s finding it hard to muster enthusiasm for what’s ahead: exhausting postdivorce dating rituals and an uneasy relationship with her emotionally stunted, live-at-home son. But for Pamela, there’s a surprise in store that could challenge the status quo and, against all expectations, make life interesting again.

While anger is a normal emotion that everyone experiences, including kids, the trick is to help them express their anger in healthier ways. Instead of suppressing anger and bottling everything up inside, working with them to accept and understand their anger leads to lifetime emotional well-being and healthy relationships. This guide uses simple language for you and your kid to listen to and discuss together, while building a strong bond and having fun doing it.

With some expert guidance and God's help, you can have tremendous influence in your stepchild's life and grow in your faith along the way. Seasoned stepmom Laurie Polich Short understands and empathizes with the difficult job you face. Drawing on extensive research, biblical teaching, and her own real-life experience (including an insightful chapter cowritten with her stepson, Jordan), Laurie provides practical and spiritual advice to help you fully embrace and succeed in your role as stepparent.

That summer - more than 10 years ago, while they were still in high school - Noelle McDowell and Thomas Sutton fell secretly in love. Secretly because their mothers had been locked in a bitter feud for decades. But despite the animosity between Sarah McDowell and Mary Sutton, Noelle planned to elope with Thom. Until he jilted her.

The theme of trust, betrayed or fulfilled, runs through this collection of short stories: Parents lead children into peril, husbands abandon wives, wives manipulate husbands, and time undermines all. Love pangs, a favorite subject of the author, take on a new urgency as earthquakes, illnesses, lost wallets, and deaths of distant friends besiege his aging heroes and heroines.

When a doddering Harry Platt tumbles from the top of his stairs in a deadly fall, it looks like an unfortunate accident. But solicitor Tony Standish's suspicions are aroused when he meets the beneficiaries and discovers the immense size of the estate. Jack and Sarah investigate and find that nothing is what it seems when it comes to families - not when money and secrets are involved. Cherringham is a serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new audio episode released every two weeks.

Five tales which range from the jungles of India to the frozen emptiness of the North... In all of them, Kipling's extraordinary powers of description and ability to identify with human aspiration and animal survival are vividly shown. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi must battle with Nag, the cobra, in his territory; Toomai has a unique glimpse of the elephant world, Kotick, the White Seal, searches for sanctuary, while Kotuko has to find food for his starving Eskimo village. Above all, Kipling's love of life in all its variety shines through.

This is a mini-sequel to The Other Son, a little gift for all those listeners who have been begging to know what happens next. Alice has been lying to herself for years, holding fast to the belief that the needs of her family far outweigh her own. But her outwardly successful marriage hides dark secrets, and for much of her life, the children were the only reason she stuck around.

When Avery realizes that her latest client wasn't Sean she doesn't know what to do. This person has invaded her life on a personal level and to make matters worse she doesn't even know who he is. The only good thing that came from it has been seeing Sean again, but now that he's in front of her, she doesn't want to let him go. However, it's time for Avery to stop pretending and move on with her life, and she knows that Sean Ferro will not be part of it.

Pen/Hemingway finalist Jamil Jan Kochai ​breathes life into his contemporary Afghan characters, moving between modern-day Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora in America. In these arresting stories verging on both comedy and tragedy, often starring young characters whose bravado is matched by their tenderness, Kochai once again captures “a singular, resonant voice, an American teenager raised by Old World Afghan storytellers.” The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories is a moving exploration of characters grappling with the ghosts of war and displacement.

I am wildly successful in my career. Everyone knows Graham Frazier, soccer club owner, is a winner. In my love life? Decidedly less so. But just because I'm divorced doesn't mean I can't throw my best friend the wedding party of the year. Even if marriage is a mistake. I hadn't expected the long hours with Lori to make me wonder. Wedding planning is Lori Connor's favorite thing, a vicarious escape from her life as a single mom. I doubt she's ever had a client fluster her like I seem to.

This story, set in Texas, is about a mother, her troubled son, and the redemptive powers of love. When gentle-natured Margie Clammor meets motherhood, she's in for the fight of her life. Her charming, manipulative son Tommy has a genius for trouble, and Margie battles year after year to remain his advocate and convince the world to see the good in him. That is, until grown-up Tommy is accused of committing an act so horrific that Margie must either face the facts or surrender everything she holds dear.

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. Meet Cute is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of "how they first met" from some of today's most popular YA authors.

The number-one New York Times best-selling author of Big Summer masterfully combines Stephen King with Donna Tartt, plus a twist of Shirley Jackson, in this timely tale of a man, his new partner, and his old dog.