The Caretaker's Daughter


Book Description

Amidst the backdrop of a nineteenth century English country estate, two women struggle to find love--and the truth that could either bind them together or tear them apart. Despite the barriers of class and sensibity, Lady Bronte and her groundskeeper Addison find first friendship and then something far deeper on the sweeping estates of Markby.




The Caretakers


Book Description

“Bestor-Siegal switches perspective among a group of characters with tenderness and intimacy. . . . The writing is smooth as honey. . . It's utterly absorbing.” — NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “Thrilling and deeply moving, gorgeously written and intricately plotted . . . bold and brilliant." –ELIZABETH MCCRACKEN Recommended by New York Times Book Review • USA Today • Glamour • Business Insider • Popsugar • CrimeReads • The Millions • BookRiot • and more! Set in a wealthy Parisian suburb, an emotionally riveting debut told from the point of view of six women, and centered around a group of au pairs, one of whom is arrested after a sudden and suspicious tragedy strikes her host family—a dramatic exploration of identity, class, and caregiving from a profoundly talented new writer. Paris, 2015. A crowd gathers outside the Chauvet home in the affluent suburban community of Maisons-Larue, watching as the family’s American au pair is led away in handcuffs after the sudden death of her young charge. The grieving mother believes the caretaker is to blame, and the neighborhood is thrown into chaos, unsure who is at fault—the enigmatic, young foreigner or the mother herself, who has never seemed an active participant in the lives of her children. The truth lies with six women: Géraldine, a heartbroken French teacher struggling to support her vulnerable young students; Lou, an incompetent au pair who was recently fired by the family next door; Charlotte, a chilly socialite and reluctant mother; Nathalie, an isolated French teenager desperate for her mother’s attention; Holly, a socially anxious au pair yearning to belong in her adopted country; and finally, Alena, the one accused of the crime, who has gone to great lengths to avoid emotional connection, and now finds herself caught in the turbulent power dynamics of her host family’s household. Set during the weeks leading up to the event, The Caretakers is a poignant and suspenseful drama featuring complicated women. It’s a sensitive exploration of the weight of secrets, the pressures of country, community, and family—and miscommunications and misunderstandings that can have fatal consequences. “A deep, enthralling pleasure, as wise as it is lovely. I read it voraciously, desperate to discover the fates of its unforgettable characters . . . Magnificent.” – ROBIN WASSERMAN




The Gravedigger's Daughter


Book Description

Fleeing Nazi Germany in 1936, the Schwarts immigrate to a small town in upstate New York. Here the father—a former high school teacher—is demeaned by the only job he can get: gravedigger and cemetery caretaker. When local prejudice and the family's own emotional frailty give rise to an unthinkable tragedy, the gravedigger's daughter, Rebecca heads out into America. Embarking upon an extraordinary odyssey of erotic risk and ingenious self-invention, she seeks renewal, redemption, and peace—on the road to a bittersweet and distinctly “American” triumph.




The Caretaker


Book Description

Who is the caretaker hiding in the shadows of the Martha's Vineyard mansions he tends? Back in India, Ranjit Singh commanded an elite army squad. But that was years ago, before his Army career ended in dishonor, shattering his reputation. Driven from his homeland, he is now a caretaker on the exclusive resort island of Martha's Vineyard, looking after the vacation homes of the rich and powerful. One harsh winter, faced with no other choice, he secretly moves his family into the house of one of his clients, an African-American Senator. Here, his wife and daughter are happy, and he feels safe for the first time in ages. But Ranjit's idyll is shattered when mysterious men break into the house. Pursued and hunted, Ranjit is forced to enter the Senator's shadowy world, and his only ally is Anna, the Senator's beautiful wife, who has secrets of her own. Together, they uncover a trail of deception that leads from the calm shores of the Vineyard to countries half a world away. And when his investigation stirs up long forgotten events, the caretaker must finally face the one careless decision that ruined his life- and forced him to leave India. A gripping tale of hidden histories, political intrigue and dangerous attractions, A. X. Ahmad's The Caretaker introduces a new hero for our times: an immigrant caught between two worlds and a man caught between two loves.




Kitchen Medicine


Book Description

In this happily-ever-after tale, author Debi Lewis learns how to feed her mysteriously unwell daughter, falling in love with food in the process. For many parents, feeding their children is easy and instinctive, either an afterthought or a mindless task like laundry and driving the carpool. For others, though, it is on the same spectrum in which Debi Lewis found herself: part of what felt like an endless slog to move her daughter from failure-to-thrive to something that looked, if not like thriving, at least like survival. The emotional weight of not being able to feed one’s child feels like a betrayal of the most basic aspect of nurturing. While every faux matzo ball, every protein-packed smoothie that tasted like a milkshake, every new lentil dish that her daughter liked made Lewis’s spirit rise, every dish pushed away made it sink. Kitchen Medicine: How I Fed My Daughter out of Failure to Thrive tells the story of how Lewis made her way through mothering and feeding a sick child, aided by Lewis’ growing confidence in front of the stove. It’s about how she eventually saw her role as more than caretaker and fighter for her daughter’s health and how she had to redefine what mothering—and feeding—looked like once her daughter was well. This is the story of learning to feed a child who can’t seem to eat. It’s the story of growing love for food, a mirror for people who cook for fuel and those who cook for love; for those who see the miracle in the growing child and in the fresh peach; for matzo-ball lovers and the gluten-intolerant; and for parents who want to feed their kids without starving their souls.




The Warden's Daughter


Book Description

From Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli comes the story of a girl searching for happiness inside the walls of a prison. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday! Cammie O'Reilly lives at the Hancock County Prison--not as a prisoner, she's the warden's daughter. She spends the mornings hanging out with shoplifters and reformed arsonists in the women's excercise yard, which gives Cammie a certain cache with her school friends. But even though Cammie's free to leave the prison, she's still stuck. And sad, and really mad. Her mother died saving her from harm when she was just a baby. You wouldn't think you could miss something you never had, but on the eve of her thirteenth birthday, the thing Cammie most wants is a mom. A prison might not be the best place to search for a mother, but Cammie is determined and she's willing to work with what she's got. "A tapestry of grief and redemption, woven by a master storyteller ....Moving and memorable." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review




Raising a Daughter


Book Description

Girls are born believing that they can do anything, but our media-driven culture of mixed messages and conflicting values can make growing up a confusing and risky business. And for parents, it is a daunting responsibility to raise confident, independent daughters while still keeping them safe. Jeanne and Don Elium address such complex challenges as: • peer pressure and evolving social roles • emotional effects of physical changes • moodiness, eating disorders, and depression • the consequences of early sexuality • the gender gap between girls and boys • new research on ADD and ADHD in girls • daughters and single parenting Raising A Daughter guides parents through each stage of a girl’s development, from infant to toddler, through middle childhood, the teen years, and on into early adulthood. A bestseller since 1994, this newly revised classic offers a practical exploration of what it means to have a daughter, and a compassionate study of what it means to be a woman coming of age in today’s world.




Summer of the Gypsy Moths


Book Description

From Clementine author Sara Pennypacker, this is a poignant middle-grade novel about two foster children who must find a way to work together in order to survive. Eleven-year-old Stella misses her (unreliable) mom, but she loves it at great-aunt Louise’s house. Louise lives on Cape Cod, where Stella hopes her mom will someday come and settle down. The only problem? Angel, the foster kid Louise has taken in. The two girls live together but there’s no way they’ll ever be friends. Then Louise suddenly passes away one morning—and Stella and Angel decide not to tell anyone. Now they have to depend on each other for survival. Now they are forced to trust each other with the biggest secret ever. With great empathy and humor, Sara Pennypacker tells the story of two very different girls who unexpectedly become each other’s true family.




The Dead


Book Description

"The Dead is one of the twentieth century's most beautiful pieces of short literature. Taking his inspiration from a family gathering held every year on the Feast of the Epiphany, Joyce pens a story about a married couple attending a Christmas-season party at the house of the husband's two elderly aunts. A shocking confession made by the husband's wife toward the end of the story showcases the power of Joyce's greatest innovation: the epiphany, that moment when everything, for character and reader alike, is suddenly clear.




Mothers and Daughters II


Book Description

This is the second issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry devoted to mothers and daughters. This project began as the mother-daughter bond was calling out for attention in light of the many advances in our understanding of female psychology. The goal of female development is no longer considered to be a severing of the mother-daugher bond to attain autonomy and sexual maturity. What, then, are its vicissitudes as it is revisited, reworked, and transformed as the girl and her mother grow and develop and ultimately attain a state of interdependence? The relational context of development is now considered: gender-related differences in behavior and in parental interaction; and the girl's special relationship with her mother and her mother's body and the importance to her of her own body with its special attributes, contours, and sensations.