The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton


Book Description

The lives and loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton follows the poignant life story of twin sisters who were literally joined at the hip, set against the tumultuous backdrop of America during the first half of the 20th century. Daisy and Violet and an unforgettable cast of show-business characters come alive on the pages of this carefully researched and sensitively written biography. Reviews "Jensen's book is a testament to the fickleness of the entertainment world." -Tampa Bay Tribune "It is an affecting story, gently and honestly told without frills, without sensation. In Jensen's hands, the twins are always human, individuals, never freaks joined at the hips as the world saw them after their birth in 1908. . . Here, their story is pure." -Milwaukee Journal Sentinel




Heather the Violet Fairy (The Rainbow Fairies #7)


Book Description

The seven Rainbow Fairies are missing! Rachel and Kirsty search for one in each RAINBOW MAGIC book. Read all seven books to help rescue the fairies and bring the sparkle back to Fairyland!Fairyland is home to seven colorful sisters. Together, they are the Rainbow Fairies! They keep Fairyland dazzling and bright. But when evil Jack Frost sends them far away, the sisters are in big trouble. If they don't return soon, Fairyland is doomed to be gray forever!The merry-go-round whisks Rachel and Kirsty away to a magical world. Could Heather the Violet Fairy have something to do with it? Help the girls find the last Rainbow Fairy, and bring the color back to Fairyland!




Conjoined Twins in Black and White


Book Description

Conjoined twins have long been a subject of fantasy, fascination, and freak shows. In this first collection of its kind, Millie-Christine McKoy, African American twins born in 1851, and Daisy and Violet Hilton, English twins born in 1908, speak for themselves through memoirs that help us understand what it is like to live physically joined to someone else. Conjoined Twins in Black and White provides contemporary readers with the twins’ autobiographies, the first two “show histories” to be republished since their original appearance, a previously unpublished novella, and a nineteenth-century medical examination, each of which attempts to define these women and reveal the issues of race, gender, and the body prompted by the twins themselves. The McKoys, born slaves, were kidnapped and taken to Britain, where they worked as entertainers until they were reunited with their mother in an emotional chance encounter. The Hiltons, cast away by their horrified mother at birth, worked the carnival circuit as vaudeville performers until the WWII economy forced them to the burlesque stage. The hardships, along with the triumphs, experienced by these very different sister sets lend insight into our fascination with conjoined twins.




Insatiable


Book Description

THE MOST TALKED ABOUT BOOK OF THE YEAR ''As filthy as it is funny, you won''t be able to put it down'' Dolly Alderton ''Extremely funny, touching and wonderfully refreshing on women and sexual desire'' Marian Keyes ''You will be intoxicated by this witty and honest exploration of female desire'' Elle ''Insatiable is a story about loneliness and trying to fit in, about our desire to be loved and included, how it''s easy to confuse being wanted with being used. It''ll draw people in with the shagging, but people will stay because they''re rooting for Violet.'' Evening Standard Stuck in a dead-end job, broken-hearted, broke and estranged from her best friend: Violet''s life is nothing like she thought it would be. She wants more - better friends, better sex, a better job - and she wants it now. So, when Lottie - who looks like the woman Violet wants to be when she grows up - offers Violet the chance to join her exciting start-up, she bites. Only it soon becomes clear that Lottie and her husband Simon are not only inviting Violet into their company, they are also inviting her into their lives. Seduced by their townhouse, their expensive candles and their Friday-night sex parties, Violet cannot tear herself away from Lottie, Simon or their friends. But is this really the more Violet yearns for? Will it grant her the satisfaction she is so desperately seeking? Insatiable is about women and desire - lust, longing and the need to be loved. It is a story about being unable to tell whether you are running towards your future or simply running away from your past. The result is at once tender and sad, funny and hopeful. * ''This novel shines with dark humour, sharp intelligence, sizzling sex scenes, and a piercing portrayal of loneliness. Not even the most insatiable reader could ask for more.'' Katherine Heiny ''Filthy, funny, and raw, Insatiable is utterly addictive'' Louise O''Neill ''Come for the absolute filth and stay for the empathetic and sensitive way that Daisy Buchanan writes about all the chaos and conflict of being a young woman in a hard-edged, hard-faced world.'' Red ''A piercing insight into the unreal demands modern women place on themselves and told with real humour and energy, we love this book so much'' Stylist ''A raucous unravelling of female desire and bodily pleasures, in all their maddening complexity'' Emma Jane Unsworth ''Few books out in the early half of the year are as flat-out entertaining as Buchanan''s fizzy, filthy story of a young woman''s sexual awakening.'' i paper ''I''d call Insatiable Jilly Cooper for the Instagram generation, but that wouldn''t do this book justice'' Lauren Bravo ''Daisy brings characters to life like no other writer, pumping them full of humour, vulnerability and sexy sexy sex'' Lucy Vine ''Gloriously rude and brave about the nature of women''s desire'' Sophia Money-Coutts ''I raced through this funny, filthy and utterly compelling debut about female sexuality, ambition and vulnerability... I''m still thinking about it long after turning the final page.'' Daily Mail ''I can''t believe this is a fiction debut - she writes stories like she''s been doing it for fifty years'' Laura Jane Williams ''Insatiable is an unashamedly filthy and yet deeply sensitive exploration of female desire, aspiration and vulnerability, and Daisy is an exciting new voice in contemporary fiction.'' Hannah Beckerman ''It reminded me of Bridget Jones''s Diary - if Bridget were bisexual and Daniel Cleaver were a couple who were into group sex.'' Julie Cohen ''Erica Jong for the Instagram age.'' Keith Stuart ''Intelligent, observant prose that gives a snap-shot of life experienced by millennial women.'' Kate Sawyer ''Like going for a drink with your wisest and smuttiest friend'' Jessica Moor ''Funny, filthy ... Buchanan offers astute social observation, while the development of Violet as an ardent yet vulnerable heroine to root for makes her a millennial counterpart to Jilly Cooper''s Bella or Octavia.'' The Sunday Times




The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond


Book Description

Coretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods’ moving, uplifting story of a girl finally meeting the African American side of her family explores racism and how it feels to be biracial, and celebrates families of all kinds. Violet is biracial, but she lives with her white mother and sister, attends a mostly white school in a white town, and sometimes feels like a brown leaf on a pile of snow. Now that she’s eleven, she feels it’s time to learn about her African American heritage, so she seeks out her paternal grandmother. When Violet is invited to spend two weeks with her new Bibi (Swahili for "grandmother") and learns about her lost heritage, her confidence in herself grows and she discovers she’s not a shrinking Violet after all. From a Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author, this is a powerful story about a young girl finding her place in the world.




Love, Violet


Book Description

Stonewall Book Award Winner Lambda Literary Award Finalist Charlotte Huck Honor Book Perfect for Valentine's Day, Love, Violet by Charlotte Sullivan Wild and Charlene Chua is a touching picture book about friendship and the courage it takes to share your feelings. Only one person makes Violet’s heart skip Of all the kids in Violet's class, only one leaves her speechless: Mira, the girl with the cheery laugh who races like the wind. If only they could adventure together! But every time Violet tries to tell Mira how she feels, Violet goes shy. As Valentine's Day approaches, Violet is determined to tell Mira just how special she is. Charlene Chua’s luminous watercolors bring to life this sweet and gentle picture book about friendship, love, and the courage it takes to share your heart.




The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets


Book Description

In this riveting, beyond-belief true story from the author of The Borden Murders, meet the five children who captivated the entire world. When the Dionne Quintuplets were born on May 28, 1934, weighing a grand total of just over 13 pounds, no one expected them to live so much as an hour. Overnight, Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Émilie, and Marie Dionne mesmerized the globe, defying medical history with every breath they took. In an effort to protect them from hucksters and showmen, the Ontario government took custody of the five identical babies, sequestering them in a private, custom-built hospital across the road from their family--and then, in a stunning act of hypocrisy, proceeded to exploit them for the next nine years. The Dionne Quintuplets became a more popular attraction than Niagara Falls, ogled through one-way screens by sightseers as they splashed in their wading pool at the center of a tourist hotspot known as Quintland. Here, Sarah Miller reconstructs their unprecedented upbringing with fresh depth and subtlety, bringing to new light their resilience and the indelible bond of their unique sisterhood.




Oopsy Daisy (A Flower Power Book #3)


Book Description

The Flower Power books follow the funny fifth-grade adventures of four girls with little in common but their flower names who, nevertheless, blossom into the greatest of friends. Life for the Flower Power girls is never boring. With Milla still madly in crush with sweet Max, Katie-Rose is left wondering why everyone doesn’t find fifth-grade boys as disgusting as she does. Especially pesky, annoying Preston, whose new favorite pastime is throwing erasers at Katie-Rose’s head and who always seems to be around at Katie-Rose’s most embarrassing moments. Yasaman isn’t quite ready for a boyfriend either, but she does have a brilliant matchmaking plan for two of her favorite people, and she recruits the other girls to join. The targets: beloved teachers Mr. Emerson and Ms. Perez, who are meant for each other, even if they don’t know it. The goal: to bring those lovebirds together at their school’s “Lock-In,” a teacher-chaperoned evening of fun, fabulosity, and possibly even romance. The trouble? Ms. Perez isn’t planning on coming. And when the fourth flower friend, Violet, mysteriously pulls out, too, it seems as if the Lock-In will be no fun at all. But these flowers don’t wilt so easily . . . Praise for Oopsy Daisy: A Flower Power Book “Myracle proves, once again, that she has her finger firmly on the pulse of tween girldom.” – Booklist “Myracle perfectly captures the nuances of fifth-grade life. Readers will certainly relate to the girls’ struggles to grow up but not leave childhood behind just yet. Milla, Violet, Yaz and Katie-Rose continue to charm; here’s hoping they have more hijinks in store.” – Kirkus Reviews




Violet in Bloom (A Flower Power Book #2)


Book Description

Katie-Rose, Violet, Milla, and Yasaman—four girls with seemingly little in common but their flower names—are nurturing their new friendship and are busy building luvyabunches.com, their very own social-networking site. Their first flower-power task? A doomed campaign to get their school to serve healthier snacks. The Jelly-Yums they champion—soon dubbed “beans of grossness”—taste like candied beets. And that’s just the start of their troubles. A scheming classmate tries to drive a wedge between Katie-Rose and Yasaman, Violet may have been slammed in a secret journal, and poor Milla unintentionally commits hamstercide. It will take all the strength and genuine affection of these pals to weather a particularly stormy week of fifth grade. Bestselling author Lauren Myracle brings her understanding of the weight of fifth-grade dramas to another hilarious and memorable book that preteens will love!




Acts of Violet


Book Description

A DAZZLING NEW NOVEL FROM NATIONAL BESTSELLING AND GMA BOOK CLUB PICK MARGARITA MONTIMORE, AUTHOR OF OONA OUT OF ORDER “[A] twisty, genre-defying family drama...Reminiscent of Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones & the Six.” --Shelf Awareness (starred review) Nearly a decade ago, iconic magician Violet Volk performed her greatest trick yet: vanishing mid-act. While Violet sought out the spotlight, her sister Sasha, had to be the responsible one. But Sasha can never seem to escape her sister’s tumultuous orbit. Then there’s Cameron Frank, determined to finally get his big break hosting a podcast devoted to all things Violet—though keeping his job hinges on an exclusive interview with Sasha, the last person who wants to talk to him. As the ten-year anniversary approaches, the podcast picks up steam, and Cameron’s pursuit of Sasha becomes increasingly intrusive. Meanwhile, Sasha begins to experience an unsettling series of sleepwalking episodes and coincidences, which all lead back to Violet. Pushed to her emotional limits, Sasha must finally confront the most painful truths about her sister, and herself, even at the risk of losing everything. Alternating between Sasha’s narration and Cameron’s podcast transcripts, interspersed with documents that offer a tantalizing peek at Violet herself, Acts of Violet is an utterly original, propulsive story of fame, deception, and forgiveness that will make you believe in magic.