Rooville

Rooville
Author: Julie Long
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2015-09-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1940716594

Featured as a top read in Buzzfeed, PopSugar, YourTango, and San Francisco Book Review TV weatherman Owen Martin is relieved to leave Southern California—the monotonously mild climate and the holistically hip trends—and head home to Iowa, back to the four seasons and the simple life he knew before his father died. But he can’t predict the atmospheric pressure awaiting him: The town his family founded has become the center of the Transcendental Meditation movement and host to all things alternative. There are mass meditations and dosha discussions, a vegan cafe has replaced the burger joint, and all the doors now face east. Far worse, however, is what the meditating mayor has planned for the Martin family’s farm. In a town divided between “Regulars” and “Roos” (gurus), Owen is sure where he stands—until he falls for a levitating yogi. Before he knows it, he’s caught in a veritable tornado of midwesternness vs. mindfulness. Can he save the farm, get the girl, and reunite the town? Maybe . . . if he’s willing to forecast a change in the weather.

Lost in Rooville (Flabbergasted Trilogy Book #3)

Lost in Rooville (Flabbergasted Trilogy Book #3)
Author: Ray Blackston
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2005-07-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1441238956

Number-cruncher-turned-missionary Jay Jarvis and his poetry-enthused girlfriend, Allie Kyle, are in for the trip of a lifetime. Joined by their friends, sports enthusiast Steve Cole and lime-lover Darcy Yeager, they head into the Outback of Australia, hoping for adventure. As the girls catch up on their girl talk and plan their next sight-seeing activity, Jay and Steve do a little planning of their own. With marriage proposals on their minds and little black jewelry boxes in their pockets, the guys chart out the perfect opportunity to pop the question. But will roo-chasing and busted Land Cruisers spoil their plans for perfect proposals? Ray Blackston's side-splitting humor, quirky characters, original poetry, song, and electrifying dialogue are back in this exciting sequel to Flabbergasted and A Delirious Summer.

Tinkering with Eden

Tinkering with Eden
Author: Kim Todd
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2002
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780393323245

A bewitching look at nonnative species in American ecosystems, by the heir apparent to McKibben and Quammen.

Tethered to Other Stars

Tethered to Other Stars
Author: Elisa Stone Leahy
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2023-10-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0063255502

Perfect for fans of Efrén Divided and A Good Kind of Trouble, this luminous middle grade debut follows a tween girl navigating the devastating impact of ICE’s looming presence on her family and community. Seventh grader Wendy Toledo knows that black holes and immigration police have one thing in common: they can both make things disappear without a trace. When her family moves to a new all-American neighborhood, Wendy knows the plan: keep her head down, build a telescope that will win the science fair, and stay on her family’s safe orbit. But that’s easier said than done when there’s a woman hiding out from ICE agents in the church across the alley—and making Wendy’s parents very nervous. As bullying at school threatens Wendy’s friendships and her hopes for the science fair, and her family’s secrets start to unravel, Wendy finds herself caught in the middle of far too many gravitational pulls. When someone she loves is detained by ICE, Wendy must find the courage to set her own orbit—and maybe shift the paths of everyone around her.

A Delirious Summer (Flabbergasted Trilogy Book #2)

A Delirious Summer (Flabbergasted Trilogy Book #2)
Author: Ray Blackston
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2004-05-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1441238948

To Neil Rucker, seven months, one week, and a day is too long to wait in between dates. But life as a Spanish language teacher to missionaries in Ecuador affords little opportunity for romance. When his worst student, Jay Jarvis, suggests a respite in Greenville, South Carolina, so begins Neil's delirious summer. Neil sees his chance to meet a sweet succession of southern women, but little does he know that the girls of Greenville are now more elusive than a snowflake in the Ecuadorian jungle. As they church-hop in search of the perfect man, Neil tries to find the perfect girl among the Neapolitan choices: a demanding redhead, a joy-riding blonde, and a very tardy but intriguing girl with raven hair and a pierced eyebrow. Who knew relational gumbo would look like this?

Alphonse

Alphonse
Author: Carl Sever
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2017-06-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1943006253

After twenty years of riding the rails, Alphonse has earned a reputation for being a kindhearted soul always ready to help. When he helps the Sadlers, a young couple seeking a better life in small-town 1950s Indiana, he doesn’t intend to stay. But stay he does, keeping a close eye on the Sadlers and their two young sons—and an even closer eye on the town’s new priest, Father Brennon. On the surface, Brennon seems perfect for the job—but Alphonse crossed paths with him years earlier in the railyard jungle, and he knows better. Brennon doesn’t recognize Alphonse, but Alphonse has never forgotten Brennon . . . or his crimes. So when Brennon assigns the Sadlers’ son, Francis, who is now thirteen, the thankless task of cleaning and maintaining the church’s bell tower—work that often continues into the night—Alphonse immediately grows suspicious. Soon, he discovers that his worst fears have come to pass, and he races to find a way to protect Francis and reveal the truth to the Sadler family.

Learning to Fall

Learning to Fall
Author: Anne Clermont
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2016-08-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1940716799

Brynn honors her passion for horses by studying at the toughest veterinary program in the country. Months from graduating, tragedy strikes—tragedy for which she can’t help but feel responsible. Brynn feels suffocated by the weight of her father’s legacy and his dusty hopes for horse show jumping success. When Brynn’s frenetic efforts to dig the family business out of debt fail, she’s down to one desperate hope. Enter Jason Lander, who understands what it’s like to walk away from the ring. The onetime champion agrees to train Brynn, and her horse Jett, for an all-or-nothing run at the prestigious Million Dollar Gold Cup. But going all the way means doing it his way, which has Brynn questioning her decisions, her loyalties, and her growing feelings for Jason—complicating her relationship with her lover. Set in Northern California against a stunning backdrop of coastal hills and valleys, Learning to Fall is about discovering how to let go—and how to hang on with your heart. Fans of Seabiscuit and The Horse Whisperer will love this beautifully written debut; one they’re bound to add to their shelf of favorites.

Noodlephant

Noodlephant
Author: Jacob Kramer
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2020-05-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1592703356

Famous for her pasta parties, Noodlephant is shocked when the law-loving kangaroos decide noodles are only for them! Noodlephant won’t let this stand—Noodlephants can’t survive on sticks and branches, after all. Determined to do something to push back against an unjust law, she and her friends invent a machine that transforms pens into penne, pillows into ravioli, and radiators into radiatori. With that, the pasta parties are back! But that very night, the kangaroos come bounding through the door... ready to enforce their unjust laws. A zany tale full of pasta puns, friendship, and one Phantastic Noodler, Noodlephant, written by Jacob Kramer and illustrated by K-Fai Steele, explores a community’s response to injustice.