Times are tough around the little brown house! The widowed Mrs. Pepper has to sew all day long just to earn enough to pay the rent and to feed the five growing Peppers. But she faces poverty and trouble with a stout heart, a smiling face, and the help of her jolly brood: blue-eyed Ben, the eldest and the man of the house at the age of 11; pretty Polly, so eager to cook for the family and make everyone happy and comfortable; and the three littlest...

"Ramona's at the awkward, in-between age--too little to stay home alone after school when her mother is at work, but too big to enjoy playing with pesty Willa Jean at her sister's house. These days, all Ramona really wants is to twitch her nose and be her mother's little rabbit like she once was. Can't she be her mother's little girl forever?"--Back cover.

"The heart of Friday Night Lights meets the emotional resonance and nostalgia of My So-Called Life in this moving debut novel about tradition, family, love, and football. As the high school football coach in his small, rural Maryland town, Dean is a herowho reorganized the athletic program and brought the state championship to the community. When he married Nicole, the beloved town sweetheart, he seemed to have it all--until his troubled wife committed...

"Rose, a shy orphan, blossoms in the company of her spirited relatives when she takes up residence at "The Aunt Hill." This captivating novel by the author of Little Women offers readers of all ages endearing, inspiring stories about growing up, making friends, and facing life with kindness and courage." --From Goodreads.

The story of thirteen-year-old Rose Campbell, who finds herself in the care of her extended family after her wealthy father dies. Surrounded by her great-aunts, her father's brothers, their wives, and her seven rambunctious male cousins - and finding a fast friend in young housemaid Phebe - Rose spends a year taking chances, learning new things, and discovering what it means to be part of a large, loving family.

A tale of violence and sex among rural poor in the American South, the novel was highly controversial in its time. It is the story of Georgia sharecropper Jeeter Lester and his family, who are trapped by the bleak economic conditions of the Depression as well as by their own limited intelligence and destructive sexuality. Its tragic ending is almost foreordained by the characters' inability to change their lives. Caldwell's skillful use of dialect...

Joyce Radway's kitchen door stands open, the cool air from the meadow fanning over her hot forehead and cheeks as she rushed around the kitchen. She moved hurridely from the kitchen stove to the dining room table, and back and forth. She was preparing supper, and it had been a hard-day, and she was exhausted. She'd seemed to be fighting tears off since early morning and her pride would not allow them to fall. This had somehow been the hardest day...

Follows the adventures of six-year-old William, an adopted boy nicknamed Penny for his copper-colored hair, as he attends a Halloween party, adopts kittens, and finds an older brother to join his family.

"Étienne Lantier, a poor but spirited young laborer in search of work, shares the wretched lives of the coal miners of Le Voreux, where the brutish and dangerous working conditions consume the health and prospects of young and old, one generation after another. Impoverished, ill, and hungry, the miners inspire Étienne to attempt a revolt against the Company, an overthrow of “the tyranny of capital, which was starving the worker.” They answer...

Almayer, an immigrant living on the Malayan continent with his native wife and his daughter, Nina, dreams of riches, and so pursues hidden gold mines and begins construction on a mansion to impress the British forces that he believes are coming to conquer the region. However, none of Almayer's schemes come through for him, and his recklessness results in a desperate situation for him and his family. Almayer's Folly was Joseph Conrad's first novel....