Wounded Marine veteran, Cluny McPherson, is ready to throw in the towel. Why are his PTSD nightmares worse now, more than ten years after the ambush outside Fallujah? He hates his growing feelings of hopelessness and doubts he'll ever live a normal life. He loves women and kids, and he desires a loving woman in his life, one who wants a family as much as he does. But with the nightmares getting worse, the only female he dares spend an entire night with is his loyal service dog, Queen, a war vet herself. Until one day on a California beach, he meets a beautiful Brazilian woman and her young boy and everything changes. For the first time in years, there's a chance of healing...and a chance at love.

 

Graciella Jefferson, SEAL widow and single mother, is wary of the man who sits for hours on the sand by the Point Dume rocks, staring at the ocean. But her nine-year-old son, Santos, is increasingly curious about the dog that wears a vest and stays next to the tall, dark-haired man in the baseball cap. When she finds out Cluny was saved in Iraq by her late husband, a friendship begins between them that quickly heats up into something much more. But Graciella has been burned before. Can she lower the walls around her heart and learn how trust again?

Keywords: military romance, contemporary romance, service dog, interracial romance

Falling in love wasn't part of the contract...

Single dad and wounded warrior, Dwayne Dempsey, has no idea what he’s bargained for when he signs a construction contract with the curvy Marla Danaher to honcho her condo conversion. The last thing he needs is a sexy property developer breathing down his neck every step of the project. Her strong-minded bossiness should turn him off, but oddly, only makes her more desirable to him.

Marla Danaher has no time for dates, flirting, or marriage. She leaves that up to her twin sister, Charlene. Building a solid financial future and determining her own destiny are her top priorities. Unfortunately, the former Marine running the construction project she's poured everything into only complicates everything. His teasing sexual innuendos drive her to distraction, and she can't ignore his raw physical strength and masculinity. They’re on each other's nerves day in and day out, but that does nothing to diminish their strong attraction sparking between them. Too bad love scares them both.

When the mother of Dwayne's daughter suddenly reappears, things take a nasty turn as she fights for sole custody of the child she'd abandoned. There's no way he's giving up his daughter, but when a series of break-ins and threats begin, his protective side flares to life. How can he protect those he cares for most without driving them away?

A one-night-stand, or the first day of forever?

BD James is on an upward career path. She works for a tyrant who has already cost her one fiancé, so the last thing she needs is another manipulating man. She’s tired, angry, and ready for a meltdown. What she isn’t ready for is Rafael Cruz—a retired Marine who lives a secret and dangerous double life.

Rafi Cruz is a man who makes things happen, but his timing couldn’t be worse. He’s leaving on a hostage rescue mission in two days, which means he won’t have time for a long slow seduction. He’ll have to work fast, or the hot little BD will slip right through his fingers. She’s the only woman in a long time who’s been strong enough to challenge him—a quality he values highly. He’s reluctant to change his footloose life, but he’ll do whatever it takes not to lose her. She’ll understand. Eventually…

 
But when BD learns Rafi has deliberately kept her in the dark about his black ops missions, she questions whether he’s the kind of man she can trust, and if he can be as faithful to her as he is to the Corps…

 

Keywords: action, contemporary romance, military hero, serviceman hero, military hero, Marine, danger, secrets, true love

At the request of her many fans, Patty Campbell, editor of the Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature series, has selected some of her best essays, articles, columns, and speeches in Campbell's Scoop. These pieces define the boundaries between children's and adult literature and review the trends, censorship, problems, and glories of the genre. Other essays reflect on some concerns and interests of young adult literature as it has matured: the verse novel, ambivalent endings, violence, the sometimes dubious value of awards and honor lists, the graphic novel, and the difficulties of the genre's recent overwhelming success. A section titled "Inside ALA" looks at the author's many years of service to that organization with, among other pieces, a firsthand look at the Best Books committee at work and a report of her attempt to unite booksellers and librarians in common cause.

Many of these selections show the idiosyncratic wit and passion that have made Campbell's column a favorite with Horn Book readers: an exploration of the meaning of the glut of YA novels with death as a theme or character; an indignant denunciation of the fictional abuse of animals; a snarky analysis of "chick lit;" and a technical review from the belly-dancing critic of a YA novel featuring that ancient art. On a more serious note, Campbell pleads for what she calls "Godsearch" in books for teens and pays tribute to her late friend Robert Cormier. Without question, the essays in Campbell's Scoop provide readers with the unique insights of an advocate who is passionate about young adult literature and its future.

Beginning with the publication of The Chocolate War in 1974, and continuing throughout the entirety of his career, Robert Cormier dared to disturb the universe. The moment Jerry Renault refused to sell his first chocolate bar Robert Cormier began a life-long career that would push the boundaries of traditional young adult literature. He would go on to prove again and again that a YA novel could be both realistic and unflinchingly honest. And that fiction for teens could be great literature.

In this book YA librarian and Cormier biographer Patty Campbell explores each of Cormier's books for young readers. From the boundary breaking modern classic The Chocolate War and the award-winning I Am the Cheese, to the tender Frenchtown Summer and the shocking and disturbing Tenderness, Campbell's literary analysis illuminates why Robert Cormier has been called the single most important writer in young adult literature. And how his work has touched generations of young readers' hearts and minds, daring them again and again to disturb their own universe.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Passion, fashion, and secrets...

After life took a tragic turn, Jelly Swanson had no time for men. Providing a safe, nurturing home for her little sister and running a successful boutique left her too busy for much else, and forced the idea of a love life to the back burner. But when she goes to school for a teacher's conference, her sister Emi's science teacher takes Jelly completely by surprise. And getting pregnant with his baby? That's not at all part of the plan.

The last thing Henry Palasczewski is looking for is romance. With a broken engagement behind him, he's interested only in the job he loves and the students who adore him. Then Jelly walks into his classroom, and he's dazzled by her sexy, flamboyant manner. She's way out of his league—he's a science nerd, not a movie star—but the chemistry between them is undeniable.

But when Emi goes missing, a tangle of secrets and past loves may destroy any chance they have at happiness...

Keywords: teacher, beta hero, contemporary romance, secrets

In a time when almost any gritty topic can be featured in a young adult novel, there is one subject that is avoided by writers and publishers. Faith and belief in God seldom appear in traditional form in novels for teens. The lack of such ideas in mainstream adolescent literature can be interpreted by teens to mean that these matters are not important. Yet a significant part of growing up is struggling with issues of spirituality. The underlying problem, of course, is that there are so few writers who are willing to talk to teenagers about God, even indirectly, or who themselves have the religious literacy for the task.

Spirituality in Young Adult Literature: The Last Taboo tackles a subject rarely portrayed in fiction aimed at teens. In this volume, Patty Campbell examines not only realistic fiction, but young adult literature that deals with mysticism, apocalyptical end times, and even YA novels that depict the Divine Encounter. Campbell maintains that fantasy works are inherently spiritual, because the plots nearly always progress toward a showdown between good and evil. As such, the author surmises that the popularity of fantasy among teens may represent their interest in the mystical dimensions of faith and the otherworldly. In this study, Campbell examines works of fiction that express perspectives from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Distinguished YA novelist Chris Crowe provides a chapter on Mormon values and Mormon YA authors and how their novels integrate those values into their books.

By looking at how spirituality is represented in novels aimed at teens, this book asks what progress, if any, has been made in slaying the taboo. Although most of the books discussed in this study are recent, an appendix lists YA books from 1967 to the present that have dealt with issues of faith. A timely look at an important subject, Spirituality in Young Adult Literature will be of interest to young adult librarians, junior and senior high school teachers, and students and instructors of college courses in adolescent literature, as well as to parents of teens.

The history of the sex guide for adolescents documents the quite unconscious movement of Western culture’s ideas about sex and youth, revealing the heritage of our own sexual beliefs and codes of behaviour. The first section of this book, first published in 1986, traces the development of the sex guide, examining 400 books from 1892 to the 1980s. The second section comprises a detailed analysis of the patterns, content and usefulness of all the contemporary manifestations of the genre. The history of the teen sex manual is a fascinating revelation of American attitudes towards adolescent sexuality.

Wounded Marine veteran, Cluny McPherson, is ready to throw in the towel. Why are his PTSD nightmares worse now, more than ten years after the ambush outside Fallujah? He hates his growing feelings of hopelessness and doubts he'll ever live a normal life. He loves women and kids, and he desires a loving woman in his life, one who wants a family as much as he does. But with the nightmares getting worse, the only female he dares spend an entire night with is his loyal service dog, Queen, a war vet herself. Until one day on a California beach, he meets a beautiful Brazilian woman and her young boy and everything changes. For the first time in years, there's a chance of healing...and a chance at love.

 

Graciella Jefferson, SEAL widow and single mother, is wary of the man who sits for hours on the sand by the Point Dume rocks, staring at the ocean. But her nine-year-old son, Santos, is increasingly curious about the dog that wears a vest and stays next to the tall, dark-haired man in the baseball cap. When she finds out Cluny was saved in Iraq by her late husband, a friendship begins between them that quickly heats up into something much more. But Graciella has been burned before. Can she lower the walls around her heart and learn how trust again?

Keywords: military romance, contemporary romance, service dog, interracial romance

Falling in love wasn't part of the contract...

Single dad and wounded warrior, Dwayne Dempsey, has no idea what he’s bargained for when he signs a construction contract with the curvy Marla Danaher to honcho her condo conversion. The last thing he needs is a sexy property developer breathing down his neck every step of the project. Her strong-minded bossiness should turn him off, but oddly, only makes her more desirable to him.

Marla Danaher has no time for dates, flirting, or marriage. She leaves that up to her twin sister, Charlene. Building a solid financial future and determining her own destiny are her top priorities. Unfortunately, the former Marine running the construction project she's poured everything into only complicates everything. His teasing sexual innuendos drive her to distraction, and she can't ignore his raw physical strength and masculinity. They’re on each other's nerves day in and day out, but that does nothing to diminish their strong attraction sparking between them. Too bad love scares them both.

When the mother of Dwayne's daughter suddenly reappears, things take a nasty turn as she fights for sole custody of the child she'd abandoned. There's no way he's giving up his daughter, but when a series of break-ins and threats begin, his protective side flares to life. How can he protect those he cares for most without driving them away?

A one-night-stand, or the first day of forever?

BD James is on an upward career path. She works for a tyrant who has already cost her one fiancé, so the last thing she needs is another manipulating man. She’s tired, angry, and ready for a meltdown. What she isn’t ready for is Rafael Cruz—a retired Marine who lives a secret and dangerous double life.

Rafi Cruz is a man who makes things happen, but his timing couldn’t be worse. He’s leaving on a hostage rescue mission in two days, which means he won’t have time for a long slow seduction. He’ll have to work fast, or the hot little BD will slip right through his fingers. She’s the only woman in a long time who’s been strong enough to challenge him—a quality he values highly. He’s reluctant to change his footloose life, but he’ll do whatever it takes not to lose her. She’ll understand. Eventually…

 
But when BD learns Rafi has deliberately kept her in the dark about his black ops missions, she questions whether he’s the kind of man she can trust, and if he can be as faithful to her as he is to the Corps…

 

Keywords: action, contemporary romance, military hero, serviceman hero, military hero, Marine, danger, secrets, true love

Passion, fashion, and secrets...

After life took a tragic turn, Jelly Swanson had no time for men. Providing a safe, nurturing home for her little sister and running a successful boutique left her too busy for much else, and forced the idea of a love life to the back burner. But when she goes to school for a teacher's conference, her sister Emi's science teacher takes Jelly completely by surprise. And getting pregnant with his baby? That's not at all part of the plan.

The last thing Henry Palasczewski is looking for is romance. With a broken engagement behind him, he's interested only in the job he loves and the students who adore him. Then Jelly walks into his classroom, and he's dazzled by her sexy, flamboyant manner. She's way out of his league—he's a science nerd, not a movie star—but the chemistry between them is undeniable.

But when Emi goes missing, a tangle of secrets and past loves may destroy any chance they have at happiness...

Keywords: teacher, beta hero, contemporary romance, secrets

In a time when almost any gritty topic can be featured in a young adult novel, there is one subject that is avoided by writers and publishers. Faith and belief in God seldom appear in traditional form in novels for teens. The lack of such ideas in mainstream adolescent literature can be interpreted by teens to mean that these matters are not important. Yet a significant part of growing up is struggling with issues of spirituality. The underlying problem, of course, is that there are so few writers who are willing to talk to teenagers about God, even indirectly, or who themselves have the religious literacy for the task.

Spirituality in Young Adult Literature: The Last Taboo tackles a subject rarely portrayed in fiction aimed at teens. In this volume, Patty Campbell examines not only realistic fiction, but young adult literature that deals with mysticism, apocalyptical end times, and even YA novels that depict the Divine Encounter. Campbell maintains that fantasy works are inherently spiritual, because the plots nearly always progress toward a showdown between good and evil. As such, the author surmises that the popularity of fantasy among teens may represent their interest in the mystical dimensions of faith and the otherworldly. In this study, Campbell examines works of fiction that express perspectives from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Distinguished YA novelist Chris Crowe provides a chapter on Mormon values and Mormon YA authors and how their novels integrate those values into their books.

By looking at how spirituality is represented in novels aimed at teens, this book asks what progress, if any, has been made in slaying the taboo. Although most of the books discussed in this study are recent, an appendix lists YA books from 1967 to the present that have dealt with issues of faith. A timely look at an important subject, Spirituality in Young Adult Literature will be of interest to young adult librarians, junior and senior high school teachers, and students and instructors of college courses in adolescent literature, as well as to parents of teens.

At the request of her many fans, Patty Campbell, editor of the Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature series, has selected some of her best essays, articles, columns, and speeches in Campbell's Scoop. These pieces define the boundaries between children's and adult literature and review the trends, censorship, problems, and glories of the genre. Other essays reflect on some concerns and interests of young adult literature as it has matured: the verse novel, ambivalent endings, violence, the sometimes dubious value of awards and honor lists, the graphic novel, and the difficulties of the genre's recent overwhelming success. A section titled "Inside ALA" looks at the author's many years of service to that organization with, among other pieces, a firsthand look at the Best Books committee at work and a report of her attempt to unite booksellers and librarians in common cause.

Many of these selections show the idiosyncratic wit and passion that have made Campbell's column a favorite with Horn Book readers: an exploration of the meaning of the glut of YA novels with death as a theme or character; an indignant denunciation of the fictional abuse of animals; a snarky analysis of "chick lit;" and a technical review from the belly-dancing critic of a YA novel featuring that ancient art. On a more serious note, Campbell pleads for what she calls "Godsearch" in books for teens and pays tribute to her late friend Robert Cormier. Without question, the essays in Campbell's Scoop provide readers with the unique insights of an advocate who is passionate about young adult literature and its future.

The history of the sex guide for adolescents documents the quite unconscious movement of Western culture’s ideas about sex and youth, revealing the heritage of our own sexual beliefs and codes of behaviour. The first section of this book, first published in 1986, traces the development of the sex guide, examining 400 books from 1892 to the 1980s. The second section comprises a detailed analysis of the patterns, content and usefulness of all the contemporary manifestations of the genre. The history of the teen sex manual is a fascinating revelation of American attitudes towards adolescent sexuality.

Beginning with the publication of The Chocolate War in 1974, and continuing throughout the entirety of his career, Robert Cormier dared to disturb the universe. The moment Jerry Renault refused to sell his first chocolate bar Robert Cormier began a life-long career that would push the boundaries of traditional young adult literature. He would go on to prove again and again that a YA novel could be both realistic and unflinchingly honest. And that fiction for teens could be great literature.

In this book YA librarian and Cormier biographer Patty Campbell explores each of Cormier's books for young readers. From the boundary breaking modern classic The Chocolate War and the award-winning I Am the Cheese, to the tender Frenchtown Summer and the shocking and disturbing Tenderness, Campbell's literary analysis illuminates why Robert Cormier has been called the single most important writer in young adult literature. And how his work has touched generations of young readers' hearts and minds, daring them again and again to disturb their own universe.


From the Trade Paperback edition.