Dancing on the Edge of the Roof: A Novel (the basis for the film Juanita)

Dancing on the Edge of the Roof: A Novel (the basis for the film Juanita) PDF Author: Sheila Williams
Publisher: One World
ISBN: 030751921X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book

Book Description
“Dancing on the Edge of the Roof kept my heart and mind dancing through the pages. Sheila Williams, with her talent for detailed storytelling, expertly takes the reader on a poignant and humorous quest for self.”—Lori Bryant-Woolridge, author of Read Between the Lies At forty-one, Juanita Lewis is running away from home, courtesy of a one-way ticket to Montana, a place that seems about as far away from the violence and poverty of the Columbus, Ohio, projects as the moon. She wants adventure and excitement—if such things exist for a pre-menopausal African American woman with three grown, deadbeat children. Juanita’s new life in Paper Moon, Montana, begins at a local diner where a culinary face-off with chef and owner Jess Gardiner finds Juanita in front of Jess’s stove serving up home cookin’ that lures the townsfolk like a magic spell. And suddenly Juanita, who was just passin’ through, now has a job by popular demand. Out here in this wide-open space, Juanita’s heart can no longer hide, especially when she sees herself through the eyes of the wonderful and eccentric people of this down-to-earth town. She’s happy in Paper Moon; she’s found a home, but can she stay? And then there’s Jess. She has always dreamed of romance, but she never planned on falling in love.

Dancing on the Edge of the Roof: A Novel (the basis for the film Juanita)

Dancing on the Edge of the Roof: A Novel (the basis for the film Juanita) PDF Author: Sheila Williams
Publisher: One World
ISBN: 030751921X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book

Book Description
“Dancing on the Edge of the Roof kept my heart and mind dancing through the pages. Sheila Williams, with her talent for detailed storytelling, expertly takes the reader on a poignant and humorous quest for self.”—Lori Bryant-Woolridge, author of Read Between the Lies At forty-one, Juanita Lewis is running away from home, courtesy of a one-way ticket to Montana, a place that seems about as far away from the violence and poverty of the Columbus, Ohio, projects as the moon. She wants adventure and excitement—if such things exist for a pre-menopausal African American woman with three grown, deadbeat children. Juanita’s new life in Paper Moon, Montana, begins at a local diner where a culinary face-off with chef and owner Jess Gardiner finds Juanita in front of Jess’s stove serving up home cookin’ that lures the townsfolk like a magic spell. And suddenly Juanita, who was just passin’ through, now has a job by popular demand. Out here in this wide-open space, Juanita’s heart can no longer hide, especially when she sees herself through the eyes of the wonderful and eccentric people of this down-to-earth town. She’s happy in Paper Moon; she’s found a home, but can she stay? And then there’s Jess. She has always dreamed of romance, but she never planned on falling in love.

The Secret Women

The Secret Women PDF Author: Sheila Williams
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062934244
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Get Book

Book Description
TOP SUMMER 2020 BEACH READ PICK--theSKIMM, PopSugar, Time, Woman's World, Parade, and Bookstr The author of Dancing on the Edge of the Roof, now a Netflix film starring Alfre Woodard, returns with a riveting, emotionally rich, novel that explores the complex relationship between mothers and daughters in a fresh, vibrant way—a stunning page-turner for fans of Terry McMillan, Tayari Jones, and Kimberla Lawson Roby. Elise Armstrong, Carmen Bradshaw, and DeeDee Davis meet in a yoga class. Though vastly different, these women discover they all have one thing in common: their mothers have recently passed away. Becoming fast friends, the trio make a pact to help each other sort through the belongings their mothers’ left behind. But when they find old letters and diaries, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee are astonished to learn that each of their mothers hid secrets—secrets that will transform their own lives. Meeting each month over margaritas, the trio share laughter, advice, and support. As they help each other overcome challenges and celebrate successes, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee gain not only a better understanding of the women their mothers were, but of themselves. They also come to realize they have what their mothers needed most but did not have during difficult times—other women they could trust. Filled with poignant life lessons, The Secret Women pays tribute to the power of friendship and family and the bonds that tie us together. Beautiful, full of spirit and heart, it is a thoughtful and ultimately uplifting story of unconditional love.

On the Right Side of a Dream

On the Right Side of a Dream PDF Author: Sheila Williams
Publisher: One World
ISBN: 0345484371
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book

Book Description
What are you supposed to do with a restored spirit? Eventually, I got some answers. I just didn’t expect to get so many. When Juanita Lewis arrived in Paper Moon, Montana, courtesy of a Greyhound bus, she was just looking for a brief respite. Instead, she found a home, friends, and a man to love. But this leave-your-attitude-by-the-door woman made a promise to herself–one that she intends to keep. Now that she’s got a place to come back to, Juanita wants to see the world. A trip out West with her eccentric trucker friend, Peaches, leads to a cooking stint at a new age spa for skinny celebrities. Crazy, but its here that Juanita decides to take her talent for cooking to a new level . . . and make it her dream. She also learns something about life: It does turn out the way you planned it–just be ready to change the plan a few times along the way. Just as Juanita’s journey begins, she’s called back to Paper Moon, having inherited an old, slightly haunted B&B, as well as a mountain of decisions. There’s her self-centered, irresponsible daughter, insisting that she get some sense and come back home to Columbus, and a son who’s doing things Juanita can’t bear to think about. So how does a middle-aged black woman from the projects follow her heart when it’s heading in so many different directions? By asking the right questions, then listening with her soul.

The Shade of My Own Tree

The Shade of My Own Tree PDF Author: Sheila Williams
Publisher: One World
ISBN: 0345465172
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Get Book

Book Description
Beloved author Sheila Williams beautifully captures the bittersweet humor and vivid adventures of women who survive the worst life can toss at them—and fight back to claim their right to be free, to be themselves, and to live in . . . The courage to change doesn’t come easy. When Opal Sullivan walks out on an abusive husband after fifteen years, she has only her dreams in her pocket. Her new beginning starts in Appalachian River country, where she sees a bit of herself in a graceful but dilapidated house. Like Opal, the house is worn-out and somewhat beaten up, but it still stands proudly and deserves a second chance. So Opal opens her doors—and her heart—to a parade of unforgettable characters. There’s sassy Bette Smith with her cantaloupe-colored hair and four-inch heels; short-tempered Gloria and her devilish son, Troy; the mysterious Dana, who dresses in black and keeps exclusively nocturnal hours; a dog named “Bear” who is afraid of his own shadow; and Jack, who doesn’t mind hanging out with an OBBWA (old black broad with an attitude). It is Jack who helps Opal understand a funny thing about life: You can’t move forward if you keep looking back. . . .

Girls Most Likely

Girls Most Likely PDF Author: Sheila Williams
Publisher: One World
ISBN: 0307528227
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Get Book

Book Description
“We didn’t know then that the dramas we imagined weren’t even warm-ups for what real life held for us.” From the fifth grade to their fifth decade, Vaughn, Reenie, Susan, and Audrey share secrets and dreams–their lives connected like silk threads through rich fabric, pulling but never breaking at life’s unexpected twists and turns. Meet the girls most likely TO WRITE THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL: Vaughn has a flair for words that makes her the unofficial diplomat of the foursome. She’s great at keeping it together for everybody–but herself. TO MARRY A PRINCE: Sassy Reenie can break hearts as easily as she can take out a bully without breaking a nail. But her live-for-today attitude leads to a tragic mistake that will haunt the girls for years. TO BE FAMOUS: From the ashes of a ravaged home life, amid rumors and bad feelings, Susan rises to fame as a glamorous network anchorwoman, proving that success is the best revenge. But forgiveness is another matter. TO RUN THE WORLD: Audrey is the ultimate overachiever, but this takes a devastating toll on her health, her career, and her family. Perfection is a race where the finish line keeps moving. What will she sacrifice to win? Girls Most Likely is an emotional, uplifting, often hilarious glimpse into the lives of today’s ever-changing African American women, sustained by love, laughter, and sisterhood. Don’t miss the reading group guide in the back of the book.

Paper Towns

Paper Towns PDF Author: John Green
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 140884818X
Category : Bildungsromans
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Get Book

Book Description
Quentin Jacobson has spent a lifetime loving Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows. After their all-nighter ends, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo has disappeared.

Things Past Telling

Things Past Telling PDF Author: Sheila Williams
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0063097095
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 343

Get Book

Book Description
“This is a truly character-driven novel that explores how people define themselves, the creation of family and home, and the importance of memory and language. . . . Fans of historical epics won’t be able to put this book down.”—Historical Novel Society “Emotionally satisfying. . . . A remarkable character portrait.”—Publishers Weekly The author of The Secret Women tells the story of a brave and enduring woman as indomitable as Ernest Gaines’ legendary Miss Jane Pittman, in a breathtaking novel that combines the epic romance and adventure of Outlander, the sweeping drama of Roots, and the haunting historical power of Barracoon. Things Past Telling is a remarkable historical epic that charts one unforgettable woman’s journey across an ocean of years as vast as the Atlantic that will forever separate her from her homeland. Born in West Africa in the mid-eighteenth century, Maryam Prescilla Grace—a.k.a “Momma Grace” will live a long, wondrous life marked by hardship, oppression, opportunity, and love. Though she will be “gifted” various names, her birth name is known to her alone. Over the course of 100-plus years, she survives capture, enslavement by several property owners, the Atlantic crossing when she is only eleven years of age, and a brief stint as a pirate’s ward, acting as both a spy and a translator. Maryam learns midwifery from a Caribbean-born wise woman, whose “craft” combines curated techniques and medicines from African, Indigenous, and European women. Those midwifery skills allow her to sometimes transcend the racial and class barriers of her enslavement, as she walks the razor’s edge trying to balance the lives and health of her own people with the cruel economic mandates of the slave holders, who view infants born in bondage not as flesh-and-blood children but as investment property. Throughout her triumphant and tumultuous life Maryam gains and loses her homeland, her family, her culture, her husband, her lovers, and her children. Yet as the decades pass, this tenacious woman never loses her sense of self. Inspired by a 112-year-old woman the author discovered in an 1870 U.S. Federal census report for Ohio, loosely based on the author’s real-life female ancestors, spanning more than a hundred years, from the mid-eighteen-century to the end of America’s Civil War, and spanning across the globe, from what is now southern Nigeria to the islands of the Caribbean to North America and the land bordering the Ohio River, Things Past Telling is a breathtaking story of a past that lives on in all of us, and a life that encompasses the best—and worst—of our humanity.

The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary PDF Author: Raymond Khoury
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780525950295
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 444

Get Book

Book Description
More than 250 years after a pretender marquis escapes the decimated palazzo of his vengeful prince, an American Army unit discovers a secret lab in Baghdad where dozens of victims have been subjected to torturous experiments, a finding that places two bold women on the trail of an ancient mystery. By the author of The Last Templar. 150,000 first printing.

Mexican WhiteBoy

Mexican WhiteBoy PDF Author: Matt de la Peña
Publisher: Delacorte Press
ISBN: 0375891188
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Get Book

Book Description
Newbery Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Peña's Mexican WhiteBoy is a story of friendship, acceptance, and the struggle to find your identity in a world of definitions. Danny's tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound he loses it. But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny’ s brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico. That’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. Only, to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see--the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming. Matt de la Peña's critically acclaimed novel is an intimate and moving story that offers hope to those who least expect it. "[A] first-rate exploration of self-identity."-SLJ "Unique in its gritty realism and honest portrayal of the complexities of life for inner-city teens...De la Peña poignantly conveys the message that, despite obstacles, you must believe in yourself and shape your own future."-The Horn Book Magazine "The baseball scenes...sizzle like Danny's fastball...Danny's struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens, but especially to those of mixed race."-Booklist "De la Peña blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal identity."-Kirkus Reviews "Mexican WhiteBoy...shows that no matter what obstacles you face, you can still reach your dreams with a positive attitude. This is more than a book about a baseball player--this is a book about life."-Curtis Granderson, New York Mets outfielder An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults A Junior Library Guild Selection

When the Morning Comes

When the Morning Comes PDF Author: Cindy Woodsmall
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 1601427131
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Get Book

Book Description
When her relationship with Paul comes to an end, Hannah Lapp heads to Ohio in hopes of finding refuge with another Amish outcast, and a deepening friendship with Martin Palmer helps her cope as she struggles to understand the contemporary world.