"There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook. First there was the car accident--two girls dead after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know his reasons. Monica's sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they'd...

When Claire Barclay receives news that her beloved stepfather has had a stroke, Claire and her husband, Art, leave New York and fly back to Scotland to care for him during the summer. When their visit makes clear that Leo is no longer capable of living on his own but determined to stay in his beloved old house, they offer to purchase the place from Leo and build him a cottage on the property. But Claire's old flame Jonas Fairweather (who has become...

Author Pete Dexter excels at writing eccentric characters and comical, yet touching, prose. In Spooner, Dexter weaves the tale of Warren Spooner, a troubled boy whose father dies shortly after he's born. When his mother marries Calmer Ottosson, a decorated Navy officer fallen from grace, Warren is saved by Calmer's inexhaustible patience. As Warren grows up, the two men forge a bond that will carry them both through the hard times ahead.

"Twelve-year-old Trevor has an adult problem to deal with: how to protect himself, his sisters, and his mother from his abusive stepfather (currently in prison) and he thinks the way to do that is to take up boxing--although he would really rather draw."--

Josh, who has just moved to Vermont with his mother, stepfather, and new baby brother, must deal with the bullying of a neighbor boy and discovers that his dog, whom he hears talking with other dogs, is also facing a bully of his own.

In the final volume of the Pulitzer Prize–winner's bestselling and beloved American saga that began with All Over but the Shoutin’ and continued with Ava’s Man, this "evocative family memoir” (Boston Globe) delivers an unforgettable rumination about fathers and sons.
Bragg documents a mesmerizing journey back in time to the lush Alabama landscape of his youth, to

...

When his mother's new marriage takes them into the household of a miniature golf course owner, ten-year-old Wedge struggles with feelings of resentment and dislike for his stepfather.

After his mother divorces his father and remarries, Asa's sharp intellect and capacity for forgiveness help him deal with the instabilities of his new world.

Charley is sure that the first Halloween in his new house will be awful, until his stepfather takes him out trick-or-treating.

"Jeremiah just wants a normal summer with his dad, but it's clear that isn't happening. His dad just moved to an apartment near downtown Minneapolis to live with his new boyfriend, Michael. Michael wears shorts too short, serves weird organic foods, and is constantly nagging Jeremiah to watch out for potholes and to stay hydrated. Worst of all Michael rides the Uni-cycle. Okay, it's a bicycle decorated to look like a unicorn! This is going to be a...