Five More

146. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

 

Hattie, orphaned and farmed out to various relatives, is just about to be forced to leave school and take up tedious work at a local store when she learns she has inherited a 320 acre farm. The farm is not without conditions, however. Hattie is required by the terms of the homesteading agreement to fence the land and plant a crop. She soon learns it will take real gumption just to survive the bleak Montana winter. A community of other homesteaders helps Hattie as she tries to make it in a small cabin through the freezing winter.

 

147. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

 

Randy Pausch uses the venue of a professor’s last lecture to show his students how to achieve their dreams and how to make it in life. The heartbreaking aspect of Pausch’s cancerous death sentence lends immediacy and truth to his lecture. Yet the lecture is not maudlin. Instead, it is humorous and poignant without being tragic.

 

148. Kneeknock Rise by Natalie Babbitt

 

Egan goes to visit relatives and attend a local festival, but when he arrives, he learns about a dangerous monster that lives on a nearby rise. Goaded on by his cousin, Egan decides to show his bravery by climbing the rise during a storm. He learns the truth about the monster and tries to share it with the villagers. All refuse to deny the veracity of the monster, clinging to the legend despite the evidence of several eyes.

 

149. The Light Within by Lois Ramondetta

 

Lois Ramondetta is a gynecological oncologist when she meets Deb, a professor of religion who has a particularly virulent form of cancer. The two women become friends. The memoir shares the power of friendship and speaks to the light within that is the magnificent part of being human.

 

150. Atherton: Rivers of Fire by Patrick Carmack

 

Rivers of Fire continues and concludes the Atherton series. Atherton is in crisis. There are dangers in the air and on the land and in the water. Edgar has the guidance of one of Atherton’s creators and, with his help, Edgar meets up with the genius mind that began Atherton. This volume carries Edgar and his friends deep inside Atherton to face floods, more monsters, and rivers of fire.

 

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