Shuggie Akins is a lonely, overweight thirteen-year-old boy. Glenda, his mother, is the one person who loves him. His purported father is a brutal man and despises the boy. Into this small-town Ozarks mix comes Jimmy Vin Pearce, with his shiny green T-bird and his smart city clothes. When he and Glenda begin a torrid affair, a series of violent events is inevitably set in motion. The outcome will break your heart--Cover p. [4].

When her train breaks down on the way to take care of her ailing cousin, Lucy Troyer finds the spark she was looking for all her life when she bands together with the only Amish person on the train--the dashing Calvin Weaver--to find a place to stay for the night.

Collects short stories depicting restless, searching people set in Dublin, London, and New York.

"Pennsylvania in the late 18th century, once called William Penn's Woods, was an assortment of different faiths living together for the first time in American history. Included in this tapestry was a small and struggling population called Amish. Surrounding this peaceful people were unavoidable threats: both Patriots and the British were pillaging land and goods for the sake of the war, young Amishmen were leaving the faith to take up arms and defend...

"In Depression-era Mississippi, Millie Reynolds longs to escape the madness that marks her world. With an abusive father and a 'nothing mama,' she struggles to find a place where she really belongs. For answers, Millie turns to the gypsies who caravan through town each spring. The travelers lead Millie to a key that unlocks generations of shocking family secrets. When tragedy strikes, the mysterious contents of the box give Millie the tools she needs...