A Spirited Girl with True Grit of Her Own

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sandra Dallas once again brings the Old West to life in Tough Luck, a rollicking adventure filled with humor, grit, and heart. The story follows fourteen-year-old Haidie Richards, who escapes a dreary Illinois orphanage with her little brother, Boots, to search for their gold-mining father in Colorado. Disguised as a boy, Haidie joins a wagon train and sets off across dangerous territory, armed with more nerve than experience. Along the trail, she meets a colorful cast of characters—a kind freighter, a gambler with a soft spot, two feisty spinster sisters, and one loyal dog who might just steal the show. As Haidie learns to handle mules, men, and misfortune, […]

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Charles Martin Takes on Human Trafficking in The Letter Keeper

The Letter Keeper, a Christy Award Nominee for General Fiction, follows Murphy Shepherd, an Anglican priest and secret operative devoted to rescuing victims of sex trafficking. In this installment of the trilogy, Murphy Shepherd is facing his greatest challenge yet. While taking a much-needed break in Florida, someone blows up Murphy’s boat, and he awakens in Freetown, the Colorado recovery center for sex trafficking victims he runs with his mentor. The traffickers target Freetown and kidnap Murphy’s wife, her daughter, and two other teenage girls. Murphy’s journey to rescue them takes him across the country and into the heart of danger. A diverse group of allies aids him, each bringing […]

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Go as a River

“Just as a single rainstorm can erode the banks and change the course of a river, so can a single circumstance of a girl’s life erase who she was before.” Shelley Read, Go as a River. At the tender age of twelve, Victoria Nash finds herself thrust into a world of loss and responsibility. Her mother, aunt, and cherished cousin tragically die in an auto accident, leaving Torie to shoulder the household duties for her father, angry brother, and an embittered war-wounded uncle confined to a wheelchair. They live on a flourishing peach farm nestled in the very real town of Iola, Colorado, near the serene Gunnison River. Torie’s existence […]

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Gilded Mountain Book Review

  “I asked a man in prison once how he happened to be there, and he said he had stolen a pair of shoes. I told him if he had stolen a railroad, he would be a United States Senator.” — Mary Harris “Mother” Jones. The early 1900s is an epic time in American history and Moonstone, Colorado, is a harsh place to live. In Gilded Mountain, author Kate Manning introduces readers to Sylvie Pelletier, an unforgettable teenager who bravely exposes the corruption that enriches her father’s employers. Sylvie is a first-generation American and the daughter of French-Canadian parents. To help put food on the table, the sixteen-year-old serves as […]

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