In her fourth hilarious adventure, good-hearted Lola can't help getting into trouble. Her friends are all traveling for the Thanksgiving holidays, so she offers to dog-sit—but fails to mention this to Mom, who is desperately trying to finish a batch of Lola dresses for a new client. Now Lola is juggling her dog-sitting responsibilities with her worries. Will her parents discover the growing knot in her hair and cause her excruciating pain brushing it out? Will her grandmothers discover that she's lied to them every year about who makes the best pumpkin pie? Will Jack get so involved in his new babysitting and yard-work jobs that, like Mom and Dad, he won't have time for her anymore? Lola's worries, like the knot in her hair, grow greater until she finally has to stop hiding them and start untangling them.

Reaching Reluctant Young Readers features 150 middle-grade books. Each profiled title has the potential to hook the reluctant reader and lure them to read the entire book. To specifically encourage elementary and middle-school-age reluctant children to read, there is first a pitch to get the reader’s attention. That is followed by a short reading passage to “set the hook” and encourage the young person to read the rest of the book on their own. Further, the book contains several hundred additional recommended titles. The books selected for this collection were chosen following the criteria of reluctant reader books created by the Quick Picks committee sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association. While these guidelines were designed for young adult books, they also work well for middle-grade books. The criteria include: clear writing (no convoluted long sentences with sophisticated vocabulary), high interest “hook” in the first few pages, well-defined characters, interesting plot, and familiar themes.

The cultural events of a century reported by contemporary observers in the pages of the New York Times.

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents' restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Struggling to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James's disappearance. What Aimee uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free... or shatter her forever.