Book of the Day! A Horse Called Trouble 5-1-2012

A Horse Called Trouble by C.K. Volnek

4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com

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A troubled teen must overcome her abusive past to save the defiant horse that has taught her to love and trust again. Abandoned by her mother at the young age of seven, Tara Cumming’s been passed from foster home to foster home; not wanted anywhere by anyone. At thirteen she finds herself skeptic and suspicious, with no family, no friends, and forced to participate in horse therapy.

Horse therapy “will teach trust, perseverance, respect and the value of teamwork,” or so says the program’s instructor. Tara is unconvinced. Trust only got her heart broken, perseverance only gets her put down, and no one respects or wants to team up with the misfit foster kid.

At the stable, Tara meets Trouble, an angry horse bent on destroying everything and everyone around him. When Tara realizes he’s just as misunderstood and untrusting as she is, she pushes aside her fear and a special relationship is formed. Trouble trusts Tara, and Tara in turn finds hope and acceptance as well as the will to love and trust again herself.

But Tara’s confidence is shaken as a great challenge looms ahead. Trouble’s manipulative owner is determined to have him destroyed because of his ‘dangerous’ nature. Tara must overcome her own limitations and fight to save the horse that has freed her heart and given her life value and meaning.

Reviews

"Amazing...I would suggest this book to everyone, not just middle school. I do have one warning: read with a box of tissues. Volnek is a master story teller and I'm eager for her next masterpiece." 

-Kathryn Gilmore

"This book is a red-eye for two reasons. First, I stayed up until 3AM reading. I literally could not put the book down. Two, I cried. Tara is a character I grew to love and her heartache was my heartache. Tara is my younger, hurting self when I lacked the courage to stand up for myself. Thank goodness that I at least had a family that loved me. I highly recommend this book to middle grade classes, parents who want to talk to their children about bullying and any one who enjoys a solid book with strong characters." 

-Sabrina Sumsion

Free Today! Kingdom Jumper by E. S. Lark

Fourteen-year-old Kyle Briggins didn’t enter Camelot Junior High with an evil sorceress or Excalibur in mind. But when a mistake in roll call brands him as Kyle Pendragon—a surname shared with King Arthur, his part in an old legend begins to surface.

School bullies and teachers aren’t the only ones making such ridiculous claims either. The class pet, a talking ferret named Merlin, insists Kyle is the real King Arthur, and if that wasn’t bad enough, his math teacher is Morgana, an evil sorceress who’d happily kill him for the throne.

Traveling to ancient Camelot with a talkative ferret as his sidekick is nothing compared to the characters he’ll meet once they get there. Stuck in the middle of a legend, Kyle must face Morgana, her dark realm of nightmares, and brave the school dance. Should he survive, he’ll have to make the hardest choice imaginable; stay in the magical kingdom of Avalon or return home to new friends, his own Knights of the Round Table.

Kingdom Jumper's geared toward middle grade readers at approximately 33,000 words in length.

Free Today! My Temporary Life

“I kept thinking is this a true story, I couldn't put it down, I loved this book!”

“Martin Crosbie has created a world where a hero can emerge from the ashes of sadness and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.”

“It's a "coming of age", a great thriller, a true romance, the journey of one man's life and the thrilling road he took for his own redemption. Then there was Hardly, oh Hardly...”

Heroes are not born. They’re made.

Malcolm Stewart’s strength was forged during harsh childhood days—ugly days when he faced down schoolyard bullies and endured the neglect of a promiscuous mother. It is a strength that he has wielded to defend himself and his friends.

Yet those years and traumas have taken their toll. Somewhere along the way, Malcolm Stewart lost his love of life.

That changes the day when beautiful, tempestuous Heather enters his world. He feels the stirrings of something long dormant. And when he learns of Heather’s own abusive childhood—and the daughter that she was forced to leave behind—Malcolm knows one thing:

He must help Heather get her little girl back.

Their harrowing quest takes them from Scotland to a remote corner of Canada. There, Malcolm faces more than he bargained for—from being accused of kidnapping, to being targeted by an enraged psycho. And he discovers that Heather’s story is more tragic than he could ever have imagined.

Yet his love for this woman with the flaming red hair—and for a little girl he has yet to meet—gives Malcolm Stewart the one thing he desperately needs: A chance to be reborn.

A chance to become the hero he never dreamed he could be.

Martin Crosbie’s debut novel has been attracting extraordinary attention. Read the first few pages and you will see why. This thrilling romantic suspense will take you on a journey that you’re not likely to forget.