Good reads

"On a cold November morning, a jogger runs through the woods in the peaceful Quebec village of Three Pines. On his run, he finds a dead man hanging from a tree. The dead man was a guest at the local Inn and Spa. He might have been looking for peace and quiet, but something else found him. Something horrible. Did the man take his own life? Or was he murdered? Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the crime scene. As Gamache follows the trail...

Tommy lives with his family in Ajax, a small town close to Toronto. His parents are Ismaili Muslims who immigrated to Canada before Tommy was born. Tommy, a shy, chubby seventeen-year-old, feels like an outsider. The arrest of a terrorist group in Toronto turns Tommy's world upside down. No one noticed him before. Now, he experiences the sting of racism at the local coffee shop where he works part-time. A group of young men who hang out at the coffee...

Very early one Saturday morning, Mike's phone rings."Nice day for a little kayak trip, eh?" says the deep, echoing voice. "But I wouldn't go out if I were you." Mike's business is guiding visitors on kayak tours around the islands off the west coast. This weekend, he'll be taking Liz, his new cook, and two strangers on a kayak tour. Soon, his phone rings again. "I'm watching you, " the caller says. "Stay home." Mike and the others set off on their...

This high-interest, low-vocabulary novella is intended for adult basic education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) readers. Kathy Brown suddenly wakes up. Was that a noise in the house, or part of her dream? In her dream, Kathy was about to kiss Michael, her high school boyfriend. Her husband, Jack, lies beside her, snoring. Michael is exciting. Jack is boring. When Kathy hears the noise again, she gets up. Then she hears whispers. Then

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This high-interest, low-vocabulary novella is intended for adult basic education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) readers. On New Year's Eve, Dixie and her husband Grady set off on a car trip. They plan to visit Grady's family, five hours away. But soon they're caught in a blizzard. They turn off the highway and go to their friend Ron's house. Both Grady and Ron are RCMP officers. When Ron must go out on duty, Grady goes with him. Dixie...

"Marcus and Alex have two things in common - they each have a broken heart and a plan. Marcus wants to win back his girlfriend. He is ready to stage a break-in for her. Eleven-year-old Alex wants to find his father's killer. He has a gun and may be ready to use it. When Marcus and Alex cross paths, they make a mess. But in a strange way, they also begin to understand each other. The Break-In is a funny story about finding brotherhood in dark times"--Back...

This high-interest, low-vocabulary novella is intended for adult basic education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) readers. Liz invites her sister, Roma, and two friends to dinner. The four women have something important in common: they are hearing daughters of deaf parents. Each woman brings an old family picture to the table. Each tells a story about her picture. Roma has always felt alone and different. As a child, she had to "listen...

Jess and Gregor are forced to examine their lives with the sudden death of their close friend Peter.