Thirteen-year-old Michael knows he is lucky. Few slaves in 1805 Charleston are where they want to be. But Michael works on the docks and ships in Charleston Harbor, close to the seas he longs to sail.

Life seems good. But then his protective mistress dies and Michael's world changes. His friend Jim encourages him to "steal himself"; to run. Michael is torn.

Mama always taught him, "to get along, you go along." But Papa wanted him to be free. "You see a possibility, you take it....A fish you pull in as a free man tastes ten times sweeter than a fish you catch for a master." Now Mama and Papa are both dead, and Michael must decide alone.

Does he dare risk everything for a chance at freedom in some unknown place? If he and Jim are caught, he will have lost everything. But if he stays -- is staying safe worth staying a slave?

How Michael makes his decision to flee seaward to freedom is the heart of this moving and dramatic story set in an America where slavery is a way of life in the South, and the journey to freedom one of immense courage and mortal danger....

"WHAT HAPPENED THIS AFTERNOON IS TOO TERRIBLE TO WRITE. . . . PLEASE, GOD, LET WILL LIVE. AND, PLEASE, GOD, FORGIVE ME."

All Will Ames ever wanted to do was farm. But when he's injured in a farm accident, Will is left without a leg -- and without his future.

There's no place on a farm for a cripple. And so, after a long winter of healing, Will and his sister Cassie, who blames herself for the accident, go to stay in town with their older sister and her husband. There, as Maine becomes a state, Will learns that perhas even without his leg, there's another, brighter future in store for him. And Cassie, too, learns that maybe, in the changing world of 1820, Will isn't the only one with the chance at a different, exciting future. . . ....

In the world of antiques dealing, there are minor calamities...like accidentally selling a rare engraving for $170 instead of $1,700. And then there are worse tragedies -- such as the chain of suspicious deaths among dealers in the weeks prior to the Rensselaer County Spring Antiques Fair. For Maggie Summer, owner of Shadow Antiques and an antique print expert, the threat of murder is far from her mind as she displays her treasures at the prestigious show. Though rumors abound, security is tight, and Maggie has been in the business too long to be easily rattled, she can't help observing her colleagues with fresh eyes. And when sudden death claims a victim in their midst, Maggie will race to stop a killer -- if she can distinguish those she suspects from the real deal....

"Sometimes a man has to risk everything to do what's right. Doing it is what makes him a man."

Thirteen-year-old Michael knows he is lucky. Few slaves in 1805 Charleston are where they want to be. But Michael works on the docks and ships in Charleston Harbor, close to the seas he longs to sail. Life seems good. But when Michael's protective mistress dies, everything changes, and Michael's friend Jim encourages him to run away. Michael is torn. Should he risk everything for a chance at freedom in some unknown place? Or should he stay -- is staying safe worth staying a slave?...

She's an antique print dealer, a college professor, and now...a parent? Maggie Summer is considering adopting a child from the New Jersey agency Our World, Our Children, and she has happily agreed to stage a benefit antiques show on their behalf. With her dealer friends, her college, and her lover, Will Brewer, all donating their time and support, everything is falling into place. But someone is harboring a vicious grudge against Our World, Our Children. The adoptive mother of thirteen children is the first victim, and then Maggie begins receiving threats. With the crowded benefit set to open and hundreds of innocent lives at stake, Maggie races to preserve the future with a clue hidden in her prints from the past.......

WHAT CAN YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE TWELVE YEARS OLD AND YOUR WORLD IS FALLING APART?

It's 1838. Jake's father has lost his job and his savings. Hearing of work in Maine, the family leaves their large home in Boston and heads north, taking with them a few furnishings -- and a deep family secret. In Maine they find only a dirty, isolated farmhouse, and a job for Father that takes him away from home.

"I'll have to depend on you," Jake's mother tells him. But how can Jake find food? How can he prepare for the dangerous cold of a Maine winter? How can he protect his mother -- and his family's secret?

Slowly, Jake learns the ways to survive, catching game and storing food for the long winter months. Nabby McCord, whose family also has a secret, helps him. So does Granny McPherson, who may be a witch. But when it comes to earning the money they need, Jake knows he's on his own. He shows his determination as the winter approaches, but does he have what it takes to bring his family together to face the future -- and their past?

Finest Kind is the powerful story of a boy who is forced to become a man and to learn the truth about courage, friendship, and secrets....

Thirteen-year-old Michael knows he is lucky. Few slaves in 1805 Charleston are where they want to be. But Michael works on the docks and ships in Charleston Harbor, close to the seas he longs to sail.

Life seems good. But then his protective mistress dies and Michael's world changes. His friend Jim encourages him to "steal himself"; to run. Michael is torn.

Mama always taught him, "to get along, you go along." But Papa wanted him to be free. "You see a possibility, you take it....A fish you pull in as a free man tastes ten times sweeter than a fish you catch for a master." Now Mama and Papa are both dead, and Michael must decide alone.

Does he dare risk everything for a chance at freedom in some unknown place? If he and Jim are caught, he will have lost everything. But if he stays -- is staying safe worth staying a slave?

How Michael makes his decision to flee seaward to freedom is the heart of this moving and dramatic story set in an America where slavery is a way of life in the South, and the journey to freedom one of immense courage and mortal danger....