Amy Melissa Bentley

Seventh-grader Zoey Albro focuses on caring for three younger siblings and avoiding rich classmates at school until her fascination with octopuses gets her on the debate team and she begins to speak out.

"Isabel has one rule: no dating. It's easier-it's safer-it's better-for the other person. She's got issues. She's got secrets. She's got rheumatoid arthritis. But then she meets another sick kid. He's got a chronic illness Isabel's never heard of, something she can't even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father, who's a doctor. He's gorgeous,...

"Lively, determined, and independent, Poppy Christner isn't about to let some vandal keep making mischief on her family's farm. She's been outrunning boys and standing up for picked-on children ever since she was a girl -- no matter how much her prideful, arrogant schoolmate Luke Bontrager insulted her. So Poppy certainly doesn't need his interference now, especially since he's made it plain he prefers demure, ladylike companions. In fact, if Luke...

"Maggie Crozat is back home in bayou country during the most magical time of the year. In Pelican, Louisiana, Christmastime is a season of giant bonfires on the levee, zydeco carols, and pots of gumbo. Except, this year, the Grinch has come to stay at the family-run Crozat Plantation B and B. When he floods travel websites with vicious reviews, Maggie thinks she's identified him as rival businessman Donald Baxter -- that is, until he's found stabbed...

"Maggie Crozat's B&B is affected by a new cell phone app that lets locals rent their rooms to tourists so she concocts a Halloween-themed marketing scheme. During the festivities, though, a masked participant gives up the ghost and Maggie must solve the case."--Publisher. Maggie Crozat, proprietor of a historic Cajun Country B&B, uses a Halloween-themed marketing scheme to draw visitors to Pelican, Louisiana. Five local plantation B&Bs will host...

Sixteen-year-old Nina Faye navigates the difficult world of teenage relationships and dysfunctional family dynamics.

In 1969, Dixie Dupree is eleven years old and already an expert liar. Sometimes the lies are for her mama, Evie's sake-to explain away a bruise brought on by her quick-as-lightning temper. And sometimes the lies are to spite Evie, who longs to leave her unhappy marriage in Perry County, Alabama, and return to her beloved New Hampshire. But for Dixie and her brother, Alabama is home, a place of pine-scented breezes and hot, languid afternoons. Though...

Smart, kind, and good-hearted, the three Christner girls are affectionately known as The Honeybee Sisters in the beloved Wisconsin Amish community where, under the care of their aunt, they've grown into skilled beekeepers--and lovely, sought-after young women... Though she has blossomed into a beauty, Lily Christner doesn't really believe it. Deep down, she still feels like a lonely, gawky teenager. Maybe that's why she's all but promised herself...

A classic Lynette Eason story of faith, family and danger… Tragedy strikes Palmetto Deaf School-twice. With one student murdered and another missing, it's up to homicide detective Catelyn Clark to find the killer-and probable kidnapper-"fast." She'll even work with her ex-boyfriend, FBI agent Joseph Santino, to solve the case…while keeping her distance. Relationships between cops never work; her parents taught her that. They also taught her that...

Jennings Winningly Combines Humor, History, and Romance. Louisa Bell never wanted to be a dance-hall singer, but dire circumstances force her hand. With a little help from her brother in the cavalry, she's able to make ends meet, but lately he's run afoul of his commanding officer, so she undertakes a visit to straighten him out. Major Daniel Adams has his hands full at Fort Reno. He can barely control his rowdy troops, much less his two adolescent...