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Family Apart |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
 Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440226767 |
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From Publishers Weekly
This first book of the Orphan Train Quartet tells the story of Frances Mary, 13, eldest of the six Kelly children. Life in New York's grim 19th century slums consists of hardship for the poor but honest Kelly clan. When widowed Mrs. Kelly feels that she is no longer capable of providing for her children, she sends them west on the Orphan Train, to be adopted by farm families. Frances masquerades as a boy in order to be adopted with Petey, the brother she promised her mother she would protect. The practical difficulties Frances faces in maintaining this disguise are handled in an amusing and thoughtful manner. Since Frances and Petey are adopted by a couple with strong abolitionist sympathies, it should come as no surprise that Frances, just days after her arrival on the farm, finds herself helping two runaway... |
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Seance |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0152050299 |
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Book Description
Lauren is reluctant to participate in the séance, and she feels the first foreboding of evil shortly after the room is darkened. When the lights come back on, her fear turns to shock: Sara Martin is missing, even though all the doors and windows are locked from the inside. . . .
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The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0152050310 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
Book Description
She spots the masked man in the dark, lonely parking lot--but too late. Grabbed and drugged, Christina is kidnapped and held for ransom. When her family pays, she thinks her ordeal is over. But then she realizes that her family thinks she planned the kidnapping! How will Christina prove her innocence?
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If You Were a Writer |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0689719000 |
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From Publishers Weekly
When Melia begins to ask her mother questions about what she does, her mother has all the answers. "A writer doesn't work just with a typewriter. A writer works with words. If you were a writer, you would think of words that make pictures." Later, Melia discovers that her mother asks, "what if," when she sees a scene, how she might expand on the story ideas around her, how she gets readers to want to keep reading more, and how she begins with a character and a problem to solve, and then thinks of interesting ways for that to happen. The fundamentals of creative writing are passed along, even the adage to "show, not tell" the story, but much of this is wordy. And using the girl and her mother to stage a discussion still has all the trappings of didacticism. Degen's pictures lighten the atmosphere of learning,... |
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Laugh Till You Cry |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0385730276 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7 - Cody, 13, and his mother have temporarily moved to Texas to care for Cody's ailing grandmother. As the story opens, he is running from class bullies, one of whom is his cousin. He runs straight into a police officer, an aspiring comedian, who intervenes. A friendship develops between them, and Officer Ramsey pays Cody to write jokes for his stand-up routine. When a bomb threat is phoned in at school, Cody is the prime suspect, and he and Officer Ramsey are determined to find the real culprit. A subplot involves an assignment on Hamlet, which adds interest and results in an unusual oral report from the teen. While the characters aren't fully developed, the pacing of the story, Cody's humorous side, and the book's length make this mystery ideal for reluctant readers. - Linda Zeilstra Sawyer, Skokie... |
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Haunting |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440420024 |
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From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-A book that will please mystery fans. As the story opens, Lia, 15, is at her great-grandmother Sarah's bedside. Delirious, the old woman begins to speak of Graymoss Plantation, the Louisiana family estate left unoccupied for decades because of a "terrible, fearful evil." After the woman's death, Lia discovers that the house has been willed to her mother, who plans to move the family in and adopt a group of hard-to-place children. Lia is against this idea and vows to prove to her mother that the house is truly haunted. She learns that the ghostly occurrences are well documented and that several locals oppose the family taking up residence at Graymoss. Could one of these people be staging the hauntings? There are lots of suspects and readers will enjoy trying to solve the mystery along with the... |
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Two Mysteries: The Other Side of Dark: The Name of the Game Was Murder |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0553494538 |
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Book Description
Two of Joan Lowery Nixon's Edgar Award winners in one volume!
The Other Side of Dark:
Stacy wakes up in a room that’s not hers, in a body she doesn’t recognize, to discover she’s been in a coma for four years. Her mother is dead–murdered–and Stacy, recovering from a gunshot wound, is the only eyewitness. But the killer is not about to let her reveal his identity. . . .
“A top-rate thriller. . . . Nixon has written another compelling page-turner.”
–Booklist
The Name of the Game Was Murder:
Samantha is shocked when she meets her great-uncle, the famous novelist Augustus Trevor. He’s a mean-spirited man who has just invited–blackmailed–a group of celebrities to come to his island mansion and participate... |
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Joan Lowery Nixon: Masterful Mystery Writer |
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| Author: |
Mary Dodson Wade |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0766021947 |
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From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8–Nixonwrote about strong girls who were able to solve their own problems. These competent characters were prominent in her more than 140 titles, including the "Casebusters" series and "The Orphan Train Children" books. In addition to writing fiction and nonfiction, Nixon taught writing and penned parenting and child-abuse prevention books for reluctant teen readers. Wade chronicles the author's life in a conversational style that allows readers to feel as if they are a part of the discussion. Black-and-white snapshots appear throughout. Wade interviewed Nixon as part of the research for this book and the transcript is appended along with selected lists of books and awards. An acceptable supplementary purchase for library collections.–Rebecca Sheridan, Easttown Library & Information... |
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A Deadly Game of Magic |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0152050302 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
Book Description
Seeking shelter from a fierce Texas storm, four teens are trapped inside a strange house as unwitting players in a magician's evil games. The phone goes dead. A plaster head suddenly appears. A disembodied hand taps the mantel. Then the magic turns even more sinister, leading inevitably toward murder.
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The Haunting |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440220084 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-A book that will please mystery fans. As the story opens, Lia, 15, is at her great-grandmother Sarah's bedside. Delirious, the old woman begins to speak of Graymoss Plantation, the Louisiana family estate left unoccupied for decades because of a "terrible, fearful evil." After the woman's death, Lia discovers that the house has been willed to her mother, who plans to move the family in and adopt a group of hard-to-place children. Lia is against this idea and vows to prove to her mother that the house is truly haunted. She learns that the ghostly occurrences are well documented and that several locals oppose the family taking up residence at Graymoss. Could one of these people be staging the hauntings? There are lots of suspects and readers will enjoy trying to solve the mystery along with the... |
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Other Side of Dark |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440966388 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
Stacy, 17, awakens from the coma she's been in for four years, following a gunshot wound, and finds her world is drastically altered. The shooting incident that injured her also killed her mother. Her older sister is married and pregnant. Hairstyles, clothing and friends have changed. Stacy, if her memory returns, can put the man who shot her and murdered her mother behind bars. Soon every face she sees looks both familiar and strange, and the attention of a boy named Jeff is welcomed and feared. Because of press reports, the murderer knows that Stacy can find him. She's afraid she's being watched. And when her memory and the truth about the killer come back to her, Stacy faces the darker side of herself. The compelling premise of Stacy's lost years and Nixon's mastery of suspense are gripping. But readers want... |
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Whispers from the Dead |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440208092 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
After Sarah Darnell's near-drowning, she feels haunted by a shadowy ghost-like presence. So when her father announces he is being transferred to Houston, the family welcomes the opportunity to put Sarah's tragic experience behind them. But the moment Sarah enters their new house, she is paralyzed by a cold mist that is only apparent to her. And she is convinced something horrible has happened in that house. Her fears are confirmed when she learns that the previous owner's son had been charged with murdering a delivery girl, and the maid had mysteriously disappeared. But nothing prepares Sarah for the cruel trick perpetrated by a new friend--a trick that backfires and endangers Sarah's life. A master at creating compelling suspense novels, Nixon ( The Dark and Deadly Pool ) has written yet another carefully... |
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Shadowmaker |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440219426 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
From Publishers Weekly
Katie and her mom have come to Kluney, Tex., to escape trouble for a while, but trouble seems to be lurking around every corner. In her career as an investigative reporter, Katie's mom has run afoul of those who don't appreciate her efforts to bring to light the illegal dumping of certain toxic wastes, and now Katie, missing her city friends and ballet lessons, unwillingly finds herself involved in a puzzle of her own--the disappearance of the only girl to have befriended her. In her usual taut, thrillingly grim style, Nixon merges mystery with moral outrage and stand-taking; she develops parallel mother-daughter investigations deftly, allowing the mysteries to intersect momentarily and then dart off on separate paths. Strong female characters deliver a mandate to question authority and to adhere to personal... |
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Don't Scream |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440227100 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
Jess is thrilled when two cute, new boys move to her small town -- but then the neighborhood cats start disappearing and she spies a silent watcher lurking outside her yard. With the help of a computer-loving friend, Jess starts to investigate the newcomers, little dreaming that the Federal Witness Protection Program has unleashed a sociopath on her town. Fans of light thrillers will enjoy this creepy story by four-time Edgar winner Nixon.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 8-10-An exciting thriller that will keep teens on the edge of their seats. Preliminary information explains that, after testifying in an organized-crime trial, a 17-year-old sociopath is being relocated under the Federal Witness Protection Program. The story... |
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Stalker |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440977533 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
A dandy suspense tale about a killer on the loose in a small Texas town. Ages 12-up. (Februarypset in box fl right.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
When Jennifer Lee Wilcox returns home from the beach, she finds that Stella Trax, her best friend's mother, has just been murdered. The police think Stella's daughter Bobbie did it. Jennifer sets out to prove Bobbie's innocence, but as she uncovers clues, she realizes she's only leading herself to danger!
"An exciting, fast-moving thriller."--Voya. California Young Reader Medal.
See all Editorial Reviews
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The Trap |
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| Author: |
Joan Lowery Nixon |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440228700 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Julie Hollister, 16, had better plans for her summer vacation than to spend it on the Rancho del Oro in Texas taking care of her great-aunt and injured great-uncle. However, the experience turns out to be anything but boring. At their first meeting, Uncle Gabe insists that his fall down the stairs was not an accident, and that he was tripped. As Julie begins investigating his theory, there are two deaths and some missing jewelry. Communicating with her mystery-reading friend via e-mail, the teen starts adding up the clues, but the killer is also on her trail in hopes of silencing her before she discovers the truth. With its twists and turns, this page-turner is a must for mystery fans and engaging enough for reluctant readers.Kim Carlson, Monticello High School, IACopyright 2002 Cahners Business... |
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