Akron Public Library

When the young girl washes up on their shore, no one knew she had been a Vessel. That she had carried a Product. That it had been carved into her belly. Stolen. Claire had had a son. She was supposed to forget about him, but that was impossible. When he was taken from their community, she knew she had to follow. And so her journey began. But here in this wind-battered village Claire is welcomed as one of their own. In the security of her new home,...

When doing a favor for a friend leads him to begin a service that allows his classmates to gently break up with each other by proxy, Quentin enjoys unexpected initial success before becoming discouraged by the constant exposure to broken hearts.

Quentin is the Heartbreak Messenger--someone who, for a fee, will deliver a breakup message to the soon-to-be ex. His business is surprisingly successful, but as he interacts with his clients, message recipients, and his best friend Abigail, he wonders if his own heart can remain intact.

The Giver: Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives. -- Gathering blue: Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians....

After Mama takes a job in Chicago during World War II, Ada Ruth stays with Grandma but misses her mother who loves her more than rain and snow. Has a timeless quality that will appeal to all who wait and hope.

"A little girl who misses her father because he's away in prison shares how his absence affects different parts of her life. Her greatest excitement is the days when she gets to visit her beloved father. With gorgeous illustrations, this book depicts a little girl's love for her father from whom she is separated because of incarceration." -- Provided by publisher

After living in an Catholic orphanage for nearly four years, a naive Jewish boy runs away and embarks on a journey across Nazi-occupied Poland to find his parents.

Suzy spends her year in first grade waiting for her father, who is serving in Vietnam, and when the postcards stop coming she worries that he will never make it home.

"A boy wakes up one morning to find his father gone. At first, he feels lost. But his father has left him a letter filled with advice to guide him through the times he cannot be there"--

Two mouse brothers find it difficult to live together until a cat threatens to do away with one of them.