C. Bourdo

Clanton, Mississippi. 1990. Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a deeply divisive trial when the court appoints him attorney for Drew Gamble, a timid sixteen-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance digs in and discovers that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Jake’s fierce commitment to saving Drew from the gas chamber puts his career, his financial security, and the safety of his family on the line.

Winner of the 2001 Christy Award, Lynn Austin captures the turmoil of the Civil War in this stirring novel. From vast plantations to the cramped closets of the Underground Railroad, it follows one young woman's inspiring journey of risk and sacrifice.

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Clouston’s quietly held principles oppose those of the Southern Cause - but when 40,000 soldiers converge on the fields of Franklin, Tennessee, the war demands an answer. The Carnton home, where she is governess, is converted into a Confederate field hospital; and Lizzie must gather up her fortitude to assist the military doctor with surgeries that determine life or death - even as she fears for the life of Towny, her fiancé and lifelong friend.

Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now 15 and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate. Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears.

One of Jane Austen's most popular novels. Arrogant, self-willed, and egotistical, Emma is her most unusual heroine.

Plans are being made for a family reunion, and nearly all the Baxters have a reason to celebrate―except one. As the preparations get underway, a deadly diagnosis sends shockwaves through the family and threatens to tear them apart.

Thirty-eight year old Cassandra is lost, alone, and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident 10 years ago, feels like she has lost everything known and dear to her.

The provincial Bennet family, home to five unmarried daughters, is turned upside down when a wealthy bachelor takes up a house nearby. Mr. Bingley enhances his instant popularity by hosting a ball and taking an interest in the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane. Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy, Bingley’s even wealthier friend, makes himself equally unpopular by his aloof disdain of country manners.

America struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination. Promises will be broken, and everyone you have grown to love will be asked to pay a high price to make freedom for the slaves more than just a mockery.

Mary Catherine grew up in a comfortable life despite an array of health issues, including a congenital heart condition (which she quietly obsesses over). She loves her parents, who are quite wealthy, but the lifestyle never appealed to her. Instead she pursues meaning through an abundance of charity work, always giving away a part of herself in service of others.