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THE JUNGLE LAW

The author Rudyard Kipling is familiar to most, especially his famed stories that make up The Jungle Book. However, a lesser known fact is that although he was born in India, Rudyard Kipling came to live in Vermont in 1892 with his American wife and set up home in Brattleboro. It was there that he wrote The Jungle Book, inspired by his love for the country of his birth.

Victoria Vinton’s The Jungle Law is a fictional account of the time the Kiplings spent in Vermont. Mixing fact and invention, Vinton parallels Kipling’s story with that of his neighbors’,

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THE LOVE WIFE

From the massively talented Gish Jen comes a barbed, moving, and stylistically dazzling new novel about the elusive nature of kinship. The Wongs describe themselves as a “half half” family, but the actual fractions are more complicated, given Carnegie’s Chinese heritage, his wife Blondie’s WASP background, and the various ethnic permutations of their adopted and biological children. Things get even more interesting with the arrival of Lanlan, Carnegie’s Mainland Chinese relative who comes courtesy of Carnegie’s mother’s will. Is Lanlan a very good nanny, a heartless climber, or a posthumous gift from a formidable mother who never stopped wanting her son to marry a nice Chinese girl?

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MEAN GIRLS GROWN UP

Most women have experienced female aggression in one way or another, either as victim, aggressor, or bystander. In Mean Girls Grown Up, Cheryl Dellasega explores why women are often their own worst enemies, offering practical advice for dealing with aggressive behaviors in a variety of situations and for building healthy, positive relationships with other women.

Drawing upon extensive research and interviews, Dellasega shares stories from women around the world who have experienced relational aggression as well as the knowledge of experts have helped women over­come the bullying dynamic. From the PTA clique to the neighborhood carpool,

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ONE LAST DANCE

Despite their disastrous first meeting, complete with a ruined birthday cake and insulting remarks, it was obvious to bystanders, even then, that Morgan, aged 89, and Dixie, 79, were fated for each other. The two begin to date and ultimately move in together—for economic reasons, they agree. But the business-only relationship changes and strengthens as the couple unite to combat illness, scandal, and a near-fatal accident.

The story is about finding love at any age, but also reveals how past in­securities, humiliations, and fears can haunt a person throughout his days. Dixie fears intimacy. Morgan has concealed important details about his divorce,

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ROMANCING THE BUDDHA

Join Michael Lisagor on his hunt for lost treasure in the jungles of urban America and the depths of his life, as he transforms from a confused and sad teenager into a creative and happy adult, father and spouse. With warmth and wit, Lisagor chronicles his thirty-six years of applying Buddhist practice and principles to his life.

Gain a better understanding of Nichiren Buddhism, learn how to apply Buddhist principles to your life, raise happy children, overcome major challenges and build successful, loving relationships with Romancing the Buddha. The book also contains an overview of Nichiren Buddhism as well as a glossary of Buddhist terms.

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THE SLEEPING FATHER

Bernard Schwartz has lost his wife, his career, and finally, thanks to the accidental combination of two classes of antidepressants, his consciousness. He emerges from a coma to find his son Chris, the perpetual smart-ass, and his daughter Cathy, a Jewish teen turned self-martyred Catholic, stumbling headlong toward trauma-induced maturity. The Sleep­ing Father is about the loss of innocence, the disorienting innocence of sec­ond childhood, the biochemical mechanics of sanity and love, the nature of language and meaning, and the spirituality of selfhood. But most of all it is about the Schwartzes, a typical American family making their way the best way they know how in a small town called Bellwether,

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