Pines and Plains Libraries

A story about a chance encounter that becomes a touchstone for two vastly different individuals -- transcending decades, continents, and the bittersweet workings of fate.Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. At thirty-six, she's been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, and her father recently diagnosed with ALS, she decides to use a week at her family's cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to...

"The Hope Chest is a deeply emotional novel about three people who have seemingly lost all hope until one woman's heirloom hope chest is rediscovered in the attic, along with its contents and secrets. Mattie is a fiercely independent woman battling ALS; Don, her deeply devoted husband is facing a future without his one true love; and Rose, their struggling caregiver, is a young, single mother who feels trapped in her life. With each item that is discovered--including...

"Bec is adrift. It's the summer before her junior year in college. She's sleeping with a married professor, losing interest in her classes, and equivocating about her career. She takes a job caring for Kate, a thirty-six-year-old woman who has been immobilized by ALS. As it turns out, before the disease Kate was a stylish and commanding woman, an advertising executive and an accomplished chef. Now, as she and Bec spend long days together, Bec begins...

"The story of renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of: time. Together, they defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine...

Three months have passed since Lucious Lyon's shocking arrest. Now, released from prison, he and Cookie enter a hostile competition to dominate the music industry. Despite an ongoing feud between their sons Jamal and Hakeem, a stunning betrayal may unite the family against an outside takeover of Empire Records. Meanwhile, Cookie learns a frightening truth about her new lover, and tragedy tests Andre's newfound faith.

Three months have passed since Lucious Lyon's shocking arrest. Now, released from prison, he and Cookie enter a hostile competition to dominate the music industry. Despite an ongoing feud between their sons Jamal and Hakeem, a stunning betrayal may unite the family against an outside takeover of Empire Records. Meanwhile, Cookie learns a frightening truth about her new lover, and tragedy tests Andre's newfound faith.