Books with author Cristina Salat

"Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It's beyond me." Zora Neale Hurston. A photo-illustrated book of inspirational quotes attributed to notable people of color from Booker T. Washington to Oprah Winfrey to Nikki Giovanni, compiled by author of color Cristina Salat.

After Amelia's custody battles with her parents end when she is 16 & ½, it’s time to create a life of her own and perhaps a whole new way to live too...an adventure that takes her to her friend Gabrielle's newly-forming community on a mystical Northern California apple farm among modern-day radicals. It’s true, Amelia would like to help make the world a better place. And she is interested in whether it’s possible to create a new type of civilization while the old one is still around. But really she’s come to the Esoterica apple farm because one of the people there happens to be someone she has feelings for. It's never too late to create a happy adulthood for yourself, right? Paradise Found: a tale of community, love, friendship, sexuality, sovereignty, and all the magic in the world. From the award-winning author of the 'Gathering The Dreamcatchers' companion novels LIVING IN SECRET, THE SKIN OF WATER/DEFENDING THE DREAMCATCHERS and ESOTERICA.

San Francisco, California is a magical, unconventional town. Join author Cristina Salat in this 3-part journey as she welcomes characters from LIVING IN SECRET, THE SKIN OF WATER/DEFENDING THE DREAMCATCHERS plus ESOTERICA in a 'Gathering The Dreamcatchers' companion trilogy of adventures for today's young adults and everyone who cares about them. This 3-novel combo begins with LIVING IN SECRET, a novel Publisher's Weekly termed "courageous, thought-provoking" with Amelia Monet escaping from the parent who has custody to begin a new life and identity in San Francisco with her other family. Meanwhile -- in a different part of the city that might as well be an entirely different planet -- in THE SKIN OF WATER: DEFENDING THE DREAMCATCHERS, Lisel Martinez, a first nation 16-year-old, leaves the pueblos of New Mexico for a new life in California too. But is there a way for a girl on her own to stay safe in a city that seems nothing but dangerous? Empowerment is just a word...until you live it. And in ESOTERICA, the third novel of this trilogy, we rejoin characters from the first two as Amelia -- older now and done putting up with safety issues of her own -- decides to take matters into her own hands. Her dad is a criminal, and criminals are supposed to be in jail, aren't they? It's time a lot of things about this world to evolve.

In the original 'Gathering The Dreamcatchers' novel of this companion book series, Amelia escapes from her father who has custody to begin a challenging, exciting new life in San Francisco LIVING IN SECRET with her mother and her mother's girlfriend under new identities. But returned to her father's home, once she is almost 14 this plucky heroine Publishers Weekly deemed "courageous" realizes it's time to take matters into her own hands. Her dad is a criminal after all, and criminals are supposed to be in jail. In the thought-provoking sequel ESOTERICA, Amelia is determined to make a legal place for herself with her chosen family in California despite what the courts originally said. The third book of this trilogy, PARADISE FOUND, picks up when Amelia is almost an adult and the battles for justice are finally over. Now, at last, she can create a life of her own...and perhaps a whole new way to live too? After all, she's not a kid anymore and her friend Gabrielle is doing all kinds of interesting things up north at an apple farm with other people who want to explore things like sovereignty, friendship, living in community, sexuality...and love.

Amelia wants to live with her mother, and now finally she will be...after she, and Mom, and Mom's girlfriend Janey start a new life with new identities far away from her father who has custody. Reviewed as "courageous, thought-provoking" by Publisher's Weekly, this Deluxe Edition includes 2 chapters from Living In Secret's long-awaited sequel Esoterica, along with an interview with the author. CRISTINA SALAT is the wordsmith of many fine books for the young & young at heart including The Skin of Water: Defending The Dreamcatchers, Living In Secret, Esoterica, Paradise Found, Alias Diamond Jones, Peanut's Emergency, Step-Whales, Witzel's Wish, and Home is Where You're Happy, a collection of stories, essays & life snippets from her home by the sea.

Amelia runs away from a father who has custody to begin a new life and identity in San Francisco, LIVING IN SECRET with her mother and her mother's girlfriend, Janey. A new beginning with brand new identities and new friends isn't easy, but they do get to live in a funky old place Amelia nicknames The Sunshine House. But eventually, circumstances change...and by the time Amelia is 14, it is time to take the matter of where she's going to live into her own hands. Her dad is a criminal...and criminals are supposed to be in jail, aren't they? In the thought-provoking sequel ESOTERICA, Amelia takes on the quest of finally making a legal place for herself with her chosen family in spite of what the courts originally said back when she was a child.

Enter the world of parentally "kidnapped" Amelia, a novel Publishers Weekly called "courageous, thought-provoking" and Rainbow Family Collections reviewed as: "a viable mirror for children in rainbow families" with this 99 cent sampling of chapters from the groundbreaking LIVING IN SECRET. Ever since Amelia's parents got divorced, all she has ever wanted was to live with her mother, but a judge gave her father custody. Finally, one cold October night, Amelia's mother comes to steal her away. "Once I started, I couldn't stop" and "read it 3 times...loved it every time!" say online reader reviews. The entire deluxe edition of this novel includes 2 chapters from Amelia's forthcoming long-awaited sequel, plus an Interview with the Author and can be obtained here: http://www.amazon.com/Living-Secret-Deluxe-Cristina-Salat/dp/1530749131

Lisel Martinez is not a rough-&-tumble girl, so what is someone who is more interested in poetry and plants than a hot social life doing on the streets of San Francisco? And is there anything a 16-year-old who no longer has a home can do to keep herself safe in a world that seems anything but...? From the author of the award-winning 'Gathering The Dreamcatchers' novels including Living In Secret ("courageous, thought-provoking," Publishers Weekly), Esoterica, Paradise Found, and Living in Light comes this contemporary quest of one modern-day pueblo teen traveling from the sunlit mesas of New Mexico to the night lights of California, searching for a life different than the one that seems destined to be her fate. Empowerment is just a word...until you live it. This book also available in Trade Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-1518829000 and a Pocket Edition: ISBN-13: 978-1523793624.

The delightful Frogdemona, once treasured in his native land, suddenly finds himself treated as an unwelcome invader when Fate brings him to a new island. In this day and age when 'who belongs where' and the deportation of friends and family (not to mention the eradication and potential extinction of entire species) is much in the news, join Frogdemona The Coqui as he tries to claim his right to feel at home on the land where Fate has brought him. An illustrated tale. Appropriate for all ages. Reading Level: advanced readers age 6 through reluctant readers age 12 & up. From Cristina Salat, author of PEANUT'S EMERGENCY, WITZEL'S WISH, and STEP-WHALES.