Books with author D. Anne Love

It’s July, 1941, in a dusty Georgia farming town. Plucky Mae Lee Willis, almost eight, knows there’s more to life than her distracted parents tell her, and she's determined to find out. Her sixteen-year old sister Ava, beautiful and sultry, is eager to grab all that life has to offer, especially Dulany “Duke” Radford. The paratrooper son of a World War I flying ace who made good, Duke wants to prove he’s not a privileged kid. He goes off to fight in Burma, spying and sabotaging behind enemy lines, even though Ava pleads with him to pull strings for a stateside job. But when Duke comes home from the war wounded in body and spirit and marries Ava, he has no idea that Ava is hiding something from him…Rubies from Burma takes us from the chaos caused by the “frizzledy chicken” in a middle Georgia farmyard to an elderly gem trader’s hut in a steaming jungle village; from a young girl’s first fumbling with a young man to a mysterious old African-American woman’s fortunetelling with cards. This book explores the many sides of beauty, as well as true and lasting love. It is also a book that explores war: the sacrifices that families must make, both for their country-- and for each other.

It's the middle of summer in Mirabeau, Texas, but already Garnet Hubbard looks forward to fall -- to entering seventh grade and becoming a teenager at last. With Opal, her beautiful and popular fourteen-year-old sister, as her guide, Garnet is sure to have a great year. But everything changes when their mother, Melanie, packs them up and heads for Nashville, determined to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a country singer. Almost before they know it, Melanie drops the girls at her sister's house in Oklahoma, assuring them she'll be back just as soon as she's settled in Tennessee. But when a few days turn into a few weeks and beyond, with no Melanie in sight, the girls begin to realize what has happened. While Opal soon becomes one of the most popular girls in school, her younger sister struggles. For Garnet, getting used to her new life means trying to figure out how to have pride in herself when it seems she has little to offer the world and the odds are stacked against her. With only each other to lean on, Melanie's "precious gems" must learn to live with the hand they've been dealt and to accept the changing face of their family. Set in the early 1960s and beautifully told by D. Anne Love, Semiprecious is a powerful, poignant, and often funny coming-of-age novel that will stay with readers long after the turn of the final page.

Caroline and Jess don't know what to make of their prim and proper grandmother. She's traveled all the way from South Carolina to the Dakota prairie to help out while their pa recovers from his injuries. Caroline and Jess must call her Mrs. Ravenell instead of Grandmother. They can't believe this stern woman is the mother of their own loving mother, who died just last year. But little by little Caroline sees just what kind of woman her grandmother really is, as they face spring planting, a prairie tornado, their shared grief, and an unexpected surprise.

Shortly after Phoebe Trask’s fourteenth birthday, her mother accepts a new position with Bee Beautiful Cosmetics that keeps her away from home indefinitely. Left to fend for themselves, their once picture-perfect family is on very shaky ground as each member reacts to the hole left by her mother’s absence. When she finally returns—and reveals that she has cancer—the Trasks must push aside their pain to rally around the woman who hurt them. As Phoebe and her family learn to accept the changes in their lives, they discover love and forgiveness in a whole new way, making for a hopeful and unforgettable read.

ALL IS NOT WELL IN KELHADDEN.During a long-ago battle the king was killed, and his powerful amulet, which protects the kingdom from harm, was lost. Then Kelhadden fell to Ranulf, a cruel Northman, under whose regime the people are dying and the city is deteriorating. Now the only hope is that the true prince of Kelhadden will come forward, recover the amulet, and take back the kingdom.Born on the night of the red sky, Thorn is taken in by the old warrior Morwid, former counselor to the murdered king and keeper of the all-knowing Book of Ancients. Thorn knows nothing of his background until his twelfth summer, when he learns it is he who must undertake the dangerous quest for the lost amulet. Though Morwid has taught Thorn many useful skills, the tasks that lie before him seem nearly impossibe. But with the help of two remarkable companions, Thorn embarks on a journey to save the kingdom, and in the process reveals deep family secrets, leading him to his rightful place in the world.The Secret Prince is an exhilarating story filled with enchantment, high adventure, and surprises that will leave readers breathless.