Books with author Heather Hill

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2017 BY THE BOSTON GLOBE AND THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE"So filled with vivid descriptions and complex characters that the reader's experience is virtually cinematic. . . Utterly compelling." – The Washington PostA spellbinding story about two gifted orphans – in love with each other since they can remember – whose childhood talents allow them to rewrite their future. The Lonely Hearts Hotel is a love story with the power of legend. An unparalleled tale of charismatic pianos, invisible dance partners, radicalized chorus girls, drug-addicted musicians, brooding clowns, and an underworld whose economy hinges on the price of a kiss. In a landscape like this, it takes great creative gifts to thwart one’s origins. It might also take true love.Two babies are abandoned in a Montreal orphanage in the winter of 1914. Before long, their talents emerge: Pierrot is a piano prodigy; Rose lights up even the dreariest room with her dancing and comedy. As they travel around the city performing clown routines, the children fall in love with each other and dream up a plan for the most extraordinary and seductive circus show the world has ever seen. Separated as teenagers, sent off to work as servants during the Great Depression, both descend into the city’s underworld, dabbling in sex, drugs and theft in order to survive. But when Rose and Pierrot finally reunite beneath the snowflakes – after years of searching and desperate poverty – the possibilities of their childhood dreams are renewed, and they’ll go to extreme lengths to make them come true. Soon, Rose, Pierrot and their troupe of clowns and chorus girls have hit New York, commanding the stage as well as the alleys, and neither the theater nor the underworld will ever look the same.With her musical language and extravagantly realized world, Heather O’Neill enchants us with a novel so magical there is no escaping its spell.

'Joyful, funny and vividly alive' Emily St John Mandel'The Lonely Hearts Hotel sucked me right in and only got better and better . . . I began underlining truths I had hungered for' Miranda July'Makes me think of comets and live wires . . . raises goosebumps' Helen Oyeyemi'A fairytale laced with gunpowder' Kelly Link The Lonely Hearts Hotel is a love story with a difference. Set throughout the roaring twenties, it is a wicked fairytale of circus tricks and child prodigies, radical chorus girls, drug-addicted musicians and brooding clowns, set in an underworld whose economy hinges on the price of a kiss. It is the tale of two dreamers, abandoned in an orphanage where they were fated to meet. Here, in the face of cold, hunger and unpredictable beatings, Rose and Pierrot create a world of their own, shielding the spark of their curiosity from those whose jealousy will eventually tear them apart. When they meet again, each will have changed, having struggled through the Depression, through what they have done to fill the absence of the other. But their childhood vision remains - a dream to storm the world, a spectacle, an extravaganza that will lift them out of the gutter and onto a glittering stage. Heather O'Neill's pyrotechnical imagination and language are like no other. In this she has crafted a dazzling circus of a novel that takes us from the underbellies of war-time Montreal and Prohibition New York, to a theatre of magic where anything is possible - where an orphan girl can rule the world, and a ruined innocence can be redeemed.

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2017 BY THE BOSTON GLOBE AND THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE"So filled with vivid descriptions and complex characters that the reader's experience is virtually cinematic. . . Utterly compelling." – The Washington PostA spellbinding story about two gifted orphans – in love with each other since they can remember – whose childhood talents allow them to rewrite their future. The Lonely Hearts Hotel is a love story with the power of legend. An unparalleled tale of charismatic pianos, invisible dance partners, radicalized chorus girls, drug-addicted musicians, brooding clowns, and an underworld whose economy hinges on the price of a kiss. In a landscape like this, it takes great creative gifts to thwart one’s origins. It might also take true love.Two babies are abandoned in a Montreal orphanage in the winter of 1914. Before long, their talents emerge: Pierrot is a piano prodigy; Rose lights up even the dreariest room with her dancing and comedy. As they travel around the city performing clown routines, the children fall in love with each other and dream up a plan for the most extraordinary and seductive circus show the world has ever seen. Separated as teenagers, sent off to work as servants during the Great Depression, both descend into the city’s underworld, dabbling in sex, drugs and theft in order to survive. But when Rose and Pierrot finally reunite beneath the snowflakes – after years of searching and desperate poverty – the possibilities of their childhood dreams are renewed, and they’ll go to extreme lengths to make them come true. Soon, Rose, Pierrot and their troupe of clowns and chorus girls have hit New York, commanding the stage as well as the alleys, and neither the theater nor the underworld will ever look the same.With her musical language and extravagantly realized world, Heather O’Neill enchants us with a novel so magical there is no escaping its spell.

A Girl's Magic is an empowering approach to educating girls about their bodies. It helps open those tough conversations with symbolism, colorful images, and poetry that allow daughters to gain a deeper understanding of what it is to be a girl. This book assists parents to prepare daughters for physical changes, teach about menstruation from an age-appropriate, creative perspective, inspire confidence about natural bodily development and empower girls to feel magical.Embracing and celebrating a girl's physical changes as a rite of passage imparts self-love, self-acceptance, and self-esteem during her formative years. These values build confidence, empowering and preparing girls at a young age to be ready for what's ahead!This book answers many parents' question, "But how do I tell her about the other stuff?" Teaching young girls about reproductive anatomy is far different from teaching them about the many other changes that occur. A Girl's Magic is packed with information that will help parents give a fresh perspective on sex education.

“A young boy learns that some friends are not friends.” 12 year old Luke and his Mum flee his evil stepfather and the city for life in a country village. All looks idyllic; a new, more peaceful way of life, a new school, new best friend. Everything appears perfect until one day Luke meets the mysterious Albie, in a graveyard of all places… Toads May Talk was written as a response to the many tragic incidences of abuse of children by people that they know. It is reported that most sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone within the child's social sphere - for example, a relative, a family friend, a teacher, youth worker, religious leader, neighbour. Despite the stereotypical image of the abuser propagated by the media, abusers usually do not look like monsters and it is relatively rare for them to be strangers. Toads May Talk seeks to help answer the question on every parent’s lips – “how do you teach your children to trust their instincts when they know something is not right?” It seeks to teach children about the ways in which some people, even those who are not strangers, can manipulate them. Written as a sensitive and enjoyable tale from a young boys point of view, the story is intended to educate and empower children from ages 9 years and up. The author recommends that you read the book with your child, so that they may ask questions that may arise as they follow the story. It is hoped the story will serve as a gentle, compelling, sometimes amusing and, most importantly, cautionary tale for children to raise awareness and assist parents to have a conversation with them on the difficult and dark subject of child abuse. Knowledge is power.

Lily moves to a new city with her father. She meets a girl from her new school named Abby. The two girls were like sisters, had so much in common and the same plans for the future. Abby gets Lily a job with her at a local record store. One day at work Lily got a vision, but wasn't sure what to think about it. Not knowing anything about her mother who died when she was three may be the key to the odd things that are starting to happen to her. The girls saved their money for their summer trip to Italy. The day after graduation the girls get on a plane for Venice to start their biggest summer of their lives. They arrive in Venice, make their way to the villa, their home for the summer, and get everything unpacked. On the walk back to the car a dark stranger comes out of the shadows and grabs Abby and another man appears, but not soon enough, the dark stranger disappears with her. Lily is left with the other man who introduces himself as Ayden. He offers to take her home and help her find her friend. Ayden tells her that the world as she knows it is not as it seems and that it won't be as easy as she thinks it will be to get her friend out of the caves.

Women rock, and they have for a very long time! This book profiles 10 inspiring women who have triumphed in bringing their love of music to the world, singing, playing and composing despite all the obstacles placed in their way. From power-chord guitar, classical violin or contemporary opera to old-time jazz, all have succeeded despite the odds. That's a tune any girl can snap her fingers to!

Set in Montreal and New York between the wars, a spellbinding story about two orphans whose unusual magnetism and talent allow them to imagine a sensational future, from the bestselling, two-time Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted author.Exquisitely imagined and hypnotically told, The Lonely Hearts Hotel is a love story with the power of legend. Set in the early part of the 20th Century, it is an unparalleled tale of charismatic pianos, invisible dance partners, radicalized chorus girls, drug-addicted musicians, brooding clowns, and an underworld whose fortune hinges on the price of a kiss. In a landscape like this, it takes great creative gifts to escape one's origins. It might also take true love.Two babies are abandoned in a Montreal orphanage in the winter of 1914. Before long, their true talents emerge: Pierrot is a piano prodigy; Rose lights up even the dreariest room with her dancing and comedy. As they travel around the city performing for the rich, the children fall in love with each other and dream up a plan for the most extraordinary and seductive circus show the world has ever seen. Separated as teenagers, both escape into the city's underworld, where they must use their uncommon gifts to survive without each other. Ruthless and unforgiving, Montreal in the 1930's is no place for song and dance. But when Rose and Pierrot finally reunite beneath the snowflakes, the possibilities of their childhood dreams are renewed, and they'll go to extreme lengths to make those dream come true. After Rose, Pierrot and their troupe of clowns and chorus girls hit the stage and the alleys, the underworld will never look the same.With extraordinary storytelling, musical language, and an extravagantly realized world, acclaimed author Heather O'Neill enchants us with her best novel yet — one so magical there is no escaping its spell.