Books with title When Lightning Strikes

Just because her best friend wants to exercise, Jessica Mastriani agrees to walk the two miles home from their high school. Straight into a huge Indiana thunderstorm -- and straight into trouble. Not that Jess has never been in trouble before. Her extracurricular activities, instead of cheerleading or 4-H, include fistfights with the football team and monthlong stints in detention -- luckily, sitting right next to Rob, the sexiest senior around. But this trouble is serious. Because somehow on that long walk home, Jessica acquired a newfound talent. An amazing power that can be used for good...or for evil.

The year is 1874, and Paul Wipf is enchanted by dreams of America. But when lightning strikes, killing his parents, his dreams are shattered and buried in the ashes of sadness and guilt. How can Paul be happy, knowing it is his parents death that makes it possible for him to leave Russia? How can he be happy living with his sour old aunt and her group of Hutterites, whose life seems controlled more by rules than by love? How can he be happy when all he wants is what can never be life as it used to be? Then there is Hannah, the peculiar girl with shining brown eyes that probe straight into the darkness of his soul. Can Paul trust her with his story? And there is the adventurous journey to America a dangerous storm at sea, encounters with thieves and gamblers, seemingly endless train rides, and a deadly dysentery epidemic. Can Paul be saved from the bitterness he feels for God and himself? Will he abandon Hannah and the Hutterites, and run to the wild life of the American west? Only Paul can decide what will become of his life as the awesome power of God is revealed once more, when lightning strikes.

A short coming-of-age story set in a small Ohio town in the 1950’s and told through they eyes of a 12-year old boy named Ben who works with his dad, his Grandpa George, and Wally, an older black man, in the tavern they own that's a gathering place for the town. When Angelo Cosentino drives up in his Cadillac on a hot summer afternoon with money pouring from his pockets, Ben’s life begins to change. The story is set against the racial divide in small town America and is intended for kids 10+ and adults of all ages. It paints a picture of what life was like before social media when fences were few and far between. A Tom Sawyer like tale, straight-forward and true to the heart.

A short coming-of-age story set in a small, blue-collar Ohio town in the 1950’s. Lightning Strikes centers around 12-year old Ben, his Grandpa George, his dad, and Wally, the black man who works in the tavern they own. Ben’s friend, Ike, lives three miles away in the “colored” settlement most white people don't visit, except to pick up the help . When Angelo Cosentino drives up to the tavern in his Cadillac on a hot summer afternoon, Ben’s life changes. The story is intended for kids 12+ and adults of all ages. It paints a picture of life before computers and video games, when fences were few and far between.