Books published by publisher Gemma Open Door

Lizzie is dead - she just doesnt know it. Why does everyone ignore her when she needs a little sympathy? She has been in an accident, after all. The next day, Lizzie goes to work as usual and meets two unusual people, spirits who have been sent to break the bad news. But our Lizzie is not ready to go anywhere. She has yet to say her goodbyes. Help is at hand with Jan and Jim, messengers who have seen it all before. Before Lizzie crosses to the other side, she'll get her chance to stage the closing scene of a lifetime.

A woman in trouble turns to ice cream, and just might find love in its pursuit. Emelda is 46 years old. Her husband, Charlie, has just left her for a 23-year-old dancer. Her five difficult sons worship their father and blame Emelda for his departure. On top of everything else, she has to struggle with a new job at the local supermarket. For comfort she turns to her only true friend ice-cream. But lately there's a handsome man driving the ice-cream van. Could romance be about to blossom?

The American writer Suzanne Kamata had lived in Japan for more than half of her life, yet she had never explored the small nearby islands of the Inland Sea. The islands, first made famous by Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea 50 years ago, are noted for displaying artwork created by prominent, and sometimes curious, international artists and sculptors: Naoshima’s wealth of museums, including one devoted to 007, Yayoi Kusama’s polka dot pumpkins, Kazuo Katase’s blue teacup, and a monster rising out of a well on the hour in Sakate, called “Anger at the Bottom of the Sea”―to name a few. Spurred by her teen-aged daughter Lilia's burgeoning interest in art and adventure, Kamata sets out to show her the islands’ treasures. Mother and daughter must confront several barriers on their adventure. Lilia is deaf and uses a wheelchair. It is not always easy to get onto -- or off of -- the islands, not to mention the challenges of language, culture, and a generation gap. A Girls’ Guide to the Islands takes the reader on a rare visit by a unique mother and daughter team. (P O'Hare Gemma Open door for Literacy)

In 1878, two years after the Greasy Grass Fight that some called Custer’s Last Stand, U.S. soldiers and government contractors rounded up 270 Arapaho people. From the very young to the very old, they were forced to walk from Fort Robinson in western Nebraska across half of what is now the state of Wyoming. Their destination: the Shoshone Indian Reservation. The new home of the Northern Arapaho was a wilderness, but it was theirs and they were glad. Then came a second and tragic event.Within weeks, the Takers arrived to capture confused and terrified Indian children. The young were shipped to boarding schools back east where they were to be stripped of their tribal identities and assimilated into white culture. Families were torn apart.Against this historical backdrop, A Full Circle gives a fictional account of several generations of Arapaho and their experience during this time. Horse-whisperers, a green-eyed girl, brave young men and women, and fierce grandmothers are among the characters that reveal glimpses of a people and a culture that survive today, and a part of American and native history that has long been hidden. A Full Circle is a story that needs to be told.

Louis's sister, Emily, is blind. She’s also in the marching band, sculpts, and has the biggest bedroom in the house to accommodate her Braille machine. Everyone thinks her accomplishments are extraordinary, and most think that she can do no wrong. The single person who doesn't feel awe--or pity--for her is Louis, who wishes people would just stop comparing them. He wants his own life.Only a family tragedy can begin to bridge the widening gap between brother and sister.Part of the Gemma Open Door Series, originally designed for new readers, these books confirm the truth that a story doesn't have to be big to change ‎the world. The Transcriber is specifically created for young adult readers.

Danny Murphy is going to meet his brother, Jimmy. They haven't seen each other in more than twenty years, and Danny is nervous. On the way to the pub, Danny begins to remember the good times and the bad times, the humor, the fights and the pivotal argument that finally drove them apart. Can they turn back the clock and become the pals they used to be? Or does bad blood go on? Danny doesn't know. From the bestselling author and screenwriter comes a story about family, jealousy, passion and redemption. Written in Roddy Doyle's distinctive, intimate style, here is a poignant observation of ordinary lives by a writer at his best. The Open Door Series: Originally designed to promote adult literacy in Ireland, these original stories from best-loved authors and new voices showcase some of our best writing in short fiction.

Brilliant, homeless and nearly invisible, a young man wanders through Boston, looking for meaning and hope. Extreme mood swings and an unusual outlook on life make it impossible for him to thrive in mainstream society. He finds comfort in laundromats, where he calms himself by watching clothes tumble round and round and round. And in the streets he finds other people like himself, below the radar, laboring to survive. Poignant and buoyant, Spin Cycles is a story of loss, discovery, and, just possibly, redemption.

Growing up without a mother is hard. Worse is having a stepmother who controls Dad.Brittany Myerson is so ready for high school to end. She knows that life is going to get a whole lot better when she gets her driver’s license, the car she’s always wanted and a ticket to college away from home. But her new stepmother has decided what’s good enough for Brittany: a beat-up, mustard-colored piece of junk and enrollment in the local community college. Brittany thinks it can’t get much worse until she learns that her father has changed his will leaving everything to Lynn. Suddenly, Brittany’s father dies and the police suspect…murder.

The Charles River divides Boston and Cambridge, and the Red Line ties the cities together, traveling through an expanse of class and cultures along its route. When an unlikely combination of riders share an afternoon train, they are surprised to discover what's common in their American experience.Part of the prestigious Open Door Series, originally designed for adult literacy in Ireland, these books confirm the truth that a story doesn't have to be big to change our world. Yankee Doodle is part of the US launch of Open Door books written by North American authors.

Dr. Christopher Lemuel becomes a ship's doctor on a privateer to escape England, after shamefully killing a man in a matter of honor. He is wounded in a sea battle, captured by pirates, and reluctantly becomes a buccaneer. But matters become really strange and then turn deadly when he is marooned on an island populated by enormous beasts unknown in natural history.

Suddenly driven from their African home by a war in Biafra, the McCall family washes up in a small town in the San Joaquin Valley. The locals assume they must be glad to be back in the "civilized world." But life in America is lonely, desolate and dull, and the children and their fragile mother hope that one day they will return to the life they left behind. Their father, a hardened oil man, knows better: war has destroyed any home they may have had. As the truth begins to sink in, mother and children gravitate toward another refugee from war-torn Africa and his dream. Anatole imagines an African animal park on the dry plains surrounding their California town and offers hope that these two worlds can be brought together in one place.

Rollo is tired of humans. Their cities are dirty, and their gizmos are dumb. He knows mankind is wrecking the planet. Rollo’s dream is to escape to the Sierra Nevada Mountains where he can live alone and be free of other people. There’s just one problem with his scheme: Rollo’s hungry human stomach. No matter how much food he carries in his backpack, he always runs out. Inevitably, Rollo has to come back to the “messed-up, man-made world” or starve.