Washoe County Library System

Sam Blackman, a Chief Warrant Officer in the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the U.S. military, and Nakayla Robertson must delve into Asheville's rich history--the legacy of the Vanderbilts at the Biltmore estate and of author Thomas Wolfe--to uncover the truth behind the murder of Nakayla's sister. Their only clue--the journal of a twelve-year-old boy.

In this contemporary retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," a teenaged boy whose hands were amputated in an explosion and a gorgeous girl whose mother has recently died form an instant connection when they meet on their first day as new students.

After a shark attack causes the amputation of her right arm, fifteen-year-old Jane, an aspiring artist, struggles to come to terms with her loss and the changes it imposes on her day-to-day life and her plans for the future.

"On October 3, 2005, Kapacziewski and his soldiers in a Stryker vehicle were coming to the end of their tour in Northern Iraq when their convoy was attacked by enemy fighters. A grenade fell through the gunner's hatch and exploded, shattering Kapacziewski's right leg below the knee, damaging his right hip, and severing a nerve and artery in his right arm. He endured more than forty surgeries, but his right leg still wasn't healing as he had hoped,...