Washoe County Library System

The founder of the Heritage Home Foundation nonprofit documents her secret abuse-marked childhood in and out of foster care and what she discovered while investigating the story of her mother's own harrowing past.

Left in the cold care of a loveless foster family and alienated at school, Sarah Crane finds a kindred spirit in classmate Nick Dunnigan, a former mental patient still plagued by voices and visions. And in eccentric art instructor Bettina Phillips who is eager to mentor Sarah's artistic talent. But within the walls of Bettina's ancestral home, Sarah finds something altogether different and disturbing--a gateway from the grave into the world of the...

While searching for fifteen-year-old Ramona Titus, who has run away from her foster home, Black homicide cop-turned-PI Cass Raines soon discovers that Ramona is holding secrets dark enough to kill for and if Cass can't find her first, she will have nowhere left to run.

More than six million readers can attest to the heartbreak and courage of Dave Pelzer's story of growing up in an abusive home. His inspirational books have helped countless others triumph over hardship and misfortune. Now this former lost boy, who defeated insurmountable odds to emerge whole and happy, at last takes us on his incredible odyssey toward healing and forgiveness. In The Privilege of Youth, Pelzer supplies the missing chapter of his life:...

Led to a new village where the animal beings who live there are going missing, Morgan, Emily and Eli vow to help after discovering who’s responsible, until the details of a traditional legend change everything.

"Delia Lamont has had it. Though she loves her job at Portland, Maine's child services agency, its frustrations have left her feeling burned out and restless. She's ready to join her carefree sister Juniper and start a seaside bakery, celebrating and serving life's sweetness for a change. Then the call comes: a five-year-old girl has been found at the side of the road. She reveals that her name is Hayley, but little more. The only clues to her...

Ashley spent nine years in foster care after being taken away from her mother. She endured many caseworkers, moving from school to school and manipulative, humiliating and abusive treatment from one foster family. See how she survives and eventually thrives against the odds.

14-year-old Adrianna arrives on Casey's doorstep with no possessions, no English, and no explanation. It will be a few weeks before Casey starts getting the shocking answers to her questions.

Moving to the Philippines with his zoologist mother, twelve-year-old Pablo struggles with anxiety while his mother fosters an orphaned child with a facial anomaly.

All the Sweeter tells the stories of families who have adopted one or more children from the US foster care system. Each of the twelve families interviewed has a dedicated chapter in which at least one representative tells their familys adoption story. Woven through these stories are topical chapters that explore the common challenges these families face, including the complications that accompany transracial adoptions, helping children understand...