This is the story of Oriannon, a very human-looking girl with an extraordinary gift: the ability to record what she sees and experiences like the hard drive of a computer. When the mysterious Jesmet, thought to be a Magician in the Old Order, begins to connect with Oriannon, he is banished to Corista's Shadowside. On another planet, the new faith of its first Believers is tested in the shadow of evilIn book two, readers can contemplate how biblical truths translate in another world. The planet of Corista has been thrown off its axis, and the bright side has been plunged into perpetual darkness. Are the Owling people of Shadowside to blame? With both sides of the planet in chaos, the world becomes even more confusing for 15-year-old Oriannon when her former music mentor Jesmet miraculously returns from the dead and promises his followers a special power called the Wind. But his is not the only offer of hope. Sola, Corista's charismatic head of Security, proposes the "ultimate...

New Song, Second Verse Gerrit and Joan discovered the beauty of second chances when they fell in love. But life isn't "happily ever after" when the widowed dairy farmer and big-city piano teacher get married. When they move to Chicago to pursue a teaching opportunity for Joan, Gerrit the country boy must find new purpose in an unfamiliar urban world. It's not an easy change for him, but his friendship with Zhao, a visiting Chinese musician, begins to give him new purpose. Meanwhile, Joan tries to accept her husband for who he is, even as she struggles to find her place as a music professor in this clash between small-town values and big-city ways.In this poignant sequel to The Duet, Joan and Gerrit redefine the meaning of love and home as they learn painful new lessons about mutual sacrifice.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Four Hands. Two Hearts. One Song. When widower Gerrit Appeldoorn takes his granddaughter to piano lessons one day, he finds himself drawn to her music teacher: a woman unlike any he has known. It's an unlikely attraction. He's a retired dairyman with mud on his boots; Joan Horton is a world traveler and former piano instructor at New York's most prestigious academy of music. Not quite "beauty and the beast," but close.Even so, Gerrit slowly begins to open his heart: to Joan, to music, to the possibilities that may be found in both. Yet as their relationship deepens, Gerrit faces crises concerning his family and farm, while Joan confronts a dark secret that threatens her future. While coping with these challenges, neither can predict how their duet will sound as they practice the music of renewed hope and second chances.From the Trade Paperback edition.

What would it be like if Jesus had come to another planet?Oriannon is living the good life on the bright side of Corista, a small planet circling three suns. But things get crazy for the teen when a new music teacher arrives at her school with strange songs and even stranger ideas. Soon Oriannon is pressured to spy on her teacher, Jesmet, by using her powers to record everything she sees and hears.Could Jesmet really be a faithbreaker, like Oriannon's friend Margus says? She's not so sure, but her life is turned upside-down when she loses her way on the dark side of the planet and is taken in by an odd, cliff-dwelling people. And when her new friends face a deadly threat, can the once self-centered Oriannon follow her heart. . . and save half the planet?Program Summary Field:Those who live in lush comfort on the bright side of the small planet Corista have plundered the water resources of Shadowside for centuries, ignoring the existence of Shadowside's inhabitants, who are nothing...

Those who live in lush comfort on the bright side of the small planet Corista have plundered the water resources of Shadowside for centuries, ignoring the existence of Shadowside's inhabitants, who are nothing more than animals. Or so the Brightsiders have been taught. It will take a special young woman to expose the truth—and to help avert the war that is sure to follow. A course they can't choose, a warning no one will believe...Oriannon and her friends Margus and Wist hurtle through space on a dangerous mission, guided by the pilot stone. Their enemy, Sola, is on board as well, and Oriannon soon begins to regret rescuing the blind woman from battle. As the odd crew flies from way station to way station, Oriannon delivers the warning she received from Jesmet—a race called the Troikans is coming to destroy Corista. At each location, Oriannon is met with the same disbelief: no one has seen a Troikan in years. Soon, even Oriannon begins to wonder if the threat is real....

Cut off by the Iron CurtainThis epic tale extends across generations and unfolds against the backdrop of a dangerous Cold War Berlin. This historically accurate, action-packed, three-books-in-one edition features three generations of resourceful teens living in the shadow of the Berlin Wall.Titles include:Candy Bombers: In spring 1948, teenage cousins Erich and Katarina are simply trying to survive in war-ravaged Berlin when the Soviets blockade the east side of the city, isolating its citizens —-and starving them —-behind the Iron Curtain.Beetle Bunker: In August 1961, Sabine discovers a forgotten underground bunker. Though she first uses it to escape her crowded home, she soon realizes her hideout could possibly take her family under the wall to West Berlin and freedom!Smuggler's Treasure: In spring 1989, life is good in West Germany, and even the Cold War seems to be thawing in the warmer weather. But as Liesl works on a class project about the history of...

Caught Between a Charade and the Truth.Jamie D. Lane is many things: multi-talented, handsome--and the most sought-after pop star in the world. But there's one thing he isn't--happy. At the height of his singing career, a family tragedy stops him in his tracks. And in an effort to settle a private matter and put the past behind him, Jamie cuts his trademark blonde curls, assumes a new identity, and secretly slips away from his celebrity lifestyle and heads to the Pacific Northwest in cognito. But what he finds in small town Washington could open up Jamie's future--and change him forever. A teacher to inner city kids and former high school track star, Anne Stewart had once believed she could change the world. Then a near-fatal accident left her grappling with both the devastating effects of head injury and deep bitterness toward the drunk driver who crippled her. When a man she knows as "Joe Bradley" hits town, however, he unexpectedly helps to...

When Will and Merit Sullivan decide to escape midlife blues and buy a small, dilapidated resort in northern Idaho, their dreams finally seem within reach. More importantly, their twenty-year-old son Michael has just returned from Iraq, thrilling his younger sisters and making their family complete again.So the morning Merit discovers she is pregnant, at the age of forty-five, she is shocked. Can their lake lifestyle adjust to having a little one in the house? It seems too much to ask--until devastating news forces the biggest decision of all. As Will and Merit face the greatest trial of their lives, the couple must re-examine their faith and their devotion to each other in a truer way than they could ever have imagined.Inspired by a true story, Like Always explores the triumph of real-life love and asks if we can ever go back to the way things used to be.From the Trade Paperback edition.

In Denmark's Darkest Days, is it Duty, Faith...or Love?