The story of a lonely, harsh man, yet beneath the harshness and the necessary violence, he was a kind and just man who had come to terms with the land in which he lived.

"After picking up and leaving everything behind in California, eighteen-year-old Marin, with the help of her former friend, must confront her grief and the truths that caused her to flee her home"--

In this poignant, perceptive, witty novel, Gary D. Schmidt brings authenticity and emotion to multiple plot strands, weaving in themes of grief, loss, redemption, achievement, and love. Following the death of her closest friend in summer 1968, Meryl Lee Kowalski goes off to St. Elene's Preparatory Academy for Girls, where she struggles to navigate the venerable boarding school's traditions and a social structure heavily weighted toward students from...

Henry Hodges is a very lonely boy until his parents decide he needs a pet that is just as special as he is.

Two brothers meet at the remote fence line separating their cattle ranches in the lonely outback. In an isolated belt of Western Australia, they are each other's nearest neighbor, their homes four hours' drive apart. The third brother lies dead at their feet. Something caused Cam, the middle child who had been in charge of the family homestead, to die alone in the middle of nowhere. So the eldest brother returns with his younger sibling to the family...

Six-year-old Daisy loves traveling the world with her father, a famous entertainer, and her teacher, Mrs. Minniear, but is lonely until her father brings home Josephine, a French bulldog that speaks and has great fashion sense.

"A clever pup ends up in a cozy home, and she'll do anything to stay there. She impersonates everything the lonely homeowner needs--a pillow, a footstool, a jacket. But in the end, being herself works best"--

"Little boy Brown is a lonely city kid, though he doesn't really know he's lonely, who spends the best day ever with his nanny and her family in the country"--

Presents five of the author's most popular humorous novels.

Follows a singing girl's fruitless search for a friend in her world, until one night when her song is finally heard by someone who understands.