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When Navy Seabee Al Dante returns to Boston in 1945 after serving in World War II, his homecoming is not what he nor his wife imagined. Although he survived the bombing of his destroyer in the South Pacific, his injuries left him with shattered bones, a withered arm and a crushed spirit. The two-and-a half-year-old son he has never seen runs away from him in fear. His wife, only a girl when he left, has borne and nurtured their child and made her way in the world. After three years of keeping to themselves the fear and loneliness and longing they had faced alone, they no longer know each other. But a "For Sale" sign in the window of a restaurant in their Italian neighborhood of the North End convinces Rose that if she and Al are to have any hope of overcoming their challenges, she is the one who needs to put their dreams in motion. "I believe in us-that we have a future together. Look, we're luckier than most. I know you look at yourself and don't see that yet. But you will. Believe in us, Al. "Can a restaurant called "Paradiso," the evocative power of food lovingly prepared, and the resilience of a passionate, street-smart Italian girl rekindle a love challenged by separation, infidelity and loss? Will it sustain and nourish her family as it lives through the upheaval of the last half of America's twentieth century? An unforgettable story of family and forgiveness, loyalty and love.

Papa says "No Christmas tree this year," because the family is going to be away from home visiting grandparents. Mama is frazzled because the family has just moved into a new house in a foreign country and she needs to find the dishes, not the Christmas ornaments. ¿But ten-year-old Jack and four-year-old Maria know what is truly important about celebrating Christmas and get some help from a tree with a mind of its own.

"Innisfree binds us."A new generation attempts to define where home is.Book Three in Linda Cardillo's award-winning First Light seriesYoung widow Elizabeth Innocenti journeys from her home in Italy with her fourteen-year-old son to seek solace and peace at Innisfree, her grandmother Lydia's cottage on Chappaquiddick Island. Finding her beloved childhood haven abandoned and as needy as she is, she reluctantly sets out to restore the cottage. When she takes shelter during a hurricane with the Wampanoag family who once owned Innisfree, she discovers its fraught history. Elizabeth's passionate search for Innisfree' s meaning for each family forces her to confront both her grief and her future; and her challenging relationship with Caleb Monroe, the grandson of Mae Keaney and Tobias Monroe, shatters her perception of who she is and want she wants.

First Place, Chaucer Award for Early Historical FictionFinalist for INDIES Book of the YearIn 1534, Michelangelo is no longer safe in Florence. Pope Clement VII, his childhood friend, summons him to Rome not only to protect him from his enemies but also to demand he paint a masterpiece that will be the Medici Pope's legacy-the Last Judgment, a fresco for the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. At the same moment, fate brings the celebrated but reclusive poet Vittoria Colonna to Rome to petition the pope as a favor to a dear friend. The two encounter each other briefly in the Vatican, and Michelangelo sketches from memory the enigmatic beauty of the poet's face. When she sees the drawing, she recognizes in the artist the kindred spirit she has found elusive throughout the course of her turbulent life. This fleeting moment is the foundation of a profound relationship between the two artists that feeds both their creativity and their need for connection in the midst of war-torn 16th century Italy.

Everyone has secrets, some more than most.Armed with her Irish mother's recipes and a willingness to roll up her sleeves, Mae Keaney retreats to the island of her childhood to escape a shameful and bitter past. After turning an abandoned fishing camp into a successful café, she becomes known for both her pies and her fierce solitude.But when a catastrophic fire threatens her home and livelihood, Mae confronts the reality-and loneliness-of her isolation. She reluctantly accepts help from Tobias Monroe, a Native American who shares her intense need for a solitary life on the wild land.Torn between a deepening connection to Tobias and her desire to guard her secrets, Mae struggles to preserve the isolated existence she once thought was her only choice. Will she cling to the false safety of her reclusive life or reach out to forge new bonds of family and community when faced with not only a devastating illness but also the threat of losing her child?The Boat House Café, the first book in the multigenerational family saga First Light-a story of courage in the face of loss and the sacrifices one makes for love.

Innisfree-the wild and isolated land on Chappaquiddick Island where Josiah Monroe grew up-was the only place where he felt he belonged. And now it was gone. His parents' painful decision to sell the land-the symbol of his mixed Wampanoag and Irish heritage-catapults the entire family into a spiral of disconnection as Josiah abandons the island in anger. He makes his way on an uneven road, seeking to redefine himself in a wider, more dangerous world marked by the turmoil of the Vietnam War and the cultural upheaval of the Sixties. ¿In the wake of his leaving, his family struggles not only with Josiah's alienation but also with the debilitating polio suffered by his sister, Izzy. Ultimately, it is the power and magic of the island itself and the bonds of family that call them back to one another.