This book was very suspenseful and mysterious!I would definitely call this a mystery book!Loved it!

Holly & her younger brother Will were adopted as babies by their two mothers. They were raised understanding that their moms loved one another and them. Although they faced teasing in their home in NYC the family was very close and happy. And Holly had her best friend Kelsey by her side. When the family moves to Harrison Mass. Holly & Kelsey create a plan in which Holly will become "Yvette" and won't have lesbian parents. As she starts school Holly finds that being "Yvette" is both hard work and hurtful to her family. In the end she does the right thing with her new friend and her first boyfriend by her side (as well as her family). Once again Garden has chosen lesbianism as her subject, but unlike past works the main character is not gay herself. The story is sweet and the plan of a new start perfectly reasonable, but Holly's moms are too understanding for me. A good read for young teens on a subject rarely approached well for children.

and yet some eclectic pieces. This is a compilation book with patterns contributed by the following designers: Sandy Bonsib, Carol Doak, Mary Etherington, Connie Tesene, Joan Hanson, Amy Whalen Helmkamp, Mary Hickey, Beth Merrill Kovich, Pam Lindquist, Little Quilts (aka Alice Berg, Mary Ellen Von Holt, and Sylvia Johnson), Nancy J. Martin, Jo Parrott, and Retta Warehime.

All of the pieces have a country garden appeal, with some being more of a 'charming country style' like the 'Tulip Garden' quilt illustrated on the front cover which I definitely intend to make, while others are more 'folkart-ish' like the 'Only One Crow In My Garden' quilt. Some patterns are done by applique while others are block.

There's a more contemporary 'heart' quilt, and a 'sunflower-like' quilt made in summertime blues, which I hope to make given time. There's a flower basket block wallquilt made in soft pastels that's quite lovely, and a beautiful 'Winter Lilies' quilt made in red, white and green. Another twosome I hope to make.

The patterns are I would say evenly divided between wallhangings, and fullsize quilts. Depending on who your favorite designers are, there's definitely a nice selection. This book exposed me to the work of some designers I had either not heard of or had not previously seen their work. Which in a way, may be the purpose of the publishers printing this type of book. Difficulty ranges from beginner to intermediate.

In "A Rock Garden in the South" Ms. Lawrence returns to her greatest strength. I don't think anyone has ever understood rock gardens as well as Ms. Lawrence. And if you're concerned about water scarcity and drought, knowing about rock gardening is quite pragmatic.

Although the book was written some time ago, and released after her death, it was edited by Nancy Goodwin and Allen Lacy, so the contents are solid and up to date. The contents read somewhat like an annotated plant list, but Ms. Lawrence writes beautiful prose so it's not at all dry and boring. In fact, her writing is useful and entertaining.

Ms. Lawrence believed you could make a rock garden almost anywhere--even if you didn't have rocks. The key is to plant things that will grow in your area. Most of her writing in this book is useful for the middle South -- Zones 6-8 -- but if you look at a garden book showing the USDA growing zones you'll see they extend clear across the country.

The book contains a great deal of information about plants and their likes and dislikes. There are no photographs, this is solid text, however, if I want to know what something looks like I find a catalog from Wayside Gardens and poke around. Some of the more esoteric items may not be pictured in any garden catalog with photos, but sometimes it's worth the gamble to just try something on faith.

Several pages showing plant requirements (will it work in dry shade?), as well as sources for seed exchanges and nurseries are located in the back of the book.

This book is in the Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides series of books. Like most books in this series, it is easy to read and understand. While it touches upon some of the science behind why good soil is important, it doesn't bore the average gardener with laborious explanations. It quickly gets to what most gardeners want to know, that is what to do to improve your soil's quality and have healthier plants.

Before you start a new garden it is important to understand the characteristics of your soil and what actions you need to take before you start planting. This book will provide the weekend gardener with all the guidance they need to build healthy soil in their garden. I highly recommend you read this book before you start planting your new garden.

Sure, you can dress from the Gap or Old Navy or Lane Bryant or Macy's - but is that _really_you? Probably not, since you're reading this review.
This book details many wonderful things to make - for you parents who get hit with "I need a costume for _tomorrow_" at 8pm, there's a quick Native American Brave shirt made from a pillowcase - or maybe your little angel needs to be an angel for the school winter play - there's directions for that in here. too. And you don't need to be a seamtress, this starts with ready made items. there's even a beautiful crocheted jacket - you start with premade table runners.
Ff you want to make a fashion statement different from anybody else, or want to help your kids break out of the rigid dictates of the "fashion police", give this book a look - you'll enjoy it.

A YEAR IN OUR GARDENS by Nancy Goodwin and Allen Lacy is a chatty exchange of letters and faxes between two old friends, both of whom have many years of gardening experience to their credit. Ms Goodwin ran Montrose Nursery for many years and is very informed and informing about plants -- native, cultivated, imported, and home-grown.

Dr. Lacy has written many books about gardening and garden design -- centered on his garden in New Jersey and other gardens futher afield. My personal favorite of Lacy's books is THE GARDEN IN AUTUMN, although THE INVITING GARDEN is probably his best selling book. I wouldn't recommend A YEAR IN OUR GARDENS to the novice gardener since it has no colorful photographs and a plethora of Latin named flowers and plants. Even the intermediate gardener searching for tips might find THE INVITING GARDEN a better read.

If you've been gardening awhile and like to read about green adventures from the comfort of your easy chair or need a good book for bedtime reading, you'll probably enjoy A YEAR IN OUR GARDENS. To me it's something of a cross between the books by Elizabeth Lawrence and Beverly Nichols. In fact, if Lawrence and Nichols had written to each other their conversations might have been a bit like the conversations of Goodwin and Lacey.

Goodwin and Lacey both had an affilitation with Duke University as did Elizabeth Lawrence though neither Goodwin nor Lacey is a botonist like Lawrence. Lacey wrote garden columns for the Wall Street Journal and New York Times and until recently taught philosopy and horitculture at Richard Stockton College in New Jersey where he lives and gardens. Lawrence's father was Lacey's professor of English at Duke University, and Lawrence lives and gardens near Hillsborough NC.

Both Goodwin and Lacey have gardens in growing zone 7. As they relate their experiences over the course of the year, it becomes obvious this counts for little. Lacey lives near the Atlantic, has sandy soil he must amend with humus, and experiences milder summers and colder winters. Goodwin lives in the NC piedmont, gardens in clay, and has hot-hot summers. Both have green houses that allow them to cultivate a variety of plants more suited to tropical climates. Lacey tends to grow many plants in pots on a large extended deck, while Goodwin has a much larger property with room for numerous shubs and trees and a woodland garden. Lacey says he prefers summer months for gardening, and Goodwin says she prefers anything but summer.

In addition to the exchange about plants, garden design and the various wildlife sightings, both correspondents share the ups and downs of daily living. Over the course of a year, Lacey undergoes major surgery and Goodwin's husband has eye surgery and her father dies. Both Godwin and Lacey travel to various locations to give lectures and undergo interviews on television and radio. Martha Stewart drops by for a fifteen minute tour of Montrose, and Lacey goes to Disneyland.

All in all this book is mildly entertaining, and a peek into the lives of two relatively well educated gardeners.

This book puts a spotlight on one of the "mental prisons" in which so many women (and men, also) spend their lives. Friday shows us the secret and denied fantasies that a few couragious women were bold enough to share with the world.

Why is it that sexual fantasies are viewed as taboo? Maybe the people who think this way would also think of this book as being pornographic. Needless to say, it isn't. It's a book full of candor and insight, focusing on sexual fantasy just like some of the better erotica books, like Playtime (Kim Corum) or even "Delta of Venus" (Ananis Nin), do. It's a win-win situation, if you ask me, letting us know that even out "kinkiest" fantasies are normal and that many of us share them.

I would highly recommend this to anyone, male or female.

For years, I used erotica books as surrogate fantasy material, believing that I was incapable of fantasizing during sex, that I had no fantasies of my own and had to use other people's. Reading "My Secret Garden" changed my perception of myself drastically. Those horrid, disturbing thoughts that floated into my brain, that I would shove down quickly as "sick," were indeed fantasies. The brave women who contributed their fantasies and feelings showed me that even if what I was drawn to was "sick," it certainly wasn't uncommon.

I am especially grateful to the women who commented on making the decision to share, or not share, their fantasies with their lovers. This was crucial for me. At a time when my thoughts were to be confessed on demand, I deprived my lover by depriving myself: those weren't fantasies, they were just random weird thoughts that made me uncomfortable. However, after getting out of a bad relationship and realizing that my mind was my own toy, I realized that I could explore those thoughts without fear of exposure to anyone but myself.

One I allowed myself my own secret garden, I found that I could share with myself and my current lovers in a way that previous ones had tried to coerce out of me. Living well is indeed the best revenge, and I thank Nancy Friday for her subversive assistence.

There are sections and chapters. Here's a listing of the section headings:

Introduction: Twenty-Five Years in the Garden

1. "Tell Me What You Are Thinking About," He Said

2. "Why Fantasize When You Have Me?"

3. The House of Fantasy

4. "Where Did A Nice Girl Like You Get An Idea Like That?"

5. Guilt and Fantasy, Or, "Why The Fig Leaf?"

6. Fantasy Accepted

7. Quickies

Afterword: "In Defense of Nancy Friday" by Martin Shepard, M.D., psychiatrist

Along with fantasies submitted via taped interview and by mail, Friday includes her own analysis of the history of women's erotic nature, the era at the time of initial publication and the fantasies themselves. There's no bibliography and no footnotes; she mostly refers to any sources in her text itself. She's a good writer, whether I agree with her at each chapter or not.

Written letters are kept in the style in which they were sent. Some of the women are amazingly articulate. Some of the letters are a painful read from a literary standpoint. But I think that enforces the idea that all of the submissions are genuine.

People who are interested in this book simply as another erotica compilation may well be disappointed. This is an academic study of women's fantasies, and not a "best of" compilation. If anything, it's a compilation of what Friday observed to be most representative of her times. And a quarter of a century after its initial publication, it changed my life.

When a bird's massacred body is found outside Brian's New York apartment complex he thinks there's a logical explanation for it. But when more birds turn up only as skeletons, and strange sounds keep him and his family awake at night Brian gets suspicious. Recently on the news there have been reports of people being attacked by giant dogs. So, Brain, Darcy, and Numbles decide to reopen the Monster Hunter Detective to find out who the Midnight Menace is!
I think this was a good book and had incredible details. The ending was okay; the author solved the problem too fast and then sped up and ended the book quickly. Nancy Garden has a series of books titled Monster Hunters they are about three kids, (Brain, Darcy, and Numbles), who try to find a logical explanation for strange things that happen and stop the monsters at hand. Overall, I think that she is a good writer and this was a well-written book.

I am an avid Naiad/Bella reader, but I was very disappointed with Nora and Liz. I kept reading more and more thinking that it would get better, but it really didn't. If you're looking for a Karin Kallmaker-type romance, this is NOT the book for you.

I found this book to be well worth my time. The author does a good job bringing the reader into the character's world. I would have preferred that the author bring Nora and Liz together earlier in the book, shortening the time spent describing their pasts. The ending came too soon, it would have been enjoyable to see where their lives together took them....

This book is about two women who grow to love each other in difficult times. Liz is coming to terms with the end of a long-term relationship when she meets Nora. This book takes a simple and clean look at love and trust without all the hoopla of your typical "Radclyffe" romance novel. Definitely worth your time if your not expecting to be swept away!