Helen Plum Library

In the three years since her father caught her in the back seat of a car with an older boy, sixteen-year-old Deanna's life at home and school has been a nightmare, but while dreaming of escaping with her brother and his family, she discovers the power of forgiveness

Seventeen-year-old Alyson discovers her classmates' dark side when a top-secret competition to see who has the most sexual prowess ends with a popular LAX captain's disappearance

Mystery novelist Grace McCabe, impatient with the police, lures a killer to her doorstep after her sister--who had been working as a phone sex operator to save money for a custody lawyer to get her son back--is murdered, strangled with a telephone cord

Addie's future is laid out in front of her--become the best runner in the state and go to college on a scholarship--but after getting pregnant with her boyfriend her decision to have an abortion affects her life greatly

"In this ... debut, Arlene Heyman, a practicing psychiatrist, gives us what really goes on in people's minds, relationships, and beds [via seven short stories]"--Dust jacket flap

"For the first time in her life, Ireland Mills is happy with her body. No more fad diets, no more hiding from every camera in the room, no more low self-esteem. She'd rather be alone than with someone who'll only love her if she's skinny. Caleb Carpenter and Ben Weber are everything Ireland and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce dreamed of when conceptualizing the "Real Kansas" promotional campaign. They're handsome, young, educated, and totally dedicated...

"In the series of linked stories at the heart of Filthy Animals, set among young creatives in the American midwest, a young man treads delicate emotional waters as he navigates a series of sexually fraught encounters with two dancers in an open relationship, forcing him to weigh his vulnerabilities against his loneliness. In other stories, a young woman battles with the cancers draining her body and her family; menacing undercurrents among a group...