FICTION · CHILDREN
Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress)
I'd always lived a fairly blameless life.
— from Angels
Most acclaimed
Prom night
For all those new graduates with a little time on their hands, here's a chance to attend a prom that is beyond your wildest dreams! From an elf who can only stay in the mortal realm if he can get a date for the prom...to a young man who finds out that forbidden acts sometimes depend on your perspective...to a girl who gives a whole new slant to the legend of "Pygmalion", here are 22 evenings to remember -- and be thankful that none of these people were in your class! Edited by Nancy Springer, with contributions by many authors.
Angels
From the Publisher: The Book of Genesis depicts them as doing strange things-mating with the daughters of men to spawn giants, for example, and wrestling with Jacob for no apparent reason. In It's a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra spun a tale of one as a bumbling helper of humans; in Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders told of one who wished to be human. They are angels, of course, and they have fascinated us since recorded history began. In Angels, David Albert Jones provides a crisp, broad-ranging survey of angels in theology, philosophy, and popular culture. Focusing on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, he examines how angels have been imagined and explained, and why they continue to captivate us. Jones explores the classical discussion-what they are made of, when they came to be, how many there are, and whether anyone ever did ask how many could dance on the head of a pin. He names the archangels, surveys the different hierarchies, and examines how they have changed over time. Jones explains, for example, how cherubim became cherubs, and why angels in the Hebrew Bible are typically male, but in later art became androgynous, or even female by the twentieth century. The book explores the idea that Satan was a fallen angel (a belief not shared by Islam), and looks at demons and exorcism. But Jones concentrates on good angels, in their roles as messengers, guardians, or helpers. He looks at why the idea of angels remains so attractive, and so potent in modern culture-even among nonbelievers. From scripture to cinema, Jones offers a sweeping, accessible introduction to this remarkable phenomenon. Whether we believe in angels or not, he argues, the study of their role in cultures past and present can teach us much about humanity.
Big girls don't cry
Thanks to a devastating revelation about her husband, Reenie Holbrook's once-perfect marriage is over. For eleven years she had the life she wanted-and now it's gone.Reenie decides that the first step in recovering from her ordeal is to find work; after all, she has three young children to support. She's thrilled when she lands a job at Dundee High teaching history-until Isaac Russell, the man who triggered the unraveling of her marriage, accepts a temporary position teaching science. Then she's tempted to quit. Reenie doesn't care if the whole town admires Isaac...and she won't admit that, secretly, she admires him, too. She doesn't want to see him or his sister in "her" town.But a friendship with the most unlikely woman leads to a relationship with the most unlikely man....