Best Selling Books by Lurlene Mcdaniel

It is 1974 and the country is still struggling to come to terms with the Vietnam War. In the small town of Conners, Georgia, Darcy has just started high school, her older sister Adel goes to weekend dances at the local Army base, and their mother tends her beautiful garden–the biggest and best in town. But Darcy's world is soon changed forever when her mother goes to Atlanta for tests. The diagnosis is not good–breast cancer. There is so much Darcy wants to talk to her mother about: the war and what happened to the soldiers who were there; the feelings she is having for the new (and troubled) boy in school. But she can't. So she finds solace in her mother's garden. There she can help the flowers her mother planted bloom.

What is the toughest request anyone can be asked to fulfill?

Travis Morrison is a champion diver and one of the most popular kids at school. On the first day of summer vacation, while boating on the lake with his friends, Travis attempts a silly stunt dive that goes wrong. He fears he has broken his leg. Instead, his trip to the hospital reveals he has a rare form of cancer, and to save him, the doctors tell his parents they must amputate. In an instant, Travis's life and the lives of everyone around him are forever changed.

Travis is determined that he and only he should decide the course of his life. He has a plan, but he can't carry it out alone. Will he convince one of his friends to fulfill his most important request?

Lurlene McDaniel tackles a controversial subject, probing the issues of personal choice and quality of life.

In this companion to Till Death Do Us Part, grief-stricken April Lancaster is devastated by the loss of Mark Gianni, and she and her parents have gone to the island of St.  Croix for an extended vacation.  One day on the beach, April meets bitter, lonely 18-year-old Brandon Benedict.  Brandon blames his father for his mother's recent suicide.  April is still trying to come to terms with her own grief.  The two get very close...but April doesn't tell Brandon about her medical problems.  Then April's headaches return, and she and her parents quickly fly back to New York, leaving an angry, bewildered Brandon behind.  April is dying.  Can she bring herself to tell Brandon that he'll soon lose another person he loves?

The doctor's diagnosis for April Lancaster is not good. April has a brain tumor which cannot be operated on. She's only 18, and her future is uncertain. But when she meets Mark Gianni, a 21-year-old with a passion for car racing, things change.



Mark is handsome and charming--and has cystic fibrosis. Despite herself, April falls completely in love with him. April  says yes when Mark asks her to marry him. But a racing accident aggravates Mark's CF, and April must make a decision that will change the course of her life forever.

Julie Ellis and Luke Muldenhower have always been school sweethearts. Now both are in high school and deeply in love. Luke, a talented football player, is almost certain to receive an athletic scholarship to a top college. And no matter what her parents say, wherever Luke goes, Julie intends to follow. When Luke can't shake what he thinks is a virus, Julie persuades him to see a doctor. Luke's test results are alarming, but Julie believes their love is stronger than anything. Can love survive, now and forever?

A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It's a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is–and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he's feeling more than happy–at first. He's used to being the class clown, but really he's a loner. One day after school, the friendship with Lori Settles goes farther than he ever expected. She's his teacher. She's at least twice his age. Intimacy with a teacher is wrong, yet it feels so good in every way. Soon, Lori is making demands and Ryan begins to feel overwhelmed, but Ryan refuses to even admit anything is going on. Something immoral is going on and before too long the choices made will change lives forever.

The companion to the Publishers Weekly bestseller Angels Watching Over Me.

This inspirational novel follows the story of Leah and her friendship with the Amish family she met while hospitalized for cancer treatment.  When Leah takes a summer job near their Amish community, she is happy to be near Ethan again.  He is now at the age at which an Amish young man is allowed a taste of non-Amish life before committing to the adults' rules.  Will Leah and Ethan's feelings for each other overcome family obligations?


From the Paperback edition.

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

The companion to the Publishers Weekly bestseller Angels Watching Over Me.

This inspirational novel follows the story of Leah and her friendship with the Amish family she met while hospitalized for cancer treatment.  When Leah takes a summer job near their Amish community, she is happy to be near Ethan again.  He is now at the age at which an Amish young man is allowed a taste of non-Amish life before committing to the adults' rules.  Will Leah and Ethan's feelings for each other overcome family obligations?

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

The star that led the three wise men could be the same star wished upon this Christmas-time by three young women.
     In the opening story, "Christmas Child," 15-year-old Melanie feels cheated when her baby sister, born during the holidays, lives only a few hours. But the baby's brief life shows Melanie the lasting value of love.
     Brenda struggles between noble intentions and earthier desires when she becomes a dying boy's final chance for happiness in "Last Dance."
     The closing story, "Kathy's Life," presents a 16-year-old who appears to have it all. Kathy is beautiful, intelligent, and has the perfect job as a live-in caretaker for a couple's baby boy. But not everything is as perfect as it seems. Must Kathy give up the one person she loves most in the world?
     Readers will be inspired, enlightened, and comforted by these moving stories that depict the many kinds of love in the world.

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

Remember the true meaning of the holidays with three touching novellas from best-selling author Lurlene McDaniel.

In the opening novella, "Christmas Child," 15-year-old Melanie is just getting used to the idea of having a sister when she learns that the child will only live for a few hours.  But Melanie learns much about love during her sister's brief but poignant life.  In "The Last Dance," Brenda is faced with the difficult choice between good intentions and what she really wants when she becomes the last chance for happiness for a dying boy.  In "Kathy's Life," two 16-years-olds seem to have everything on the surface, but not everything is as perfect as it appears.