Patricia R. Floyd

Imagine being looked up and down and being valued as less than a chair. Less than an ox. Less than a dress. Maybe about the same as a lantern. You're an object-an object to be sold. Inspired by the actual will of a plantation owner that listed the worth of each and every one of his workers, Ashley Bryan uses original documents from slave auctions and plantation estates to create moving and powerful poetry and illustrations that contrast the monetary...

"Charles thought he had it all--until a devastating betrayal and the shattering loss of his family drove him to living on the streets. Beatrice is the first person who's truly cared about him. And little by little, he's finding reasons to care about rebuilding his life--and risking a sudden, courageous choice. Drawn to Charles and the temptation of a second chance, Beatrice is faced with the hardest of decisions. But his insight, secrets, and the...

"Monroe keeps the suspense high, and readers will draw a bated breath with the turn of each page."
—Booklist
Dolores Reese spent her childhood in foster care, like Floyd Watson, a local boy who intrigues her from the moment they meet. When one bad decision sends an innocent Floyd to prison for life, Dolores promises to stick by him. But while Floyd's world stands still, Dolores meets a new man who promises her...

By day, the Duncans are an upstanding family who run a thriving car dealership in Queens. By night, they live a dangerous secret life. L.C. Duncan, patriarch of the family, is at the age when he's starting to think about retirement in sunny Florida. But the recession is taking a bite out of the business and, worrying more, he has to decide which of his children should take over. When his workaholic son Orlando gets the nod, Orlando's siblings--including...

Laura Olamina's daughter, Larkin, describes the broken and alienated world of 2032, as war racks the North American continent and an ultra-conservative religious crusader becomes president.

In this sensational New York Times bestseller, Eric Jerome Dickey explores how real people come together and fall apart in a story about a love that starts with a lie....
Dana Ann Smith has ditched New York—and a relationship gone bad—for Los Angeles, looking for a new man, a new career, and some stability. She thinks she's found it in Vincent Calvalry Browne Jr., a handsome, hardworking aerospace tech. They've offered...

After witnessing the suicide of a churchgoing young woman, Minister Francine Amen blames herself: After this young woman had accused their pastor of sexual abuse, Francine rejected her as a friend. Francine's guilty feelings land her in a mental hospital, and after her release she vows to restore her ministry by making amends to every person she's ever hurt, especially her sister Dawn Amen. Dawn's husband Sly-- formerly Francine's boyfriend--is...

Imagine a girl so in love that she's willing to serve time in jail for her man. Now meet Secret Miller, eighteen and pregnant, being hauled off to jail while her boyfriend, Lucky, looks the other way. The dope the police found in the car is Lucky's, but since it's Secret's car and she's the one driving, the police throw her in cuffs. Not only does Lucky not speak up for his girl, but he has his side chick come and pick him up from the scene while...

It's been three years since Aaron Mackie succeeded in helping his friend and mentor, Bishop T.K. Wilson, dig his ministry out of financial ruin. Aaron is also responsible for re-energizing the almost defunct choir into something special. His success has drawn national attention, and he's on the verge of signing a huge recording contract. With his life in order, Aaron decides the time is right to propose to Tia Gregory, the church secretary who caught...

The black woman whose acts of civil disobedience led to the 1956 Supreme Court order to desegregate buses in Montgomery, Alabama, explains what she did and why.