Most Popular Books by Lurlene McDaniel

In first grade, twins Alexis and Adam wrote down what they wanted to be when they grew up and put it in their teacher’s time capsule. Now entering their senior year in high school, they are surprised to find out what they wrote: Alexis wanted to “help people” and Adam wanted to be a fireman. But that was before Adam got sick and their family fell apart. Adam’s leukemia is now in remission but, sadly, so is the twins’ family. Their mother and father are always working—not only don’t they have time for Alexis and Adam, they don’t have time for each other. Alexis can’t even convince them to take a weekend off for one last family vacation to Disney World. No one is prepared when Adam gets sick again, but this time Alexis is not alone. Adam’s illness reunites the family. And Alexis discovers that the time capsule predictions weren’t so far off the mark.

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 newly repackaged trade paper edition, Hit and Run explores moral and ethical issues, bringing to light the alarming increase in hit and run car accidents in this nation and the lives that are forever changed as a result. It was an accident. But when the people involved don''t come forward, doesn''t it become a crime? Hit and Run is the story of four high school teens whose lives intersect due to a tragic car accident. For better or worse, the choices each one decides to make cannot be reversed. Can they find the courage and strength to face the consequences of their choices, in order to find peace in their new realities?

Jory Delaney has always had lots of money. But there''s one thing she knows she cannot buy--and that''s her best friend Melissa''s life. Although Melissa''s leukemia is in remission, it''s hard for both girls to hold on to the possibility of a very bright future. When Melissa''s health begins to deteriorate, Jory watches her friend''s courageous battle and is overwhelmed by a sense of loss. Distanced from her parents, Jory grows closer to Melissa''s mother and older brother, Michael, as they give each other untold strength in the face of tragedy. As she grapples with the unfairness of Melissa''s imminenet death, can Jory find a way to turn her anger into the hope and inspiration that Melissa wanted to leave behind?

n this newly packaged omni trade paper edition, Lurlene McDaniel explores the complexities of not only accepting unexpected loss, but also of moving on to live and love again. This omni includes: Somewhere Between Life and Death depicts the life of two typical teenage sisters. When their existence is shattered due to a tragic car accident, courage and strength are needed to make the difficult choices presented as a result. Time to Let Go chronicles the aftermath of a painful loss and how each of those left behind struggle to deal with their grief, in order to move forward.

When baby Gabriel''s health takes a turn for the worse, the lives of those involved are forever changed.

Cassie, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, receives an anonymous letter offering her a single wish.

Nathan Malone has been homeschooled his whole life. He’s never spent much time with kids his own age and he’s never dated. His mother is now busy with his new twin sisters, so Nathan must enroll at the local high school for his senior year. On the first day, a girl on a motorcycle catches his eye and Nathan is excited to discover the girl is also in his English class.Not only does Lisa ride a motorcycle to school, but she’s a loner who seems to come and go as she pleases. She doesn’t care what anybody thinks of her. Nathan is intrigued—he’s never met anyone like her or had such strong feelings. When he and Lisa finally start spending time together, he’s the happiest he’s ever been.But Lisa has a tragic secret and, when she decides she’ll handle it herself, Nathan has to make a choice. Can he ever let go of Lisa?

Sarah McGreggor has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. It is at this critical moment that Sarah learns she was adopted. When the "One Last Wish" check arrives, Sarah decides to search for her birth mother--and a chance for life.

A candy striper helps a 17-year-old boy deal with his uncertain future as he awaits a liver transplant. Together, they use his "One Last Wish" money to build a center for terminally ill kids.

“Sorry, John Green fans, but McDaniel’s been making us cry . . . for decades.” —Bustle.com Love, family, acceptance, and forgiveness are at the center of this heartfelt novel that explores the unpredictable paths that allow people to follow their dreams and help them find a way back home. Ever since Sloan won a reality television singing competition, her music career has taken off. She suddenly finds herself with a manager, a recording contract, and a tour in the works. Her manager warned her that strangers would ask her for all sorts of things, and that she must not respond. But one email stands out—from a young woman who claims to be Sloan’s half sister. Sloan’s mother, now deceased, never told her who her father was, so the prospect of knowing some family history is too strong a desire to ignore. Now Sloan must return to Windemere, the town where she grew up, to face a past she’s worked hard to forget. One trip leads to another, and when circumstances take a devastating turn, Sloan is faced with a complicated choice involving not only herself, but also those who have come to depend on her.

For fans of John Green''s The Fault in Our Stars, this inspirational novel is set in Tennessee horse country, as well as the historic cities and picturesque countryside of Italy. As the story unfolds, three girls, recently graduated from high school, plan the next phase of their lives while dealing with complicated issues. Author Lurlene McDaniel subtly explores the many types of love--including love for one''s family and friends, and intimate love--and the sacrifices the girls face.

It''s Christmas time, and Leah Lewis-Hall finds herself spending the holiday season alone and stuck in the hospital. Luckily, she quickly befriends her hospital roommate, a young Amish girl, and her close-knit Amish family. She becomes especially close to Ethan, the handsome and gentle older brother who can barely look Leah in the eye. When Leah receives frightening news about her condition, Ethan will show her that miracles can happen- and that sometimes angels appear in the most unexpected places. This nationally bestselling book is the first of three stories in The Angels Trilogy by Lurlene McDaniel.

Three of Lurlene McDaniel''s bestselling novels in one volume. Readers will relate to the compassion and strength of the characters as they piece their lives back together after tragedy strikes. Letting Go of Lisa Nathan Malone has been home schooled his whole life. He hasn''t spent much time with kids his own age, let alone dated. Now that his mother is busy with his new twin sisters, he must enroll at the local high school for his senior year. On the first day of school a girl catches his eye. Lisa is a loner and doesn''t care what anybody thinks of her. Nathan is intrigued. When he and Lisa finally start spending time together, he is the happiest he''s ever been. But Lisa has a tragic secret and when she decides to deal with it herself, Nathan has to make a choice. Can he ever let go of Lisa? Saving Jessica Jessica McMillan and Jeremy Travino are a perfect couple. When they met in high school, Jessica''s upbeat spirit helped Jeremy to see that there must be a reason he was spared in the car accident that killed his brother. But now Jessica has been diagnosed with kidney failure. Her only hope is a kidney transplant but no one in her family is a match. Jeremy can''t watch another person he loves die. He believes that his life was spared so he could save Jessica by donating a kidney. But his parents are terrified of losing their only child. Will Jeremy go against his parents'' wishes to do what he must to save Jessica? Telling Christina Goodbye Trisha Thompson and her best friend, Christina, are having a great senior year. Trisha and her boyfriend are making plans to attend Indiana University, and Christina received a scholarship to the University of Vermont. Everything would be perfect if only Trisha got along with Christina''s controlling boyfriend, Tucker, who is trying to convince Christina not to go away for college. Their lives are forever changed when one night Tucker drives them all home from a basketball game. He hits black ice and the car overturns. Tucker walks away with barely a scratch, but Trisha is injured, Cody is in a coma, and Christina is dead. Those that are left must learn to heal, in order for their lives to move on.

When a pregnant seventeen-year-old girl is hospitalized and in a coma, her younger sister faces several difficult choices while dealing with loss, love, and life at Christmastime. Reprint.

"Readers will swoon over this story of love despite impossible odds."--Romantic Times From the author of Don''t Die, My Love comes this young adult novel that intertwines a family saga with a grand love story. This novel stands alone or can be read as the companion to The Year of Luminous Love and Wishes and Dreams. For fans of Sarah Dessen''s The Moon and More and Ann Brashares''s Forever in Blue. Ciana Beauchamp hasn''t seen or heard from Jon Mercer in months. Until now. He''s back in Windemere to see her. Deep down Ciana is filled with joy and relief. She has never stopped loving him. It''s proof of Jon''s love that he has returned, but what will their future be? When tragedy strikes, almost no one in town is left unscathed. Tragedy has a way of bringing people together, but it can also tear them apart. Ciana can hardly face her choices, but she knows she must, and there are now people who she can turn to if only she is willing.

"Sorry, John Green fans, but McDaniel''s been making us cry . . . for decades." --Bustle.com An inspirational story about love, tragedy, heartbreak, and renewal as a young woman deals with her serious health issues, a fractured family life, and the prospect of romantic love while trying to remain focused on her studies and a lifelong dream. Kenzie Caine is enrolled at Vanderbilt University, with the goal of becoming a veterinarian. When she lands a summer job caring for and helping to rehabilitate abused horses at the Bellmeade Estate stables, she is over-the-moon happy. One place she does not want to be is at home with her parents. Since the tragic death of Kenzie''s younger sister, her mother has unraveled and her father has lost Kenzie''s trust. At the stables, Kenzie is in her element. But a serious heart condition limits her ability to complete the more physical aspects of the job, so her employers have tasked the charming Austin Boyd with helping her. But Austin has secrets. And as Kenzie and Austin become closer, those secrets threaten to harm their relationship, as well as reveal other startling truths. Once again Lurlene McDaniel delivers the type of story for which she is famous--and readers everywhere will be reaching for their tissues.

Told in letters, journal entries, e-mails, doctors’ reports, and instant messages, the heartbreaking story of an aspiring ballet dancer battling leukemia. From: Melinda Skye To: Readers Subject: Jesse Hi! I can’t believe it. What a surprise from Jesse. When he got my e-mail about being accepted by the Washington School of Classical Dance’s summer program, he called to congratulate me! I loved hearing his voice. We’ve been friends forever–could it turn into something more? Melinda From: Jesse Rose To: Readers Subject: Melinda I couldn’t believe the news. Melinda is so young! How could she be sick? How did she get leukemia? She’s got to get better. She’s got to. Jesse

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.

In the vein of This is Where It Ends, this exploration of grief and tragedy in the aftermath of a bomb explosion at a high school is sadly topical and powerfully heartrending. At 7:45 a.m. a bomb goes off at Edison High. Nine people die instantly. Fifteen are critically wounded. Twenty-two are injured. One is blinded. In the aftermath of the violent tragedy, survive struggle to cope and heal as a result of something they may never understand. Told in alternating points of view, Red Heart Tattoo deals with issues of violence, death, and trauma in the lives of five teens.

A collection of three stories in which teenagers face life-altering situations.

Retraces the history of the One Last Wish Foundation, introducing readers to JWC, her battle to survive, her struggles with family, and her desire to leave something lasting behind.

What''s Happened to Me? Sarah finds herself in a strange place, and she can recall only one thing—her name. A young man, Heath de Charon, explains to Sarah that he found her unconscious on the grounds of his family''s estate and has been caring for her. Sarah is thankful, but when she starts hearing voices that whisper for her to come back, she is confused, and desperate to find out where she really belongs. When the Clock Chimes Drake Iverson lands a summer job on Sandstone Mountain. There are no computers; he has to do all the work by hand in a large leather-bound book. He doesn''t mind, as long as he can be near Gina, who is pretty and kind. But when Gina falls ill, Drake is asked to leave. He is determined to find out what happened to Gina and to uncover other mysteries he encounters on Sandstone Mountain. The Mysteries of Chance Dylan Sorenson offers his help to a girl who seems to be in distress. The girl, Maura, explains that she''s simply overwhelmed by the heat and quickly runs off. But Maura is soon drawn back to Dylan and a friendship and budding romance begins. However, Maura doesn''t reveal the whole truth about herself, and Dylan has secrets of his own. Can their relationship withstand the deception?

As thirteen-year-old Dawn Rochelle deals with cancer, she befriends others in similar positions, in four stories about loss, survival, and courage.

You don''t know me, but I know about you.... I can''t make you live longer, I can stop you form hurting. But I can give you one wish, as someone did for me. Three letters. Three last wishes. In Mother, Help Me Live, Sarah discovers that her birth mother, whom she''s never known, is the one person who may have the bone marrow she needs to survive. When Sarah journeys to find her mother, she learns the real meaning of family. Let Him Live tells the story of Megan''s friendship with Donovan, who is hoping to receive a liver transplant. Megan helps make Donovan''s wish for his mother and little brother come true, along the way, Megan comes to understand true giving. In Sixteen and Dying, when Anne finds out that a blood transfusion she had seven years ago has made her future uncertain, being given one wish helps her face her pain. She chooses to spend the summer with her father on a ranch out west—and there she meets someone who will change her life.

Melissa Austin finds her life completely altered when she discovers that she has leukemia.

Four years after the tragic death of her young husband, Callie had nearly lost all her confidence in God''s faithfulness. A strange quirk of events thrusts her into the life of Marc, a popular Christian musician she had idolized as a teenager, when he was still a riotously successful rock star. When Marc invites her to contribute her musical talents to a Christian musical he is composing, Callie''s life is turned aournd.

Trisha Thompson and her best friend Christina are having a great senior year. Trisha and her boyfriend, Cody, are making plans to attend Indiana University together in the fall, while Christina has already received a scholarship to the University of Vermont. Everything would be perfect if only Trisha got along with Christina’s controlling boyfriend Tucker, who is trying to convince Christina not to go away for college. But suddenly their lives change one night when Tucker is driving the four home from an away basketball game. When his car hits a patch of black ice and overturns, Tucker walks away with barely a scratch, but Trisha is injured, Cody is in a coma, and Christina is dead. Those left behind must learn that it takes time for their scars—both visible and not—to heal. And they must find the courage to move on with their lives.

It’s the summer after sophomore year and Raina has convinced her best friends since the sixth grade, Kathleen and Holly, to spend their summer as “pink angels” in Parker-Sloan General Hospital’s summer volunteer program. Kathleen is reluctant to do it—she has enough responsibility at home caring for her sick mother. But when she meets Carson, a cute and flirty fellow volunteer, she is happy that she joined the program. Or, at least, she thinks she is. Carson’s “old friend” Stephanie keeps showing up at all the wrong times. And Kathleen’s mother keeps complaining that she needs Kathleen at home. But with friends Raina and Holly by her side and her Pink Angel t-shirt on her back, Kathleen is able to realize that helping others also allows you to help yourself.

Leah has never been more in need of support, so Ethan chooses to leave his Amish life on the farm to move in with Leah and her family. However, once he arrives, they both realize that Ethan''s Amish values are quite different from those of Leah''s complex "American" world. Worlds collide in this heart-rending conclusion to the bestselling Angels Trilogy as Leah and Ethan must finally determine whether love will be enough to overcome their differences.

You don''t know me, nut I know about you. . . . I can''t make you live longer, I can''t stop you from hurting. But I can give you one wish, as someone did for me. Katie O''Roark feels miserable, even though she knows she''s incredibly lucky to have received an anonymous gift. Still, the money can''t but her a new heart or bring her back to her track-star days. When a donor is found with a compatible heart, Katie undergoes transplant surgery. While recuperating, she meets Josh Martel and senses an immediate connection. When Katie decides to start training to attain her dream of running again, Josh helps her meet the difficult challenge. Will Katie find the strength physically and emotionally to live to become a winner again?

Leah takes a summer job near Ethan''s Amish community. Ethan and Leah must decide whether their feelings for each other are stronger than family obligations. Sequel to Angels Watching Over Me.

Presents two novels featuring April Lancaster, her inoperable brain tumor, love and marriage to Mark Gianni, coping with Mark''s death, and finding love again.

Pink Angels and best friends Holly, Raina, and Kathleen have been through a lot over the past year. The summer before their senior year promises to be busy but fun, as Holly and Raina return to their full-time volunteer jobs at the hospital and Kathleen, who needs the money, works at the hospital gift shop. Of course, Raina and Kathleen will be spending as much time as possible with their boyfriends, Hunter and Carson. Holly is happy for her friends, but she can’t help feeling a little left out when hanging out with the two couples. She did finally have a boy interested in her, but the e-mails from her secret admirer, Shy Boy, recently stopped coming. What has she done wrong? Will she ever meet her mystery guy in person? But Holly’s world forever changes when tragedy strikes close to home. It’s not fair that the most loving and giving person she knows is the victim of a random crime. She, Raina, and Kathleen will need each other now more than ever.

Thirteen is supposed to be a great age--dances, cheerleading, boys--she never thought it would also include cancer. Dawn Rochelle is about to face the toughest fight of her life--a fight she has to win. Otherwise, she has only six months to live.

A cynical teenager discovers that angels appear in the most unexpected places when sixteen-year-old Leah is hospitalized during the holiday season and meets a large, warm, and loving Amish family.