Ann Hood

"An entertaining and fascinating memoir of "gifted storyteller" (People) Ann Hood's adventurous years as a TWA flight attendant. In 1978, in the tailwind of the Golden Age of air travel, flight attendants were the epitome of glamor and sophistication. Fresh out of college and hungry to experience the world, Ann Hood joined their ranks. She carved chateaubriand in the first-class cabin, found romance on layovers in London and Lisbon, and walked more...

"Ava's twenty-five-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group's goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood--one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely...

A family heals in unexpected ways in the wake of senseless tragedy Alexander Porter is on the phone with his six-year-old son when he is struck by lightning and killed. It is a freak accident, without meaning or justice. Alex's sudden death disintegrates his family. His mother takes off for a new life in California. His father descends into kleptomania. His ex-wife begins selling makeup door to door. His sister mourns by taking Sam, Alex's son, on...

Twelve-year-old Madeline believes she can perform miracles. And her biggest one to date is saving her father from an avalanche. But, unmiraculously, he divorces Madeline's mother after his recovery, writes a book about the avalanche, becomes a celebrity, and marries Ava Pomme, a renowned tart maker.When he leaves, Madeline is left with her mother, who is slowly coming undone; her hypochondriac little brother, who spends his days worrying about air-bag...

A grieving young widow and a pregnant teenager find an uncommon friendship in a luminous, deeply moving novel   After a college student speeding in a blue Honda Civic kills her husband of less than a year, Olivia is completely lost. One hot summer day, she walks into the beachfront Rhode Island cottage she and David bought the previous August-the place where they had planned to someday start a family-and finds a stranger sitting at her kitchen table....

In this warm collection of personal essays and recipes, best-selling author Ann Hood nourishes both our bodies and our souls. From her Italian-American childhood through raising and feeding a growing family and cooking with her new husband, food writer Michael Ruhlman, Ann Hood has long appreciated the power of a good meal. Growing up, she tasted love in her grandmother's tomato sauce and dreamed of her mother's special-occasion Fancy Lady Sandwiches....

In China there is a belief that people who are destined to be together are connected by an invisible red thread. After losing her infant daughter in a freak accident, Maya Lange opens the Red Thread, an adoption agency that specializes in placing baby girls from China with American families. Maya finds some comfort in her work, until a group of six couples share their personal stories of desire for a child. Their painful and courageous journey...

An unlikely duo ventures through France and Italy to solve the mystery of a child's fate in this moving, page-turning novel from "a gifted storyteller" (People).

"When Felix gets a crush on his friend Lily, who was adopted from China as a baby, he decides to try to take her back in time to learn more about China. After being caught by Maisie, the twins find themselves transported to a small village on the Yangtze River, leaving Lily behind in the present. In China, the twins meet Pearl Buck in the days just before the Boxer Rebellion. With bandits chasing them, they flee to safety in Shanghai. The twins return...

Twins Felix and Maisie, along with their Great-Aunt Maisie and Great-Uncle Thorne, are transported back in time to Coney Island where they meet a young Harry Houdini.