You're Invited!

This week author Jacqueline Horsfall is launching her latest book, For the Love of Strangers. For those in the Corning, NY, area, here are the exciting details:

EVENT:  Book Launch, For the Love of Strangers by Jacqueline Horsfall

DATE:  Saturday, February 19

TIME: 1:00 – 3:00

LOCATION: Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY

Open to all book lovers. Kids welcome. Food, fun, and friendly book chat. Free parking.

So come and join the fun. If you can't make the launch, stop by the library to get a copy of the book. Click the link above for directions.

The library has set up a “Meet the Author” display, with all of Jackie's books, and featuring For the Love of Strangers.

More about Jackie's release:

Philoxenia. When the police call using this code word, 16-year-old Darya knows she will be sheltering strangers: women with missing teeth, dislocated jaws, black eyes—and stalking husbands.

Other strangers—nonhuman—seek Darya’s protection too, whispering from the depths of the forest in voices only she can hear. If she obeys the voices, she risks her adoptive mother’s rage, the taunts of a surly island boy, and the wrath of her community. If she refuses the voices, a primeval species faces extermination.

What if you discovered your birth fulfilled an ancient prophecy?

What if you were destined to save an entire wild species?

Would you heed the call?

Russian Adoptive Parents Fear for Their Safety

St. Basil by Paul Martin Eldridge

Many people have been following the story of Artyom Savelyev (Artyem Saveliev). This incident also shed a spotlight on the difficulties adoptive parents face. Parents fearful for the safety of other family members or their communities have spoken out about some of the challenges they’ve confronted with their adopted children. One mother profiled on The Stir: A Café Mom Blog sleeps with a lock on her door, and another warned school officials her son was violent before the eighth grader pulled out a gun at school (Star Tribune, MN,  4/8/10).

Photo by Simon Howden

Many children in Russian orphanages suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause attachment disorders and developmental delays. So living with and loving these children can be difficult. One organization that offers support for these parents is the Ranch for Kids Project, which helps adopted children, especially those from Russia. Its equine therapy and outdoor program provide healing benefits for these "at risk" kids.

Leap Books author Jacqueline Horsfall also explores the ties between Russian adoptees and nature through the eyes of her 16-year-old protagonist, Darya, who was adopted from Russia and brought to America as a child. Darya feels a strange, mystical connection to the deer the rest of the town is intent on hunting. But is that tie strong enough to fight her whole community, especially when she is struggling to overcome deep feelings of isolation and insecurity?

Watch for Horsfall’s timely book, For the Love of Strangers, coming from Leap Books in Fall 2010.