Arcadia Public Library

Since 1915 the Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected, and most popular, of its kind.

Marina Makarova finds herself -- pregnant and adrift amid the devastation of the Russian Civil War. She finds new strength and self-reliance to fortify her in her sojourn, and to prepare her for the hardships and dilemmas still to come. Returning to Petrograd, she finds the city almost unrecognizable after two years of revolution... and the streets teeming with homeless children, victims of war. Marina takes on the challenge of caring for these civil...

"An epic generational saga from New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray, based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy in some of humanity's darkest hours. Most castles are protected by powerful men. This one by women ... A reluctant resistor ... 1940. French schoolteacher and aspiring artist Marthe Simone has an orphan's self-reliance and wants nothing to do with war....