312 State Street, St. Joseph, MI 49085 | Phone: (269) 982-1110 | Winter Hours: Mon - Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5
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-PLEASE NOTE- OUR ONLINE INVENTORY IS NOT OUR IN-STORE INVENTORY. It does offer all books that we can order and generally arrive at the store within 1-3 business days.
Books that say "Email or Call for Price" may be out of stock in our warehouse.
After her mother's death, Gabrielle Robinson found two diaries her grandfather had kept while serving as doctor during the fall of Berlin 1945. He recorded his daily struggle to survive in the ruined city where little could be done for the wounded without water, light, and medications. But then the diaries revealed something that hit Robinson like a punch to the gut: Api, her beloved grandfather, had been a Nazi. Robinson juxtaposes her grandfather's harrowing account with her memories of his loving protection after the war and raises disturbing questions about the political responsibility we all carry as individuals. Moving and provocative, Api's Berlin Diaries offers a firsthand and personal perspective on the far-reaching aftershocks of the Third Reich.
Gabrielle tells stories about people that reveal their personal situation within its historical context.
One reason for her fascination with the intersection of the personal and historical stems from her own experience. Born in Berlin in 1942, her father’s fighter plane was shot down in 1943. After her family was bombed out twice, they fled Berlin in 1945 and became refugees in a North German village.
In 1962 she moved to Urbana, Illinois with her mother and stepfather. After a 1964 BA, she won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and got an MA at Columbia University in 1965. She then she moved to London with her Scottish husband and earned a PhD from the University of London in 1968. Gabrielle taught at the University of Illinois, where her only son was born, at Indiana University South Bend, and abroad.
Gabrielle now is settled in South Bend, Indiana, with her husband Mike, a sociologist turned sustainable neighborhood developer, and their cat Max. Her son is an English professor at SUNY Stony Brook.
Book Signing with Kelly Baptist
Sunday, April 2 from 1-3 pm
Don't miss this poignant novel in verse from the award-winning author of Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero.
A ten-day suspension has tweens De'Kari and Ebony seeing the world with a fresh perspective. Two kids. One fight. No one thinks they’re wrong. Award-winning author Kelly J. Baptist delivers a novel in verse that follows Eb and Flow as they navigate their parallel lives. Single-parent homes, tight funds, and sibling dynamics provide a balancing act for the growing tweens. And whether they realize it or not, these two have a lot more in common than they think.
Kelly's previous intermediate novel, Isaiah Dunn is My Hero, was chosen for the 2023 One Book, One City Read for Kids in the City of Grand Rapids!
"The Secret of Gumper the Rabbit" is a story about a bunny who is born different from the other rabbits. Gumper's best friend Oink, an easily frazzled guinea pig, helps him to use his differences to save the day at the pet store. Gumper learns many new lessons about being different while discovering a secret that is taught to all bunnies.
Proceeds of, "The Secret of Gumper the Rabbit " will be used to support children and families impacted by congenital heart conditions at DeVos Children's Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Cherie is a professional portrait artist. She built a reputation for painting Hollywood and sports celebrities while living in Southern California. Between commissions, Cherie worked on original character development. Fine artistry and childhood imagination blended together to introduce Gumper, the rabbit and Oink, the guinea pig to the world of make-believe. After raising a family, she completed her writing and illustrations of "The Secret of Gumper the Rabbit." This is Cherie's first children's book in the series. She now resides in Southwest Michigan with her husband and two sons.
Tuesday, May 16 at 6:30We are thrilled to welcome author Brenda Novak to Forever Books on her Seaside Library Traveling Bookstore - and mini coffee shop - book tour! Brenda will be in conversation with USA Today Best Selling author Wade Rouse/Viola Shipman.
This event is free for all to attend, but RSVPs are required. You can let us know you're coming, pre-purchase a signed and personalized copy of The Seaside Library, or even purchase a VIP tour package including a specially designed "Bookstream" tote and matching bookmark on Brenda's website here: https://brendanovakstore.com/products/booktour
Or please call the store at 269-982-1110 to RSVP.
Click here to Pre-Order with us today!
There are secrets that bring friends together, and others that drive them apart…
Mariners Island is barely ten miles long, but when Ivy, Ariana and Cam were teenagers, it was their whole world. Beyond the pristine beaches and iconic lighthouse lies the beautiful old library that belongs to Ivy’s family. While that bound Ivy to the island as an adult, Ariana could not leave Mariners behind fast enough. The town holds too many…memories. Not only her unrequited feelings for Cam, but the tragedy that left a scar on the community.
When a young girl went missing, a teenaged Cam was unthinkably the prime suspect. Ariana and Ivy knew he couldn’t have hurt anyone, and they promised to protect him—even if it meant lying on his behalf.
Now, twenty years later, Ariana returns to Mariners just as new evidence emerges on the case, calling into question everything the three friends thought they knew—and everyone they thought they could trust. What really happened that night? Over the course of one eventful summer, Ariana, Ivy and Cam will learn the truth—about their pasts, their futures and the ties that still bind them as closely as the pages of a book…
