Annie May Weightman and Violet Cobble are best friends and neighbors. They live in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, during the Great Depression. This is their story, told in two voices. Annie is happiest on the ground, sifting through the dust for traces of the past. But Violet is a dreamer always playing make believe to escape, to fly away from the dusty land. In this beautifully crafted first novel, poet Tracey Porter joins together two unique voices to tell a larger story of America, its hopes and dreams, during a time when thousands fled their prairie homes in search of work, food, and shelter.
Annie and Violet's story is one of friendship and courage--treasures shining through in the face of hardship.

Treasures in the Dust

Children's Books

Porter, Tracey

Literature & Fiction

Harpercollins

I want to stretch to the moon, Delia thought. Far, far away.
Twelve-year-old Delia Ferri doesn't remember her mother or her family the way it used to be. All she knows is that her sister, Pearl, and her father are fighting more and more. Pearl is withdrawn and angry and obsessed with witchcraft. Delia vows not to give her father anything else to worry about.
The only time Delia feels important and alive is when she is dancing for Madame Elanova, a world-famous ballet instructor who calls Delia "destined." Delia relishes the hard work required to be a ballet dancer, but she doesn't see the toll it is taking on her life. As competition for Madame's approval takes over, Delia's weight drastically drops, her schoolwork suffers, and she pulls away from her friends and family. Only then does she begin to understand how fiercely her sister had to fight to find her own truth.
A Dance of Sisters is an intimate portrait of the rigorous world of ballet, and a story of two girls searching for connection. Tracey Porter's beautiful novel explores the many dances of life, and the bond between sisters that sometimes only experience can reveal.

A Dance of Sisters

Arts, Music & Photography

Joanna Cotler

While fighting to get Madame Elanova's approval for her dancing, Delia's life begins to fall apart as her focus on that one and only goal causes her to lose a grip on everything else, including her schoolwork and her health.

Folks say I'm bound to be unlucky in life, for I was born at midnight on a Friday, the thirteenth of December, and Peggy says it's certain I can commune with spirits. But I ain't never seen any ghosts, not even my own mother, and wouldn't that be the ghost I'd see if I could?
So begins the tale of Billy Creekmore, a boy with mystifying powers and the glorious gift of storytelling. But what does life hold for someone growing up in the cruel clutches of the Guardian Angels Home for Boys, where Billy's gifts do more harm than good?
Escaping the orphanage seems an impossible feat, but when a stranger comes to claim Billy, he sets off on an extraordinary journey. With only a tin box that holds precious mementos of his beloved mother and mysterious father, Billy travels from the coal mines of West Virginia to the spectacular world of a traveling circus in search of his past, his future, and his own true self.

Billy Creekmore: A Novel

Biographies

He is a motherless child, a coal miner, a circus star, a con artist, a seer, a hero, and a survivor.
This is the tale of Billy Creekmore, a young boy with mystifying powers and the gift of storytelling. But his life in the Guardian Angels Orphanage is cruel and bleak, and when a stranger comes to claim Billy, he sets off on an extraordinary journey. From the coal mines of West Virginia to the world of a traveling circus, he searches for the secrets of his past, his future, and his own true self.

When sixteen-year-old Lark Austin is kidnapped from her Virginia hometown and left to die in a snowy forest, she leaves behind two friends who are stunned by the loss. As Lark's former best friend, Eve can't shake the guilt that this tragedy was somehow her fault. Meanwhile, Nyetta is haunted each night by Lark's ghost, who comes through the bedroom window and begs Nyetta to set her soul free. Eve and Nyetta realize that Lark is trapped in limbo, and only by coming together to heal themselves will they discover why.
Tracey Porter's stunning narrative about love and loss demonstrates that forgiveness can never come too late.

Lark

Teen & Young Adult

I want to stretch to the moon, Delia thought. Far, far away.
Twelve-year-old Delia Ferri doesn't remember her mother, or her family the way it used to be. All she knows is that her sister, Pearl, and her father are fighting more and more. Pearl is withdrawn and angry, so Delia vows not to give her father anything else to worry about.
Delia loses herself to the rigorous world of ballet, and only when it has consumed her completely does she begin to understand how fiercely her sister had to fight for her own truth. Delia discovers that the bond between two sisters can't be broken -- no matter where the dance of life takes them.

Treasures in the Dust (Avenues)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Porter, Tracey. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Porter, Tracey

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Porter, Tracey. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Treasures in the Dust

A Dance of Sisters

A Dance of Sisters

Billy Creekmore: A Novel

Billy Creekmore: A Novel

Billy Creekmore: A Novel

Lark

A Dance of Sisters

Treasures in the Dust (Avenues)