The Forbidden Orchid

The Forbidden Orchid
Author: Sharon Biggs Waller
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2016-03-08
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0698187970

The adventures of a British girl in China, hunting for the orchid that will save her family. Staid, responsible Elodie Buchanan is the eldest of ten sisters growing up in a small English market town in 1861. The girls barely know their father, a plant hunter usually off adventuring through China, more myth than man. Then disaster strikes: Mr. Buchanan reneges on his contract to collect an extremely rare and valuable orchid. He will be thrown into debtors’ prison while his daughters are sent to the orphanage and the workhouse. Elodie can’t stand by and see her family destroyed, so she persuades her father to return to China once more to try to hunt down the flower—only this time, despite everything she knows about her place in society, Elodie goes with him. She has never before left her village, but what starts as fear turns to wonder as she adapts to seafaring life aboard the tea clipper The Osprey, and later to the new sights, dangers, and romance of China. She comes to find that both the world and her place in it are so much bigger than she’d ever dreamed. But now, even if she can find the orchid, how can she ever go back to being the staid, responsible Elodie that everybody needs?

A Mad, Wicked Folly

A Mad, Wicked Folly
Author: Sharon Biggs Waller
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2014-01-23
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1101614412

In Edwardian London, a girl dreams of being an artist, despite her family's disapproval. Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl. After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

The Forbidden Orchid

The Forbidden Orchid
Author: Sharon Biggs Waller
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2016
Genre: Adventure stories
ISBN: 0451474112

"In 1861, Elodie sails from her home in England to China to help her father search for a rare and valuable orchid"-- Provided by publisher.

Empress Orchid

Empress Orchid
Author: Anchee Min
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2004
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0618562036

From a master of the historical novel, Empress Orchid sweeps readers into the heart of the Forbidden City to tell the fascinating story of a young concubine who becomes China's last empress. Min introduces the beautiful Tzu Hsi, known as Orchid, and weaves an epic of a country girl who seized power through seduction, murder, and endless intrigue. When China is threatened by enemies, she alone seems capable of holding the country together. In this "absorbing companion piece to her novel Becoming Madame Mao" (New York Times), readers and reading groups will once again be transported by Min's lavish evocation of the Forbidden City in its last days of imperial glory and by her brilliant portrait of a flawed yet utterly compelling woman who survived, and ultimately dominated, a male world.

The Last Empress

The Last Empress
Author: Anchee Min
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2011-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1408828995

'Vivid and entertaining ... this is history as it plays upon the emotions. Empires crumble, hearts are broken' THE TIMES From the bestselling author of Red Azalea comes the much-anticipated sequel to Empress Orchid At the end of the nineteenth century China is rocked by foreign attacks and local rebellions. The only constant is the power wielded by one woman, Tzu Hsi, also known as Empress Orchid, who must face the perilous condition of her empire and devastating personal losses. In this sequel to the bestselling Empress Orchid, Anchee Min brings to life one of the most important figures in Chinese history, a very human leader who sacrifices all she has to protect both those she loves and her doomed empire.

Girls on the Verge

Girls on the Verge
Author: Sharon Biggs Waller
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2019-04-09
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1250151694

"Absolutely essential, as is the underlying message that girls take care of each other when no one else will." —Booklist, Starred Review A 2020 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection Girls on the Verge is an incredibly timely novel about a woman’s right to choose. Sharon Biggs Waller brings to life a narrative that has to continue to fight for its right to be told, and honored. Camille couldn't be having a better summer—she kills it as Ophelia in her community theater's production of Hamlet, catches the eye of the cutest boy in the play, and nabs a spot in a prestigious theater program. But on the very night she learns she got into the program, she also finds out she’s pregnant. She definitely can’t tell her parents. And her best friend Bea doesn’t agree with the decision Camille has made. Camille is forced to try to solve her problem alone...and the system is very much working against her. At her most vulnerable, Camille reaches out to Annabelle Ponsonby, a girl she only barely knows from the theater. Happily, Annabelle agrees to drive her wherever she needs to go. And in a last minute change of heart, Bea decides to come with. Over the course of more than a thousand miles, friendships will be tested and dreams will be challenged. But ultimately, the girls will realize that friends are the real heroes in every story. "[C]ompelling... This title offers realistic viewpoints on teenage pregnancy, along with what it is like to have the right to choose, wanting that right, and living knowing that you will be judged for having exercised it." —School Library Journal, Starred Review

The Orchid Throne

The Orchid Throne
Author: Jeffe Kennedy
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2019-09-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250194326

In the Forgotten Empires magic is forbidden, dreams are destiny, and love is the greatest power of all...Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, the lush romantic fantasy world of the Forgotten Empires series will sweep you away. A PRISONER OF FATE As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Lia will do anything to keep her people free—and her secrets safe—from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland. Guided by a magic ring of her father’s, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her heart, she knows that it’s up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor’s bride. But in her dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world—a man whose spirit is as strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own... A PRINCE AMONG MEN Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Lia holds so dear to her heart. When the two banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their eyes—nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls? “A lush... perilous and passionate world.”—New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep

The Orchid House

The Orchid House
Author: Lucinda Riley
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2012-02-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1451655789

Spanning the 1930s to the present day, from a magnificent estate in war-torn England to Thailand, this sweeping debut tells the tale of a concert pianist, Julia, and the prominent Crawford family whose shocking secrets are revealed, leading to devastating consequences for generations to come.

The Secret of the India Orchid

The Secret of the India Orchid
Author: Nancy Campbell Allen
Publisher: Proper Romance Regency
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781629722931

When Anthony, Earl of Wilshire, journeys to India on an undercover mission to investigate a mystery surrounding a confidential document, he is reunited with Sophia, whom he hopes can forgive him for breaking her heart and even consider giving love a second chance.