A vivid and gripping story of an epic Maine snowstorm that tested the very limits of human endurance. A National Bestseller For many, the past few years have been defined by climate disaster. Stories about once-in-a-lifetime hurricanes, floods, fires, droughts and even snowstorms are now commonplace. But dramatic weather events are not new and Northeaster, Cathie Pelletier’s breathtaking account of the 1952 snowstorm that blanketed New England, offers a valuable reminder about nature’s capacity for destruction as well as insight into the human instinct for preservation.  Northeaster weaves together a rich cast of characters whose lives were uprooted and endangeredby the storm. Housewives and lobstermen, loggers and soldiers were all trapped as snow piled in drifts twenty feet high. The storm smothered hundreds of travelers in their cars, covered entire towns, and broke ships in half. In the midst of the blizzard’s chaos, there were remarkable acts of heroism and courageous generosities. Doctors braved the storm to help deliver babies. Ordinary people kept their wits while buried in their cars, and others made their way out of forests to find kind-hearted strangers willing to take them in.  It’s likely that none of us know how we would handle a confrontation with a blizzard or other natural disaster. But Northeaster shows that we have it inside to fight for survival in some of the harshest conditions that nature has to offer.  

When Charlie Baker’s parents announce that they’re taking him and his sister—the drama queen Clarissa—to a cabin in Maine for two weeks, Charlie thinks they’re kidding. “But we’re city kids,� Clarrisa protests. “I’m allergic to trees!� Then Mrs. Baker adds something else. “There’s no electricity,� she tells them. “And you leave your cell phones and ipads home.� They weren’t kidding. “It’s on a lake,� says his father, as if having water would make up for it. When the Bakers arrive at Lake Fortune, in rural Maine, they are welcomed by a rickety cabin with an outhouse, a thunder and lightning storm, and a creature in the attic that masquerades as a ghost. “Is this a scientific experiment?� asks Clarissa. “Is the government paying us?� But then true adventure begins when they discover a clue left in a Mason jar on a tiny island in the lake. That clue—written by The Mystery Traveler—leads them to an old apple tree, and a second clue. Soon, they are on the path of an exciting treasure hunt, one that brings Charlie and the bossy Clarrisa together for the first time. Not only do they bond as brother and big sister—especially after a harrowing experience in which Charlie rescues Clarissa—they have the summer of their lives. When The Mystery Traveler’s identity is finally discovered, no one is more shocked than Charlie. They are city kids who can now find the Big Dipper and Jupiter in the sky, who know that strange sound is made by loons, and what “fetch� a pail of water means. They wish the two weeks were two months. But they also love the city. They return to Boston knowing that the cabin and more adventures will be there for every vacation.

In 1916, a nearly unknown German-born theoretical physicist named Albert Einstein had developed his theory of relativity, but hadn't yet been able to prove it. The only way to do that was through the clear view and measurement of a solar eclipse. In May of 1919, one of the longest total solar eclipses of the 20th century was visible for almost seven minutes in the Southern Hemisphere. And so, two teams of intrepid astronomers set out on a treacherous journey-one to a remote town in Brazil, the other to the small African island of Principe. Their task was to answer the question: during the eclipse, would the stars' light waves follow Newton's law of gravitation, or Einstein's new theory of relativity? Proving Einstein Right is an epic chronicle of this decade-long mission. Hindered by everything from cloudy weather to world war, and travelling halfway around the globe, four men observed a solar eclipse that would catapult Albert Einstein to fame, set the framework for the Big Bang theory, and forever change the way we look at the universe.

Cathie Pelletier draws readers back to the beloved town of Mattagash, a seemingly quiet New England outpost in Maine. Yet Mattagash is anything but tranquil. While its citizens bicker publicly over small-town theft or their neighbors' offensive mailboxes, they privately struggle through deeper life issues: scandal, loss, failed ambitions, and the scars of war. Amazing pre-publication blurbs from Wally Lamb, Fannie Flagg, Richard Russo and others Pelletier is the winner of the New England Booksellers Award for Fiction and 2006 Paterson Prize for Fiction Author has strong bookseller connections, and the book has received enthusiastic pre-pub blurbs from indies

When Mattie Gifford's beloved son, Sonny, takes two women and a poodle hostage inside his ex-wife's trailer, the media descend like flies, his three sisters set up camp in Mattie's house, and Mattie begins to reflect on her life with bitingly hysterical and poignant insight.