south carolina

"A chilling journey inside the mind and crimes of Larry Gene Bell, one of the most dangerous serial killers (FBI Agent) Douglas confronted, and the desperate effort to identify and catch him."--.

"Sitting in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is a rough cotton bag, called 'Ashley's Sack,' embroidered with just a handful of words that evoke a . . . family story of loss and of love passed down through generations. In 1850s South Carolina, just before nine-year-old Ashley was sold, her mother, Rose, gave her a sack filled with just a few things as a token of her love. Decades later, Ashley's granddaughter, Ruth, embroidered this history on the bag--including Rose's message that 'It be filled with my Love always.' Historian Tiya Miles carefully follows faint archival traces back to Charleston to find Rose in the kitchen where she may have packed the sack for Ashley. From Rose's last resourceful gift to her daughter, Miles then follows the paths their lives and the lives of so many like them took to write a . . . history of the lived experience of slavery in the United States. The contents of the sack--a tattered dress, handfuls of pecans, a braid of hair, 'my Love always'--speak volumes and open up a window on Rose and Ashley's world. As she follows Ashley's journey, Miles metaphorically 'unpacks' the sack, deepening its emotional resonance and revealing the meanings and significance of everything it contained. These include the story of enslaved labor's role in the cotton trade and apparel crafts and the rougher cotton 'negro cloth' that was left for enslaved people to wear; the role of the pecan in nutrition, survival, and southern culture; the significance of hair to Black women and of locks of hair in the nineteenth century; and an exploration of Black mothers' love and the place of emotion in history"--Provided by publisher.

" . . . Sherman Carmichael is back with another collection of the weird, strange, and mysterious in the Palmetto State. Read about the return of the infamous Lizard Man. Learn why the ghost of Francis Marion regularly appears at a church cemetery for a rendezvous. Discover the Sea Pines Shell Ring and learn of its Native American origin. Walk the halls of the old South Carolina Lunatic Asylum and hear the moans of former patients. Join Carmichael as he contemplates these stories and many more from the dark side of South Carolina"--Back cover.

At 17, Layla Weston is already starting over. Having lost both her parents and grandparents, and with nowhere else to go, Layla is moving from Florida to a small town in North Carolina to live with the only family she has left: her estranged uncle and aunt. The last five years of Layla's life were spent appeasing her less-than-loving grandmother, followed by being her grandfather's caretaker. Growing old before her time, Layla lost her identity. Now she must learn how to allow herself to be the one who is cared for and loved. Life takes an unexpected turn when Layla meets Will Meyer. His breathtaking good looks are enough to catch her eye, but his sincerity and passion are everything she needs to find the strength and confidence she lost-- and lead her into love. When tragedy once again strikes Layla's life, her hope is all but completely crushed. Through it all, Layla learns what it means to truly love and be loved.

Text and illustrations look at the dangerous plan of an enslaved man named Robert Smalls taking control of a Confederate steamboat, the Planter.

"The CNN analyst and youngest state representative in South Carolina's history illuminates the lives of America's forgotten rural, Black working-class men and women"--Provided by publisher.

"It's 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won't stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven, and their uncle, Doc, tells them he's going to train them in rootwork. Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations--especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family's true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs, and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it's going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through"--Provided by publisher.

Eleven-year-old Ella seeks information about her father while enjoying a visit with her mother, a jazz singer, in Boston in 1944, then returns to the harsh realities of segregated, small-town South Carolina.

"Eleven-year-old Riley's mom has disappeared and Riley knows that if he leaves tributes for the whispers, magical fairies that grant wishes, his mom will come back to him"--Provided by publisher.

"Gabriel, twelve, gains new perspective when he becomes friends with Meriwether, a Black World War II hero who has recently returned to the unwelcoming Jim Crow South"--Provided by publisher.