the stories : novels . artwork . movies . book-list . clear
{ novels ~ the orphans miniseries, 1998 }
Book One:
Butterfly (1998)
from back cover:
She was the answer to all her new parents' dreams-but as fragile as a butterfly....
For as long as she could remember, Janet's world had been the orphanage, full of cruel jokes and silent wishes for the day she'd have a family of her own. She hardly believed it when Sanford and Celine Delorice chose her to be her daughter, whisking her away from her tragic past. Her new father is handsome and kind, and though Celine is confined to a wheelchair, she is the most beautiful and elegant woman Janet has ever seen. Soon Janet learns the routines of their grand estate, including those of the studio where she takes ballet lessons from a cruel teacher. Celine is convinced that Janet will one day dazzle audiences as a ballerina, just as she did before her accident. Eager to bring sunshine to all their days, Janet tries with all her might to please them. But she is dancing on a fragile web of happiness, never knowing what might happen if one glittering strand should break....
Book Two:
Crystal (1998)
from back cover:
Bright and fearless, Crystal will discover that new parents means new worries....
When the Morrises chose Crystal from all the other girls and boys in the orphanage, she is full of optimism-at last she has a home to call her own. Karl Morris, her new dad, likes math as much as she likes science, and he's already proud of her being a good student. Thelma, her new mom, makes her feel truly wanted for the first time. And though Thelma seems more interested in her television soap operas then in real life, Crystal feels in her heart that their tidy little house will become a real home. Crystal is especially pleased when the Morrises approve of her first boyfriend. But she will soon discover that in her new home, sadness is banished to the back of a closet...and that means no one is prepared when a shocking tragedy comes rattling at the door.
Book Three:
Brooke (1998)
from back cover:
It was like a magic carpet ride to a glamorous new life....
In Brooke's most secret dreams, her mother would return to the orphanage, full of remorse for having left her there so long ago. Brooke never imagined a rich couple that looked like movie stars saying "We'll take her," and whisking her away to be her daughter. Yet Pamela Thompson and her husband, Peter, seem thrilled to welcome her to their huge, gleaming house. Soon Brooke is enrolled in a snobby girls school, and recieving daily lessons in etiquette. Every hour and every outfit is to prepare her for the beauty pageants Pamela demands that she enter and win. But Brooke just wants an ordinary family life-and to play on the school softball team, where her real talents are appreciated. For only when she's on the field with her friends can she escape the dreadful felling that she must always be obedient...or risk her golden chance for a name, a home, and freedom from the terrible secrets of her past.
Book Four:
Raven (1998)
from back cover:
Raven longed for a home like those she saw on TV....
Living with her drunken mother in a battered apartment hardly fit for humans, Raven often heard how her birth twelve years ago was a big mistake. Then her mother was arrested, and her Uncle Reuben took Raven to live with him, her aunt, and two cousins. Aunt Clara welcomed her warmly, and for the first time Raven had her own room in a clean, orderly household. In spite of Uncle Reuben's strict rules and cruel comments, as she fell asleep on her own soft pillow she felt in her heart a faint tremor of hope. But while she knew Uncle Reuben preferred not to have her there, Raven couldn't guess at the shocking secrets lurking beneath the family's facade...or anticipate the painful humiliation that would make her wish for her old life with Mama again....
Book Five:
Runaways (1998)
from back cover:
Friends forever...the four orphans together at last!
"All for one and one for all" was the girl's motto. In the grim foster home for orphans run by Louise and Gordon Tooey, at least Brooke, Crystal, Raven, and Butterfly had each other. Calling themselves "sisters," together they could forget the past and dream of a new chance...a real home. Then they discovered a secret even more haunting then Gordon's heavy boots pounding on the wooden floor. Their fragile hopes of a better life shattered, they escaped the only way they could. Soon they were runaways in a borrowed car, desperately wishing to wake up one morning in a place of sunshine and love. Raven hoped to be a singer, Butterfly wanted to be a dancer, Crystal planned for college, and Brooke privately hoped to find her mother in California. On the open road, the chains of sadness that had bound them seemed to melt away, and the kindness of strangers made a secure future seem almost real. But the highway was a dangerous place, and soon they were penniless and more vulnerable than ever. Alone under the wide western sky, they had only each other to ask if they should give up their dreams...or if they really were halfway to a haven of safety and happiness....
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