The search for a missing baby drives this heart-pounding page turner, from Edgar Award Winner Susan Shreve (Lucy Forever and Miss Rosetree, Shrinks). It was just a few minutes. Stuck in a hotel room babysitting while the rest of her family celebrated downstairs in the hotel, Jess thought she'd try on her sister's wedding dress in the large bathroom while the baby slept. But when Jess opens the door again the baby is gone. Fighting guilt and terror, Jess and her kleptomaniac sister Teddy evade the swirl of police and hotel staff in their own desperate effort to get Baby Ruby back before it's too late. Praise for The Lovely Shoes"The delicious Italian dream-come-true is just plausible, while the conclusion, with Franny figuring out how to get her feet on the ground in her own sensible way, is just right." -- Horn Book"Since this is Susan Shreve, master of subtle and wise perception, she's not simply offering a story of a girl who finally gets pretty shoes; Franny's exploration of what, for her, is possible and what is actually desirable is a trajectory of maturation." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksPraise for BlisterAn ALA Notable Book"With a tightly woven plot and entirely convincing characters, Shreve again proves herself an inspired and inspiring storyteller." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review"This perceptively written novel with memorable characters gets right to the bone." -- Booklist, boxed review Susan Shreve is the author of twelve novels, more than twenty books for children, and the co-editor of three anthologies. She teaches at George Mason University, where she is a founder of the MFA Creative Writing program. Along with her books, Shreve also wrote short essay documentaries for the Jim Lehrer News Hour, and had one of her books adapted into an NBC series.Susan lives in Washington DC with her husband. From THE SEARCH FOR BABY RUBYLeaning against the wall, Jess considered Whee's wedding dress.It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. Did she dare? If she tried it on, really quickly just to see herself in the full length mirror on the back of the door, would she be sorry? It could be too small, especially around the waist since Whee was thin. It could rip. And then what? And what about Whee? It wasn't Whee's fault that Jess was baby sitting during the rehearsal dinner.She took the white lace strapless bra out of the basket on the bidet, took the wedding dress off its hanger, unzipping the side, the dress over her head, sliding down her arms, her torso. It was heavy, a little stiff, and it almost fit, but she couldn't zip it up because the zipper was in the back. She checked the mirror, adjusted the front of the dress so it lay flat against her chest, her head up, no jewelry, only make up.Make up!And she'd put the dress on over her head.Oh god, she thought. Could lipstick or concealer or powder or blush have gotten on the dress? She glanced through half- closed eyes. Nothing, nothing, and then she saw just a tiny mark at the top of the dress, tiny, tiny, tiny, she thought, and concealed by the pearls strewn over the front.Would Whee notice? Or would she be too nervous to notice anything except how beautiful she was.A jumble of thoughts rushed through Jess's mind and suddenly she remembered that she had left Baby Ruby on her back lying on a terry cloth towel in the middle of the bedroom.She turned off the water and listened.Nothing.Slowly, her heart pounding in her head, warm blood sinking to her feet, a weak sick feeling in her stomach, she opened the bathroom door. Praise for The Lovely Shoes"The delicious Italian dream-come-true is just plausible, while the conclusion, with Franny figuring out how to get her feet on the ground in her own sensible way, is just right." -- Horn Book"Since this is Susan Shreve, master of subtle and wise perception, she's not simply offerin

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