Bonus: HARDTalk - Past Notes

The novel follows the life of Emma Harte, from her humble beginnings as a servant girl in a Yorkshire manor house to her rise as the iron-willed force behind a thriving international enterprise. The story spans multiple generations, including her personal struggles, loves, losses, and her relentless drive to succeed in a male-dominated world. Despite her professional success, Emma faces numerous personal trials, including two marriages, the loss of loved ones, and the betrayal of those closest to her. The book is a testament to her unbreakable spirit and resolve.

The New York Trilogy consists of three novels: *City of Glass* (1985), *Ghosts* (1986), and *The Locked Room* (1986). Each novel is structured like a detective story but delves into deeper philosophical and existential questions. In *City of Glass*, Daniel Quinn, a writer of detective fiction, assumes the identity of a detective named Paul Auster to follow a man named Peter Stillman. *Ghosts* follows Blue, a detective hired to watch a man named Black, leading to an identity crisis and a blurring of reality. *The Locked Room* narrates the story of an unnamed writer who assumes the identity of his childhood friend Fanshawe, leading to a complex exploration of identity and authorship. The trilogy is known for its experimental style and its exploration of themes such as truth, language, and the self[2][3][5].

This book tells the autobiographical story of Michaela DePrince, who found inspiration in a photo of a ballerina at the age of three while living in an orphanage in Sierra Leone. Adopted by an American family, Michaela pursued her dream of becoming a ballerina despite various challenges, including her vitiligo and the rarity of black ballerinas. The book is a Step 4 Step into Reading book, designed for newly independent readers, and it highlights Michaela's determination, hard work, and ultimate success as a professional dancer.