Lima, oggi. Eufrasia è una giovane domestica pratica e gentile che si occupa di doña Carmen, un'anziana signora oppressa dal fatto di non vedere più l'oceano dalla finestra. Il dirimpettaio è un medico in pensione che ama il jazz, il dottor Harrison. Doña Carmen è la prima persona che Eufrasia aiuterà ad andarsene in cambio di una somma modesta, il corrispettivo di dieci porcellini d'India, che in Perù sono animali preziosi; poi sarà Harrison a chiederle una mano. Rimasta senza impiego, Eufrasia comincia a lavorare in una casa di riposo e fa la conoscenza dei Magnifici Sette, un manipolo di anziani, ciascuno con le sue stravaganze, ancora autonomi, accomunati dallo stesso desiderio di congedarsi dalla vita in modo sommesso. E così Tío Miguelito vecchio surfista in pensione, Tanaka detto 'il giappo', i fratelli Dupont e Dupond, il capitano di marina Giacomo Sanguinetti, Ubaldo il poeta e la signora Pollo chiedono una mano a Eufrasia e si avviano verso l'epilogo a bordo di un pulmino Volkswagen. I porcellini a questo punto sono saliti a novanta, un piccolo tesoro, quanto basta a Eufrasia per garantire gli studi al figlio: ma ne mancano ancora dieci per chiudere definitivamente il conto. Un romanzo dissacrante e commovente sulla cura e sul diritto alla dignità.

Venezuela is blessed with one of the largest avifaunas in the world. More than 1,400 species have been recorded in the country, thanks to a great diversity of habitats ranging from the High Andes to lowland Amazonian rainforest, and just about everything in between. Its strategic position in the north of South America also ensures that it receives many non-breeding migrants, both from the north and from the south. Add to this a good number of endemics, and you have all the ingredients for a top birding destination.

This brand new field guide has been written to fulfill the needs of both visiting and resident birders by providing a single-volume, portable field guide that covers every species recorded in the country. It has been written specifically to make it easier to identify birds in a country where the bewildering number of species can be a real challenge. The concise text concentrates on the key information needed to identify a species (or subspecies), and the distinctions from confusing or similar species. Up to date distribution maps are provided for every species.

The illustrations are placed opposite the text for easy reference and cover all major plumage variations. The guide has been designed to be both portable in the field and user-friendly. It is the only guide you will need to identify birds in Venezuela and is a major new addition to the Helm Field Guides series.

A dazzling, heartbreaking page-turner destined for breakout status: a novel that gives voice to millions of Americans as it tells the story of the love between a Panamanian boy and a Mexican girl: teenagers living in an apartment block of immigrant families like their own.

After their daughter Maribel suffers a near-fatal accident, the Riveras leave México and come to America. But upon settling at Redwood Apartments, a two-story cinderblock complex just off a highway in Delaware, they discover that Maribel's recovery-the piece of the American Dream on which they've pinned all their hopes-will not be easy. Every task seems to confront them with language, racial, and cultural obstacles. At Redwood also lives Mayor Toro, a high school sophomore whose family arrived from Panamà fifteen years ago. Mayor sees in Maribel something others do not: that beyond her lovely face, and beneath the damage she's sustained, is a gentle, funny, and wise spirit. But as the two grow closer, violence casts a shadow over all their futures in America. Peopled with deeply sympathetic characters, this poignant yet unsentimental tale of young love tells a riveting story of unflinching honesty and humanity that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be an American. An instant classic is born.