Whether related by biology, marriage, circumstance, or choice, aunts embody a uniquely flexible familial role. The aunt-niece/nephew relationship--though often overlooked--is critical and complex, one that appears at the core of a resilient, healthy family life. Drawing on personal narratives that represent a rich cross section of society, Ellingson and Sotirin construct a cohesive story of the diversity of aunting experiences in the contemporary...

When her father enters the hospital to have open-heart surgery, ten-year-old Emma is sent to Peconic Bay to live with her tormented aunt and finds the experience painful until she meets a friend who suggests making a miniature village in the sand.

After James Henry Trotter's parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts. Life there is no fun, until James receives some magical, tiny green things and accidentally drops them by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends-- Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug,...

When orphaned, eleven-year-old Pollyanna comes to live with austere and wealthy Aunt Polly, her philosophy of gladness brings happiness to her aunt and other unhappy members of the community.

Stunned by the news of her sister's and her brother-in-law's deaths, Sarah Cain journeys to Lancaster County to claim her five orphaned nieces and nephews, who have been brought up as members of the Amish community.

An orphaned girl is sent to live with extended family after her father's sudden death. Emily Starr is forced to leave her relaxed home for a stern environment. She struggles to adjust to her relatives and new classmates on Prince Edward Island.

Horrified at the thought of caring for talkative, ten-year-old Rebecca, the spinster aunts nevertheless spend seven difficult years raising their niece, rewarding years for all three inhabitants of the little brick house in a small New England town.

"The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon The Girl on the Train returns with Into the Water, her addictive new novel of psychological suspense. A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long...

Jessi, who feels that she is old enough to take care of herself, is humiliated when strict and bossy Aunt Cecelia moves in to control her life and interfere with the Baby-sitters Club.