The Silver Compass - Large Print Author:Holly Kennedy Ellis Williams was seventeen, pregnant, abandoned by her own father, and scared to death when she jumped off a bridge in Barrows, Montana, one Sunday morning. Then along came Louie Johnson, who pulled her from the river and with a beautiful lie saved her from shame. His selfless act changed several lives that day...and led Ellis to rediscover th... more »e treasured silver compass that has been her touchstone and inspiration ever since. That was fifteen years ago. And a lot has changed. Recently widowed, with a troubled teenage daughter of her own, Ellis returns to Barrow, where life still catches her by surprise. First, the town eccentric is none other than Louie Johnson, who is estranged from his grown daughter and keeping things hopping down at the nursing home where Ellis gets a job. Then Ellis's father suddenly reappears after almost two decades, and Ellis is town between bitter resentment and a profound yearning to reconnect with her past. Amid the confusion of these tangled lies, Ellis begins to learn that forgiveness and second chances often go hand in hand, and that life's most wonderful gifts can come in an instant, pointing us in new directions...« less