The 86th Degree by Barbara Harken

The 86th Degree is a sassy novel of passion, romance, betrayal, and mystery by Barbara Harken, the next "Danielle Steel!"  

"The 86th Degree is a love story written with so much emotion that you are infused with empathy.  Denied love and the desire to be loved are parallel with abuse and abusers. Barb weaves passion, romance, and mystery into her novel set in the education field that she knows so well.”   ~ Jeanne Anderson

This book is now available on Kindle (click here).

Also, see her newest book, Degree of Normal.

If we could measure emotional pain in degrees, we would all take action at 100 degrees.  Most of us live at 85 degrees.  The hardest step is the one above the norm. . .the 86th Degree.

Amber Helm begins her third year of teaching full of excitement, glad to be back in the comfort zone of the classroom.  At the beginning teacher inservice, she discovers that for several weeks, a former lover from college will be the “Artist in Residence,” the man she walked out on three years ago.  Set back by the inevitable confrontation, she resolves to treat him as an adult, a resolve not likely to happen.  Just as Amber thinks life is under control, in walks Jocelyn Quint, angry sophomore and abused child.  When Amber reaches out to Jocelyn, she is falsely accused of assault on Jocelyn’s mother and suspended.  The ripples of her own relationship with a toxic mother surface, and she must do more than get her job back.  She must learn to love herself, and then be open to a love that waits for her.

“Sometimes it takes the fight to rescue someone else before you can save yourself.  In this relevant novel, the lives of a spirited and dedicated teacher, a past love, and a troubled student collide.  The reader will follow and support Amber Helm through her trials and realization to an enlightening denouement.”  ~ Karen Anderson
 
“Think the latest buzz in the teachers’ lounge is about grades? If you do, Barb Harken’s sassy first novel—a tale about a young teacher’s lost love, her feelings, desires and ultimate betrayal—will change your mind. With only so much time to read, don’t wait. Discover if family ties are lethal.”  ~ Vi Steine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbara Harken was raised in Chicago until she moved to Iowa when she was sixteen. She taught high school English and social studies for thirty-eight years until she retired. She dabbles in a side career as a singer and has published educational material and personal essays.  She currently lives in Waverly, Iowa with her husband Bob, where she teaches writing at Wartburg College.