Recommended Reads
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The Berry Pickers
2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize Winner
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence
A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a mystery that will haunt the survivors, unravel a family, and remain unsolved for nearly fifty years
"A stunning debut about love, race, brutality, and the balm of forgiveness." —People, A Best New Book
July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.
For readers of The Vanishing Half and Woman of Light, this showstopping debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma, and the persistence of love across time.
"A harrowing tale of Indigenous family separation . . . [Peters] excels in writing characters for whom we can’t help rooting . . . With The Berry Pickers, Peters takes on the monumental task of giving witness to people who suffered through racist attempts of erasure like her Mi’kmaw ancestors." —The New York Times Book Review -
Moon of the Crusted Snow
2023 Canada Reads Longlist Selection
National Bestseller
Winner of the 2019 OLA Forest of Reading Evergreen Award
Shortlisted for the 2019 John W. Campbell Memorial Award
Shortlisted for the 2019/20 First Nation Communities READ Indigenous Literature Award
2020 Burlington Library Selection; 2020 Hamilton Reads One Book One Community Selection; 2020 Region of Waterloo One Book One Community Selection; 2019 Ontario Library Association Ontario Together We Read Program Selection; 2019 Women's National Book Association's Great Group Reads; 2019 Amnesty International Book Club Pick
January 2020 Reddit r/bookclub pick of the month
"This slow-burning thriller is also a powerful story of survival and will leave readers breathless." -- Publishers Weekly
"Rice seamlessly injects Anishinaabe language into the dialogue and creates a beautiful rendering of the natural world ... This title will appeal to fans of literary science-fiction akin to Cormac McCarthy as well as to readers looking for a fresh voice in indigenous fiction." -- Booklist
A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow.
The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision.
Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.
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Seven Fallen Feathers
In 1966, twelve-year-old Chanie Wenjack froze to death on the railway tracks after running away from residential school. An inquest was called for and four recommendations were made to ensure the safety of indigenous students. None of those recommendations were applied.
More than a quarter of a century later, from 2000 to 2011, seven indigenous high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The seven were hundreds of miles away from their families, forced to leave home because there was no high school on their reserves. Five were found dead in the rivers surrounding Lake Superior, below a sacred indigenous site. Jordan Wabasse, a gentle boy and star hockey player, disappeared into the -20 Celsius night. The body of celebrated artist Norval Morrisseau's grandson, Kyle, was pulled from a river, as was Curran Strang's. Robyn Harper died in her boarding-house hallway and Paul Panacheese inexplicably collapsed on his kitchen floor. Reggie Bushie's death finally prompted an inquest, seven years after the discovery of Jethro Anderson, the first boy whose body was found in the water. But it was the death of twelve-year-old Chanie Wenjack that foreshadowed the loss of the seven.
Using a sweeping narrative focusing on the lives of the students, award-winning investigative journalist Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this small northern city that has come to manifest Canada's long struggle with human rights violations against indigenous communities.
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The Container Victory Garden: a beginner's guide to growing your own groceries
Even if all you have is a postage stamp's worth of space on a balcony, patio, or front stoop, The Container Victory Garden equips you to dig into the joys of container gardening, right where you are.
Imagine this: In the morning, you pluck a few mint leaves from your backdoor herb garden and add them to your tea. A few hours later, you step out onto your patio and collect a handful of lettuce leaves for your lunch salad. Just before dinner, you harvest a few basil leaves and cherry tomatoes for a delicious caprese pasta.
In her trademark warm and informative style, bestselling author and expert gardener Maggie Stuckey shares everything you need to know to succeed with container gardening: planning, gearing up, planting, nurturing, and harvesting.
In The Container Victory Garden, you will find:
- detailed line art drawings that illustrate many gardening techniques and set-ups
- first-person stories of World War II Victory Gardens and their inspiration for today's gardeners
- beautiful full-color paintings of diverse people enjoying their container gardens
This is the promise of container gardening: a fresh bounty of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers you can enjoy in every season.
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Compost Science for Gardeners: simple methods for nutrient-rich soil
Create your own compost and grow better plants.
With breathtaking clarity, Compost Science for Gardeners demystifies composting practices and helps readers determine the best technique for their unique situation. This comprehensive science-based book is your key to building healthier soil and growing better plants.
Using plain language and easy-to-follow instructions, this essential resource distills and blends the latest scientific research with the author's many decades of knowledge and experience into manageable form, debunking a host of common gardening myths along the way. Learn about:
- The role of composting in the ecological cycle
- Compostable materials to incorporate and those to avoid
- Browns and greens vs the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio
- The full range of composting methods, including cold and hot composting; composting in piles, bins, and tumblers; and pit and trench composting
- Keyhole gardening, food digesters, vermicomposting, bokashi, eco-enzyme fermentation, and more
- The relative merits and impact on the environment of each composting technique
- Using finished compost to improve soil health
Anyone can compost. Whether you are a balcony or backyard gardener, market gardener, small-scale farmer, or homesteader, or even if you are simply looking for a way to keep organic matter out of the landfill, this book will show you how to do it simply, safely, and sensibly.
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The Seven-Step Homestead: a guide for creating the backyard microfarm of your dreams
When faced with financial uncertainty or a potential disruption to the food supply, more people turn to vegetable gardening — for the joy, satisfaction, and sense of security that comes from growing food. Today’s gardeners want a bit of everything — vegetables, fruit, medicinal herbs, flowers for pollinators, and even chickens for eggs. The dream is to build a diverse landscape that serves multiple functions but achieving that goal can be intimidating and overwhelming. Homesteader Leah Webb shares her strategy for implementing a homestead plan in seven stages, starting small and gradually add more features each year. The Seven-Step Homestead takes readers through the process with a series of doable steps, beginning with establishing one or two raised beds of the easiest vegetables to grow, and gradually building up to the addition of fruit trees and berry bushes on hugelkulture mounds, a coop full of chickens, and a winter’s worth of storage crops. Step-by-step photos from the author's own homestead, accompanied by her hard-earned advice and instruction, make this a one-of-a-kind guide for anyone who aspires to free themselves from reliance on the commercial food system but doesn't know where to start or how to make it happen in a realistic way.
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Palestine 1936: the great revolt and the roots of the Middle East conflict
"Kessler's history is key to understanding the current situation between Israelis and Palestinians." --Booklist, Starred Review "[Kessler] has done an exceptional job and opened new vistas on troubles past and present." -- Wall Street Journal A gripping, profoundly human, yet even-handed narrative of the origins of the Middle East conflict, with enduring resonance and relevance for our time. In spring 1936, the Holy Land erupted in a rebellion that targeted both the local Jewish community and the British Mandate authorities that for two decades had midwifed the Zionist project. The Great Arab Revolt would last three years, cost thousands of lives--Jewish, British, and Arab--and cast the trajectory for the Middle East conflict ever since. Yet incredibly, no history of this seminal, formative first "Intifada" has ever been published for a general audience. The 1936-1939 revolt was the crucible in which Palestinian identity coalesced, uniting rival families, city and country, rich and poor in a single struggle for independence. Yet the rebellion would ultimately turn on itself, shredding the social fabric, sidelining pragmatists in favor of extremists, and propelling waves of refugees from their homes. British forces' aggressive counterinsurgency took care of the rest, finally quashing the uprising on the eve of World War II. The revolt to end Zionism had instead crushed the Arabs themselves, leaving them crippled in facing the Jews' own drive for statehood a decade later. To the Jews, the insurgency would leave a very different legacy. It was then that Zionist leaders began to abandon illusions over Arab acquiescence, to face the unnerving prospect that fulfilling their dream of sovereignty might mean forever clinging to the sword. The revolt saw thousands of Jews trained and armed by Britain--the world's supreme military power--turning their ramshackle guard units into the seed of a formidable Jewish army. And it was then, amid carnage in Palestine and the Hitler menace in Europe, that portentous words like "partition" and "Jewish state" first appeared on the international diplomatic agenda. This is the story of two national movements and the first sustained confrontation between them. The rebellion was Arab, but the Zionist counter-rebellion--the Jews' military, economic, and psychological transformation--is a vital, overlooked element in the chronicle of how Palestine became Israel. Today, eight decades on, the revolt's legacy endures. Hamas's armed wing and rockets carry the name of the fighter-preacher whose death sparked the 1936 rebellion. When Israel builds security barriers, sets up checkpoints, or razes homes, it is evoking laws and methods inherited from its British predecessor. And when Washington promotes a "two-state solution," it is invoking a plan with roots in this same pivotal period. Based on extensive archival research on three continents and in three languages, Palestine 1936 is the origin story of the world's most intractable conflict, but it is also more than that. In Oren Kessler's engaging, journalistic voice, it reveals world-changing events through extraordinary individuals on all sides: their loves and their hatreds, their deepest fears and profoundest hopes.
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Can We Talk About Israel?: a guide for the curious, confused, and conflicted
From the expert who understands both sides of one of the world's most complex, controversial topics, a modern-day Guide for the Perplexed-a primer on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Can't you just explain the Israel situation to me? In, like, 10 minutes or less?" This is the question Daniel Sokatch is used to answering on an almost daily basis as the head of the New Israel Fund, an organization dedicated to equality and democracy for all Israelis, not just Jews, Sokatch is supremely well-versed on the Israeli conflict.
Can We Talk About Israel? is the story of that conflict, and of why so many people feel so strongly about it without actually understanding it very well at all. It is an attempt to grapple with a century-long struggle between two peoples that both perceive themselves as (and indeed are) victims. And it's an attempt to explain why Israel (and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) inspires such extreme feelings-why it seems like Israel is the answer to “what is wrong with the world” for half the people in it, and “what is right with the world” for the other half. As Sokatch asks, is there any other topic about which so many intelligent, educated and sophisticated people express such strongly and passionately held convictions, and about which they actually know so little?
Complete with engaging illustrations by Christopher Noxon, Can We Talk About Israel? is an easy-to-read yet penetrating and original look at the history and basic contours of one of the most complicated conflicts in the world. -
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: a history of settler colonialism and resistance, 1917-2017
A landmark history of one hundred years of war waged against the Palestinians from the foremost US historian of the Middle East, told through pivotal events and family history
In 1899, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, mayor of Jerusalem, alarmed by the Zionist call to create a Jewish national home in Palestine, wrote a letter aimed at Theodore Herzl: the country had an indigenous people who would not easily accept their own displacement. He warned of the perils ahead, ending his note, “in the name of God, let Palestine be left alone.” Thus Rashid Khalidi, al-Khalidi’s great-great-nephew, begins this sweeping history, the first general account of the conflict told from an explicitly Palestinian perspective.
Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials and the reports of generations of family members—mayors, judges, scholars, diplomats, and journalists—The Hundred Years' War on Palestine upends accepted interpretations of the conflict, which tend, at best, to describe a tragic clash between two peoples with claims to the same territory. Instead, Khalidi traces a hundred years of colonial war on the Palestinians, waged first by the Zionist movement and then Israel, but backed by Britain and the United States, the great powers of the age. He highlights the key episodes in this colonial campaign, from the 1917 Balfour Declaration to the destruction of Palestine in 1948, from Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon to the endless and futile peace process.
Original, authoritative, and important, The Hundred Years' War on Palestine is not a chronicle of victimization, nor does it whitewash the mistakes of Palestinian leaders or deny the emergence of national movements on both sides. In reevaluating the forces arrayed against the Palestinians, it offers an illuminating new view of a conflict that continues to this day. -
A Path to Peace: a brief history of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and a way forward in the Middle East
The “illuminating” (Los Angeles Times) answer to why Israel and Palestine’s attempts at negotiation have failed and a practical, “admirably measured” (The New York Times) roadmap for bringing peace to the Middle East—by an impartial American diplomat experienced in solving international conflicts.
George Mitchell knows how to bring peace to troubled regions. He was the primary architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement for peace in Northern Ireland. But when he served as US Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from 2009 to 2011—working to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—diplomacy did not prevail. Now, for the first time, Mitchell offers his insider account of how the Israelis and the Palestinians have progressed (and regressed) in their negotiations through the years and outlines the specific concessions each side must make to finally achieve lasting peace. -
The War of Return: how Western indulgence of the Palestinian dream has obstructed the path to peace
Two prominent Israeli liberals argue that for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians to end with peace, Palestinians must come to terms with the fact that there will be no "right of return."
In 1948, seven hundred thousand Palestinians were forced out of their homes by the first Arab-Israeli War. More than seventy years later, most of their houses are long gone, but millions of their descendants are still registered as refugees, with many living in refugee camps. This group—unlike countless others that were displaced in the aftermath of World War II and other conflicts—has remained unsettled, demanding to settle in the state of Israel. Their belief in a "right of return" is one of the largest obstacles to successful diplomacy and lasting peace in the region.
In The War of Return, Adi Schwartz and Einat Wilf—both liberal Israelis supportive of a two-state solution—reveal the origins of the idea of a right of return, and explain how UNRWA - the very agency charged with finding a solution for the refugees - gave in to Palestinian, Arab and international political pressure to create a permanent “refugee” problem. They argue that this Palestinian demand for a “right of return” has no legal or moral basis and make an impassioned plea for the US, the UN, and the EU to recognize this fact, for the good of Israelis and Palestinians alike.
A runaway bestseller in Israel, the first English translation of The War of Return is certain to spark lively debate throughout America and abroad. -
Six Days of War: June 1967 and the making of the modern Middle East
In Israel and the West it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War, or simply as "the Setback." Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen and largely unwanted by both sides so transformed the world. The Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon, the Camp David accords, the controversy over Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in West Bank, the intifada and the rise of Palestinian terror: all are part of the outcome of those six days of intense Arab-Israeli fighting in the summer of 1967.
Michael B. Oren's Six Days of War is the most comprehensive history ever published of this dramatic and pivotal event, the first to explore it both as a military struggle and as a critical episode in the global Cold War. Oren spotlights all the participants--Arab, Israeli, Soviet, and American--telling the story of how the war broke out and of the shocking ways it unfolded.
Drawing on thousands of top-secret documents, on rare papers in Russian and Arabic, and on exclusive personal interviews, Six Days of War recreates the regional and international context which, by the late 1960s, virtually assured an Arab-Israeli conflagration. Also examined are the domestic crises in each of the battling states, and the extraordinary personalities--Moshe Dayan and Gamal Abdul Nasser, Hafez al-Assad and Yitzhak Rabin, Lyndon Johnson and Alexei Kosygin--that precipitated this earthshaking clash. -
My Promised Land
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND THE ECONOMIST
Winner of the Natan Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
An authoritative and deeply personal narrative history of the State of Israel, by one of the most influential journalists writing about the Middle East today
Not since Thomas L. Friedman's groundbreaking From Beirut to Jerusalem has a book captured the essence and the beating heart of the Middle East as keenly and dynamically as My Promised Land. Facing unprecedented internal and external pressures, Israel today is at a moment of existential crisis. Ari Shavit draws on interviews, historical documents, private diaries, and letters, as well as his own family's story, illuminating the pivotal moments of the Zionist century to tell a riveting narrative that is larger than the sum of its parts: both personal and national, both deeply human and of profound historical dimension.We meet Shavit's great-grandfather, a British Zionist who in 1897 visited the Holy Land on a Thomas Cook tour and understood that it was the way of the future for his people; the idealist young farmer who bought land from his Arab neighbor in the 1920s to grow the Jaffa oranges that would create Palestine's booming economy; the visionary youth group leader who, in the 1940s, transformed Masada from the neglected ruins of an extremist sect into a powerful symbol for Zionism; the Palestinian who as a young man in 1948 was driven with his family from his home during the expulsion from Lydda; the immigrant orphans of Europe's Holocaust, who took on menial work and focused on raising their children to become the leaders of the new state; the pragmatic engineer who was instrumental in developing Israel's nuclear program in the 1960s, in the only interview he ever gave; the zealous religious Zionists who started the settler movement in the 1970s; the dot-com entrepreneurs and young men and women behind Tel-Aviv's booming club scene; and today's architects of Israel's foreign policy with Iran, whose nuclear threat looms ominously over the tiny country.
As it examines the complexities and contradictions of the Israeli condition, My Promised Land asks difficult but important questions: Why did Israel come to be? How did it come to be? Can Israel survive? Culminating with an analysis of the issues and threats that Israel is currently facing, My Promised Land uses the defining events of the past to shed new light on the present. The result is a landmark portrait of a small, vibrant country living on the edge, whose identity and presence play a crucial role in today's global political landscape.
Praise for My Promised Land
"This book will sweep you up in its narrative force and not let go of you until it is done. [Shavit's] accomplishment is so unlikely, so total . . . that it makes you believe anything is possible, even, God help us, peace in the Middle East."--Simon Schama, Financial Times
"[A] must-read book."--Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times
"Important and powerful . . . the least tendentious book about Israel I have ever read."--Leon Wieseltier, The New York Times Book Review"Spellbinding . . . Shavit's prophetic voice carries lessons that all sides need to hear."--The Economist
"One of the most nuanced and challenging books written on Israel in years."--The Wall Street Journal -
In Search of Fatima
An intimate and powerful narrative in which the Israel-Palestine conflict is presented, unusually, from the Palestinian side, In Search of Fatima reflects the author's personal experiences of displacement, loss and nostalgia against a backdrop of the major political events which have shaped Middle East conflict.
In Search of Fatima is a powerful biographical story, but it is also a book which transcends its author's own experience. It speaks for the millions of people all over the world who have lived suspended between their old and new countries, fitting into neither. An account not of the physical hardship and abuse suffered by many refugees, but rather an exploration of the subtler privations of psychological displacement and loss of identity. -
To the End of the Land
From one of Israel’s most acclaimed writers comes a novel of extraordinary power about family life—the greatest human drama—and the cost of war.
Ora, a middle-aged Israeli mother, is on the verge of celebrating her son Ofer’s release from army service when he returns to the front for a major offensive. In a fit of preemptive grief and magical thinking, she sets out for a hike in the Galilee, leaving no forwarding information for the “notifiers” who might darken her door with the worst possible news. Recently estranged from her husband, Ilan, she drags along an unlikely companion: their former best friend and her former lover Avram, once a brilliant artistic spirit. Avram served in the army alongside Ilan when they were young, but their lives were forever changed one weekend when the two jokingly had Ora draw lots to see which of them would get the few days’ leave being offered by their commander—a chance act that sent Avram into Egpyt and the Yom Kippur War, where he was brutally tortured as POW. In the aftermath, a virtual hermit, he refused to keep in touch with the family and has never met the boy. Now, as Ora and Avram sleep out in the hills, ford rivers, and cross valleys, avoiding all news from the front, she gives him the gift of Ofer, word by word; she supplies the whole story of her motherhood, a retelling that keeps Ofer very much alive for Ora and for the reader, and opens Avram to human bonds undreamed of in his broken world. Their walk has a “war and peace” rhythm, as their conversation places the most hideous trials of war next to the joys and anguish of raising children. Never have we seen so clearly the reality and surreality of daily life in Israel, the currents of ambivalence about war within one household, and the burdens that fall on each generation anew.
Grossman’s rich imagining of a family in love and crisis makes for one of the great antiwar novels of our time. -
Swim Home to the Vanished
"Swim Home to the Vanished is a lush and fantastic journey through strange lands and minds from an incandescent new voice full of my kind of melancholic brilliance and unromantic magic."--Tommy Orange, author of There, There
After the death of his brother, a grief-stricken young man seeks refuge and oblivion in a secluded fishing village dominated by a family of brujas in this haunting debut novel, inspired, in part, by the ramifications of Diné history and thought--a mesmerizing, original tale in the tradition of works by Toni Morrison, Haruki Murakami, and Gabriel García Márquez.
When the river swallowed Kai, Damien's little brother didn't die so much as vanish. As the unbearable loss settles deeper into his bones, Damien, a small-town line cook, walks away from everything he has ever known. Driving as far south as his old truck and his legs allow, he lands in a fishing village beyond the reach of his past where he hopes he can finally forget.
But the village has grief of its own. The same day that Damien arrives, a young woman from the community's most powerful family is being laid to rest. A stranger in town, Damien is the object of gossip and suspicion, ignored by all except the dead girl's mother, Ana Maria, who offers Damien a room and a job.
Grateful for her kindness, Damien soon begins to fall under Ana Maria's charismatic spell. But how long can he resist the rumors swirling through town suggesting she might have had something to do with her daughter's death? Or deny his strange kinship with one of Ana Maria's surviving daughters, Marta, who knows too well the grief that follows the loss of a sibling--and who is driven by a fierce need for revenge? Swiftly, Damien finds himself caught in a power struggle between the brujas, a whirlwind battle that threatens to sweep the whole village out to sea.
Resonant with the Diné creation story and the unshakeable weight of the Long Walk--the forced removal of the Navajo from their land--Swim Home to the Vanished explores the human capacity for grief and redemption, and the lasting effects it has on the soul.
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A Council of Dolls
The long-awaited, profoundly moving, and unforgettable new novel from PEN Award-winning Native American author Mona Susan Power, spanning three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women from the 19th century to the present day.
From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried....
Sissy, born 1961: Sissy's relationship with her beautiful and volatile mother is difficult, even dangerous, but her life is also filled with beautiful things, including a new Christmas present, a doll called Ethel. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy's ear, and in one especially terrifying moment, maybe even saves Sissy's life.
Lillian, born 1925: Born in her ancestral lands in a time of terrible change, Lillian clings to her sister, Blanche, and her doll, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an "Indian school" far from their home, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school's abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters, the doll Mae finds her way to defend the girls.
Cora, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the "Indian Wars," Cora isn't afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be "civilized." When teachers burn her beloved buckskin and beaded doll Winona, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost...
A modern masterpiece, A Council of Dolls is gorgeous, quietly devastating, and ultimately hopeful, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought by Indian boarding schools, and the historical massacres of Indigenous people. With stunning prose, Mona Susan Power weaves a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page.
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The Only Good Indians
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From USA TODAY bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones comes a “masterpiece” (Locus Magazine) of a novel about revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition. Labeled “one of 2020’s buzziest horror novels” (Entertainment Weekly), this is a remarkable horror story that “will give you nightmares—the good kind of course” (BuzzFeed).
From New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones comes a novel that is equal parts psychological horror and cutting social commentary on identity politics and the American Indian experience. Fans of Jordan Peele and Tommy Orange will love this story as it follows the lives of four American Indian men and their families, all haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth. Years later, they find themselves tracked by an entity bent on revenge, totally helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way. -
A Little Closer to Home: how I found the calm after the storm
In Ginger Zee's follow-up to the bestselling Natural Disaster, the ABC chief meteorologist takes readers on a much deeper journey of self discovery.
When Ginger Zee opened her life to readers in Natural Disaster, the response was enormous. She put a very relatable if surprising face on depression and has helped lessen the stigma surrounding mental health issues. But Ginger tells us, Natural Disaster was "Ginger Lite" and only scratched the surface.
In this moving follow-up, Ginger shares her truest self. She spent most of her life shielding her vulnerabilities from the world all while being a professional people pleaser. Her stormy childhood, her ongoing struggles with crippling depression, her suicide attempts, and many other life experiences will resonate with readers who are likely to see themselves along the way.
In spite of its serious subject matter, Ginger's positive, life-affirming outlook comes through loud and clear. Written with great heart and quite a bit of humor, Ginger normalizes issues and challenges millions of people face every day. A Little Closer to Home will broaden the conversation around mental health at a time we need it more than ever.
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Bravey: chasing dreams, befriending pain, and other big ideas
The Olympic runner, actress, filmmaker and writer Alexi Pappas shares what she’s learned about confidence, self-reliance, mental health, embracing pain, and achieving your dreams.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE • “Heartbreaking and hilarious.”—Mindy Kaling • “A beautiful read.”—Ruth Reichl • “Essential guidance to anyone dreaming big dreams.”—Shalane Flanagan • “I couldn’t put it down.”—Adam Grant
run like a bravey
sleep like a baby
dream like a crazy
replace can’t with maybe
When “Renaissance runner” (New York Times) Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete, actress, filmmaker, and writer—was four years old, her mother died by suicide, drastically altering the course of Pappas’s life and setting her on a search for female role models. When her father signed his bereaved daughter up for sports teams as a way to keep her busy, female athletes became the first women Pappas looked up to, and her Olympic dream was born. At the same time, Pappas had big creative dreams, too: She wanted to make movies, write, and act. Despite setbacks and hardships, Pappas refused to pick just one lane. She put in a tremendous amount of hard work and wouldn’t let anything stand in her way until she achieved all of her dreams, however unrelated they may seem to outsiders. In a single year, 2016, she made her Olympic debut as a distance runner and wrote, directed, and starred in her first feature film.
But great highs are often accompanied by deep lows; with joy comes sorrow. In Bravey, Pappas fearlessly and honestly shares her battle with post-Olympic depression and describes how she emerged on the other side as a thriving and self-actualized woman. Unflinching, exuberant, and always entertaining, Bravey showcases Pappas’s signature, charming voice as she reflects upon the touchstone moments in her life and the lessons that have powered her career as both an athlete and an artist—foremost among them, how to be brave.
Pappas’s experiences reveal how we can all overcome hardship, befriend pain, celebrate victory, relish the loyalty found in teammates, and claim joy. In short: how every one of us can become a bravey. -
Swimming in a Sea of Stars
Journal entry: Heading to school. I know what everyone will say. There goes the girl who tried to kill herself.
Addison is no stranger to feeling stressed, insecure, and sad. Her therapist recommended she keep a journal to help her understand those feelings better, which she really needs today. It's her first day back to school, several weeks after she survived her suicide attempt. She knows there are rumors about why she did it: A lousy home life? Bullying? Heartbreak? None of them are true, but it doesn't matter because Addison still feels like she's drowning. She still holds secrets she's not ready to share.
During the school day, Addison encounters four other students struggling with their own secrets:
Booker is anxious about seeing Addison. They were sort of a couple until he tried to kiss her. She fled and then tried to end her life. Those two things couldn't be related, could they?
Celia feels trapped by her mother's abusive boyfriend. She can guess why Addison did what she did.
Damion is TikTok-famous and thinks befriending Addison could boost his followers. But what no one knows is he needs the world to remember him since his sick mom doesn't anymore.
Avery is considered a loner and doesn't know Addison, but they have neighboring lockers. With Avery's older brother in jail for dealing drugs, Avery is desperate for meaningful human connection.
Swimming in a Sea of Stars is a poignant and gripping novel about how we're all interconnected, like the stars in the night sky that form constellations and map out the universe, and if even one star goes missing, the effect is profound.
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Abyss
"Claudia seeks the attention of her melancholic mother, also named Claudia, who occupies her days reading gossip magazines and tending to the family's teeming collection of house plants in their Cali, Colombia, apartment. The mother is particularly obsessed with the deaths of famous women such as actor Natalie Wood, who died in 1981, and tells the narrator they took their own lives to escape from domineering men. The older Claudia married the narrator's father, Jorge, at 19 when he was 42, and though he's away working most of the time, the younger Claudia reveres him. The older Claudia then begins a secret love affair with her 30-year-old brother in law, which is exposed during a family trip to a seashore city, and Jorge threatens to kick Claudia out. Overhearing this, the narrator changes her view of Jorge, likening him to a monster. Later, the older Claudia's best friend, Gloria dies by suicide, and Claudia's comments on Gloria, who suffered from depression, make the narrator worried about her mother's safety and well-being. Visceral images propel the story ("Mama laughed so wide, you could see the roof of her mouth, hollow and grooved like an underfed torso"), as the narrator grows increasingly concerned about what's going to happen next."--Provided by publisher.
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Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me: depression in the first person
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HILARY WESTON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION
Award-winning journalist Anna Mehler Paperny's stunning memoir chronicles with courageous honesty and uncommon eloquence her experience of depression and her quest to explore what we know and don't know about this disease that afflicts almost a fifth of the population--providing an invaluable guide to a system struggling to find solutions. As fascinating as it is heartrending, as outrageously funny as it is serious, it is a must-read for anyone impacted by depression--and that's pretty much everybody.
Depression is a havoc-wreaking illness that masquerades as personal failing and hijacks your life. After a major suicide attempt in her early twenties, Anna Mehler Paperny resolved to put her reporter's skills to use to get to know her enemy, setting off on a journey to understand her condition, the dizzying array of medical treatments on offer and a medical profession in search of answers. Charting the way depression wrecks so many, she maps competing schools of therapy, pharmacology, cutting-edge medicine, the pill-popping pitfalls of long-term treatment, the glaring unknowns and the institutional shortcomings that both patients and practitioners are up against. She interviews leading medical experts across Canada and the US, from psychiatrists to neurologists, brain-mapping pioneers to family practitioners, and others dabbling in strange hypotheses--and shares compassionate conversations with fellow sufferers.
Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me tracks Anna's quest for knowledge and her desire to get well. Impeccably reported, it is a profoundly compelling story about the human spirit and the myriad ways we treat (and fail to treat) the disease that accounts for more years swallowed up by disability than any other in the world. -
Heads Up: changing minds on mental health
★ "Informative, diverse, and highly engaging; a much-needed addition to the realm of mental health."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Featuring real-life stories of people who have found hope and meaning in the midst of life's struggles, Heads Up: Changing Minds on Mental Health is the go-to guide for teenagers who want to know about mental health, mental illness, trauma and recovery. For too long, mental health problems have been kept in the shadows, leaving people to suffer in silence, or worse, to be feared, bullied or pushed to the margins of society where survival is difficult.
This book shines a light on the troubled history of thinking about and treating mental illness and tells the stories of courageous pioneers in the field of psychiatry who fought for more compassionate, respectful and effective treatments. It provides a helpful guide to the major mental health diagnoses along with ideas and resources to support those who are suffering. But it also moves beyond a biomedical focus and considers the latest science that shows how trauma and social inequality impact mental health. The book explores how mental health is more than just "in our heads" and includes the voices of Indigenous people who share a more holistic way of thinking about wellness, balancing mind, body, heart and spirit. Highlighting innovative approaches such as trauma-informed activities like yoga and hip-hop, police mental health teams, and peer support for youth, Heads Up shares the stories of people who are sparking change.
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Furiously Happy: a funny book about horrible things
In Furiously Happy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea.
But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.
As Jenny says:
"Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.
"Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked-up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' Except go back and cross out the word 'hiding.'"
Furiously Happy is about "taking those moments when things are fine and making them amazing, because those moments are what make us who we are, and they're the same moments we take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence. It's the difference between "surviving life" and "living life". It's the difference between "taking a shower" and "teaching your monkey butler how to shampoo your hair." It's the difference between being "sane" and being "furiously happy."
Lawson is beloved around the world for her inimitable humor and honesty, and in Furiously Happy, she is at her snort-inducing funniest. This is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are - the beautiful and the flawed - and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. Because as Jenny's mom says, "Maybe 'crazy' isn't so bad after all." Sometimes crazy is just right. -
(Don't) Call Me Crazy: 33 voices start the conversation about mental health
Who’s Crazy?
What does it mean to be crazy? Is using the word crazy offensive? What happens when a label like that gets attached to your everyday experiences?
To understand mental health, we need to talk openly about it. Because there’s no single definition of crazy, there’s no single experience that embodies it, and the word itself means different things—wild? extreme? disturbed? passionate?—to different people.
In (Don’t) Call Me Crazy, thirty-three actors, athletes, writers, and artists offer essays, lists, comics, and illustrations that explore a wide range of topics:
their personal experiences with mental illness,
how we do and don’t talk about mental health,
help for better understanding how every person’s brain is wired differently,
and what, exactly, might make someone crazy. If you’ve ever struggled with your mental health, or know someone who has, come on in, turn the pages . . . and let’s get talking. -
The Astonishing Color of After
"Emily X.R. Pan's brilliantly crafted, harrowing first novel portrays the vast spectrum of love and grief with heart-wrenching beauty and candor. This is a very special book."--John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down
A stunning, heartbreaking debut novel about grief, love, and family, perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Celeste Ng.
An APALA Honor BookA Walter Award Honor Book
Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.
Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.
Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a stunning and heartbreaking novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love. -
Home Home
Fans of Monday's Not Coming and Girl in Pieces will love this award-winning novel about a girl on the verge of losing herself and the unlikely journey to recovery after she is removed from anything and everyone she knows to be home.
Moving from Trinidad to Canada wasn't her idea. But after being hospitalized for depression, her mother sees it as the only option. Now, living with an estranged aunt she barely remembers and dealing with her "troubles" in a foreign country, she feels more lost than ever.
Everything in Canada is cold and confusing. No one says hello, no one walks anywhere, and bus trips are never-ending and loud. She just wants to be home home, in Trinidad, where her only friend is going to school and Sunday church service like she used to do.
But this new home also brings unexpected surprises: the chance at a family that loves unconditionally, the possibility of new friends, and the promise of a hopeful future. Though she doesn't see it yet, Canada is a place where she can feel at home--if she can only find the courage to be honest with herself.
"Allen-Agostini uses frank yet gentle prose...[in this] hopeful story about finding one's place and the sometimes-difficult journey to self-acceptance."-Kirkus Reviews, Starred review
"An accessible look at teen anxiety and depression...[Home Home] shines in its depictions of the physical and emotional aspects of anxiety and depression...[and] teens of color coping with mental illness will find common cause with this Trini girl's journey toward self-actualization and healing."--Booklist
"Allen-Agostini depicts the culture of her homeland with honesty and enlightening details,...delivering important messages about acceptance and mental illness."-SLJ -
One Friday in April: a story of suicide and survival
As the sun lowered in the sky one Friday afternoon in April 2006, acclaimed author Donald Antrim found himself on the roof of his Brooklyn apartment building, afraid for his life. In this moving memoir, Antrim vividly recounts what led him to the roof and what happened after he came back down: two hospitalizations, weeks of fruitless clinical trials, the terror of submitting to ECT—and the saving call from David Foster Wallace that convinced him to try it—as well as years of fitful recovery and setback.
Through a clear and haunting reckoning with the author’s own story, One Friday in April confronts the limits of our understanding of suicide. Donald Antrim’s personal insights reframe suicide—whether in thought or in action—as an illness in its own right, a unique consequence of trauma and personal isolation, rather than the choice of a depressed person.
A necessary companion to William Styron’s classic? Darkness Visible, this profound, insightful work sheds light on the tragedy and mystery of suicide, offering solace that may save lives.
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The Hilarious World of Depression
One of Today's Ten Best Inspirational Books, 2020
By the creator and host of the acclaimed mental health podcast Depresh Mode with John Moe
"[A] path to deeper understanding and openness, by way of laughter in the dark" ―The New York Times Book Review
"Filled with heart, humor and hope." ―People
"A funny, honest book." ―Neil Gaiman
"Candid and funny and intimate." ―Susan Orlean
For years John Moe, critically-acclaimed public radio personality and host of The Hilarious World of Depression podcast, struggled with depression; it plagued his family and claimed the life of his brother in 2007. As Moe came to terms with his own illness, he began to see similar patterns of behavior and coping mechanisms surfacing in conversations with others, including high-profile comedians who’d struggled with the disease. Moe saw that there was tremendous comfort and community in open dialogue about these shared experiences and that humor had a unique power. Thus was born the podcast The Hilarious World of Depression.
Inspired by the immediate success of the podcast, Moe has written a remarkable investigation of the disease, part memoir of his own journey, part treasure trove of laugh-out-loud stories and insights drawn from years of interviews with some of the most brilliant minds facing similar challenges. Throughout the course of this powerful narrative, depression’s universal themes come to light, among them, struggles with identity, lack of understanding of the symptoms, the challenges of work-life, self-medicating, the fallout of the disease in the lives of our loved ones, the tragedy of suicide, and the hereditary aspects of the disease.
The Hilarious World of Depression illuminates depression in an entirely fresh and inspiring way. -
Gender Queer: A Memoir
2020 ALA Alex Award Winner
2020 Stonewall — Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor Book
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
"It’s also a great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand." — SLJ (starred review) -
All Boys Aren't Blue
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia.
A New York Times Bestseller!
Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, Today Show, and MSNBC feature stories
From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.
Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren't Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson's emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.
Velshi Banned Book Club
Indie Bestseller
Teen Vogue Recommended Read
Buzzfeed Recommended Read
People Magazine Best Book of the Summer
A New York Library Best Book of 2020
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2020 ... and more! -
The Bluest Eye
Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove, an African-American girl in an America whose love for blonde, blue-eyed children can devastate all others, prays for her eyes to turn blue, so that she will be beautiful, people will notice her, and her world will be different. The story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove, the tragic heroine of Toni Morrison's haunting first novel, grew out of her memory of a girlhood friend who wanted blue eyes. Shunned by the town's prosperous black families, as well as its white families, Pecola lives with her alcoholic father and embittered, overworked mother in a shabby two-room storefront that reeks of the hopeless destitution that overwhelms their lives. In awe of her clean well-groomed schoolmates, and certain of her own intense ugliness, Pecola tries to make herself disappear as she wishes fervently, desperately for the blue eyes of a white girl. In her afterward to this novel, Morrison writes of the little girl she once knew: "Beauty was not simply something to behold, it was something one could do. The Bluest Eye was my effort to say something about that; to say something about why she had not, or possibly never would have, the experience of what she possessed and also why she prayed for so radical an alteration. Implicit in her desire was racial self-loathing. And twenty-years later I was still wondering about how one learns that. Who told her? Who made her feel that it was better to be a freak that what she was? Who had looked at her and found her so wanting, so small a weight on the beauty scale? The novel pecks away at the gaze that condemned her."
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Flamer
Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in Flamer, his debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love.
"This book will save lives." —Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of National Book Award Finalist Hey, Kiddo
I know I’m not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They’re mean, and scary, and they’re always destroying something or saying something dumb or both.
I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe.
It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.
Godwin Books -
Looking for Alaska
The award-winning, genre-defining debut from John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault in Our Stars
Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award • A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist • A New York Times Bestseller • A USA Today Bestseller • NPR’s Top Ten Best-Ever Teen Novels • TIME magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Novels of All Time • A PBS Great American Read Selection • Millions of copies sold!
First drink. First prank. First friend. First love.
Last words.
Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words—and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet François Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.
Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A modern classic, this stunning debut marked #1 bestselling author John Green’s arrival as a groundbreaking new voice in contemporary fiction.
Newly updated edition includes a brand-new Readers' Guide featuring a Q&A with author John Green -
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
A coming of age novel about Charlie, a freshman in high school who is a wallflower, shy and introspective, and very intelligent. He deals with the usual teen problems, but also with the suicide of his best friend.
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Lawn Boy
“Jonathan Evison's voice is pure magic. In Lawn Boy, at once a vibrant coming-of-age novel and a sharp social commentary on class, Evison offers a painfully honest portrait of one young man's struggle to overcome the hand he's been dealt in life and reach for his dreams. It's a journey you won't want to miss, with an ending you won't forget.”
—Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale
For Mike Muñoz, a young Chicano living in Washington State, life has been a whole lot of waiting for something to happen. Not too many years out of high school and still doing menial work—and just fired from his latest gig as a lawn boy on a landscaping crew—he knows that he’s got to be the one to shake things up if he’s ever going to change his life. But how?
In this funny, angry, touching, and ultimately deeply inspiring novel, bestselling author Jonathan Evison takes the reader into the heart and mind of a young man on a journey to discover himself, a search to find the secret to achieving the American dream of happiness and prosperity. That’s the birthright for all Americans, isn’t it? If so, then what is Mike Muñoz’s problem? Though he tries time and again to get his foot on the first rung of that ladder to success, he can’t seem to get a break. But then things start to change for Mike, and after a raucous, jarring, and challenging trip, he finds he can finally see the future and his place in it. And it’s looking really good.
Lawn Boy is an important, entertaining, and completely winning novel about social class distinctions, about overcoming cultural discrimination, and about standing up for oneself. -
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he thought he was destined to live.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie's YA debut, released in hardcover to instant success, recieving seven starred reviews, hitting numerous bestseller lists, and winning the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. -
Out of Darkness
A Michael L. Printz Honor Book
"This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?"
New London, Texas. 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive.
Ashley Hope Pérez takes the facts of the 1937 New London school explosion--the worst school disaster in American history--as a backdrop for a riveting novel about segregation, love, family, and the forces that destroy people.
"[This] layered tale of color lines, love and struggle in an East Texas oil town is a pit-in-the-stomach family drama that goes down like it should, with pain and fascination, like a mix of sugary medicine and artisanal moonshine."--The New York Times Book Review
"Pérez deftly weaves [an] unflinchingly intense narrative....A powerful, layered tale of forbidden love in times of unrelenting racism."―starred, Kirkus Reviews
"This book presents a range of human nature, from kindness and love to acts of racial and sexual violence. The work resonates with fear, hope, love, and the importance of memory....Set against the backdrop of an actual historical event, Pérez...gives voice to many long-omitted facets of U.S. history."―starred, School Library Journal
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A Court of Mist and Fury
The seductive and stunning #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to Sarah J. Maas's spellbinding A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she's now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.
As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre's hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people: one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world in turmoil.
Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her dazzling, sexy, action-packed series to new heights. -
Crank
Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless.
Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life.
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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time—when not playing video games and avoiding Earl's terrifying brothers— making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don't make them for other people. Until Rachel.
Rachel has leukemia, and Greg's mom gets the genius idea that Greg should befriend her. Against his better judgment and despite his extreme awkwardness, he does. When Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl must abandon invisibility and make a stand. It's a hilarious, outrageous, and truthful look at death and high school by a prodigiously talented debut author.
Praise for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
STARRED REVIEW“One need only look at the chapter titles (“Let's Just Get This Embarrassing Chapter Out of the Way”) to know that this is one funny book.”
–Booklist, starred review
STARRED REVIEW“A frequently hysterical confessional...Debut novelist Andrews succeeds brilliantly in painting a portrait of a kid whose responses to emotional duress are entirely believable and sympathetic, however fiercely he professes his essential crappiness as a human being. Though this novel begs inevitable thematic comparisons to John Green'sThe Fault in Our Stars (2011), it stands on its own in inventiveness, humor and heart.”
–Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“It is sure to be popular with many boys, including reluctant readers, and will not require much selling on the part of the librarian.”–VOYA
"Mr. Andrews' often hilarious teen dialogue is utterly convincing, and his characters are compelling.Greg's random sense of humor, terrible self-esteem and general lack of self-awareness all ring true. Like many YA authors, Mr. Andrews blends humor and pathos with true skill, but he steers clear of tricky resolutions and overt life lessons, favoring incremental understanding and growth."
–Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Awards:
Capitol Choices 2013 - Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices 2013 list - Young Adult Fiction
YALSA 2013 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
YALSA 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults
YALSA 2014 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and written by Jesse Andrews
U. S. GRAND JURY PRIZE: DRAMATIC and AUDIENCE AWARD: U.S. DRAMATIC winner at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival -
This Book is Gay
"The book every LGBT person would have killed for as a teenager, told in the voice of a wise best friend. Frank, warm, funny, USEFUL." -Patrick Ness, bestselling author
Lesbian. Bisexual. Queer. Transgender. Straight. Curious. This book is for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference. This book is for anyone who's ever dared to wonder. This book is for YOU.
There's a long-running joke that, after "coming out," a lesbian, gay guy, bisexual, or trans person should receive a membership card and instruction manual. THIS IS THAT INSTRUCTION MANUAL. You're welcome.
Inside you'll find the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask: from sex to politics, hooking up to stereotypes, coming out and more. This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it's like to grow up LGBT also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention hilarious illustrations.
You will be entertained. You will be informed. But most importantly, you will know that however you identify (or don't) and whomever you love, you are exceptional. You matter. And so does this book.
One of The Guardian's Best Books of the Year
"This egregious gap has now been filled to a fare-thee-well by Dawson's book..." - Booklist(Starred)
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How to Do Nothing
** A New York Times Bestseller **
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: Time • The New Yorker • NPR • GQ • Elle • Vulture • Fortune • Boing Boing • The Irish Times • The New York Public Library • The Brooklyn Public Library
"A complex, smart and ambitious book that at first reads like a self-help manual, then blossoms into a wide-ranging political manifesto."—Jonah Engel Bromwich, The New York Times Book Review
One of President Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of 2019"
Porchlight's Personal Development & Human Behavior Book of the Year
In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But in this inspiring field guide to dropping out of the attention economy, artist and critic Jenny Odell shows us how we can still win back our lives.
Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. And we must actively and continuously choose how we use it. We might not spend it on things that capitalism has deemed important … but once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind’s role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress.
Far from the simple anti-technology screed, or the back-to-nature meditation we read so often, How to do Nothing is an action plan for thinking outside of capitalist narratives of efficiency and techno-determinism. Provocative, timely, and utterly persuasive, this book will change how you see your place in our world. -
Hope and Freckles: fleeing to a better forest
Hope, a white-tailed deer, and her spotted fawn, Freckles, are facing hunger and danger in their forest. Hope decides that they must leave their home and go in search of a better place where they will be safe. When they arrive at a new forest, Hope and Freckles face unexpected challenges that will force them apart. Will they be reunited?
After you have read the story of Hope and Freckles, continue to explore the stories of people all over the world who have to leave their homes because of danger or hunger. Let the tale of Hope and Freckles begin to teach you about the millions of people who face the same difficulties that this mother deer and her little boy face as refugees.
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The Snowbaby
A curious snowbaby makes his way through the meadow, meeting a host of winter friends. The sweet newborn is delighted but finds himself alone again after each encounter. After a long day and a wild sleigh ride, he finds a heart-warming (but not too warm) answer to his prayers!
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The Famous Phoebe of Long Island
When Phoebe was a young pup, she was adopted from a shelter by Jeana and Frank. She had no idea how exciting life with her forever family would be. Phoebe's new parents planned to take her with them on all their boat trips. Come along as Phoebe tells the story of her first boat trip to Sailors Haven on Fire Island. When they took off into the Great South Bay, Phoebe was a bit frightened, but she soon realized what a delightful adventure she and her new parents would have as they explored the wondrous national park from the forest to the beach, making many friends along the way.
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Norman: One Amazing Goldfish!
Can Norman the amazing goldfish overcome his stage fright? A much-awaited new adventure from the creators of Not Norman.
Norman is one amazing goldfish! His owner knows Norman is sure to dazzle the crowd at Pet-O-Rama with his circles, bubbles, and flips—even though some kids don’t think a goldfish is a good pet. But when Norman is finally on stage, he freezes up and hides behind his plant. Poor Norman! Luckily, his owner plays a familiar song on the tuba, helping Norman to relax and show the crowd how amazing he really is. The popular stars of Not Norman return in a warm and wryly funny new story about being there for your fishy friend when he needs you most. -
Not Norman
When a little boy receives a goldfish named Norman, it's not the kind of pet he had in mind. When he tries to trade Norman for a good pet, things don't go as planned, but he soon learns that Norman is a better pet than he thought. Full color.
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Flag Day
This series meets National Curriculum Standards for: Science: Earth and Space Science, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives. Social Studies: Civic Ideals & Practices, Culture, Global Connections, Power, Authority, & Governance Production, Distribution, & Consumption Science, Technology, & Society
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Vampire Baby
When Tootie gets her first teeth, it’s clear to her big brother that she’s no ordinary baby. But how to convince Mom and Dad?
It happens overnight: little sister Tootie goes from cuddly, ga-ga-googoo, I-want-my-ba-ba baby...vampire baby. Now she’s sinking her pointy fangs into everything — furniture, toys, and especially her big brother (“Youch, Tootie! No bite!” ). Mom insists that it’s just a phase, but Tootie’s brother knows better. Just look at her hairline! Or the fact that all her favorite foods are bloodred! With perfect comic timing, Kelly Bennett and Paul Meisel give a fresh slant to the new-baby story, proving that even monstrous little arrivals have a funny way of staking their siblings’ affections. -
The Loving Night Light
A spirited young girl and her doting grandfather share a special bond as he teaches her the wonderful magic and love that can be found in the light.
From lightening bugs to lighthouses, Mary learns that light is a symbol of love.
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A Rainbow of Colorful Wishes
This uplifting story features an adorable group of Pre-K children and their families celebrating their delightful graduation to kindergarten. Through the teacher's rainbow of colorful wishes, she encourages children of all ages to dream of a world filled with endless love through the beauty of hope, kindness, forgiveness and peace.
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Where Are You Zackie Boy?
When a mom decides to adopt a rescue puppy, his zany antics fill their lives with love and laughter! Their playful silly Zack was truly sent to complete their family.
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Maya's Treasure
Each morning, when the sun rises, Maya and her sister, Alita, go to the shore to collect the beautiful seashells the waves wash up onto the beach overnight. The sisters scrub their finds until they sparkle like stars, then string them together to make beautiful treasures they can sell to the people of their island village. When Alita throws away shells she deems too broken or ugly, Maya collects them and remembers the words of her grandmother: "Even the tiniest nub can be quite beautiful. You just have to find the magic in it." But can she turn these clunky shells into something truly special? - 8-3/4" wide x 11-1/4" high (22.2 cm wide x 28.6 cm high) - Rights: World. Ages 3 to 8.
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Tito, the firefighter (Tito, El Bombero)
English text is featured with embedded Spanish words sprinkled throughout the story. While Tito admires his neighborhood bomberos, he never dreams that his ability to speak both English and Spanish would actually help the firefighters save the day. Full color.
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Pedro, the Pirate
Pedro yearns for the pirate's life. Though he is only the cabin boy on Captain Crossbones' ship, he daydreams about becoming a real pirate. When that chance finally comes, Pedro steals a mermaid's gold locket. The mermaid chastises Pedro, but he laughs and boasts, "It's what we pirates do!" That initial boast, however, soon gives way to regret as Pedro contemplates his actions. He resolves to return the locket and to free the mermaid that Captain Crossbones holds captive. The outcome is a happy one as Pedro expresses his contrition to the mermaid, and assures her that the pirate's life is not for him.
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Nutley the Nut-free Squirrel
Meet Nutley, an adorable squirrel who doesn't let his nut allergy slow him down. Join him on his journey to stay healthy with the help of his friends!
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Frenemy Jane
Have you ever felt like you don't know how a friend will behave? Join us as we tackle the issue of a "sometimes friend." Includes note to parents, classroom discussion questions and cupcake recipe.
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Am I a Unicorn?
When your OUTERcorn doesn't match your INNERcorn... a story is born! Join us as a unicorn finds the answer to a very important question!
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Chocolate Shoes with Licorice Laces
What should I do ? My mom put me in chocolate shoes! Follow me along as I solve this very tasty problem!
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What If?
Imagine a world where pencils open portals, pictures paint people, and basketballs are square. Imagination takes flight in this crazy, wacky, mixed-up book of questions.
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Galaxy Pizza and Meteor Pie: and Other School Poems that are Out of this World!
A collection of funny rhyming poems for elementary and middle school students. School life is the focus, including a teacher who mixes up her words, one who gives detention to water fountains, lunch ladies who serve Milky Way shakes and fresh corn on the comet, and a principal who lets kids take over the school on Opposite Day.
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One Minute till Bedtime: 60-second poems to send you off to sleep
Just one more before bedtime? Please??
It's time for tuck-in, and your little one wants just one more moment with you--so fill it with something that will feed the imagination, fuel a love of reading, and send them off to sleep in a snap. Reach for a one-minute poem!
Former Children's Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt presents a blockbuster collection of all-new poetry penned by some of the most beloved and celebrated poets of our time, including Jack Prelutsky, Jon Scieszka, Mary Ann Hoberman, Nikki Grimes, Lemony Snicket, Jane Yolen, and many more. Illuminated with dreamlike wit and whimsy by New York Times illustrator and award-winning artist Christoph Niemann, here is a new bedtime classic.
When the busy day is drawing to a close and the whole family is ready for rest, take a minute for poetry and send your little one off to sleep. -
The Great North Woods
In the northeastern region known as the Great North Woods, day dawns with quivering aspens, waters teem with life, forests prowl with predators, and nature is celebrated in rhyme.
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Red Fox at McCloskey's Farm
A classic conflict is given a classic treatment in Red Fox at McCloskey's Farm, a picture book sure to become . . . a classic! A moonlit night, a hungry fox, a sleepy farmer and his watchdog, and a coop full of nervous chickens all add up to a ruckus of ruffled feathers and delightful rhyme. Red Fox is a hungry forest-dweller who has picked the wrong night to swipe a plump chicken from McCloskey's farm. After making his way down wooded trails and rows of corn, the hungry fox comes face to face with a grumpy hound dog and his agitated master. Will Red Fox make his escape and live for a chicken dinner another night?
The humor, colorful imagery, and lively rhythm of Brian Heinz's poetry make this a book that begs to be read aloud. Fold-out pages give the words life in large illustrations, and the dreamlike quality of Chris Sheban's artwork-which superbly captures the sly playfulness of Red Fox, the frenzied clumsiness of McCloskey, and the understandable unease of the chickens-makes turning each page an experience that will not soon be forgotten. -
The Wolves
Recounts how a wolf pack struggles to survive in the frozen North and includes an author's note describing the dwindling wolf population in America and the threat of extinction.
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The Barnyard Cat
Barnabus, a seemingly lazy cat by day, proves himself invaluable to the farm by night as he defends the harvest grain against an army of marauding rats.
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This Is Tap: Savion Glover finds his funk
A bouncing picture book biography of the tap dancer behind the Happy Feet penguin, illustrated by the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Winner of Hidden Figures.
This is a story about tap dancing, a distinctly American art form that blended English-Scottish-Irish clog dancing with African tribal dancing. And it’s about a boy, Savion Glover--who was born to feel the music—to dance and perform and invent. And to delight and awe audiences with the movements of his body.
Soul meets sole.
From that day on, Savion danced.
All the time. Not practicin’. Livin.
’Tippity, tippity, tappity, tappity, TROMP, TROMP, TROMP!
Follow Savion's journey as beats crescendos into a love of dancing as self-expression. This picture book biography creates music with words and story, and dance with color and composition. Child and parent can read the rhymes and onomatopoeia together while enjoying the bold artwork.
Savion Glover revitalized modern tap dancing with his jazz and hip-hop influenced “free-form hard core” style. From his appearances on Sesame Street and choreographing Happy Feet to his Tony award-winning musical Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, Savion has inspired a new generation of tap dancers. Read more about his impact on music and dance in the afterword.
Feel the movement with bright, electric art from Laura Freeman, winner Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for Hidden Figures. Hear the music with Selene Castrovilla’s bouncing, bold rhymes. This is Tap! brings Savion’s exuberant story of creativity and passion to young readers.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection -
Revolutionary Friends
Society of School Librarians International Book Award Honor
California Reading Association Eureka! Nonfiction Honor
Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
Booklist Top Ten Biography for Youth
Young fans of the smash Broadway hit "Hamilton" will enjoy this narrative nonfiction picture book story about the important friendship between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette during the Revolutionary War.
Lafayette has come to America to offer his services to the patriotic cause. Inexperienced but dedicated, he is a much-needed ally and not only earns a military position with the Continental Army but also Washington's respect and admiration. This picture book presents the human side of history, revealing the bond between two famous Revolutionary figures. Both the author and illustrator worked with experts and primary sources to represent both patriots and the war accurately and fairly. -
Revolutionary Rogues: John André and Benedict Arnold
NCSS/CBC Notable Trade Social Studies Book
Kansas Reading Circle Choice
Bank Street College Best Book
Tappantown Historical Society’s Achievement Award
Young fans of the Broadway smash "Hamilton" will enjoy this riveting nonfiction picture book that unfolds like a play, telling a story from American history.
Gravely injured and with little chance for more military honors, Major General Benedict Arnold seeks reward and recognition another way. He contacts Major John André, the new head of British intelligence and another man determined to prove himself. Arnold and André strike a deal and use Arnold’s intelligence to take over West Point, the strategic American fort. The plan ultimately fails, leading to André’s capture and death and Arnold’s loss of reward and glory. Author Selene Castrovilla and illustrator John O’Brien brilliantly capture the tensions and high drama of these two revolutionary rogues by highlighting their similarities and differences and demonstrating how they brought about their own tragic ends. This title also includes an afterword, timelines of the lives of both men, an extensive bibliography, and a list of key places to visit. -
The Founding Mothers of the United States
Many women helped shape a free and independent United States of America. They are known as the Founding Mothers.
These smart, brave women were ambassadors, fostering peace between Native Americans and Europeans. They risked their lives by writing, printing, and distributing information about the fight for independence. They supported their husbands during battle and even donned disguises to join the army. They were all key in shaping the America of today. This book tells their story. Women are sometimes called the silent protagonists of history. But since before the founding of our nation until now, women have organized, marched, and inspired. They forced change and created opportunity.With engaging text, fun facts, photography, infographics, and art, this new set of books examines how individual women of differing races and socioeconomic status took a stand, and how groups of women lived and fought throughout the history of this country. It looks at how they celebrated victories that included the right to vote, the right to serve their country, and the right to equal employment. The aim of this much-needed set of five books is to bring herstory to young readers!
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Consider the Octopus
When chance, or fate, throws two twelve-year-olds together on board a scientific research ship at the edge of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it’s not all smooth sailing!
Jeremy “JB” Barnes is looking forward to spending the summer before seventh grade hanging on the beach. But his mother, a scientist, has called for him to join her aboard a research ship where, instead, he’ll spend his summer seasick and bored as he stares out at the endless plastic, microbeads, and other floating debris, both visible and not, that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Miles and miles away, twelve-year-old Sidney Miller is trying to come up with an alternate activity worthy of convincing her overprotective parents that she can skip summer camp.
When Jeremy is asked to find the contact information for a list of important international scientists and invite them to attend a last-minute Emergency Global Summit, he's excited to have a chance to actually do something that matters to the mission. How could he know that the Sidney Miller he messages is not the famous marine biologist he has been tasked with contacting, but rather a girl making podcasts from her bedroom—let alone that she would want to sneak aboard the ship?
Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner's Consider the Octopus is a comedy of errors, mistaken identity, and synchronicity. Above all, it is a heartfelt story about friendship and an empowering call to environmental protection, especially to our young people who are already stepping up to help save our oceans and our Earth. -
Seven Clues to Home
An endearing story of love and grief as one girl follows the clues in a scavenger hunt left behind by her best friend, perfect for fans of Bridge to Terabithia and Nine, Ten.
WHEN YOU'VE LOST WHAT MATTERS MOST,
HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY BACK HOME?
Joy Fonseca is dreading her 13th birthday, dreading being reminded again about her best friend Lukas's senseless death on this day, one year ago -- and dreading the fact he may have heard what she accidentally blurted to him the night before. Or maybe she's more worried he didn't hear.
Either way, she's decided: she's going to finally open the first clue to their annual birthday scavenger hunt Lukas left for her the morning he died, hoping the rest of the clues are still out there. If they are, they might lead Joy to whatever last words Lukas wrote, and toward understanding how to grab onto the future that is meant to be hers.
"I truly loved it! Baskin and Polisner seamlessly unfold one touching relationship after another in this gorgeous story about everlasting friendship. This tender tale is indelibly etched on my heart." --Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
"Polisner and Baskin's brief tale of two quite distant friends magically manages to bridge an uncrossable gap. Seven Clues to Home is both a charming mystery and a real meditation on the complexities of the young heart in love." --Tony Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of Firegirl and The Great Jeff
"I read this whole book with a lump in my throat. A perfect gem." --Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Bob -
What Makes a Rainbow?
This book introduces readers to the science behind rainbows. Students learn about the different wavelengths of light and the bending of light through prisms. Vivid photographs and easy-to-read text aid comprehension for early readers. Features include a table of contents, an infographic, fun facts, Making Connections questions, a glossary, and an index. QR Codes in the book give readers access to book-specific resources to further their learning. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Cody Koala is an imprint of Pop!, a division of ABDO.
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Anne Frank Writes Words of Hope
In 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany. The Nazis terribly persecuted Jews and other groups of people. They murdered millions of Jews across Europe during World War II. A pre-teen girl named Anne Frank and her family managed to hide from the Nazis for two years. During this time, Anne wrote about her experiences almost every day in her diary. Discover the courage of Anne and her family during one of the most horrific times in history.
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The Memory of Things
"[A] gripping, emotional story set in the part of history we’ll never forget." - New York Daily News
On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a NYC detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home? The Memory of Things tells a stunning story of friendship and first love and of carrying on with our day-to-day living in the midst of world-changing tragedy and unforgettable pain—it tells a story of hope. -
Why is the Sky Blue?
This book introduces readers to the science behind the sky. Students learn about the makeup of the atmosphere and the different wavelengths of light. Vivid photographs and easy-to-read text aid comprehension for early readers. Features include a table of contents, an infographic, fun facts, Making Connections questions, a glossary, and an index. QR Codes in the book give readers access to book-specific resources to further their learning. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Cody Koala is an imprint of Pop!, a division of ABDO.
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Saddle Sisters: the trail ride
Jessica and Rebecca are two sisters who ride together but they don't really get along. Snickers and Daisy are two schooling horses but they don't really get along either. Will both girls and horses find a way to help each other so everyone can have fun riding?
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Set Boundaries, Find Peace: a guide to reclaiming yourself
The instant New York Times bestseller
End the struggle, speak up for what you need, and experience the freedom of being truly yourself.
Healthy boundaries. We all know we should have them--in order to achieve work/life balance, cope with toxic people, and enjoy rewarding relationships with partners, friends, and family. But what do "healthy boundaries" really mean--and how can we successfully express our needs, say "no," and be assertive without offending others?
Licensed counselor, sought-after relationship expert, and one of the most influential therapists on Instagram Nedra Glover Tawwab demystifies this complex topic for today's world. In a relatable and inclusive tone, Set Boundaries, Find Peace presents simple-yet-powerful ways to establish healthy boundaries in all aspects of life. Rooted in the latest research and best practices used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), these techniques help us identify and express our needs clearly and without apology--and unravel a root problem behind codependency, power struggles, anxiety, depression, burnout, and more. -
The Expectation Effect: how your mindset can change your world
“As David Robson makes plain in this compelling book, the way we think about the world can profoundly shape how we navigate it. Based in science and packed with smart advice, The Expectation Effect will expand your mind—and maybe even extend your life.”
—Daniel Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human
A journey through the cutting-edge science of how our mindset shapes every facet of our lives, revealing how your brain holds the keys to unlocking a better you
What you believe can make it so.
You’ve heard of the placebo effect and how sugar pills can accelerate healing. But did you know that sham heart surgeries often work just as well as placing real stents? Or that people who think they’re particularly prone to cardiovascular disease are four times as likely to die from cardiac arrest? Such is the power and deadly importance of the expectation effect—how what we think will happen changes what does happen.
Melding neuroscience with narrative, science journalist David Robson takes readers on a deep dive into the many life zones the expectation effect permeates. We see how people who believe stress is beneficial become more creative when placed under strain. We see how associating aging with wisdom can add seven plus years to your life. People say seeing is believing but, over and over, Robson proves that the converse is truer: believing is seeing.
The Expectation Effect is not woo-woo. You cannot think your way into a pile of money or out of a cancer diagnosis. But just because magical thinking is nonsense doesn’t mean rational magic doesn’t exist. Pointing to accepted psychology and objective physiology, Robson gives us the practical takeaways we need to improve our fitness, productivity, intelligence, and happiness. Any reader who wants to take their fate into their own hands need only pick up this book. -
A Minute to Think: reclaim creativity, conquer busyness, and do your best work
“You’re going to want to share copies of this book with your overbooked friends and colleagues, but before you do, take some time to read it yourself. Funt’s wisdom around making space is priceless.” —Seth Godin, author of The Practice
Do you wish you could stop the mayhem of work and life and just take a minute? Do you sense you could contribute more if there were a little more room in the day? Does busyness deprive you and your burnt-out team of the oxygen your talents need to catch fire?
Many have felt that way, yet taking a pause has seemed impossible—until now.
In A Minute to Think, Juliet Funt, a globally recognized warrior in the battle against busyness, provides a powerful guide that will give you the permission, framework, and specific direction you need to do the following:
- Regain control of your overloaded, caffeinated, inbox-worshiping workday
- Liberate yourself and your teams from burnout and busywork
- Reclaim creativity and focus despite the chaos around you
- Bring thoughtfulness into designing your next work norms
- Tame the beast of email and escape the mire of meetings
- Find your precious minute to think
You’re not alone in your yearning for freedom from constant reactivity. The global workforce today is so fried that it belongs in the food court of a county fair. We’re relentlessly behind the curve, dousing fires everywhere, and our 3 a.m. insomnia provides the only unscheduled thinking time of the day.
What we need reinserted in our lives is the missing element of white space—short periods of open, unscheduled time that, when recaptured, change the very nature of work. White space is the stepping back, the strategic pause, the oxygen that allows the sparks of our efforts to catch fire. White space has the power to radically—and simply—reinvent the way we approach work in this maxed-out, post-COVID 21st-century world.
With Juliet’s memorable stories, easy-to-use tools, and razor-sharp instruction, she carves for us an escape route from the overwhelming amount of low-value tasks and the daily avalanche of e-mails, meetings, decks, and reports. Using research, client stories, and a relatable voice, Juliet shows all of us how to reclaim time for thinking and make room for what truly matters. Whether you are an individual trying to build a more sane and humane flow of daily work, a team that wants new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, or an entire organization changing your culture toward thoughtfulness, this book will lead you there.
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Golden: the power of silence in a world of noise
Silence isn't just the absence of noise. It's a presence that brings us energy, clarity, and deeper connection.
Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz take us on an unlikely journey--from the West Wing of the White House to San Quentin's death row; from Ivy League brain research laboratories to underground psychedelic circles; from the temperate rainforests of Olympic National Park to the main stage at a heavy metal festival--to explore the meaning of silence and the art of finding it in any situation.
Golden reveals how to go beyond the ordinary rules and tools of mindfulness. It's a field guide for navigating the noise of the modern world--not just the noise in our ears but also on our screens and in our heads. Drawing on lessons from neuroscience, business, spirituality, politics, and the arts, Marz and Zorn explore why auditory, informational, and internal silence is essential for physical health, mental clarity, ecological sustainability, and vibrant community.
With vital lessons for individuals, families, workplaces, and whole societies, Golden is an engaging and unexpected rethinking of the meaning of quiet. Marz and Zorn make the bold and convincing argument that we can repair our world by reclaiming the presence of silence in our lives.
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Hear Yourself: how to find peace in a noisy world
New York Times Bestseller
"Rawat's deep wisdom is a breath of fresh air; Hear Yourself gives the gift of peace and gratitude in a time we sorely need it."--Ian Morgan Cron, author of The Story of You and co-author of The Road Back to You
"Hear Yourself invites us to take a journey from the outside world we live in everyday to the world of peace within us. I highly recommend this inspiring book to anyone ready to take that journey."--Bill McCarthy, Founder and President of The Unity Foundation
The renowned teacher and author of the internationally bestselling Peace Is Possible shows us how to quiet the noise of our busy lives to hear our own unique authentic voice--the source of peace.
The cacophony of modern life can be deafening, leaving us feeling frazzled and uneasy. In this warm, wise book, Prem Rawat teaches us how to turn down the noise to "hear ourselves"--to listen to the subtle song of peace that sings inside each of us. Once we learn to truly "hear ourselves" and the voice of peace within, then we can hold on to that as we face all the noise of the world.
The culmination of a lifetime of study, Hear Yourself lays out the crucial steps we can use to focus on the voice within. Take a walk in nature and listen for the sounds of harmony, Prem Rawat suggests, or set aside a few minutes each day to feel gratitude, which comes from the core of our being. He challenges us to embrace our thirst for peace and let go of expectations for how it should feel. With one straightforward yet deeply profound question, he helps us to focus--to be present: Am I conscious of where I am today and what I want to experience in this world"
If we allow ourselves to listen, what we hear is the extraordinary miracle of existence--an experience that transforms our relationship to life and everything in it. Packed with powerful insights and compelling stories, Hear Yourself introduces readers to an ancient line of practical wisdom that enlightens us to a simple way to listen. By doing so, Prem Rawat reveals, we can "profoundly change our understanding of ourselves, those around us, and our lives."
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The Way of Nagomi: the Japanese philosophy of finding balance and peace in everything you do
What is nagomi? Roughly, it means balance, comfort, and calm of the heart and mind. Nagomi could be about one’s relationship with the environment, or the quality of one’s communication with other people. Nagomi may be about a well-mixed and balanced blending of materials, as in cooking. Nagomi can also be about one’s general state of mind, as when one is in harmony with oneself and the world at large. Ultimately, nagomi is a state of human consciousness characterized by a sense of ease, emotional balance, well-being, and calmness.
In The Way of Nagomi, neuroscientist Ken Mogi reveals how the good and bad facets of life—like calm and stress, or fortune and misfortune—must coexist in order to attain harmony and emotional balance. Accepting these forces is the first step toward nagomi, which enables us to:
- maintain happy relationships, even in disagreement
- learn new things while staying true to ourselves
- find peace in whatever we do
- strike a harmonious balance and achieve calm.
Combining philosophy with a practical approach, Mogi weaves nagomi through health, relationships, diet, work, and more. For example, during cherry blossom season, nagomi manifests in the celebration of beauty and impermanence that remind us of the preciousness of life.
In every challenge—whether big or small—this book helps readers find equanimity and ultimately feel at peace.
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Soul Shift: the weary human's guide to getting unstuck & reclaiming your path to joy
Reclaim Joy, Inner Freedom, and Zest for Life.
How often do you feel joy—a truly pure, unadulterated experience of ease, bliss, and happiness? In childhood, our joy arises in the moment, spontaneous and free. But as we become adults, we’re faced with the pressure of increased responsibilities, endless demands, and a barrage of breaking news. And along the way, we forget how to be present in our own lives.
In Soul Shift, Rachel Macy Stafford offers us a practical, inclusive guide to navigating a culture of distraction and depletion to find our way back to what delights our heart, makes us feel alive, and brings us peace. She illuminates how to embody the practice of presence, where we return home to our authentic selves and the joy found only in the here and now.
Like a wise, empathetic friend, Stafford accompanies you on a wondrous exploration of self-discovery. She walks you through a symbolic botanical garden made up of eight areas designed to help you practice: presence, worthiness, letting go of perfection, self-kindness, authenticity, forgiveness, looking after yourself, and cultivating your gifts.
Soul Shift helps you rediscover the joy inside you at a pace that is natural, with an approach that is gentle and practical exercises that are easy to follow. Here, you will learn how to:
• Release external measurements of success so you can focus on what matters
• Respond to life’s challenges with awareness and compassion
• Realign with your heart and the calm presence within
• Create a framework to center you when life steers you off course
• Experience the healing power of presence for yourself and with the ones you love
In practicing this work, “our innermost truths come to the surface,” Stafford writes. “Barriers crumble, the past loses its grip, and we are finally free to show up as our fully human selves and make our unique contributions to the world.” -
Playing the Palace
One of Buzzfeed's 39 Excellent LGBTQ Books To Read This Month And Always
THEIR LOVE STORY CAPTIVATED THE WORLD…THE CROWN PRINCE AND THAT GUY FROM NEW YORK
When a lonely American event planner starts dating the gay Prince of Wales, a royal uproar ensues: is it true love or the ultimate meme? Find out in this hilarious romantic comedy.
After having his heart trampled on by his cheating ex, Carter Ogden is afraid love just isn’t in the cards for him. He still holds out hope in a tiny corner of his heart, but even in his wildest dreams he never thought he’d meet the Crown Prince of England, much less do a lot more with him. Yes, growing up he’d fantasized about the handsome, openly gay Prince Edgar, but who hadn’t? When they meet by chance at an event Carter’s boss is organizing, Carter’s sure he imagined all that sizzling chemistry. Or was it mutual?
This unlikely but meant-to-be romance sets off media fireworks on both sides of the Atlantic. With everyone having an opinion on their relationship and the intense pressure of being constantly in the spotlight, Carter finds ferocious obstacles to his Happily Ever After, including the tenacious disapproval of the Queen of England. Carter and Price Edgar fight for a happy ending to equal their glorious international beginning. It’s a match made on Valentine’s Day and in tabloid heaven. -
Public Relations
A smart and charming romantic comedy about a popstar and the publicist pulling his strings that Kirkus calls a "Cinderella for the modern age."
Young PR star Rose Reed is thrown into the big leagues when her boss leaves town the day of the firm's meeting with Archie Fox, a young, hot, internationally famous British singer-songwriter. The meeting is going badly until Rose suggests a staged romance with up-and-coming, young indie star Raya. He'll do it, but only if Rose becomes his publicist.
As the faux-mance between Archie and Raya begins to rehabilitate Archie's faltering career, Rose finds his herself having unexpected, inconvenient and definitely unprofessional feelings for the crooner. But do late night texts and impromptu burrito binges mean he feels the same? In the end, Rose will have to decide whether to let her fantasy crush go, or to risk her reputation to be with the charming, handsome, scoundrel-y but sweet pop star she's grown to love.
With a razor-sharp voice full of wry humor, Public Relations is a fun-filled glimpse behind the curtain of the PR machines that create our favorite celebrities. -
Conventionally Yours
When two sworn enemies go head-to-head in this charming LGBTQIA romance, love isn't the only thing at stake.
Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all...but in reality, he's scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control.
Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection...but even he can't help but feel a little broken inside.
When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a back seat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way--even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.
Praise for Conventionally Yours:
"Sweet, emotional, and uniquely quirky." --Carrie Ryan, New York Times and USA Today bestelling author
"You will ship this couple well before they figure out how much they need each other." --Sarina Bowen, USA Today bestselling author
"Fast, funny, and fantastic. A quest for the new decade--gamers will love this." --Eoin Colfer, New York Times bestselling author
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The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
"The Queer Principles of Kit Webb kept me up all night! I simply couldn't put it down."-- Tessa Dare, New York Times bestselling author
"Sharp, smart, and oh-so-swoony, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb reminds me that Cat Sebastian is an author at the absolute top of her game."-- Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author
Named one of Goodreads "Readers' Top 100 Romances of 2020-2022"
Critically acclaimed author Cat Sebastian pens a stunning historical romance about a reluctantly reformed highwayman and the aristocrat who threatens to steal his heart.
Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires.
In order to save himself and a beloved friend, Percy, Lord Holland must go against every gentlemanly behavior he holds dear to gain what he needs most: a book that once belonged to his mother, a book his father never lets out of his sight and could be Percy's savior. More comfortable in silk-filled ballrooms than coffee shops frequented by criminals, his attempts to hire the roughly hewn highwayman, formerly known as Gladhand Jack, proves equal parts frustrating and electrifying.
Kit refuses to participate in the robbery but agrees to teach Percy how to do the deed. Percy knows he has little choice but to submit and as the lessons in thievery begin, he discovers thievery isn't the only crime he's desperate to commit with Kit.
But when their careful plan goes dangerously wrong and shocking revelations threaten to tear them apart, can these stolen hearts overcome the impediments in their path
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The Charm Offensive
A MOST ANTICIPATED ROM-COM SELECTED BY * BUZZFEED * LGBTQ READS * BUSTLE * THE NERD DAILY * ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT * FROLIC MEDIA * AND MORE!
A BEST BOOK PICK BY * HARPER’S BAZAAR * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“The Charm Offensive will sweep you off your feet.” —PopSugar
In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.
Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off.
As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told. -
Boyfriend Material
"It's a fun, frothy quintessentially British romcom about a certified chaos demon and a stern brunch daddy with a heart of gold faking a relationship."--New York Times bestselling author Talia Hibbert
AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH
Named a best book of the year by Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Goodreads, The Washington Post, and more!
WANTED:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every way
Luc O'Donnell is tangentially--and reluctantly--famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he's never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad's making a comeback, Luc's back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.
To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship...and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He's a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he's never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately, apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.
But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that's when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don't ever want to let them go.
Discover the LGBT romance about exact opposites falling in perfectly imperfect love that New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CHRISTINA LAUREN calls "hilarious, witty, tender, and stunning."
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The Unhoneymooners
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews * Publishers Weekly * Library Journal
Named a “Must-Read” by TODAY, Us Weekly, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Goodreads, Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, Southern Living, Book Riot, Woman’s Day, The Toronto Star, and more!
For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime—maybe even love—in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Roomies.
Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion...she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.
Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.
Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is...Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.
With Christina Lauren’s “uniquely hilarious and touching voice” (Entertainment Weekly), The Unhoneymooners is a romance for anyone who has ever felt unlucky in love. -
The Marriage Game
“This novel has all the funny banter and sexy feels you could want in a romantic comedy.”–NPR
A high stakes wager pits an aspiring entrepreneur against a ruthless CEO in this sexy romantic comedy.
After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn’t know he’s arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door…
As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he's forced to share his space with the owner's beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.
As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game. -
A Princess in Theory
From acclaimed author Alyssa Cole comes the tale of a city Cinderella and her Prince Charming in disguise . . .
Between grad school and multiple jobs, Naledi Smith doesn’t have time for fairy tales…or patience for the constant e-mails claiming she’s betrothed to an African prince. Sure. Right. Delete! As a former foster kid, she’s learned that the only things she can depend on are herself and the scientific method, and a silly e-mail won’t convince her otherwise.
Prince Thabiso is the sole heir to the throne of Thesolo, shouldering the hopes of his parents and his people. At the top of their list? His marriage. Ever dutiful, he tracks down his missing betrothed. When Naledi mistakes the prince for a pauper, Thabiso can’t resist the chance to experience life—and love—without the burden of his crown.
The chemistry between them is instant and irresistible, and flirty friendship quickly evolves into passionate nights. But when the truth is revealed, can a princess in theory become a princess ever after?
Selected as one of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2018!
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The Royal We
An American girl finds her prince in this "fun and dishy" (People) royal romance inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton.American Bex Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister Lacey was always the romantic, the one who daydreamed of being a princess. But it's adventure-seeking Bex who goes to Oxford and meets dreamy Nick across the hall - and Bex who finds herself accidentally in love with the heir to the British throne.
Nick is wonderful, but he comes with unimaginable baggage: a complicated family, hysterical tabloids tracking his every move, and a public that expected its future king to marry a Brit. On the eve of the most talked-about wedding of the century, Bex looks back on how much she's had to give up for true love... and exactly whose heart she may yet have to break.
Praise for THE ROYAL WE
"Hysterical" - Entertainment Weekly
"Full of love and humor, and delicious in too many ways." - Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author
"Engrossing and deeply satisfying." - Jen Doll, author of Save the Date
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Dewey Decimated
Librarian Carrie Singleton is back on the case, alongside library ghost Evelyn, in the sixth installment of Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook’s Haunted Library mysteries.
Carrie Singleton is just off a hot string of murder cases centered around the spooky local library in Clover Ridge, Connecticut. She could really use a break—but no such luck, as she; Smoky Joe, the resident cat; and Evelyn, the library’s ghost, are drawn into another tantalizing whodunit.
First, a dead body is found in the basement of the building attached to the library, and it turns out to be Carrie’s fiancé’s Uncle Alec, who Dylan hasn’t seen in years. But Alec has no intention of truly checking out, and his ghost makes itself at home in the library, greatly upsetting the patrons. Carrie and Evelyn work hard to keep Alec out of sight, but what was he doing in Clover Ridge to begin with? And why was he killed?
Meanwhile, the town council, of which Carrie is also a member, is embroiled in a hot-headed debate over the fate of the Seabrook Preserve, a lovely and valuable piece of property that runs along Long Island Sound. Turn it into an upscale park? Sell it to a condo developer? Or keep it as protected land?
As the dispute rages, there’s another murder, this time involving a council member. Could the two murders be connected? And could Carrie be next on the hit list? -
The Game is a Footnote
Gemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson are back on the case when a body is discovered in a haunted museum in bestselling author Vicki Delany's eighth Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.
Scarlet House, now a historical re-enactment museum, is the oldest building in West London, Massachusetts. When things start moving around on their own, board members suggest that Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, might be able to get to the bottom of it. Gemma doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she agrees to ‘eliminate the impossible’. But when Gemma and Jayne stumble across a dead body on the property, they’re forced to consider an all too physical threat.
Gemma and Jayne suspect foul play as they start to uncover more secrets about the museum. With the museum being a revolving door for potential killers, they have plenty of options for who might be the actual culprit.
Despite Gemma's determination not to get further involved, it would appear that once again, and much to the displeasure of Detective Ryan Ashburton, the game is afoot.
Will Gemma and Jayne be able to solve the mystery behind the haunted museum, or will they be the next to haunt it? -
Death by Arts and Crafts
When a killer’s handiwork threatens Snowberry Creek’s first-ever arts and crafts fair, committee member and amateur sleuth Abby McCree starts looking for glues in this delightfully crafty new installment in Alexis Morgan’s USA Today bestselling cozy series set in the Pacific Northwest!
As the newest member of the Snowberry Creek City Council, perpetually overextended Abby McCree is picked to liaise between the council and the new planning committee for the town’s first ever arts and crafts fair. As far as gigs go, it’s a fun one—Abby’s spending the weekend tooling around Washington State, checking out similar fairs with her two besties, coffee shop owner Bridey Roker, and ceramic artisan Dayna Fisk.
As Abby spreads the word about Snowberry Creek’s fair, recruiting the industry’s biggest movers and makers, the trip feels like a glittering success. But then, someone is found murdered at one of the events and vendors begin disappearing amid suspicious circumstances. Abby’s determined to keep her hands clean, until Dayna finds herself stuck at the top of the suspect list. Now, Abby must weave the clues together and clear her friend’s name before the killer claims another victim—maybe even Abby herself . . . -
The Paris Mystery
Intrepid reporter Charlotte "Charlie" James arrives in Paris in 1938 eager to make a fresh start, but little does she know the trouble that awaits her...
Charlie James is chasing her first big scoop as correspondent for British-based newspaper The Times, and she needs to prove to her boss that she can do this job as well, if not better, than her male counterparts. The best way to forge the necessary contacts quickly is to make well-connected British expats, Lord and Lady Ashworth, her business. Lady Eleanor knows everyone in Parisian high society, and at her sumptuously extravagant annual party, a Circus Ball, Charlie will meet them all.
On the summer solstice eve, the Circus Ball is in full swing, with the Parisian elites entranced by burlesque dancers, tightrope walkers, a jazz band . . . and a horrific murder. A wealthy but unscrupulous investor is dead, and the list of suspects is a veritable who's who of le haut monde. As Charlie tries to determine who the murderer is, she finds herself drawn into the magical parties, couture houses, and bohemian wine bars of the City of Lights. Soon secrets start to unravel, including some Charlie has a personal stake in keeping hidden.