But God was calling her to freedom and love. He was calling her to true faith. He was calling her to give up everything. Leaving Islam for Christianity cost her more than she imagined but gave more than she could have dreamed. Hiding in the Light is the story of Rifqa's remarkable spiritual journey from Islam to Christianity. It is also the untold story of how she ran from her father's threats to find refuge with strangers in Florida, only to face a controversial court case that reached national headlines. Most of all, it is the story of a young girl who made life-changing sacrifices to follow Jesus-and who inspires us to do the same. Teens and young adults will be moved by Rifqa's story of standing up to religious persecution, literally giving up everything to follow her faith.

    On the other side of town lives Pony Boy, a member of a lower-class family—but Benfu’s best friend all the same. Their futures look different but guaranteed…until they’re faced with a perilous opportunity to leave a mark on history.At the announcement of China’s Cultural Revolution, Chairman Mao’s Red Guard members begin their assault, leaving innocent victims in their wake as they surge across the country. With political turmoil at their door, both Benfu and Pony Boy must face heart-wrenching decisions regarding family, friendship, courage, and loyalty to their country during one of the most chaotic periods in history.The prequel to the beloved Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters series, The Palest Ink depicts Benfu’s coming-of-age during the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution.

    In a country aflame with the fallout from the racial divide–in which Ferguson, Charleston, and the Confederate flag dominate the national news, daily seeming to rip the wounds open ever wider–is there hope for honest and healing conversation? For finally coming to understand each other on issues that are ultimately about so much more than black and white? An NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints and a widely read and followed commentator on social media, Watson has taken the Internet by storm with his remarkable insights about some of the most sensitive and charged topics of our day. Now, in "Under Our Skin, " Watson draws from his own life, his family legacy, and his role as a husband and father to sensitively examine both sides of the race debate and appeal to the power and possibility of faith as a step toward healing.

    In an attempt to escape this legacy that binds her, Mukta is transported to a foster family in Bombay. There she discovers a friend in the high spirited eight-year-old Tara, the tomboyish daughter of the family, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past. Tara introduces Mukta to a different world—ice cream and sweets, poems and stories, and a friendship the likes of which she has never experienced before. As time goes by, their bond grows to be as strong as that between sisters. In 1993, Mukta is kidnapped from Tara’s room. Eleven years later, Tara who blames herself for what happened, embarks on an emotional journey to search for the kidnapped Mukta only to uncover long buried secrets in her own family.Moving from a remote village in India to the bustling metropolis of Bombay, to Los Angeles and back again, amidst the brutal world of human trafficking, this is a heartbreaking and beautiful portrait of an unlikely friendship—a story of love, betrayal, and redemption—which ultimately withstands the true test of time.

    The revolt comes to a quick and violent end. In November, Nat is publicly hanged, and as his body swings, a false sense of peace washes over Jerusalem, Virginia.Unbeknownst to the world, on the day Nat Turner dies, his son, Nat Hope Turner, is born. Reared by Big Mama on the Turner plantation, young Nat's identity is kept secret to keep him safe. As Nat grows to manhood, he leads his own uprising against slavery and is forever after known as Black.Fate-by way of Big Mama-leads Black to rescue a young female slave, Sunday, before the plantation owner can sell her. Black has lived for liberty until the day he comes face to face with the alluring Sunday. As the two embark on a sexually charged ride toward love and freedom, they set off a chain of events that forces Black to risk his own liberty for hers."Black" shares the appealing tale of a passionate love between a man and a woman bound together to change their destiny.

    We've got a brand-new one in Peanuts: Where Beagles Dare!, and it comes out just in time for The Peanuts Movie! What It Is: Snoopy, the World War I Flying Ace, is on holiday in France but his leave is cut short when he's recruited for a top-secret mission. Snoopy must dodge his way through no-man's land, go deep behind enemy territory, and battle the Red Baron in the blackened skies above. Will Snoopy ever return home to quaff a few Root Beers with Woodstock and have dinner with Charlie Brown? Find out in this original graphic novel featuring Charles M. Schulz's beloved Peanuts characters and starring Snoopy!

    An estimated 74,000 people died within the first five months, and another 75,000 were injured.Published on the seventieth anniversary of the bombing, Nagasaki takes readers from the morning of the bombing to the city today, telling the first-hand experiences of five survivors, all of whom were teenagers at the time of the devastation. Susan Southard has spent years interviewing hibakusha (“bomb-affected people”) and researching the physical, emotional, and social challenges of post-atomic life. She weaves together dramatic eyewitness accounts with searing analysis of the policies of censorship and denial that colored much of what was reported about the bombing both in the United States and Japan.A gripping narrative of human resilience, Nagasaki will help shape public discussion and debate over one of the most controversial wartime acts in history.

    There's no electricity, no plumbing, no cars, just day after day of pasturing goats. And now, without his sister and mother, eleven-year-old Teo's life feels even more barren.And then one day, the mysterious young Esma, who calls herself the Gypsy Queen of Lightning, rolls into town like a fresh burst of color. Against all odds, her caravan's Mistress of Destiny predicts that Teo and Esma will be longtime friends. Suddenly, life brims with possibility. With the help of a rescued duck, a three-legged skunk, a blind goat, and other allies, Teo and Esma must overcome obstacles-even death-to fulfill their impossible destiny.Inspired by true stories derived from rural Mexico, The Lightning Queen offers a glimpse of the encounter between two fascinating but marginalized cultures—the Rom and the Mixtec Indians—while telling the heart-warming story of an unlikely friendship that spans generations.

    The night she arrives, Mia tries to share her favorite book with Abuela before they go to sleep and discovers that Abuela can’t read the words inside. So while they cook, Mia helps Abuela learn English ("Dough. Masa"), and Mia learns some Spanish too, but it’s still hard for Abuela to learn the words she needs to tell Mia all her stories. Then Mia sees a parrot in the pet-shop window and has the perfect idea for how to help them all communicate a little better. An endearing tale from an award-winning duo that speaks loud and clear about learning new things and the love that bonds family members.

    From high-end denim to oxford button-downs, Japanese designers have taken the classic American look—known as ametora, or “American traditional”—and turned it into a huge business for companies like Uniqlo, Kamakura Shirts, Evisu, and Kapital. This phenomenon is part of a long dialogue between Japanese and American fashion; in fact, many of the basic items and traditions of the modern American wardrobe are alive and well today thanks to the stewardship of Japanese consumers and fashion cognoscenti, who ritualized and preserved these American styles during periods when they were out of vogue in their native land.In Ametora, cultural historian W. David Marx traces the Japanese assimilation of American fashion over the past hundred and fifty years, showing how Japanese trendsetters and entrepreneurs mimicked, adapted, imported, and ultimately perfected American style, dramatically reshaping not only Japan’s culture but also our own in the process.

    The 2,000-year-old civilization grew through periods of seclusion and assimilation to cultivate a society responsible for immeasurable influences on the rest of the world. What makes Japan so distinctive?The answer is more than just spiritual beliefs or culinary tastes. It’s the ongoing clash between tradition and modernity; a conflict shaped by Japan’s long history of engagement and isolation.We’re all aware of Japan’s pivotal role in global economics and technological innovation. We know that the future of the West (and the entire world) is inextricably linked with the island nation’s successes and failures. But Japanese culture—its codes, mores, rituals, and values—still remains mysterious to many of us. And that’s unfortunate, because to truly understand Japan’s influence on the world stage, one needs to understand Japan’s culture—on its own terms.Only by looking at Japan’s politics, spirituality, cuisine, literature, art, and philosophy in the context of larger historical forces can we reach an informed grasp of Japanese culture. One that dispels prevalent myths and misconceptions we in the West have. One that puts Japan—not other nations—at the center of the story. And one that reveals how this incredible country transformed into the 21st-century superpower it is today.In an exciting partnership with the Smithsonian, The Great Courses presents Understanding Japan: A Cultural History—24 lectures that offer an unforgettable tour of Japanese life and culture. Delivered by renowned Japan scholar and award-winning professor Mark J. Ravina of Emory University, it’s a chance to access an extraordinary culture that is sometimes overlooked or misrepresented in broader surveys of world history. Professor Ravina, with the expert collaboration of the Smithsonian’s resources, and brings you a grand portrait of Japan, one that reaches from its ancient roots as an archipelago of warring islands to its current status as a geopolitical giant. Here for your enjoyment is a dazzling historical adventure with something to inform and delight everyone, and you’ll come away from it with a richer appreciation of Japanese culture.

    When his father dies, Anil becomes the de facto head of the Patel household and inherits the mantle of arbiter for all of the village’s disputes. But he is uneasy with the custom, uncertain that he has the wisdom and courage demonstrated by his father and grandfather. His doubts are compounded by the difficulties he discovers in adjusting to a new culture and a new job, challenges that will shake his confidence in himself and his abilities.Back home in India, Anil’s closest childhood friend, Leena, struggles to adapt to her demanding new husband and relatives. Arranged by her parents, the marriage shatters Leena’s romantic hopes and eventually forces her to make a desperate choice that will hold drastic repercussions for herself and her family. Though Anil and Leena struggle to come to terms with their identities thousands of miles apart, their lives eventually intersect once more—changing them both and the people they love forever.

    Abandoned as an infant, she was taken in by an American woman living in China. Now eleven, Kara spends most of her time in their apartment, wondering why she and Mama cannot leave the city of Tianjin and go live with Daddy in Montana. Mama tells Kara to be content with what she has…but what if Kara secretly wants more? Told in lyrical, moving verse, Red Butterfly is the story of a girl learning to trust her own voice, discovering that love and family are limitless, and finding the wings she needs to reach new heights.

    Hard working and honest to the core Ricky Richardson, taught by one of the best, is injured in a freak horse accident that leaves him in the hospital and the horse dead. After six weeks of recovery and without work he is desperate for a job. An offer comes with a catch, he must show up with a horse to ride and the only horse in his price range is a mistrusting black with a history of having been mistreated. He is cheap for a reason as Ricky would soon learn. Both stubborn, one will have to give. Which one will it be?A tender and emotional story of the bond that develops between a horse and his owner. That bond is tested as the young man and his horse endure an almost unbearable hardship. It will take all the fortitude Ricky can muster and all the help his friends can give as he faces the possibility of losing his favorite horse forever.If you’ve ever owned a horse, or ever wanted to, this book is for you.

    But their happy, middle-class world—a life of education, work, and comfort—implodes when their country is engulfed in war, and the Taliban rises to power.In Kabul, we meet Fereiba, a schoolteacher who puts her troubled childhood behind her when she finds love in an arranged marriage. But Fereiba's comfortable life implodes when the Taliban rises to power and her family becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime. Forced to flee with her three children, Fereiba has one hope for survival: to seek refuge with her sister's family in London. Traveling with forged papers and depending on the kindness of strangers, Fereiba and the children make a dangerous crossing into Iran under cover of darkness, the start of a harrowing journey that reduces her from a respected wife and mother to a desperate refugee. Eventually they fall into the shadowy underground network of the undocumented who haunt the streets of Europe's cities. And then, in a busy market square in Athens, their fate takes a frightening turn when Fereiba's teenage son, Saleem, becomes separated from the rest of the family. Without his mother, Saleem is forced, abruptly and unforgivingly, to come of age in a world of human trafficking and squalid refugee camps. Heartbroken, Fereiba has no choice but to continue on with only her daughter and baby. Mother and son cross border after perilous border, risking their lives in the hope of finding a place where they can be reunited.

    She is ready to celebrate freedom. She is ready to celebrate a great day in American history — the day her ancestors were no longer slaves. Mazie remembers the struggles and the triumph, as she gets ready to celebrate Juneteenth.This beautiful story by award-winning author and illustrator Floyd Cooper will captivate both children and adults.

    In the summer of 1980, tensions are building. Homes of the poor are being burnt down. Armed revolutionaries on college campuses battle right-wings militias in the city's neighborhoods. The lines between good and bad, right and wrong, and beautiful and ugly are blurred by shed blood. Two children, one from a family living in misery and one well-off, form an alliance amid the turmoil. Through their senses, the cityscape unfolds its wonders, its rich smells and colors, as they try to make sense of the events swirling around them. And they hatch a plan. For the first time in generations, mute swans have migrated from Russia to the Black Sea and to a park at the center of Ankara. For the generals, they are an affirmation, and their wings must be broken so they can't fly away. But if the children can save one swan, won't they have saved the freedom of all?

    J. Walker, who after years of adversity became the wealthiest black woman in the country, as well as one of the wealthiest black Americans, to Barack Obama, the country's first African-American president.With powerful illustrations by Shane Evans, this is a completely unique look at the importance and influence of African Americans on the history of this country.

    THE BOY - THE MAN - THE LEGEND -- Covering his earliest years to the age of twenty-three -, this fascinating novel goes "behind the screen" to tell the private and personal story of the most iconic young man of his time - Lord Byron - whose charisma, beauty and literary genius helped him to overcome personal difficulties and rise from obscurity to become Britain's first superstar.Beginning when he is a boy of ten years old, we join George Gordon when he is living a miserable life with his manic Scottish mother in a few rented rooms above a shop in Aberdeen; unaware that his true surname is not Gordon, and that his true heritage is with the English aristocracy - who soon come to claim him.A life of wealth and privilege is then bestowed upon him, which eventually sets the stage for him to prove his own individual worth, in his own way, and in his own time."My Name Alone shall be my epitaph." --- BYRON

    As she peels back layer upon layer of the secrets it holds, Inara's life becomes interwoven with that of Mei Lein, a young Chinese girl mysteriously driven from her home a century before. Through the stories Mei Lein tells in silk, Inara uncovers a tragic truth that will shake her family to its core — and force her to make an impossible choice.Inspired by true events, Kelli Estes's brilliant and atmospheric debut serves as a poignant tale of two women determined to do the right thing, and the power of our own stories.

    In 1945, Loretta’s nickname was ‘The Daredevil’ due to her fearless competing in the town’s famous Palio horse races – until war broke out and led to sadness and loss for Loretta.Lola jumps at the chance to enter the modern-day Palio on a beautiful horse called Nico – can she win, in honour of her beloved grandmother? And solve a mystery that will bring happiness and hope to Loretta?

    Minion pushed open the door of the cabin and immediately froze when he heard the shrilling sound of an infant crying. He knew, for sure, that when he’d left out this morning there weren’t any babies living with him, and as far as he could recollect, he wasn’t expecting none either.” Molly’s Memoir is a journey through the life and times of a woman who is raised by a Seneca Indian after she is abandoned on the porch of a log cabin in the hills of West Virginia. Growing up in the isolated Monongahela Mountains, she learns about love, faith, and of the craft of healing with medicinal herbs. The background of these stories begins in 1905 when West Virginia was wild and wooly, and continues to the later half of the 20th century, when a journalism student, who works at the Springfield Senior Care Facility, is recruited by two gray-haired, knee-high wearing women to inscribe Molly’s tales. Stories from the past, and from when the memoir is written in 1990, are intertwined as the most memorable events of a remarkable life, are revealed with a humor and a gentle touch. Molly’s Memoir offers a fascinating picture of a strong Native American woman, medicinal healing, historical events, biases, and the significance of family ties – even when you aren’t blood kin.

    The sisters nurture Gabrielle’s exceptional sewing skills, a talent that will propel the willful young woman into a life far removed from the drudgery of her childhood.Transforming herself into Coco—a seamstress and sometime torch singer—the petite brunette burns with ambition, an incandescence that draws a wealthy gentleman who will become the love of her life. She immerses herself in his world of money and luxury, discovering a freedom that sparks her creativity. But it is only when her lover takes her to Paris that Coco discovers her destiny.Rejecting the frilly, corseted silhouette of the past, her sleek, minimalist styles reflect the youthful ease and confidence of the 1920s modern woman. As Coco’s reputation spreads, her couturier business explodes, taking her into rarefied society circles and bohemian salons. But her fame and fortune cannot save her from heartbreak as the years pass. And when Paris falls to the Nazis, Coco is forced to make choices that will haunt her.An enthralling novel of an extraordinary woman who created the life she desired, Mademoiselle Chanel explores the inner world of a woman of staggering ambition whose strength, passion and artistic vision would become her trademark.

    Side chick. Other woman. She doesn't care what you call her--just as long as you know she belongs to him. Desirae has everything--a great body with hot curves, a tell-it-like-it-is personality, and the ability to have any man she wants. Right now, she wants Tron, and she doesn't care that he's with someone else. The late-night secret booty calls keep her alive with passion and hunger--a hunger only Tron can feed. Desirae wants more - but Tron has been with his girlfriend for over three years, and he's not quite ready to jump ship. When his main starts getting suspicious, she'll do anything to catch her boyfriend with his pants down. When Desirae begins to see Tron for who he really is, will she accept that she might be more than just some club owner's side chick?

    Amid the bickering and inertia, the promise of the 1960s -- when we came together as a nation to fight for equality and universal justice -- remains unfulfilled. As Shelby Steele reveals in Shame, the roots of this impasse can be traced back to that decade of protest, when in the act of uncovering and dismantling our national hypocrisies -- racism, sexism, militarism -- liberals internalized the idea that there was something inauthentic, if not evil, in the America character. Since then, liberalism has been wholly concerned with redeeming modern American from the sins of the past, and has derived its political legitimacy from the premise of a morally bankrupt America. The result has been a half-century of well-intentioned but ineffective social programs, such as Affirmative Action. Steele reveals that not only have these programs failed, but they have in almost every case actively harmed America's minorities and poor. Ultimately, Steele argues, post-60s liberalism has utterly failed to achieve its stated aim: true equality. Liberals, intending to atone for our past sins, have ironically perpetuated the exploitation of this country's least fortunate citizens. It therefore falls to the Right to defend the American dream. Only by reviving our founding principles of individual freedom and merit-based competition can the fraught legacy of American history be redeemed, and only through freedom can we ever hope to reach equality. Approaching political polarization from a wholly new perspective, Steele offers a rigorous critique of the failures of liberalism and a cogent argument for the relevance and power of conservatism.

    All three are new to their American elementary school, and each has trouble speaking, writing, and sharing ideas in English. Through self-determination and with encouragement from their peers and teachers, the students learn to feel confident and comfortable in their new school without losing a sense of their home country, language, and identity. Young readers from all backgrounds will appreciate this touching story about the assimilation of three immigrant students in a supportive school community. Anne Sibley O'Brien is one of the founders of I'm Your Neighbor, an organization that promotes children's literature featuring "new arrival" cultures. As the rate of immigration to the United States increases, topics related to immigration are increasingly more important in the classroom and home. I'm New Here demonstrates how our global community can work together and build a home for all.

    When his 10-year-old neighbor hides in his garden one afternoon, they begin an unexpected friendship that gives them a reprieve from their individual struggles. The boy, left to his own devices by his mother, finds solace in gardening and playing chess with his new friend, who is still battling the demons of his past. When a sinister figure enters the boy’s life, he has to choose between his burgeoning friendship and blood ties. Can the old man protect the boy he has come to know—and redeem the boy he once was? A poignant novel by a fresh new voice, The Promise Seed will linger long after the last page is turned.

    In a last-minute twist of fate, Laura is sent to Burgundy, France for a year on an exchange. She arrives knowing only a smattering of French and with no idea what to expect in her first foray out of North America. With a head full of dreams and a powerful desire to please, Laura adapts to Burgundian life, learning crucial skills such as the fine art of winetasting and how to savor snails. However, her inability to resist the charming young men of the region means that Laura soon runs afoul of the rules, particularly the ‘no dating’ edict. Romantic afternoons in Dijon, early morning pain au chocolat runs, and long walks in the vineyards are wondrous, but also present Laura with a conundrum – how does she keep her hosts happy while still managing to follow her heart?

    It establishes Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar as one of our most important contemporary writers.

    It's the story of two women who meet in 1980, gray-haired Erma telling her life story to Annie, a young college student living in Charleston, West Virginia. The tale she tells is also of two women, and their adventures beginning in the coalfields of Red Ash, growing up near Thurmond, and eventually finding their way to Charleston in 1915. Strong mountain women, historical places, faith, and grief are themes explored in this account of a friendship that spans across decades. You will find yourself wishing to call on the fine folks of the Appalachian Mountains, relax for a spell, and stumble upon the angels who made West Virginia so gloriously wild and wonderful.

    A line from that song stays in my mind - 'when the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day'. Let me hope that this day and this debate heralds a new dawn for all those who feared that the dark midnight might never end." - Taoiseach Enda Kenny's State apology to the Magdalene women.On 19 February 2013 the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologized to the women who had been incarcerated in Ireland's Magdalene laundries. In the audience sat Steven O'Riordan, a documentary filmmaker and founder of the Magdalene Survivors Together group. And by his side, waiting patiently for the words they'd been fighting to hear, were some of the women he had helped.For Nancy, Kathleen, Diane, Marie and Marina were confined in Magdalene laundries throughout Ireland during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The harrowing physical and psychological abuse they endured in the institutions, run on behalf of the State, led to a lifetime of shame and secrecy.Now, in WHISPERING HOPE, these women tell their stories for the first time. Their fight for justice and forged friendships has enabled them to move forward and have their voices heard, their individual accounts weaving together in an immensely powerful narrative that shines a light on a dark chapter in Ireland's history.Inspirational and moving, this is the story of five women brave enough to confront their past and strong enough to not let it define them.

     Sixteen years ago, Scarlet’s family sent her away in disgrace. She’s been back once – with disastrous consequences. Now, her little sister is getting married and Scarlet's headed home once more. Will this be the reunion she's always longed for? Or will the lies of her childhood entangle her once more in their beautiful embrace? She has a nightmarish fear of flying and she’s escorting her sister’s wedding dress through three different time zones. He’s the tall, dark and handsome stranger that gets in her way… What happens when Scarlet has to go home to be bridesmaid to her least favorite little sister, (who loves to remind everyone she’s a former beauty Queen EVERY OTHER MINUTE?) Can she survive three weeks of tropical heat and mosquitos, droves of busybody relatives all wanting to tell her WHY she’s still single as she endures the wedding from hell? Six hundred guests, three wedding dresses, twenty-four cake tiers, fifteen bridesmaids, a mother on a mission to makeover her daughter who ‘lacks ambition,’ and ONE deliciously divine man who alternately renders her speechless then drives her to outrage - all add up to a recipe for disaster. Or does it? More than 'just a romance', this poignant story about the tangled connections between mothers, daughters and sisters - speaks with compelling insight and humor, of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love. Scarlet Lies is the first in a three book series. The second book, 'Scarlet Secrets' will release April 30th, followed by the thrilling conclusion to the saga, 'Scarlet Redemption', May 30th.

    Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere—and, sometimes, turning back again. A pharmacist living in New York smuggles drugs to his ailing father in Manila, only to discover alarming truths about his family and his past. In Bahrain, a Filipina teacher drawn to a special pupil finds, to her surprise, that she is questioning her own marriage. A college student leans on her brother, a laborer in Saudi Arabia, to support her writing ambitions, without realizing that his is the life truly made for fiction. And in the title story, a journalist and a nurse face an unspeakable trauma amidst the political turmoil of the Philippines in the 1970s and ’80s.In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home. From teachers to housemaids, from mothers to sons, Alvar’s powerful debut collection explores the universal experiences of loss, displacement, and the longing to connect across borders both real and imagined. Deeply compassionate and richly felt, In the Country marks the emergence of a formidable new writer.

    Dilan Ellegala's quest to teach brain surgery in one of the poorest and most remote places on earth. In vivid detail, the book also exposes one of the world's most neglected but serious public health problems - one that kills more people than malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined.

    Bike through historic streets to grand museums where you will in the work of the great Dutch Masters. For dinner, sample fine fresh seafood, or stop at a coffee shop for some extra local flavor.Rick’s candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants. He’ll help you plan where to go and what to see, depending on the length of your trip. You’ll get up-to-date recommendations about what is worth your time and money. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.This first edition guide replaces Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels, ISBN 9781612385433.

    Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told “the best on the planet”?Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.She could not return, since rumours of her escape were spreading, and she and her family could incur the punishments of the government authorities – involving imprisonment, torture, and possible public execution. Hyeonseo instead remained in China and rapidly learned Chinese in an effort to adapt and survive. Twelve years and two lifetimes later, she would return to the North Korean border in a daring mission to spirit her mother and brother to South Korea, on one of the most arduous, costly and dangerous journeys imaginable.This is the unique story not only of Hyeonseo’s escape from the darkness into the light, but also of her coming of age, education and the resolve she found to rebuild her life – not once, but twice – first in China, then in South Korea. Strong, brave and eloquent, this memoir is a triumph of her remarkable spirit.

    In this riveting book, Mark Steyn has compiled the thoughts of the world's scientists, in their own words, on hockey-stick creator Michael E Mann, his stick and their damage to science. From Canada to Finland, Scotland to China, Belgium to New Zealand, from venerable Nobel Laureates to energetic young researchers on all sides of the debate analyze the hockey stock and the wider climate wars it helped launch.

    India is fractured and divided into kingdoms, each independent and wary of one another, seemingly no match for the might of the English. But when they arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, the British army is met with a surprising challenge.Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies - one male and one female - and rides into battle, determined to protect her country and her people. Although her soldiers may not appear at first to be formidable against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi refuses to back down from the empire that is determined to take away the land she loves.Told from the unexpected perspective of Sita - Queen Lakshmi's most favored companion and most trusted soldier in the all-female army - Rebel Queen shines a light on a time and place rarely explored in historical fiction. In the tradition of her best-selling novel, Nefertiti ,and through her strong, independent heroines fighting to make their ways in a male-dominated world, Michelle Moran brings nineteenth-century India to rich, vibrant life.

    Since she left home, Sonya has lived on the run, free of any ties, while her soft-spoken sister, Trisha, has created a perfect suburban life, and her ambitious sister, Marin, has built her own successful career. But as these women come together, their various methods of coping with a terrifying history can no longer hold their memories at bay.Buried secrets rise to the surface as their father—the victim of humiliating racism and perpetrator of horrible violence—remains unconscious. As his condition worsens, the daughters and their mother wrestle with private hopes for his survival or death, as well as their own demons and buried secrets. Told with forceful honesty, Trail of Broken Wings reveals the burden of shame and secrets, the toxicity of cruelty and aggression, and the exquisite, liberating power of speaking and owning truth.

    The news that could exonerate him was leaked to the press, but was suppressed by the military. Anyone who sought to reopen the Dreyfus court-martial became victimized and persecuted and was considered an enemy of the state. Emile Zola, a popular journalist determined to bring the truth to light, undertook the challenge to publicly expose the facts surrounding the military cover-up. This is the story of Zola's battle to help Alfred Dreyfus reclaim his freedom and clear his name. Up against anti-Semitism, military resistance, and opposition from the Church in France, Zola committed his life to fighting for justice. But was it worth all the costs to him, to those around him, and to France?

    Sent away to safety, she meets another displaced child and they, star-crossed, fall in love. They are from different ethnic communities. They are also both girls. When their love is discovered, Ijeoma learns that she will have to hide this part of herself. But there is a cost to living inside a lie. As Edwidge Danticat has made personal the legacy of Haiti's political coming of age, Okparanta's Under the Udala Trees uses one woman's lifetime to examine the ways in which Nigerians continue to struggle toward selfhood. Even as their nation contends with and recovers from the effects of war and division, Nigerian lives are also wrecked and lost from taboo and prejudice. This story offers a glimmer of hope — a future where a woman might just be able to shape her life around truth and love.

    And she’s determined to marry a man who’s neither. Chasing her dead father’s dreams, the twenty-year-old English bride arrives in Australia in 1875 for an arranged marriage. Anticipating her future as village preacher’s wife, she records her thoughts in her Everlasting journal. But instead of her fiancé, Finella is met by Shadrach Jones, a poor farmer sent to collect her from the busy Melbourne pier. This is not what her father planned. And it’s only the beginning of the unraveling of Finella Mayfield ~ the bride with no groom. All Shadrach Jones longs for is rows of mustard and chicory. He’s busy growing a farm near the Phillip Island fishing village of Cowes, and caring for Molly, his simple sister. Far from the brutal life they remember with their ex-convict father, Shadrach’s building something new. But he’s also made a promise to a dying friend. To collect and marry the English girl destined to never be a preacher’s wife. Can Shadrach convince Finella she has a future with a farmer? Can he convince himself, knowing his family secrets will haunt their future? Carry Me Home ~ Book 1 in the Blue Wren Shallows series. An Australian historical romance set in the pioneering era of the 1870s, on Victoria’s majestic Phillip Island.

     Best suited for early readers, though younger children will adore the illustrations and inspirational message found in "Look What Brown Can Do!" This book is a perfect conversational tool for parents, teachers, caretakers, and anyone looking to help lovely Brown children understand the greatness that can be achieved in every shade of Brown. No matter the child's interest's, be it painting, dancing, science, music, writing, athletics ... "Look What Brown Can Do!" captures an array of accomplishments from yesterday's and today's Black heroes.Encourage our little Brown 'heroes in the making' to LOVE the skin they're in today by purchasing "Look What Brown Can Do!"

    Sacagawea was the wife of an interpreter, Toussaint Charboneau. She had been taken in war by the Minnetarees in her childhood and sold as a slave to Charboneau who brought her up and afterwards married her. The story of her life has been told under the title of “The Bird Woman,"' by James Willard Schultz, as he heard it from an old trapper and an Indian woman both of whom had it from Sacagawea’s own lips. She played a most important part in the most fascinating expedition of American history, and the Lewis and Clark journals record of her; “she was very observant. She had a good memory, remembering locations not seen since her childhood. She rode with the men, guiding us unerringly through mountain passes and lonely places. Intelligent, cheerful, resourceful, tireless, faithful, she inspired us on." She died April 9th, l884, aged 100 years, and was buried on the Shoshone Agency Burial Ground. The author of this work, James Willard Schultz, (1859 to 1947) was a noted author, explorer, Glacier National Park guide, fur trader and historian of the Blackfoot Indians. While operating a fur trading post at Carroll, Montana and living amongst the Pikuni tribe during the period 1880-82, he was given the name "Apikuni" by the Pikuni chief, Running Crane. Schultz is most noted for his prolific stories about Blackfoot life and his contributions to the naming of prominent features in Glacier National Park. Mr. Schultz is one of the last of the old-time frontiersmen, who was with a tribe of Blackfeet for years; and his books, into which he puts his rich store of memories of bygone days, have been called “the best of their kind ever written. This book originally published by Houghton Mifflin in 1918 has been reformatted for the Kindle and may contain an occasional defect from the original publication or from the reformatting.

    When war arrives Freddie returns to England to become the pilot of a Lancaster bomber. Oskar, now a dancer, has moved to Paris where he escapes the 1942 roundup of Jews and arrives in Italy with his young daughter Esme. Isabella remains in Florence where she continues to paint. Until she is called upon by Maestro to forge an old master painting, apparently at the behest of the Führer himself, and as a result is seen as a Nazi collaborator by her neighbours. The murderous skies over Germany and a war-torn Italy in the grip of Nazi occupation provide the setting for this novel about the love of a separated husband and his wife and the love of a man for his young daughter. Freddie and Oskar both hope to find their way back to Florence. But Florence’s heritage of preserving the identity and continuity of the past has never before been so under threat.

    During the election, the boys are paid by the Small Party to cause trouble. When their attempt to burn down the opposition’s local headquarters ends in disaster, Dantala must run for his life, leaving his best friend behind. He makes his way to a mosque that provides him with food, shelter, and guidance. With his quick aptitude and modest nature, Dantala becomes a favored apprentice to the mosque’s sheikh. Before long, he is faced with a terrible conflict of loyalties, as one of the sheikh’s closest advisors begins to raise his own radical movement. When bloodshed erupts in the city around him, Dantala must decide what kind of Muslim—and what kind of man—he wants to be. Told in Dantala’s naïve, searching voice, this astonishing debut explores the ways in which young men are seduced by religious fundamentalism and violence.

    Not knowing which direction to go, she finds herself hiding out in the same Amish community in which she grew up. With her ten-year-old daughter Abby, in tow, she fears her secrets will catch up to her. When ABBY discovers her real father may be living just down the road from where they are staying, she sets off on an adventure to meet him. What she doesn't know are the many secrets that her mother never shared with her--the same secrets that will turn her life upside down. JACOB YODER is an Amish widower, trying to raise his ten-year-old son, when his past shows up on his doorstep unexpectedly, threatening to change his life forever. AMISH WINTER WONDERLAND Twenty-five-year-old LILLIAN STOLTZFUS is living in the shadow of her deceased brother. When her dad gives her the gift of land that would normally go to the eldest son, it includes a bakery he built as an offering to a suitor for her. No one wants marriage for Lillian more than she wants it for herself, but at twenty-five, she fears she will end up a spinster if Seth never returns her secret feelings for him. Thirty-year-old SETH MILLER is loaded down with the responsibility of caring for an overbearing father. His loyalty to his father's farm has caused him to put his own needs on hold his entire adult life. Being secretly in love with Lillian for many months, he finds it difficult to speak to her because he lacks the confidence having never dated before. Will the contents of an old spice box change everything for both of them? Or are they destined to admire each other from afar indefinitely? UNDER THE MULBERRY TREE Lizzie's lies from the past have finally caught up to her, and are wreaking havoc in Abby's life. When Abby and Jonah Beiler get branded by the youth in the community as "kissing cousins", will the truth be able to set them free, or will it be too late? Find out in this story of forbidden love... AMISH WINTER OF PROMISES Caleb has a secret he's kept to himself for too many years. When he crosses paths with Katie Graber, the new school teacher, he discovers she has a secret of her own. Hoping for an opportunity to get out of a prearranged marriage to a man she doesn't love, Katie enlists the help of Caleb. In exchange, she must agree to help him change his own life to overcome the shame his secret has brought him. The two of them make a promise to help one another, and to keep each other's secrets. But those secrets will change things in a way neither of them could have ever expected. CHASING FIREFLIES After tragedy struck Noah Beiler's life nearly two years ago, he turned his back on his faith and the community. No one except Rose knows he has remained in the dilapidated home that overlooked the pond that he'd grown to despise. When new tragedy strikes, he is forced out of hiding. Will chasing fireflies on a warm, summer night change his life forever? Find out in this tale of summer love... AMISH SUMMER OF COURAGE Lizzie's troubled past has finally come full circle. When Levi Schrock shows up to work as a hired hand on her father's farm, no one suspects he's an impostor A chance meeting with her daughter, Rachel, on his first day in town could change Levi's mind about his plans, as well as his heart. UNDER THE HARVEST MOON Lila King pays a visit to her uncle Jessup and her new Aunt Bess at the B&B, and ends up getting into the middle of more than she bargained for in this final look into the lives of the families you have come to know in the Jacob's Daughter series.

    Prose briefly gained the high ground in the second half of the nineteenth century, but poetry again became dominant in the 'Silver Age' (the early twentieth century), when belief in reason and progress yielded once more to a more magical view of the world. During the Soviet era, poetry became a dangerous, subversive activity; nevertheless, poets such as Osip Mandelstam and Anna Akhmatova continued to defy the censors. This anthology traces Russian poetry from its Golden Age to the modern era, including work by several great poets - Georgy Ivanov and Varlam Shalamov among them - in captivating modern translations by Robert Chandler and others. The volume also includes a general introduction, chronology and individual introductions to each poet.For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

     The Silent Hours follows three people whose lives are bound together, before war tears them apart: Adeline, a mute who takes refuge in a convent, haunted by memories of her past; Sebastian, a young Jewish banker whose love for the beautiful Isabelle will change the course of his life dramatically; Tristin, a nine-year-old boy, whose family moves from Paris to settle in a village that is seemingly untouched by war. Beautifully wrought, utterly compelling and with a shocking true story at its core, The Silent Hours is an unforgettable portrayal of love and loss. Praise for The Silent Hours: 'Absorbing and - ultimately - horrifying. A gripping, fictional account of a real event in war-time France, told with a sensuous clarity. A haunting and illuminating debut novel' Wendy Wallace

    in more than 350 photos Beginning with the assassination of Malcolm X in February 1965, And Still I Rise: From Black Power to the White House explores the last half-century of the African American experience. More than fifty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the birth of Black Power, the United States has both a black president and black CEOs running Fortune 500 companies—and a large black underclass beset by persistent poverty, inadequate education, and an epidemic of incarceration. Harvard professor and scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. raises disturbing and vital questions about this dichotomy. How did the African American community end up encompassing such profound contradictions? And what will “the black community” mean tomorrow?Gates takes readers through the major historical events and untold stories of the sixty years that have irrevocably shaped both the African American experience and the nation as a whole, from the explosive social and political changes of the 1960s, into the 1970s and 1980s—eras characterized by both prosperity and neglect—through the turn of the century to today, taking measure of such racial flashpoints as the Tawana Brawley case, OJ Simpson’s murder trial, the murders of Amadou Diallo and Trayvon Martin, and debates around the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” policies. Even as it surveys the political and social evolution of black America, And Still I Rise is also a celebration of the accomplishments of black artists, musicians, writers, comedians, and thinkers who have helped to define American popular culture and to change our world.

    Understanding the Times offers a fascinating, comprehensive look at the how the tenets of the Christian worldview compares with the five major competing worldviews of our day: Islam, Secular Humanism, Marxism, New Age, and Postmodernism.Understanding the Times is a systematic way to understand the ideas that rule our world. While the material is expansive, the engaging, easy-to-understand writing style invites you to discover the truths of God – and our world. This classic should be on the shelf of every Christian home, on the desk of every pastor, and in the hands of every Christian student headed off to college.

    The ghost of a young girl visits Annie in her new home deep in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where Annie’s mother, Grace Jean, has hidden them away from the life they used to know. Annie finds an unlikely ally in Pearl, a young woman who keeps house in Annie’s new home. The secrets that surround Pearl take Annie’s mind off her loneliness and soon her family history is revealed to her. “Instead of wind, I heard my name being called. The whispery voice came from the woods. ‘Annie Todd’. My sixth sense had not yet kicked in and didn’t warn me I was standing on the backbone of my history.” WHERE THE SOULS GO is Ann Hite’s third novel set in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Readers who loved GHOST ON BLACK MOUNTAIN, Hite’s first novel, will find many of the characters familiar. This book follows three generations of the Pritchard family, not only telling the story of how Hobbs Pritchard became the villain of Black Mountain, but highlighting women’s struggles in Appalachia, beginning in the Depression Era and ending in the mid-sixties.

    Remnants, a multigenre memoir, demonstrates how Freeney Harding's spiritual life and social justice activism were integral to the instincts of mothering, healing, and community-building. Following Freeney Harding’s death in 2004, her daughter Rachel finished this decade-long collaboration, using recorded interviews, memories of her mother, and her mother's journal entries, fiction, and previously published essays.

     Now you can read books in Chinese that are fun and accelerate your language learning. Every book is carefully written to use only Mandarin Companion: New graded readers for a new generation of Chinese learners. Now you can read book in Chinese that are fun and accelerate your language learning. Every book in the Mandarin Companion series is carefully written to use characters, words, and grammar that a learner is likely to know. Level 1 is written using approximately 300 unique Chinese characters and intended for Chinese learners at an upper-elementary level. Most learners will be able to approach this book after one to two years of formal study, depending on the learner and program. This series is designed to combine simplicity of characters with an easy-to-understand storyline that helps beginners grow their vocabulary and language comprehension abilities. “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king” repeats in Chen Fangyuan’s mind after he finds himself trapped in a valley holding a community of people for whom a disease eliminated their vision many generations before and no longer have a concept of sight. Chen Fangyuan quickly finds that these people have developed their other senses to compensate for their lack of sight. His insistence that he can see causes the entire community to believe he is crazy. With no way out, Chen Fangyuan begins to accept his fate until one day the village doctors believe they now understand what is the cause of his insanity… those useless round objects in his eye sockets. Visit www.MandarinCompanion.com for updates on the newest titles and learning resources.

    In the heart of this larger work--today known as The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin--he writes of the bold and arduous Project of arriving at Perfection that he set for himself as a young man. In this task for perfection, young Benjamin prepared a catalog of thirteen necessary or desirable virtues that he might strive to acquire by means of habit and daily practice. This Applewood Books edition includes a chart that Benjamin Franklin used to track his personal progress towards perfection.

    It is only through music that she finds the freedom to temporarily escape and dream of a better life for herself, nurturing this hard-won refuge throughout the vagaries of unexpected motherhood and an absent husband, and relying on her talent to build a future for her family.Orphaned Mahsa also grows up in the shadow of loss, sent to relatives in Pakistan after the death of her parents. Struggling to break free, she escapes to Montreal, leaving behind her first love, Kamal. But the threads of her past are not so easily severed, and she finds herself forced into an arranged marriage.For Mahsa, too, music becomes her solace and allows her to escape from her oppressive circumstances.When Katherine and Mahsa meet, they find in each other a kindred spirit as well as a musical equal, and their lives are changed irrevocably. Together, they inspire and support one another, fusing together their cultures, their joys, and their losses—just as they collaborate musically in the language of free-form, improvisational jazz.Under the Visible Life takes readers from the bustling harbour of Karachi to the palpable political tension on the streets of 1970s Montreal to the smoky jazz clubs of New York City. Deeply affecting, vividly rendered, and sweeping in scope, it is also an exploration of the hearts of two unforgettable women: a meditation on how hope can remain alive in the darkest of times when we have someone with whom to share our burdens.

    The Reason You Walk spans that 2012 year, chronicling painful moments in the past and celebrating renewed hopes and dreams for the future. As Kinew revisits his own childhood in Winnipeg and on a reserve in Northern Ontario, he learns more about his father's traumatic childhood at residential school. An intriguing doubleness marks The Reason You Walk, itself a reference to an Anishinaabe ceremonial song. Born to an Anishinaabe father and a non-native mother, he has a foot in both cultures. He is a Sundancer, an academic, a former rapper, a hereditary chief and an urban activist. His father, Tobasonakwut, was both a beloved traditional chief and a respected elected leader who engaged directly with Ottawa. Internally divided, his father embraced both traditional native religion and Catholicism, the religion that was inculcated into him at the residential school where he was physically and sexually abused. In a grand gesture of reconciliation, Kinew's father invited the Roman Catholic bishop of Winnipeg to a Sundance ceremony in which he adopted him as his brother. Kinew writes affectingly of his own struggles in his twenties to find the right path, eventually giving up a self-destructive lifestyle to passionately pursue music and martial arts. From his unique vantage point, he offers an inside view of what it means to be an educated Aboriginal living in a country that is just beginning to wake up to its aboriginal history and living presence. Invoking hope, healing and forgiveness, The Reason You Walk is a poignant story of a towering but damaged father and his son as they embark on a journey to repair their family bond. By turns lighthearted and solemn, Kinew gives us an inspiring vision for family and cross-cultural reconciliation, and for a wider conversation about the future of aboriginal peoples.

    As Maya grows, her blanket becomes worn and frayed, so with Grandma's help, Maya makes it into a dress. Over time the dress is made into a skirt, a shawl, a scarf, a hair ribbon, and finally, a bookmark. Each item has special, magical, meaning for Maya; it animates her adventures, protects her, or helps her in some way. But when Maya loses her bookmark, she preserves her memories by creating a book about her adventures and love of these items. When Maya grows up, she shares her book Maya's Blanket / La manta de Maya with her own little daughter while snuggled under her own special blanket.Inspired by the traditional Yiddish folk song "Hob Ikh Mir a Mantl" ("I Had a Little Coat"), this delightful bilingual picture book puts a child-focused, Latino spin on the tale of an item that is made into smaller and smaller items. Maya's Blanket / La manta de Maya charmingly brings to life this celebration creativity, recycling, and enduring family love.

     An ancient mystery.A Lost Treasure.A Hidden City.An impossible location.An unimaginable adventure.Included in Aztec and Mayan legends, Conquistadors had heard rumours of its existence when exploring the New World, but never found it. During World War 2, Nazi inspired archaeologists were convinced they had pinpointed its location. They packed a U-Boat with supplies and set a course for the Amazon Jungle. They disappeared! Many adventurers eager to claim the legendary gold as their own entered one of the most inhospitable places on earth, the Amazon Jungle. Most were never seen again!And yet the exact location of this fantastic hoard that so many have dreamed of finding remains a mystery. Any who may have stumbled upon it never returned to tell the tale. It was as if someone, or something, was protecting it... In 1925, Victorian explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett enters the Amazon Jungle to search for a Lost City. Like so many before him, he was never seen or heard from again. Until now!When a message from the past is discovered washed up on an English beach, it reveals new information about the ill-fated 1925 expedition. A modern day expedition sets off to follow in the footsteps of Colonel Fawcett in an attempt to locate the Lost City and its legendary hoard of priceless treasure. The Lost City Book 1 & 2 will take you inside the Lost City to learn of its many secrets and dangers. A thrilling story of adventure and discovery that weaves together an exciting blend of fact and fiction linked to the legends surrounding the lost Fawcett expedition and the mysterious Amazonian Jungle. An exciting archaeological mystery thriller with flashbacks to Colonel Fawcett's 1925 Expedition. Pleases use the 'Look Inside' feature to view the book contents and don't forget you can download a free sample of “The Lost City” to your Kindle(Over two hundred thousand words and approximately nine hundred printed book pages) Reviews "This is a terrific two book series set within the atmospherically described Amazon jungle. I could easily imagine myself tagging along with the adventurers." "If you like reading Clive Cussler, Matthew Reilly, James Rollins or Michael Crichton, you will enjoy this action adventure from Ben Hammott." " Has all the ingredients for an instant success: great plot, interesting characters, a large dose of mystery, impressive locations , unexpected twists and discoveries, deception and betrayal and even a touch of romance and a spattering of humor. This story will keep you entertained from beginning to end. Recommended for the permanent library of all action adventure readers." "The Mysterious and Dangerous Amazon Jungle, Subterranean Rooms, Tunnels, Pyramids, Ancient Aliens, Nazis, Traps, Thrilling Escapes, Chases, Strange Creatures, Dangerous Enemies, a Lost City and Great Characters, are just a few ingredients that make this exciting adventure thriller a must read for fans of this genre." (NY.Post.book.reviews)"From bestselling author Ben Hammott this action packed adventure takes you into the Amazon Jungle to follow in the footsteps of lost Victorian Explorer, Colonel Percy Fawcett. What we have here, in part, is an excellent dramatization of what may have happened to Fawcett and what he may have discovered in the unexplored regions of the Amazon.

    In her engrossing memoir, Big Freedia tells the inside story of her path to fame, the peaks and valleys of her personal life, and the liberation that Bounce music brings to herself and every one of her fans who is searching for freedom. Big Freedia immediately pulls us into the relationship between her personal life and her career as an artist; being a “twerking sissy” is not just a job, she says, but a salvation. A place to find solace. To escape from the battles she faced growing up in the worst neighborhood in New Orleans. To deal with losing loved ones to the violence on the streets, drug overdoses, and jail. To survive hurricane Katrina by living on her roof for two days with three adults and a child. To grapple with the difficulties and celebrate the joys of living. In this eye-opening memoir that bursts with energy, you’ll learn the history of the Bounce movement and meet all of the colorful characters that pepper its music scene. With her own unique voice and unabashed enthusiasm, Big Freedia tells how she arrived at this defining moment in music, and how Bounce ultimately has allowed her to become her own version of diva, one booty-pop at a time.

    Every single country gets its own dedicated page, and a mix of photography and beautiful illustrations brings each land to life. Perfect for keeping explorers aged 8 years and up entertained on the road.Authors: Lonely Planet KidsAbout Lonely Planet Kids: From the world's leading travel publisher comes Lonely Planet Kids, a children's imprint that brings the world to life for young explorers everywhere. We're kick-starting the travel bug and showing kids just how amazing our planet is. Our mission is to inspire and delight curious kids, showing them the rich diversity of people, places and cultures that surrounds us. We pledge to share our enthusiasm and continual fascination for what it is that makes the world we live in the magnificent place it is. A big adventure awaits! Come explore.Award-winning children's titles from Lonely Planet include The Amazing World Atlas (Independent Publisher Award, Gold for Juvenile Multicultural Non-fiction, 2015), How to Be a Space Explorer (Independent Publisher Award, Silver for Juvenile Non-fiction, 2015), Not For Parents The Travel Book, Not For Parents Paris, Not For Parents London, Not For Parents New York City, and Not For Parents Rome (all Parent Tested Parent Approved winners, 2012).Lonely Planet guides have won the TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Award in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

    For Tansy, however, the choice was never hers. On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Tansy is caught in a sizzling kiss with Christophe Desmarais. The next night, Tansy’s mother introduces her to the life she has been raised for: as a beautiful quadroon in Old New Orleans, Tansy is meant to be a rich white man’s mistress. She is as she should be, biddable, loyal and submissive. But is this all there is? As Tansy matures, she wearies of telling herself that her narrow life is enough, yet she is terrified to leave behind security and plenty to become a self-reliant, independent woman.Christophe Desmarais was, like Tansy, born to a mixed-race mother and a rich white father, but as a shrewd card-player, a talented violinist, and a respected teacher, he creates his own life. The attraction between him and Tansy has never abated, only been pushed down and unacknowledged. When he sees Tansy discovering there is more to her than being pretty and pleasing, he allows himself to hope that she will become her own woman. Maybe then the two of them will have a chance at a life together.Multiple award-winning author Gretchen Craig returns with an unconventional novel about loyalty, independence, and love.

    'German men sit down to pee' is a tongue-in-cheek guidebook to German culture that highlights the rules Germans consciously and unconsciously follow, while trying to make a little sense of it all along the way. Why, for example, mowing your lawn on a Sunday will mean getting an earful from your neighbour, but lie naked in the middle of a public park and nobody will bat an eyelid. Ideal for anyone visiting or moving to Germany, 'German Men Sit Down to Pee' offers a collection of insights into German culture while at the same time highlighting rules and cultural norms that those visiting Germany will not only find humorous but useful for avoiding any cultural faux-pas.

    Roman has a wonderful way of introducing younger children and their parents to different countries and this book about Scotland is excellent. We learn that Scotland occupies about a third of the island of Great Britain and is made up of more than 790 islands. Since Edinburgh is the capital, many people live, work and go to the university there where they can learn about medicine, law, engineering and science. Children call their mothers, Mathair and their fathers, Daddah. Some of the more common boys names are Ian, Connor or Malcom. Girls common names are Kelsey, Margaret and Aillen. Many people who visit take a trip to Loch Ness, a large freshwater lake in the Scottish Highlands. Some people claim to have seen Nessie a large dinosaur but nobody has even seen a picture of her so they are not sure if she is even there. Like here golf is a favorite sport and played on a large open field. Of course the idea of the game is the same, to get a small hard ball into a tiny hole with as few strokes as possible. After learning some of these interesting facts my family definitely would like to visit Scotland, wouldn’t you?

    Enchanted farmlands. Can one struggling orphan switch gears and run full-speed into freedom? England, 1868. Nineteen-year-old Annmar Masterson refuses to be a cog in a lecherous businessman’s machine. Escaping the steam engine magnate’s advances by taking an advertising job in the country, the young illustrator is astonished when she discovers the rural valley is rife with magical creatures. But she’s terrified when the night guard shifters and their handsome polecat leader are nearly killed by a raging swarm of crop-eating pests.Accustomed to her prim and proper former lifestyle, Annmar worries not even her blossoming magic will help her fit into the rambunctious farming community. But when the out-of-place city girl heals the flirtatious protector, she sparks a powerful connection… making her rare power the target of a looming evil mastermind.Will she find a new home in the arms of the coy shifter, or will she be undone by a deadly villain’s strike?The Unraveling is the fantastical first volume in the serialized Luminated Threads historical fantasy series. If you like majestic atmospheres, heart-wrenching cliffhangers, and a touch of steampunk romance, then you’ll love Laurel Wanrow’s stunning saga. Buy The Unraveling to follow a thrilling thread today! NOTE: This is VOLUME 1 of a three-part serialized novel.

    But wait? Meriday, the slave girl “You want every slave to walk behind you and be a fart catcher. I could never be like that. Not ever.” – Hatred of slavery is the lifeblood that compels her. The story of her life’s journey from the plantation South to Chicago mesmerizes in its brutality and soothes by its exploration into the human spirit. The men she encounters along her odyssey: a field-hand slave forced to shed his Christian name and accept the one his masters give him in jest, a dwarf with a giant’s heart, a ship’s captain, and a black Union army sergeant; they are heroes of epic proportion.Santine – Fascinated by a photo of Meriday taken more than a hundred and fifty years before, she has an affiliation with it, but doesn’t understand why. She is comforted and frightened at the same time by her daily talks with the slave girl, now an angel, that she believes has taken her under wing. Accepting a challenge with an unbelievably large prize on the line, the Harvard bound high school senior from Chicago leads her all black inner-city chorus to Boston in competition against the elite Ivy League High Schools. By nobody’s reckoning were they ever supposed to be there, and by nobody’s reckoning could they ever compete for the win. And by her reckoning, there was never supposed to be a boy in in the faraway Massachusetts city.Grandma Brown – Meriday’s second great granddaughter and Santine’s eighty-year-old mentor who never saw a computer she didn’t love. Going to the chorus competition as a chaperone, she’s feisty and fearless as she steamrolls over obstacles. The Beantown prima donnas never saw her coming.This delightfully unusual story easily flows back and forth through history, from slave times to modern African American consciousness while touching on the spiritual theme of guardian angels and the protections they so lovingly provide. A powerful novel that touches all the emotional bells. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll fist pump till your arm tires. This is coming of age, contemporary and historical fiction, a page turner for the teen, young adult, mother, father, or grandparent reader who just enjoys a whopping good tale.Scroll to the top of the page and select the 'buy button' now.

    Within months of its making, the Migration Series was divided between The Museum of Modern Art (even-numbered panels) and the Phillips Memorial Gallery (odd-numbered panels). The work has since become a landmark in the history of African American art, a monument in the collections of both institutions and a crucial example of the way in which history painting was radically reimagined in the modern era. In 2015 and 2016, the panels will be reunited in exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art (One-Way Ticket: Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series and Other Works) and at The Phillips Collection (Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series). This catalogue grounds Lawrence's Migration Series in the cultural and political debates that shaped the young artist's work and highlights its continued resonance for artists and writers today. An essay by Leah Dickerman situates the series within contemporary discussions about black history and an artist's social responsiblities in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Elsa Smithgall traces the acquisition and exhibition history of the Migration Series. Short commentaries on each panel explore Lawrence's career and technique, and the social history of the Migration. The catalogue also debuts ten poems commissioned from acclaimed poets that respond to the Migration Series. Elizabeth Alexander, honored as the poet at President Obama's first inauguration, introduces the section.

    This adventure story is designed for eight-to fourteen-year-old youth and is written for children and teens who love reading and learning about faraway and different parts of the world, while relating to characters and issues that seem much closer to home.Ten-year-old Mu, orphaned as a toddler, has lived his entire life in the heart of Africa. For as long as he can remember, he has served in the household of a great-uncle where he is unloved and ignored. In his drudgery-filled life, Mu has little hope of happiness and little hope that anything will ever change. But one day everything does change.On his way to draw water one morning, Mu is astonished when a chameleon greets him by name and announces that they will embark on a quest together. And what a quest it turns out to be! Mu faces danger and finds unexpected allies as they journey through an ever changing landscape.Through his adventure, Mu learns many things about himself. Along with Mu, you will walk through Africa, encountering good and evil. Read carefully and you just may find out who you are too.For 8-14 year olds

    P. Kinsella (Shoeless Joe), as well as the 25th anniversary of Field of Dreams, the film that he inspired.In addition to his classic baseball tales, W. P. Kinsella is also a critically-acclaimed short fiction writer. His satiric wit has been celebrated with numerous honors, including the Order of British Columbia.Here are his notorious First Nation narratives of indigenous Canadians, and a literary homage to J. D. Salinger. Alongside the “real” story of the 1951 Giants and the afterlife of Roberto Clemente, are the legends of a pirated radio station and a hockey game rigged by tribal magic.Eclectic, dark, and comedic by turns, The Essential W. P. Kinsella is a living tribute to an extraordinary raconteur.Table of Contents Introduction by Rick WilberTruthHow I Got My NicknameThe Night Manny Mota Tied the RecordFirst Names and Empty PocketsSearching for JanuaryLieberman in LoveThe Grecian UrnThe FogBeefDistancesHow Manny Embarquadero Overcame and Began His Climb to the Major LeaguesThe Indian Nation Cultural Exchange ProgramK MartThe FirefighterDr. DonBrother Frank’s Gospel HourThe Alligator Report—with Questions for DiscussionKing of the StreetWavelengthsDo Not Abandon MeMarco in ParadiseOut of the PictureThe Lightning BirdsPunchlinesThe Last Surviving Member of the Japanese Victory SocietyThe JobRisk TakersThe Lime TreeDoves and ProverbsWaiting on Lombard StreetShoeless Joe Jackson Comes to IowaAfterward - Where It Began: Shoeless Joe

     Will Blaylock died while on day release from prison. It was a bad death. But accidents will happen.Detective Sergeant McAvoy isn't convinced, though. And he owes a debt to Will's cellmate Owen McSween: a debt formed in blood and fear when they came together to catch a killer. But their search for a murderer will rip open old wounds, and force old enemies out of hiding...

    Quinn and his new bride Felice are aboard the steamboat Sultana going up the spring-flooded Mississippi River toward Illinois to meet the Funeral Train, when their honeymoon vessel stops at Vicksburg and takes on a pathetic human cargo of 2,000 sick and ragged survivors of the hellish Andersonville prisoner-of-war camp, kept alive only by their desire to get home. Quinn's lot is not thrown in with some of the unluckiest veterans of that awful war. While he is interviewing them about life in the notorious prison, the Sultana, carrying five times its lawful number of passengers, explodes after midnight. Quinn is blown overboard with the emaciated veteran Robb Macombie, and in the worst night of his life proves himself a better man than he had ever imagined he could be."--Dust jacket.

    The twelve chapters, representative of the seasons, present the celebrations, superstitions and folklore that shape our year. From cherished traditions like Valentine’s Day to the lost excitement of May Day, The Magpie and the Wardrobe reveals a calendar bursting with history, imagination and curious facts. Take a closer look at your favourite homespun rituals and the magic we conjure every day; make a candle wish, mix a moon oil elixir, and hang your romantic hopes on the predictions of an apple peel. Illustrated by a unique collection of ephemera and embellished with trinkets and charms, this sumptuous volume will appeal to the creative and curious.

    Along the way, he introduces us to each friend’s environment and customs, and shares interesting facts about each country’s culture, language, food, geography, wildlife, landmarks and more. Each country has a dedicated spread with a small map that shows geography and landmarks, letting readers imagine they are traveling, too. The format makes it easy to spot similarities and differences between countries.This informational picture book brings engaging nonfiction content to younger readers by showing them how other children just like them live around the world. Playful, realistic illustrations done with stylized realism lend warmth and whimsy to the book, making each locale feel welcoming. A Ticket Around the World will leave readers feeling like they’ve toured the globe without ever having left home.Countries included:Costa RicaIndiaMoroccoGreeceCanadaBrazilFranceBotswanaChinaPhilippinesAustraliaUnited StatesJordan

    The recipes in "The Food of Oman" offer cooks a new world of flavors, techniques, and inspiration, while the lush photography and fascinating stories provide an introduction to the culture of a people whose adventurous palates and deep love of feeding and being fed gave rise to this unparalleled cuisine.

    Addie-as her grandfather Chauncey Beynon Beale affectionately calls her- believes that everything she could ever want or need is to be found on his cattle ranch, the place her family calls home, or in the little town twelve bush miles away, a place called Sorry. After tragedy strikes her family, Addie holds her sorrows close to her heart. Only later will she learn that her grandfather too has lived with his own secret torment for more than seventy years. It will take his slipping into blindness and dementia before the dark spectre from his past emerges, leaving her the one responsible for its consequences. And when that day arrives, when Chauncey Beale's past intersects with Addie's present, it will change her future in ways that she, and those she loves, could never have imagined.

    We may be less aware, however, of the ongoing racism directed against these groups in the past decade and a half.In We Too Sing America, nationally renowned activist Deepa Iyer catalogs recent racial flashpoints, from the 2012 massacre at the Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, to the violent opposition to the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and to the Park 51 Community Center in Lower Manhattan.Iyer asks whether hate crimes should be considered domestic terrorism and explores the role of the state in perpetuating racism through detentions, national registration programs, police profiling, and constant surveillance. She looks at topics including Islamophobia in the Bible Belt; the “Bermuda Triangle” of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim hysteria; and the energy of new reform movements, including those of “undocumented and unafraid” youth and Black Lives Matter.In a book that reframes the discussion of race in America, a brilliant young activist provides ideas from the front lines of post-9/11 America.

    But when her dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Missy is forced to step up and take over as his primary caregiver and the principal of the firm.After her father’s death, Missy finds a letter from him in which he praises her for being a dutiful daughter but admonishes her for not taking any risks in life.Devastated, Missy packs her suitcase and heads for Italy. There she meets a new friend who proposes a radical idea. Soon, Missy finds herself in impoverished India, signing away her inheritance and betting on a risky plan while rekindling a lost love.The Light of Hidden Flowers is a deeply felt story of accepting who we are while pushing our boundaries to see how much more we can become. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to pursue our dreams.

    

     This is a story of Sushyo, a toy maker from Mesopotamia who wishes to travel all over the world and spread the message of peace and joyousness. From his home in the city of Nineveh, on the banks of river Tigris, he voyages to the land of seven rivers, Melhua. What unfolds is an adventure of epic proportion with his destiny throwing at him, one challenge after another, probing him in the most frightful manner. An apocalyptic encounter with the Alchemist of the East prepares him for the road ahead. As events occur rapidly, the boy finds himself a part of a legacy for which he will have to face up to the ruler of Arianna, Queen Kassandrra, in an epic battle on the banks of river Helmand. The author pledges his share of the earnings from this book to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, as a part of his effort towards the rehabilitation work in the Kedarnath region of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The author was a witness to the catastrophe that occurred in the Kedar Valley on 15/16/17 of June, 2013 and did his best to assuage the sufferings of the victims of this horrendous tragedy.

    Lizzie can't wait. The scraps of learning she has picked up here and there have just made her hungry for more.The walk to school is long. Some days it's rainy, or windy, or freezing cold. Sometimes there are dangers lurking along the way, like angry white folks with rocks, or mysterious men on horseback. The schoolhouse is still unpainted, and its very plain, but Lizzie has never seen a prettier sight. Except for maybe the teacher, Mizz Howard, who has brown skin, just like her. They've finally made it to Freedom's School. But will it be strong enough to stand forever?Praise for Light in the Darkness"In this tale, [Cline-Ransome] makes the point that learning was not just a dream of a few famous and accomplished men and women, but one that belonged to ordinary folk willing to risk their lives. Ransome's full-page watercolor paintings-in beautiful shades of blue for the night and yellow for the day-are a window, albeit somewhat gentle, into a slave's life for younger readers. A compelling story about those willing to risk "[a] lash for each letter." -Kirkus Reviews"Told from the perspective of Rosa, a girl who makes the dangerous nighttime journey to the lessons with her mother, the story effectively conveys the urgent dedication of the characters to their surreptitious schooling and their belief in the power of literacy...Solid text and soft, skillful illustrations combine for a poignant tribute to the power of education and the human spirit."-School Library Journal

     Based on the hidden and illuminating video and audio recordings of interviews with the author’s father and grandmother, Tunnel, Smuggle, Collect: A Holocaust Boy (2nd edition) tells the true and tormenting story of a 7-year-old boy during the Holocaust. When Germany occupied Poland in 1939, he and his family were confined to the Warsaw Ghetto, along with 400,000 other Jews. Young Sam Gingold helps his family survive by smuggling food and medicines, and as the war continues, is forced to labor under Nazi rule in the walled city within a city. After a harrowing underground escape, the family is pursued by the Gestapo across the Polish countryside. A compelling, poignant story of courage, resilience, and determination. For the Gingold family, “survivor” is a living word.

    Cabinet of Curiosities is a lavishly illustrated introduction to the wonders of natural history and the joys of being an amateur scientist and collector. Nature writer Gordon Grice, who started his first cabinet of curiosities at age six when he found a skunk’s skull, explains how scientists classify all living things through the Linnaeus system; how to tell real gold from fool’s gold; how to preserve butterflies, crab shells, feathers, a robin’s egg, spider specimens, and honeycombs; how to identify seashells; the difference between antlers and horns; how to read animal tracks. And then, what to do with your specimens, including how to build a cabinet of curiosities out of common household objects, like a desk organizer or a box for fishing tackle.

    Natural-born Soviet airwomen.These 200 women and girls, flying outdated biplanes from open fields near the front lines, attacked the invading German forces every night for 1,100 consecutive nights. When they ran out of bombs they dropped railroad ties.To each other they were sisters, with bonds forged in blood and terror. To the Red Army Air Force they were an infuriating feminist sideshow. To the Germans they were simply Nachthexen—Night Witches.Night Witches is a tabletop role-playing game about women at war. As a member of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, you’ll answer the call of your Motherland in her darkest hour. Can you do your duty and strike blow after blow against the Fascists? Can you overcome discrimination and outright sabotage and rise above your sexist comrades? Are there limits to patriotism—or endurance? Play Night Witches and find out!Night Witches requires 3-5 players, who will take turns in the role of game master during the game. It can be played for a single two-hour session or expanded into a literal campaign following the Regiment across the entire Second World War. Either way, you’ll tell an epic tale of heroism and sacrifice that honors the women who did it for real.The game is based on Vincent Baker’s brilliant Apocalypse World and is heavily modified from that core to meet the demands of Night Witches. We also took inspiration from the many offshoots already on tables everywhere—Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, Sagas of the Icelanders, and others.In play you will alternate between day and night, with unique moves for each. Days are about renewal and interpersonal conflict, and nights are about hair-raising bombing missions on historically accurate targets across the Soviet Union, Poland, and, in the end, Germany. Missions are crazy dangerous and you have to make hard choices constantly. And when they end, a whole new kind of danger is waiting back at the airbase—paranoid secret police, sexist Red Army officials who want you to fail, and chronic supply shortages are just the beginning of your troubles.

    Raised as a city girl; her father moves fifteen-year-old Jane and her entire family to a farmhouse in a rural Amish community in Indiana as a respite for her alcoholic mother. Finding farm life more complicated than city life; Jane shuns herself from family and neighbors, until she stumbles upon sixteen-year-old Elijah, the Amish boy next door. As she slowly begins to mimic her family’s acceptance of Amish living, she discovers it’s a practical solution for squelching the dysfunction of her family’s past. Set in the 1970’s, Jane’s story is full of cultural obstacles she must overcome in order to survive in the community in which she and her family reside. Can a hippie-chick like Jane find friendship with a sixteen-year-old Amish boy, despite their cultural differences? Will their feelings for each other change as they grow up? Little Wild Flower: Book Two: Just when Jane thought her life in the Amish community couldn’t get any better, tragedy strikes the Zook farm. Jane suddenly feels lost in the world she created with Elijah, and flees to her home town in search of her childhood friends. Will coming face-to-face with the pain of her childhood send her running back to the farm, or will she cling to the life she left behind as a teenage girl? The Taming of a Wild Flower: Book Three: When the new doctor turns out to be none other than Bradley, Jane's childhood sweetheart, she struggles with his new affections, feeling as though she is betraying the memory of her life with Elijah, her deceased husband; the very life that caused her to blend with the Amish community. As she comes to terms with her life without Elijah, she quickly begins to reject some of the Amish traditions, yet keeps others. When she slowly lets go of the life she lost, she discovers that starting over doesn't have to be as difficult as she feared.

    Throughout history, these lounge-chair revolutionaries have helped correct civilization’s ills and excesses with a mellow, lighthearted, live-and-let live attitude. From Lao Tzu to Lebowski, Epicurus to Einstein, The Buddha to Bob Dylan, all have reminded humanity what is most important in life: personal liberty, peace of mind, leisure time and good friends.Bringing together some of the greatest ideas, quotes and insights Dudeosophy has had to offer, THE TAO OF THE DUDE is not only a virtual Ph.D in Dudeism, but also a soothing sectional sofa for the soul.Each chapter contains an essay and illustration by the founder of Dudeism, followed by an assortment of quotes and passages that show how Dudeism has existed throughout history, down through the generations, across the sands of time...

    Together they journey to a cinder building where Jenny must make a powerful decision.

    She doesn't like naps. She doesn't like it when her mom combs her hair. She loves hot dogs, chocolate cake, and her best friend, Elizabeth. Most of all, she loves Pascha!Pascha! It's celebrated in the middle of the night, with processions and candles and bells and singing. And Catherine insists that she's not a bit sleepy.

    Millions displaced, thousands slaughtered, families divided and redefined, as home became alien land and the unknown became home. So much has been said about it but there is still no writer, storyteller or poet who has been able to explain the madness of Partition. Using the oral narratives of four generations of people - mainly Pakistanis but also some Indians - Anam Zakaria, a Pakistani researcher, attempts to understand how the perception of Partition and the 'other' has evolved over the years. Common sense dictates that the bitter memories of Partition would now be forgotten and new relationships would have been forged over the years, but that is not always the case. The memories of Partition have been repackaged through state narratives, and attitudes have only hardened over the years. Post-Partition events - wars, religious extremism, terrorism - have left new imprints on 1947. This book documents the journey of Partition itself - after Partition.

    Ohio art-rockers Devo had plainly prepared with their 1979 second LP Duty Now for the Future, and now it was go time. Propelled by the new decade's high-tech, free-market, pre-AIDS promise, 1980's Freedom of Choice would rocket what Devo co-founder Gerald Casale calls his "alternate universe, hermetically sealed, alien band" both into the arms of the Earthlings and back to their home planet in one scenic trip.Before an artistic and commercial decline that resulted in a 20-year gap between Devo's last two studio records, Freedom of Choice made them curious, insurgent superstars, vindicated but ultimately betrayed by the birth of MTV. Their only platinum album represented the best of their unreplicable code: dead-serious tricksters, embracing conformity in order to destroy it with bullet-proof pop sensibility. Through first-hand accounts from the band and musical analysis set against an examination of new wave's emergence, the first-ever authorized book about Devo (with a foreword by Portlandia's Fred Armisen) explores the group's peak of success, when their hermetic seal cracked open to let in mainstream attention, a legion of new Devotees, and plenty of misunderstandings. "Freedom of Choice was the end of Devo innocence–it turned out to be the high point before the s***storm of a total cultural move to the right, the advent of AIDS, and the press starting to figure Devo out and think they had our number," says Casale. "It's where everything changes."

    The masculinity that pervades our church and culture often demands that men conform to a macho ideal, leaving many men feeling ashamed that they’re not living up to God’s plan for them. Nate uses his own story of not feeling “man enough”, as well as sociological and historical reflections, to help men see that manhood isn’t about what you do, but who you are. It’s not about the size of your paycheck, your athletic ability, or your competitive spirit. You don’t have to fit any masculine stereotype to be a real man.In our culture and churches more thoughtful, quieter, or compassionate personalities, as well as stay-at-home dads, are often looked down upon; and sermons, conferences, and publications center on helping men become “real men”. This pressure to have one’s manhood validated is antithetical to Gospel living and negatively affects how men relate to each other, to women and children, and to God.Man Enough roots men in the Gospel, examines biblical examples of masculinity that challenge the idea of a singular type of man, and ultimately encourages men to conform to the image of Jesus—freeing men up to be who they were created to be: a son of God who uniquely bears His image.

    It is seen through the eyes of Titus, an officer in his bodyguard and the military tutor of his young son, Crispus. When Titus meets Flavia, one of Constantine’s female agents, on a secret mission to find an unguarded pass through the Alps, he falls in love. His struggle to win her as his wife is more difficult than any military campaign. When Constantine marries Fausta Titus has to protect the young Crispus from his scheming step-mother and ensure that he retains his position as his father’s heir. Heavily outnumbered, Constantine wins a series of battles against his rival for the throne of the Western Empire and enters Rome in triumph with Crispus by his side. He gives his young son command of the fleet at Ravenna but when he, Titus and Flavia arrive there, they find it has been seized by men supporting Licinius, Emperor of the East. Together they face their greatest challenge - to wrest control of the fleet back from the rebels.

    Has Naila’s fate been written in the stars? Or can she still make her own destiny?Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. And until then, dating—even friendship with a boy—is forbidden. When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now! Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew. Her only hope of escape is Saif . . . if he can find her before it’s too late.

    Now you can read their own stories in their own words in what one African reader describes as "an intriguing collection of human experiences in a fantastic yet delicate basket...a cultural keepsake."What do you do when your education qualifies you for high-level professional work but your culture says you, as a woman, should kneel before men? When sex education stresses how girls should please men - even by making painful changes to their own bodies? Or when your family haggles with your fiance's family over how many cows you are worth?Similarly, how would you make sense of your life if you spent your childhood sleeping in the bush every night to avoid marauding rebel soldiers? If you were held and tortured in a secret prison on a vague suspicion that you were linked to an enemy of the government? If imported religions tell you to denounce your parents' and grandparents' faith? Or if western-trained doctors can't heal local afflictions but many of your peers dismiss traditional healers as quacks or witchdoctors?In describing these and other dilemmas, these African women writers will surprise you as they strike a balance between past and future. Their stories will make you laugh and cry, simultaneously demonstrating what makes Africa unique and celebrating what unites people across cultures. Ultimately, their life stories will leave you celebrating the enduring strength of the human spirit.

    She’s going to discover a world where the streets, her school, and the food are all different. But what about the people?A beautiful tale about identity, the process of integration, and solidarity.Are you ready to meet Mariama and play with her?Lexile Level 810LGuided Reading Level L

    'Two Dogs and a Parrot' offers both heart-warming stories and thought-provoking reflections about sharing life with an animal companion. The relationships we form with animals—with dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, and other pets—are full of joys and rewards. Our companion animals draw us out of ourselves and show us what it truly means to be alive. They teach us to accept life’s struggles and to cherish its pleasures and the importance of being able to accept ourselves and respect others. They help us to find purpose and meaning in what we do, and to overcome challenges and setbacks. In our treasured animals we observe varying degrees of excitement and play, of love and fear. And we realize their beautiful uniqueness, their sensitivities and strong sense of purpose. Whether we have an animal companion, long to have a pet or love someone who does, or cherish animals and nature, 'Two Dogs and a Parrot' will speak to us all. It illuminates the significance of sharing our lives with a pet and celebrates the great gift of animals in our world.

    ISBN: 9781927323274Crown Prince Malek of Sumaira needs a wife. Fast.Or at least his country does. Malek was happy living the life of an international lawyer, but when his brother disappears he has no choice but to become ruler of one of the Middle East’s most wealthy and turbulent countries. He needs respect, he needs stability, he needs a wife—preferably one with no history—fast.And Sophie, his new PA, is more than happy to help him find one. She’s landed the dream job—well paid, lots of travel and no time for love. Computer-whizz Sophie has hardly left the house for the past few years while she’s cared for her mother. And now, with her mother gone, she’s determined never to be tied down again.But will working day in, day out, with this Michael Fassbender clone make Sophie change her mind? Will the idea of being tied down by him become something she thinks about obsessively, something she needs to get out of her system before it’s too late for either of them…Wanted: A Wife for the Sheikh is a prequel to the Desert Kings series and begins when Anna and Zahir (from The Sheikh’s Bargain Bride) first meet.

    Alone and more than three thousand miles from home, she was a wife at breakfast and a widow by lunchtime. With her life as she knew it shattered, Helen began to chronicle living after such devastating and shocking loss in a blog - Planet Grief - and gained a worldwide following from many who had experienced huge loss, whether through death or divorce.And now her blog has become a book. Anecdotal, witty, heartbreaking and utterly grounded, When Bad Things Happen to Good Bikinis covers all the obvious struggles in the aftermath of a loss, as well as many not-so-obvious but just as poignant everyday obstacles. Helen has emerged from her nightmare, and her story will bring wry humour, comfort and hope to a huge number of people, whatever their circumstances.

    But when she’s offered a year’s wages to temporarily pose as a wealthy man’s bride, she suspects ulterior motives. She can’t lose the chance to open her own shop, but she won’t be any man’s lover, not even handsome, infuriating Alisdair Seymour’s…To prevent his visiting sister from parading potential brides in front of him, Alisdair has decided to present a fake wife. He lost his heart once, and had it broken—he doesn’t intend to do it again. But stubborn, spirited Starling is more alluring than he bargained for, and Alisdair will risk everything he has to prove his love is true…Set against the sweeping backdrop of 1866 South Australia, Starling is a novel of cherished dreams and powerful desires, and the young woman bold enough to claim them both…74,855 Words

    For a century, they worked the vineyard at their family home, la Casa de los Sueños, until they lost the property to a wealthy land baron. Now, Avelino is determined to reclaim the land and home he loves so much. When he meets Amelia, a young woman who lives at the vineyard with her grandfather, he finds that regaining his birthright isn’t his only struggle—he battles the longing of his heart as well.Can Avelino overcome the local bigotry and personal demons that face him to create the life he desires?

    Readers will relive the fearful exodus from the city as the German army neared the capital, the relief and disgust felt when the armistice was signed, and the hardships and deprivations under Occupation. David Drake contrasts the plight of working-class Parisians with the comparative comfort of the rich, exposes the activities of collaborationists, and traces the growth of the Resistance from producing leaflets to gunning down German soldiers. He details the intrigues and brutality of the occupying forces, and life in the notorious transit camp at nearby Drancy, along with three other less well known Jewish work camps within the city.The book gains its vitality from the diaries and reminiscences of people who endured these tumultuous years. Drake’s cast of characters comes from all walks of life and represents a diversity of political views and social attitudes. We hear from a retired schoolteacher, a celebrated economist, a Catholic teenager who wears a yellow star in solidarity with Parisian Jews, as well as Resistance fighters, collaborators, and many other witnesses.Drake enriches his account with details from police records, newspapers, radio broadcasts, and newsreels. From his chronology emerge the broad rhythms and shifting moods of the city. Above all, he explores the contingent lives of the people of Paris, who, unlike us, co­uld not know how the story would end.