She was a stray; my mother found her and brought her home to me. We spent 19 full years together. Always the perfect cat, she died in her sleep when she was growing too frail for fun. She must have known I would never have had the strength to put her to sleep myself. I was (understandably) devastated when she died -- and my phone rang off the hook. Many of my friends had grown up with my cat, too, and were calling to express their grief. The weeks after her death are a weepy blur, but one conversation stands out in my mind. A woman I wasn't very close to called to tell me about the death of her dog. There was something overwhelmingly comforting about her story. Even though she didn't know me or my "kitten" well, her shared experience just made me feel less alone. Shared stories are the idea of Chocolate for a Teen's Soul by Kay Allenbaugh. "Rich stories, like chocolate, not only make you feel good, they can also serve as comfort through confusing times," she writes in her introduction. (Allenbaugh is apparently a chocolate freak; she has also written Chocolatefor Woman's Soul, ...for a Lover's Heart, ...for a Woman's Heart, ...for a Mother's Heart, etc.) Her collected stories, written by women young and old and bundled by theme in chapters like "Onward and Upward," "Making Memories," and "What Is This Thing Called Love?", are not always uplifting -- and therein lies the strength of Chocolate for a Teen's Soul. The emotional range of Allenbaugh's selected stories is impressive. One girl explains how the death of her great-grandfather gave her the strength to ask a popular boy to dance with her. Experiencing death taught her to "make each moment count." Which is also why she is capable of handling it when he turns her down. (Never fear, another cute boy comes along in a moment.) Another young woman writes of a teacher who doubts her poetry skills and forces her to stand up and defend herself for the first time in her life. Yet another girl writes about fear, roller coasters, and her father. There are, of course, the perennially interesting tales of first loves, as well as the now ubiquitous but unfortunately necessary essays on abuse (by a boyfriend) and eating disorders.Allenbaugh wasn't satisfied to leave it at that. She smartly chose to vary the voices in her book. Hence the story written by a mother coming to terms with her daughter growing up. Or the wonderful story of a woman who fled Soviet-occupied Hungary. This "global" story demonstrates the universality of adolescent worries; she, too, thinks about clothes and friends.Allenbaugh has bound together a delightful mix of stories. Her goal, as stated in her introduction, is to mentor teens with her stories, and surely she has succeeded. The bulk of her success lies in her somewhat quirky sensibility. In the middle of Allenbaugh's "Love" chapter is a delightful story, "Grooming Nisha." This is no first-kiss tale but rather the experience of a girl who raises seeing-eye dogs -- caring for them until they are old enough to perform their duties. She details the bittersweet pain of giving Nisha up. There is also a story on the death of a family dog.Which leads me right back to my kitten. Sometimes, especially when you are 14, the word "love" means romantic love. Friends are surely sympathetic if you and your boyfriend break up. But what about if your kitty dies? Adults usually understand that kind of pain better. In Chocolate for a Teen's Soul, Allenbaugh opens up the definition of love and of other experiences. She teaches and offers comfort in the form of shared experience...just like that acquaintance of mine did. --Alexandra Zissu

    School work? Stuff it. Manners? Get screwed. Being a decent human being? Over my dead body. And it’s all because of him. Nate was supposed to be the reason I wake up in the morning, until he took that reason away. Now, I’m left feeling like an empty shell of the girl I used to be. He’s the love of my life. Always has been and always will be. I don’t doubt it, he’s going to come running back, and when he does, you better believe it, I’m going to make him work for it. Right down to the bone. Thank God I have my girls and Jesse. Without them, I’d be lost. Oh, and not to mention, I have Ashley Samuels and Phoenix Reilly keeping my mind more than busy. They better watch out because I’ve already lost the one thing that’s important to me. I’ve got nothing else to lose and revenge will be sweet. Don’t miss this nail-biting fourth installment of The Broken Hill High Series. You won’t be sorry! Broken Hill Havoc – Book 5 College? How did this happen? One minute I'm starting my senior year of high school and the next, I'm in college. Let me repeat myself. How did this happen? I can't even begin to understand the crazy amounts of drama I've suffered through over the past twelve months, but I've never been so happy to say it's over. I’m more than ready for this next step in my life. I came out of my senior year with Nate by my side and a future to start building. To say I have it all is a disgusting understatement. My life right now is perfect. Perfect friends, perfect family, perfect boyfriend. Nothing can screw this up. Not even those little weasels, Jesse and Jackson. But… I should know better by now. Never say never, right? Hold on because you’re about to see a whole new type of girl you’ve never dealt with before. The claws are coming out. Broken Hill Honor – Novella 5.5 Being with Tora Roberts has been nothing but a wild ride, one I never want to get off. At twelve, I knew I loved her. By Seventeen, I’d made her life a living hell. She hated me. She stole my heart completely at eighteen. And now at twenty six, she still hasn’t given it back, and what’s more, I don’t want her to. It’s about time I make her mine… Officially. WARNING: The Broken Hill High Series is a Young Adult / New Adult Romance filled with LOL moments, teenage angst, and of course, all the swoon worthy moments I know you’re all dying for. This series is recommended for mature readers due to cursing and sexual content. If this offends you, then steer clear of this bad boy romance! For everyone else, dive in and have fun!

    Deeply self-conscious about her severe asthma attacks, high school student Keller Parrish finds solace in the company of an attractive but mysterious boy at a remote pond, unaware that he is an insubstantial echo of a forty-year-old tragedy.

    

    

    William Knight is cocky, impatient, and slightly dimwitted. So how exactly did Will manage to kidnap Emma and her best friend twice and live to talk about it?

    Invited by the filmmakers to write a special Lincoln book as a companion to the film, Harold Holzer, the distinguished historian and a consultant on the movie, now gives us a fast-paced, exciting new book on Lincoln's life and times, his evolving beliefs about slavery, and how he maneuvered to end it.The story starts on January 31, 1865—less than three months before Lincoln's assassination—as the president anxiously awaits word on whether Congress will finally vote to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Although the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier had authorized the army to liberate slaves in Confederate territory, only a Constitutional amendment passed by Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the states would end slavery legally everywhere in the country.Drawing from letters, speeches, memoirs, and documents by Lincoln and others, Holzer goes on to cover Lincoln's boyhood, his moves from Kentucky to Indiana to Illinois, his work as a lawyer and congressman, his unsuccessful candidacies for the U.S. Senate and his victory in two presidential elections, his arduous duties in the Civil War as commander in chief, his actions as president, and his relationships with his family, political rivals, and associates. Holzer provides a fresh view of America in those turbulent times, as well as fascinating insights into the challenges Lincoln faced as he weighed his personal beliefs against his presidential duties in relation to the slavery issue.The passage of the Thirteenth Amendment would become the crowning achievement of Abraham Lincoln's life and the undisputed testament to his political genius. By viewing his life through this prism, Holzer makes an important passage in American history come alive for readers of all ages.The book also includes thirty historical photographs, a chronology, a historical cast of characters, texts of selected Lincoln writings, a bibliography, and notes.

    A daily devotional for Christian women going through difficult times, including divorce, death of a loved one, depression, and other struggles.Find inspiration and encouragement as Jennifer shares 31 daily stories, bible verses and personal testimony.

    Except by mean girls who tweet about her ragged appearance. All she wants to do is indulge in her love of science, protect her vulnerable younger brother, and steer clear of her unstable mother.Then a school competition calls for a biome. Layla chooses her own home, a hostile ecosystem of indoor fungi and secret shame. With a borrowed video camera, she captures it all. The mushrooms growing in her brother’s dresser. The black mold blooming up the apartment walls. The unmentionable things living in the dead fridge. All the inevitable exotic toxins that are Layla’s life. Then the video goes viral.When Child Protective Services comes to call, Layla loses her family and her home. Defiant, she must face her bullies and friends alike, on her own. Unafraid at last of being seen, Layla accepts the mortifying reality of visibility. Now she has to figure out how to stay whole and stand behind the truth she has shown the world.

    For Jessalyn and her mom, moving to the small town of Avondale, California seemed like the perfect decision; they wanted the new scenery but what they really needed was a new start.Jessalyn Hartley had always been shy and one to keep to herself, but now, as she enters her final year of high school at Crestview High, she's more determined than ever to stay hidden in the shadows.However, all of that may change when she crosses paths with the supposed bad boy; Cason Michaels, and figures out that maybe she just had to meet the right person to break her out of her shell.

     Because we do not rest, we miss hearing God’s voice. Psalm 23 comes to mind. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Are you experiencing the green pastures, the quiet waters, and the restoration of your soul that Psalm 23 speaks of, from resting with your Shepherd? Remember how the crowds pressed in on Jesus everywhere He went? Everywhere He turned, there was a need unmet, and though there was so much to do . . . He withdrew to rest. Luke 5:16 says, “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” If Jesus needed alone time with God, then certainly we do. Just think of the wisdom He wants to impart to you, the strength and the peace you may be missing out on. Give yourself permission not to have your to-do list all checked off in order for you to rest and get alone with God. Each weekday, I will provide for you a verse of the day, a short devotional, a reflection question and a daily scripture reading. Also, on-line at WomenLivingWell.org you will find 4 videos (one per week) that correspond with the scripture we are studying each week. Each week I will provide for you a practical challenge of something I do in my home that helps me rest and live blessed. I hope you will take the challenges. They do make a difference! I pray that your time spent in God’s Word will lead you to rest for your soul and release of your burdens, so you can live a life of peace and freedom in Christ no matter what you are facing. Join me on this journey, as we walk with the King. Courtney

    With energetic writing and passion for the subject, John Tully covers the full sweep of Cambodian history, explaining why this land of contrasts remains an interesting enigma to the international community. Detailing the depressing record of war, famine, and invasion that has threatened to destroy Cambodia, this discussion shows its survival to be a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

    Brown eyes. Fair skin. We are healthy and strong and smart. But only one of us has ever had a secret.Dahlia 16 sees her face in every crowd. She’s nothing special—just one of five thousand girls created from a single genome to work for the greater good of the city.Meeting Trigger 17 changes everything. He thinks she’s interesting. Beautiful. Unique. Which means he must be flawed. When Dahlia can’t stop thinking about him—when she can't resist looking for him, even though that means breaking the rules—she realizes she’s flawed, too. But if she’s flawed, then so are all her identicals. And any genome found to be flawed will be recalled.Destroyed.Getting caught with Trigger would seal not only Dahlia’s fate, but that of all five thousand girls who share her face. But what if Trigger is right? What if Dahlia is different?Suddenly the girl who always follows the rules is breaking them, one by one by one…

    Landon's here for a reason, somehow Shawn's involved and there were careful plans set in motion with Sophie at their center.Now, to be the boss of her own fate, Sophie must learn to tell apart the mess in her heart form the madness of a world where monsters are real.

    Over the course of his hospitalization, he contemplates life in quiet moments. Follow him and his thoughts, kept within the grey walls of the cruel hospital room. =Spin-off from The Royals Series.