Synopsis: Themes: Hi-Lo, High school, neighborhoods, family, loyalty, friendship, urban teen fiction, competition/contest, inspiration, popularity, ideas of beauty. Written for young adults, the Urban Underground series confronts issues that are of great importance to teens, such as friendship, loyalty, drugs, gangs, abuse, urban blight, bullies, and self-esteem to name a few. More than entertainment, these books can be a powerful learning and coping tool…

Synopsis: Follow Travis Hawk on a cross-country trek as he escapes a world of brutality and uncertainty and puts his trust, and even his very life, in the hands of total strangers. Travis's story is one of struggle, survival, risk and resilience, navigating a solo journey of hundreds of miles to seek a safe haven far from the demons of his past.

Synopsis: Hi-Lo Novel for Reluctant and Struggling Teen Readers. Roy Perkins struggles in high school and has three strikes against him. He never knew his dad, his mom died in a meth-lab explosion, and his alcoholic uncle beats him. He is sent to live with a caring foster family. But the challenges continue. Lexile measure 530L.

Synopsis: Excellence and Impactful Leadership don't happen accidentallyExcellence is a journey where leaders discover who they are, what they value, and the principles that drive them. True excellence and impactful leadership require intentional strategies. Pursuers of excellence are able to see barriers as obstacles that they can overcome. It is those barriers and challenges that strengthen us in our pursuit of excellence. To Be Excellent on Purpose…

Synopsis: In an era when teachers struggle for quality time with their students, Donald Graves introduces a text that creates lifetime writers as well as responsible learners--a text that focuses on teaching that lasts.A Fresh Look at Writing is Graves's most comprehensive book yet. In it, he expands on many of his earlier approaches, examining portfolios, record keeping, methods for teaching conventions, spelling, and a rich range of genre including…

Synopsis: A BOSTON GLOBE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • With unwavering humanity and light-footed humor, this intimate account of the interminable year of 2020 offers commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic, protests for racial justice, the U.S. presidential election, and more, all with a miraculous dose of groundedness in head-spinning times. "This book is so funny and so true. Charles Finch unpacks a year of plague, fear, shameless venality, and dizzying stupidity…

Synopsis: Here is enough useless information for everyone. In "The Book of Totally Useless Information", Don Voorhees has compiled over two hundred explanations for the not-so-important questions in life. Why is the sky blue? Why does orange juice taste funny after you brush your teeth? Why is a left-handed pitcher known as a "Southpaw"? Why is the National Hockey League Championship Trophy called the Stanley Cup? When did it first become offensive to…

Synopsis: “Astonishing individual portraits” reveal the surprising and strange fates of the 56 Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence (School Library Journal). In the summer of 1776, a group of 56 men risked their lives and livelihood to defy King George III and sign the Declaration of Independence—yet how many of them do we remember? Signing Their Lives Away introduces readers to the eclectic group of statesmen, soldiers,…

Synopsis: Beautifully Said is a female-forward collection of 21 themed chapters of quotes from strong, successful, intelligent women. Perfect for hand lettering artists of any age! Looking for a quote to inspire your daughter, sister, mother, teammate, or friend? Beautifully Said is a personal inspiration gallery, containing 21 themed chapters spotlighting women and girls who believe, build, discover, explore, heal, invent, laugh, lead, and more. …

Synopsis: Dazzling in its range, exhilarating in its immediacy and grace, a collection that gathers together, from every region of the country and from the past forty years, the poems that continue to shape our imaginations.From Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop, John Ashbery and Adrienne Rich, to Robert Haas and Louise Glück, this anthology takes the full measure of our poetry's daring energies and its tender understandings.Other poets include:Sylvia…

Synopsis: Featuring a new foreword by Margaret Atwood!In this stunning assemblage of words and images, novelist and avid birdwatcher Graeme Gibson offers an extraordinary tribute to the venerable relationship between humans and birds.   From the Aztec plumed serpent to the Christian dove to Plato's vision of the human soul growing wings, religion and philosophy use birds to represent our aspirational selves. Winged creatures appear in mythology and folk…

Synopsis: Welles Crowther didn't see himself as a hero. He was just an ordinary kid who played sports, volunteered for the fire department in his town, and eventually headed off to college and then to Wall Street to start a career. Throughout it all, he always kept a red bandanna in his pocket, a gift from his father when he was little. On September 11, 2001, Welles was at his job on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the…

Synopsis: In a poor, remote section of southern Mexico, the Red Shirts have taken control. God has been outlawed, and the priests have been systematically hunted down and killed. Now, the last priest strives to overcome physical and moral cowardice in order to find redemption. Introduction by John Updike

Synopsis: From calls to arms to demands for peace, and from cries of freedom to words of inspiration, this stirring anthology captures the voices of prophets and politicians, rebels and tyrants, soldiers and statesman, placing them in historical context. With over a million copies already sold, this completely revised and updated pocket edition includes speeches by those that have truly shaped the modern world: from Greta Thunberg to Donald Trump, and…

Synopsis: Malcolm Gladwell, the #1 bestselling author of The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw, offers his most provocative---and dazzling---book yet.Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and…

Synopsis: An I Weigh Book Club Pick   “I have been a fan of Henry’s work for a long time and I’m excited for more people to see it.” —Jameela Jamil  From the creator of Drawings of Dogs, a warmly illustrated and thoughtful examination of empathy and the necessity of being kinder The kindness we owe one another goes far beyond the everyday gestures of feeding someone else's parking meter--although it's important not to downplay those small acts. Kindness…

Synopsis: Be the life of every highbrow cocktail party—just by mastering the deliciously obscure terms in The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart.This book is a tongue-in-cheek guide to words that any well-educated, witty person should be able to drop into cocktail conversation. You are encouraged to toss off words such as “disestablishmentarianism,” “descant,” and “autodidactic”—words that will make the user sound learned, intellectual, and wise. For…