If I Grow Up


Book Description

In a gripping novel with a plot pulled from the headlines, Todd Strasser turns his attention to gang life in the inner-city projects. DeShawn is a teenager growing up in the projects. Most of his friends only see one choice: join up to a gang. DeShawn is smart enough to want to stay in school and make something more of himself, but when his family is starving while his friends have fancy bling and new sneakers, DeShawn is forced to decide--is his integrity more important than feeding his family?




Bringing Up Geeks


Book Description

A breakthrough parenting book that redefines the meaning of 'geek' and inspires parents to free themselves and their kids from the 'culture of cool.' In a world of superficial values, peer pressure, and out-of-control consumerism, the world needs more GEEKS: Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids. Today's 'culture of cool' has changed the way kids grow up. Rather than enjoying innocent childhoods while developing strong, authentic characters, today's kids can become cynical 'even jaded' as they absorb the dangerous messages and harmful influences of a dominant popular culture that encourages materialism, high-risk behaviors, and a state of pseudo-adulthood. Author and mother of four Marybeth Hicks suggests an alternative: bringing up geeks. In this groundbreaking book, she shows parents how they can help their children gain the enthusiasm to pursue their passions, not just the latest fashions; the confidence to resist peer pressure and destructive behaviors; the love of learning that helps them excel at school and in life; and the maturity to value family as well as friends, as well as make good moral decisions. With a foundation like that, kids will grow up to be the coolest adults.




They Grow Up So Fast


Book Description

Grandsons Jace, Jax, and Jude, who their sisters refer to as the Sex Alphabet Trio, are busy conducting promiscuous After-School-Specials with teen classmates. And with their more recent exploits, have now turned to Dru for informative sexual tidbits about the female persuasion, which doesn't please him. After all, he's barely managed to keep Juel and Jetta on his radar with young cowboys, Jeb and Chance's, growing affectionate advances, and the Two for One twin TV stars chasing his granddaughters about. Yet, Dru's left to wonder how me got in the mix of rearing five teen grandchildren, who have five other grandparents. Hell, he's still learning to parent his finger-biting, razor-edged, tooth-bearing, one-year-old, whose favorite word is 'no' or any cuss word she happens to hear and keep his fifty-seven-year-old wife in line! And speaking of his wife, the 'little things' that consistently happen to Jett are driving Dru insane! He cannot believe this one small woman utilizes her 'directionally dysfunctional' brain to find 'alternative directions', which she claims cause her to end up in the same place, which is where she wanted to be all along, and with their child in the car! The good Lord knows she can hardly navigate herself around the estate's circular driveway! And her appearance on the famous Hollywood Squares Celebrity Week was a massive fiasco! Dru got to witness his wife on national television as she appeared in the ostentatious middle square giving far more than detailed answers while toying with her 'quiz quarter', which she swears helped her get the answers right! Or seeing Jett and co-star, Cameron McGinley, during their explicit carnal and total climatic moment in the mystic 'mating chamber', to use the phrase loosely and in surround-sound, no less, which Dru knew nothing about, but watched along with all of Hollywood during its' premiere! And let's not forget the antics she pulls with her Mighty JETT Regime members, Karin, Charisse and Stacy! Yes, Sir Dru Simon knew his wife, whom he loves more than life, was a twit before he married her! But it's a freakin' wonder no man ever killed her! Now, that is something he would thoroughly love to experience; however, he isn't finished with her, yet! The Simon, Landon, Chase, and Savoy families are back and learning more new life lessons as the JETT Ranchettes relax and lounge away on ducky margaritas. You've got to check this out, people!




Please Don't Grow Up Too Fast


Book Description

A story of a girl and her dog exploring the creative world if their own imaginations. Filled with colorful imagery this book brings you back to a time where the world was filled in mystery and wonder. Give this book to your child to show them it is ok to slow down and just be a kid. Growing up should be natural, not rushed, so sit down and enjoy being a kid.




Slow Down


Book Description

The days are long, but the years are short. No matter if it’s your child’s first step, first day of school, or first night tucked away in a new dorm room away from home, there comes a moment when you realize just how quickly the years are flying by. Christian music artist Nichole Nordeman’s profound lyrics in her viral hit “Slow Down” struck a chord with moms everywhere, and now this beautiful four-color book will inspire you to celebrate the everyday moments of motherhood. Filled with thought-provoking writings from Nichole, as well as guest writings from friends including Shauna Niequist and Jen Hatmaker, practical tips, and journaling space for reflection, Slow Down will be a poignant gift for any mom, as well as a treasured keepsake. Take a few moments to reflect and celebrate the privilege of being a parent and getting to watch your little ones grow—and Slow Down. Nichole Nordeman has sold more than 1 million albums as a Christian music artist and has won 9 GMA Dove Awards, including two awards for Female Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Nichole released a lyric video for her song “Slow Down,” and it struck a chord with parents everywhere, amassing 14 million views in its first five days. She lives in Oklahoma with her two children.




Dreamland Burning


Book Description

A compelling dual-narrated tale from Jennifer Latham that questions how far we've come with race relations. Some bodies won't stay buried. Some stories need to be told. When seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a skeleton on her family's property, she has no idea that investigating the brutal century-old murder will lead to a summer of painful discoveries about the present and the past. Nearly one hundred years earlier, a misguided violent encounter propels seventeen-year-old Will Tillman into a racial firestorm. In a country rife with violence against blacks and a hometown segregated by Jim Crow, Will must make hard choices on a painful journey towards self discovery and face his inner demons in order to do what's right the night Tulsa burns. Through intricately interwoven alternating perspectives, Jennifer Latham's lightning-paced page-turner brings the Tulsa race riot of 1921 to blazing life and raises important questions about the complex state of US race relations--both yesterday and today.




Grown and Flown


Book Description

PARENTING NEVER ENDS. From the founders of the #1 site for parents of teens and young adults comes an essential guide for building strong relationships with your teens and preparing them to successfully launch into adulthood The high school and college years: an extended roller coaster of academics, friends, first loves, first break-ups, driver’s ed, jobs, and everything in between. Kids are constantly changing and how we parent them must change, too. But how do we stay close as a family as our lives move apart? Enter the co-founders of Grown and Flown, Lisa Heffernan and Mary Dell Harrington. In the midst of guiding their own kids through this transition, they launched what has become the largest website and online community for parents of fifteen to twenty-five year olds. Now they’ve compiled new takeaways and fresh insights from all that they’ve learned into this handy, must-have guide. Grown and Flown is a one-stop resource for parenting teenagers, leading up to—and through—high school and those first years of independence. It covers everything from the monumental (how to let your kids go) to the mundane (how to shop for a dorm room). Organized by topic—such as academics, anxiety and mental health, college life—it features a combination of stories, advice from professionals, and practical sidebars. Consider this your parenting lifeline: an easy-to-use manual that offers support and perspective. Grown and Flown is required reading for anyone looking to raise an adult with whom you have an enduring, profound connection.




How To Farewell Your Ex


Book Description

The book talks about the ups and downs one suffers while trying to get over the person who was once a lover. It highlights very important questions that remain unanswered because we as humans find ourselves in an awkward position to ask it. When a confused mind tries the best to find solace it looks up for quick solutions. The brain rather than focusing on a long-term healing process, which takes time to bring a visible effect, starts its journey for short-term options. Even though such options show quick results but do not last long. How the Confused mind be brought in track? How to Heal? You need to open your mind and of course open this book.




The Collapse of Parenting


Book Description

In this New York Times bestseller, one of America’s premier physicians offers a must-read account of the new challenges facing parents today and a program for how we can better prepare our children to navigate the obstacles they face In The Collapse of Parenting, internationally acclaimed author Leonard Sax argues that rising levels of obesity, depression, and anxiety among young people can be traced to parents abdicating their authority. The result is children who have no standard of right and wrong, who lack discipline, and who look to their peers and the Internet for direction. Sax shows how parents must reassert their authority - by limiting time with screens, by encouraging better habits at the dinner table, and by teaching humility and perspective - to renew their relationships with their children. Drawing on nearly thirty years of experience as a family physician and psychologist, along with hundreds of interviews with children, parents, and teachers, Sax offers a blueprint parents can use to help their children thrive in an increasingly complicated world.




Hyperbole and a Half


Book Description

#1 New York Times Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations. FROM THE PUBLISHER: Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices. This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written. Brosh’s debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to. FROM THE AUTHOR: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative—like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it—but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book: Pictures Words Stories about things that happened to me Stories about things that happened to other people because of me Eight billion dollars* Stories about dogs The secret to eternal happiness* *These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!