Homeroom Heroes


Book Description

Part of a four-book series, this text details some of the authors' funniest experiences and lessons they learned while attending Arts High School in Newark, N.J.




Homerooms and Hall Passes


Book Description

“You can’t help falling in love with this hilarious upside-down take on Dungeons & Dragons. I read; I cheered; I laughed out loud.”—Gordon Korman In the mystical realm of Bríandalör, every day the brave and the bold delve into hidden temples or forgotten dungeons, battling vile monsters and evil wizards to loot their treasure hoards for sweet, sweet magic items. But in their free time, our heroes—Thromdurr the mighty barbarian, Devis the shifty thief, Vela the noble paladin, Sorrowshade the Gloom Elf assassin, and Albiorix the (good!) wizard—need to relax and unwind. That’s why they meet up once a week to play Homerooms & Hall Passes: a role-playing game where they assume the characters of average American eighth graders. But when the five young adventurers are magically transported into their H&H game by an ancient curse, they must band together to survive their toughest challenge yet: middle school. Who knew that battling ogres would be easier than passing algebra or navigating the cafeteria social scene? They must use what they’ve learned from playing Homerooms & Hall Passes to figure out how to save their game world (which might actually be real...). Dungeons & Dragons meets Jumanji in this new, laugh-out-loud adventure series from the author of the beloved Hamstersaurus Rex series.




My Father's Heroes


Book Description

My Father's Heroes is the story of a 2nd generation Italian-American boy, Frankie, growing up in New York during the 1940'to 1960's, who is torn between his mother's deeply religious beliefs and his father's prophetic pragmatism. Frankie's father, a die- hard Yankee fan, uses baseball and the players of their generation to bond with him. Through Frankie's eyes, we see the Roosevelt years, World War II, the Atom Bomb, the Cuban Missile Crisis and other world events unfold. This is a gritty tale of growing up in the Bronx after WWII, and a father's love of his son as he experiences the trials of adolescence. It's through their discussions and admiration for the baseball players of that era that Franco and his father form a strong father-son bond, Franco's story, however, also includes episodes of ethnic conflict, child sexual abuse, and a stunning ending.




Disposable Heroes


Book Description

For many soldiers, the end of military service signals a cruel and new beginning. Disposable Heroes illuminates the challenges facing many veterans, particularly African Americans. Rather than finding military service to be a path to equality and upward mobility, these veterans fight just to survive. The book draws on in-depth interviews and national survey data to show the ways America is failing many black veterans today. Author Benjamin Fleury-Steiner shares the remarkable stories of 30 veterans from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. Their words illustrate the ongoing impact of explicit racial oppression such as Jim Crow segregation, white backlash against integration, and racially targeted criminal justice policies. The book traces the persistent role of racial inequalities in African American veterans’ lives before service, during active duty, and particularly after military life. Taken together, the stories in Disposable Heroes paint a compelling story of hope, struggle, and survival. Disposable Heroes makes a powerful case for ending America’s longstanding “war at home”—enduring unemployment, deficient health care, and substandard housing—that continue to plague many urban African American communities in the United States today, with particular attention to challenges of African American veterans.




The Crisis


Book Description

The Crisis, founded by W.E.B. Du Bois as the official publication of the NAACP, is a journal of civil rights, history, politics, and culture and seeks to educate and challenge its readers about issues that continue to plague African Americans and other communities of color. For nearly 100 years, The Crisis has been the magazine of opinion and thought leaders, decision makers, peacemakers and justice seekers. It has chronicled, informed, educated, entertained and, in many instances, set the economic, political and social agenda for our nation and its multi-ethnic citizens.




Homeroom Diaries


Book Description

After recovering from an emotional breakdown, a scrappy high school student dares to be happy and disrupt the social scene. Margaret "Cuckoo" Clarke recently had a brief stay in a mental institution following an emotional breakdown, but she's turning over a new leaf with her "Operation Happiness." She's determined to beat down the bad vibes of the Haters, the Terror Teachers, and all of the trials and tribulations of high school by writing and drawing in her diary. And when life gets really tough, she works through her own moments of uncertainty through imaginary conversations with her favorite literary characters. Cuckoo's also got a nearly impossible mission: she, along with her misfit band of self-deprecating friends (who call themselves "the Freakshow") decide to bridge the gap between warring cliques and "bring the Nations together." Not everyone is so willing to join hands and get along, but Cuckoo never stops smiling . . . until one of her closest friends, pushed to desperation by a prank, decides that enough is enough. In James Patterson's first highly illustrated "diary fiction" story for teens, the mega-bestselling author's most endearing and original teen heroine ever proves that everyone can use a helping hand once in a while.




On the Verge of I Do


Book Description

It's hard for events planner Kara Kincaid to be planning her sister's wedding to the man Kara's had a crush on since childhood. Even harder when said sister calls the whole thing off. Hardest still is when the jilted groom shows Kara some very personal attention, threatening to destroy her relationship with her family—and Kara ends up in his bed anyway. After a just-friends engagement that just didn't work, hotel magnate Eli Houghton thinks he's finally found the right woman. His new plan: convince Kara there's no hidden agenda, and that the magic words are I do….




Home-room Activities


Book Description




The Heroes of February 22nd, Volume 1


Book Description

Fourteen-year-old Zach Davidson’s burden of being abandoned by his father and raised by a single mother, juggling three jobs, weighed constantly on his mind. Growing up as a late bloomer, black, and bisexual in a predominantly white, rural Utah town only amplified his struggles—until he got abducted by aliens. Then things got crazy. Zach and his friends, Wilkie and Liza, vanish after witnessing UFOs at Blue Lake during a night of fishing and swimming. The trio wakes up in an arid wilderness over two hundred miles away, devoid of any memory of their abduction or how they got there—except for one revelation: they now possess supernatural abilities. As they return to civilization, they find themselves forced into a clandestine world of competing extraterrestrial empires vying for control over Earth through human proxies, all eager to employ Zach, Wilkie, and Liza’s newfound powers. Their journey of discovery unfolds amid navigating through militant human-alien factions and shadow government organizations—with the goal of deciding which of these groups (if any) they should join to stop the impending conquest of Earth. D.B. Gibb’s science fiction novel, The Heroes of February 22nd, Volume I (or HOF22), is set in modern times and captures the spirit of “The Lives of Tao” and “The X-Files.” Written from a historian’s perspective in 2114, it follows key players involved with the historically significant Blue Lake Event (a precursor to the Proxy Wars) on February 22, 2017. Fans of alternative history and science fiction about reluctant heroes thrust into a secretive world of alien abduction and conspiracies will enjoy reading The Heroes of February 22nd, Volume I.




Not All Heroes


Book Description

Even though her family moved across the country for a “fresh start” after her little brother’s death, eleven-year-old Zinnia Helinski still feels like she’s stuck waiting for her new life to begin. Then she spots her new neighbor, Kris, climbing down the fire escape of their apartment building. He’s wearing a black eye mask! And Spandex leggings. . . . And a blue body suit? Soon Zinnia finds herself in a secret club for kids who want to be heroes. The Reality Shifters don’t have superpowers, but they do have the power to make positive change in their neighborhoods. And a change is just what Zinnia is looking for! At first, she feels invincible. Zinnia finally has friends and is on the kind of real-life adventures her little brother, Wally, would have loved. But when her teammates lose sight of their goals, Zinnia must find the balance between bravery and recklessness, and learn to be a hero without her cape.