From Christian Robinson, #1 New York Times bestseller, Caldecott Honoree, and one of the most recognizable picture book creators of this generation comes a loving tribute to all kinds of dads.

Dad is strong.
Dad is sweet.
Dad dreams of watching you grow…

There are as many ways to be a dad as there are dads in the world. Dad is a big-hearted love letter to all of them, reflecting the range of relationships that dads, both animal and human, have with their little ones.

Dad is destined to be a classic, an evergreen gift for new fathers, and one of those rare picture books that resonates with every reader at any age.

The perfect gift for baby showers, Father’s Day, or all year round!

LIMITED TIME DELUXE EDITION

From bestselling author Talia Hibbert comes a story of wicked royals, fake engagements, and the fed-up office worker trapped in the midst of it all.

Cherry Neita is thirty, flirty, and done with men. As far as she can tell, they're overrated, overpaid, and underperforming―in every area of life. But a girl has needs, and the smoking-hot stranger she just met at the office seems like the perfect one-night stand…

Prince Ruben of Helgmøre is reckless, dominant, and famously filthy. The outcast royal is rebuilding his reputation―all for a good cause―but he can't resist a pretty face. And bossy whirlwind Cherry's got the face, the body, and the attitude to make Ruben's convictions crumble. Even better, when she propositions him, she has no idea who he really is.

But when paparazzi catch the pair, erm, kissing in an alleyway, Ruben's anonymity disappears faster than Cherry's knickers. Now the press is in uproar, the palace is outraged, and Ruben's reputation is back in the gutter. There's only one way to turn this disaster around―and it involves Cherry, some big fat lies, and a flashy diamond ring. On her left hand.

Unfortunately, Cherry isn't pleased with Ruben's "fake engagement" scheme…and neither is the king.

Hip, hip, hooray! It's Fri-yay!

With her parents out of town, Hairiette gets to spend the whole weekend with Aunt Zelda and her cat Olive! They have their Fish Fry Friday, watch movies, and dance around the house. But this Friday is even more special: Hairiette learns how to use her Magic Nation to be an entrepreneur and help her family's hair salon business.

Step one: attempt to make Nana Grace's famous hair potion.

Step two: When Aunt Zelda says she can't use the potion, go to Magic Nation!

Charlie the Comb and Barbara the Barrett help Hairiette to understand that going slow and asking for help can make things work best. Being an entrepreneur is more fun with friends, anyway!

During the course of the struggle of African people against European racism, brutality and domination, many innovative thinkers have risen from our ranks. The greatest and most courageous scholars have devoted their lives to the pursuit of an explanation for the virtually inherent animosity most white people appear to have toward people of color. Unlike her predecessors, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, a brilliant, Washington D.C. psychiatrist has rejected conventional notions about the origin and perpetuation of racism. Dr. Welsing's theories, lectures and scientific papers have provoked controversy for over twenty years. Now the compilation of her work in [this book] is destined to change the course of history.

Mix great drinks with this mini bar in a box that gives you fifty recipe cards for boozy cocktails, refreshing aperitifs, and delicious mocktails, curated by the cocktail experts at New York Times Cooking.

Whether you're a seasoned bartender or a casual sipper, the New York Times Cooking Cocktail Deck offers 50 new and quintessential recipes. Pop a few cards in your bag, use them as a shopping list, and then set them on the bar top or counter while you stir or shake.

Unwind at home with Robert Simonson's ultimate Martini or Old-Fashioned. Mix things up with Ali Slagle's Negroni Sbagliato or her spritzy Root Beer Rickey. And welcome guests with Rebekah Peppler's easy-drinking Bicicletta or one of several low-alcohol and nonalcoholic options, like Naz Deravian's Agua Fresca.

Each laminated card features a stunning photograph on the front with recipe instructions on the back. With an essential guide to the necessary glasses, garnishes, tools, and techniques, this recipe deck elevates any at-home bar and is sure to be the star of your next gathering.

We Need to Talk about Kevin as if written by Jason Reynolds and Tananarive Due meets Model Home by Rivers Solomon in an innovative twist on the haunted house novel: about a mother desperate to protect her sons from the twin specters of gun violence and otherworldly menace in their public housing project.

Nona McKinley raised three boys in the Hester Gardens section of Medford, Michigan, an impoverished community divided by those who follow their faith in God and those who turn to crime to survive. With her drug dealer husband behind bars and her eldest son shot to death at eighteen, Nona has devoted herself to ensuring her other children escape their brother’s fate.

Her second son Marcus is on the right path. He's a valedictorian heading to an Ivy League school. He can get out.

But then, strange things start happening to Nona and other residents: mysterious footsteps are heard when she’s alone, people have phantom encounters in the streets, unattended appliances go off at all hours. Even more concerning is the state of Nona’s living sons. Her youngest, Lance, is hanging around with a bad crowd, and Marcus becomes moody and secretive. Sometimes he even seems to act like a different person entirely.

Nona has her secrets too. Her affair with the married church pastor has been weighing on her conscience, but that’s not the only guilt haunting her. She fears that someone—or something— is seeking revenge for an act she made in a moment of weakness to protect her family. And now everyone in Hester Gardens must pay the price . . .

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.

We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

He’s a villain looking for a hero rebrand. She’s the marketing genius who can make it happen in this fantastical romantic comedy by the author of the Beasts of Gatamora series.

Over two decades ago, forty-eight young, gifted superheroes fell to Earth and were eventually marketed as opposing brands: heroes and villains. Now, one exceptionally gruff bad guy is looking to hop teams. Hello, PR director Vanessa Theriot.

His real name is Roland Casteel a.k.a. the Pyro. First, swap that with the less incinerating the Wyvern. Next, put him in spandex to highlight that near-godlike body. Finally, give that hero in training a heroine―if Vanessa will play the part in a pretend romance guaranteed to make the city swoon. She’s game. As shy as Vanessa is, it’s her job to be Roland’s very own Lois Lane. Who knew that fake dating would change their worlds?

But falling head over heels for real makes for a dangerous shift in the narrative. A monstrous supervillain is bringing out Roland’s bad side again. This time, it’s to save a woman who, against all the odds, is becoming the human love of his superhero life.

A Cold Civil War has engulfed the nation.

After a deadly pandemic, shocking incidents of police brutality, a racial justice crisis, and the fall of a dangerous demagogue, America remains more divided than at any time in decades. At the heart of this national crisis is the fear of a darkening America—a country in which there is no longer a predominant white majority.

As the Republican Party has lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections, its leaders have incited white Americans in a last-ditch race against time to stop the advance of a new, multiracial emerging majority. Keith Boykin, long time political commentator, has watched this white resentment consume the GOP over the course of a life in politics, activism, and journalism. He has also observed the divisions among Democrats, as white progressives have postponed demands for full racial equity, while Black voters have often been too forgiving of party leaders who have failed to deliver. America can no longer avoid its long overdue reckoning with the past, Boykin argues. With the familiarity of personal experience and the acuity of historical insight, Boykin urges us to fight racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia, and save the union, not just by making Black lives matter, but by making Black lives equal.

An ode to being active and to dramatic play, this inspiring picture book will inspure young readers to get moving and start imagining! Perfect for fans of Ruth Krauss’s I Can Fly and Ashley Spires’s The Most Magnificent Thing.
 
Simple, engaging rhymes will inspire little ones to jump, run, and explore the limitless possibilities of their imagination in this energizing ode to movement by award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford.
 
When I Move is an energetic celebration of joy and exploration; perfect for little ones learning to navigate new experiences and friendships as they find their way in the world.

“A comprehensive exploration of postpartum traditions that emphasize the importance of nurturing mothers during their most vulnerable times. From traditional recipes to rituals, this book highlights sisterhood and the need for comprehensive care that honors both the mother and the newborn.”
―from the foreword by Erykah Badu, five-time GRAMMY Award Winner, singer/songwriter, and holistic healer

As a mother, grandmother, and traditional midwife, Shafia M. Monroe intimately knows about childbirth and the fourth trimester. For over forty years, she’s helped thousands give birth, and has taught thousands more how to support birthing parents, all integrating the deep wisdom of African American healing traditions. Long suppressed by the white medical establishment, these practices—such as belly binding, heat, herbs, the lying‑in period, and the “taking‑out‑of‑bed ritual”—are powerful healing tools. Using them, we mother the mother through a healthy postpartum period.

While this framework will be powerful healing for all mothers, the information in this book can save Black mothers' lives; with African American women disproportionately suffering from maternal mortality and morbidity, there is an urgent need for an embrace of African American postpartum care that surrounds the new mother and her baby with community, love, and protection. Mothering the Mother is a resource for Black women and communities to reclaim their cultural traditions for a healthy postpartum recuperation.

Award-winning creator Kadir Nelson delivers the perfect gift for basketball fans of any age-a beautifully illustrated history of the game and its key players over the years-in this companion to his bestselling We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball.

Basketball has evolved by leaps and bounds since its origin over 125 years ago, but what remains is the passion of the players, the heat of competition, and supreme strategy and athleticism on the court. In this visual tour de force, celebrated artist Kadir Nelson weds his love for the game with showstopping paintings that bring its heart-pounding history to life.

The sage voice of an elder player narrates the journey from the early days of the slow game of "basket ball" to today's dazzlingly athletic and fast-paced sport. Engaging profiles of revolutionary players-including Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry-are featured, along with notable quotes from major figures of the game. With each breathtaking page turn, fans young and old will learn the gripping story of the all-American game and meet its iconic, indomitable heroes.

A maternal gothic tale of new motherhood and the torment of a centuries-old haunting

Before the shadow appeared, Sofia thought mothering would be all sun-drenched light and white linen sheets, as seen advertised by the momfluencers of Instagram. In her gorgeous home anchored in a posh suburb, far removed from her origins, Sofia revels in her success.

Motherhood seems like the natural next step, but when her husband travels for a work trip, leaving Sofia all alone with their unnamed three-week-old baby, she can’t quite square how mothering falls solely in her lap. Nobody seems able or willing to help her: not her husband, not her best friend, and certainly not the zealot mother she cut off long ago.

Her postpartum reality is overtaken by an ominous figure. Sleep-deprivation collides with a darkness that creeps in and begins to spread, threatening to consume her entirely. As her grip on reality slips away, Sofia learns of an insidious haunting that has plagued the eldest daughters in her family for generations. With her baby’s safety on the line, Sofia realizes she must confront her murky history or risk losing more than just the veneer of perfection.

No More Dancing: Embracing The Power of Restorative Living by Carlos J. Malave is a transformative guide for those ready to stop sidestepping their own needs and start building authentic, balanced relationships. Growing up, Malave found deep connection through the rhythm of Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata. Dance was a language of unity and joy, but over time, he realized he had been "dancing around" his discomforts and conflicts, avoiding confrontation for the sake of harmony. This book reveals his journey to self-acceptance and the power of setting boundaries without guilt.

Malave explores how recognizing our emotions is the foundation for respect and genuine connection. Boundaries, he explains, aren't walls but pathways to healthier relationships. Through reflective exercises, readers will identify their needs, manage emotional triggers, and practice compassionate self-care. By embracing discomfort and engaging in honest conversations, we can forge bonds rooted in understanding and strength.

Inspired by his father's legacy and his commitment to pass these lessons to his daughter, Malave invites readers to step away from avoidance and stand firmly in their truth. No More Dancing is a heartfelt call to live courageously, create a legacy of authenticity, and leave the world a little more whole.

“A beautiful blend of folklore, botanical science, acquired wisdom, and spiritual guidance.”
—from the foreword by Luisah Teish
 
“If you want to learn about the reciprocal spiritual connection between humans and trees, you’re going to love this beautiful book.”
—Tess Whitehurst, author of The Magic of Trees
 
Reclaiming traditional botanical and herbal practices has never been more important than it is today. So much of our future depends on our ability to use ancient earth knowledge. In this crucially important book, author Stephanie Rose Bird recounts the story of the sacred wood: how to live in it, learn from it, and derive spiritual enrichment from it, as well as how to preserve and protect it. The Healing Tree offers functional, accessible recipes, remedies, and rituals derived from a variety of African and African American traditions to serve mind, body, soul, and spirit.

The Healing Tree celebrates the forest: its powers, spirits, magic, medicine, and mysteries. Bird shares how trees have provided her with personal healing, then allows us to share in that process for our own benefit. Bird’s book follows her own personal journey, but Africa is always her touchstone—the persistent and tenacious ancestral mother wisdom and spiritual foundation that refuses to fade away. The Healing Tree preserves this knowledge, presenting it as relevant and viable and demonstrating in intimate detail how vestiges of that knowledge took root in the Western Hemisphere, in African American culture, and more broadly in American culture in general.
 
Previously published as A Healing Grove, this updated edition includes a new preface by the author and a source guide for the botanicals discussed within.

From Sherri Shepherd, this energetic and fun story celebrates female friendships and shows young girls the importance of cheering one another on! When Chloe leaves for her big performance on stage, the other Sunshine Queens stay behind to help one another--but will they make it in time to see Chloe perform?

The Sunshine Queens is the delightful debut children's picture book from award-winning daytime-television host, actress, comedian, and New York Times bestselling author Sherri Shepherd. Tag along as the fun-loving Chloe and her bubbly besties demonstrate the power of good friendships and showing up for one another.

Chloe and her best friends, known as the Sunshine Queens, made a pact to always support each other no matter what. But on one very special Saturday, a lot goes wrong and all at once! Can they help one another and still make it in time for Chloe's theater performance? Watch the fun unfold and be inspired by the Sunshine Queens' love for one another.

This picture book

* is for ages 4 to 8;
* includes stylish illustrations from Tanisha Cherislin;
* is for fans of Taraji P. Henson's You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!) and Reece Witherspoon's Busy Betty; and
* is a great gift for the first day of school, birthdays, or Christmas.

With her signature wit and joy, Sherri Shepherd emphasizes how we can accomplish more together. Life is so much sweeter--and a lot more fun--when we have strong friendships!

Demons clash with inheritance claims as secrets unfold and violence is unleashed over twelve harrowing hours trapped in a house with the worst thing imaginable: family.

When Papi Ramon, the patriarch of the wealthy Abreu family dies, he gives the family one last message in the will: “One of you is el bacà, the demon that I made a deal with. Get rid of them or you will be damned.” Xiomara, the uncontested favorite of Papi Ramon (and therefore the least liked in the family), watches as everyone dismisses this as the joke of a senile old man and demands the lawyer obtain the previous will Papi wrote.

While the lawyer drives back to his office, a storm breaks out, forcing the entire family—Xiomara’s aunts and uncles and cousins—to remain in the house. And the words of Papi’s will hangs over their heads even heavier than the rain clouds. Over the course of the night, scandal after scandal is revealed to the public about the family. Suddenly a tense few hours of surviving her family turns into a vicious night of recrimination, violence, accusations…and murder.

Xiomara is faced with an impossible task: uproot a demon and somehow kill it or excise the ghosts that linger within her own family.

And the clock is ticking...

"A love story spanning multiple millenniums, life-forms and variations on immortality, the book posits Victorian poetry as a weapon of empire, insists on nature's resilience in the face of genocide, and manipulates prose into something like a new language....Toward Eternity recognizes both the building and burning of bridges." -New York Times

*A PARADE, LITHUB, and CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS Best New Book. *An AUDIOFILE EARPHONES AWARD WINNER.

Negotiating the terrain of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun and Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility, a brilliant, haunting speculative novel from a #1 New York Times bestselling translator that sets out to answer the question: What does it mean to be human in a world where technology is quickly catching up to biology?

In a near-future world, a new technological therapy is quickly eradicating cancer. The body’s cells are entirely replaced with nanites—robot or android cells which not only cure those afflicted but leaves them virtually immortal.

Literary researcher Yonghun teaches an AI how to understand poetry and creates a living, thinking machine he names Panit, meaning Beloved, in honor of his husband. When Yonghun—himself a recipient of nanotherapy—mysteriously vanishes into thin air and then just as suddenly reappears, the event raises disturbing questions. What happened to Yonghun, and though he’s returned, is he really himself anymore?

When Dr. Beeko, the scientist who holds the patent to the nanotherapy technology, learns of Panit, he transfers its consciousness from the machine into an android body, giving it freedom and life. As Yonghun, Panit, and other nano humans thrive—and begin to replicate—their development will lead them to a crossroads and a choice with existential consequences.

Exploring the nature of intelligence and the unexpected consequences of progress, the meaning of personhood and life, and what we really have to fear from technology and the future, Toward Eternity is a gorgeous, thought-provoking novel that challenges the notion of what makes us human—and how love survives even the end of that humanity.

“Outrageously creative! Kids will drink in every imaginative detail in El Toro’s wild world!” —Jeff Kinney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

From the Eisner Award Nominated World of ¡Vamos! series, Tough Times finds everyone’s favorite young luchador fighting a losing streak in an action-packed, graphic-novel-style El Toro & Friends paper-over-board reader by New York Times bestselling, three-time Pura Belpré Award–winning author-illustrator Raúl the Third.

The rookie Kid Toro hasn’t won a match in a long time. He loses to every wrestler he fights, from Al “the Crane” Scorpio to Prickly Pear to Burrobot. It feels like he’ll never win again!

Luckily, his coach, Ricky Raton, won’t let him give up so easily. As he reminds his young fighter what he does best, Kid Toro starts to realize that, when you get knocked down, getting back up makes all the difference.

Tackling Spanish phrases and packed full of humor, these Eisner-nominated early reader graphic novels are essential for readers who want an action-packed story and lots of laughs.

For more fun with El Toro & Friends, check out:

* Tag Team
* Tacos Today
* Team Up
* Training Day

Meditation is an effective way to manage anxiety and depression, insomnia, stress, and even some acute illnesses. If you want to become more aware and purposeful about your actions, mindfulness coach and Metta teacher, Oneika Mays can help you heal, develop communication skills, process forgiveness, and discover self-worth.

Sit with Me invites readers to learn how to:

* Incorporate metta, meditation and lovingkindness into your life and discover how to deepen love for others
* Expand your circles and mind
* Authentically contribute to personal and societal healing
* Build bridges to unite people, and learn how to be a better human

After spending over a decade volunteering and working at Rikers Island Correctional Facility, Oneika saw what happens to people who feel like they've been tossed aside. And before Rikers, Oneika spent two decades as a bookseller offering new worlds to seekers and language for exploration. She has a gifted ability to take big ideas and distill them down into understandable and relatable learnings allowing her to show up as a conduit for transformation. Oneika is your teacher, your auntie, your friend, and an intuitive soul here for the work of personal collective liberation.

Sit with Me is a gift to those who feel disconnected or lost, but know they want something to change. If you've ever felt left out, forgotten, judged, misunderstood or mistreated, this book is for you.

When a middle-aged widowed loses her job at the butcher shop, she’s at a loss as to how to provide for her family—until she’s offered a position that puts her carving skills to new uses in this darkly humorous bestselling Korean thriller.

Mrs. Shim needs money. She’s lost her husband and her job, and she's got three mouths to feed at her kitchen table. If she doesn't find work soon, she and her children are going to lose their home.

So when she answers a vague job ad for the Smile Detective Agency, Mrs. Shim expects the job will be some kind of cleaning position. But when they only ask her questions about her experience as a butcher and what she can do with a cleaver, she begins to realize they want her to do a very different kind of cleaning—they want her to be an assassin. Too scared not to take them up on their offer, she agrees to the position.

And Mrs. Shim soon finds that her new job isn’t so different from her old one in the butcher shop, quickly becoming the agency's best contract killer—but her rise to the top hasn’t gone unnoticed. Jealous of her talents, her agency’s competitors—and even her own colleagues-- begin pointing fingers (and knives) in her direction.

If she wants to keep her job, her family, and her reputation intact, Mrs. Shim is going to have to take out the secretive leader of a rival agency. But when she has the chance to strike, she's stunned to find a familiar face at the end of her blade.

As it turns out, this just may be one mess she can't cut her way out of . . .

The author and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library Publishing Project gives voice to long silent African Americans from the past, allowing them to tell their own stories that shed new light on critical moments in the Black Freedom Struggle, challenging what we think we know about Black history.

History is at its best when new findings and perspectives challenge old ideas and notions about the past, and even overturn common wisdom.

What if a former enslaved man in Galveston, Texas, witnessed the first Juneteenth and told a completely different story from what most of us know about that day? Why were slave ships most prone to rebellion, including those carrying the most African women? How has Islam found its way into R&B, soul, jazz, and other American popular music? Who was Benjamin Banneker, really?

In A High Price for Freedom, historian Clyde W. Ford addresses these and other questions, amplifying little-known voices from the African American past. In this wide-ranging, impeccably researched book, Ford begins with the 1656 court case of a woman named Elizabeth Key, who won a verdict for her freedom against her would-be enslaver—a victory that would forever change the nature, brutality, and course of American slavery.

Ford examines a range of topics, from the role of women in fomenting slave revolts to an in-depth look at how Selma was not really about voting rights or even Martin Luther King, Jr, but about a twenty-six-year-old Black man named Jimmie Lee Jackson who was killed by an Alabama state trooper. As he laying dying in the only hospital that would treat Black people in February 1965, Jimmie Lee whispered to his nurse, a Catholic nun, “Sister, isn’t this a high price for freedom?”

Eye-opening, enlightening, and often counterintuitive, this fascinating history includes compelling, heartrending, and factual accounts about people and events in the African American past that teach us things we never learned and challenge the stories we thought we knew.

Television writer, producer, and bestselling author of the acclaimed The Broke Diaries and Mixed charts her unexpected role as her terminally ill mother's caretaker in this funny, moving, and unforgettable memoir.

Angela Nissel always wanted her mother’s approval. But two defining events created a barrier between them: renouncing Christianity and being admitted to a psychiatric ward— events that mirrored failed parenting to her mother. 

Beating her depression, Angela moved to Los Angeles where she quickly achieved success as a television writer but soon after found herself dead broke and enduring a painful divorce. It was at this low point that she received heartbreaking news: her mother had cancer. Angela moves her mother to Los Angeles where she attempts to hide foreclosure notices and her live-in boyfriend while also trying to save her mother’s life with everything from crystals to celebrity doctors. Still, her mother succumbs to her cancer.

In this poignant and hilarious memoir, Angela chronicles her odyssey as she tries to remain “strong” like her mother in the face of grief. Delightfully self-deprecating, unsparing in its honesty, yet filled with wacky humor and joy, Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom is Dead, is an unforgettable portrait of love, yearning, loss, and resilience that reveals the indelible power of introspection to save our lives.

Joyful and warmhearted, this delightful book honors the blessings of every auntie in a child’s life, by distinguished author Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee) and illustrator Aphelandra (Oneida).

“Hesci! Here come the aunties!”

Aunts by kinship as well as family friends, neighbors, and community members all step up to fill the important role of “auntie.” They are there for life’s joys, sorrows, and celebrations, bringing their own special love.

A wonderful gift from or for a treasured auntie!

rAs Prohibition era speakeasies and Jazz Age excitement reign supreme throughout a deeply divided country at the height of the Roaring 20s, a young psychic in small town Illinois helps the Black community fight crime and corruption in this thrilling historical mystery written by a real-life psychic medium and jazz pianist.

After the death of her brave Harlem Hellfighter husband during the First World War, young widow Nola Ann Jackson returned to her hometown of Agate, Illinois, to live with her Aunt Sarah, a known local psychic. Under her aunt’s care and tutelage, Nola has been learning how to tap into her own intuitive gifts and communicate with the spirits. And she will rely on their insightful guidance when she’s asked to help investigate a woman’s disappearance.

Lilly Davidson, the missing woman, was living at the Phyllis Wheatley Institute for Colored Girls where young ladies are educated and prepared to follow bright futures. But she vanished after a night at the Wham Bam Club where jazz music swings, prohibition is defied, and other vices are encouraged. Lilly was seen fraternizing with Eddie Smooth, trumpeter and leader of the St. Louis Stompers—and a notorious pimp. Nola finds Lilly at the club alive and well, supposedly engaged to Eddie. That same night, the Wham Bam is set afire and Eddie is killed by gunfire, leaving Lilly on the run, a suspected murderer.

Eddie Smooth had shady dealings with Agate’s wealthy elite, Black and white, making plenty of enemies with motives for wanting him dead. He was also a notorious womanizer who left several broken hearts in his wake. To prove Lilly’s innocence, Nola must listen to her spiritual instincts to unravel political schemes and personal vendettas to find a killer desperate to cover up a scandalous conspiracy . . .

An inclusive, evidence-based guide to healing and thriving as a cis or trans queer man.

As a cis or trans man who loves men, you face unique and challenging circumstances, including homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, struggles with body image, and rejection from family. In addition, the lingering effects of bigotry, discrimination, microaggressions, and hate crimes can have a traumatizing and devastating impact on your mental health and well-being. This compassionate guide offers powerful skills to help you heal the pain of trauma and thrive authentically in a world that often misunderstands or marginalizes your identity and experiences.

The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys offers you a safe, inclusive space to examine, understand, and heal from systemic and interpersonal threats to your mental well-being. Based on proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), this book provides proven-effective tools and exercises to help you reflect on, confront, and manage difficult emotions; improve self-image and self-esteem; and develop healthy coping skills.

This guidebook will help you:

* Cultivate greater self-awareness
* Move past negative thinking habits
* Heal emotional wounds and build resilience
* Challenge heteronormativity and gender role rigidity
* Care for your sexual health

Also included is a #DiggingDeeper community wellness campaign to help you reflect on the deeper questions of the book and share your own challenges and triumphs with others on social media.

If you’re struggling with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, or trauma—or feel oppressed or misunderstood by the world around you—this book can help you overcome the negative internalized messages that are causing you emotional pain, and build the self-awareness, confidence, and courage needed to embrace your unique identity and thrive.

"In a world eager to promote the newest wunderkind, grandmother theology carries us two or more generations back: to the kitchens, hair salons, gardens, and church basements of older Black women who are often invisible in theological discourse but without whom the American Christian church would cease to exist."

The church mothers who raised Yolanda Pierce, dean of Howard University School of Divinity, were busily focused on her survival. In a world hostile to Black women's bodies and spirits, they had to be. Born on a former cotton plantation and having fled the terrors of the South, Pierce's grandmother raised her in the faith inherited from those who were enslaved. Now in paperback, In My Grandmother's House follows Pierce as she reckons with that tradition, building an everyday womanist theology rooted in liberating scriptures, experiences in the Black church, and truths from Black women's lives. Pierce tells stories that center the experiences of those living on the underside of history, teasing out the tensions of race, spirituality, trauma, freedom, resistance, and memory. The paperback features a new readers' guide, written by the author, that is useful for individual reflection and group discussion.

A grandmother's theology carries wisdom strong enough for future generations. The Divine has been showing up at the kitchen tables of Black women for a long time. It's time to get to know that God.

Juanita called it "The Crash."

Her counselor labeled it "a major depressive episode." Others called it a nervous breakdown. On the spiritual front, it was a dark night of the soul.

This experience landed Juanita, a busy pastor, mother, and community leader, in bed. When everything in her life finally came to a stop, she found that she had to learn to be―with herself and with God―all over again.

If you are longing for a trustworthy companion through your dark days, this book is here for you. Each chapter includes life-giving spiritual practices to help you discover your own new ways of being.

Furo Wariboko, a young Nigerian, awakes the morning before a job interview to find that he's been transformed into a white man. In this condition he plunges into the bustle of Lagos to make his fortune. With his red hair, green eyes, and pale skin, it seems he's been completely changed. Well, almost. There is the matter of his family, his accent, his name. Oh, and his black ass. Furo must quickly learn to navigate a world made unfamiliar and deal with those who would use him for their own purposes. Taken in by a young woman called Syreeta and pursued by a writer named Igoni, Furo lands his first-ever job, adopts a new name, and soon finds himself evolving in unanticipated ways.

A. Igoni Barrett's Blackass is a fierce comic satire that touches on everything from race to social media while at the same time questioning the values society places on us simply by virtue of the way we look. As he did in Love Is Power, or Something Like That, Barrett brilliantly depicts life in contemporary Nigeria and details the double-dealing and code-switching that are implicit in everyday business. But it's Furo's search for an identity--one deeper than skin--that leads to the final unraveling of his own carefully constructed story.

An original middle-grade graphic novel starring breakout character (and New Jersey's own) Ms. Marvel!

Kamala Khan (a.k.a Ms. Marvel) is stretched too thin-literally. She's having a hard time balancing schoolwork with being a good friend, being there for her family, becoming the best fanfic writer this side of the Hudson River ... and, you know, becoming a Super Hero. She's tired and just barely keeping control, BUT she's handling it. Totally.

But when a mysterious robot tries to infiltrate Avengers Tower, it'll be up to Ms. Marvel to (again, literally) pull herself together, learn to ask for help, and fix the mess she's made before anyone gets hurt!

NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB's November 2023 Must Read Books • LIBRARY JOURNAL EDITOR PICK •

“A groundbreaking book, both bold in its premise and precise in its exploration of systemic racism in the workplace. This could not be a more urgent and necessary blueprint for progress.”—Bakari Sellers, New York Times bestselling author of My Vanishing Country

“Provides a trailblazing antiracist framework for us all.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist

"This vital and accessible study is a must-read for anyone concerned with workplace equality."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

A leading sociologist reveals why racial inequality persists in the workplace despite today’s multi-billion-dollar diversity industry—and provides actionable solutions for creating a truly equitable, multiracial future.

Labor and race have shared a complex, interconnected history in America. For decades, key aspects of work—from getting a job to workplace norms to advancement and mobility—ignored and failed Black people. While explicit discrimination no longer occurs, and organizations make internal and public pledges to honor and achieve “diversity,” inequities persist through what Adia Harvey Wingfield calls the “gray areas:” the relationships, networks, and cultural dynamics integral to companies that are now more important than ever. The reality is that Black employees are less likely to be hired, stall out at middle levels, and rarely progress to senior leadership positions.

Wingfield has spent a decade examining inequality in the workplace, interviewing over two hundred Black subjects across professions about their work lives. In Gray Areas, she introduces seven of them: Alex, a worker in the gig economy Max, an emergency medicine doctor; Constance, a chemical engineer; Brian, a filmmaker; Amalia, a journalist; Darren, a corporate vice president; and Kevin, who works for a nonprofit.

In this accessible and important antiracist work, Wingfield chronicles their experiences and blends them with history and surprising data that starkly show how old models of work are outdated and detrimental. She demonstrates the scope and breadth of gray areas and offers key insights and suggestions for how they can be fixed, including shifting hiring practices to include Black workers; rethinking organizational cultures to centralize Black employees’ experience; and establishing pathways that move capable Black candidates into leadership roles. These reforms would create workplaces that reflect America’s increasingly diverse population—professionals whose needs organizations today are ill-prepared to meet.

It’s time to prepare for a truly equitable, multiracial future and move our culture forward. To do so, we must address the gray areas in our workspaces today. This definitive work shows us how.

Gray Areas includes 15 black-and-white images and a photo insert.