Fifteen years ago, the Match decided their futures.

It didn’t prepare them for this.

MacKenzie was never supposed to see Evan again. Not after their relationship fell apart during internship year—when matching to different cities shattered their plans and their engagement. She’s built a new life since then. She's raising her son, minding her business, and staying far away from the mess of her past.

But when her son enrolls at an elite swim academy, MacKenzie walks straight into a reunion she never asked for.
Evan. Her ex. Older. Finer. Still the one man who makes her forget how to breathe.

Evan has questions. About why things ended the way they did. About why seeing MacKenzie again makes it so hard to focus on anything else. About whether fifteen years is too long to fix something that never should’ve broken.

The chemistry between them? Unresolved.

The baggage? Unpacked and sitting poolside.

The meddling exes? Working overtime.

They never got closure. Now, they might get something hotter.

A young boy learns that he is walking in the footsteps of greatness through a vibrant, lyrical retelling of Black history—both a love letter to Black children and an anthem empowering them to know their God-given worth.

“A reminder to Black children that they are capable of greatness.”—Kirkus Reviews

You came bustling into the world,
a mighty bundle of energy, ready to do great things.
And no wonder.
You stand on the shoulders of those who came before,
and you, too, were born to shine.

Starting with his birth, the boy’s father lays out the history of his son’s ancestry: from the love and warmth of a big family, to the change makers and status shakers, the inventors and engineers, the astronomers, philosophers, and storytellers, the leaders and the doctors. The father details the legacy and impact of Black ancestors whose determination, strength, dedication, creativity, and leadership contributed to making the world better.

Throughout the story, the boy discovers the rich heritage of those that have gone before him and learns how he embodies that same greatness. He, too, has the power to change the world by embracing exactly who God made him to be.

You Come from Greatness includes illustrations of Black historical figures such as Wangari Muta Maathai, Ellie Mannette, Rebecca Lee Crumpler, and more, with twenty short biographies at the end of the book.

“An absolutely delightful romp that you need in your life.” —C. B. Lee, New York Times bestselling author of Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe

A teen mystic will do anything to solve a series of love-related magical mishaps plaguing her high school, including fake dating her boss's daughter, in this charming sapphic romance.

Magic lingers in the cozy town of Fair Glen, Illinois, and it’s up to the agents at the Bureau of Mystical Affairs to keep it in check. Monroe Bennett, a junior recruit at the Bureau, is ready to ace her first assignment: tracking down the source of a rogue love charm.

Protecting her charmed classmates, including the Bureau Director’s daughter Iris James, is top priority. But when Iris asks Monroe to fake date her to make her ex jealous, things get complicated.

Monroe believes in duty, not romance. Yet the more time she spends with Iris, the harder it is to ignore the very real sparks flying between them. Can Monroe protect herself from love long enough to solve this case, or will her growing feelings get in the way?

In the first book of a new series inspired by African mythology, dragon gods rule the earth and sky—until the gods are betrayed, and one girl embarks on a journey to save the world from war and ruin. From the New York Times bestselling author of Skin of the Sea.

The people are calling . . .
And the gods will answer.

Moremi has only ever known peace in the Kingdom of Kwa, thanks to the two dragon gods keeping an unspeakable evil at bay. But when the king tries to claim the gods’ power for himself, it all goes dreadfully wrong. The great dragons are injured and flee . . . and the world’s darkest shadows are released.

Suddenly, Kwa’s ancient tales of monsters become all too real. Yet as death comes for those around her, Moremi somehow finds herself magically connected to both dragon gods—a feat that should be impossible.

Now, Moremi is Kwa’s only hope for restoring the gods to full strength. But will Jagun, the mysterious prince, let her anywhere near the dragons? And how does her childhood friend, Nox, feel about it all? It may not matter in the end, because if Moremi fails her quest, then she risks the earth caving in and the sky crumbling down.

An illustrated history that celebrates the legacy of Black actors, films, and filmmakers from the silent era through today and explores the deeply embedded racism of the film industry, from the award-winning author of The Black Panther Party

In Black Film, Eisner Award-winning author David F. Walker presents an immersive dive into the crucial history of Black actors, films, and filmmakers. Following closely behind the very first moving picture captured by Eadward Muybridge in 1872, Thomas Edison's thirty-second "actualities" from the late 1890s, including A Watermelon Contest and Dancing Darkey Boy, are among the first short films to depict Black people. These can be considered the earliest examples of how the film industry would go on to exploit, appropriate, and shape the narrative of Black people for the duration of its development.

Divided by decade, each section of the book covers an important era and milestone for Black film, highlighting both difficulties and triumphs through time. For example:

* The harmful popularization of blackface and minstrel shows (1890-1914)
* The emergence of racist feature-length movies such as Birth of a Nation after the advancement of sound in film, countered by the success of pioneering Black filmmakers such as Oscar Michaeux and brothers George and Noble Johnson (1915-1928)
* The rise of trailblazing actors such as Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge (1950-1959)
* The roots of Blaxploitation as a subgenre and how Black people ultimately saved Hollywood during trying times (1970-1979)
* The exciting crossover of hip-hop music into film (1980-1989)
* The box office success of Marvel's The Black Panther, Moonlight's history-making Best Picture win, and more.

With gorgeous illustrations, film stills, and rare pieces of ephemera, Black Film celebrates the glowing contributions of Black actors and filmmakers, without shying away from discussing the racism that is rooted in Hollywood—an important reality to address in order to make progress.

A COLLECTION OF INCISIVE ESSAYS ABOUT AFRICAN ART, CULTURE AND THE CONTINENT’S STRUGGLE TO SHAKE OFF EUROPEAN RULE

Too many of our convictions about the fifty-four nations of Africa come from non-African sources. Western media often treat the continent as a simulacrum of Western anxieties. In contrast, Jeremy Harding focuses on specific historical episodes and cultural practices – cinema, art, ethnography and journalism – to steer us away from treacherous generalisations.

Analogue Africa celebrates the ingenuity with which African artists – and a handful of Europeans – have reimagined the colonial encounter and voiced their impatience with white minority rule. Among his illustrious cast of filmmakers, photographers, writers and painters are Seydou Keïta, Sanlé Sory, Ernest Cole, Sarah Maldoror, John Akomfrah, William Kentridge and Binyavanga Wainaina. Harding argues that Western museums with priceless African holdings – the British Museum, the Musée du Quai Branly, the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium – are now the sites of a struggle over the colonial past, adding the latest chapter to an unfinished history.

Black women are facing a systemic gynecological health crisis. This book gives them the tools needed to unlearn the medical normalization of their suffering and offers a path forward to healing—by a foremost physician, surgeon, researcher, and gynecological cancer expert.

When Dr. Kemi Doll first began training to be a gynecologic cancer surgeon, she quickly noticed that the level of care being offered to women was rarely equal. She started to ask herself: Whose pain was believed? Who was “high maintenance” vs. “angry and non-compliant”? Who died? White women’s pain was doubted, but Black women’s pain was often outright denied. And the locus of this crisis was the womb. Day by day, fibroids, bleeding, inflammation, and cancer struck Black women the hardest, yet the medical field cared very little about their fate. When student physicians would explicitly bring up these alarming disparities, Dr. Doll's teachers would reply: “Black women just don’t do well with this,” followed by, “We don’t really know why.”

Since then, Dr. Doll has made it her goal to give Black women the tools they need to unlearn what she calls “womb suffering.” For all women navigating gynecologic care, and the medical professionals who care for them, this comprehensive, authoritative book of science-backed information and lived experience covers:

* The mechanisms behind the four primary conditions that affect the womb—often with fatal consequences—including Endometriosis, Fibroids, Heavy Bleeding, and Endometrial cancer.
* An overview of the research conducted on reproductive health outside pregnancy—the lack of which has caused healthcare inequity and obstructed access to care
* Gripping stories of smart, successful women struggling with and overcoming Womb Suffering
* What good gynecologic health looks like and why it is vital to reclaiming a full, healthy life; how to feel and respond to your body’s signals; and the tools and vocabulary needed to help advocate and prepare for medical visits.

A Terrible Strength links women’s health care to timely conversations on racial justice and healthcare inequity, arming women with the power to secure vibrant health and well-being for the rest of their lives.

Security breaches? Check. Dimensional chaos? Naturally. Forbidden attraction? Oh, absolutely!

Jericha Brown the fierce, no-nonsense head of her own security firm, just landed the contract of a lifetime-until her lead agent walks out, taking half the team with him. What a jerk!

With her reputation and business on the line, Jericha does the unthinkable: reaches out to a former frenemy for help.

But to Jericha's surprise, little Miss Steal a Dream sold her business to an infuriatingly smug (and dangerously hot) newcomer named Raymond Statton. Desperate, Jericha hires him as a temporary subcontractor, only to uncover a secret that flips her world upside down: Raymond is a Shadow Walker, a rare and powerful being who can slip between dimensions.

It's shocking, sure... but Jericha's got her own magical skeletons in the closet, and when their secrets (and maybe a few clothing items) start flying, things get messy fast. Like, flaming-sword-in-the-office and surprise-demons-on-the-rooftop kind of messy.

Witty, wild, and a little bit wicked-this is what happens when enemies-to-lovers meets magical workplace comedy and nobody reads the HR manual.

All the "awwws" of animal adoption stories are combined with sugary sweetness is this new, fun-filled chapter book series about a cat café!

Every home needs a cat!

Kira Parker lives above The Purrfect Cup, the cat café that her family owns and runs. Every day is a new adventure with her cat friends! Except lately, The King County Dog Show seems to be the only thing the regulars can talk about!

Kira doesn’t get why everyone is so excited. After all, her cat friends are much smarter and more talented than those dogs. Then Kira has a GREAT IDEA -- she’s going to train the cats, and enter them in the competition. It’s sure to be her best plan yet!

Black women deserve a safe therapeutic space to process their experiences.

As the fastest growing population in education, economics, entrepreneurship, and international travel, Black women are forging a world of their own. They are breaking generational cycles, reinventing social norms, and developing new identities. However, as a double marginalized minority, Black women are also navigating socially constructed ideas of race, oppression, and privilege. Many well-intentioned clinicians lack the skills and knowledge to properly support, guide, and develop inquiries with these clients.

Clinicians will find foundational information on the types of experiences that cause many Black women to seek therapy as well as ways to support them on their therapeutic journey. Topics such as nontraditional lifestyles, work ethic and legacy, understanding friendships, embracing newfound freedoms and opportunities, moving beyond stereotypes, understanding and working with emotions, addressing trauma, and mental health disorders through a cultural lens are explored.

Throughout the book, therapist tips, catalyst questions (springboard questions on certain topics), examples, and journaling prompts are shared to help clinicians and clients work together to explore undiscovered depths, ways of healing, and improve mental health.

19 black-and-white tables

An elegant biography of a prescient author whose novels portray Black women’s experiences across the African diaspora
 
Growing up in World War II–era Brooklyn among West Indian immigrants, Paule Marshall (1929–2019) was fiercely driven to become a writer, making art from the world she knew, the life she lived, and the world she imagined. Though her novels and stories are understood by scholars as the beginning of contemporary Black feminist literature―bridging Harlem Renaissance writers like Zora Neale Hurston to such writers as Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Maya Angelou―Marshall’s legacy is often overlooked. In this elegant literary biography, distinguished scholar of African American literature Mary Helen Washington draws on exclusive access to the writer’s papers, including her newly discovered unpublished memoir, and scores of interviews with family and friends to give us the first account of Marshall’s life as an artist and of the depth and brilliance of her work.
 
Beginning with her 1959 debut, Brown Girl, Brownstones, a coming-of-age story set among Barbadian immigrants and African Americans in Brooklyn, and moving through her later works set in the Caribbean, Africa, and the United States, Marshall’s novels chart the diasporic life that Marshall herself lived, defined by Black women’s experiences, an unapologetic and sometimes queer sexuality, and the history of the African diaspora. Despite the lush and finely observed inner lives of her heroines, however, Marshall was famous for tightly guarding her own privacy, and it is this enigma―Marshall’s deeply expressive writing versus her guarded public exterior―that Washington draws out. Here is the first look at a prescient, brilliantly talented writer, a complex and fascinating woman, whose fiction single-handedly stages a reverse middle passage that extends from the United States and the Caribbean to Africa.

Fostering authentic connection between clients living under systemic oppression.

BIPOC and LGBTQI relationships have unique needs because minority stress, racialized trauma, and transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia can compromise one’s ability to feel safe enough to connect to the world and others. Yet, all too often, marginalized couples are let down by conventional therapeutic models which were designed for white, cisgendered, heterosexual clients.

This book puts forth an innovative therapeutic approach specifically designed for working with the impact of systemic oppression in couples therapy. Divided into three parts, therapists will explore systemic trauma, discover ways to build transformative therapeutic postures via the BIOME and PRIDE models, and make use of actionable methods to support clients. By practicing critical consciousness, prioritizing the lived experiences of clients, and moving delicately through the imbalance of power inherent in the therapeutic relationship, clinicians will gain a better understanding of their clients’ intimate relationship experiences, and how best to serve them.

Practitioners are invited to become active agents of change, making this not only a practical guide but also a call to action for fostering a more just and equitable world in which intimacy flourishes for all. 

7 black-and-white illustrations; 3 black-and-white tables

"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.

The big-hearted, bestselling South Korean memoir co-written by two best friends flouting gender norms and societal expectations with their decision to grow old together under one roof.

When most of their peers were moving in with romantic partners and having children, Kim Hana and Hwang Sunwoo chose independence—savoring solitude, quiet mornings, and the unmitigated freedom of living alone. But in their forties, something shifted, and they were met with a new, unexpected loneliness. Refusing to settle for the outdated choice between marriage or isolation, Hana and Sunwoo made a radical decision: to buy a home and live together—not as lovers, not as roommates, but as chosen family.

Now a bustling household of two women and four cats, Hana and Sunwoo still value solitude, but can do so while sharing a life and its meaning with someone else. Together they navigate the challenges and comforts of cohabiting in midlife, the growing pains of interdependence and the unexpected rewards of compromise when you’ve grown set in your ways. From sick days to career wins to aging parents and beach-side retirement plans, they are redefining domestic bliss on their own terms, where love, partnership, and home are defined not by tradition, but by choice.

With warmth, wit, and sharp social insight, Hana and Sunwoo share their blueprint for building a life outside the scripts of marriage and society’s expectations for women. Two Women Living Together is a quiet revolution—a celebration of female friendship, community, and the many forms that love and family can take.

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 . . .

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.

On its one-hundredth anniversary, a powerful and essential meditation on the origins, evolution, and future of Black History Month from one of America’s leading historians of Black education and the author of American Grammar.

In I’ll Make Me a World, acclaimed Harvard scholar Jarvis R. Givens takes us on a personal and political journey through the 100-year history of Black History Month—from its radical beginnings in 1926 as “Negro History Week” to its role today as a celebration and flashpoint in America’s cultural battles. Drawing on archival research, personal stories involving family and students, and especially the wisdom of Black educators, Givens recovers the legacy of Carter G. Woodson and many others who envisioned Black history as a liberatory force—knowledge that shapes who we are, how we resist, and what we dream.

With striking clarity, Givens challenges today’s myopic commemorations of iconic figures and urges us to expand our understanding of Black history to include the everyday lives of ordinary people—the “workadays” whose stories have long gone untold but form critical parts of Black history. Indeed, people who played important roles in passing on Black memories that helped disrupt oppressively narrow perspectives on human life. Givens also attends to the labor involved in preserving Black history, especially in intellectual environments where it is constantly denigrated and undervalued, and he insists that more transparency about such processes is necessary to ensure this worthy tradition is passed on to future generations.

I’ll Make Me A World is a call to remember, reimagine, and reclaim an intellectual tradition built by communities well before our time, and to take seriously what is politically at stake in its preservation. At a time when Black history is under attack, this book offers an inspiring vision for how it can still be a source of power, truth, and possibility.

What if the life you dream of isn’t just possible—it’s one smart trade away?

The Risk Worth Taking: A Story of Breaking Free and Trading for the Life You Love is an empowering parable inspired by real-life transformations. Follow Erin’s journey from burnout to breakthrough as she trades corporate chaos for financial freedom through stock trading.

When an unexpected event forces her to reevaluate everything, Erin steps into a world she never imagined—learning to trade, mastering the market, and reclaiming her time, freedom, and purpose. But her journey isn’t just about dollars and charts—it’s about rediscovering herself, taking risks, and rewriting her future.

This isn’t a textbook—it’s a transformational story packed with practical tools, emotional breakthroughs, and powerful lessons. Whether you're a trading rookie or looking to reignite your financial goals, this story will inspire you to bet on yourself.

Inside, you’ll learn how to:
• Use trading as a pathway to personal and financial freedom
• Build wealth without sacrificing your time
• Develop confidence with simple, actionable trading strategies
• Work from anywhere and live life on your terms
• Embrace risk, bounce back from failure, and trust yourself fully

Your next chapter starts now.

Are you ready to take the risk that changes everything?

Futuring Black Lives is a historical ethnography examining Black institution builders in the late 1960s and early 1970s and their work to leverage the power of publications and the literary imagination to engage “concerned men and women” in conversations about the educational journeys and futures of Black children. While many began as reactions to anti-Blackness and American public schooling failing Black children, Independent Black Institutions (IBIs) came to be viable ecosystems anchored in a shared Black value system preparing Black children in three areas: identity, purpose, and direction.

The rationale for establishing and valuing IBIs remains highly relevant, given the sociopolitical landscape of education today. In addition to persistent racial disparities in academic achievement and Black students’ highly disproportionate experiences of punishment and “discipline,” friction and legislation against critical examination of race, racism, and racist ideas in school settings are front and center, and children’s and young adult literature are under attack through censorship and outright book bans. Yet Black institution builders left useful maps of and for the educational future/s of Black children that remain available in journals, newspapers, pamphlets, and other ephemera. Author Maisha T. Winn demonstrates how and why the historiography-grounded futuring of Black education can and should inform current pursuits of equity, justice, and liberation through education.

Bernardo Wade’s A Love Tap—introduced by award-winning poet and essayist Ross Gay—reckons with complexities of racial identity, masculinity, recovery, and spirituality, revealing the narrative and psychic evolution of a poet who has found himself in the language.

Wade’s evocative debut swaggers through time, through family, through love, through the perseverance of growing up in the deep South as a Black son with a white mom. Illustrating the strangeness and cacophony of his native New Orleans, he divines sweet relief in small mercies—a rosary strung with Mardi Gras beads, a Sunday football game, Nigel Hall covering Frankie Beverly in Lafayette Square, bare feet in a stream, a mother kneading dough. In intimate, nuanced portraits of loved ones, in requiems and broken sestinas, he pushes past his trauma, troubling the years he spent in addiction or resenting his father.

As he maps out the parts he played in his life’s most formative moments, he can’t help but “retune the heart / strings of hard men,” teaching us how to become more human, often in the face of inhumanity. Here, he manages to land, not a crushing blow, but a love tap—the softest way to knuckle another’s cheek.

This book is also freely available online as an open-access digital edition:

https://manifold.ecds.emory.edu/projects/finding-god-in-all-the-black-places

(https://dhjhkxawhe8q4.cloudfront.net/rup-wp-v2/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/28132142/9781978839809.pdf)

In Finding God in All the Black Places, Beretta E. Smith-Shomade contends that Black spirituality and Black church religiosity are the critical crux of Black popular culture. She argues that cultural, community, and social support live within the Black church and that spirit, art, and progress are deeply entwined and seal this connection. Including the work of artists such as Mary J. Blige, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Prince, Spike Lee, and Oprah Winfrey, the book examines contemporary Black television, film, music and digital culture to demonstrate the role, impact, and dominance of spirituality and religion in Black popular culture. Smith-Shomade believes that acknowledging and comprehending the foundations of Black spirituality and Black church religiosity within Black popular culture provide a way for viewers, listeners, and users not only to endure but also to revitalize.

Propelled by female desire, shaped by the violence of the male gaze, and inspired by the endless vitality of old stories remade anew, Restoration takes on Bluebeard, Salvador Elizondo, Juan Rulfo, Angela Carter, Octavio Paz, Mariana Enriquez, and Amparo Dávila to produce a novel of obsession, reclamation, and romance gone very, very wrong.Jasmina has been hired by her maybe-boyfriend to restore his family home, a grubby, abandoned time capsule where a great artist once lived. As she moves from room to room – scrubbing, scraping, plastering over cracks – the stories inhabiting them awaken, and the lives of the women who came before her begin to overlap with her own. Who is the woman in the photograph? And what secrets linger in that last locked room?Restoration is a ghost story with porous borders, between Jasmina and these forgotten women, between the novel and us. And the questions Barrera asks may be about what’s behind our own barred door.

This comparison of the political and social systems of Europe and black Africa from antiquity to the formation of modern states demonstrates the black contribution to the development of Western civilization.

Haitian Vodou is a fascinating spiritual tradition rich with ceremonies and magic, songs and prayers, dances and fellowship. Yet outside of Haiti, next to no one understands this joyous and profound way of life. ln Haitian Vodou, Mambo Chita Tann explores the historical roots and contemporary practices of this unique tradition, including discussions of:

* Customs, beliefs, sacred spaces, and ritual objects
* Characteristics and behaviors of the Lwa, the spirits served by Vodou practitioners
* Common misconceptions such as "voodoo dolls" and the zombie phenomenon
* Questions and answers for attending ceremonies and getting involved in a sosyete (Vodou house)
* Correspondence tables, Kreyol glossary, supplemental prayer texts, and an extensive list of reference books and online resources

Well-researched, comprehensive, and engaging, Haitian Vodou will be a welcome addition for people new to Haitian spirituality as well as for students, practitioners, and academics.

From a star of the climate justice movement, a fresh, radical perspective for real climate action and “an indispensable toolkit for a new generation of activists” (Naomi Klein). 

For too long, representations of climate action in the mainstream media have been white-washed, green-washed and diluted to be made compatible with capitalism. In It’s Not That Radical, Loach addresses head-on the issues at the root of the climate crisis.

As Loach shows, we are living in an economic system which pursues profit above all else; harmful, oppressive systems that heavily contribute to the climate crisis, and environmental consequences that have been toned down to the masses. Tackling the climate crisis requires us to visit the roots of poverty, capitalist exploitation, police brutality, and legal injustice. Climate justice offers the real possibility of huge leaps towards racial equality and collective liberation as it aims to dismantle the very foundations of these issues.

Written with candor and hope, It's Not That Radical will galvanize readers to take action, offering a practical and transformative appraisal of our circumstances to help mobilize a majority for the future of our planet.

Nothing is impossible—not even being brave enough to ice skate again after a fall! With a poetic text and dazzling illustrations, Come Catch a Dream will appeal to every child chasing their dream, and fans of The Snowy Day, Jabari Jumps, and After the Fall.

A young Black child passes an ice rink every day walking home with Momma. Last year, the rink was tricky. It looked clear and smooth, but felt rough and rude after a fall. Brrr! Ouch! Even so, the child hasn’t been able to stop thinking about that rink. The young skater is determined to do something for the first time: a spin on the ice. Because, as Momma says, nothing is impossible.

Award-winning author Brittany J. Thurman’s rich use of language and rhythm makes for a text that is perfect for reading aloud, while illustrator Islenia Mil’s vibrant artwork captures the anticipation and excitement of a winter day at the ice rink. For fans of Gaia Cornwall and Dan Santat.

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • One of the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard reveals the hidden lives of her fellow undocumented Americans in this deeply personal and groundbreaking portrait of a nation.

“Karla’s book sheds light on people’s personal experiences and allows their stories to be told and their voices to be heard.”—Selena Gomez

FINALIST FOR THE NBCC JOHN LEONARD AWARD • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, NPR, THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, BOOK RIOT, LIBRARY JOURNAL, AND TIME

Writer Karla Cornejo Villavicencio was on DACA when she decided to write about being undocumented for the first time using her own name. It was right after the election of 2016, the day she realized the story she’d tried to steer clear of was the only one she wanted to tell. So she wrote her immigration lawyer’s phone number on her hand in Sharpie and embarked on a trip across the country to tell the stories of her fellow undocumented immigrants—and to find the hidden key to her own. 
 
Looking beyond the flashpoints of the border or the activism of the DREAMers, Cornejo Villavicencio explores the lives of the undocumented—and the mysteries of her own life. She finds the singular, effervescent characters across the nation often reduced in the media to political pawns or nameless laborers. The stories she tells are not deferential or naively inspirational but show the love, magic, heartbreak, insanity, and vulgarity that infuse the day-to-day lives of her subjects. 
 
In New York, we meet the undocumented workers who were recruited into the federally funded Ground Zero cleanup after 9/11. In Miami, we enter the ubiquitous botanicas, which offer medicinal herbs and potions to those whose status blocks them from any other healthcare options. In Flint, Michigan, we learn of demands for state ID in order to receive life-saving clean water. In Connecticut, Cornejo Villavicencio, childless by choice, finds family in two teenage girls whose father is in sanctuary. And through it all we see the author grappling with the biggest questions of love, duty, family, and survival. 
 
In her incandescent, relentlessly probing voice, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio combines sensitive reporting and powerful personal narratives to bring to light remarkable stories of resilience, madness, and death. Through these stories we come to understand what it truly means to be a stray. An expendable. A hero. An American.

From the Booker Prize finalist, author of The Island of Missing Trees, an enchanting new tale about three characters living along two great rivers, all connected by a single drop of water. • "Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf [and] in your heart. You won't regret it."—Arundhati Roy, winner of the Booker Prize

In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.

In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.

In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.

A dazzling feat of storytelling, There Are Rivers in the Sky entwines these outsiders with a single drop of water, which remanifests across the centuries. A source of life and harbinger of death, rivers—the Tigris and the Thames—transcend history, transcend fate: “Water remembers. It is humans who forget.”

The first in-depth analysis of the stunning designs of one of the world’s most captivating and prominent architects

Born in Tanzania, David Adjaye (b. 1966) is rapidly emerging as a major international figure in architecture and design—and this stunning catalogue serves only to cement his role as one of the most important architects of our time. His expanding portfolio of important civic architecture, public buildings, and urban planning commissions spans Europe, the United States, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He transforms complex ideas and concepts into approachable and innovative structures that respond to the geographical, ecological, technological, engineering, economic, and cultural systems that shape the practice of global architecture. The publication of this compendium of work and essays coincides with the scheduled opening of Adjaye’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Adjaye’s completed work in the United States includes the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, a pair of public libraries in D.C., and several private residences. He is also known for his collaborations with artists, most recently with the British painter Chris Ofili (b. 1968).
 
Following an introduction by Zoë Ryan, Adjaye writes on his current and future work, with subsequent essays by an extraordinary cadre of architectural scholars on Adjaye’s master plans and urban planning, transnational architecture, monuments and memorials, and, finally, the forthcoming museum in D.C. Portfolios of Adjaye’s work thread throughout this comprehensive volume.

Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago and Haus der Kunst

Exhibition Schedule:

Haus der Kunst, Munich
(01/30/15–06/28/15)

The Art Institute of Chicago
(09/19/15–01/03/16)

The Sovereign brings princess Luca and soldier Touraine together one last time in the thrilling conclusion to C. L. Clark's beloved queer political fantasy trilogy. 

Luca is the new queen of Balladaire. Her empire is already splintering in her hands. Her uncle wasn’t the only traitor in the court, and the Withering plague will decimate her people if she can’t unearth Balladaire’s magic. The only person who can help her wants the only thing Luca won’t give—the end of the monarchy. 

Touraine is Luca’s general. She has everything she ever wanted. While Luca looks within Balladaire’s borders, Touraine looks outward—the alliance with Qazal is brittle and Balladaire’s neighbors are ready to pounce on its new weakness. When the army comes, led by none other than Touraine’s old lover, Touraine must face the truth about herself—and the empire she once called home. 

A storm is coming. Touraine and Luca will stand against it together, or it will tear them apart once and for all.

Magic of the Lost
The Unbroken
The Faithless
The Sovereign

World champion high jumper Chaunté Lowe pens the captivating story of her journey from an impoverished childhood full of big dreams and devastating hurdles, to becoming a bronze medal-winning US Olympian.

Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future.

Everything seemed set against Chaunté Lowe. Growing up with a single mother in Paso Robles, California, where she experienced food insecurity, homelessness, and domestic abuse, Chaunté couldn't imagine a future that offered a different sort of life. But then, one day, she turned on the TV and there was Flo Jo, competing in the Olympics and shattering records in track and field. Almost immediately, Chaunté knew what she wanted to do. She started running.

With the help of a small community of friends, family, and coaches, Chaunté worked as hard as she could - both in the classroom and out on the sports field - and through her own fierce determination and grit, she overcame every imaginable obstacle, eventually propelling herself to the place she always dreamed about: the Olympic medal podium.

Boundless is a story that will move anyone who's ever had a big dream, ever dared to hope for a better future, and ever believed that nothing was impossible. In her own words, Chaunté presents her remarkable and inspiring story of loss and survival, perseverance and hope.

Ready, set, go! Layla and the Bots are heading to the races!

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!Blossom Valley is hosting a go-kart race! The go-karts are provided for all the kids in town. Layla and the Bots can't wait for race day! But one racer, Tina, needs their help. She needs a new cart that uses hand-controls and other cool features. Layla and the Bots know just what to do... they will build her a brand-new cart that's even faster than her wheelchair! But will Tina's go-kart have enough speed to win the race? With full-color artwork on every page and speech bubbles throughout, this early chapter book series brings kid-friendly STEAM topics to young readers!