Badriya has a debt to pay. The beautiful oasis city of Aran lies at the center of the Lost, a desert haunted by ghosts, demons, and Witches of the Lost who prey on unwary souls. Badriya and her mother, having been exiled from their home on the coast, flee to the desert city for a new start. But after losing her mother to the desert—and the King and Queen of Aran dying swiftly after—Badriya is forced to live in the dark shadow of the new Queen, Solena.
This flash fiction anthology examines the experiences of being a transplant in a foreign land and looks critically at what it means to forsake tongues, traditions, and comforts in the hope of starting a new life in another world. These stories push readers to expand their understanding of the world beyond their own front doors.
Unlike most texts, debates, news reports, and fiction about climate change, From Knowledge to Power has an optimistic outlook rather than holding attention with fear and doomsaying. It helps you see a future where the problems are solved. The Earth is slowly heating up, and only we, as a global community, can stop it.
Ed Garrison has it all—a successful basketball career, a great relationship with his kid brother, the best dog a guy could ask for, and a supportive family. With summer vacation being the only thing standing between him and a full-ride scholarship to Berkeley, Ed feels invincible.
Being a Sparrow child has never been simple. Olivia, Sherman and Morgan have their faults, and they cope with their tumultuous childhood in their own unstable ways—Olivia with her excessive lifestyle, Morgan cycling through risky behaviors, and Sherman dabbling in morally-precarious business practices. They have kept their family from completely crumbling until now, but the cracks in their relationship are about to be unearthed. As their shaky foundations collide, the earthquake levels their city.
Isaac knew Heritage Camp would be different this year: he was different. While he had accepted who he was, he wasn’t sure how his peers would feel. What he didn’t expect was having to investigate the sudden death of his camp counselor.
Fifteen-year-old Laurel Summers couldn’t tell you the last words she spoke to her mother and siblings if her life depended on it. But she will never forget the image of her mother’s mangled green car on the freeway, shattering the boring world Laurel had been so desperate to escape. Now she can’t stop seeing the ghosts of her family members, which haunt her with memories of how life used to be back when her biggest problem was the kiss she shared with her best friend Hanna.
Never leave someone behind: it’s a promise easier made than kept, especially when seventeen-year-old Pip takes the headstrong twelve-year-old Iris under her protection in the wake of an earth-shattering plague. After an unspeakable tragedy, the duo must negotiate the complexities of their own identities amid the nearly unrecognizable remains of Spokane, Washington.
Claire Stanfield became a lawyer to make her father proud, but after a troubling case leaves her shaken, she escapes to Alaska and immerses herself in the world of dog sledding. Dillon Cord became a police officer to serve his community, but he moves to Nome in the wake of a life-altering incident. For both, the Iditarod—the toughest sled dog race in the world—offers a chance for forgiveness, redemption, and healing.
When Roger Henneous first dons his keeper uniform and sets foot in the Oregon Zoo, he doesn’t know what to expect. Over Roger’s thirty-year career, he discovers the joys, pains, and dangers of life in a zoo, all the while maintaining an unwavering devotion to Belle, Packy, and the rest of the Asian elephants he cares for. Roger faces many risks—but his willingness to learn the elephants’ language earns him a rare level of trust among the herd, reminding us how much we can achieve when we choose to listen.
Portland, Oregon, didn’t always have a wildly successful craft brew scene. Someone had to be daring enough to innovate, and the Widmer brothers were just the men for the job.
Written by Portland beer guru Jeff Alworth (The Beer Bible, Beer Tasting Tool Kit), The Widmer Way chronicles Kurt and Rob Widmer’s journey from humble homebrewers to craft beer pioneers and purveyors of the iconic Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen. Alworth also dives deep into Portland’s history, setting the scene for Widmer’s rise in the city now known for its exquisite beer.
Sixteen-year-old Mattie Rollins has her life all figured out. She’ll ace her high school classes, earn a college scholarship, and create a new life for herself and her family. But Mattie’s brilliant plans begin to crumble when her family is forced to move into their beat-up station wagon, Ruby. Then, her mother mysteriously disappears.
