As seventeen-year-old Imani, star of her high school basketball team, struggles with the SATs and worries about the cost of college tuition, other girls in her crowd deal with grimmer problems, including drug addiction, domestic violence, and teenage pregnancy.

Imani's dream to get a basketball scholarship to Howard University is almost ruined after she breaks her wrist, an incident that occurs when her friend Dominique, high on drugs, crashes into her at practice.

A comforting story of faith and love, Never Say Goodbye, whispers to children the tale of one little bunny who is led to overcome the departure of a loved one. "Make a memory . . . hear me with your heart . . . ," Netta whispers to her little bunny. Hurting hearts are healed with hope in this timeless message, beautifully illustrated by Maryn Roos.

Volume II has more engaging, motivating, and meaningful titles and activities to share with your students. Impact literacy in your school by inspiring even the most reluctant students to pick up books and read. This popular book includes curriculum-related activities for educators to pick up and use right away to meet national standards and raise students' test scores. Find age-appropriate titles on the American Library Association (ALA) and International Reading Association (IRA) recommended reading lists for your students.

Use these 100 handy reproducible book lists to instantly create handouts for teen readers and teachers, add to your newsletter, or post on your web site or bulletin board. Based on the most common needs of educators and librarians who work with teen readers, these lists focus on new titles and classics that are still in print and readily available for purchase. Fiction and nonfiction titles for ages 13-18 are covered. Bibliographic information and a brief description are given for each title. A dozen bookmarks are also included. This is a great time-saving tool and a good source for finding extended reading lists and read-alikes! Looking for humorous novels for teen readers? A fast-paced sports novel for a reluctant reader? Biographies to use in history class? You'll find these lists and more in this treasury of great reading lists. This versatile guide provides one-page reproducible book lists and bookmarks for: books about self (e.g., coming-of-age, perfectionism, gangs; genre literature (e.g., fantasy, romance, historical fiction); themes (e.g., extreme sports, vampires, peace; settings (e.g., Ellis Island, Dust Bowl, WWII); character studies (e.g., adventure with female protagonist, boy bonding books, fantasy heroes); and read-alikes (for bookmarks). More than 100 reproducible lists of books for ages 13-18 (junior/senior high) focus on new titles and classics that are still in print and readily available for purchase. Bibliographic information and a brief description are given for each title.

And years later, when she finally evolved a mind that could examine itself, she wondered how such concepts as fear of her own thoughts, shame of her own bodythe very vessel that nature fashioned and her soul adornedarose at all. When did her body become something alienseparate from her? So begins UNBOWED, the story of Basma, an obedient wife who makes an unwitting decision with far-reaching consequences. Filled with sex, forbidden love, shocking brutality, unflinching feminist prose, and chador-wearing gladiators carrying AK-47s, nevertheless, UNBOWED is a story of Hope. Set in present day cosmopolitan cities of New York, London and Paris, with their burgeoning immigrant populations, and spanning other international locales, UNBOWED weaves together three plot lines to illuminate the violent extremes some patriarchal cultures have gone toto reinforce absolute power over women and girlsand the equally extreme, yet opposite, paths three women embark on, to change the game.

Not your typical romantic escapade, When Your Body Gets Weak depicts a May/November romance. The story blends intrigue, suspense, jealousy, desolation, physical fitness, camaraderie, and triumph, re-enforcing the principle that chivalry is still alive and well. Imani’s soulmate, Sonjae, a young man fifteen years younger than herself, was scheduled to attend a meeting in one of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Imani refuses to acknowledge that Sonjae has perished, despite media reports and data about the survival possibilities of those present in the buildings. The book demonstrates that young men can sustain the timeless attribute of chivalry, while still maintaining virility with their male peers. When Your Body Gets Weak will also inspire women to acknowledge their own strength no matter the circumstance, as well as the power of unquestionable faith, and the unconditional love that transcends adversarial occurrences. “I sincerely hope that when you turn the final page, you will concur that age indeed is just a number,” says the author. Part of the novel pays homage to those who perished on 9/11 and their families.