From Colleen Hoover, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends with Us, comes a moving and haunting novel of family, love, and the power of the truth. Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness. The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit. Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines, when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix. Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves. Poignant and powerful, Without Merit explores the layers of lies that tie a family together and the power of love and truth.

Eighteenth-century Spanish women were not idle bystanders during one of Europe's most dynamic eras. As Theresa Ann Smith skillfully demonstrates in this lively and absorbing book, Spanish intellectuals, calling for Spain to modernize its political, social, and economic institutions, brought the question of women's place to the forefront, as did women themselves. In explaining how both discourse and women's actions worked together to define women's roles in the nation, The Emerging Female Citizen not only illustrates the rising visibility of women, but also reveals the complex processes that led to women's relatively swift exit from most public institutions in the early 1800s. As artists, writers, and reformers, Spanish women took up pens, joined academies and economic societies, formed tertulias—similar to French salons—and became active in the burgeoning public discourse of Enlightenment. In analyzing the meaning of women's presence in diverse centers of Enlightenment, Smith offers a new interpretation of the dynamics among political discourse, social action, and gender ideologies.

Definitive guide to staging successful courts of honor from physical arrangements to promotion to the ceremony itself.

In Her Honor, Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell provides a rare and thought-provoking insider account of our legal system, sharing vivid stories of the cases that came through her courtroom and revealing the strengths, flaws, and much-needed changes within our courts. Judge Cordell, the first African American woman to sit on the Superior Court of Northern California, knows firsthand how prejudice has permeated our legal system. And yet, she believes in the system. From ending school segregation to legalizing same-sex marriage, its progress relies on legal professionals and jurors who strive to make the imperfect system as fair as possible. Her Honor is an entertaining and provocative look into the hearts and minds of judges. Cordell takes you into her chambers where she haggles with prosecutors and defense attorneys and into the courtroom during jury selection and sentencing hearings. She uses real cases to highlight how judges make difficult decisions, all the while facing outside pressures from the media, law enforcement, lobbyists, and the friends and families of the people involved. Cordell’s candid account of her years on the bench shines light on all areas of the legal system, from juvenile delinquency and the shift from rehabilitation to punishment, along with the racial biases therein, to the thousands of plea bargains that allow our overburdened courts to stay afloat—as long as innocent people are willing to plead guilty. There are tales of marriages and divorces, adoptions, and contested wills—some humorous, others heartwarming, still others deeply troubling. Her Honor is for anyone who’s had the good or bad fortune to stand before a judge or sit on a jury. It is for true-crime junkies and people who vote in judicial elections. Most importantly, this is a book for anyone who wants to know what our legal system, for better or worse, means to the everyday lives of all Americans.

Impressive! Innovative! Influential! Discover and celebrate the amazing stories and achievements of 120 of America’s most inspiring women! Women have accomplished incredible things throughout American history. They’ve made and changed history. They've contributed revolutionary new ideas and moved science forward. Their inventions, businesses, literature, art, and activism helped build the nation. They've succeeded in a whole host of professions, including media, medicine, politics, government, education, sports, and the military. Trailblazing Women! Amazing Americans Who Made History shines a welcome light on some of America's most remarkable women and their enduring stories and amazing accomplishments. This fun and fascinating read covers the long history of America's heroic women. It brings you the biographies of some of America's boldest and bravest. Read about obstacles they overcame and how they flourished. It covers the lasting legacies of well-known and lesser-known stars, including ... As a young child, she sang solos and duets with her Aunt Mary at the Union Baptist Church and by the age of 6 was earning money singing at local functions throughout her hometown of Philadelphia. (Marian Anderson (1897–1993), Singer) She made headlines when she became the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in the science of geology from the elite Baltimore research university, Johns Hopkins. (Florence Bascom (1862–1945), Geologist) She said about the “me too” movement she founded: “When one person says, ‘Yeah, me, too,’ it gives permission for others to open up.” (Tarana Burke (1973–), Civil Rights Activist) The nation’s first four-star woman general has a long family history of U.S. military service—going back five generations. (Ann E. Dunwoody (1953–), Army Officer) When this celebrated U.S. Supreme Court justice served on the high court with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as one of only two women justices, she and O’Connor decided to wear special collars on decision days to carve out their visual space in a sea of black robes and ties. (Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020), Attorney, U.S. Supreme Court Justice) She made many discoveries in physics, but the most important was identifying the “magic numbers” that make protons or neutrons stable within an atomic nucleus. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for her work. (Maria Goeppert-Mayer (1906–1972), Physicist) A soccer icon who was the first woman inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame, she started playing the sport at the age of two, while her family was living in Italy. (Mia Hamm (1972–), Soccer Player) Her first name means “lotus” in the Sanskrit language, and her name, Devi, means “goddess.” (Kamala Harris (1964–), Vice President of the United States of America) She coined the term “bug” to describe computer errors after she found a moth inside one of her team’s computers. (Grace Hopper (1906–1992), Computer Scientist, Navy Rear Admiral) An acclaimed architect and artist best known for designing Washington, D.C.’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lin once said, “I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That’s art to me.” (Maya Lin (1959–), Architect) When this former first lady was growing up, she was a great athlete, but she didn’t like playing competitive sports. The reason, her big brother said, was that “she hated losing.” (Michelle Obama (1964–), Attorney, First Lady) A Cuban American and the first Latinx elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, she delivered a Spanish version of the Republican rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address in 2014. (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (1952–), Congresswoman) This acclaimed prima ballerina was the daughter of an Osage Indian father and a white mother. The Osage people gave her the name Wa-Xthe-Thomba, meaning “Woman of Two Worlds.” (Maria Tallchief (1925–2013), Ballet Dancer) A labor leader and educator, she is the current president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the former president of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), and she became the first openly gay individual to be elected president of a national American labor union. (Randi Weingarten (1957–), Educator, Labor Leader) This mathematician is the hidden hero behind the development of GPS apps on cell phones. (Gladys West (1930–), Mathematician) And many more. America has had more than its share of amazing women. The influence, inspiration, and impact of women on U.S. society and culture cannot be ignored. Explore the vital roles and vibrant experiences of some of the most impressive women in American history with Trailblazing Women! Amazing Americans Who Made History. It brings to light all there is to admire and discover about these extraordinary women.

Led by twenty-five-year-old Grace Banker, thirty-two telephone operators — affectionately called "Hello Girls" back in the US — became the first female combatants in World War I. Follow Grace Banker's journey from her busy life as a telephone switchboard trainer in New York to her pioneering role as the Chief Operator of the 1st Unit of World War I telephone operators in the battlefields of France. With expert skill, steady nerves, and steadfast loyalty, the Signal Corps operators transferred orders from commanders to battlefields and communicated top-secret messages between American and French headquarters. After faithfully serving her country —undaunted by freezing weather and fires; long hours and little sleep, and nearby shellings and far off explosions — Grace was the first and only woman operator in the Signal Corps to be awarded the Army's Distinguished Service Medal.

The amazing, all-true story of the first Girl Scouts and their visionary founder. Juliette Gordon Low--Daisy to her friends and family--was not like most girls of the Victorian era. Prim and proper? BOSH! Dainty and delicate? HOW BORING! She loved the outdoors, and she yearned for adventure! Born into a family of pathfinders and pioneers, she too wanted to make a difference in the world--and nothing would stop her. Combining her ancestors' passion for service with her own adventurous spirit and her belief that girls could do anything, she founded the Girl Scouts. One hundred years later, they continue to have adventures, do good deeds, and make a difference!