Sporting Kansas City captain Matt Besler has achieved something extraordinary in the least extraordinary way. At every level of his athletic career, Besler has heard the same questions and initial dismissal of his talent. Even as he made his slow, steady progression into the consciousness of his coaches, opponents, and fans, then onto the national and world soccer stage, he heard it still. How does a normal guy like Matt Besler end up playing in the World Cup, one of the most exclusive competitions in international sports? If it’s true that he’s a rather typical Midwestern guy, it’s also true that Matt happens to be one of the best soccer players in the country. Professional soccer is a bastion for the flamboyant—the lifestyles, the hairstyles, the WAGs, the passionate fans—yet Matt has flourished as the anti-flamboyant. He is preternaturally calm. He is stalwart. He is relentlessly committed to his preparedness and his athletic success. Matt Besler may seem to be Mr. Average, but it is this very characteristic that has made him exceptional. No Other Home offers an honest, first-person perspective into exactly what it takes to reach the highest levels of the sporting world. Matt shares his stories—from growing up in a loving but fiercely competitive family, to climbing through the ranks of high school, club, and college athletics, to dealing with injuries and professional setbacks, and even to his own rather extraordinary experience of becoming a father. The poignant lessons he’s learned so far hold value for soccer fans and nonfans alike. This is a book to be shared among family members, young and old. And for parents looking for positive influences in professional athletics, they will find no better role model than Matt. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the nonprofit charity, the BESLER FAMILY FOUNDATION.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie comes a haunting tale of love and mystery, as the date of a lifetime becomes a maddening exploration of the depths of the heart. “Malerman expertly conjures a fairy tale nostalgia of first love, and we follow along, all too willingly, ignoring the warning signs even as the fear takes hold.”—Lit Reactor The story begins: young lovers, anxious to connect, agree to a first date, thinking outside of the box. At seventeen years old, James and Amelia can feel the rest of their lives beginning. They have got this summer and this summer alone to experience the extraordinary. But they didn’t expect to find it in a house at the bottom of a lake. The house is cold and dark, but it’s also their own. Caution be damned, until being carefree becomes dangerous. For the teens must decide: swim deeper into the house—all the while falling deeper in love? Whatever they do, they will never be able to turn their backs on what they discovered together. And what they learned: Just because a house is empty, doesn’t mean nobody’s home.

Minter explores what happens when good desires become false gods, robbing people of an intimate relationship with the heavenly Father. (Christian)

A deep and intimate look at the lives of LGBTQ youth in foster care, vividly chronicling their struggles, fears and hardships, and revealing the force that allows them to carry on: the irrepressible power of hope. In this lyrical debut, Ryan Berg immerses readers in the gritty, dangerous, and shockingly underreported world of homeless LGBTQ teens in New York. As a caseworker in a group home for disowned LGBTQ teenagers, Berg witnessed the struggles, fears, and ambitions of these disconnected youth as they resisted the pull of the street, tottering between destruction and survival. Focusing on the lives and loves of eight unforgettable youth, No House to Call My Home traces their efforts to break away from dangerous sex work and cycles of drug and alcohol abuse, and, in the process, to heal from years of trauma. From Bella's fervent desire for stability to Christina's irrepressible dreams of stardom to Benny's continuing efforts to find someone to love him, Berg uncovers the real lives behind the harrowing statistics: over 4,000 youth are homeless in New York City -- 43 percent of them identify as LGBTQ. Through these stories, Berg compels us to rethink the way we define privilege, identity, love, and family. Beyond the tears, bluster, and bravado, he reveals the force that allows them to carry on -- the irrepressible hope of youth.

Randall Jarrell was only fifty-one at the time of his death, in 1965, yet he created a body of work that secured his position as one of the century's leading American men of letters. Although he saw himself chiefly as a poet, publishing a number of books of poetry, he also left behind a sparkling comic novel, four children's books, numerous translations, haunting letters, and four collections of essays. Edited by Brad Leithauser, No Other Bookdraws from these four essay collections, reminding us that Jarell the poet was also, in the words of Robert Lowell, "a critic of genius."

In the timeless tradition of "West Side Story" and "Crossing Delancey, " this thoroughly modern take on romance is sure to inspire laughter, tears, and the belief that love can happen when and where it's least expected.

No Other Life gathers in a single volume two earlier books by Gary Young, Days and the award-winning Braver Deeds, with the final book in his trilogy, If He Had. Utilizing a radically brief prose poem that in its spare lucidity leaves after images burned into the reader's imagination, Young weaves a pattern of compelling and often harrowing correspondences that Ethan Paquin described in Quarterly West as an exploration of thresholds, of levels of human endurance. Although every poem stands as an independent utterance, each book suggests a discrete poetic unit, and the entire trilogy can be read as a long poem in three parts.

When Mr. Cheeseman and his three "smart, polite, and relatively odor-free" children journey to the not-so-distant past, they meet something utterly surprising--the alternate versions of themselves.

You should know, right now, that I'm a liar. They're usually little lies. Tiny lies. Baby lies. Not so much lies as lie adjacent. But they're still lies... Golden-haired Max Monroe has it all: beauty, friends, and tons of followers. Her picture-perfect existence seems eminently enviable. Except it's all fake. "Max" is actually Kat Sanchez, a quiet and sarcastic 17-year-old living in drab Bakersfield, California. Nothing glamorous about her existence—just bad house parties, a crap school year, and the awkwardness of dealing with best friend Hari's unrequited love. But while Kat's life is far from perfect, she thrives as Max: doling out advice, sharing beautiful photos, networking with fans, even finding a real friend (or more?—Is Kat into girls!?) in a gorgeous Fat follower named Elena. But the closer Elena and "Max" get, the more Kat feels she has to keep up the façade. "Max" is the first time people have really listened to what Kat has to say—and after a lifetime of invisibility (including ice-cold indifference from her parents) can she really give that up? But when one of Kat's posts goes viral and gets back to the girl she's been stealing photos from, her entire world—real and fake—comes crashing down around her. Can she escape the web of lies she's woven without hurting the people she loves? This insightful, provocative novel—hilarious and raw by turns—is the second book from Crystal Maldonado, author of smash-hit New England Book Award Winner Fat Chance, Charlie Vega. Brilliantly plotted, deeply sensitive, and rich in voice, No Filter and Other Lies deftly addresses FOMO, first love, one-sided love, frayed family ties, raced exclusion on social media, queer awakenings, and learning to live with—and love—yourself. Because the most powerful lies are the lies we tell ourselves. Named to the ALA Rainbow Roundtable's Rainbow Book List! A POPSUGAR Best YA • A Seventeen Best YA • A Good Housekeeping Best YA Novel of the Year • A Latina Media Most Anticipated Latina Book of the Year • A Nerdist Most Anticipated Book • A School Library Journal Not-to-Miss Latinx Book • A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection "Ultrasmart."—Publishers Weekly, starred review "Stunning."—Nerdist "Brings me to tears."—Latinxs in Kid Lit