Radical Reads 2 picks up where the first volume left off, featuring 101 radical young adult books that have come out since its publication. Author Joni Richards Bodart defends their inclusion in library collections and school curricula after introducing each book with lists of characters and major themes. She also suggests a number of 'booktalk' and book report ideas, also identifying books with mature themes in her 'risks' section. Included as well is a section that lists the awards that the books have won and a section of book reviews.

NATIONAL BEST SELLER • A collection of quotes from the internationally acclaimed author of Wild—drawn from the wide range of her writings—that capture her wisdom, courage, and outspoken humor, presented in a gift-sized package that's as irresistible to give as it is to receive. "Cheryl Strayed is a tough-love truth-teller.... Brave Enough amount[s] to a galvanizing call to be bigger, bolder, more generous.” —The Washington Post Around the world, thousands of people have found inspiration in the words of Cheryl Strayed, who in her three prior books and in her "Dear Sugar" columns has shared the twists and trials of her remarkable life. Her honesty, spirit, and ample supply of tough love have enabled many of us, even in the darkest hours, to somehow put one foot in front of the other—and be brave enough. This book gathers, each on a single page, more than 100 of Strayed's indelible quotes and thoughts—"mini instruction manuals for the soul" that urge us toward the incredible capacity for love, compassion, forgiveness, and endurance that is within us all. · Be brave enough to break your own heart. · You can't ride to the fair unless you get on the pony. · Keep walking. · Acceptance is a small, quiet room. · Romantic love is not a competitive sport. · Forward is the direction of real life. · Ask yourself: What is the best I can do? And then do that.

"The Gospel story for kids" -- p. 4 of cover.

Proposing a conceptual framework for evaluating "hand-held" books, Dresang (information studies, Florida State U.) explains how books are changing along with developments in digital information and how librarians, teachers, and parents can recognize and use books to create connections for and among young people using digital concepts and designs that emphasize multilayered, nonlinear stories and information. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Radical young adult fiction can be edgy and raw, which is why young adults who read it find it to be very relevant to their lives. Teens struggling with issues in today's society can often recognize themselves and identify their problems in the fictional lives they read about. There are no easy answers or pat endings in these books. They often are accused of being dark, gritty, and bleak because they deal with subjects like incest, teenage pregnancy, dysfunctional families, gangs, prejudice, violence, drugs, or other complex problems. Central characters can be quite mature and multidimensional and plot lines are complex. These books break boundaries in various ways, from the challenge they present to the reader to the voice they give to their young protagonists. Radical YA fiction is frequently more complex and better written than many adult bestsellers. Bodart, long known as the reigning queen of booktalking, has identified 101 engaging, tough, and well-written books and presents them in a way that will help the librarian defend their presence in the library or classroom, the parent who wants to know what their child is reading, and the teen who is looking for a "Rad Read." Naturally, there is a booktalk to pique interest and give away just enough of the story. Entries also include character lists and sections on subject areas and major themes. Bodart also provides a number of booktalk and book report ideas. Her section on "risks" will alert adults to mature themes, while her section on "strengths" will help defend these books against their critics. The author has also included awards won and a section of book reviews, which will be useful for both adult and student. All the books listed are accessible to readers of middle school ability and up. This is truly a multipurpose book from an expert who knows her stuff and essential for any library serving a teen audience and handy for parents as well.

Jamaica Ladies is the first systematic study of the free and freed women of European, Euro-African, and African descent who perpetuated chattel slavery and reaped its profits in the British Empire. Their actions helped transform Jamaica into the wealthiest slaveholding colony in the Anglo-Atlantic world. Starting in the 1670s, a surprisingly large and diverse group of women helped secure English control of Jamaica and, crucially, aided its developing and expanding slave labor regime by acquiring enslaved men, women, and children to protect their own tenuous claims to status and independence. Female colonists employed slaveholding as a means of advancing themselves socially and financially on the island. By owning others, they wielded forms of legal, social, economic, and cultural authority not available to them in Britain. In addition, slaveholding allowed free women of African descent, who were not far removed from slavery themselves, to cultivate, perform, and cement their free status. Alongside their male counterparts, women bought, sold, stole, and punished the people they claimed as property and vociferously defended their rights to do so. As slavery's beneficiaries, these women worked to stabilize and propel this brutal labor regime from its inception.

Dan Feigelson refocuses reading and writing conferences to help all students reach their full potential. His practical approach centers on active listening--an equitable way to listen to, learn from, and guide students. His book is packed with sample conferences, if/then strategies, rubrics, and tips for starting conferences and keeping them going.

Women have no ability to cast spells. That's what wizards have said for generations-and it's a lie. Beatrix Harper wants to expose it to protect her sister's life. Her desperate plan: Train tens of thousands of women in secret, then shock the nation with a display of their magic. She thinks it will work-if only she can keep the details from her town's wizard, Peter Blackwell. But that's nearly impossible thanks to their unwanted magical connection. Peter, meanwhile, fears that his own desperate goal-to counter the terrible weapon he should never have invented-is doomed to fail. Their plans are about to collide. Disastrously. If you're a reader who prefers to know upfront whether a book has a happy ending, what the level of violence or trauma is, whether there are sex scenes and how substantial a part romance plays in the plot, scroll down to the author biography for a link to those details. One scene in the book includes a character discussing a past trauma, and the link has more specifics. What reviewers are saying: "Secrets, lies, and betrayal are abundant in the story, and just when you think you know what's going to happen, Cowley stuns you with an unexpected and shocking twist. ... I couldn't put the book down, and I can't wait for the final book in the trilogy!" - One Book More "The discoveries made, the secrets revealed, the implication of the vows and of using magic, there is just so much packed into these pages. ... I hugely recommend giving the series a try." - Life in the Book Lane Reviews "I was sneakily reading it whenever I got the chance, burning my toast I got so caught up in it." - Goodreads reviewer Rk

We live in a hectic world that demands us to always be 'on'. Whether it is pressure at work, or families to look after, rest is almost always an afterthought. We've been led to believe that rest, or the notion of rest, is quite the indulgence. In Radical Rest, trained nurse and holistic coach Richard Lister will provide you with a series of simple, effective ways to take responsibility for your own health and wellbeing, enabling you to cultivate a relationship with rest, to help your body heal and more importantly, stay in its optimum operating state. So that you can rest AND get more done.

In Radical, Michelle Rhee, a fearless and pioneering advocate for education reform, draws on her own life story and delivers her plan for better American schools. Rhee’s goal is to ensure that laws, leaders, and policies are making students—not adults—our top priority, and she outlines concrete steps that will put us on a dramatically different course. Informing her critique are her extraordinary experiences in education: her years of teaching in inner-city Baltimore; her turbulent tenure as chancellor of the Washington, DC public schools; and her current role as CEO of the education nonprofit StudentsFirst. Rhee draws on dozens of compelling examples from schools she’s worked in and studied, from students who’ve left behind unspeakable home lives and thrived in the classroom to teachers whose groundbreaking methods have produced unprecedented leaps in student achievement. An incisive and intensely personal call-to-arms, Michelle Rhee’s Radical is required reading for anyone who seeks a guide to not only the improvement of our schools, but also a brighter future for America’s children.