The Bronx. It’s America at its most vibrant and chaotic; it’s also where one foster care caseworker—a would-be white savior from New England, a twentysomething kid prematurely jaded by the system—takes it upon himself to reunify a troubled birthmother with her children, against the recommendation of his world-weary but wise Hispanic boss. (Nevermind the fact that the mother in question just might have a crush on him—either that, or she’s running game for her own purposes. And nevermind the fact that her ex-husband, a serial abuser whose casefile’s thick with bruises, just might have killed someone to protect her in the past—and might be willing to do so again.) What follows is a vivid portrait of lives intersecting and colliding as they grapple with timeless issues: poverty and privilege, parenting and responsibility, drug abuse and insanity. As gritty as a cracked city street, as full of light and shadow as a crumbling row house, as hard to discard as a piece of summer sidewalk bubblegum stuck to your shoe, The Birthparents does for early 21st century New York what Charles Dickens did for mid-19th century London, not only preserving it for posterity but bringing it to life, and showcasing the shared humanity of characters climbing up (or clinging to) every rung on the societal ladder. It’s a stunning debut by an incredible new voice—Frank Santo.

Festive attire and fake smile for Christmas Eve? Check. Lusting after the stranger in the pew next to you? Wait… Sweet, sexy kisses in the falling snow? Check. Plus. This Christmas, Mollie Embry feels like a misfit toy. When her parents announced their divorce over Thanksgiving leftovers, it rocked the foundation of her life—even though she’s almost thirty, not six. By refusing to take sides, she finds herself with nowhere to go for the holidays. Which is fine by her because the magic of the season has lost its sparkle. Reluctantly, Mollie agrees to join her best friend’s little family celebration—it’s better than spending Christmas alone. But when their party grows by an unexpected number at the candlelight Christmas Eve service, it’s a blast from the past who just might be able to help her put the spark back in the season of love. This Christmas first appeared in the One Week in December anthology and is a stand-alone short story.

Jesus. Love Him or hate Him, He's everywhere. On our t-shirts, bumper stickers, and even on the covers of leading news magazines, year after year. We see Him on the silver screen, in the headline crawl on the TV news, and on the homemade signs held up at ball games. Hotly debated, He remains the most conspicuous figure of all time, even twenty decades after His inglorious death. Best-selling author Tim LaHaye, together with coauthor David Minasian, looks back through history and peers into the prophetic future to show us why the world's "Jesus Fascination" should come as no surprise. After reading about Jesus' life, legacy, and pervasive influence, you may find yourself connecting the dots of your own spiritual journey and answering the timeless question that came from the lips of Jesus Himself: Who do you say that I am?

Named a Summer Must Read by Wall Street Journal, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Esquire, Bustle, Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Refinery29, and more “[Hoby] might have just written the defining New York City novel of our fraught, socially anxious, and politically tumultuous times.” —Interview “Intense and addictive.” —New York Times A powerful novel of youth, desire, and moral conflict, in which a young man is seduced by the mirage of glamour—at terrible cost. Arriving in New York City for an internship at an elite but fading magazine, Luca feels invisible: smart but not worldly, privileged but broke, and uncertain how to navigate a new era of social change. Among his peers is Zara, a young Black woman whose sharp wit and frank views on injustice create tension in the office, especially in the wake of a shock election that’s irrevocably destabilized American life. In the months that follow, as the streets of New York fill with pink-hatted protesters and the magazine faces a changing of the guard, Luca is taken under the wing of an attractive and wealthy white couple—Paula, a prominent artist, and Jason, her filmmaker husband—whose lifestyle he finds both alien and alluring. With the coming of summer, Luca is swept up in the fever dream of their marriage, accepting an invitation to join the couple and their children at their beach house, and nurturing an infatuation both frustrating and dangerous. Only after he learns of a spectacular tragedy in the city he has left behind does he begin to realize the moral consequences of his allegiances. In language at once lyrical and incisive, Virtue offers a clear-eyed, unsettling story of the allure of privilege and the costs of complacency, from a writer of astonishing acuity and vision.

From one of radio's former loudest, orneriest, most beloved, and highest-rated sports radio personalities, a bold and hilarious memoir of sports, manhood, and what it is to be a fan. In 1991, fresh from college, Craig Carton drove a crappy 1980 Buick to Buffalo, New York, to interview for a job at WGR radio. The station manager who hired him was the first to recognize his considerable on-air talent, and helped start what has become a legendary radio career. Often compared to Howard Stern, Carton has hosted a series of highly rated shows, and in 2007 he joined WFAN, where he and Boomer Esiason hosted an eponymous show every morning for four hours out of a studio in New York City. In this debut book, Carton invites the reader to join him as he recounts tales from his suburban youth, defends his long-held love affair with the New York Jets, reminisces about the shenanigans of some of the highest paid and most celebrated athletes playing today, and reflects on his work as one of radio’s craftiest, most hilarious personalities ever to get behind the microphone.

On the surface, King Giles’ life seems quiet. But underneath his Southern charm, lies a badass American hero—a hero that will never be known to the world. Managing a busy medical practice and working on Alzheimer’s research, the undeniably charming doctor is committed to saving lives—millions of them. A Non Operational Cover (NOC) Agent for the government, he spends his days caring for his patients and his nights and weekends keeping tabs on operational terror cells. But when an ex-girlfriend shows up dead in his front yard with lace panties shoved in her mouth and his address in her hand, the FBI wants answers, and his secret life and next mission are compromised. Beautiful and smart, Reagan Weatherford is a new graduate of the FBI Academy with everything to prove. The daughter of a beat cop, she’s been raised and trained to trust no one—especially tall, dark and handsome men. But King’s innately charming ways are hard for Reagan to deny and as she investigates the case and his clandestine life, she finds King Giles so cloaked in mystery, the lines of right and wrong become blurred beyond the bedroom and recognition. Now working against the clock, a man sworn to secrecy over his identity will need to win his true love’s trust before dismantling an imminent attack or risk losing everything—including both their lives.

Ecstasy, or extasis, is the Greek term for trance, and is linked with a pleasurable, God-given state of out-of-body experience recorded throughout the New Testament and the church age. Starting with the apostles ecstatic experiences on Pentecost, the Book of Acts further records trances in the lives of Peter and Paul. From the early church to the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages and the famous revivalists of centuries present, God s movements on the earth have always been marked by these supernatural experiences. In this book, John Crowder takes us on a journey from Old Testament ecstatic prophets such as Samuel and Elijah, to the future ecstatics who will usher in a massive wave of harvest Glory to the streets in these last days. God has always wanted a people who live in the Heavens, even as they walk on the Earth. And the world is hungry for the demonstration of a gospel of supernatural power that flows from a life of divine pleasure. More than a state of mind, you will see how the nature of God s ecstasy is found in the joy, bliss and inner raptures of His presence. In this book, you will be encouraged to drink from the river of His pleasure! (Ps. 36:8)

The Summer of Love is already like a distant memory; the psychedelic underground has turned in on itself. John Dupre has deserted a perfectly satisfying life as a student in Toronto, drawn back to the US by the need to make a difference in the Revolution. He's living in Boston—under an assumed name because he's on the FBI's wanted list for draft evasion. His best friend is Tom Parker, an ex—GI turned righteous drug dealer. When John, Tom, and the militant feminist and Situationist Pam Zalman seize control of an underground newspaper and are put on the Weatherman hit list, there's really no place to hide—they're wanted on all sides. It's the year of the Harvard Square riot, the invasion of Cambodia, and Kent State. Campuses across America are host to demonstrations and riots. Burning ROTC buildings has become an everyday pastime. Pam and John forge a relationship where they're struggling against sex roles. The Left is splintering into ever smaller and crazier micro—factions. And that's when things begin to get really weird . . . Looking Good is a masterfully crafted, meticulously reconstructed social history of the '60s counterculture and a searching examination of gender identity—the magnificent, explosive climax to Difficulty at the Beginning.

Offering queer analyses of paintings by Caravaggio and Puccini and films by Özpetek, Amelio, and Grimaldi, Champagne argues that Italian masculinity has often been articulated through melodrama. Wide in scope and multidisciplinary in approach, this much-needed study shows the vital role of affect for both Italian history and masculinity studies.