Key Selling Points A young child observes a man sleeping under a bridge and asks his mother questions about how he got there and why. This book examines homelessness and poverty with compassion and an empathetic, nonjudgmental point of view, offering a learning opportunity for kids and adults. This is a true story based on the author’s personal experience of an ongoing family situation. The author is also a journalist who is interested in social issues and human-interest stories. The illustrator has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and was the winner of Creative Quarterly. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, The Walrus, The Globe & Mail, Image Comics and in many other publications.

Fifteen-year-old Maryanna Duncard’s life is a delicate balance of school and trying to steer clear of her abusive dad, Ethan. When she meets Faron, their connection quickly ignites her life, and they fall deeply in love. Maryanna is over the moon, and things are going well. Her future looks bright. Until, that is, her father catches them in her room one fateful night and hunts Maryanna’s first love down in cold blood with his Winchester repeater. Maryanna turns to the police who, for some strange reason, refuse to believe a word she says. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, they claim Faron’s murder was just a horrific accident. On the run now and fearful for her life, Maryanna must learn how to survive on her own in a cruel world that has taught her to trust no one. The next years force her into a downward spiral that almost takes her life. Along the way, she meets a new friend, James, and her journey to love again leads her somewhere she never expected. Can Maryanna learn to take control of the darkness she carries within, or will it devour her before she can claim her happy ending?

Many devoted couples began as foes, so why not lay down the sword and conquer your enemy with a rose—like you’d entice a lover? Tryffin is a fearless champion when it comes to battling Saxons but fighting for Aelfrida’s love proves a greater challenge. Can he trust a Saxon? The Welsh Prince, Tryffin, will do anything to make the Saxon maiden, Aelfrida, his bride. But to her, he’s a sworn enemy. She can never give her heart to him. To save her foster father’s life, Aelfrida is forced to wed the powerful Prince, who led the warband that slew her parents. She is shocked at what a powerful temptation he is to her body and her heart. Can she trust a Celt? Everything rests on the Saxon bride’s choice of vengeance or love. Will Aelfrida prove to be Tryffin’s soul mate or his worst enemy?

The author of bestselling "Star Wars" novels follows his acclaimed original DragonCrown War Cycle with the first in a dazzling new trilogy. Stackpole's original fantasy novels have won fans and acclaim from coast to coast.

Polemon of Laodicea (near modern Denizli, south-west Turkey) was a wealthy Greek aristocrat and a key member of the intellectual movement known as the Second Sophistic. Among his works was the Physiognomy, a manual on how to tell character from appearance, thus enabling its readers to choose friends and avoid enemies on sight. Its formula of detailed instruction and personal reminiscence proved so successful that the book was re-edited in the fourth century by Adamantius in Greek, translated and adapted by an unknown Latin author of the same era, and translated in the early Middle Ages into Syriac and Arabic. The surviving versions of Adamantius, Anonymus Latinus, and the Leiden Arabic more than make up for the loss of the original. The present volume is the work of a team of leading Classicists and Arabists. The main surviving versions in Greek and Latin are translated into English for the first time. The Leiden Arabic translation is authoritatively re-edited and translated, as is a sample of the alternative Arabic Polemon. The texts and translations are introduced by a series of masterly studies that tell the story of the origins, function, and legacy of Polemon's work, a legacy especially rich in Islam. The story of the Physiognomy is the story of how one man's obsession with identifying enemies came to be taken up in the fascinating transmission of Greek thought into Arabic.

Mystery, Mayhem, and…Chickens? When a valuable diamond necklace is stolen, former American cop and classic movie buff, Maggie Doyle’s, peaceful vacation on a remote Irish island comes to an abrupt halt. An island lawyer hires Maggie to find the necklace before its owner realizes it’s missing. With a ticking clock and ten fractious hens to look after, Maggie and her UFO-enthusiast friend go in search of the thief before they strike again.

A gorgeous illustrated edition of the third book in the beloved A Song of Ice and Fire series, for fans of HBO's Game of Thrones The twentieth-anniversary celebration of George R. R. Martin’s landmark saga continues with this beautifully illustrated special edition of the third book in the series. With twenty-five all-new illustrations in both color and black-and-white from acclaimed artist Gary Gianni—who also illustrated A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms—this modern classic takes on a truly timeless feel sure to delight its legion of fans. A STORM OF SWORDS A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK THREE With a special foreword by Neil Gaiman Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King's Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. . . . But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . . .

The perfect gift for fans of HBO's Game of Thrones—a boxed set featuring the first four novels! George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series has become, in many ways, the gold standard for modern epic fantasy. Martin—dubbed the "American Tolkien" by Time magazine—has created a world that is as rich and vital as any piece of historical fiction, set in an age of knights and chivalry and filled with a plethora of fascinating, multidimensional characters that you love, hate to love, or love to hate as they struggle for control of a divided kingdom. This bundle includes the following novels: A GAME OF THRONES A CLASH OF KINGS A STORM OF SWORDS A FEAST FOR CROWS

“A beautifully touching story of true love and triumph over heartbreaking situations.”​ — People.com From New York Times bestselling author Mia Sheridan comes an emotional, slow burn romance about a woman desperate to hide and the man who sees through her walls, perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Lucy Score. I wanted to lose myself in the small town of Pelion, Maine. To forget everything I had left behind. The sound of rain. The blood. The coldness of a gun against my skin. For six months, each breath has been a reminder that I survived--and my dad didn't. I'm almost safe again. But the moment I meet Archer Hale, my entire world tilts on its axis . . . and never rights itself again. Until I trespass into his strange, silent, and isolated world, Archer communicates with no one. Yet in his whiskey-colored eyes, something intangible happens between us. There's so much more to him than just his beauty, his presence, or the ways his hands communicate with me. On me. But this town is mired in secrets and betrayals, and Archer is the explosive center of it all. So much passion. And so much hurt. But it's only in Archer's silence that we might just find what we need to heal . . . and live. Includes an exclusive extended epilogue from Archer's POV! A Goodread's "Top Romance Novel of All Time" A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller

Beards—they’re all the rage these days. Take a look around: from hip urbanites to rustic outdoorsmen, well-groomed metrosexuals to post-season hockey players, facial hair is everywhere. The New York Times traces this hairy trend to Big Apple hipsters circa 2005 and reports that today some New Yorkers pay thousands of dollars for facial hair transplants to disguise patchy, juvenile beards. And in 2014, blogger Nicki Daniels excoriated bearded hipsters for turning a symbol of manliness and power into a flimsy fashion statement. The beard, she said, has turned into the padded bra of masculinity. Of Beards and Men makes the case that today’s bearded renaissance is part of a centuries-long cycle in which facial hairstyles have varied in response to changing ideals of masculinity. Christopher Oldstone-Moore explains that the clean-shaven face has been the default style throughout Western history—see Alexander the Great’s beardless face, for example, as the Greek heroic ideal. But the primacy of razors has been challenged over the years by four great bearded movements, beginning with Hadrian in the second century and stretching to today’s bristled resurgence. The clean-shaven face today, Oldstone-Moore says, has come to signify a virtuous and sociable man, whereas the beard marks someone as self-reliant and unconventional. History, then, has established specific meanings for facial hair, which both inspire and constrain a man’s choices in how he presents himself to the world. This fascinating and erudite history of facial hair cracks the masculine hair code, shedding light on the choices men make as they shape the hair on their faces. Oldstone-Moore adeptly lays to rest common misperceptions about beards and vividly illustrates the connection between grooming, identity, culture, and masculinity. To a surprising degree, we find, the history of men is written on their faces.