Leadership is the differentiator between success and failure. Based on years of research on What makes a Great Leader, What the Owls told Alex guides readers on how to be a leader in their sphere of life. The book presents a simple yet comprehensive framework on the traits required for leaders. The book follows Alex on the journey of finding his life’s purpose and becoming a leader of his school football team. During Alex’s journey, he is privy to a host of super story tellers who narrate short stories from history, mythology, and folklore to explain the nuances of leadership. By joining Alex on his quest, you’ll learn how to: • leverage lessons from empires of old to become a better leader; • lean on values when making important decisions; • identify what you love to do and want to get better at; • determine the steps you must take to achieve your vision. Each episode of the book ends with reflection questions that will enable you to chart your personal leadership journey and shine as a leader.

'A moving tribute that beautifully evokes the struggles, the initial triumphs, the setbacks, the unexpected and often stunning achievemnets . . . [while] uncovering cognitive abilities in Alex that no one believed were possible.'Publishers WeeklyOn September 6, 2007, an African Grey parrot named Alex died prematurely at age thirty-one. His last words to his owner, Irene Pepperberg, were 'You be good. I love you'.What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in Alex's case, headline news. Over the thirty years they had worked together, Alex and Irene had become famous - two pioneers who opened an unprecedented window into the hidden yet vast world of animal minds. Alex's brain was the size of a shelled walnut, and when Irene and Alex first met, birds were not believed to possess any potential for language, consciousness, or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence. Yet, over the years, Alex proved many things. He could add. He could sound out words. He understood concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none. He was capable of thought and intention. Together, Alex and Irene uncovered a startling reality: We live in a world populated by thinking, conscious creatures.The fame that resulted was extraordinary. Yet there was a side to their relationship that never made the papers. They were emotionally connected to one another. They shared a deep bond far beyond science. Alex missed Irene when she was away. He was jealous when she paid attention to other parrots, or even people. He liked to show her who was boss. He loved to dance. He sometimes became bored by the repetition of his tests, and played jokes on her. Sometimes they sniped at each other. Yet nearly every day, they each said, 'I love you'.Alex and Irene stayed together through thick and thin - despite sneers from experts, extraordinary financial sacrifices, and a nomadic existence from one university to another. The story of their thirty-year adventure is equally a landmark of scientific achievement and of an unforgettable human-animal bond.

“Andrew Smith is the Kurt Vonnegut of YA . . . [Smith’s novels] are the freshest, richest, and weirdest books to hit the YA world in years.” —Entertainment Weekly Skillfully blending multiple story strands that transcend time and place, award-winning Grasshopper Jungle author Andrew Smith chronicles the story of Ariel, a refugee who is the sole survivor of an attack on his small village. Now living with an adoptive family in Sunday, West Virginia, Ariel's story is juxtaposed against those of a schizophrenic bomber and the diaries of a failed arctic expedition from the late nineteenth century . . . and a depressed, bionic reincarnated crow.

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.

Two young housemates embark on a road trip to discover themselves in this sparkling novel of love, friendship, and chosen family in a fractured America, by the award-winning author of The Third Rainbow Girl “A wise, beautiful, and gorgeously gay exploration of America, art, and the rugged, vast country that is love itself.”—Sarah Thankam Mathews, author of All This Could Be Different A Most Anticipated Book of 2024: Lit Hub, Debutiful, LGBTQ Reads, The Rumpus, Lilith, Hey Alma, Them What does it feel like, standing in the moments that will mark your life? When Bernie replies to Leah’s ad for a new housemate in Philadelphia, the two begin an intense and defiantly uncategorizable friendship based on a mutual belief in their art, and one another. Both aspire to capture the world around them: Leah through her writing; Bernie through her photography. After Bernie’s former photography professor, the renowned yet tarnished Daniel Dunn, dies and leaves her a complicated inheritance, Leah volunteers to accompany Bernie to his home in rural Pennsylvania, turning the jaunt into a road trip with an ambitious mission: to document America through words and photographs. What ensues is a journey into the heart of the nation, bringing the housemates into conversation with people from all walks of life—“the absurd dreamers and failures of this wide, wide country”— as they try to make sense of the times they are living in. Along the way, Leah and Bernie discover what it means to chase their own ideas and dreams, and to embrace what they are capable of both romantically and artistically. Warm and insightful, Housemates is a story of youth and freedom—a glorious celebration of queer life, and how art and love might save us all.

Second Strand is an excellently written, well-plotted murder mystery and is the 7th novel from award-winning author Carolyn McCrae. Alex and Teri are on the verge of breaking up after 12 years together when their elderly neighbour is found dying and their plans are put on hold. Two days later Alex, the police’s only suspect in what is now a murder investigation, disappears without trace. Private investigators, hired by Teri, learn that Alex is the lost son of the victim but tracing the family’s history proves to be more difficult than it should have been. If they are to find Alex, and establish his innocence, they must identify the connections between this killing and one, still unsolved, which took place in the same town two years earlier. Carolyn McCrae, whose first novel The Last Dance won the prestigious David St John Thomas Prize for Self-Published Fiction, has cleverly created a tale of mystery that unravels the complexities of relationships forged and betrayals perpetrated through the Cold War. Second Strand shows how a man’s bitterness has ruined lives through more than half a century and will appeal to fans of fast-paced and intelligent mysteries.

Seventeen-year-old Bailey moves to California to live with her father and, perhaps, finally meet an online friend and fellow film buff, but soon finds herself attracted to an annoying co-worker.

A wide variety of extremist groups -- Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis -- share the oddly similar belief that a tiny shadowy elite rule the world from a secret room. In Them, journalist Jon Ronson has joined the extremists to track down the fabled secret room. As a journalist and a Jew, Ronson was often considered one of "Them" but he had no idea if their meetings actually took place. Was he just not invited? Them takes us across three continents and into the secret room. Along the way he meets Omar Bakri Mohammed, considered one of the most dangerous men in Great Britain, PR-savvy Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Thom Robb, and the survivors of Ruby Ridge. He is chased by men in dark glasses and unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp. In the forests of northern California he even witnesses CEOs and leading politicians -- like Dick Cheney and George Bush -- undertake a bizarre owl ritual. Ronson's investigations, by turns creepy and comical, reveal some alarming things about the looking-glass world of "us" and "them." Them is a deep and fascinating look at the lives and minds of extremists. Are the extremists onto something? Or is Jon Ronson becoming one of them?

"Emperor's World" is the story a stallion and a herd of mares that he rustled from ranches in Colorado. He leads his herd up into the rugged mountain valleys of western Colorado. The herd affects many people who come into contact with the horses. An old Indian eventually affects all the peoples' lives even more profoundly than the horses. Three young couples, and their parents' lives, are followed as the youngsters mature from teenagers to adulthood all affected by the horses in the hills. There are light and happy moments during their carefree years as well as more serious consequences. One girl miraculously recovers from a near death accident. Th e Angel that brought the miracle had also had contact with the herd. A kidnapping and a murder are also caused by the herd of horses' presence. This crime leads to an investigation that has several unexpected turns. A dangerous high speed pursuit leads to the end of the criminal acts and a tragedy for two families. "Emperor's World" has two parallel paths. One tells about the horses and their lives up in the mountains. The second path is about all the people involved. The story mergers the two paths into one. "Emperor's World" is an entertaining and easy read. Th e story orchestrates all the human emotions; love, hate, greed, happiness, with large choruses of humor, smiles, and tears.

From New York Times bestselling author Mike Lupica, comes a timely story about a young girl who joins the boys football team. With Mike's signature fast-paced, heartfelt writing, he expertly explores gender inequality in football with nonstop sports action. When twelve-year-old Alex makes up her mind to join her middle school's football team, she doesn't expect it to be easy. But she also never anticipated she'd be met with scorn and derision from her exclusively male teammates. Football has always been a source of happiness for Alex. She and her single father never miss a Steelers game on TV, and Alex knows she has a talent for throwing the perfect spiral. But the guys suck the joy right out of the game for Alex--going out of their way to trip her up during tryouts, and teaming up against her just to watch her fail. Suddenly, Alex is the lowest she's ever felt. But if getting QB is worth it to her, she's going to have to fight for it.