Losing it. Popping your cherry. Handing in your V-card. First time sex is a big unknown. Will it be candlelight and rose petals or quick and uncomfortable? Is it about love or about lust? Deciding to have sex for the first time is a choice that's often fraught with anxiety and joy. But do you have anyone telling you what sex is really like? In The V-Word seventeen writers (including Christa Desir, Justina Ireland, Sara Ryan, Carrie Mesrobian, Erica Lorraine Scheidt, and Jamia Wilson) pull back the sheets and tell all, covering everything from straight sex to queer sex, diving-in versus waiting, and even the exhilaration and disappointment that blankets it all. Some of their experiences happened too soon, some at just the right time, but all paint a broad picture of what first-time sex is really like.

An honest and poignant collection of essays by women about losing their virginity in their teens. The V-Word captures the complexity of this important life-decision and reflects diverse real-world experiences. Includes helpful resources for parents and teens. Losing it. Popping your cherry. Handing in your V-card. First time sex is a big unknown. Will it be candlelight and rose petals or quick and uncomfortable? Is it about love or about lust? Deciding to have sex for the first time is a choice that’s often fraught with anxiety and joy. But do you have anyone telling you what sex is really like? In The V-Word seventeen writers (including Christa Desir, Justina Ireland, Sara Ryan, Carrie Mesrobian, Erica Lorraine Scheidt, and Jamia Wilson) pull back the sheets and tell all, covering everything from straight sex to queer sex, diving-in versus waiting, and even the exhilaration and disappointment that blankets it all. Some of their experiences happened too soon, some at just the right time, but all paint a broad picture of what first-time sex is really like. Funny, hot, meaningful, cringe-worthy, gross, forgettable, magnificent, empowering, and transformative, the stories in The V-Word are never preachy, but provide a map for teens to chart their own course through the steamy waters of sex. With The V-Word girls can finally take control, learn what’s on the horizon, and eliminate the fear and mystery surrounding this important milestone.

From the authors who created the One Word movement, impacting schools, businesses, and sports teams around the world, comes a charming fable that can be read and shared by everyone. If you could choose only one word to help you have your best year ever, what would it be? Love? Fun? Believe? Brave? It’s prob­ably different for everyone. How you find your word is just as important as the word itself. And once you know your word, what do you do with it? In One Word for Kids, bestselling author Jon Gordon—along with coauthors Dan Britton and Jimmy Page—asks these questions to children and adults of all ages, teaching an important life lesson in the process. This engaging, fully illustrated fable follows Stevie, a young boy falling asleep on the first day of school. His teacher gives the class an assignment: to find the one word that will help them have their best year ever. To discover their one word, they must look inside themselves, look up, and look out. At home, Stevie is upset be­cause he can’t find his word. After his dad offers some helpful advice, Stevie excitedly begins the quest for his word. His search helps him discover a lot about himself, what he loves, and what is important to him. An easy read with a powerful message, One Word for Kids appeals to readers of all ages and is an ideal entry point into discussing a valuable lesson in a fun and engaging way.

The New Testament shouldn’t be complicated. So why are we often confused? Every Christian wants to love the Bible. But let’s face it: we sometimes get lost in all the names, places, and doctrines that we find in its pages. Who wrote this epistle? Which book is about justification? Joy? Jesus? Aren’t they all about him? The New Testament contains complex ideas and multiple genres. Keeping it straight can be hard to do. Wouldn’t it be nice if somebody who understands the big picture would put it together for us in one place? Biblical scholar and seminary professor Patrick Schreiner draws from his years of experience as a teacher to offer a simple and memorable way of understanding Scripture. And he doesn’t do it by throwing big words at you. The contours of the New Testament and its underlying structure are depicted in visual format along with Schreiner’s clear explanations. In The Visual Word, the Bible comes alive because you can see it pictured before your eyes. By taking a graphic approach, you’ll notice connections you’ve never seen before. Gain insights you’ve missed all these years. And discover an overall pattern that makes each separate piece fall perfectly into place. Don’t settle for mere summaries of the New Testament. Let Schreiner’s concise words and crisp images work together to help you encounter the Living Word in a fresh way.

Centered in a definition of vocation that flows from Luther's conviction that all Christians share the same vocation but live it out in various occupations and roles, Reclaiming the "V" Word challenges readers to see themselves as instruments of God's mission-as church-wherever they are. From a strong foundation of Lutheran theology (reframed for twenty-first century application), the authors use real life stories and thoughtful exercises to help readers discern what this means for Christian life in today's world.

The classic story about the power of words. Donavan Allen doesn’t collect coins, comics, or trading cards like most kids. He collects words—big words, little words, soft words, and silly words. Whenever Donavan finds a new word, he writes it on a slip of paper and puts it in his word jar. But one day, Donavan discovers that his word jar is full. He can’t put any new words in without taking some of the old words out—and he wants to keep all his words. Donavan doesn’t know what to do, until a visit to his grandma provides him with the perfect solution.

Michael loves interesting words (hard words like ELASTIC, little words like VAST, and big words like SMITHEREENS) and is always on the lookout for words to collect. Then one day, he picks up a new word. A bad word. An inappropriate word. At least, that's what his friend says. But Michael kind of likes the word. He thinks he might try it out. At school. Bad idea.

An engrossing and thoughtful contemporary tale that tackles faith, friendship, family, anxiety, and the potential apocalypse from Katie Henry, the acclaimed author of Heretics Anonymous. There are many ways the world could end. A fire. A catastrophic flood. A super eruption that spews lakes of lava. Ellis Kimball has made note of all possible scenarios, and she is prepared for each one. What she doesn’t expect is meeting Hannah Marks in her therapist’s waiting room. Hannah calls their meeting fate. After all, Ellis is scared about the end of the world; Hannah knows when it’s going to happen. Despite Ellis’s anxiety—about what others think of her, about what she’s doing wrong, about the safety of her loved ones—the two girls become friends. But time is ticking down, and as Ellis tries to help Hannah decipher the details of her doomsday premonition, their search for answers only raises more questions. When does it happen? Who will believe them? And how do you prepare for the end of the world when it feels like your life is just getting started?

“We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don’t want it to go: it heads right for the goddamned electrical sockets.” With wit and irreverence, lexicographer Kory Stamper cracks open the obsessive world of dictionary writing, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it to the knotty questions of ever-changing word usage. Filled with fun facts—for example, the first documented usage of “OMG” was in a letter to Winston Churchill—and Stamper’s own stories from the linguistic front lines (including how she became America’s foremost “irregardless” apologist, despite loathing the word), Word by Word is an endlessly entertaining look at the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language.

Gram teaches Otis how to cope and deal with his parents' divorce, to not blame himself, and to realize that he still has a family.