Difficult Relationships

After Marty Preston worked so hard to earn the dog Shiloh, he had hoped that his troubles with Judd Travers were over. He could not rescue all the dogs that Judd mistreated, but since Shiloh was the one who ran away and came with him, Shiloh was the one he loved. Judd, however, has other problems. Anyone who cheats, swears, lies, and kicks his dogs has troubles inside himself, and when the man starts drinking, Marty realizes that Shiloh is in danger once again.

Why Boys Don’t Listen to Their Mothers reveals eye-opening principles and techniques designed to train adults on the best ways to manage, guide, and treat boys with behavioral problems. It does not disappoint as the content is filled with step-by-step instructions, stories, examples, and scenarios to help you get the results you’ve been searching for.

Does your lacking confidence hold you back? Do you struggle with social anxiety? Can’t remember the last time you went out and started a conversation with somebody? The good thing is, you’re not alone. An estimated 15 million adults in the US suffer from social anxiety or shyness. This volume is the go-to guide in becoming a master in the art of social interaction and freeing yourself from anxiety. There’s no gimmicks, extensive therapy or wacky techniques, it simply breaks down each vital component and will give you the confidence you need.

Sixteen-year-old Samar - aka Sam - is an Indian American teenager whose mom has kept her away from her old-fashioned family. It’s never bothered Sam, who is busy with school, friends, and a demanding boyfriend. But things change after 9/11. A guy in a turban shows up at Sam’s house - and turns out to be her uncle.

If Susie Jamieson can't take a selfie, she checks her reflection in windows, spoons, car chrome - anything available, really. So when her mother gives her an exquisite full-length mirror that once belonged to her grandmother, Sukie is thrilled. So thrilled that she doesn't listen to her mother's warning: "This mirror will be your best friend and worst enemy."

Cliff Hubbard is a huge loser. Literally. His nickname at Happy Valley High School is Neanderthal because he's so enormous - 6'6" and 250 pounds to be exact. Life in his trailer-park home has gone from bad to worse ever since his older brother's suicide. There's no one Cliff hates more than the nauseatingly cool quarterback Aaron Zimmerman. Then Aaron returns after a near-death experience with a bizarre claim: while he was unconscious he saw God, who gave him a list of things to do to make Happy Valley High suck less. And God said there's only one person who can help: Neanderthal.

In our increasingly polarised society, having productive discussions about social justice issues has never been more challenging, or more crucial. From the persistent ('not all men,' 'I don't see colour') to the insidious ('to play devil's advocate...', 'climate change is coming'), too often, antagonistic or problematic responses threaten to distract and derail our most urgent conversations. Tackling twenty of the most enduring conversation-stoppers, No Offence, But... equips listeners with the knowledge, tools and context to respond with confidence.

Simone Thibodeaux is about to switch things up. Check her life: It’s sealed in a boy-proof container. Her Haitian immigrant parents send Simone to an all-girls high school and enforce strict no-dating rules. As for prom? Simone is allowed to go on one condition: Her parents will select her date (a boy from a nice Haitian-immigrant family, obviously). Simone is desperate to avoid the setup - especially since she has a serious crush on another boy. It’s time to take action.

Quinlan McKee has spent her life acting as other people. She was a closer - a person hired to play the roles of the recently deceased in order to give their families closure. Through this process, Quinn learned to read people and situations, even losing a bit of herself to do so. But she couldn't have guessed how her last case would bring down her entire world.

Fifteen-year-old Alyx Atlas was raised as a boy, yet she knows something others don't. She's a girl. And after her dad dies, it becomes painfully obvious that she must prove it now - to herself and to the world. Born with ambiguous genitalia, Alyx has always felt a little different. But it's after she sustains a terrible beating behind a 7-Eleven that she and her mother pack up their belongings and move from California to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to start a new life - and Alyx begins over again, this time as a girl.

Sarah - Bean to her friends and family - is an aspiring astronomer and champion mathlete. She lives behind her beloved telescope, with her head in the stars and her feet planted firmly on the ground. For as long as she can remember, she's also lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Scarlett.

At Jonesville High, casual misogyny runs rampant, slut-shaming is a given, and school athletes are glorified above all else. Best friends Suze, Nikki, Ani, and Lydia swear they'll always have each other's backs against predatory guys - so when Suze suddenly starts dating wrestling star and toxic douchebag Tarkin Shaw, it's a big betrayal. Turns out, it's not a relationship - it's blackmail. At first, Suze feels like she has no choice but to go along with it, but when Tarkin starts demanding more, she enlists the help of intelligent misfits DeShawn and Marcus....

Caroline “Chuck” Wilson has big plans for spring break - hit up estate sales to score vintage-fashion finds and tour the fashion school she dreams of attending. But her dad wrecks those plans when he asks her to spend vacation working the counter at Bigmouth’s Bowl, her family’s failing bowling alley. Making things astronomically worse, Chuck finds out her dad is way behind on back rent - meaning they might be losing Bigmouth’s, the only thing keeping Chuck’s family in San Francisco.

Most people will find themselves going through a difficult time after a breakup. With the addition of shared custody, everything can swiftly become overwhelming. They may find themselves unable to move on positively as a result of their difficult ex, or they may be fulfilling their role as a parent while combating their ex on the side. This eventually leads to an inability to react constructively and block out one’s instincts after enduring years of gaslighting or abuse.

Sixteen-year-old A. J. Smith, born and raised in backwoods Tennessee, loves nothing more than repairing broken cars with her father and hanging out with her brothers and their friends. Not far away, in the busy city of Nashville, Kate Kelly is always dressed in the latest fashion, wearing clothes from her mother's boutique and jetting around the world with her father. When A. J. starts going to the school Kate attends, they instantly dislike each other....

My mother named me Gabriella, after my grandmother who, coincidentally, didn't want to meet me when I was born because my mother was unmarried, and therefore living in sin. My mom has told me the story many, many, many, times of how, when she confessed to my grandmother that she was pregnant with me, her mother beat her. BEAT HER! She was 25. That story is the basis of my sexual education and has reiterated why it's important to wait until you're married to give it up.

After Zan’s best friend moves to California, she is baffled and crushed when Priya suddenly ghosts. Worse, Priya’s social media has turned into a stream of ungrammatical posts chronicling a sunny, vapid new life that doesn’t sound like her at all. Everyone tells Zan not to be an idiot: Let Priya do her reinvention thing and move on. Then a clue hidden in Priya’s latest selfie introduces a new, deeply disturbing possibility: Maybe Priya isn’t just not answering Zan’s emails. Maybe she can’t.

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything - so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg's college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there's a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.

As if her parents' divorce and sister's departure for college weren't bad enough, 14-year-old Ricky Bloom has just been diagnosed with a life-changing chronic illness. Her days consist of cursing everyone out, skipping school - which has become a nightmare - daydreaming about her crush, Julio, and trying to keep her parents from realizing just how bad things are. But she can't keep her ruse up forever.

Jason is sick of living in his rock star brother’s shadow. So when he ships off to Sea Breeze, Alabama, he’s looking for a much-deserved escape and a chance to blow off some envious steam. Falling for the local bad girl was definitely not the plan. But as the new duo enjoys some naughty fun in the Alabama sun, Jason learns that even though Jax is the musician in the family, he’s not the only brother who can rock someone’s world.